Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Even while being dragged somewhere and slowly losing consciousness, I still frowned.
“Deep Woman.”
What kind of garbage title was that?
Don’t tell me it was because I set that place to twenty centimeters deep when I became an adult?
If that was true, then it was not good news at all.
And the bonus Charm stat attached to it meant nothing to a man who pursued strength...
...Wait.
A man...?
Ah.
Right.
I wasn’t one anymore.
Somewhere high in the mountains, hundreds of meters above sea level.
A snow-covered mountain range.
It was clearly a terrible place for people to live.
Still, that did not mean life itself could not exist there.
Even weeds managed to grow in deserts and between cracks in stone.
Yeah, like this tiny, pitiful little life.
The problem was that life happened to be me.
“Hiiit?!”
A freezing chill stabbed into my skin, making my whole body twitch violently.
What filled my vision was a field of white snow and a floor of ice.
And reflected on that ice...
Was the figure of a baby.
Round eyes blinked open beneath heavy eyelids.
A tiny body wrapped in ragged cloth.
Definitely the child of some ordinary nobody family.
But more importantly...
Where the hell were my parents?
What kind of lunatic abandons their baby in the middle of a snowy mountain?!
I’m going to freeze to death out here!
Mom, where are you?!
“Waaaah...!!!”
Huh?
I definitely tried to say “Where’s Mom?”
Why the hell did it come out as crying?!
“Wueh~! Waaaah~! Uwaaahhh~!”
Right.
I was a baby now.
No matter what I tried to say, it automatically translated into baby noises.
“Hic... Huaaanggg!!!”
The former top contender—now reduced to a baby—could only think of one thing.
I’m fucked.
Completely fucked.
Starting life as a baby was something I expected.
But facing a life-or-death survival situation immediately after being born?
That never crossed my mind.
What kind of bullshit opening is this?
The sun was still shining right now, but this was still a snowy mountain.
An avalanche or blizzard could happen at any moment.
And even if that didn’t happen, I would eventually die from hypothermia.
A completely meaningless death was already right in front of me.
So what was the first thing a baby should do in this situation?
“WAAAAAAH!!!”
That’s right.
Cry loudly enough to call for its parents.
Past life or not, pride meant nothing in front of survival.
There was nothing shameful about struggling desperately to stay alive.
So I cried even harder.
“Uwaaaahhh—!”
And honestly, looking for your parents was basically a baby’s privilege anyway.
“Hngh...”
But sadly, the only thing that answered me was the icy wind blowing across the mountain.
How long had I been crying now?
At least an hour, maybe more.
Still, it was too early to give up.
I couldn’t just die like this.
I had to think of something.
“Uuugh...”
This body was definitely that of a newborn.
I couldn’t even turn my head properly.
So I rolled my eyes around instead, desperately searching for my parents.
I even twisted my body to widen my field of vision.
But...
“......”
What I found was another wave of despair.
The endless white snowfield welcomed the newborn beginning his second life.
This damn other world.
You really know how to screw someone over.
...Still, it wasn’t completely meaningless.
I realized one important thing.
I had no idea where this place was or how I got here.
But one thing was certain.
I had apparently won the orphan lottery.
Honestly, being an orphan itself didn’t bother me that much.
In fantasy worlds, being an orphan was practically a passive trait.
The problem was that realizing this changed absolutely nothing.
What exactly was a newborn baby supposed to do here?
“Uwooo...!”
I clenched my tiny fists and flailed around.
I kicked my legs in frustration.
I trembled all over in rage.
To a third party, it probably looked like a baby throwing a cute tantrum.
But in my own way, I was fighting desperately to survive.
For several whole minutes.
“Hmph!”
As expected of a former top contender.
At least my mental toughness deserved some praise.
I actually felt proud of myself for a second.
Maybe the god of fate pitied my efforts.
Ding!
“Hyo?!”
That irritating sound effect had never sounded so beautiful before.
< Bonus trait granted as compensation for your penalty! >
< Upon reincarnation and every time you age, you may select a new trait! >
“HYOOOOT?!”
What?!
That sounded insanely tempting.
I had no idea what “traits” actually were.
And I definitely didn’t understand why I was suddenly receiving such generous compensation.
But considering the situation, good was good.
From what I understood, age basically worked like levels for me.
< Do you accept the bonus trait privilege? >
My answer was obviously yes.
I nodded as hard as my tiny baby neck could manage.
< Trait Selection! >
With another flashy sound effect, a list appeared.
(Extra stat points can only be assigned while the trait selection window is open.)
What the hell is this?
You called this a traditional fantasy world?!
Seriously?!
“Uooong~”
Still, I was unbelievably happy.
At this point, I would have grabbed even a rotten rope if it meant surviving.
It honestly reminded me of a mobile game I used to play.
But that wasn’t important.
The important thing was that these traits were simple and powerful.
If I kept stacking traits like these...
Maybe someday I could become some legendary warrior.
But that hopeful thought disappeared almost immediately.
“Hngh...”
A painful realization hit me.
Sure, all three options were amazing.
But none of them could solve my immediate problem.
What was the point of dreaming about the future?
I had to survive first.
And seriously...
That first trait.
Fire Resistance +30%.
What kind of joke was that?
Was this system making fun of me?
What the hell was fire resistance supposed to do on a snowy mountain?!
God, this pissed me off.
“Kuuuuuup!”
I trembled in rage again, but nothing changed.
