Chapter 1
1040 Words
The first thing Grey Anderson felt was cold.
Not the kind from an air conditioner or a rainy morning, but the cold, damp earth beneath his body.
"...Ugh."
He slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by a dark sky. A gentle mountain breeze brushed against his face, carrying the scent of fresh soil and wild grass.
"What...?"
Frowning, he pushed himself into a sitting position and rubbed his throbbing head.
Why was he lying on a mountain?
Confused, he looked down at himself. His clothes were old and patched with countless holes. Dirt covered his hands and face, and mud was packed beneath his fingernails.
"What happened to me?"
The last thing Grey remembered was running down the street, desperately trying to escape from the people he owed money to.
His debts had piled up for years, and now the people he borrowed from were no longer willing to wait. They chased after him, shouting threats as Grey ran for his life.
He glanced back for just a second.
That was his mistake.
A loud horn suddenly blared.
**BEEP!**
Grey turned his head and saw a car speeding straight toward him.
There was no time to move.
**CRASH!**
The impact sent him flying.
His body hit the ground hard, and everything around him slowly faded into darkness.
That was the last thing Grey remembered.
Then...
Nothing.
A sharp pain suddenly shot through his head.
"Argh!"
He clutched his temples as countless unfamiliar memories flooded his mind.
A small, run-down hut.
An exhausted woman washing worn-out clothes by the river.
A little girl with a thin body smiling despite her hunger.
A young boy helping his mother carry firewood.
The memories felt so vivid that he could barely breathe.
"These... aren't my memories."
More images poured into his mind.
The owner of this body was named Grey Anderson. Same name as him.
A poor farmer.
Or rather... someone who could barely be called one.
He was lazy, irresponsible, and always looking for excuses to avoid work. While his wife struggled from sunrise to sunset just to put food on the table, he spent his days wandering aimlessly, sleeping beneath trees, or gambling away what little money they had.
Because of him, his wife and children often went to bed hungry.
"...Seriously?"
Then the truth struck him.
"I... died."
There was no other explanation.
He had somehow been reborn into the body of another Grey Anderson... a man who had wasted every opportunity life had given him.
A long, helpless sigh escaped his lips.
"What a terrible start."
His previous life had already been a disaster. He had lived with nothing but debt, made countless mistakes, and eventually died while running away from the people he owed.
And now, after being given another chance at life...
He was still poor.
Worse, he had inherited the life of a man who was just as much of a scumbag as his former self.
He had a wife who had every reason to hate him, a seven-year-old son, and a four-year-old daughter who probably saw him as nothing more than a useless father.
For a long moment, he simply stared at the mountains surrounding him.
Then a small smile appeared on his face.
"If fate has given me another chance..."
"I'll use everything I learned in my previous life."
"I'll become the greatest farmer this world has ever seen."
The moment those words left his mouth—
**Ding!**
A cold mechanical voice echoed inside his head.
**[Congratulations, Host.]**
**[The Supreme Farming System has been successfully activated.]**
Grey froze.
"...What?"
A translucent blue screen suddenly appeared before his eyes.
He blinked once.
Then twice.
"...Am I seeing things?"
He closed his eyes for a long moment.
When he opened them again, the blue screen had disappeared.
He looked around the quiet mountain.
Nothing.
Only the sound of birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind.
"...Who's there?"
No one answered.
A frown formed on his face.
"System...?"
He repeated the unfamiliar word under his breath.
"What kind of name is that?"
Was someone playing a prank on him?
Or...
Had he hit his head too hard?
He rubbed his temples and sighed.
"I must be hallucinating."
There was no point dwelling on it now.
More important questions demanded answers.
Why was he here?
Why was he alone on the mountain?
Closing his eyes, he searched through the memories that had entered his mind.
Little by little...
Everything became clear.
"This fool..."
The original owner of the body had skipped work again.
While everyone else was working in the fields, he had wandered into the mountains looking for a place to sleep.
He found a large tree, leaned against its trunk, and slept the entire afternoon.
"...Unbelievable."
Then the weather suddenly changed.
Dark clouds gathered overhead.
A loud clap of thunder echoed across the valley.
Rain poured down without warning.
Panicking, the original Grey rushed down the mountain as fast as he could. But the trail had already become dangerously slippery.
His foot caught on a tree root.
He stumbled.
His body rolled down the muddy slope.
Then—
**Bang!**
The back of his head slammed against a large rock.
Grey slowly reached behind his head.
His fingers touched dried blood.
"So... that's how he died."
The real Grey Anderson had lost his life on this mountain.
And somehow...
Another soul had taken over his body.
He remained silent for a long moment before letting out another helpless sigh.
"What an unbelievable situation."
Standing there wouldn't change anything.
He dusted the dirt from his worn clothes and slowly climbed to his feet.
"If I remember correctly..."
Closing his eyes once more, he searched through the memories he had inherited.
A narrow mountain trail appeared in his mind.
Follow the old pine tree.
Cross the shallow stream.
Walk past the abandoned watchtower.
Then the village would come into view.
"...Looks like I know the way."
He took one last look at the place where the original Grey had lost his life.
Then he turned toward the trail leading home.
Home...
A place where a wife and two children were waiting for a man who would never return.
Instead...
They were about to meet a completely different Grey.
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