The Moment of Awakening
Ainz's eyes opened to darkness.
A thick canopy of leaves stretched overhead, allowing only thin rays of sunlight to break through. The distant cries of beasts echoed through the jungle, a constant reminder of the dangers lurking within.
He was alone.
No civilization. No warmth of a home.
Just the wild.
The boy who had been abandoned by fate had to find a way to live.
Year 1 – The Struggle to Survive
The first year was hell.
Ainz was small, weak, and unprepared.
Finding food? A nightmare. He ate raw berries, some poisonous, and suffered the consequences.
Shelter? A crude hut made from leaves that barely protected him from the rain.
Water? He had to drink from muddy puddles, making him sick more times than he could count.
Every night, he could hear monsters creeping in the darkness.
One mistake could mean death.
But he didn't die.
His body adapted. His mind sharpened. His fear turned into determination.
He learned:
Which plants were edible and which ones could kill.
How to purify water using fire.
How to set traps to protect his tiny shelter.
How to hide his scent to avoid predators.
Then came the real challenge.
Killing.
His first fight was against a Horned Wolf.
It was starving. So was he.
The moment their eyes met, both knew—only one would leave alive.
Ainz fought with a sharpened rock.
He was bitten, clawed, and thrown into the dirt.
But he refused to die.
[You have defeated Horned Wolf! You have gained experience!]
As the notifications flashed before him, a realization dawned—
He could grow stronger.
This world followed game-like mechanics. If he leveled up, he could survive.
If he survived, he could conquer this jungle.
That was the beginning.
Year 2-3 – The Rise of a Hunter
Ainz was no longer a desperate boy.
He became a predator.
He hunted instead of hiding. He crafted weapons from bones.
Daggers made from fang and claw.
Bows and arrows from jungle wood.
Spears hardened with fire.
His fights became cleaner, deadlier.
The boy who once feared monsters now stalked them.
His abilities began evolving as well.
[Regeneration has increased! Minor wounds heal instantly!]
Ainz no longer feared bleeding out.
He trained himself to take hits, knowing his body could restore itself.
Then came his second ability evolution.
[Elemental Control has awakened: Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind.]
The first time he conjured flames in his hand, he laughed.
He wasn't just surviving anymore.
He was learning how to bend this world to his will.
Year 4-5 – The King of Beasts
Ainz had grown into a warrior.
His muscles were carved from years of hunting.
His mind was sharper than ever.
By now, he could take on monsters ten times his size.
One battle stood out—his fight with the Crimson Basilisk.
A snake as large as a castle.
Its eyes could turn prey to stone.
Its fangs dripped with venom that could melt steel.
It ambushed him while he was hunting.
For the first time in years, he almost died.
His bones snapped. His lungs burned.
But Ainz refused to lose.
He countered its deadly gaze with his fire magic, blinding it.
Then, using his speed, he leaped onto its head and drove his spear straight into its skull.
[You have slain the Crimson Basilisk! Massive EXP gained!]
At that moment, he realized something.
He wasn't just fighting to live anymore.
He was conquering.
This jungle was his domain now.
Year 6-9 – The Birth of a Legend
Ainz was no longer a hunter.
He had become a myth.
Whispers spread among the jungle's monsters.
"There is a human who cannot die."
"He commands fire, water, earth, and wind."
"He slays creatures that even we fear."
He had faced monsters from legends.
The Titan Ape – a beast that could shatter mountains.
The Storm Drake – a dragon that controlled the skies.
He killed them all.
His abilities had grown beyond reason.
His Regeneration made him almost immortal.
His Elemental Control allowed him to reshape the land.
His Healing had advanced so far that he could recover from any wound instantly.
He was no longer human.
He was a force of nature.
Year 10 – The Final Battle
On the eve of his tenth year, he felt it.
A massive presence moving through the jungle.
Then, it appeared.
The Abyssal Behemoth.
The jungle's strongest monster.
Level 80.
It stood taller than the trees.
Its roar shattered the sky.
Its power dwarfed anything Ainz had ever faced.
Ainz didn't run.
He smiled.
He had spent ten years preparing for this moment.
The battle was a storm of destruction.
The Behemoth's claws tore through mountains.
Its breath melted the ground to lava.
Ainz fought with everything he had.
For three days and three nights, the battle raged.
Until finally—
Ainz drove a lightning-infused spear through its skull.
[You have defeated the Abyssal Behemoth!]
[You have gained massive EXP!]
[New Title Acquired: The Jungle's Apex]
As the Behemoth's corpse hit the ground, silence filled the jungle.
Ainz had done it.
There was nothing left to conquer here.
For the first time in ten years, he realized—
It was time to leave.
With one last look at his kingdom, he stepped forward.
Toward the world beyond the jungle.