The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 1 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Living Life on Hard Mode!

MY EYES FOLLOWED the words on the crystal.

[TAMER ###]

Huh? Is this a mistake? I looked over at Mom and Dad. They looked…amazed. Was this for real?

In the world of Oudegeuz, we have magic. I was surprised when I first awakened to it—there wasn’t any in my last world, after all. When I found out magic was real, I raised a triumphant fist to the sky. That kinda worried my parents ’cause…I was only two years old. 

But I think I’ve got memories of an old life. The fortune-teller in our village said so. She said that sometimes, though it’s very rare, people could be reincarnated with memories of being somebody else. But she said I shouldn’t tell anyone, so I’ve been keeping it secret all this time.

Jumping ahead now… I was five years old, the youngest of three. Dad was strict and Mom was kind, so picking a favorite between the two was pretty easy. My bully of a big brother was pretty annoying, but my big sister was always on my side. And even my brother could be nice, too, once in a while. Whenever I’d get really mad or sulky, he’d give me candy. I loved them both! Today, when I was really worried, they stuck by me and told me everything would be okay. But…

In Oudegeuz, when you turned five, God gave you magical skills. The luckiest people got five of them, but there weren’t many people like that. They’re so few and far between that everyone called them miracles. Most kids just had two, and their job would be decided based on what they got. When it was time to find out your skill, you prayed to God and did a special ritual in front of a crystal.

Which brought us to now, the lowest point in my life. No matter how many times I read it, the words were plain and true…

[TAMER ###]

Tamer was a skill that let the user tame animals and monsters. Which was fine! The problem was the part that came after…the “###.” Skills were rated using a number of stars. If a Tamer had one star, they could tame small animals and train them to deliver letters and stuff in town. The more stars, the stronger monsters you could tame—maybe even strong enough to succeed as an adventurer.

But I had ###. Even lower than one star. 

I couldn’t tame any monsters…I couldn’t even tame an animal. There probably wasn’t any work I could do at all. Here in Oudegeuz, your whole life was determined by your skills.

Some unconscious part of me—some past version of myself—spoke up. 

“This game is too hard.” 

I didn’t know what it meant, but it felt true. What was I supposed to do now, though? Past Me’s memories hadn’t helped too much over the past three years of my life, even if they came in handy sometimes.

Still, those memories told me to take this head-on and think about my future. Yeah, I had to face reality.

Which…wasn’t easy when you’re five years old.

They called people with a ### rating “no-stars.” They were—no, we were—the ones who God abandoned. My mom had read me plenty of picture books where kids who did bad things got turned into no-stars. They said there were no-stars in Oudegeuz, but nobody official ever talked about them.

But now things were different.

God, what did I do wrong?

But wait, I was supposed to receive another skill, right? Maybe…maybe it could be better!

[TAMER ###] [###]

Never mind! Only one skill, and it was the weakest. What would happen to me now?