The first thing I felt was intense pain, a pain so strong it coursed through every inch of my body. If I had to compare it to something, I would say it was like stubbing your little toe, but a hundred times worse. And if that was not enough to describe it, imagine the pain coming with a sinister grin to make it even worse.
I tried to scream, but I could not. I tried to move, but I felt nothing. I was trapped in some kind of nightmare.
After what felt like hours of suffering, I finally fainted.
When I woke up, I was lying on the ground. My vision took a moment to adjust, but when it did, I realized I was in a forest. The tree branches swayed gently in the wind, and the sound of birds in the sky was perfectly audible. The air... God, the air was incredibly clean, with scents I could not identify but that, strangely, were pleasant.
I sat down and something strange happened. I felt smaller. When I stood up, I realized that I did not just feel small, I actually was. I looked behind me and felt an extra weight on my head. When I touched my hair, I was surprised to discover that it was dark gray and reached my waist. It was long and silky, and I have to admit it looked amazing.
But anyway, I will leave the hair thing for now, because it only confirmed two things.
First, this was not my body. Something that, let us be honest, was already pretty obvious.
Second, I probably was not in my own world. But that, to be honest, did not surprise me that much. After all, I had read enough stories about reincarnation, alternate worlds, and magical creatures to know that at some point I would end up being the protagonist of one of them.
The difference was that, apparently, I was not the hero everyone expected, nor the guy who gets a pretty girl as a partner. No. I was simply a kid in a body that had only been alive for ten minutes.
The good thing was that I still had my manhood, which was a relief because, honestly, I did not want to wake up as a girl. It is not that I hate being a woman, but I had spent my whole life as a man and I was not about to change that suddenly.
Looking at my body, I resembled that of a ten year old boy, about 1.40 meters tall, with a chubby face, but I was not fat. No, my body was quite healthy. I was wearing a white leather tunic, with a rope tied around my waist.
As I walked, I noticed the ground was sticky. I looked down and saw it was a clear liquid, which I could not identify. At first, I thought it was chewing gum, but then I realized it probably was not that tasty.
I decided to put on the robe, which came with a letter.
A letter!
I picked it up and opened it without much ceremony.
"Dear Mr. Perez, I will be brief. Due to a glitch in an experiment involving a new quantum engine, we accidentally struck your reality, more specifically, your house, disintegrating it on the spot. As compensation, we decided to bring you back to life.
But do not get too excited. We are only granting you a system. Do not expect missions, rewards, or dimensional storage. All you will have is a universal translator that will allow you to speak any language. Writing and reading will depend on your effort.
In addition, we upgraded your brain, since... well, it was not all that great.
Due to a mistake, we sent you to the world of High School DxD, since we know that is what you watched most in your life. However, a miscalculation sent you five thousand years back in time, and to ensure your survival, we granted you immortality. So, happy immortal life.
We also gave you a child's body due to another error, but that is currently under investigation.
Oh, and your name will be Izu Evermore, so you will not be recognized quickly.
Sincerely,
The Emperor of the Multiverse.
P.S. Good luck in your immortal life."
"Wait a minute!" I exclaimed after reading the letter. "Is this for real? This is not right. This is chaos!"
At first, I was completely stunned. This was not like those stories where someone reappears right before the big events of a series. No, no. I was here, at the beginning of it all, at the dawn of humanity.
And the worst part of all... I am immortal.
I am going to watch everyone die while I stay here, young and eternal. Even the sun will explode someday, and I will still be floating around.
But, come to think of it... it is not so bad.
I could do so many things. Maybe I will meet important people. Maybe I will have a chat with Jesus, or even learn magic from Moses and King David.
The possibilities are endless!
And the worst part of all... I am immortal. I am going to watch everyone die while I stay here, young and eternal. Even the sun will explode someday, and I will still be floating around.
But, come to think of it... it is not so bad.
I could do so many things. Maybe I will meet important people. Maybe I will have a chat with Jesus, or even learn magic from Moses and King David. The possibilities are endless.
But first, I need to build something to defend myself against the animals.
So, without thinking twice, I told the system, "System."
Immediately, a blue screen with white letters appeared.
"Name: Izu Evermore.
Age: 10 minutes.
Year: 5000 BC.
Height: 1.40 meters."
I opened an icon similar to Google, which allowed me to ask questions. My first question was, "How do I light a campfire?"
The answer came instantly. I followed the instructions to the letter and, of course, ended up causing a small forest fire.
The campfire turned into a disaster, and I ended up starting the first wildfire in human history. The most epic screw up ever.
I ran so fast that my speed was probably comparable to that of a full grown horse.
Lesson learned. Do not make campfires in flammable places, or at least make sure you are not the first human to cause a massive fire.
But anyway, the important thing is that, in the end, everything turned out alright... well, more or less.
It has been a week since I came into this world, and honestly, I have to say it is a disaster. Seriously, everything is awful.
The insects are unbearable, especially the damn mosquitoes. Those bugs are as big as grains of rice. I do not know if it is just me or if there is something weird about this world, but every time I try to rest, it feels like a swarm of mosquitoes is deliberately hunting me down.
And do not even get me started on the wild animals.
The snakes are a real pain. For some reason, it seems like the anacondas have an annual convention here. Why are there so many? I have no idea, but I am sure they are organized, plotting to scare me at every turn.
I just want to survive, but they seem to have other plans.
After my little incident with the forest fire, where I became the first human being to start a large scale blaze unintentionally, something strange happened.
It started raining out of nowhere.
I am not exaggerating when I say it was a completely clear day, not a cloud in sight. But suddenly, bam. The rain began to pour down as if someone had turned on a giant tap in the sky.
Less than ten minutes passed, and the rain continued for hours, calming the fire, which I am grateful for. At the same time, it left me wondering what on earth that was.
