Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Chapter 1

Sight, smell, touch and sound came back to him all at once. He couldnt tell up from down, all his senses seemed to mesh together, only adding to the confusion in his head.

Right then a bright light overshadowed everything else. Before he could make out anything a wave of pain hit him in the chest. Breathing was painful.

He tried to ask what was happening but only managed a shrill cry. What was happening? Was he hurt? He remembered he had died. Did he end up in some kind of afterlife?

The pain rapidly receded after a few breaths, allowing him to see through the tears. However, the sight didnt bring any good news. Huge blurry humanoid figures loomed over him. His thoughts immediately ran wild. He must have ended up in some kind of hell.

Realizing he was crying out loud he tried to regain his composure.

Its all fine. Everything is going to be all right.

Before he was successful in either stopping his tears or calming his racing heart, one of the giants reached out with its slender arms.

The mysterious figure was undeterred by his yells and picked him up drawing him nearer to its mouth. Mat fought against his unresponsive body to move his arms in front of him to defend himself, but he wasnt fast enough. His demise seemed inevitable; he was close enough to catch a glimpse of the entity's ivory teeth.

Too terrified to do anything he could only close his eyes and pray for a quick death. Soon he felt a wet feeling on his forehead, the figure was touching him with its mouth. Was it trying to determine if he tasted good enough?

I taste horrible, leave me alone! Mat unsuccessfully tried to speak, only producing unintelligible sounds.

After a few tense seconds of suspense, he felt a bit relieved. It seemed to have worked, no further attempts at eating him were made. He could hear three different voices speaking in a strange language, he didnt know what they were saying. As long as they werent trying to eat him, there was a chance.

Maybe we can reach a deal.

Slowly opening his eyes, now free of tears, Mat noticed that the figure holding him was still showing its teeth and they looked suspiciously human.

Feeling something poke his face Mat realized his hands had finally decided to move.

You cowards! Where were you just now?

He didnt stop to ponder about the futility of arguing with his own limbs, but he did notice they looked different from how he remembered them. His vision was blurry, but he was sure his hands werent that small and chubby the last time he looked at them.

Suspicion started to tug at him for attention. Stopping to think clearly for the first time during this ordeal, he replayed all the recent events in his mind, reinterpreting them in a new light. A new possibility began to take shape. All the pieces started to fit together like a puzzle.

Turning to the figure carefully holding him, he confirmed the entity looked human, probably female judging by the long wavy hair, and she was smiling.

Fuck!

She wasnt a giant, he was the small one, really small, about as big as a baby.

Im not Sherlock Holmes, but I think I got reincarnated

* * *

A few hours and an embarrassing feeding session later, Mat was finally left alone to think in his crib. Even if a basket and a blanket would have probably been a more fitting description. He didnt care, there was more than enough space for him and the blanket was soft and comfy.

Something that should have felt foreign felt quite familiar. He didnt know if it was because he spent many years of his life staring at a computer screen or the fact it was written in English. It felt like a little piece of home, a few little words with many implications.

Worried it was all just some hallucination Mat tried to resummon the window, yelling in his mind any keyword he could think of, since speaking was out of the question.

System! Status! Menu! Skills! Stats Show me something dammit! Why isnt it working?

It couldnt be an hallucination, he had looked at it for a full minute or more. What was he doing wrong? He had tried every possibility he had ever read in stories.

Wait!

Maybe that was exactly the problem, he wasnt on 21st-century Earth anymore. Most of those terms were linked to the post-internet world. What would be the easiest and most intuitive way to see your status or your skills?

Well that seems almost too obvious, but lets try.

Name: Matthew James ReeceRace: HumanProfession: None

Body Stats

Strength: 1Dexterity: 1Constitution: 2Mind: 5Spirit: 6Perception: 3

Skills (1/7):

Meditation (lv1)

It was so obvious. If you wanted to see your status you only had to think about it. It required a purposeful focus on the idea of yourself and a desire to know, it didnt just appear with any stray thought.

After getting reincarnated a game-like interface somehow didnt feel that weird.

Looking at his stats he wasnt particularly surprised, his strength and dexterity at 1 were probably normal for a baby, same for constitution and perception. As for mind and spirit, he wasnt exactly surprised, it was obvious they were related to his mental faculties, exactly how he had yet to determine.

He had the body of a baby, undeveloped brain included. How he could think so clearly was a mystery. Maybe his reincarnation forced his brain to develop faster or his soul had something to do with ithe concluded something akin to a soul had to exist since he reincarnated.

If its the second option, then when my brain develops will I become smarter than before?

Mat couldnt help but wonder with starry eyes. Who had never been guilty of wishing to be born smarter? Sooner or later, everyone had to come to terms with the fact they probably werent some unappreciated genius, but only one of many, maybe a bit above average. There were always people more intelligent and talented.

Maybe in this life, he would wait until fifth grade to find someone smarter than him. A baby could hope.

For now, all he had were speculations and wishes. His status didnt tell him much, it didnt even explain what each stat meant, some of them were obvious, but not all of them. He was left with more questions than before.

Realizing he was getting sidetracked, he resummoned his status that had once again dismissed itself. Even if it didnt tell much, it did have some important info: first, his race Human was in the same red color as his skill. It had to mean something, but he had no idea what. Second, he could only have seven skills, hopefully, he could increase that or at least switch his skills for new ones.

Finally, and most exciting - the profession. He wasnt 100% sure, but it sounded a lot like a D&D class. Surely it wasnt just there to indicate what he did for work or something. It had to be better than that or he would be more disappointed than a kid that got his presents stolen from under the Christmas tree. He was going to become a wizard and fly in the sky and that was a fact.

Mat prayed to any god willing to listen to not break his heart a second time, even if metaphorically.

This new world felt a bit less scary.

Getting to know his new family and exploring a completely foreign world felt more appealing. There were many mysteries to uncover and things to learn. He couldnt wait to get some answers, he had to learn the new language as soon as possible. He needed answers.

It seems its time to start my five-step plan to conquer this world! Muahahahahaha!

Mat imagined his acute cries were deep villainous laughter.