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Chapter 1: Dregs and Dire Rats
The first thing that registered was the smell.
It was a thick, cloying cocktail of wet straw, animal musk, and something unmistakably metallic. Blood. Leo's eyes snapped open, but the darkness was absolute, broken only by faint slivers of moonlight slicing through cracks in a wooden wall above.
He wasn't in his bed. He wasn't in his apartment. The last thing he remembered was the glare of headlights, the screech of tires, and then… nothing.
Now, he was lying on a rough, scratchy surface, shivering in a thin, coarse tunic. A dull, throbbing ache pulsed from his temple. He tried to sit up, and his hand brushed against something small, cold, and furry.
He recoiled, scrambling backward until his back hit a damp, stone wall. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. As his eyes adjusted, he saw it. A dead rat. Not just any rat—this thing was the size of a small cat, with vicious yellow incisors and claws that looked like shards of obsidian.
A Dire Rat, a voice in the back of his head supplied, the knowledge surfacing like a bubble from a deep, forgotten well. Vermin-class. Low threat. Weak to…
The thought fragmented as a new wave of foreign memories crashed over him.
Elian. His name was Elian. Or it had been. An orphan, a dreg, an apprentice beast keeper at the Skyfang Aviary. The lowest of the low. His job was to muck out the pens, haul fodder, and generally be the verbal and sometimes physical punching bag for the senior tamers. He had no affinity, no talent, no future. He'd been tasked with clearing out a Dire Rat infestation in the deep storage cellar and had taken a nasty blow to the head.
And now, Leo was in his body.
"Transmigration?" he whispered, the word tasting like ash. "Of all the people, in all the worlds… you picked the janitor?"
A sharp, chittering sound echoed from the far end of the cellar. Then another. Pinpricks of red light ignited in the darkness, pairs of them, moving closer.
More of them.
Panic, cold and sharp, lanced through him. Elian's memories confirmed it: a lone Dire Rat was manageable for a prepared keeper. A swarm was a death sentence. He was weaponless, weak, and trapped.
He fumbled blindly in the straw, his fingers closing around a broken piece of wood from a shattered crate. It was a pathetic club, but it was all he had. The chittering grew louder, more aggressive. He could see their shapes now, slinking out of the shadows, at least five of them, their sleek bodies low to the ground, their naked tails whipping back and forth.
This was it. He'd survived a car crash only to be eaten by giant rats in a fantasy world cellar. The universe had a sick sense of humor.
The lead rat lunged.
Instinct took over. Leo—Elian—swung the wooden plank. It connected with a sickening thud, knocking the creature sideways. It squealed in rage but quickly righted itself, unharmed. The plank was too light, the blow too weak. The other rats saw his failure and surged forward.
No. No, no, no!
Desperation was a fire in his veins. He didn't want to die here. Not like this. He swung again, a wild, panicked arc that missed completely, throwing him off balance. He stumbled back, his heel catching on the first dead rat he'd found. He fell hard, the air whooshing from his lungs.
The rats were on him in an instant. He felt a searing pain in his leg as teeth sank through the cheap cloth of his trousers. He kicked out, his vision spotting. This was the end.
[Host conditions met. Adversity threshold reached. Beast Taming Prodigy System initializing.]
A rectangle of shimmering, blue light erupted in his vision, hovering just before his eyes. It was translucent, like a hologram from a sci-fi movie, but utterly real.
Welcome, User: Leo/Elian.
The path of the Prodigy is fraught with peril. Your journey begins now.
[New Quest Initiated: Survival of the Fittest]
Objective: Subdue or Eliminate the Dire Rat Pack (5/5 Remaining).
Reward: System Foundation Package, 100 System Points.
There was no time to question it. No time to marvel. The system was a lifeline, and he clung to it with every shred of his being.
How?! he screamed in his mind. How do I subdue them?
The system responded instantly, another window popping up, this time focused on the rat currently trying to take a chunk out of his arm.
[Target Analysis: Dire Rat (Vermin-class Beast)]
Health: 100%
Stamina: High
Affinity: None
Status: Aggressive, Hungry.
Taming Chance (Current Method): 0%
Recommended Action: Apply overwhelming force to lower Health below 20% to enable 'Forced Taming' protocol.
Overwhelming force. He had no force. But he had a system.
His eyes darted around the cellar, the blue interface overlaying his vision. He saw a stack of heavy, burlap sacks in the corner. Fodder grains. Too heavy to lift. He saw a rusted metal hook on the wall, too far. Then he saw it. Leaning against the wall, half-hidden in shadow, was a pitchfork. The wooden handle was splintered, but the two rusted tines looked deadly.
It was five feet away. An eternity with rats swarming him.
