Chapter 1: Sleepwalking?

In the sweltering summer heat, the sun hung high in the sky, endlessly radiating its warmth.

In the vast forest, a boy who looked to be about eleven or twelve years old was slowly dragging an enormous fish that was completely disproportionate to his size.

"Phew, this thing is so heavy. I wonder how it tastes," the boy muttered.

Finally, he managed to drag the gigantic fish into a cave and tossed it aside. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Alex sighed in relief.

"Can this thing even be eaten?" Looking at the massive fish, Alex couldn't help but question it in his mind.

This fish was unlike anything Alex had ever seen before. In fact, many things in this forest were completely unfamiliar to him.

That's right, Alex wasn't originally from this world. A month ago, on his twenty-first birthday, Alex had gotten drunk.

When he woke up groggily, he was greeted by a canopy of trees so tall they blocked out the sky. At first, Alex thought he was dreaming and tried to go back to sleep.

It wasn't until he felt something licking his face that he woke up in annoyance. When he saw the gaping maw and felt the wetness on his face, Alex realized this wasn't a dream.

"Holy crap! What is that?"

Startled, Alex jumped aside. Only then did he get a clear look at the creature in front of him: a body resembling a Tyrannosaurus Rex, menacing saw-like teeth, and saliva dripping continuously from its mouth. Everything felt incredibly real. At that moment, Alex understood he had truly traveled to another world. As a young man from the modern era, Alex was familiar with the concept of transmigration. He just never expected it to happen to him.

But there was no time to dwell on that now. The Tyrannosaurus was already closing in, its massive head almost as big as Alex himself.

Alex started to run, but how could an ordinary human outrun such a behemoth? Within a few steps, the creature caught up to him. Seeing the gaping jaws about to close on him, Alex, driven by the adrenaline of a life-and-death situation, instinctively swung his fist.

In that moment, Alex discovered just how strong he was.

What seemed like an ordinary punch hit the Tyrannosaurus's massive head. Despite the mismatch in size and power, the punch had an extraordinary effect.

The force of Alex's punch sent the Tyrannosaurus flying backward, crashing into an enormous tree trunk and creating a huge crater.

Alex was equally stunned. He had never imagined he possessed such tremendous strength.

The weight of the Tyrannosaurus must have been in the tons, yet he had sent it flying with a single punch. This implied an incredible power in his fists.

After a moment, the Tyrannosaurus finally fell from the crater in the tree trunk. Alex approached it cautiously and found that the once-predatory creature was now lifeless.

Having narrowly escaped death, Alex sat down, contemplating his completely unfamiliar surroundings.

"What on earth is going on?" he wondered, looking at his clenched fist, which seemed unusually small.

"Did I also regress in age?" Alex noticed a small stream nearby and hurried over to check his reflection.

Despite the flowing water creating ripples that blurred his reflection, Alex could still recognize his own face. It was the face of his younger self: sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, fair skin, and well-defined features—a boy often praised for his good looks.

(Reference)

Realizing this, Alex understood that he had not only transmigrated to an unknown world but also reverted to his childhood, and now possessed superhuman strength.

His thoughts concluded, he turned his attention back to the enormous fish. Alex doubted he would have recognized it as a fish if not for its appearance.

This creature didn't swim in the river but flew in the sky, sporting two enormous wings.

After a month in this world, encountering all sorts of bizarre things, Alex was no longer easily surprised.

However, the question remained whether this fish was edible and how to go about cooking it. This posed a challenge for Alex.

Ultimately, he decided to tear off one of the wings and start a fire to cook some "fish fin."

Alex gathered a pile of dry twigs and wood, snapped his fingers, and immediately a roaring fire ignited in the center of the pile.

This move was something Alex had figured out on his own. After realizing his immense strength during the last encounter, Alex carefully examined his body.

However, after checking for a long time, he could only attribute it to the fact that this body itself was exceptionally powerful.

