(POV: 1 - MC)
"What's... the point."
I lay on my bed, one leg uncovered from my duvet, lingering immutable for hours now. My eyes were hazed in bags, and my skin latched tightly to my bones, starved of protein.
"If there's a god out there... Save me." I said, my voice raspy, lingering on its final breaths.
...
Funny, isn't it? I was never religious throughout my entire life... Yet, on the brink of death, it was my last resort. My final saviour.
...
Illuminating my entire room in a radiant neon-blue glow, a holographic tablet appeared in front of me.
{REBIRTH? YES (), NO ()}
...
"eh?" I gasped, reaching my withered finger out to the levitating enigmatic tablet, before finally placing the tip of my index finger on the 'YES', while drawing out my final breath.
...
So then... That was it? That was my life? I wonder... What was that thing... I reached out towards.
I felt it. My senses seemed to re-ignite. it smelt as if freshly cut grass engulfed me... air so oblivious to the concept of pollution, it felt as if...
Am I in heaven?
I peeled back my eyes, and in front of me was a vast ocean of clear sky. I still lay on my back, in the same position I was in as I died, yet only this time I lay on a bed of soothing grass.
Tilting my head left to right, I finally decided to shift my body upwards, grappling my palm onto one of my knees, before sprouting myself upwards. As I twisted my gaze from left to right, the sights in front of me baffled me.
...
A vast graveyard of vibrant crops, flowing in the wind as if seaweed in a harsh current sat to the right of me, the only thing separating me and it was a lengthy hill, engulfed in trees that I stood upon. To my left? What seemed to be an empty windmill, its wings violently bashed against the wind, and in front of it? A fence, that enshrouded a couple of cows, and the odd-few barrels.
Yet, what intrigued me the most was the perplexing gravel path in front of me, and, although I seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, it stretched far beyond my vision.
"The... Hell?" I muttered to myself, unaware of a rattling sound itching closer towards me.
"Hey!" Came a voice from behind me. One that belonged to a middle-aged man. I twitched my head to swiftly turn to the voice behind me...
...
It was a man. His eyes were sharpened, his beard was cleanly-shaven, his hair was a simple brown, yet, what peaked my interest the most was his peculiar attire: one that would belong to some commoner in the medieval ages. Or wait... More like some sort of... Character in a generic reincarnation anime or novel...
Well sh*t. Could it really be?
...
I realised staring point blank at a random person while lost in thought for ten seconds straight was a decently strange thing to do, so, I set aside my varied questions, and sought out to talk to a human being. When was the last time I did that?
"Hey." I said.
"What's a boy like you doing all the way out here?" He groaned. Yet, I decided to blank his question like a completely normal person.
"What are you carrying behind you?" I pondered.
Behind him? A small wagon, its wheels abused by harsh climates, and its back loaded with various sacks.
"Hm? Ahh, don't you know? Gah! And here I thought you were here to haggle some of my finest bread outta me. And to answer your question? Wheat. You see that farm down there?" He jolted his finger past the hoards of trees, and downwards to the various crops I'd noticed before.
"Yeah." I replied.
"Well, I'm good buddies with the farmer who owns it. I get to borrow some of his wheat time-to-time, as long as I hand out a portion of the bread I make with said wheat to poor kids. I'm not sure what's up with his morals, but I respect him for that never-the-less."
"Hmm. I see."
...
A few seconds went by in complete silence. The only thing breaking it was the screeches of the wagon's wheels moving. As the man shifted past me, he gave one last glance backwards.
"Say kid, I'm not entirely sure why you're out here... But if you're hungry... I have a task for you that may help you out."
A task?
"What kind of task?" I asked. The mystery bread guy shifted the front-gate to the fenced-off windmill open, wheeling his ragged wagon behind him.
"You see... My bread is so well-loved due to one simple secret ingredient."
"And that would be?"
"Grated-down slime shards."
"Ahh... I see."
...
...
...
SAY WHATNOW?!
"Ahahaha! funny joke!"
"It's no joke. My secret is certainly Grated-down slime shards." He responded, while shuffling around in what seemed to be his windmill.
"These should do!" He came bustling out the windmill, carrying a leather bag that has definitely seen better days, and a small one-handed sword, encased in a sheath, and being holstered by a strap, most likely intended to go around your waist.
"Now, if you wouldn't mind, could you go down to the forest, just past the farm, and retrieve 6 slime shards? In return I'll bake you one of my finest breads with said shards, free of charge."
He lingered his hands outwards, both of them occupied with the sword and bag. His arms stretched in front of my face, awaiting my response.
"You should find some slimes just past the farm. A simple task, really. You see, I forgot to get some on my way back up here, and... After all these years my back's really starting to pay. So? Do you accept?"
...
Before I could sum up a response, my gaze lingered to his arms, as, right in front of them was the same holographic, blue tablet that had appeared in front of me before.
{ACCEPT BREAD-BAKER'S QUEST? }
{ YES() NO() }
{QUEST: COLLECT 6 SLIME SHARDS }
{REWARD: BREAD-BAKER'S SPECIALITY BREAD}