Year X776, Akane Region
The rhythmic crash of waves against the shore filled the salty air, mingling with the faint rustle of palm leaves. Sitting cross-legged atop a weathered rock, a boy with a tanned complexion and dark, curly hair stared at the horizon. The golden glow of the setting sun reflected in his bright, curious eyes. His name was Kael, and he was utterly, inexplicably alone.
Well… mostly alone.
"It's been thirteen years," Kael muttered, his voice carrying a mix of wistfulness and amusement. "Thirteen years in this bizarre world. Thirteen years without a clue how or why I'm here. I only witnessed that freaking forest and sea. If anyone's listening, God ? Aliens ? Whatever, you've got a wicked sense of humor."
He ran a hand through his wild curls and sighed. His skin, bronzed from years under the sun, glistened slightly in the evening light. If someone were to glance at him, they might mistake him for a young prince from some faraway land, maybe one of those tales of warriors and sorcerers that seemed to litter the world.
But Kael wasn't a prince.
No, he was something much weirder.
"I mean, who even wakes up in a new world with a system that screams tame dinosaurs! ?" he asked no one in particular. "Sure, other kids get magic or swords, and I get… this."
Kael flicked his wrist, and a faint glow surrounded his hand. A transparent blue screen appeared, displaying his stats.
---
Kael's System Interface
Level: 7
HP: 120%
Magic: 100%
Energy: 105%
Strength: 105%
Speed: 102%
Traits Obtained: 1 (Feather – Dodo)
Tamed Creatures: 1 (Dodo - Bobo)
---
100% represents his basic condition without the points awarded by his system, each point gives 5% except for speed where it gives 2, he gains one point per level. For his level, apart from killing animals or taming he does not know how to improve his experience. This system looks strangely like that of the game ARK.
When he kills or tames a dinosaur, he gains a special skill from it, he has experienced it with a few Dodos, if he gets a trait he already has it will have no effect but only a little extra xp. He also knows from the system that a dino can have several traits, more or less rare. When he kills one, it is random among the traits with a drop percentage like a kind of gacha, but when he tames, he gets all the traits of it.
Of course, Dodos only have one trait that can be obtained which is "Feather" which makes him lighter in combat if he wants, actually it's pretty good.
He stared at the stats and let out a chuckle. "Level seven and my only companion is Bobo, a freaking dodo. If I'm supposed to be some sort of dino-taming legend, I'm not exactly off to a roaring start."
'I'm not gonna complain, at least I got Bobo in this damn place'
As if on cue, a series of frantic squawks erupted from the tiny hut Kael had cobbled together near the beach. He winced. "Oh no."
Before he could move, a chubby, waddling bird burst out of the door, wings flapping wildly. Its round body swayed as it raced toward him, clutching… something suspiciously fishy in its beak.
I take back what I said, this Dodo is a nightmare.
"Bobo, what did I say about raiding my food stash?!" Kael scrambled off the rock and tried to intercept the dodo, who skillfully darted around him. For a creature that looked like it had no business moving quickly, Bobo was surprisingly fast.
"Drop it!" Kael lunged again, only for Bobo to sidestep with a smug squawk. The bird bolted toward the water, tossing the fish into the air before catching it again, almost mockingly.
Kael groaned. "I tamed you, you little demon! Where's the loyalty?"
He chased Bobo along the shoreline, splashing through shallow waves. To any outsider, the scene might have looked like a bizarre comedy act: a boy in a makeshift tunic trying to outsmart a bird that clearly had no respect for its supposed master.
Finally, Kael stopped, panting. "Okay, fine. You win. Just don't..."
Before he could finish, Bobo tripped over a small rock, sending the fish flying. Kael lunged forward and caught it midair. He held it triumphantly, glaring at the bird.
"Ha! Gotcha!"
Bobo squawked indignantly and plopped onto the sand, sulking.
Kael shook his head, a grin tugging at his lips despite himself. "You're lucky you're adorable, Bobo. Otherwise, you'd be dinner by now."
Bobo gave an offended chirp and turned his back to Kael.
With a sigh, Kael flopped onto the sand beside his companion. The waves lapped at his feet as he stared up at the sky.
"Hard to believe you're the first thing I ever tamed," he said, glancing at the sulking dodo. "I don't even know why you even count as a dinosaur, but hey, who am I to argue? You gave me that trait, after all. Not that it's done me much good…"
He stretched out his legs and stared at the horizon. "Still, you're not a bad start. One day, though, we'll get there. We'll tame something massive. A Raptor, maybe. Or even…"
Kael hesitated, his voice dropping to a whisper. "The T-Rex."
