"God dammit that hurts like hell!"

Lars opened his eyes. Looking around, he realised that he has waken up inside a forest. His right hand held his head that's throbbing in pain. This headache is getting annoying. At the same time, his headache is gone, his healing power are kinda ridiculous now he's already standing at the apex.

"Well I'll be damned, where the hell am I? The amount of Mana and Qi in this place is so pitiful, it made me wanna cry."

The air is full of polution, the amount of Mana and Qi are so pitiful that it's almost like a soaked towel that has been wringed dry. He didn't remember any place in Gaia Zero have this kind of place. Is this in some Pocket Dimension?

Suddenly, a roar sounded in the distance. Having nothing to do, he walked to the source of the sound. When he's there, he saw a group of people fighting a Four-Armed Gorilla. The people are holding different kinds of weapon. Some used sword, some used spears, others used bow, there's even one that's using a gun. But the gun didn't fire bullet, they instead fired some kind of energy from it. And from what he can feel, it seems the guns are shooting compressed mana.

The Four-Armed Gorilla roared, it used it's bottom two hand to beat it's chest before charged over. The group of people then avoided the charging gorilla while some of the people that held ranged weapons opened fire while avoided the gorilla charge.

The gorilla crashed into a tree, sending it in a dazed state. The group of people took the opportunity to start attacking the gorilla. Two people holding a spear stabbed the gorilla in the waist, making the gorilla howl in pain. A man holding a two handed sword then slashed at the head of the gorilla. Though not killing it, it left a deep scar in the gorilla face.

The gorilla howled, the howl filled with pain and resentment, the gorilla glared to all the human attacking it. A red light then surrounded it's body. The gorilla body suddenly growed in size, two times bigger than before. It's eyes also turned into red. The people can feel how furious the gorilla is.

"He's enraged! Melee stay away from it! The ranged user attack from safe distance! We'll kite the gorilla!" Ordered one man, it seems he's the leader of this group. He wielded a one-handed sword and a buckler shield. Looking like a Viking warrior.

"Graa!"

The gorilla roared, it then charged again to the group of people. But it was faster than before, it appeared before them in the blink of eyes. The gorilla even already swung two of it's fist toward the leader. The man can only hold up his shield and prayed that he can stay alive after this.

'Bang!'

The sound of fist hitting an object resounded throughout the forest. Everyone thought that the man are already dead, so they closed their eyes, refusing to watch the gruesome death of their leader. But to their surprise, there stood a young man, holding the two fist attacking the man with two fingers, each finger for each fist.

Everyone stood still, they can't believe with what they saw. The young man easily blocked an attack from a Four-Armed Gorilla. The Four-Armed Gorilla are known for their ferociousness, especially when they got enraged, the forces behind their attack is the same as speeding container truck. But the young man blocked it easily. Like the attack doesn't mean anything to him.

"Well, shouldn't you get the hell out?"

The voices from the young man startled the man. He then retreated to where his companion were. His eyes still glued to the young man that still holding the Four-Armed Gorilla.

"You reminded me of the Four-Armed Apes, are you perhaps relatives? Oh wait, you're the same species, that was a dumb question."

Although the gorilla didn't understand what is Lars saying. It thought that Lars was mocking it. So it roared in anger, and punched with the two other fist that's free. But to it's surprise, Lars already gone from his previous spot. It looked around, trying to find Lars, but it was proven futile. So it roared in anger and beat it's chest again. Just as it want to charge to the previous group that it was attacking, it heard Lars voice again, this time, it came from right in it's shoulder.

"You should look closely, you know."

The gorilla almost jumped in fright when it heard Lars voice. It turned his head slowly, and there he stood, Lars with his smug smile on his face.

"What? Ya' miss me? Come on, we just met. You're going to make me blush."

The gorilla roared in anger--again--and swung it left upper fist to Lars that's standing in it's right shoulder. Lars of course avoided the attack really easily. He didn't even break a sweat. Not too far, the people watching are astonished with Lars. He still has the time to play around and even crack a joke at time like this. How strong is this young man?

"Alright, time to stop playing. Go to sleep."

The gorilla suddenly fell to the ground. But it's not dead, just lying there unconscious. Lars then patted both of his hand before he saw that the group of people approached him.

"Wow! That was awesome!"

"That was really cool! You're really strong!"

All kind of praises are being said to Lars. Which he replied with a wry smile. Not willing to say anything about his perfomance.

"Thank you for saving my life there, brother. I owe you one."

It came from the man who Lars saved before. After a short introduction, Lars found out that the man is called Jaka Anwar. An Indonesian that came from Java Island.

'So, I'm back on Earth? Looks like the experiment that I did for fun actually works? This is actually kinda unexpected.'

That was right, Lars got back to Earth because he was bored and tried to do some experiment. It involves travelling to other world. To be precise, he was just wondering if he could go back to Earth. And there you go, he's back on Earth now, the place that he thought would never come back to again.

"So, your name is Lars Viventem? Are you perhaps an American or European?"

"Well, my father is from England, meanwhile my mother came from Java. But my appearances mostly came from my father, and I used to live in England anyway, so yea."

