It was dark.
"~Ivan~." When I suddenly heard a voice echoing, calling my name.
"Kxwxfimbhg." Another echoed, but I do not understand what it said.
"~Emet~." It said another word, and my vision started to get brighter slowly.
As the light got brighter, I opened my eyes and saw the beautiful blue sky.
"What the f**k?" I was astonished to find myself looking up at the sky.
Suddenly, I heard the rustling leaves, the chirping of birds, and the sounds of animals in the distance.
I could even feel the crisp wind surrounding me, gently hitting me.
However, what shocked me even more was noticing the moon in the sky, which had a large crack on its surface, with chunks of its rock drifting away from it, while some orbited the planet.
Then a sudden streak of light ran past my vision in the sky.
Immediately, I quickly got up and sat on the grassy ground, wearing my blue T-shirt and comfortable pants to watch the streak of light in the distance.
But what fascinated me was seeing multiple streaks of light with different colors.
Some illuminate hues of red, yellow, violet, orange, light blue, and green.
'Isn't this like the clip on TikTok that went viral?'
I suddenly reached into my pocket to get my phone and was planning to post this on social media to go viral, but found it nowhere to be found.
"Where's my phone?"
While trying to find my phone. I realized I was on top of a hill, but what shocked me even more was what I saw.
It was a landscape where there were mountains as tall as the clouds, forests stretched as far as my eye could see, and surrounding rivers teeming with life swimming in the flowing water. He could spot unique creatures in the distance that he had never seen before, and even different types of land formations.
I reached into my pocket yet again, but there was nothing in it.
'Ohhh yeah, I forgot.'
'Where am I? What is this place?' While I was looking at my surroundings.
Then it hit me.
"Wait? Did I get Isekai'd?"
"I don't remember dying or having any conversations with a godlike being, but I did hear a voice when I was asleep. What did it say again?"
'And also, why was I chosen, or what was my task? And also why did I get into another world with my clothes but not my phone?' I had so many questions to the point that it started to hurt my head.
"Wait, is this a dream?" As I started blinking, rubbing my eyes, and even pinching myself to wake up, nothing happened.
"I've been isekai'd, baby!!!" I suddenly shouted and saw the birds in the distant tree fleeing.
"This is the dream of every otaku, hehe."
'Thank god this is not a dream.' I thanked and started to pray in my heart to whoever god threw me into this place.
"I remember when being isekai, they are often given an OP power or a system, and also when they are in a forest, the characters probably find a town by chance or maybe rescue one of their harem hehehe."
"Well then, let's first see if I have an OP power or a system."
____________________________________________________________________________
"Ahhhh!"
I had been standing here for hours trying every cool pose I could think of and some nerdy speeches to activate my power, but nothing happened.
I even started calling for my system. But nothing showed up.
I started using my brain to its limit and realized.
"Wait, what if the word the voice spoke of is the way to activate my power or my system?"
'What was it again?'
"E"
"Emm"
"Emet?" As I said it, nothing happened; however, I did feel something off, but I brushed it.
"Ahhhhhh! What should I do?!"
'I did everything I know! Ahhhhhh!!'
"Wait? Maybe I need to do something?"
"I read a novel where the character needs to do something before unlocking the system, or an
OP cheats. But the question is, what do I do to unlock it?"
I started to think, but couldn't get an answer.
"Forget about it, I just let the future me think of what to do," I said, pushing all the responsibility to my future self.
"Well then, let's begin my isekai journey!" I said, and started running in a random direction with a smile on my face, filled with excitement.
____________________________________________________________________________
"Where is it?!"
"My village?!"
"My harem?!!" I shouted and heard the sounds of feathers on the branches of trees swishing toward the sky.
"I've been walking for hours, and all I see are trees, some rocks, and animals in the distance." While resting against the roots of a big tree, exhausted from walking and running.
"I miss my phone." reminisce about the videos I saw, the games I played, and the friends I made on the internet.
Then I felt my throat dry up.
"I'm thirsty."
'I need to find water from a river or something.' Then it hit me.
"Wait! A river! I need to find a river because I remember reading that the first civilization was built near rivers. Why not follow a river and see if I can find a village or rescue a beautiful woman? Hehehehe. I'm such a genius," I said with a strange smile.
"But which direction should I walk?" I stood up and thought for a few minutes about where to walk. Then, it dawned on me.
"I remember that all living things, including plants, need water.
So, why not follow a flying bird or find a place with lush greenery to locate a river? I'm such a genius!" with a grin.
And I started to walk.
____________________________________________________________________________
"System!" While walking tiredly.
'I'm about to die here.'
'I have been walking for hours, and I didn't even find any birds flying or a place with lush greenery.' I thought while walking with a pale face.
'I miss my phone and my bed. That I just want to spend the whole day lazing around.' I thought, when suddenly I saw a bird flying above me.
And started running in the direction the bird flew.
'This is killing me,' while chasing the flying bird so as not to lose sight of it.
Then I suddenly heard the sound of moving water, and as I got close, the sound got louder.
When I reached the source of the sound, I knelt and started scooping the water with my hand.
When the water touched my throat, I felt relieved.
However, I taste an earthy or natural flavor in the water that nearly makes me vomit, but my thirst prevents it from doing so.
