Monster Trainer

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Chu Yu was a shut-in who grew up in the slums, obsessed with a game called Rebirth and playing it day and night without sleep--

One day, a strange creature appeared before him. It was snow-white, with feathered wings and a wolf's tail, a leopard's body and tiger's claws. Its enormous bulk nearly burst the tiny, dilapidated eight-square-meter apartment he lived in.

Chu Yu rubbed his eyes, then silently put on the thick, old-fashioned glasses beside his bed.

Only then did he notice the glowing golden 3D characters above the creature's head: YU001.

The honest Chu Yu swallowed. It looked kind of familiar.

Wasn't this the character card he'd created in the game Rebirth?!

Holy crap, it had broken through the fourth wall.

--

In 3033, the resources of Blue Star were all controlled by the upper class. The nobles lived in the Cloud Towers, monopolizing the planet's resources, while the poor in the Ground City had to toil endlessly just to obtain the necessities of life.

The game Rebirth simulated Blue Star as it had existed over a thousand years ago. It was a world rich in mineral deposits and oil, with fertile land, unpolluted oceans, and countless plants and animals that had long since gone extinct.

Players created character cards using a basic animal encyclopedia, conquered land, and built city-states, treating the world as a paradise beyond the reach of the mundane.

Players who controlled monsters to level up and clear stages were also known as--Tamers.

YU001 was the highest-level, most powerful monster in the game. Yet the monster had developed a consciousness, taken human form, and arrived in the world of Blue Star.

When he saw that the Tamer who could control his every move was so utterly helpless, murderous intent flared within him.

Then he smelled a strange fragrance on the human, touched the smooth, soft skin not covered by fur, and watched the tiny creature tremble with fear. The human stammered:

"H-hello. It's nice to meet you. I'm human."

"You can call me Chu Yu."

YU001 sniffed Chu Yu's tailbone and found the human species disgusting for being born defective, with no tail. In a rare moment of mercy, he let him live.

But Chu Yu looked at the white-furred body beneath him and closed his eyes in embarrassment.

"...Could you please put some clothes on first?"

"Where I'm from, that's indecent exposure."

"And the temperature varies a lot between day and night here."

YU001, who greeted others by sniffing them: ...

Weak creatures really were a pain!

--

Rebirth descended upon the world. The planes folded together, and a great war was about to break out. The nobles of the Cloud Towers had an overwhelming advantage and were on the verge of wiping the entire Ground City off the map--

Monsters ran rampant, blotting out the sky. They were ferocious, yet seemed to answer the call of only one person.

Chu Yu took off his glasses and watched, eyes blazing, as the towering Cloud Towers vanished from the sky. By the time the world of Rebirth had completely merged with reality, the humans of the Ground City and the monsters that had descended into the real world were all bowing to him, calling him the Creator God.

Only YU001 folded his wings away and pinned the fragile human against the wall with his tiger claws. He pressed him so close the human couldn't speak. His violent jealousy was boiling over, but he kept his claws sheathed, leaving only the soft pads to press beside the human's ear as he demanded furiously, "Just how many character cards do you have that I don't know about? Hmm?"

"My dear Tamer."

· One-on-one romance, happy ending, both leads are each other's first and only love

· The top is YU001. He has a name, but I haven't thought of one yet.

· The blurb is provisional, and the worldbuilding still needs work, but the core concept won't change.

Theme: All are born equal.