Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The world underwent a huge cataclysm. It was a completely new place.
Three years before, Earth went through a drastic change that no one could have imagined. The sky turned dark and countless black rifts appeared like vicious claw marks in the sky.
These rifts were like pieces of a broken mirror. Through these pieces, humanity managed to see a vast and boundless world. A great mysterious place was beyond each rift.
However, no human or man-made machine was able to make contact with or enter the worlds within the rifts. Immense spatial turbulence flooded the surroundings of each one.
Back then a certain country sent out fighter jets to attempt to enter the rifts. But even the toughest metal alloys were like brittle building blocks in the face of the spatial turbulence. They were easily shattered and reduced to smithereens, scattering across the sky before vanishing without a trace.
No other country dared to go near the rifts after that. Half a day later, the rifts vanished on their own.
However, the nightmare had only just begun.
One by one, elliptical spatial rifts appeared all across the globe. Some appeared only temporarily, while others were permanent. Each of these spatial rifts big or small acted as a gate connecting to one world to another.
Countless worlds were linked via these gates, and monsters from other worlds came through them to Earth. For some unknown reason—either through contact with the air, with life forms from other worlds, or simply because God decided to make a fool out of humans—the animals and plants that originally inhabited Earth grew at an alarming rate. They all began to transform and evolve.
Only humanity remained unchanged.
But just when humanity thought they had been abandoned by the world, someone found there was a change that occurred in humans. A secret potential was hidden deep within the blood and soul of humanity: the Blood Contract!
With the mutual agreement of both human and monster, both parties could become partners that trusted each other and progressed as one. They were known as Monster Trainers.
This discovery brought excitement to humanity, as well as a new craze. Although they were unable to obtain the powers that these monsters developed, they could control the monsters!
It was only because of the existence of Monster Trainers that humans were able to develop an environment they could survive in. It was getting increasingly difficult to keep such terrifying monsters at bay through the use of artillery weapons alone.
The most important thing was that it didn’t take much to become a Monster Trainer. In fact, it was very accessible, making Monster Trainers a common existence.
Anyone could become a Monster Trainer and anyone could have their own Monster Familiar!
Practically every household reared one or two monsters. “Monster” was a general term that could refer to those originating from other worlds or transformed versions of animals and plants that were indigenous to Earth.
Some monsters were of a more brutal nature, possessing extremely aggressive behaviors. Some monsters that were of a docile nature. Those tamed by humans could effectively follow orders from their owners, just like pet cats and dogs from the past. There were even monsters that displayed no aggression at all.
This was a golden age that would influence generations to come; a turning point in human history where humankind could head into uncharted territory. Gao Peng naturally would not settle to be a regular person spending his life doing nothing of note.
There are certain marvelous sights best witnessed with one’s own eyes, after all.
The phrase “the world is so vast” was no longer a mere meme. Other than Earth, there were now countless other worlds Gao Peng could discover and explore.
“Perhaps I will be able to find the ability to resurrect my parents in other worlds,” muttered Gao Peng to himself.
This conviction was like a seed planted deep in his heart that was now sprouting and growing. He believed that among the endless worlds and across the tens of thousands of planes in existence, there would definitely be the ability he yearned for.
Gao Peng laid down on the sofa and turned on the television. The news was on, showing all the usual content: how the world was becoming more peaceful, how another area had become a safe area for exploration, how humans found dangerous monsters in certain areas, and general reminders for everyone to proceed with caution.
It was the usual news but Gao Peng relished every bit of it just the same, committing everything to memory.
Suddenly, a certain piece of news caught his attention.
According to the news program, the scaly claw of a gigantic beast that underwent some form of extreme atavistic evolution was found outside a spatial rift. The existence of this super beast was unprecedented. Scientists speculated that this beast was comparable to gods that existed only in legends. It was possibly a legendary emperor-tier mythical beast possessing numerous unimaginable powers.
With the end of the news program, the scene changed to one with a blonde lady in a white dress. She was holding a gene gun roughly the thickness of a finger, which had a crystalline, semi-translucent blue liquid flowing through it.
