Lin Z woke up to darkness. Or maybe it wasn't darkness it was a void, a blank nothingness stretching endlessly. A voice suddenly echoed in his mind:
"Beast Tamer System Activated. Welcome, User: Lin Z."
"Uh… what?" Lin Z rubbed his eyes. Nothing looked familiar. His school backpack was gone, his phone, his life everything replaced by this strange emptiness.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
Rank: F
Initial Creature: None
Special Trait: Bonding Potential Low
F That sounded terrible. He had no creature, no stats, no nothing. He had always imagined reincarnating into a world like this would mean epic powers, dragons bowing to him, legions of monsters at his command… but apparently, he got the absolute worst.
Suddenly, the void faded, replaced by a forest. Sunlight filtered through the leaves. Birds chirped… but not in a cute way. More like they were judging him. Lin Z stood up, looking around.
He barely had time to register his surroundings when a notification appeared:
"Wild Beast Nearby: Common Rat. Level 1. Attempt Tame?"
"Level 1… a rat?" Lin Z muttered. Everyone else he'd read about in these worlds tamed dragons, griffins, phoenixes… and he was supposed to start with a rat.
The rat squeaked, tiny eyes full of disdain. Lin Z tried to extend his hand.
"Tame!"
Nothing happened. The rat ran circles around him. Lin Z frowned.
SYSTEM:
Tame Failed.
Creatures Lost Confidence.
"Confidence Lin Z groaned. This is ridiculous.
Hours passed. Every attempt he made failed. Rats, frogs, even a pathetic little squirrel ignored him. He was officially the laughingstock of his future world though no one had seen him yet.
Just as he was about to give up, he heard a strange sound behind a bush. A soft hiss, like a firecracker struggling to ignite. Lin Z cautiously parted the leaves…
A tiny dragon hatchling, no bigger than a cat, stared at him with watery eyes. Its scales were dull gray, and smoke puffed out of its nose in pathetic little bursts. One wing drooped at an awkward angle.
"Uh… hi," Lin Z said. "You… you're mine?"
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
Creature Tamed: Scrappy Dragon (Level 1)
Bonding Status: Weak
Lin Z blinked. He had tamed a dragon. The weakest dragon imaginable. But a dragon nonetheless.
The hatchling sneezed fire. The bush caught on fire. Lin Z jumped back.
"Well… that's a start?" he muttered.