With a roar that was part terror, part fury, he rolled, ignoring the pain as teeth tore at his skin. He scrambled on all fours, his hand stretching out. The chittering was deafening. He felt a weight land on his back, claws digging in.
His fingers brushed rough, splintered wood.
He grabbed the pitchfork, spun on his knees, and thrust.
It wasn't elegant. It was pure, desperate survival. The tines sank deep into the body of the rat on his back. A horrific squeal pierced the air, then cut off abruptly. The weight went limp.
[Dire Rat Eliminated. 4/5 Remaining.]
The other rats hesitated for a moment, startled by the sudden death of their pack-mate. That moment was all Leo needed.
He yanked the pitchfork free, dark blood dripping onto the straw. He got to his feet, his body screaming in protest. But now, he had a weapon. Now, he had a goal.
He wasn't Elian the dreg. He was Leo, and he had a system.
He lunged forward, not waiting for them to regroup. He targeted the next closest rat. It dodged his first thrust, but he adjusted, swinging the butt of the pitchfork like a staff. It cracked against the creature's skull. It staggered, dazed.
[Dire Rat Health: 32%]
[Taming Chance: 15%]
Forced Taming? How? he thought at the system.
[Focus your intent on the beast and mentally command: 'Tame'.]
He focused on the dazed, whimpering rat. He pushed every ounce of his will, his desire to live, his need for control, into a single, mental shout.
TAME!
A thin, almost invisible thread of energy, the color of spun starlight, shot from his forehead and connected with the rat. The creature stiffened, its red eyes wide. For a second, he felt a flicker of resistance, a primal fear and rage. Then, it vanished. The thread solidified, and a sense of… connection snapped into place. The rat's aggressive posture melted away. It lowered its head and let out a soft, submissive chitter.
[Taming Successful!]
New Bond Forged: Dire Rat (Unnamed).
Reward: 10 System Points.
A hysterical laugh bubbled in his throat. He'd done it.
The remaining three rats, seeing one of their own suddenly turn, lost their nerve. They began to back away, hissing.
"Oh no, you don't," Leo growled. "Quest isn't complete."
He pointed at his newly tamed rat. "Attack."
The command was instinctual. The tamed rat, without hesitation, launched itself at its former pack-mates. The distraction was all Leo needed. He moved in with the pitchfork, a grim reaper in a filthy cellar.
Thrust. Dodge. Swing.
[Dire Rat Eliminated. 3/5 Remaining.]
His rat latched onto another,biting and clawing.
[Dire Rat Health: 45%]
TAME!
[Taming Successful! Bond: Dire Rat (Unnamed) x2.]
In less than a minute, it was over. The last rat lay dead by his pitchfork. The two he had tamed sat quietly at his feet, waiting for his next command. The cellar was silent, save for his ragged breathing and the pounding of his own heart.
[Quest Complete: Survival of the Fittest.]
Rewards: System Foundation Package, 100 System Points.
Distributing Rewards…
A warm, soothing energy flooded his body. The pain from his bites and scratches faded, leaving only smooth, unbroken skin behind. A wave of vitality washed over him, banishing his fatigue. He felt… stronger. More alert.
[Health Fully Restored.]
[Stamina Enhanced.]
New Feature Unlocked: [Beast Inventory] - Store your tamed beasts in a dimensional pocket for easy transport.
New Feature Unlocked: [Beast Nexus] - A mental space to interact with and manage your tamed beasts.
New windows popped up, showing his own status and that of his new… minions.
[User: Leo/Elian]
Rank: Novice Tamer (Unawakened)
Core Affinity: [ERROR - DATA CORRUPTED]
Tamed Beasts: 2
System Points: 110
He dismissed the screens, the blue light fading from his vision. He stood in the gloom, the two Dire Rats looking up at him with an unnerving loyalty. The body of the first rat he'd killed lay nearby, a stark reminder of how close he'd come to death.
He had a system. He had powers. And he had a burning, desperate need to understand this world and his place in it. Elian the dreg was gone. Someone new was walking out of this cellar.
A slow smile spread across his face, one that held no joy, only a sharp, calculating edge.
The senior tamers thought they were gods? The Aviary thought he was trash?
They had no idea what was coming.
[New Quest Available: A Prodigy's First Step.]
Objective: Leave the cellar and report to the Head Keeper.
Reward: 50 System Points, Title: [The Unassuming].
"Let's go," he murmured, not to the rats, but to himself.
He focused on his two tamed beasts, and with a thought, they vanished into shimmering motes of light, stored safely in his new [Beast Inventory].
Then, Leo picked up the bloodied pitchfork, hefted it over his shoulder, and started climbing the wooden steps out of the darkness. His story was just beginning.