"This is not your real life," were the first words the god said to Karl.

Unlike the last time he remembered—where he floated in spirit form in a vast, bright white room—he now felt like an inhabitant of the ocean.

But again he couldn't see his form. Shades of the surging sea enveloped him at this time. But the sea was not very friendly. There was not much sunlight, there were no rocks or marine animals roaming around. Even if his current form was an ocean dweller—maybe he was like a Kraken monster or a sea dragon that dwells in an underwater cave.

Karl felt suffocated and wanted to wake up immediately. He remembered that he had a dream earlier and the system offered him a chance to talk to a god.

God probably knew that he had a phobia of drowning and took him there on purpose. He created some kind of harmless little prank.

"What does that mean if this isn't my real life?" Karl decided to ignore the traumatic environment that surrounded him at this time. He had more important business.

"When a new soul is reincarnated, they usually forget a few things. Especially the time when their soul was in the god realm. Well, so Karl Logan, you worked for me."

"Work?"

"Yes, you are the sixth soul I was assigned to this job."

"Become a Neanderthal?"

"Yes,"

"Why?"

"When the earth was ruled only by Homo Sapiens—the level of development of your civilization didn't really satisfy me. I did an experiment, what if the Neanderthals still coexisted with the Sapiens? Will your rivalry create a utopia on earth? Or vice versa, maybe the two species will become extinct."

That god, his form is nowhere to be seen. But Karl heard his voice close to his ear. It was as if he was whispering right next to him. It felt a little horror but Karl was too curious to be afraid.

"Then, what if my intervention in the past will affect the future? What will happen to the humans?" Karl asked doubtfully.

"This is an experiment, if I feel that the result is not what I wanted—I will bring another soul to be reborn in this era."

"To make your mission easier, I created a game-like system that was widely played by humans in the 20th century. You will face many problems, dramas and threats. But the system will guide you through it." The god explained again.

Karl pondered for a moment.

"So what I need to do is live my best in the Pleistocene era as a Neanderthal?"

"Yes, Karl Logan. How was your first day? Not too bad for Newborn right? Do you feel you have the opportunity to conquer the challenges that exist in this harsh era?"

"I don't know, I'll give it a try because I'm already in this situation. But I'm not sure, have I really agreed to take this job? Because this doesn't feel good to me. Are you forcing me to do this?” Karl asked suspiciously.

"Oh, of course you agreed. It's just that you forgot the reward I promised you, when you successfully completed the mission."

"What's that?"

"If you succeed, for your next life I will let you design it yourself."

"It means?"

"You can choose your destiny, whether it's being reborn as Karl Logan again, becoming the richest person in the world, even creating a whole new world according to your imagination. But you can't be a god. And when you are reborn in your ideal world, you will lose all your memories." The god explained again.

"What if I fail?"

"Do you have a religion?"

"Yes—I guess,"

"Then you will be judged according to your deeds in the world and receive the afterlife according to the rules of your belief. That means, you have absolutely no power and accept whatever the judges decide," the god explained again.

"Oh,"

Karl muttered.

"I think that's fair enough,"

"Yes, and we've been through this conversation. I just wanted to remind you of this."

Reliving his life once again felt good. He had many regrets and wanted to reset them. Like why he had to choose economics when he was in college or why he didn't have the courage to invite a popular girl to his high school prom. But leaving all that behind to live in a whole new world is also exciting.

"But I was born as a baby, can't you make me an adult soon?"

"Do you think being a baby is a useless thing?"

"I'm useless and lousy. I can't do anything for the Neanderthals," Karl protested.

"Even as a baby you can influence everything in your life,"

"What do you mean?"

"Your first objective is to observe, and try to grow into a healthy baby with an ideal weight. If you don't drink mother's milk, then you won't grow optimally, becoming a weak baby who gets sick easily and slows down the Neanderthals. They may hand you over to another tribe or leave you. If you feed too much you can make your mother tired and sick. Harsh weather can weaken and kill her. When you don't have a mother, you will be abandoned." The god explained.

"Oh, I didn't think that breastfeeding alone could have such wide implications,"

"But it seems easy," Karl continued confidently.

"Oh yeah? I don't know. You are the sixth soul I summoned here. There was a reason why they couldn't complete the entire mission. But good luck, Karl Logan." The god said again.

Karl still wanted to ask more, but his view had now changed. He was forced to leave the seabed atmosphere and return to the deep darkness. Before long, he saw a light and opened his eyes.

