Chapter 1

Tom awoke to the sound of a deep rumbling, a deep bass, it was the kind that resounded in the chest. It raised in pitch and dropped several times, until he realized it was actually a voice.

He opened his eyes, but quickly closed them, finding the bright light formidable. He felt motion and screamed a protest as he felt sandpaper across his skin. He tried moving his arms and legs, but they wouldn’t do as he directed. He nearly panicked as he couldn’t understand the source of all these overwhelming sensations.

He cracked open his eyes and closed them again, repeating this process several times to adjust to the light source. He felt motion again, this time it wasn’t accompanied by the harsh pain that felt like he was being skinned alive. The motion had a pattern, as he swayed gently back and forth he realized that he was being carried and the harsh light was the sun. He was outside. Though he couldn’t understand it, as it had been night time when he fought those two rapists, which lead to his untimely demise.

He paused, a thought flitted across his mind. No, couldn’t be.

He began struggling as hard as he could trying to ignore the scratching on his skin and began calling out. A warbling noise rushed forth from his mouth, and he shut it, surprised, all other thoughts slipped from his mind. He was silent for a few moments, waiting for the sound to repeat. Hearing nothing, opened his mouth again, only to hear that strange warble once more.

He realized with a shock that the bizarre sound came from him, but his surprise was short lived as the swaying motion stopped. He felt himself being handled, gently, followed by his face being overshadowed. His eyes quickly adjusted as he peered into the shadow and saw the giant, smiling face of a woman.

“Gaaah!” he yelled, surprised. The woman’s smile deepened, her azure eyes twinkling. She opened her mouth, speaking in a deep, soft voice that reverberated through his chest. It was different from the first voice he had heard. He found it oddly soothing, though he couldn’t understand a word of what she said. She leaned forward, her face looming over his and her hair fell around her face. Her hair was deep bronze, with blond streaks. He reached up with his wildly waving hands, and as he brushed against it, he found it to be incredibly soft, even to his sensitive fingers. She seemed to be in her late twenties, but she wore her age well, so he couldn’t be sure.

She brought her face closer, rubbing her nose against his and whispered a single word.

“Ahrindel.”

He knew then, almost instinctually, what had happened. He had been reborn.

He was a child, a babe, and this stunning beauty must be his mother, or at least his caretaker. She continued to make cooing sounds, which would distract any baby, but he simply looked at her, still trying to get a handle on what exactly had happened to him.

Last I remember I had passed out on the pavement, and Jen was there, he thought. He was entirely focused on his thoughts, for the most part ignoring the giant face that seemed intent on getting some reaction.

Ah, there was that bright light. And I did follow it, though it wasn’t like I had a choice. Then….sensation overload. He was concerned over his cousin, but after realizing he could do nothing at this time, he pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind.

His contemplation was interrupted by the realization that he no longer heard those annoying baby sounds that adults make. He looked up to see the anxious expression on the woman he had dubbed “Mother”.  She seemed worried that he hadn’t reacted like a normal baby would, all smiles and spastic arms.

He immediately broke out his cheesiest, toothless smile in an attempt to placate her. It seemed to work as she smiled back.

Step one complete: Assimilate with the natives, he thought. He laughed then as he thought he was being silly. His mother seemed content to simply look at him, but he felt a rumble in his stomach. He realized at that point, as a baby, which could only mean one of two things. And for both of them assistance was required.

He began to wave his arms, succeeding in looking even more spastic than what he had established to be the norm, while repeatedly shouting “Gaah!” His mother smiled wryly and giggled seeing his frantic motions. She said something as the unwrapped him from some kind of cloth to check if he had made a mess. He felt utterly exposed and embarrassed, even though he knew it to be necessary.

Must be hungry then, he thought. His mother seemed to agree as she laid him on some kind of furry, dark brown surface. He tried turning his head to the sides and could make out the edge of a wooden surface, which he assumed to be some kind of furniture. He looked back at his mother to see her reach behind her back to completely remove her top, which seemed to be made of incredibly supple leather.

Her breasts were massive, at least to his eyes, though they balanced well with her form.

Big enough to smother a baby, he thought dryly, though he knew he wasn’t in any danger. He knew it from the moment he had seen the loving look she gave him.

Just like mom, he thought sadly of his mother he had left behind on earth. She wasn’t the only one. He was fortunate enough to have both his parents alive when he had died, as well as a few really good friends. He had never been an overly social person, but he had friends and family he knew he could rely on, and he was fiercely loyal in return.

He once more drove such thought out of mind as his mother picked him up and drew him to her breast. This should be interesting.

After feeding him, his mother dressed herself once more and held him against her shoulder. After a number of uncomfortable belches he felt exhausted and allowed himself to drift off.

The next time he woke he actually did feel a mess, much to his chagrin, though he knew it was unavoidable, and he silently urged his body to quickly grow to the point where he could wipe his own backside. He waved his arms again while yelling “Gaah!”. To him it seemed the easiest noise to make, and was like universal baby talk for “Help me now, minion”.

