4 Stealing flowers

Under the scorching sun, a group of people were working in a field of white flowers that emitted a soft smoke.

'It has been three years now since I've been reincarnated, ' thought the 3-year-old Elias as he worked in a field of flowers that resembled tiny white sunflowers. The flowers were a bit unusual, as they emitted a soft smoke.

His small hands reached out to a flower and began picking them before placing them slowly into a basket. He was extremely gentle as he did not want to damage the flower.

As usual, the mother was next to him and was digging in the ground and replanting seeds.

"How is it?" she asked.

"There are fewer flowers than last time." answered the small child.

"Sigh... I hope they won't reduce our food ration again. I don't really mind eating less, but you are still growing." The mother smiled and gently caressed her son's cheek. "You have grown so much already. Soon, you will become a big boy."

Ignoring her, Elias looked around. He could see numerous slaves working in the fields. They all looked malnourished and dirty. Their skin was covered in mud, and their faces were filled with fatigue. Like him, they all wore simple tunics made of coarse cloth. They did not even have any shoes, and one could tell that they were slaves because of the iron chains that bound their ankles together.

It has not been long since he was born, and a lot has happened. He learned how to talk, read, and write, thanks to his mother. This surprised him, too. He did not expect her to have an education. However he did not bother asking her because he simply did not care as it won't change his current situation.

He also learned more about the world and his current situation. He was currently on a mountain belonging to the White Smoke clan, a declining clan that specialized in cultivating the rank 1 smoky flower.

'Rank 1 smoky flower... Are they using it to breed the rank 1 mist horses? Perhaps it is the rank 1 steam monkey... I don't have enough information on this white smoke clan yet' Elias thought as he picked another flower.

Having played Forgotten Games his whole life, he obviously knew what each plant was for. In fact, the game could almost be seen as a kind of school in which Elias was its best student.

In Forgotten Games, there was a concept of rank. Each beast, plant, and even human had a rank, with rank 0 being the lowest. If Elias had to explain the difference between rank 0 and rank 1, then rank 0 would be considered a normal, everyday object, and rank 1 would be something that science in his previous world wouldn't be able to explain. It also means that a rank 0 human could be considered a normal human being.

Looking at his basket full of flowers, Elias secretly put one into his pants when no one was watching.

These white flowers were ranked 1 and could produce a kind of soft smoke. Even so, this flower was pretty uncommon for a rank 1 plant, so if a slave dared to damage even a single one, the overseers would whip them. If he was caught stealing, then he would probably die.

Smoky flowers were pretty precious because they were hard to grow due to their habitat requirement and need for constant care. Surprisingly, they needed sun during the day and a mist-type environment at night. Otherwise, all those flowers would wither.

Fortunately, the White Smoke clan's mountain could meet these conditions, so the clan would often buy slaves to tend to them regularly.

Of course, slaves were treated poorly. They were barely fed and kept alive. The clansman could beat them without any repercussions and would only need to repay another slave if they killed one. Unsurprisingly, Elias and his mother were among them.

As he was lost in his thoughts, a loud voice was heard.

"You! Come here!" yelled a man wearing a white robe. The man had a shaved head, and he was holding a whip in his hand.

Elias looked around to see that everyone was looking at his mother.

"Mommy will be back very soon... Don't worry, okay?"

The woman gave Elias a sad look and walked toward the overseer. When the woman was close, the overseer grabbed her hand and led her behind a wall, away from Elias' view.

Sadly enough, what they were doing was quite evident.

"Ahhhh"

The screams soon began, and everyone was forced to ignore them. This included Elias.

"..."

After a few minutes, his mother finally appeared from behind the wall. Her legs were shaking, and her body was covered in sweat. The overseer stood behind her. His face was filled with satisfaction, and his clothes were disheveled.

"You can go back now!"

The overseer lazily waved his hand. The woman did not respond and limped back to Elias. The other slaves did not even dare to look at the mother, and they continued working, not uttering a single word.

"Mommy is okay, don't worry..." said the woman with a shaky voice.

"..."

"Let's just focus on our work. The overseer promised me some meat, so let's share it... Wait- ... Neve-Nevermind" added the woman with an even sadder tone. 

Elias often witnessed this sad sight. He started getting used to it.

"Do not blame him. He is a man after all. It's not his fault. So don't try anything stupid okay? Ah, you probably can't understand that yet, right? Ahah you are so mature, I sometimes forget that you are only three years old."

"..."

"Well... We will at least have some food tonight" said the woman as she got up and began digging again.

As for Elias, he continued to work without showing any expression on his face.

A few hours later, the group saw a wooden carriage carried by two horses, and as usual, everyone who had a basket began walking toward the carriage.

Once the carriage stopped, a man would walk out of it. The man was a small-sized man, with a long black beard. His eyes were slanted, and he wore the same kind of white robes as the overseers, except it was cleaner.

"Give them. I don't have time to waste."

Elias, along with a few other slaves, walked forward and presented their baskets. The man took them and began checking them.

"Hmmm..."

After examining the contents of the basket, the man had a grim expression and took all the precious flowers into the carriage before throwing the basket to the ground.

"It's lower than usual... Guess some of you aren't eating tonight. Now get lost."

Without hesitation, the group dispersed and retrieved the baskets that the man threw, and as the sun gradually went down, they all walked toward their respective hut.

Once the mother and son were home, they immediately ate a piece of dry bread and a bowl of tasteless porridge. The bread was hard, and the porridge was bland, but they did not care. Thanks to his mother's sacrifice, they at least had some food. It wasn't the case for everyone.

Some slaves would sleep with an empty stomach, but it wasn't a rare thing.

After they finished eating, Elias's mother looked at him and smiled.

"Let's sleep Elias, mommy is tired. Tomorrow morning, we have a big day." said the woman as she laid in the hay bed and closed her eyes.

"Yes." answered the child before lying next to her.

His mother did not speak anymore, and her breathing was soon stable. She had already fallen asleep.

'Tomorrow is my birthday. I will become a four-year-old. I am surprised this world also celebrates birthdays. Sometimes, they don't. But now is not the moment to dwell on such a useless fact,' thought Elias as he took out the flower he had stolen, sat down, and closed his eyes.

'With this one, I should be able to awaken my aperture.'