Deep within an ancient forest, the occasional chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves echoed through the air.
The forest itself was strange.
Its trees towered above the surrounding mountains, their colossal trunks stretching so high that their tops disappeared into the clouds. Anyone with even a bit of common sense would immediately realize that something was terribly wrong with this place.
The sky overhead was unusually dark, as if rain could begin at any moment.
Yet the most peculiar sight wasn't the forest.
It was the sky.
Instead of one moon, there were two.
One glowed with a crimson hue while the other radiated a pale blue light. Together, they cast an eerie purple glow over the world below.
Back in the forest, on one of the enormous branches near the top of a giant tree, a lone figure lay motionless.
It was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.
Time passed.
The wind blew.
Leaves rustled.
Yet the figure remained still.
Then suddenly—
His fingers twitched.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
"...Huh?"
The boy blinked.
"What happened?"
His gaze wandered across the unfamiliar surroundings.
"And where is this?"
Then he looked down.
His face instantly turned pale.
"DAMN! WHAT THE HELL?!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs while desperately grabbing the branch beneath him.
Alden nearly had a heart attack.
He was sitting on a branch hundreds of meters above the ground.
One wrong move and he'd become a human pancake.
After several moments of panicked breathing, he finally managed to calm himself down.
Then his memories returned.
The snake.
The bite.
The truck.
The disappointment.
"Oh..."
Alden's expression became complicated.
"That motherf***ing snake actually killed me."
He quickly looked around.
Left.
Right.
Up.
Down.
Everywhere he looked was unfamiliar.
Alden's heart skipped a beat.
"No way..."
A dangerous amount of excitement appeared in his eyes.
"Am I really in another world?"
His breathing quickened.
Then he looked upward and saw the two moons.
For a moment, he froze.
Then his excitement exploded.
"IT'S REAL!"
"There are two moons!"
"This is definitely an isekai!"
Alden almost started crying.
His lifelong dream had finally come true.
Then he paused.
"...Unless this is some insanely elaborate prank."
His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"People will do anything for entertainment nowadays."
A few seconds later, his attention shifted to something far more important.
The legendary companion of every isekai protagonist.
The System.
Alden sat upright.
His expression became serious.
Without wasting any time, he spoke.
"System."
Silence.
"Panel."
Nothing.
"Status."
Still nothing.
Alden frowned.
That wasn't supposed to happen.
Every web novel had a system.
This was practically law.
Refusing to give up, he tried again.
"Aabra ka dabra."
Nothing.
"Gili Gili simsim."
Nothing.
"Ring rong ring."
Nothing.
"Open sesame?"
Nothing.
The forest remained silent.
Alden's excitement slowly withered away.
"...This is discrimination."
After mourning the apparent loss of his golden finger for several minutes, Alden reluctantly accepted reality.
"I should get down first."
He glanced at the sky.
"Actually... is it daytime or nighttime?"
The two moons made it impossible to tell.
Either way, he needed food.
And preferably before he starved to death immediately after getting reincarnated.
That would be embarrassing.
Carefully grabbing one branch after another, Alden began climbing down.
What followed was two hours of suffering.
His arms hurt.
His legs hurt.
His back hurt.
Parts of his body he didn't even know existed hurt.
Finally, after nearly two hours of climbing, he was only a few meters above the ground.
Then a sharp pain exploded inside his head.
"Agh!"
Alden nearly lost his grip.
Before he could understand what was happening, a series of messages appeared before his eyes.
[ Soul Found ]
[ Host Detected ]
[ Synchronization Initiated ]
[ Error... ]
[ Error... ]
[ Host Identity Unknown ]
[ Forcing Synchronization ]
[ System Fusion Beginning ]
[ System Merging With Host Soul ]
[ Activation Conditions Fulfilled ]
[ System Successfully Activated ]
The pain lasted for nearly five minutes before finally fading.
Alden's eyes widened.
Then they sparkled.
The legendary moment had arrived.
"Status."
A blue screen instantly appeared before him.
---
NAME: ALDEN CROWE
TITLE: A BUG
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: D-
Agility: D
Stamina: D+
Intelligence: B
Vitality: C+
Mana: C+
Luck: Unpredictable (???)
Charm: B+
PHYSIQUE:
Apex Evolution Body
AFFINITIES:
Void: D
Ice: A-
---
Alden stared at the screen.
Then stared some more.
Then stared even harder.
"...Not bad."
A huge grin spread across his face.
"Damn, was the previous owner of this body some kind of genius?"
"I have a special physique, two affinities, and decent stats."
"I won't have to start from absolute zero."
His mood immediately improved.
After all, surviving a mysterious giant forest filled with unknown monsters sounded difficult.
Then his eyes landed on his title.
A Bug.
"...What kind of title is that?"
Curious, Alden focused on it.
A new screen appeared.