Edward surveyed the house with a deep frown, taking in the mess surrounding him. Dust coated most of the furniture, and piles of rubbish were scattered around the living room. "Looks like the previous owner wasn't big on cleaning up," he muttered to himself as he tidied up the place.
Initially feeling like he was intruding on someone else's space, Edward quickly shook off the feeling. He had inherited this body and its identity, and the body's original owner had no family or close friends. While relieved that nobody had noticed anything strange about him, he was also aware that he was now completely alone in a new world.
After cleaning the kitchen and living room, he collapsed onto a small couch. Exhausted from the stress he had been under, Edward knew that he needed to come up with a plan for his new life, but for the moment, he just needed some rest. As he lay there, Whitey, the rabbit, jumped onto the couch and snuggled up in Edward's arms.
Since the wolf and snake battle, Edward felt a strange connection to Whitey that allowed him to understand and feel the rabbit's emotions. "So this is the bond of a tamer and his pet?" Edward mused, giving the rabbit some head rubs before getting up. "I should go look through my parents' books."
Heading upstairs, he quickly located the books, which were all stored in his room. The mess upstairs was overwhelming, so he decided to read in the living room. Placing the books on the kitchen table, he started with the biggest one, "An Introduction to Monster and Taming," an encyclopedia that explained everything a new monster tamer needed to know to begin their journey.
The first chapter detailed the four ways to rank and categorize monsters: Elemental Type, Bloodline Level, Cultivation Realm, and Race and Subrace Group. Edward learned that beasts typically had an affinity for one or two elements, while the rarest and most talented ones usually had three affinities.
There were eleven types of elements in this world: Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Nature, Venom, Ice, Electric, Darkness, Light, and Mystic. Edward recalled the giant snake he had encountered in the forest, realizing that the Flat Tail Python had two elemental types: Venom and Nature. Whitey also had two types of elemental affinity, Mystic, and Darkness, but this was due to his mutation.
As Whitey played on the couch, he sensed that Edward was busy and hopped to the door, signaling that he wanted to go outside. Edward quickly opened the door and watched as Whitey ran to his siblings, who were grazing on a patch of grass not far from the house. After observing the rabbits for a few minutes, Edward returned to reading.
The second part of the chapter focused on bloodline levels, a topic that piqued Edward's interest. The difference in strength between the Black Fur Rabbits and the two monsters he had found in the forest was too great to ignore, and he suspected that it was due to their bloodline. Bloodlines were divided into levels, and the book introduced the first five: Ordinary, Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Kingly.
The bloodline levels were further defined by their grade, from low grade to peak grade. The higher the bloodline level and grade, the stronger the individual's abilities and potential for growth.
The book emphasized the significant difference between grades, as a monster with a low-grade common bloodline would be limited to the peak of the Soldier Realm without adequate training and support from a trainer.
Meanwhile, a monster with a peak-grade Common Bloodline could reach the middle grade of the Elite Realm alone. Edward scowled deeply as he finished reading the first section of the book.
The mention of the Whitey bloodline being pitifully weak hit him like a hammer blow. Even a monster with a Peak Grade Common Bloodline could only reach the peak stage of the Apprentice Realm, leaving Edward to shudder at the thought of what the small rabbit's upper limit might be.
Despite his reservations, Edward couldn't abandon the adorable creature. Instead, he hoped that his second pet would possess a stronger bloodline. As he continued reading, the book went on to describe the Epic, Legendary, and Mythical Bloodlines, warning the reader that finding such rare bloodlines was next to impossible.
Even Kingly Bloodlines was considered a dime a dozen in the vast world. Edward was taken aback by the information on bloodlines. The two pets his parents found had Legendary Bloodlines, and he could only imagine the value and demand they would hold in this world.
"Darn it," he muttered to himself, "now I understand why that big shot went to such lengths." He stroked his chin thoughtfully, feeling a sense of melancholy wash over him as he considered the cruelty of the world.