If I had to guess, I would say this has something to do with some supernatural creature, maybe a Quetzalcoatl or something similar. Who else would have the power to control the weather so effectively?
I just hope that, in their generosity, they do not send me any more sudden thunderstorms with lightning that turn me into a human lightning rod.
In short, life here is not exactly a walk in the park.
I am dealing with giant insects, snakes that seem to have some personal agenda against me, and supernatural creatures with control over the weather. And all I want is some peace and quiet to build a decent cabin.
But of course, if I ever manage that, I will be the first human ever to have to fight an entire ecosystem just to have my own space.
Anyway, putting aside the fact that the whole world seems to be conspiring against me, I have managed to make some significant progress. And by progress, I mean I have finally begun to understand how this strange immortality I have been given actually works.
The first thing I discovered is that my body does not have some of the biological needs you would expect from a normal human being.
For starters, I do not have to defecate. Yes, you read that right. I do not need to. It is a luxury.
Imagine how convenient it is not having to worry about the bathroom, especially in the middle of a forest full of giant bugs that just want to make your life miserable.
Besides that, I do not get tired either. I can run, jump, and do whatever I want for hours on end, and my body stays as fresh as a daisy.
I guess this has something to do with immortality, because death is not something I am going to be worried about anytime soon.
As for immortality, I have discovered it is even rarer than I thought. Instead of simply being invincible or immortal in the classic sense, I seem to possess extreme regeneration.
It is as if my body heals at an absurd rate, similar to what would happen if a superhero had the ability to heal in seconds.
To be honest, I am not complaining at all.
What worries me, though, is that I also have a degree of invulnerability, but I do not know to what extent it is true, and I am not keen to test it. At least not until I encounter something other than a bear.
Speaking of bears, I once had a minor encounter with one.
A black bear appeared and apparently thought it was a good idea to attack me. Its claws scratched and cut my skin, but the strange thing was that, although I felt the pain like any normal person, my wounds closed instantly.
It was so surreal that the bear, after realizing its attacks were pointless, simply gave up and left.
It is almost as if my body is a magnet for futile attacks.
Then there was another interesting situation.
I slipped off a small cliff and fell onto a pile of sharp rocks. I was not seriously injured, but I felt excruciating pain throughout my body. Even though I was not completely shattered, the physical pain was still there.
It seems I do not have a clear limit to what I can endure.
It all boils down to the fact that regeneration does not seem to make me invulnerable to pain. It just removes the damage instantly, like some kind of magic trick.
In short, it seems my immortality is not just a gift. It is also a bit of a mystery.
I do not know how invulnerable I really am, and I am not keen on testing it recklessly. Still, I can make the most of this while I figure out how to deal with the thousands of strange creatures that surround me.
As I advanced through the forest, I decided to create a tool for hunting. Using the system, I looked for the best way to create a rock spear, and what I found was quite good.
After selecting a limestone rock, I decided to shape it into a spear point. I began hammering it against a harder rock, but the process was not easy.
At first, the rock did not yield as I expected, and my first attempt resulted in a crude and impractical shape. I had to repeat the process several times, and along the way, I cut my hands more than once.
Fortunately, the wounds healed quickly, allowing me to continue without further complications.
After two days of effort and multiple attempts, I finally managed to obtain a sharp point strong enough to pierce a deer's hide. It was not perfect, but it served its purpose.
With the point ready, I set about finding a suitable branch for the spear shaft. I found one that, although irregular, seemed sturdy enough. Patiently, I worked it until I removed the bumps and left it more or less smooth.
Using scraps of my worn and tattered tunic, I managed to tie the tip to the shaft. It was not a perfect joint, but it was strong enough that it would not come loose easily.
With the spear finished, I decided to test it.
My first target was a jaguar.
It was not a deliberate choice, but the result of a chance encounter. The feline attacked me by surprise, taking advantage of a moment of distraction.
Thanks to my reflexes, I managed to dodge its charge, although I could not prevent its claws from slashing my chest. The wound closed immediately, but the situation was critical.
The jaguar, now more cautious, assumed an attack stance.
I held the spear firmly and pointed it at him.
The feline did not hesitate. It ran toward me with speed and agility. I tried to thrust, but the jaguar easily dodged the blow. Then it leaped to the side and attacked me with its claws, ready to tear me apart.
I managed to block its swipe with the wooden shaft, though it snapped under the force of the impact.
In an act of resolve, I plunged the spear into the jaguar's stomach, piercing it completely.
The animal shrieked and roared for a few minutes before finally dying.
I felt uneasy at the thought of killing another living being, but I had no other choice. It was kill or be killed, and in this case, my immortality left me with no alternatives.
Looking at the jaguar's lifeless body, I wondered what to do with it.
I could not eat it, as its meat was too stringy and I had no tools to prepare it. However, its skin would be useful for making some trousers.
My tunic was torn to shreds, and I did not want to wander naked through the jungle. Although there was no one for miles around, the idea of being without clothes did not appeal to me.
Using the system, I looked up the best way to prepare an animal hide. According to the information, I had to separate the hide from the carcass, remove any remaining flesh, soak it in water for a day, scrape it, stretch it, and let it dry.
Following the process carefully, I managed to obtain my first hide.
If I had hunted a deer, it would have been of better quality, but I had to make do with what I had.
After two days, the hide was ready.
Using the tip of the spear, I cut it to make some makeshift trousers. I used the tattered pieces of my tunic as thread and a rope as a belt to hold everything in place.
I also made myself some shoes from the remaining hide.
Once that was finished, I continued my journey through the Amazon.
Walking for days was exhausting, especially without distractions. There was no option to listen to music on the system, so boredom became my constant companion.
Even so, I had no choice but to keep going.