Prologue

[First-Person POV]

"Huh? Where am I?" I woke up on an unfamiliar roof, confused and unsure of what to do. Panicking, I found myself scrambling, and getting out of bed, I found a letter.

"Dear Luther Preston, I humbly inform you and want to thank you for participating in this game. The door in this room will be unlocked in an hour, and please be on standby and don't cause any trouble." Reading the note, I could only stare at it in disbelief.

I have just been kidnapped, and the writer of this letter told me not to cause any trouble. Anyone with the right mind would be dissatisfied with this treatment. If I had been ill-tempered, I would have done the opposite of what this letter had asked me.

If this writer was going to write this, they should have at least threatened me or not written that at all.

I finished reading the note, and I could only sigh in depression. When I went to the door, it was a metal door tightly locked. There was no way of exiting unless someone from the other side unlocked the door.

"Let's check this place out." Despite being kidnapped, the room in which I was isolated wasn't terrible at all. If you observe it more, it is quite pleasing to the eyes.

Decorated with the style of a wealthy noble daughter from the last century, I found myself cozy here. If it weren't for the fact that I knew I was kidnapped, I wouldn't mind staying here.

"Sweet." At least the host was kind enough to leave some snacks around. Seeing that there was a case of donuts, I took one and ate it, enjoying it.

There wasn't much to the room except for a neatly tidy room with occasional decoration, including the oversized dolls. I checked them to see if anything was hidden, and none could be found when searching.

"What does the kidnapper want with me?" Those were the questions that plagued me. It was hard to find any reason, as I wasn't anything special. In short, I had no value in being kidnapped.

After contemplating for the next hour, the door on the other side clicked. Which meant it should be unlocked. Finding that might be the case, I hurried up, got to the door, and opened it, wondering what was on the other side.

With the door opening, I found myself in the living room. It was depressingly eerie. Compared to the decorated bedroom, the living room was empty. Only the wooden floor remained, except for the one table in the middle.

What surprised me was that I noticed no one on the other side. Which meant the door that had opened was done by something else.

I found a note on the table and a couple of other things. I checked the note and hoped it wasn't infuriating and would give me some information about where I was.

"Welcome to the first stage of the game. To start this game, you have been given three choices. On the table, you will see three capsules and a giant blue orb. Touching the giant orb will reveal your talent. Talents are special skills exclusive to the user. It would also be your most important tool when deciding which team to choose."

There was still more to the letter, but more questions came to mind once I read it. On an earlier note, I remembered that this was somewhat of a game, but I thought it would be more to the one organizing it. However, from the looks of it, that didn't seem to be the case.

Since it didn't look like it would harm me, I touched the orb, and to my surprise, it started to glow blue. The glow started to move and went onto my skin. I couldn't help but panic, but seeing nothing was happening, I was confused about what had happened. When I looked back at the orb, it had disappeared, like it was never there in the first place.

[Kemonomimi Affinity: Having a kemonomimi on your team will increase their growth rate by 50%, with the additional power of a 20% overall stat boost for all stats. A kemonomimi's likability is also increased.]

Suddenly, when the orb disappeared, information about my talent appeared. Kemonomimi? Was I going to become a monster trainer? Are monsters even real in the first place?

For those who are wondering, a kemonomimi is a human with the features of an animal. Only copying the ears and tail, not some furry-level shit.

"The three capsules are seals for monsters that will aid you in your journey. Touching them will allow you to see what type of monster they will become. Choose one of the three capsules. From now on, they're yours to keep. Choosing two or more will automatically make you disqualified from the game."

Disqualified? I wondered what that would mean. Would I be able to return home, or would a terrible end await me? Instead of considering the hypothetical scenarios, I checked on the three capsules.

When I touched the first one on the right, an image appeared on top of a capsule. Immediately, even without looking at my choices of the other two, this one was automatically denied.

The first monster looked like a radish. What made it more annoying was the annoying, happy-going, stupid smile it had on its face.

The next would be on the left. Touching it gave me an image of a cub bear. Unlike the first choice, this one seemed pretty good. The bear cub was a small green bear that seemed pretty ugly. It didn't look appealing, but at least it might be somewhat strong.

With two capsules touching, the third one in the middle would likely also be a small creature meant for beginners like him.

As for the final monster, it was a female child with the features of a bunny. Working with my talent should be my highest priority. Without much thought, I picked the capsule in the middle, rendering the others useless.

My interest in this game had risen with the capsule in my hand. I had even forgotten that I was kidnapped.