In one area of the forest, clear signs could be seen of what had been a fierce battle.
Lying in the middle of the clearing was the corpse of a triceratops, and atop its enormous body stood a naked boy of about ten years old, covered in blood and dirt.
"I finally managed to kill the bastard."
"Uff… it took a lot to defeat him."
With effort, I proceeded to drag the dinosaur's body back to the cave.
..
"I'm back… home sweet home."
When I arrived with the prey, I saw neither my mother nor my brother. They had probably gone out hunting.
I struck one of the triceratops' horns until I tore it off and used it as an improvised knife to skin it.
When I finished skinning part of my dinosaur friend, I began to eat.
Who would have thought that one day I'd be eating dinosaur… and raw, at that.
I remember that after killing my first prey, I tried to make fire.
Well… I tried rubbing a few sticks together for several minutes before giving up completely.
I've been eating raw meat for years now. Even if I managed to start a fire, I bet I'd end up burning the meat.
Although, to be honest, that was more due to laziness than inability. It didn't help either that my family gave me a look back then, as if I were some kind of idiot.
I thought about making clothes out of the hides, but I don't know how to tan leather. Besides, once I tried dressing myself with leaves from the forest and ended up covered in some kind of rash. I never tried it again.
Now I'm used to walking around just as I came into the world.
..
Well, at least I don't get bored in this life.
Over the last four years, my routine has been simple: hunt, train as if following a Saitama-style routine, sleep most of the time, and whenever possible, train with my brother.
For now, I've managed to get him to roll over and sit when I order him to. I still haven't managed to get him to give me his paw… that trick really resists him.
At first, hunting was very difficult for me. Even though I had managed to kill my first prey, the fear was still there. Over time, I got used to it and didn't try to hunt larger prey until I was sure I could defeat them.
Lately, I've been competing with my brother to see who can kill more ferocious dinosaurs. Well, he has the advantage… he's older, and I'm more cautious.
Anyway, I'll finish eating this baby that cost me so much to hunt, and then I'll go to sleep.
...
Another ordinary day.
I eat what's left over from yesterday for breakfast, do my basic training, and go out hunting. Today I'll try to catch a new prey.
While I was searching, a brutal, deafening roar shook the forest.
The sound was so powerful that it made the trees tremble.
After being stunned for a few seconds, I ran back to the cave as fast as I could.
Along the way, I saw my brother and my mother, both with urgency written all over their faces.
After running for several minutes, the cave entrance appeared in the distance. I felt relief, thinking we had escaped whatever had produced that roar.
But when we were only a few meters from the entrance, a second roar thundered behind us.
This time… it was much closer.
I turned my head and saw it.
A fucking T. Rex was charging straight toward us.
Panic completely overtook me.
My brother and I managed to enter the cave, but something was wrong.
Mom wasn't with us.
I looked toward the entrance and saw her pushing a gigantic rock to seal it shut.
Before completely closing the entrance, she looked at both of us with a loving expression. Just for a few seconds.
Then, without hesitation, she finished blocking it completely.
My brother and I ran toward the entrance, but it was already too late.
He began to scream and desperately push against the rock. I stood frozen, understanding what had just happened.
Mom was sacrificing herself for us.
After a few seconds of shock, I joined his desperate attempt.
After hours of effort, we managed to move the enormous rock.
But outside there was no trace of either the T. Rex… or Mom.
We split up and began searching desperately everywhere.
Hours later, we returned to the cave with no results.
Each of us sat in a different corner, in complete silence.
I felt an unbearable pressure in my chest, and the tears wouldn't stop falling. I prayed that everything would be fine, that Mom would appear at any moment.
The hours passed.
Nothing changed.
My mind was in chaos.
"Why did this happen?"
"Everything had been going well since my reincarnation…"
Then a single word surfaced in my mind.
"Weakness."
"If I were stronger, none of this would have happened."
"I could have defeated the enemy… and Mom wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself for us."
"All of this happened because of my weakness."
At that moment, I swore never to feel the helplessness of standing before a stronger enemy again.
Never again would I run away because I was weak.
The naïve look I once had vanished completely. In its place was born a fierce determination, an unbreakable fighting spirit.
I stood up and shouted with all my strength:
"I will become the strongest creature in the world!"