Darkness.
Kenji Asamiya had always thought death would be… quieter. Peaceful, perhaps. Instead, his mind was filled with fragmented memories. The muted roar of Tokyo traffic. The burning anger of betrayal. The blinding headlights of a truck—then nothing.
Yet now, something stirred. A faint warmth wrapped around him like an invisible cocoon, fighting back the icy void. His consciousness clawed its way back to awareness, dragging with it the fragments of his shattered life.
Was this… reincarnation?
Suddenly, Kenji’s senses exploded to life. He felt… smaller. Fragile. His limbs flailed weakly, encased in something soft yet coarse. The muffled cries of a baby echoed, startling him until he realized it was coming from his own mouth.
“What the hell?”
The words did not leave his lips, but the thought rang loud in his mind. He tried to move, but his infant body refused to cooperate. The sound of rushing water filled the air, accompanied by distant growls and roars.
A dungeon.
The thought came unbidden, accompanied by an inexplicable sense of certainty. He wasn’t just in any world—this was a dungeon. A place of perpetual darkness, teeming with monsters and death.
Kenji’s cries faltered as the sound of heavy footsteps approached. His tiny body trembled instinctively, primal fear flooding his senses. Then he saw it—a towering figure with leathery green skin, tusks jutting from her mouth, and sharp golden yellow eyes that gleamed with intelligence and sorrow.
An ogre.
The monstrous creature froze when her gaze fell on him. Her massive hands, calloused and scarred, hesitated as they hovered above him.
“Human,” she rumbled, her voice deep yet tinged with something softer.
Kenji didn’t understand her words, but her tone carried no malice. Her yellow eyes softened as she knelt, reaching out tentatively. Kenji’s tiny fingers instinctively wrapped around her outstretched finger, squeezing with what little strength he could muster.
The ogre flinched, her breath hitching. Her massive shoulders sagged as if an invisible weight had lifted.
“…A child?” she murmured, her voice breaking.
She hesitated, glancing around the clearing where she had found him. Her gaze fell on the dark, twisted tree behind him—a cursed abomination that radiated death and despair. Within its bark, faint traces of feminine features could still be seen, frozen in anguish.
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The ogre’s lips pressed into a thin line. Her kin had warned her about humans, the slaughterers of monsters. But this… this was no warrior. This was a child—helpless, crying, and innocent.
Her massive hands cradled him gently as she lifted him from the cursed tree’s roots. He let out a soft whimper but did not resist.
“Small. So small…” she muttered. “How can something so fragile survive in this place?”
The ogre Queen noticed a talisman around the baby’s neck. Engraved on it was a single name, “Kenji”.
The ogre Queen—the nameless ruler of her people—felt a pang in her chest. Her own child, born only days ago, had been taken by this cruel world. Yet here was this human child, delivered to her by fate.
“Maybe… this is a sign,” she whispered to herself. “Maybe you are meant to fill the emptiness left behind.”
The baby’s eyes locked onto hers. There was something unnerving in those dark, intelligent eyes—something far beyond his apparent age. But the Queen dismissed the thought. She had no time for doubt.
Without another word, she turned and began her trek back to the ogre village.
Inside the Dungeon
The ogre Queen’s return to the village caused an uproar.
“What is that?” one ogre growled, baring his tusks at the small bundle in her arms.
“A human! A human child!” another spat, his voice filled with outrage.
The Queen raised a hand, silencing the crowd with a single commanding gesture.
“This child is under my protection,” she declared, her deep voice echoing across the cavern. “He will live among us.”
“You can’t be serious, my Queen!” protested an elder, stepping forward. His hunched frame belied the raw strength radiating from his gnarled form. “Humans are our enemies! They have slaughtered our kind for centuries! This is madness!”
“And yet, this child has done no such thing,” the Queen replied, her tone sharp. “He is innocent. Weak. And if we turn away from him, we are no better than those who would harm us.”
The crowd murmured uneasily, but none dared challenge her outright. She was the Queen—the strongest among them. Her word was law.
Still, as she walked toward her hut with the baby in her arms, she could feel the weight of their stares.
They will not accept him easily,But they will learn.
Kenji’s Awakening
Time passed in a haze for Kenji. His infant body needed rest, leaving him helpless and frustrated. But his mind remained sharp, observing everything around him.
The ogres lived in a sprawling network of caverns, lit by bioluminescent fungi. Their society was primitive but functional, with crude huts, roaring fires, and the constant hum of activity.
The Queen—his adoptive mother—was a towering presence, both literally and figuratively. Despite her fearsome appearance, she handled him with surprising gentleness. She fed him, protected him, and even sang low, guttural lullabies that made his tiny body relax despite himself.
But Kenji knew this life of safety would not last.
This is a dungeon, after all,And dungeons are ruled by strength.
As if responding to his determination, a sudden flash of blue filled his vision.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
Host Name:
Race:
Level:
Strength:
Dexterity:
Health:
Speed:
Mana:
Defense:
Skill Points:
Kenji’s eyes widened as the screen hovered before him, the blue text glowing faintly.
A system.
His mind raced. He didn’t know how or why, but this was his chance—his ticket to survival in this brutal world.
For the first time since waking in this strange new life, Kenji felt a flicker of hope.
“I’m weak now,”“But not for long.”