This time his frantic calls were answered by a man who seemed to wear a bear cub on his face, and had deep, forest green eyes with golden flecks in them. Despite his brown face bear, his short hair was a dark blonde, almost bronze. He had toothy smile peeking through his beard and picked him up, answering him with a number of “gaah’s”, his voice deep, incredibly so. It was the same voice as the one he first heard, the one that made his chest rumble.

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Step two complete: communicate with the natives, he thought, I dub thee, Father. It was certainly how it seemed, unless he was the scary uncle.

His father spoke to him, his voice rumbling, though he couldn’t understand a single word, but one word in particular was repeated a number of times while cleaning him and redressing him.

“Ahrindel”

Must be my name, he thought. It made sense considering both of his parents used it when handling him. Unless they’re referring to the mess I made, he thought dryly.

His father placed him onto the pile of furs where he had first awoken and began making baby noises while playing with him. At first he didn’t react much, but then he considered that this couple had borne him, thinking they would receive a beautiful, innocent child, but instead they had a babe with the mind of a twenty two year old, that had killed a man.

He didn’t regret killing the man. The moment they had laid hands on his cousin in such a way, as far as he was concerned, their lives were forfeit. What he did feel guilty about was how he felt he had taken the place of this couples child, like some kind of villain from a fairytale. He understood that he couldn’t do anything to change it, but he thought he would try to fulfil their expectations as parents.

He began to behave much more in the way as a normal baby would. He laughed more, smiled more, using his clumsy hands to grasp his parent’s fingers or hair. He refused to cry though, after all, he was still a man. He could tell that his parents ate it up, and, oddly enough, he was enjoying himself.

This was how he passed the days, being fed, being cleaned, being tossed in the air by his father and being snuggled by his mother.

He was unable to clearly determine the amount of time that had passed since his birth, though he knew it had been some months, as he was able roll over, crawl, and annoyingly enough he was teething. He understood for the first time the urge babies and pups had to chew on things.

He was able to understand a number of things though. Firstly, his name was actually Ahrindel, as his parents didn’t use it exclusively when he made a mess. He was also beginning to understand the language, enough to understand some of what his parents were saying. His father’s name was Eran, and his mother’s was Katrin. They seemed to be human, maybe larger than average, though it was difficult to tell as he had nothing to compare them to. He had also been forcing himself to think of himself as Ahrindel, as he tried putting his past behind him.

He didn’t know what world he was in, but it looked to be almost medieval, judging by how his parents were dressed. They were wearing what was a combination of carefully tanned leather, furs and metal. The metal looked to be iron, but Ahrindel had little experience in his previous life with handling metals, though he thought it might be nice to learn, especially if it was a medieval era.

After gaining some semblance of mobility through crawling, he was able to determine that his family were, in fact, cavemen.

As far as caves go it was actually really nice, the entrance had an overhang, protecting it from rain, and the tunnel that opened up to it was slightly elevated, and lead to a large cavern, with more than enough space for them.  Thankfully, there weren’t any stalactites, as Ahrindel had an irrational fear of them impaling him, especially with Eran’s booming voice, which easily echoed within. Katrin often scolded him for it as it was actually pretty frightening when he speaks normally in the cave.

Eran and Katrin often took turns leaving the cave to forage, sometimes returning with a carcass of a deer or wild pig, roots and bulbs, berries. Ahrindel was amazed at the sheer diversity and amount that they were able to find, both of them. It was one day such as this that Ahrindel was sitting under the overhang, under the watchful gaze of his mother, that Eran returned with a stag over his  shoulders, his spear held by two fingers in his left hand while the rest of his fingers gripped the hind legs. The stag’s antlers were magnificent, broad and symmetrical. It was a prime example of the species.

Katrin stood up smiling walking towards Eran to help him maneuver the stag’s bulk from his shoulders. Ahrindel was shocked though. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before. The stag was massive, he judged it to be close to three hundred kilograms. No normal man could lift it.

He looked closer as his parents handled it’s mass, and saw that despite its enormous bulk, it still looked smaller than it should be on Eran’s shoulders.

Eran was a giant, he realized. At least compared to the average man, or what he considered the average man to be on earth as he had yet to see other human beings.

Katrin stood next to Eran, and Ahrindel was able to tell that she was also a giant, or giantess. He was too shocked to do anything other than allowing his jaw to slacken as he watched his father hold the carcass up against a wooden frame while his mother used leather thongs to tie the hind legs at the top of the frame.

Not cavemen, he thought, giants! I’m a freaking baby giant!  He was actually ecstatic, enough so that he began to laugh manically. Surprised, Eran and Katrin turned to Ahrindel, only to see him laughing while holding his toes and they joined in his laughter.

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Author’s Note

Ok, so I know many people assumed this story would be a ff of Re: Monster, but I chose to write this similar to how Mushoku Tensei was written. As much as I love the OP mc in Re: Monster and other re’s, I think that telling the story similar to Mushoku Tensei suits my style. Sorry to disappoint anybody who was hoping for that. Plus, learning how to make tables and how to balance the characters in a fantasy world as if it were a game is a whole other can of worms that I’d rather not get into yet. For me the “Re” part stands for reincarnate or rebirth, which is why I still think it suits this ff.

As before, comments and reviews are welcome, as you guys often see my blind spots, and I appreciate hearing of them.