“UWAAAAAH!”
So I shook even harder out of pure frustration.
This damn body was so useless.
In the end, I finally gave up and selected the second option.
Honestly, the third option was the one I wanted most.
Extra stat points every time I aged?
That sounded overpowered.
But what was the point if I died right now?
The first option only annoyed me.
The third option was useless immediately.
At least the second one technically did something.
“UWAAAAAH!”
Fwip! Fwip!
Now every time I flailed around in anger, my attacks automatically happened twice.
Honestly...
It somehow calmed me down faster than before.
So it was better than nothing.
Probably.
Fuck.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
I continued throwing double basic attacks at the empty air.
There was nothing there, but if I stopped moving, I felt like I would lose my mind.
“Huff... Huff...”
Wait.
I should probably stop wasting energy like an idiot.
Basic survival rule when stranded:
Conserve your stamina.
Only after calming down did I remember that obvious fact.
Still, it wasn’t too late.
My heart was still beating hard, and my body still held warmth.
Mostly because of anger, but still.
That meant I was alive.
“...Uu.”
I curled my arms and legs inward as tightly as possible to preserve body heat.
“Ttuba.”
My lips puffed out like a bird’s beak from sheer irritation, but I left them that way.
At this point, being angry was the only thing keeping me sane.
After that, I silently repeated the word endure over and over while waiting for rescue.
One hour.
Two hours.
Three hours.
Without a clock, I could only estimate time by instinct.
Eventually the sun began to set, painting the snowfield orange.
Thankfully—or maybe unfortunately—I had the body of a baby destined to grow into a monster thanks to my absurd stats, so I managed to survive until evening without any major problems.
But the real cold would come after midnight.
Would I even survive until morning?
Maybe I really was going to die here...
“......”
The longer time passed, the heavier my heart became.
This place wasn’t just isolated.
There was absolutely nobody here.
I couldn’t help becoming pessimistic.
Had I ever asked for that much in life?
Had I ever wanted more than I deserved?
I didn’t even wish to be born as some noble’s child.
A normal commoner family would have been enough.
Nothing rich.
Nothing perfect.
Just ordinary.
That alone would have satisfied me.
But this situation...
It was cruel beyond words.
“Uuuugh...”
Damn it.
I could feel tears forming.
Was it because I became a baby?
Maybe my emotions were being influenced by my infant brain.
That would explain why I felt so mentally unstable.
“......”
No.
Maybe it had nothing to do with that.
In front of death and despair, everyone became equal.
Humans were fragile creatures by nature.
Eventually the sun disappeared completely.
And all that remained was unbearable cold wrapping around my body.
This was the end.
Just like before.
Another meaningless death.
I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper into despair.
And just as everything was about to fade away...
“...Little one.”
A young voice called out softly.
And suddenly, warmth touched my skin.
Who...?
“Hic?!”
I hiccupped in surprise.
Or maybe relief.
When I looked up, the person standing there was—
“...Ueh?”
A radiant light.
No, not light.
“Where are your parents?”
It was simply a ridiculously handsome face.
For a second I genuinely thought he was a girl.
But his sharper features and short hair quickly made it obvious he was a boy.
Which was honestly disappointing.
Still, even as another guy, I had to admit it.
This kid was absurdly handsome.
It was the first time in my life I had ever envied someone else’s face.
Even under the darkening sky, his looks stood out clearly.
I became absolutely certain.
This was ultimate handsomeness.
Would all the men in this world look like this?
If they did, then worrying about attracting creepy men suddenly felt ridiculous.
“......”
Still, he wasn’t exactly reassuring.
No matter how handsome he was, he looked only seven or eight years old.
Better than nothing, sure.
But dependable?
Not really.
“Are you alone too?”
Alone too?
Was this kid stranded as well?
Or was he trying to start an orphan duo?
“Uwoooong!”
At this point, whether he was an adult or child didn’t matter.
I wasn’t in a position to be picky.
Even straw looked valuable when you were drowning.
Compared to a newborn, even a little kid was infinitely more capable.
“UWOOOOONG!!!”
So I widened my eyes desperately and nodded as hard as possible.
Yes, I’m alone! Hurry up and take me somewhere warm!
“...I see.”
The pity in his eyes made me feel strangely uncomfortable.
Getting pitied by a kid much younger than my previous self felt weird.
Still, at least I hadn’t run into bandits or murderers.
...Though honestly, part of me was disappointed.
Why wasn’t the one rescuing me a beautiful elf lady with huge boobs?
At least if it had been a girl my age, I could’ve unlocked the childhood-friend route.
The boy slowly looked around the snowy mountain.
He was probably checking for my parents.
Taking someone else’s child by mistake would obviously be a problem.
After a short while, he finally seemed convinced.
“Then... would you like to come with me?”
The boy gently reached out his hand toward me while holding me carefully.
“...Uh?”
This kid was kind of weird.
Why was he acting so formal with a literal newborn baby?
My whole body curled up in embarrassment.
Not because of the cold this time.
“Haha, I’m not forcing you.”
He apparently mistook my expression for fear.
He even waved his hands around as if trying to say he wasn’t suspicious.
...Seriously, he was way too nice.
Still, there was no reason to refuse.
“If you don’t mind...”
He might be strange, but he didn’t seem dangerous.
“I thought maybe you could come to our territory with me.”
And honestly, as an orphan, I had nothing to lose by following him.