"Ah, I see. Then we should get back to the city. It's dangerous at night time."

While walking with the group, Lars chatted for some time with Jaka. Right now, they were in the Leuweung Sancang forest. Before, it was used as a nature reserve, but after the Calamity five years ago, people abandoned this place. Hence why a lot of beast live in the forest. But people still visit this place to farm magic core, they don't really care if it takes a long time to travel because how far it is from a city or town.

They then arrived at a rather spacious area, a lot of people gathered here. They all brought all kind of people. Some even carried sword bigger than their own body, pretty impressive.

"This is the entry point to Leuweung Sancang, it used to be part of the forest. But the goverment cleared part of it and made it as an entry point and also a safe point. So there's no need to worry."

Lars nodded and keep following Jaka from behind. People are staring at him as he walks by. He know why they looked at him like that, it was because the clothes that he wore. He wore a black clothes and a black cape, with a silver shoulderpad in his right shoulder, don't forget the white hair that belongs only to the Viventem family. It looks unusual and cool in the eyes of some people.

"Anyway, you should rest up a bit. The trip to Bandung will take a long time because we're riding a bus. We also need to head to Bongas first to rest, so there you go."

"Alright then, thanks for the help Jaka."

"Anytime, brother."

Because Lars saved Jaka before, Jaka paid a room for Lars to rest. Though Lars didn't really need it, he still accepted it, at least he can have a moment of peace.

Entering his room, he could see the simple interior of the room. A bed for two people, a wardrobe, and a television. Oh, don't forget about the bathroom. Even though it's not luxurious like the inn in Gaia Zero, it's still fine for him, he doesn't have any money with him and he ony borrowed money from Jaka.

"I... miss my mother."

Now he's back on Earth, he couldn't help himself to not think about his parents. After hearing about the Calamity from Jaka, of course Lars became worried. Is his parents still alive? If so, where are they now? Are they still living happily like before?

His life before he came to Gaia Zero is pretty bad. He was bullied in highschool because he was weak, but he really didn't care about it anymore. His parents always supported him with whatever he do. In the hope that their son doesn't chose the easy way out because of the constant bullying.

Though he was weak physically, he was strong mentally. He never cried or complained to his parent. Taking everything silently no matter what. But one time, the bullying went to far, they beat up Lars because he dared to fight back. The reason is because one of Lars friends is being bullied by the bullies. So he stepped up and punched the bully in the face, knocking one of his teeth out.

Lars still remembered that it feels damn good to punch somebody. Though his fist hurts after that punch, he still feel content with himself. Of course, what happen next don't need any explaining. The bully and his group dragged Lars to the school backyard and beat Lars there. The injuries that he suffered isn't light either. He suffered fractured ribs and arms, and also internal bleeding, he was literally dying from the beating.

Luckily, his friend that he saved before found him and called the principal. Police soon came with ambulance and took Lars to the hospital. The news reached Lars' father, which instantly enraged him and made him leave his work in the office.

Not everyone knew that Lars came from a noble families. And a big one at that. Lars' parents never wanted Lars to tell everyone his identities, but even if they didn't remind Lars, he would still not tell people his real identity. It was dangerous and unwise, as they wanted Lars to not become arrogant just because he have higher status than them.

Of course, some idiot decided to bully Lars because he's weak. They never expected that Lars came from a noble families. So Lars' father--Dante Viventem--called the school and demanded to expel the bullies. The school already prepared for this, so they immediately expelled the bullies, while Dante used his connection to prevent the bullies from entering any school. It seemed cruel, but he would do anything to protect his son.

But right after Lars healed back, he dissapeared, no one can find where Lars went. Dante suspected that Lars was kidnapped, but there's no evident of struggling around Lars' room. Not even any trace of footprint. How Lars disappear is still a mystery, even until now.

Only Lars knew what really happened--he was transported to Gaia Zero--a world where the strong rules the weak. On the first day on Gaia Zero, he don't know what to do, all kind of monster that should only appeared in nightmare are present in Gaia Zero. They all hunger for Lars flesh.

At that time, something happened, he changed to become what he is right now. A ruthless man that will slay anyone and destroy anything that dared to block his path. Gone that weak Lars of the past, now emerged the Emperor named Lars Viventem--also known as God of Death.

Lars took around twenty years to become the strongest in Gaia Zero. But when he came back to Earth, he's only gone for around five years. The time Calamity happened also when he's transported to Gaia Zero, is there some correlation in this?

"That's problem for another day. Now, I should find out how to contact my parents."

They should be worried to death because him disappearing. He's really an unfilial son, he made them worry so much, he can't imagine how many times his mother cried when he disappeared.

Thinking about it, he only now remembered his sister called Amelia Viventem. At the time he disappeared, Amelia is only around one year old, so Amelia probably don't know much about her elder brother. Lars himself also forget about his own sister because of so many woman around him when he's on Gaia Zero.

"Forgetting his own sister, I really am a bad brother, huh?"