But Alex was surprised to discover that there seemed to be some kind of energy resonating inside him, and it was increasing steadily. Upon realizing this, Alex couldn't help but feel excited.

"Could this be some kind of magical energy? Did I transmigrate to a world where magical energy is flourishing?" However, Alex was still deep in the mountains and had yet to encounter another living soul.

Naturally, there was no one to answer Alex's questions.

Alex buried these thoughts in his mind. After all, he figured he would find out once he left this deep forest.

Soon, Alex began experimenting with controlling this energy. Sure enough, the energy belonged to Alex himself, so he was able to control it.

"Sigh, if only there were some manuals or something. Unlike now, where I have this energy but can only use it in the most basic ways. Even starting a fire is a hassle."

Alex shook his head as he looked at the flames burning before him.

Alex had considered leaving this place, but the forest was too vast. If he hadn't marked his path along the way, he might not have been able to find his way back.

"Well, maybe I'll explore outside later," Alex planned after pondering for a while. He couldn't stay in this deep forest forever.

Being alone could drive anyone mad in due course. Even in his past life, Alex had grown up as an orphan and had to fend for himself after leaving the orphanage—eating alone, sleeping alone. It was lonely, but at least he was in the modern world with TV, computers, and games for entertainment. Here, apart from trees, there were only wild beasts.

Perhaps only the sun, hanging lonely in the sky every day, understood Alex's loneliness.

...

"Wow! What kind of ingredient is this? Why does it taste so good?" Alex exclaimed with delight as he chewed on the "fish fin".

Indeed, over the past month, Alex's palate had become dull. Without any seasoning, everything he cooked turned out bland. Some meats were so tough and tasteless that they were almost impossible to swallow. But despite lacking any seasoning, the taste of this "fish fin" was exquisite. Can you imagine the sensation of someone who has been eating incredibly unappetizing food suddenly tasting something so delicious?

At that moment, Alex felt a long-lost sense of happiness!

Soon, Alex finished the grilled food and wiped the grease from his mouth, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

Feeling his stomach protest, Alex knew he couldn't eat anymore. He clapped his hands and prepared the remaining fish to be stored in the cave, planning to enjoy it later that night.

...

The lingering light of the setting sun cast a golden hue over the lush green forest. Alex's shadow stretched long in the light.

However, Alex was not in good shape at the moment. He walked towards his cave with one hand clutching his shoulder, his face bruised and swollen, looking quite miserable.

"Darn it, looks like there are still powerful monsters in this forest." As Alex made his way to his cave, he couldn't help but recall the gigantic monster he had encountered earlier in the forest.

It resembled a tiger from Alex's previous life, but much larger in size, and it could even shoot energy balls from its mouth.

The destructive power of those energy balls was considerable. If Alex hadn't adapted physically during this time and experienced significant growth in all aspects, he might not have escaped.

Now covered in wounds, Alex grimaced in pain.

Finally reaching his cave, Alex lay down on his makeshift bed, taking a long rest before getting up again.

"Thank goodness these are just superficial injuries. If I had sustained any serious wounds, I wouldn't find any medicine in this unfamiliar forest." Alex sighed with relief after examining his injuries.

Alex was grateful for his extraordinary physical resilience. If it had been his previous body in the same situation today, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand even the first blow from that tiger.

Moreover, based on Alex's observations, this body seemed to recover very quickly. In the case of such injuries, Alex could probably sleep them off and wake up lively the next morning.

After filling his stomach with a simple meal, Alex looked outside where the sky had already darkened completely. He went to the cave entrance and covered it with a bunch of weeds and branches.

After all, this was the wilderness. Camouflaging the cave entrance might deceive some nocturnal predators out looking for prey.

Then, Alex settled down for sleep. However, during the night, Alex suddenly got up. On closer inspection, though, his eyes were closed.

But his mouth twitched slightly, and he let out a sigh. "Sigh! Still so weak." With a shake of his head, Alex's figure disappeared from the spot.