Bobo tilted his head, as if mocking Kael's ambition.
"Hey, don't look at me like that," Kael said, poking the dodo gently. "You might be small, but you're scrappy. We'll figure it out. One day, we'll show this world what we're made of."
The sun dipped lower, painting the sky in brilliant hues of orange and pink. Kael leaned back, letting the moment settle. For all its oddities, this world wasn't so bad.
Even if his only ally was a fish-stealing dodo.
"Alright, Bobo," Kael said, standing up and brushing sand off his tunic. "Let's go eat. And no, you're not getting this fish. Not after what you pulled."
Kael lit a small fire outside his hut, skewering the reclaimed fish on a makeshift spit. Bobo stared at the fish with unblinking focus, shuffling closer every so often.
Kael shot him a warning look. "Don't even think about it."
Bobo squawked innocently, cocking his head to the side like he hadn't just stolen the fish twenty minutes ago.
Shaking his head, Kael chuckled. "You're a real piece of work, you know that? Taming you was supposed to make my life easier, not harder."
He leaned back, gazing at the stars beginning to dot the sky. "Do you even remember how much effort it took to get you on my side?"
Bobo tilted his head, as if considering the question.
Kael smirked, poking the fire with a stick. "Level five. That's what the system told me I needed to be to tame a dodo. 'Low-level creature, easy to tame,' it said, my ass. Lies. Absolute lies."
He jabbed the stick in Bobo's direction. "You made me pick berries for a week. A week, Bobo! Do you know how embarrassing it is to sit there, crouched in a bush, hand-feeding a bird that keeps waddling away like it owns the place?"
Bobo let out a triumphant chirp, puffing out his chest like he was proud of himself.
"And don't even get me started on the first time I tried to tame you. I thought, 'Oh, I'll just grab you. How hard could it be?'" Kael laughed, shaking his head at the memory. "You pecked my hand so hard, I thought I was going to bleed out. From a dodo."
The bird flapped his stubby wings, clearly reliving his moment of victory.
"But no," Kael continued, his tone mock-dramatic, "I didn't give up. I kept feeding you berries. I even sang to you, Bobo. Sang! And what did I get for my trouble? A dodo that steals my food and trips over rocks."
Bobo squawked indignantly, waddling up to Kael and pecking at his foot.
Kael snorted. "Yeah, yeah, you're a tough guy. Honestly, though," he said, leaning down to scratch the top of Bobo's head, "you're not the worst. You're scrappy, I'll give you that. And you did give me that feather trait. Makes me a bit lighter on my feet."
Bobo leaned into the scratch, closing his eyes in satisfaction.
Kael smiled, the firelight dancing in his eyes. "I guess taming you wasn't all bad. It taught me patience, at least. And I'll need a lot of that if I'm ever going to tame something bigger."
At the mention of something bigger, Bobo opened one eye and let out a skeptical chirp.
Kael laughed. "Yeah, I know. A bit ambitious, right? But I'll get there. One step at a time. Every dinosaur has its own taming method, after all. Maybe the next one will be easier."
He reached for the fish, now perfectly cooked, and took a bite. "You know, Bobo, for all the trouble you give me, you're still better company than this stupid system."
He flicked his wrist, summoning the glowing blue interface again. The stats hovered in the air, taunting him with their simplicity and mystery.
"Why dinosaurs?" Kael mused aloud, staring at the screen. "Why this system? Why me? And why here? I've got a million questions and no answers."
Bobo let out a soft coo, snuggling up next to Kael.
The boy smiled, closing the interface with a wave of his hand. "Ah, well. No point in overthinking it. As long as I've got you, Bobo, I guess I'll be okay."
The dodo chirped contentedly, and the two sat in companionable silence, watching the waves roll in.
Kael sighed, feeling a strange sense of peace. "Tomorrow," he said softly, "we'll explore a bit farther. Maybe we'll find something new. Maybe even another dino."
Bobo squawked in alarm, clearly less enthused about the idea.
Kael laughed, tossing the bird a small piece of fish. "Don't worry, you're still my number one. For now, anyway."
The dodo gulped down the morsel, ruffled his feathers, and promptly flopped over in the sand, snoring softly.
Kael leaned back, staring up at the stars. "One day, I'll be more than just the kid with a system and a dodo."
For now, though, he was content.