The Shifter world.
A world where everyone gains another form at the age of 5.
The people here may gain a beast-type form, or maybe a plant-type transformation. Some can even transform into treasures like weapons or armor.
In this world, a person may suddenly shoot to riches and glory if he obtains a decent transformation. Similarly, a person could fall in the gutters if he gains a trashy form.
Yu Xiaolong, who turned five years old today has sighed for the tenth time.
Today was the day that he acquired his other form. Although it should be an event worthy of celebration, his transformation made the atmosphere a little awkward.
He could see the disappointment in his parent’s eyes, the pity in the gaze of his grandparents, and the mocking sneer of his sister.
If he didn’t have the mentality of a 22-year-old adult, he would surely cry right now.
Watching the adults in the house busying themselves, all while coddling his little sister, has him worried about what is there to come.
Although he knows that while the family’s wealth isn’t little compared to the common families, it’s still not among the ranks of the truly affluent.
From now on, the family would focus its resources on his sister who had more talent.
His sister, Yu Heixue, gained a Blackice Eel as her alter form.
The Blackice Eel is a ferocious creature in the Leviathan family tree, capable of conjuring and manipulating black ice. It can grow as long as it’s alive, and it would gain a meter every year.
Creatures of the Leviathan family, along with the Behemoth family, are biologically immortal. They are creatures that wouldn’t suffer senescence or deterioration from age. Although they are practically immortal, they would still die if they are killed or starved.
As the Yu family gained a practically immortal daughter, Yu Heixue would enjoy all the benefits that the family could offer. As the lackluster older brother, Yu Xiaolong would only be able to enjoy the scraps of resources left in the family.
Under the eyes of his parents, Yu Xiaolong walked out of the house.
The Yu family household has 150 acres of land as its backyard. It’s a mid-tier force under the Yu Patriarch, The Yu siblings’ grandfather. The family is famous for its aquatic beast forms and its position as the city’s navy.
As Yu Xiaolong walked toward the household lake, while occasionally kicking stones in the ground, was pondering how he could live comfortably in the future.
After five and a half minutes of deliberation, Yu Xiaolong decided to forget about it and let things take their course.
Facing the clear waters of the lake, Yu Xiaolong undressed and dove in, fully submerging himself.
With a single thought, scarlet fish scales were forming on his skin. His body was continually shrinking, and long elegant fins emerged in place of his limbs. In an instant, he turned into a 2 feet long fish.
Scarlet Veiltail Betta, a creature of the Fish family. It’s a famous ornamental fish prized for its beauty and elegance. With undocumented years of lifespan in the wild, this fish would have its fins grow throughout its life. With its foot-long body and its fins that can grow up to 10 meters, this fish is a prized possession in any aquarium. Its exaggeratedly long fins would hinder its swimming ability, and would often lead to its death, common causes of death are failing to escape from a predator and starvation.
To Yu Xiaolong’s knowledge, his alter-form is famous for its lazy temperament. This species would often bask in the sunlight, while fully displaying its fins like a peacock. They are the least aggressive kind of betta species and were not an agile swimmer.
Apart from the looks, the Scarlet Veiltail Betta has almost nil combat power, almost nil agility, and abysmal talent in energy manipulation.
In this world where people value power and longevity, people like him who could only be a vase would be treated as useless or unnecessary.
Yu Xiaolong could already envision the moment where he will be mocked by the servants, humiliated by an evil young master, and disdained by his younger sister.
Once again, Yu Xialong let out a sigh as a lament for his fate.
Yu Xiaolong swam around the edges of the lake, trying to get used to his other form.
‘ Where the hell is my Goldfinger, my peerless treasure, or my heaven-defying martial art. Even a dead master is ok too, I can’t really see a way out for using my abilities. ‘ Yu Xiaolong grumbled.
Yu Xiaolong continued to swim around trying all sorts of underwater maneuvers that he could think of.
After tiring himself out, Yu Xiaolong headed up to the surface and transformed back into a human. He put his clothes back on and made his way back home.
After arriving, he immediately raced to his room. He made sure to lock the door securely, he went to a small bookshelf beside his bed and took a notebook.
It was a small diary scribbled with the language from his homeland, ensuring that his family wouldn’t understand even if they found his diary.
This diary contains every information he collected after he found out about the transformations. Yu Xiaolong frequented the family library as soon as he gained mobility and a basic understanding of this world’s language.
There were many times he lamented at the lack of search engines. He also pestered his mother to read many books; the legends, and epics of these lands. His efforts bore fruits as gained a basic understanding of this magical world.
He knew that the legends and epic would always contain some form of truth, as even those mighty figures had once been weak in their lives. That the stories would always have a lesson to be learned.
With gleaming eyes, Yu Xiaolong flipped the notebook open. he is determined to refresh his memory and plan a future for himself. All to acquire the power he needed to survive.