The day was still bright. He had probably only been asleep for two hours and now very hungry. He was still in his mother's arms who was also asleep leaning on the cold ground covered with animal skins.

"Gia! You haven't worked today!" Karl heard a slightly snarled female voice.

Her mother woke up and looked at the woman with an annoyed expression on her face.

"I just gave birth, haven't you experienced it?" Gia asks for her understanding.

"I don't care, if there's no firewood, there's no food for you," the tousled-haired woman ordered as she walked away.

Gia stood up a little with difficulty. Karl was concerned, she couldn't rest even after the tiring process of giving birth. Karl could smell the spice from her skin which was probably applied to his stomach area to ease the pain. But in the Neanderthal tribe he was in—everyone had to work.

Gia breastfeeds Karl once more while squinting at the sun. She had to hurry to finish her task before evening fell. Karl, who wasn't fully full yet, only complained when Gia tied the leather blanket that wrapped him with rope and put it behind her back.

"Sorry, you have to be patient," Gia said to Karl.

Gia carried him into the forest. The leaves are not too dense so it was quite bright there. Karl didn't have to worry about getting lost as long as they walked along the natural path there. Some cavemen must have been used to pacing there for hunting or gathering wood.

"You don't cry much, unlike Rua and May's baby. They're so annoying and noisy that I feel like throwing them in the river," Gia laughed.

Karl was momentarily worried. Is that a threat?

"But I guess even if you cry a lot I won't throw you away, because you're all I have." Gia talks again.

Was she alone? What does it mean? Karl thought again. Well, he didn't have much to do right now other than think and daydream. Gia was slightly different from the other Neanderthals in her group. Her hair was red and her skin was lighter.

Gia may be separated from her original group and trying to blend into her new tribe at this time. Gia was still very young, she may only be in her teens but she already bears the burden of a child.

"You know, if I get a lot of wood today—maybe I can get a warmer animal skin to cover you," Gia spoke to him again in a cheerful tone.

Karl was touched. Instead of thinking about herself who was still in pain, Gia cares about her child. Karl was determined. He vowed to take care of his mother in the tribe and hoped to grow stronger soon.

But for now, Karl had to focus on his mission.

Observation Skills!

Karl thought.

[OBSERVATION LEVEL ---> 0]

[NOT ENOUGH EXPERIENCE TO LEVEL UP]

Karl was still fumbling about what he should do. The system didn't tell him much and he was still trying to understand it. So far, the system seems to understand the command. Meaning that the system that controls his current life was not a rigid robot built through a series of algorithms.

He was dozing off while Gia was busy collecting dry wood in her hands. Karl shook his head and refused to waste his time. He saw the forest and the trees he didn't really recognize because the leaves were sparse. But he could see thick bushes like berry plants that were not yet in season for fruiting, mushrooms that had stuck to the tree's wood as parasites, and hares running frantically at the sound of human footsteps.

Karl also heard the gurgling sound of a shallow river not far away. Caves and rivers were the perfect combination that the humans of that era needed to survive. The existence of rivers gives them abundant access to water. The cave was their roof when it rains. That's why cavemen usually don't move around very often unless there is a strong reason.

[Danger DETECTED!]

He turned wary and looked around him. What it is? Karl didn't see any snakes or wolves nearby. Gia was still engrossed in collecting wooden twigs with a slight bow. Then Karl looked over his head. There was a tree branch whose wood was rickety and hollow. There hung a large heavy beehive. The wood moved, making a snapping sound that activated his alarm.

Krakkk!

Karl was crying loudly. He wanted to alert Gia. She could be seriously injured if a branch that heavy fell. Gia immediately panicked when she heard her quiet baby suddenly cry like that. She walked a little into the shade before checking on the baby. That's when a tree branch fell carrying a heavy beehive full of honey.

"Good grief!" Gia felt her legs go weak for a moment.

God was right. Even as a newborn—Karl can still be useful, even save his mother's life.

"I've seen someone hit by a tree branch and their brains popped out."

[GENERAL SKILL] LEVEL UP!

[OBSERVATION] LVL 0 ---> [OBSERVATION] LVL 1 !

[YOU ARE BEING REWARDED!]

[WILD HONEY BEE HIVE] X1!

"A Bee hive!" Gia exclaimed happily as she threw the pile of wood that she had worked so hard to gather on the ground.

"I can trade this little piece of nest for a piece of bison leather cloth!" Gia felt like she just got a treasure.