The streets of Jackson were congested with people of all walks of life walking shoulder to shoulder. Sky scraping buildings covered the streets on all sides, only dwarfed by a massive wall that stretched across the city. One man shoved me hard out of his way when I stopped for too long. I fell into a pile of trash a little way off the sidewalk. For a while, I stayed there and searched through the forums that were impossibly clear in my mind’s eye. Mistakes were made, but I could rectify them.

Right, what was I doing gawking? This city wasn’t safe, and there was something I needed before I went to the lab.

I turned into one of the back alleys where normal people wouldn’t dare go. There was something I needed that was only available in the back alleys. Forums talked about how the item couldn’t exist or shouldn’t be available until the late game. Skills discs that humans could use weren’t a thing until much later in the timeline. They were invented by a doctor working for one of the big crime syndicates. Not one of the religious ones like Jehova but the one worshipping the machine gods of the Heavy Metal region. I was currently in the Geass region, half a world away.

After making several wrong turns in the alley, I found a yellow fire escape with chipped paint and pulled its latter down. This was exactly the right place. I checked the time to ensure the room's owner wouldn’t be in. Once the fire escape staircase was down, I climbed up quickly to the third floor and entered the room. Books of sealing and cultivation littered the room. If I even touched one, a powerful cultivator would track me down and kill me.

My eyes scanned the room until I saw a box on his desk and slipped on some gloves. I scanned the room and found two styluses to use like tongs. With those in hand, I carefully moved the box to the side to reveal a piece of paper covered in numerous intricate layers of sealing scripts. This was the prototype of the eventual human skill disc. It shouldn’t be here, and it wouldn't have been if I didn’t run into Tyrone.

Allowing myself to run into Tyrone causes no end to problems. In the forums, some world explorers chose to jump out their windows instead of risking a chance encounter. The hidden cost was losing out on a skill that can only be acquired from a rank 3 Day attribute Waifu. It could be decades before I ran into one of those if I did everything right.

With that in mind, I touched my thumb against the center of the piece of paper. Information flooded my mind, and I had to bite my tongue to resist a desire to pray. A foreign will entered my mind, and I fought it with everything I had. This will had been detached from its originator and placed on a piece of paper; it should be a small percent of what it was originally. Still, I had to fight like hell to keep my hands apart and my knees from the ground. Minutes ticked by, and the feeling became bearable.

After returning the box and laying the styluses back where I found them, I slowly took a step back, retracing my steps. If I made a mistake, this world would become significantly more difficult. Even Tyrone wasn’t anything compared to the crap I would be in if this guy found out I stole his skill. When my feet were back on the fire escape, I slid my body out and shut the window.

New Skill: Regeneration III – The user will heal quickly over time from damage taken; even major organs can be healed with time.

Regeneration III: Beginner 0%

I read the message and closed it before sighing in relief. While it was only beginner level, it was still the Regeneration of a rank 3 Waifu. Not only that, but it wasn’t attribute-based and wouldn’t clash with anything. A neutral skill like Regeneration was hard to come by and even harder to survive without becoming a simp. Simp was the status of someone who loses themselves completely to their waifu and becomes nothing more than a follower. It was the fate of most Waifu tamers. Their skills would eventually mutate them into monsters. Many monsters outside Jackson city were once tamers.

That’s why the first taming session was monitored, and I ran late. If I didn’t speed up soon, I wouldn’t get any waifu, and all I would have to show for my detour was Regeneration. My mind went fuzzy for a second, but I shook it off. I survived the assimilation already without falling into a simp. Soon enough, I would be fine.

After a few more wrong turns, I made it to the lab. It was a massive sky-scraping building next to the city’s nuclear reactor. I scanned my Tamer ID and walked in without any trouble. An assistant sitting at the desk saw me first and sighed.

“Are you sure you want to proceed? Unfortunately, there aren’t any normal Waifus left.” The assistant said without any preamble.

That was what I had hoped for. If I had leaped out the window and ran through the back alleys, I would have made it in time for a White version of a starter. Those are great, but I would miss out on the regeneration skill. They also attract more dangerous enemies in the wilds. Outside the walls, it's always mating season, and humans aren’t the only ones who want waifus. A normal waifu would have been nice, and depending on my pick, I could have an easy early game and a hard late game or the reverse.

Then there was the Black version of the starters. Every taming session was so much more dangerous and rewarding. I could have a Night attribute waifu with everything that entailed. Monsters had trouble sensing them in the wild due to their nature.

I checked and double-checked the forums to ensure there weren’t any better ways. Finally, when I was sure about my choice, I nodded. “A black version is fine,” I said.

“Your funeral, we’ve had 12 become simps already to the normal starters. I can’t imagine you surviving a black version of one.” The assistant said.

I followed her into the lab, where Professor Cacao waited. The man looked up, and his eyes seemed to glow. The man was tall nearer to 7ft than 6, and had a broad chest. Compared to him, Tyrone was a pipsqueak. Even wearing a lab coat, I could see the professor’s muscles straining against it. Nevertheless, the man was clearly a powerful Tamer in his own right. I had no idea how many skills the professor managed to amass over his long life or what level they were at.

“Zoran, it's good to see you made it. Unfortunately, I’m afraid we only have Black versions left; you’ll have to try again next year if you want a white version or a normal starter.” 

I shook my head. “A Black version is fine. Could I have a Black Dinofu?” I asked.

“Zoran, I gave your father his first starter nearly two centuries ago and all of your brothers too. None became a simp. If you believe you can be the first to handle a black starter, then I believe in you.” Those words made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Having someone who believed in me was a welcome change.

Before, I never received praise no matter how well I did. I didn’t receive a better reward if I worked harder than everyone else. It only caused my coworkers to beat me up and my foreman to question my morality. In the new world, it was ok to succeed.

A weight dropped off my back that I didn’t know I was carrying. Professor Cacao held up his hand, brandishing ten glowing rings around his arm. We clasped hands, and a ring appeared around my wrist before burning itself into my arm.

I bit my tongue as liquid glass poured through my veins. When the process finished, a single black orb transferred from the professor’s ring to mine.