Initially, I questioned the taste because I didn't remember drinking water in my past world that had an earthy flavor. However, I brushed it off due to my thirst.
I sighed in relief.
'Thank god.'
I burped and immediately sat down on the ground, still exhausted from walking but feeling much more alive and energetic from the water.
'I miss Earth.'
A few minutes later. I stood up from the ground.
"Let's start looking for a village or a woman along the way and find how to unlock my system and cheats to begin my isekai adventure," with a strange smile as I started walking beside the river.
Then my stomach suddenly growled.
'D**m, look like I'm hungry.'
While walking, I notice the sun.
"What time is it?" while reaching into my pocket, like a habit in my old world, but once more there was nothing in it.
'I forgot. Ahhhh d**m it!'
"I miss my phone and my games."
Then I realized something.
"I recall that the earliest civilizations observed the sun and used its shadow to tell time." While analyzing the position of the sun.
"It looks like it's about 4:00 pm or something."
"I need to find this village quickly," as I walked.
____________________________________________________________________________
An hour passed.
I rested by the river, quenching my thirst and satisfying my empty stomach with water.
'Walking along a river is a peaceful and refreshing experience that I would never have thought I would experience in my life.'
'I could have posted this, but I don't have a phone,' with a sad expression.
'But still, why was I so angry at the people who told me to touch grass in games? I should be thankful to them.'
While I was in a world of my own, I failed to notice something lurking in the shadows of the forest.
All of a sudden.
"Help Us." "EnD UsS." Multiple cries of help echoed in the bush and began to move.
Immediately, I turned toward the direction of the sound, and what I saw horrified me.
A black, humanoid monster as tall as an adult man with a muscular neck and right arm.
Balancing its entire body to the right, its left arm appeared so thin and elongated that it resembled a large whip rather than a typical arm.
In contrast, the right arm was robust and muscular, with some of the muscle covered in stone-like scales.
Half of its body is supported by a leg, which looks to be struggling to hold its weight while standing.
Its head is made up of multiple faces. Some have eyes, some have mouths, while others resemble skeletons, Ivan thought, as the monster slowly walked toward him.
However, what horrified me even more was the scar stitches covering its body. At that moment, I realized what it was. My first thought was. 'Someone stitched it together.'
This revelation terrified me because, in my old world, I had never encountered or experienced anything so evil. I had only heard of such horrors in movies like "Human Centipede" or from documentaries.
While I was paralyzed from fear, the monster drew closer without me noticing.
Then suddenly, the monster used his right arm and slammed it on my left side, sending me crashing to the ground, where I hit some rocks.
While I was recovering, the monster used its whip and whipped me, hitting my back.
I screamed in pain and realized that this was real.
Then fear crept out of me, shaking my whole body uncontrollably.
My body surged with adrenaline as I started running, not daring to look back.
I ran for minutes without looking back to see if the monster was behind me.
When my adrenaline ran out, I turned around and found no monster.
I let out a breath, feeling exhausted from running.
"What was that thing?" my face etched with fatigue and fear.
Suddenly, my stomach growled, causing me great pain like a dog biting me inside.
"It hurts so much, and now my stomach is hurting," while holding my side and limping in pain.
As the surrounding birds began to make noise, I looked up and saw the sun rising on the horizon.
"It's going to be night soon."
'I need to find shelter against predators and food to eat.' As I suddenly noticed something in the distance, a glowing cave filled with mushrooms.
"A cave filled with glowing mushrooms?" curiously, seeing them for the first time in person instead of on a screen.
"I'm really lucky, now that I have found a cave that is perfect for shelter and some mushrooms to eat. God must be loving me and helping me, and isekai me into this world."
'But the question is, how am I going to eat them?' as I began to limp painfully toward the cave.
'I remember reading online that some glowing mushrooms can be eaten raw or cooked.'
And when I was finally inside the cave, I rested on the floor. Then.
My stomach growled from hunger, and I picked one of the mushrooms, then I remembered that some species of glowing mushrooms are toxic.
And started to debate whether to eat it or not.
"Hey, I already ate much worse than this. Well, maybe I can eat poison and get help from the god who isekai'd me."
'I remember I ate rat poison and was bitten by a poisonous spider in my youth and was hospitalized for a week.'
'I think I have a resistance to poison at this point. Because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.'
"It won't hurt, I guess? We'll then Bon appétit." I took a bite and finished it while waiting for the toxin to show itself.
A few minutes later.
Nothing happens.
'Well then, it looks like it's not toxic.'
I grabbed another mushroom and ate it whole.
And ate another until I ate 4 and felt full.
I sat on the ground and burped.
"Yahhhh." My whole body started to feel sleepy.
"Looks like I'm tired for today." Then.
"Thud,". Suddenly, I fell from the ground, hitting my head on the hard floor.
'What happened?' I thought. While recovering from the pain and trying to move. Then.
My vision started spinning.
Until I heard some kind of strange noise at the entrance of the cave.
'What's that?'
Ivan wanted to move his body, but his body didn't follow.
'No, I don't want to die like this!!' It was my last thought when my vision continued to spin until I fell unconscious with a drop of tears in my eye.