He smiled. The smile that only appears when Lars is around his harem now appeared because him thinking about his sister. He wondered how much she has grown by now. Will she became a pretty woman when she's fully grown up? If so, as her brother, he will protect her from every vile men on Earth.

"Hello, Lars? It's me, Jaka, it's time for us to go. You here or not?" Asked Jaka as he knocked the door to Lars' room.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming!"

Lars already changed his clothes. He now wear a navy blue shirt, a dark-red leather trenchcoat, a black leather pants, and also a pair of brown leather boots and gloves. At least he looked much more fitting to the society now.

He opened his doors and found Jaka just standing up againts the wall and staring to the ceiling. Probably bored waiting for him.

"Sorry, just need to change my clothes."

"Ah, well, that's fine. Wait, you didn't bring any backpack or suitcase with you! How did you--"

"Some things should be left unanswered."

Jaka scratched his head with a slight awkwardness in his face. Lars then tapped his shoulder, prompting him to quickly adjust himself and lead Lars to the bus station.

At the bus station, there's a lot of people coming to and leaving from Leuweung Sancang. But luckily, there's not a lot of people leaving Leuweung Sancang, so the bus is fairly empty. Filled with only a couple of strangers and Jaka and his group, including Lars.

"So Lars, do you mind telling about yourself?"

The one asking are a twenty years old woman. Her name are Indah Wahana, she's basically the most popular woman in Jaka group. A lot of men tried to date her, and to do that, they must first beat her in a trial by combat. She's not just a pretty woman with no skills, she's actually an expert at using one-handed sword and firearms. Pretty nice for self defense, at least not a lot of people dared to mess with her.

"Nothing really special about me. I came from a normal family in England. I lived most of my live there too, only about a year ago that I came to Indonesia to have a breakthrough in my power. I can feel that I'm close, I only need some trigger so I can make the breakthrough."

"Nothing special? Really now? You just took down a Four-Armed Gorilla with ease! How is that nothing special!?"

"Well, I guess that Lady Luck is smiling at me that time. And talking about gorilla, how come there's one in Java? I thought gorilla only existed in Africa?"

Lars' question gained a lot of attention to him, making people wonder if he ever pay attention to the news?

"It's because they're evolving, you see. The primates are evolving, they at least can make basic house from mud or wood, some of them even managed to built a raft. Not only that, they're guided by the apes from another world. Hence why they're so smart and also dangerous." Answered Jaka, still staring at Lars with a disbelieving look on his face.

So, it's almost like from the movie called Planet of The Apes. Except magic are involved with this. He suspected that the apes from another world that Jaka mentioned came from Gaia Zero. Though he's not sure, his suspicion is still there.

"Did they make colonies or at least community like human did?"

"They did, actually. But that only happen in Africa. Usually the primates that are found outside Africa are either outcast, or the one who lose control of themselves."

"Outcast? They have hierarchy?"

"Yea, if you search on the internet. You will find that the primate has made a country in Central Africa. They're simply called the Country of Primates, CoP for short. Though they're only a country made of primates, all kind of beast with primates bloodline lives there, so no countries dared to provoke them even though they're much more advanced in technologies and much more powerful."

Yea, no shit. Who would dare to provoke a country built by primates? Just imagine, a million of apes charging at you, and a dozen of Four-Armed Gorilla attacked from the rear. With how many primates, how can the country handle that kind of army?

Jaka also said that America once considered to sent a nuke to the Country of Primates. But, the leader of the Country of Primates--Uzzanka--said that they are not afraid with America, and will even declare war if they sent a nuke. America thought that it was only a joke and didn't think much about it, so they send a nuke, hoping to eradicate the Country of Primates.

That's when thing gone horribly wrong. Uzzanka used his power to stop the nuke in the air. He used a magic to hold the nuke in the air before throwing it back to USA, straight up to the White House. America, surprises with Uzzanka counterattack, used everything they got to stop the nuclear missile.

They summoned every mage that they have and used a formation to explode the nuclear missile in the air. But the threat is not over, they received news that a large amount of apes suddenly appeared in California, wrecking havoc and killing many innocent in their rampage.

After that, America pleaded to Uzzanka to stop his attack, which he did. He stopped the apes attack and used unknown method to return his apes back to the Country of Primates. Since then nobody dared to provoke the Country of Primates.

"Wow, never did I expect that."

"Yeah, none of us did. Who would've thought that primates can do that? All in all, it seems Uzzanka is the strongest primate beast out there. Strong and smart enough to built and lead a country. That's pretty awesome though if you ask me."

"Yeah, I know."

Lars then continued to chat with Jaka and Indah, he also talked to other Jaka's teammate, but not much. He's gotten pretty close to Indah now, for some reason. Perhaps because he's strong that Indah tried to get close to him? Well, it doesn't matter, one more girl to the harem won't cause any problem.

"We've arrived at Bongas, we will rest for around two hours. Use this time to eat or go take a dump. Don't complain later when you need to take a piss or dump when we got stuck in the traffic jam. You all know very well that weekdays tend to happen traffic jam."

Just fantastic, Lars already know that it's going to be completely annoying when they did get stuck in a traffic jam.