Rufus started walking toward the door when Raven asked for the symbiote books and said, "Follow me." Miles and Raven stood up, and the three of them left the room. Miles and Raven looked at each other as Rufus led them somewhere. They were on the second floor of the mansion, where the high-ranking employees had their own rooms and offices. This included Doctor Oswald and Trainer Rufus. As the three of them climbed the stairs, they reached the third floor, which was the library room.

When Raven looked up, he was mesmerized, as the library was so vast that he couldn’t even see the end of it. The third and fourth floors were entirely dedicated to the library. The Hunter family's strength wasn’t just due to their genius mages and warriors, but also the knowledge and history they carried. Rufus turned around and pointed to four chairs near the entrance of the library. In front of the chairs was an unlit fireplace. "Sit, I’ll be right back," he said, and the kids sat across from each other. Rufus continued up the stairs and began searching through the bookshelves. He picked out a book that contained symbiotes that were powerful but also not too difficult to find.

The book had been written relatively recently, unlike the others, and its cover was more modern and less worn. Rufus returned to where the kids were and sat in the middle chair, handing the book to Raven. "The rarity of each symbiote should be marked with stars on every page. You can choose whichever you like from this book," he said. Raven smelled the book and started flipping through it. It wasn’t very thick, but the pages were quite large. He could clearly see the shapes, colors, and descriptions of the symbiotes. He opened to the first page and saw a gray symbiote. It looked rather ordinary, and even though Raven wasn’t intrigued, he felt like he had to read through all of them.

Rarity: 1 Star

Required Resource: Any type of meat

As expected, it didn’t interest Raven much. It was a common symbiote with simple needs, not rare or impressive. But something puzzled him. Why were they categorized by rarity instead of power? He turned to Rufus and asked, "Why are symbiotes classified by rarity and not by power?" Rufus responded, "There are ancient symbiotes that even the greatest rulers cannot find, and these are called Originals. These symbiotes were the first beings born since the creation of the Eternis Universe. They weren’t born for anyone’s reason and represent pure power. Books that contain Originals aren’t for those seeking to find them, but for those who want to learn about them. That’s because, unlike other symbiotes, there is only one of each Original across the entire universe, with no duplicates. In addition to these, there are Half-Originals, symbiotes that descend from the Originals. While not unique like the Originals, they are still few in number in the universe. The remaining symbiotes are descended from scattered Half-Originals. A symbiote’s power, unlike spells, isn’t purely physical, so the only way to measure their strength is by how close they are to an Original and how well they match their host. That’s why, since strength can be subjective, they are classified by rarity, or by their level of originality."

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"Unlike the Originals and Half-Originals, as other creatures began to appear across different parts of the universe, they started making deals that were easier for living beings to accept in order to find hosts. As beings other than symbiotes began to rule the universe, these symbiotes even had to alter their forms and powers to adapt to humans."

Raven understood well. As much as he viewed symbiotes as mutual exchanges of benefits, new-generation symbiotes had sacrificed so much just to be accepted by their hosts that they had become almost pitiful. Making a deal with a modern symbiote was no different than buying a slave or tying your life to a weak creature. After wrestling with these thoughts, Raven closed the book and turned to Rufus, saying, "I want an Original."

Rufus paused for a moment and then burst into laughter. "What did you say?" he asked, still laughing. Raven stood up, more serious now. "I want an Original. If I can’t have an Original, I don’t intend to spend my life with these pathetic creatures that have no use for themselves."

Rufus stopped laughing, and the room suddenly grew tense. "Listen, kid. Even with the Hunter family’s connections, Originals are spread across the entire universe, and there’s not a single species with access to the whole universe. Even if the entire world united to search for an Original for you, it would be impossible. So, if you want to grow stronger, you’ll have to pick from this book."

Raven still felt he wasn’t being taken seriously and threw the book at Rufus. "I don’t need these space freaks that rely on other beings to survive. I can become stronger on my own," he said, and stormed out of the room. Miles immediately got up and ran after him.