It was every bit as merciless as his parents had warned him. As he continued reading, the book detailed the nine Cultivation Realms of monsters, ranging from the Apprentice Realm to the Divine Realm.
Each realm was further divided into stages, with some having fewer levels, like the Apprentice Realm, and others having many more, such as the Soldier and Elite Realms.
Edward was perplexed, as his memory failed to recall any mention of stages in the strange information window. "Wait a minute," he thought, "so the levels could be considered stages?" He pondered this for a moment before realizing that it must be the case. "But why do people use this stage system?" he wondered, before realizing that the information index must be something unique to him.
The revelation that he possessed something special, something that others didn't, shook Edward to his core. He had always assumed that everyone in this world had access to the information index. "Could this have something to do with my transmigration?" he wondered, before abandoning the thought and returning his focus to the book.
Edward was consumed by the mysteries surrounding his transmigration, but he was forced to accept that the answers he sought were, for the moment, beyond his reach. Pausing in his reading, he ventured into the kitchen, seeking sustenance.
There, nestled beside the sink, he saw a cluster of fruits, and he eagerly began to eat them, savoring every bite of the juicy and sweet fruit. Returning to his book, he delved deeper into the intricate complexities of the various races that populated this new world.
Divided into four groups - Beasts, Plants, Spirits, and Demons - each category possessed its own unique strengths and weaknesses. The families within each race were marvelously diverse, encompassing an almost infinite array of species. The book expounded upon the particular strengths and weaknesses of each race, such as the impressive endurance and spiritual power of monsters from the Plant race, but the corresponding lack of agility and dexterity.
By contrast, creatures from the Beast race boasted unparalleled physical abilities, but their spiritual powers were comparatively weaker. The Demonic race, meanwhile, was characterized by both remarkable spiritual power and physical strength, but their lack of intelligence made them challenging to train.
Finally, the Spirit race exhibited little physical prowess but excelled in the realm of spiritual power. Edward understood that such generalizations were not always accurate and that it was unwise to judge the qualities of an entire race based solely on a few examples.
Nevertheless, he recognized the value of such distinctions in helping novice tamers to choose their pets wisely. Overwhelmed by the intensity of the mental effort required to absorb such information, Edward rose from his chair and stretched.
He had completed the first section of the book, and he felt a sense of accomplishment. Looking out the window, he saw the two full moons shining in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the landscape.
With a sense of profound exhaustion, he sank down onto the couch, his mind completely exhausted from the unexplainable events of the day.
...
As night fell, the full moon shone brilliantly, casting an ethereal glow over the landscape surrounding Edward's humble abode. Even the patch of grass where the rabbits grazed seemed transformed, now shimmering with an iridescent silver light.
The blades of grass swayed gently in the moonlight as if they were dancing to some otherworldly tune. The rabbits, too, seemed caught up in the magic of the moment, their tiny bodies bouncing about as they gorged on the luminous grass, their bellies growing round and full.
Whitey, the littlest rabbit, was no exception. He nibbled at the shimmering grass with abandon, until suddenly something inside him snapped. The little rabbit let out a piercing cry as if in agony, and the moonlight itself seemed to warp and twist around him.
Inside his house, Edward stirred in his sleep, feeling a strange warmth emanating from his chest. As the sensation spread through his body, he jolted awake, disoriented and alarmed. "What's happening?" he muttered to himself, worried that the rabbits were in danger.
Rushing out of bed, he hurried outside, his heart pounding in his chest. What he saw there was nothing short of miraculous: a radiant ball of white light, shining brightly in the field just beyond his home.
The other rabbits were clustered around it, watching with a mix of awe and envy.
Edward drew closer to the glowing sphere, feeling its raw energy pulsing around him like a living thing. "Whitey?" he called out, sensing somehow that his little pet was trapped inside the light. But as he approached, he grew more and more confused. Standing just a few meters away, he tried to call up Whitey's information index, but what he saw there left him utterly dumbfounded.