Where is the limit?

In the vast, remote mountains with abundant wildlife, a primitive tribe of several hundred people lived.

Although their living conditions were difficult, they were still much better off than the animals.

They knew how to form hunting parties to catch wild animals, how to cultivate rice fields centuries ago, how to use animal skins and plants to make clothing for warmth, how to make ropes, how to use animal bones as needles for sewing, how to create fire, how to eat cooked food, but drink directly from the river.

As for their homes, they currently lived in caves. There was a very large cave here, long enough to accommodate nearly a thousand people.

Due to the favorable conditions, even though they had lived here for centuries, they had no concept of what a "house" was, or why they would need to build one.

At this moment, by the riverbank, a boy of about ten years old was holding a wooden spear and fishing by the river.

His hair was messy because there was no concept of cutting hair for beauty here. As long as the hair didn't get in the way of survival, it was left untended.

His clothing consisted only of pants made from animal skins, he had no shirt, and he had never seen or heard of shoes or sandals.

His body wasn't particularly impressive compared to others of his age in the tribe, but it was acceptable. 

While he didn't have six-pack abs, his muscles were well developed.

If he lost weight, he could have six-pack abs, but who would be foolish enough to do that? 

People always needed to store some fat to ensure survival during times of food scarcity. 

Of course, not too much fat, as it would affect one's speed during combat.

He stared intently at the water, his eyes narrowing as if waiting for a moment.

Thwack!!!

The tip of the spear shot into the water, piercing the body of a fish. He didn't know what kind of fish it was, but he knew that fish from this river were always safe to eat.

"Haha, food's ready! Let's go roast it and eat!"

But before he could feel too pleased, he slipped and fell into the river.

Splash!

The spear and the fish were carried away by the current, leaving him watching in regret. He climbed back onto the shore and sighed:

"Sigh, why am I so unlucky today?"

It wasn't that he couldn't swim, but rather that it wasn't worth it. 

The river's current was quite fast, and a simple wooden spear could be made in no time. Moreover, the river never lacked fish.

His expression still showed a hint of regret, and he mumbled:

"If I didn't have to swim against the current to get back, I would've swum out to get it."

Was he stupid? Not really, because in this era, there was no education.

Furthermore, at his age, he didn't have much experience, so he didn't know any better ways to do things more effectively.

He simply thought that if he chased after the fish, he would be swept away far, and swimming all the way back would be exhausting and dangerous.

He was about to make a new spear to fish again when suddenly he froze, his brows furrowing as if something was on his mind.

He slowly walked closer to the river and looked at it, saying:

"Why is swimming against the current harder than swimming with the current?"

After thinking for a moment, he sat down by the riverbank, deep in thought.

This was the first time in his life that he had thought seriously about the world. Though he didn't understand why, he felt an inner urge to think about it.

Curiosity? Perhaps, but it might be more complicated than that. 

There was always someone trying to guide humanity, offering hints when they refused to think for themselves.

These hints were often things that existed in the world but went unnoticed. 

When that one intervened, some random human would suddenly pay attention to something ordinary, yet holding an extraordinary meaning.

From that one, humanity gradually discovered things useful to them, such as clothing, sewing, rice cultivation, and fire.

That one had always been with humanity from the beginning, but humanity was unaware of that one existence.

That one was God. He had never abandoned humanity or any race worthy of holding the will within.

Back to the boy, he was still sitting by the riverbank, thinking. He said:

"Why is swimming against the current harder than swimming with the current?"

He felt that if he could answer this question, it would be very helpful to him, though he wasn't sure why it would be useful.

He placed his hands on the ground to stand up, then walked closer to the river. 

Looking down at the flowing water, he said:

"Maybe I should try interacting with it and see if there's some special effect."

With that, he relaxed his right hand and then dipped it into the water.

The current pulled his hand in one direction, just like it had done with his spear and fish.

"What is this? Did I do something wrong? Why can't I feel anything?" he muttered.

He soaked his hand in the water for a long time, and suddenly, his eyes brightened. He laughed joyfully and said:

"Haha, I understand now, I understand. The current has a power that pushes me in one direction."

But suddenly, the smile on his face disappeared.

The smile vanished because he tried to grab a "chunk" of water with his hand. But as he did, the water quickly flowed off his hand, leaving only a few drops behind.

"This... this doesn't make sense. How could something as weak as water push me? Could it be God?"

But then he immediately shook his head and said:

"Relying on the God to do everything is just avoidance. How can someone who avoids the truth be worthy of understanding it? I must figure this out on my own."

Grr~~

At that moment, his stomach growled, breaking his train of thought. But in that moment, he thought of something important:

"This is really difficult. I don't think I can figure this out quickly. Moreover, I've realized an important issue: how do I preserve this information? Regular drawings are too hard to capture my thoughts. I might not forget this in the short term, but what about in the long run? Looks like I need to change my approach. I need to figure out how to store this information first. It's best to do so before I forget about it."

With that thought, he sighed:

"Sigh, I should probably eat first and then go pray to God, hoping for some luck in figuring out solutions."

Inside the cave, there was a simple stone pillar built from several large stones. The people of the tribe called it the place where they prayed to God.

They believed that God always protected them, so they built the pillar. The stone pillar had meaning, as they constructed something taller than themselves to symbolize God. 

However, they didn't make it too high because it was too difficult, and they couldn't figure out how to do it.