The fluorescent lights of the Taming Ceremony Hall buzzed overhead as Leon wiped his sweaty palms on his academy uniform. Around him, dozens of fifteen-year-olds fidgeted nervously, their excited chatter filling the massive auditorium. Today was the day—the day every teenager in this world had been waiting for since birth.
Today, they would bond with their first monster.
Leon took a deep breath, his heart pounding not from excitement like his peers, but from carefully calculated anxiety. Two years, he thought, gripping the edge of his seat. I've been in this world for two years, and I still can't believe it's real.
He had died in his previous life—a stupid accident involving a truck and his distraction while reading a web novel on his phone. The irony wasn't lost on him. He'd been so absorbed in the final chapters of "Chronicles of the Celestial Tamer" that he hadn't noticed the red light.
Then he woke up here. In the very world of that novel.
At first, Leon thought he was dreaming. But as days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, reality set in. He was Leon Ashford now, a nobody from a middle-class family with no special background. More importantly, he had reincarnated exactly two years before the novel's main story began.
Two years to prepare. Two years to make a plan.
"Attention, students!" A voice boomed through the hall, snapping Leon from his thoughts. Headmaster Williams stood at the podium, his grey beard impeccably groomed, his A-rank Thunderbird perched majestically on his shoulder. "Today marks the beginning of your journey as Tamers. The monster you bond with will be your partner, your weapon, and your responsibility. Treat them well."
Leon's eyes scanned the crowd, searching. Then he found him—sitting three rows ahead, messy black hair, worn-out uniform that had clearly been handed down. Kai Ryusaki, the original protagonist.
The boy looked nervous but determined, clutching a small pendant—his only memento from his deceased mother. In the original story, Kai would bond with a C-rank Divine Wolf today. Everyone would mock him for getting such a "common" monster. But that wolf would later awaken into an S-rank legendary beast, catapulting Kai into fame and power.
"First student: Kai Ryusaki!"
Leon watched as Kai stumbled forward, clearly intimidated by the crowd. The taming platform glowed with ancient runes as Kai placed his hand on the summoning crystal. Light erupted, and from the magical circle emerged a grey wolf with brilliant blue eyes.
"C-rank Divine Wolf!" the examiner announced.
Snickers rippled through the crowd. "Only C-rank?" "I thought he'd at least get a D-rank." "Poor guy."
Kai's face flushed red, but he held his head high, gently touching his wolf's fur. The wolf nuzzled against him, and something softened in Kai's expression. Leon nodded slightly. Right on schedule. Everything's following the plot so far.
More students were called. Seria Moonlight—the heroine—bonded with an A-rank Holy Unicorn, earning gasps of admiration. The daughter of a famous Guild Master, she was expected to be exceptional. Her long silver hair caught the light as she smiled kindly at her unicorn, the picture of grace.
Seria won't fall for Kai until chapter 38, Leon recalled. After the incident with...
His thoughts halted. Angela Everhart.
Leon's grip on his seat tightened. He hadn't seen her yet today, but he knew she was here somewhere. The villainess. The cold-hearted daughter of the Everhart Conglomerate, the richest family in the world. In the original novel, Angela would become increasingly antagonistic toward Kai, eventually transforming into the final boss before being killed by the protagonist at chapter 253.
Killed for crimes she committed out of trauma and manipulation.
Leon had read those chapters. He'd seen how the author gave Angela a tragic backstory—her mother's death, her father's emotional abuse disguised as "protection," her gradual descent into villainy. The readers had debated endlessly in the comments. "She's sympathetic but irredeemable." "She went too far." "I wish she could have been saved."
Well, Leon was going to save her.
"Leon Ashford!"
His name jolted him back to reality. Taking a shaky breath, Leon stood and walked toward the platform. His plan was simple: tame the weakest monster possible. Stay unnoticed. Approach Angela slowly, carefully change her path without disrupting the main timeline. Let Kai and Seria have their story while he worked in the shadows.
He'd done his research over the past two years. In this world's taming system, the monster you received was influenced by your innate affinity and spiritual energy. Most people couldn't control what appeared, but Leon had found an obscure technique in an old library book—a method to deliberately suppress his spiritual signature during summoning.
If his calculations were correct, he'd summon something weak. An F-rank slime, maybe. Or a horned rabbit.
