When I said I wanted a new life, I didn't expect it to come with… this.
Picture this: I'm lying on what can only be described as a dirt floor covered in moss, surrounded by ogres. Big, green, muscular ogres. And the cherry on top? I'm one of them.
The first clue came from my hands—or rather, my lack of them. My fingers were stubby and green, my palms rough and calloused like I'd been working in a quarry since birth.
The second clue was the system notification that popped into my vision like some cursed pop-up ad:
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Name: Aria
Race: Ogre (Infant)
Skill Points: 0
Evolution Progress: 0%
Ogre. Infant. Zero progress. Fantastic. I went from being a stressed-out, overworked CEO to this. Just my luck! (´･_･`)
Okay, Aria. Deep breaths. I could handle this. It was just… ogres. Not the worst thing, right? At least I wasn't a slime. Or a cockroach.
---
Before I could process my existential crisis, a massive shadow loomed over me. One of the adult ogres had stepped forward.
This guy—or girl, honestly, I couldn't tell—was huge. A solid two and a half meters tall, atleast to me he looked like one? With sharp tusks that jutted out from a heavy jaw. Its skin was a deeper green than mine, almost mossy, and its thick brow ridge gave it an eternal scowl.
The ogre bent down, inspecting me with an intensity that made my baby-sized self want to curl into a ball. Then, to my absolute horror, it sniffed me.
"Oh no. Please don't do—"
It licked me. A full, slobbery, tongue-dragging-up-my-face lick.
"EW!" I shrieked internally, but all that came out of my baby ogre mouth was a high-pitched wail.
Apparently satisfied with whatever information it got from that disgusting display, the adult ogre grunted, lifted me with one massive hand, and plopped me down on a pile of squirming, drooling baby ogres.
My "siblings," I guessed. There were about eight of them, all as tiny and clueless as I felt.
I looked around at the damp, dimly lit cave. It reeked of wet fur, moss, and something that might have been meat—or might have been the remains of whatever meat used to be.
Fantastic. My grand reincarnation journey began with being licked by an ogre and dumped into a pile of green potatoes.
Hahahaha( ´¬`)
---
Lesson One: Survival of the Drooliest
Life as an ogre infant was rough. There were no doting parents here, no soft blankets or bedtime lullabies.
Food? We fought over scraps of raw meat and strange glowing mushrooms that grew in the darker corners of the cave.
Housing? A damp, rocky cavern with a few mossy patches that passed for "beds."
Hygiene? Let's not even talk about it.
But I wasn't about to let myself die in a cave, even if I'd been reincarnated as a toddler. If I wanted to survive—and maybe evolve into something less green and drooly—I had to figure out how this system worked.
---
Time Skip: Three Weeks Later
By ogre standards, I was thriving.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Skill Unlocked: Bite (Level 1)
Yes, you heard that right. Bite. My first-ever skill. Apparently, gnawing on things—rocks, bones, mushrooms, and even an unfortunate sibling—was enough to unlock this baby-tier skill.
And let me tell you, Bite was more useful than you'd think.
But the real game-changer came when I stumbled upon my first magic mushroom. It was glowing faintly blue, tucked away in a corner of the cave. My instincts screamed eat it, so I did.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
You have consumed a Lesser Mana Shroom.
Mana Points (MP) Unlocked.
Oh yeah, baby. I had mana now. That had to mean magic was a possibility, right?
---
Lesson Two: Power and Problems
Here's the thing about ogres: we're not exactly known for our intelligence. Strength? Absolutely. Stamina? Endless. But strategy? Not so much.
Case in point: one of my siblings decided to pick a fight with me over a piece of meat.
Let's call him Grumpy.
Grumpy was bigger than me—probably because he'd been hogging all the food—and his tusks were already starting to grow in. He let out a low growl, stomping toward me with all the subtlety of a charging bull.
"Uh-oh." I backed up, clutching my hard-earned scrap of meat. "System, now would be a great time to throw me a bone here. Literally or figuratively!"
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Skill Unlocked: Squeal (Level 1)
Before I could even question what that meant, my body acted on instinct. I let out the loudest, most high-pitched squeal imaginable.
It was ear-piercing. Like nails on a chalkboard, multiplied by ten.
Grumpy froze mid-charge, his hands flying to his ears. Around the cave, even the adult ogres winced at the sound.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
You have inflicted Stun (1 second).
That was all the opening I needed. I darted forward, snatched the meat from Grumpy's slack hands, and ran like my life depended on it.
"Victory!" I yelled internally, shoving the meat into my mouth before anyone else could take it from me. It was raw and stringy, but it tasted like sweet, sweet success.
---
Lesson Three: Intelligence Wins
The next few weeks passed in a blur of scrappy survival. And right now? I'm just thinking that an ogre's growth is insane!
It's only been a few weeks and I'm already the size of a 6-7 years old! But from what I could see from the older *siblings* of mine, getting past that is harder.
Their growth basically stumped after all. Maybe it's gonna take months until they're finally able to grow again?
Also...another problem. I'm the shortest in the block! Here I am a 6-7 yrs old baby, and the others? Especially Grumpy?! He's already close to teen height! Unfair!
Oh, and well, I learned quickly that brute force wasn't my strength, not yet. My siblings outclassed me in size and raw power, but I had something they didn't: a brain.
While they focused on hoarding meat and wrestling each other, I explored the cave, searching for more magic mushrooms and anything else I could use to gain an edge.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
You have consumed a Lesser Mana Shroom. MP increased by 5.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
You have consumed a Lesser Stamina Root. Stamina increased by 3.
Maybe stamina and mana are passive? Cuz no matter how I look at the system status window, nothing comes out.
No Stamina, no mana and all that about it.
I guess that will show up later?
I also practiced my skills obsessively. Bite was now Level 3, which meant I could actually leave marks on the tougher bones. Squeal? Level 2, baby. I was officially the most annoying creature in the cave.
And it worked.
The adults stopped bothering me when I squealed too loudly. My siblings learned to keep their distance unless they wanted a splitting headache.
---
By the end of my first month as an ogre, I was no longer just surviving—I was thriving.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Evolution Progress: 10%
I stared at the notification, my heart racing. Ten percent might not seem like much, but it was a start.
I looked around the cave, at my drooling, brawling siblings, and the lumbering adults who paid us little mind.
I wasn't going to stay a clueless ogre forever.
I had a system. I had mana. And if I played my cards right, I was going to become the strongest damn ogre this cave had ever seen.