Interspecies Training Manual

"Luan, the goblins we encountered in the forest this time are very strange."

Old Bell lay on the bed, his eyes sunken, his body covered with hideous, bloody mouths.

"They attacked us like madmen, recklessly."

"I killed more than twenty goblins, but they didn't stop. Instead, they became more and more frenzied. All the slaves died while covering my retreat."

Luo An knelt by the bed, pressing on the blood-soaked bandage on his father's chest, his expression blank.

Two days ago, his father took five slaves into the forest to hunt, but today he returned alone.

According to his predecessor's memories, his father had served as a guard for the lord of this territory and was quite powerful. Ordinary goblin groups would not dare to approach him.

"You are too young and too weak; you cannot defend the farm."

Blood continued to spill from the corner of old Bell's mouth, his rough hands gripping Roan's wrist tightly.

"Listen to me, sell the farm to the lord, get some money, and go to the city immediately."

"When the lord came to the farm before, he promised that as long as you sold the land, he would make an exception and let you enter the guard camp for training, and have the opportunity to become a guard."

"Luo An...you must survive."

Old Bell's eyes lost their color, and his hand fell heavily onto the bed.

Luo An's mind went blank.

Three days ago, he was lying in bed happily scrolling through short videos and drinking iced cola.

Now that his father is gone, Roan has inherited an ordinary farm located on the border of the Empire, next to the Loran Great Forest.

He knelt for a long time, then gently closed old Bell's eyelids with his hand and stood up.

Just as Luo An was pondering what path to take in the future, a message suddenly appeared in his mind.

[The "Interspecies Training Manual" has been activated]

[You can bind with creatures of other races to them, making them your training subjects and obtaining corresponding rewards.]

[Currently training participants: None]

"Even God wouldn't abandon me!"

Luo An's heart pounded. Having read many online novels in his previous life, he naturally understood what this meant.

He suddenly remembered someone.

Luo An walked out of his father's room, came to the small house in the corner of the backyard, and pushed open the wooden door.

In the dim light, a girl was huddled in a corner.

She was wearing a rough linen dress, her hands wrapped around her knees, her pretty face buried deep in the fabric.

The girl's long, silvery-white hair hung messily down to her waist, her pointed ears peeked out from the strands of hair, and her delicate features were covered in dust.

When she saw someone open the door, her icy blue eyes stared frantically at the figure in the doorway.

Luo An stood at the door watching the girl.

Her name is Celia, an elven girl whom Old Bell met by chance while hunting in the forest half a month ago.

At the time, she was injured and unconscious under the tree, and old Bell brought her back.

He wanted Celia to personally guide Roan through his transformation into a boy, and also to see if Roan could perceive the existence of magic through this method.

If they can stay on the farm, they can stay; if not, they can be sold to the slave market to make a profit.

Celia had a purple mark on her left wrist, the brand of her slave contract, which allowed her master to make her suffer a fate worse than death at any time if he so desired.

Celia's master was none other than Roan.

Luo An entered the room and approached her.

Celia shrank back, pressing her back against the wall, her eyes filled with fear.

She had heard about the fate of elves who were enslaved when she was in the tribe.

They will either be disposed of arbitrarily or resold to others.

In the human world, an elven girl like her has always been nothing more than a commodity with considerable value.

Unaware of her thoughts, Luo An stopped in front of her.

[Detectable breedable alien race: Celia (Elf)]

Current trust level: 0%

When the trust level with a creature of another race reaches 50%, a binding can be established. Upon successful binding, the unique racial talent of the Elf race will be granted.

With the information displayed on the panel, Luo An understood the situation.

He wasn't surprised by the 0% trust level.

Elves are naturally wary of humans.

Roan made no demands of Celia, but simply turned and left the hut, returning with some bread.

"Here's some bread for you."

Luo An handed over the food.

Celia stared at the bread in front of her, then glanced at Roan, her eyes full of confusion.

These days, she only drinks a little bit of bran to fill her stomach, and she is so hungry that she has no strength left.

"Eat up, you must be very hungry."

Old Bell had told Roan that when dealing with slaves at the beginning, they should neither starve them to death nor overfeed them.

In this way, slaves will feel grateful while also holding reverence for their masters.

The greatest mercy a master can show to a slave is to allow them to barely survive.

There's some truth to that, but it doesn't apply to Luo An right now.

He pushed the food forward a little further. "I know you don't want to be a slave. My father saved you, but forced you to become my slave. I don't actually approve of that."

Celia's long ears twitched, and her eyes showed emotions other than fear.

She took the food from Luo An's hand.

"Father and the other slaves were killed by goblins, and now only you and I are left on the farm."

Luo An didn't hide anything from him and spoke sincerely, "I won't sell you, nor will I force you to do anything you don't want to do. When I have the ability in the future, I can help you break your slave contract and give you your freedom."

Celia stared blankly at Roan, her eyes filled with disbelief.

free?

The moment she became a slave, she believed that those two words were a luxury she could never have again in her life.

"But not now."

Luo An raised a real-world problem.

"For a race like yours to live within the Empire, the only option is to be a slave. Even if you were given your freedom and allowed to return to the forest, you would likely fall back into slavery."

"Under the current circumstances, it's better for you to stay by my side and be my slave for now."

Celia knew the rules of the Empire, and after a long while, she took a small bite of bread, her eyes showing less fear as she looked at him.

Trust level +20%

Seeing that the level of trust had increased, Luo An took two steps forward.

This time, Celia did not shrink back.

He crouched down and used the key he had just retrieved to unlock the shackles binding her feet.

The bloodstains from the shackles had scabbed over, but new blisters would occasionally ooze blood.

Luo An took out the ointment left by old Bell from his pocket and applied some to his hands.

"Applying this to the wound will help it heal faster."

Celia looked into his clean eyes, pressed her little feet together even closer, and her ten round, dusty toes tucked in.

She felt very strange, but she still let the owner apply the ointment to the wound on her ankle.

The moment her skin was touched, Celia shuddered with pain. She bit her cherry lips, trying to keep from making a sound.

These days, she has to do all sorts of rough work while wearing shackles, but no one has ever taken care of the injury on her feet.

Even when she and her people were captured by the villains who attacked the tribe, they were beaten severely for being a little slow in their movements.

No one ever cared about her wounds.

Celia was indeed a slave, but it was fortunate that she could meet such a kind master as a slave.

The cool sensation spread from her ankles throughout her body, and Celia's wariness of Roan lessened considerably.

Trust level +20%

Trust level +15%

[Should we proceed with the binding process once the trust level of the trainee reaches 50%?]

"Bind!"

Luo An continued applying the ointment to his wound, slowly sliding it along as he silently recited a phrase.

All the efforts so far have finally paid off.

[Binding successful! Training target: Celia (Elf)]

[Gained Elven racial talent, Magic Affinity (A): Has an innate perception of magic and can manipulate magic to cast spells]

[Current trust level is 55%. When the trust level reaches 75%, you will obtain a C-rank magic and unlock the cultivation target panel.]