đ Chapter 1 â The Beastless Brother of Broken Fang Town
The first thing he noticed was the smell.
It wasn't the clean antiseptic sting of a hospital. It wasn't the burning rubber of an accident site.
No, this smelled like old hay, fried meat, sweat, and something that might've been goat poop.
Ray opened his eyes and stared at a cracked wooden ceiling. A single mana-lantern flickered above, held together by wire and prayer.
"...Well, this isn't Earth."
A creak echoed as the door swung open.
"Rehan!"
A woman rushed inâa thin figure in a patched apron, with tired eyes and arms strong from years of labor. She dropped to her knees beside him and grabbed his hand.
"You're awake! Thank the beasts!"
Behind her came a tall man with sunburned skin and shoulders too broad for the doorway. He wore a worn beast-hide vest, stained with dried blood. His expression was stone, but his eyes softened at the sight of him.
"Still breathing, huh?" the man grunted. "Stubborn brat."
Then came the kids.
A little boy, no older than eight, burst in with enough energy to trip over himself. His nose was runny, his cheeks red from excitement.
"Big brother! Did you summon your beast while dreaming?! Is it huge? Is it breathing fire?!"
Finally, a girl stepped into the roomâtall, lean, and scowling. A wooden sword was strapped across her back. She looked like she wanted to punch him and hug him at the same time.
"You nearly gave Mom a heart attack, idiot," she said. "Who collapses during Awakening like that?"
Ray blinked.
What. The. Hell.
---
His mind spun, and memories not his own flooded in.
The body he was in belonged to Rehan, a sixteen-year-old boy from Broken Fang Townâa dusty border village barely holding on to civilization, nestled between monster-filled forests and underfunded guard posts.
In this world, everyone awakened a beast companion at sixteen. Some bonded with wolves, others with birds, insects, or elemental creatures. Your beast defined your power, your class, your future.
Rehan had none.
Three days ago, he placed his hand on the village's Awakening Stone. Nothing happened.
Beastless.
A disgrace.
He fainted from exhaustion trying again and again. His heart stopped.
And now⊠Ray's soul had taken his place.
"Okay," Ray muttered to himself. "So I died on Earth and got reincarnated into a fantasy beast-taming world⊠as the local failure."
Perfect.
---
His mother hugged him again, tears wetting his shirt. "We thought we lost you, Rehan. You scared us to death."
"I'm fine, Mom," he said instinctively, then blinked. That⊠felt natural.
His father gave a satisfied grunt. "Good. You'll be back on your feet by tomorrow. You can start helping around again. Beastless or not, we don't feed free mouths in this house."
"Karven!" his mother snapped.
"What? I'm just saying. He's breathing again. That means work."
Ray gave a half-smile. At least I didn't wake up with a noble family. That'd be too boring. This? This is real.
---
Later that day, he sat outside their tiny house, legs sore, heart heavy.
Their home was one of many cramped shacks stacked along the muddy lanes of Broken Fang Town. Beast carts rolled by, chickens screamed in the distance, and the smell of grilled furred meat hung thick in the air.
Across the street, a merchant was selling beast eggs from a wooden cart.
"Freshly laid! Flame Rats, Mud Hogs, and even one rare Storm Beetle! Come see!"
A group of teensâhis ageâwalked past with their beasts following. A girl with a Lightning Cat. A boy with twin Horned Rabbits. Another with a floating Mist Fish in a mana bubble.
Ray watched them in silence.
He had no beast. No class. No future.
Just memories of Earth, a weak body, and a little brother drawing beast cartoons in the dirt beside him.
"Hey, big bro," Rego piped up. "Do you think I'll get a big beast when I turn twelve? Like a tiger? Or a shadow panther?"
Ray leaned back. "You'll probably get a talking mosquito that demands sugar and rent."
"Cool!"
He smiled.
---
Dinner was grilled beast meat and potato slices, salted and barely cooked. The family sat on the floor, using crates as chairs.
Leiya, his younger sister, was sharpening her wooden training sword.
"Elder Luro said I've got good form," she announced proudly. "Said if I keep it up, I might be picked for the town's Beast Guard next year."
"Be careful," Karven said without looking up. "Guards die young out there. Especially those with weak bonds."
Leiya scowled but said nothing.
Ray quietly chewed his meat. His mom refilled his plate with a small smile.
Later, while helping her clean the dishes, she glanced at him.
"You're still useful, Rehan. With or without a beast. Don't let what they say get to you."
He didn't answer.
I wonder if she knows it's not really him anymoreâŠ
But he nodded. "Thanks, Mom."
She smiled and slapped him lightly with a wet rag. "Now go clean the goat pen."
---
That night, lying on his thin mattress in a room shared with his brother, Ray stared at the wooden ceiling again.
He hadn't awakened a beast. He had no system, no cheat, no glowing panel offering overpowered monsters or weapons. Just sore muscles and a hungry stomach.
But for the first time in a long while, he felt oddly at peace.
Alive.
He wasn't in some mysterious ancient ruin. He wasn't being chased by assassins. He wasn't suddenly the son of a god.
He was just a poor big brother in a forgotten town.
And that, for now, was enough.
---