“Introducing the new BluMagic Monster Familiar Gene Enhancement Serum, by the United Dragons Group! 60% success rate in promotion to excellent grade for normal tier monsters, and 20% success rate for elite tier monsters! Using our product along with the professional care of Monster Breeders will greatly increase the success rate! This is a ground-breaking, new era product that you deserve to have!”
Gao Peng turned off the television dumbfounded, but at the same time burning with anticipation. With the release of this product, he feared that the Monster Breeder profession would face an unprecedented challenge. But it could also be an opportunity for Monster Breeders to increase their relevance in society.
After all, a Monster Familiar and its Trainer were emotionally linked. Some even viewed their Monster Familiars as their family. Naturally, they would want their Monster Familiars to be the best they could be.
All this only made the anticipation that Gao Peng felt in his heart grow stronger. As technology became more advanced, ideas began to surface in Gao Peng’s mind. Ideas that he never would have dared to think were possible in the past. Perhaps one day more futuristic technology would appear, such as resurrection!
Clenching his fist tightly, Gao Peng decided he would not concede to being mediocre. Being mediocre meant giving up! If the means to resurrect people was available someday Gao Peng would not be able to live with himself if he let the chance slip through his fingers just because did not work hard enough for it.
After preparing Da Zi’s dinner, Gao Peng went to the living room and knocked the steel bowl against the ground, giving off a loud and clear peng peng peng sound.
Da Zi already smelled the food with the pair of antennae atop its head, which swayed left and right nonstop. It heard the sound of the steel bowl and scuttled over. Using its maxillipeds against the edges it sent the upper half of its body into the bowl. Its sharp fangs were like a large pair of scissors, cutting the food into tiny bits before swallowing them into its belly.
According to the web and the books that Gao Peng read, Purple-Backed Yellow-Clawed Centipedes possessed a potent venom. However, he never saw Da Zi use its venom. Of course, being raised in a home, Da Zi never had any real opportunity to.
Purple-Backed Yellow-Clawed Centipedes had venom glands in their bodies, but the venom was not present throughout the body. Venom was only released at two body parts: the mandibles and the first maxillae. The mandibles, naturally, were the large scissor-like mouthparts in front of the head. The first maxillae were the first pair of appendages of the centipede.
Because Gao Peng raised it, Da Zi never bit Gao Peng or released any of its venoms in front of him. The various insect pests in the house, however, suffered plenty from Da Zi.
At some point since raising Da Zi, the insects in his house seemed to go extinct. They all fled from the house or were eaten.
Sitting on the sofa, watching Da Zi wolf down its food, Gao Peng could not help but smile. Then his thoughts began to drift. He had verified that the information panel that he could see showed accurate data. Since that was the case, maybe he could try becoming a Monster Breeder himself!
Monster Breeding was a profession that specialized in monsters, with only one motive: improving the monster grade.
Monster Breeding was not limited to beast-type monsters but included all kinds, no matter what shape, size or type. Because the field required extensive knowledge of all monsters, the field had an extremely high barrier for entry. An ordinary individual would have no chance of becoming a Monster Breeder.
To become a Monster Breeder, one needed to be widely read on all monster habits and characteristics. Secondly, using this knowledge, one would need to deduce the requirements needed to promote the monster’s grade, based on type and attributes. This was a profession that was even more well-respected than Monster Trainer.
This was because the lives of Monster Trainers depended on the monsters that they controlled, and a sufficiently high monster grade was a must-have requirement for a monster to advance in level. An increase in a monster’s grade even meant a proportional increase in the combat strength of a monster!
Monster Breeders were the only ones who could help Monster Trainers promote their monsters; hence, Monster Breeders held a special position in society.
It had been a mere three years since the cataclysm that changed the Earth. The number of monster species was uncountable. With new monsters being discovered constantly, there was no complete documentation of all the methods available to advance monster levels. The world was still in the midst of feeling its way around this area of development. Gao Peng could not help but feel that he had gained an amazing ability in being able to see the advancement criteria for monsters.