Leon placed his hand on the crystal, focusing intently on suppressing his energy. The runes glowed, dimmer than others before him. The magic circle activated, and smoke billowed from its center.
When it cleared, confused murmurs filled the hall.
A small snake, barely fifty centimeters long, lay coiled on the platform. Its scales were emerald green, gleaming under the lights. Ruby-red eyes with vertical slits blinked lazily at Leon.
"F-rank Green Snake," the examiner announced, barely concealing his disappointment.
The hall erupted into whispers and barely-suppressed laughter. "A snake?" "That's even worse than a slime!" "F-rank? Poor bastard."
Leon ignored them, kneeling down. The snake lifted its head, tilting it curiously. Up close, Leon noticed something odd—faint golden patterns along its scales, almost invisible unless you looked carefully. And its eyes... there was an intelligence there that seemed unusual for an F-rank monster.
Strange, Leon thought, but pushed the observation aside. Doesn't matter. Mission accomplished—weakest monster acquired.
He extended his hand, and the snake slithered onto his arm, coiling comfortably around his forearm. Its scales felt cool and smooth. When it settled, a warm sensation pulsed through Leon's chest—the taming bond forming.
A translucent screen appeared in his vision, visible only to him:
[Monster Tamed: Green Snake]
[Rank: F]
[Skills: Bite, Constrict]
[Evolution Potential: ???]
Leon frowned at that last line. Evolution Potential: ??? What did that mean? Normal monsters showed their evolution paths clearly—F to E to D, and so on. But question marks?
He dismissed the screen. Probably just a glitch in the system.
"Next student: Angela Everhart!"
The whispers immediately stopped. The atmosphere in the hall shifted as every head turned toward the back entrance.
She walked in like she owned the place—because in many ways, she did. Angela Everhart moved with perfect posture, her platinum blonde hair cascading down her back like a silver waterfall. Her ice-blue eyes surveyed the room with cold detachment, and her expensive modified uniform—tailored to perfection—made everyone else look like they were wearing rags.
Leon's breath caught. He'd seen her around the academy these past two years but always from a distance. Up close, Angela was even more striking than the novel's descriptions. Beautiful, yes, but in an untouchable way. Like a porcelain doll behind glass.
She approached the platform with measured steps, not a hint of nervousness. When she placed her hand on the crystal, the runes exploded with brilliant light. The summoning circle blazed so intensely that students shielded their eyes.
From the flames emerged a magnificent creature—a phoenix with crimson and gold feathers, each plume seeming to burn with inner fire. It spread its wings, and the temperature in the hall rose several degrees.
"A-rank Crimson Phoenix!" the examiner shouted, unable to hide his amazement. "Incredible!"
Applause erupted, though it sounded more like fearful respect than genuine admiration. The phoenix settled on Angela's shoulder, and she stroked its feathers once before turning to leave the platform without a word.
As she walked past Leon's row, her eyes briefly flickered toward him. For a split second, their gazes met.
Angela's expression didn't change—cold, dismissive—but Leon felt the weight of that glance. Her eyes took in his green snake with what might have been the faintest hint of disdain before she looked away and continued walking.
She noticed me, Leon realized, his heart racing. That wasn't supposed to happen yet.
In the original story, Angela never even registered Leon's existence—because Leon Ashford was a background character who didn't appear in the novel at all. But just now, she'd looked at him. Noticed him.
A small change. Insignificant, really.
So why did Leon feel like he'd just stepped on a landmine?
The snake on his arm shifted, and Leon looked down to see its ruby eyes glowing faintly gold for just a moment before returning to normal. The snake's tongue flicked out, tasting the air, and somehow Leon got the impression that it was... amused?
No, he told himself firmly. Just my imagination. It's an F-rank monster. Probably hungry.
But as the ceremony continued and more students received their monsters, Leon couldn't shake the feeling that something had already gone wrong with his careful plan.
His snake tightened slightly around his arm—not painfully, but almost like a reassuring squeeze.
Two years of preparation, Leon thought, watching Angela take her seat in the front row, her phoenix's flames casting dancing shadows. Timeline deviation should still be at zero. I just need to be careful. Approach slowly. Change small things.
Save the villainess. Don't disrupt the story.
How hard could it be?