The Monster Core was the size of a pebble and had a maroon color to it.
-[Monster Core 'Rank 0'], is able to be consumed to unlock 'Mana'. Upon consuming [Monster Core 'Rank 0'], you will unlock a random ability. These abilities are determined by the nature of your Soul. Would you like to Absorb? Y/N-
Matthew re-read the information he had gathered from his 'Scan Ability'. He did not understand what it meant by 'the nature of your soul', but he was drawn in by the fact that he might be able to use REAL magic.
He began to wonder what ability he could get from it. The Monster Core would give him a random ability, though where would the ability come from? Was there a list of abilities that it would be drawn from like a gacha game?
Mathew continued to think about it, but put the item back into his inventory. He did not have enough information to make that decision.
Matthew once again began to trudge through the forest, only to freeze in place as the squishy sound of him stepping in Goblin crap was heard.
"..."
.
Night turned into dawn as Matthew continued to walk through the forest. The meat, which he had scanned to learn that it was from a horned boar, hung out of his mouth like jerky. He had stolen it from the fire that it was cooking over when he had killed the Goblin earlier.
"Taste just like bacon, a bit tougher, but beggars can't be choosers."
Soon, the endless path of trees turned into a giant clearing. He had made it out of the forest.
"Woohooo!" Matthew yelled as he sprinted from the forest. After hours of being surrounded by trees, walking through mud and stepping in Goblin excretion, he was happy to be out in an opening again.
Further ahead, Matthew had spotted what looked to be a road, leading towards areas to his left and right.
He walked over to confirm his suspicions. It was indeed a road, and where there's a road, there's a destination at the end of it, and where there's a destination, there's people.
Matthew began to follow the road, hope in his eyes, and continued onward.
.
"I see a village... I think," Matthew said to no one as he began to see shapes in the distance that looked like houses.
He had been walking along the side of the road for quite some time now. The Sun now shone above him, the sky blue with small patches of white floating above him.
As he got closer, Matthew saw a sign above the entrance.
[Greyvault Village]
The village was surrounded by a fence the seemed to encircle the whole of it. It was high, maybe 2 meters tall, and loomed over the small frame that Matthew had.
A man stood in front of the entrance and Matthew went up to greet him.
"G'day," Matthew said, stretching out a hand. The man was tall, and had a build that made Matthew think of a footy player. Muscular but lean.
"Good day to you Kid. What brings you to Greyvault Village?" The man asked as he went to shake Matthews hand.
-Status-
Name: Travis Bakers
Race: ???
Class: ???
Magic Abilities: ???
Health: ???
Mana: ???
Strength: ???
Speed: ???
Stamina: ???
Intelligence: ???
Wisdom: ???
.
"Uh... I'm actually lost. I have no idea where I am or how I got here," Matthew asked honestly, wondering about the question marks that filled Travis' status sheet. "I awoke in the middle of a field, and followed the road towards this village."
Travis eyed Matthew suspiciously, looked down at the clothes he was wearing and then at Matthews bare feet. They were bloodied and dirty. Bloodied... from the scrapes on his feet.
"Come in kid, I'll take you to the tavern, we'll see if we can get you cleaned up and fed," Travis said. He did not question why an 'Rank 0' child was roaming alone through the wilderness. The kid was lucky to be alive.
Matthew followed him past the entrance and towards the village.
Greyvault Village was bigger than Matthew had thought it would be. Usually villages were small and rural, home to people that struggled to meet day to day needs, or at least that's what they were like in the stories he had read.
He was led to a 2-story building near the center of the village. Inside were many people happily eating and drinking, despite it not even being late in the day.
'You'll see day drinkers more often than not kid. That's how the people enjoy themselves in this village. Even the chief enjoys a drink every now and then," Travis said as he navigated through the busy dining area.
They reached the counter where a woman was cleaning a bench.
"Why hello Travis. What brings you here? Must be important if you've left the gate. You come to see my daughter again?" Asked the woman with a smirk.
"No, Linda," Travis said with a chuckle, "I have a kid that needs a clean. Found him walking towards the village alone."
"WHAT!" Linda yelled as the pushed her was towards Matthew. She looked at his feet and frowned.
"Rank 0?" She asked Matthew.
Matthew looked shocked. He wondered how she was able to tell that he was a 'Rank 0', what ever that meant. Did she have a scanning power as well?
"Rank 1's," She continued to say, seeing the curious gaze of Matthew, "Even ones that have only just entered the rank, are able to heal from wounds a lot faster than Rank 0's. The magic that circulates inside them allows that to happen."
Matthew looked down at his feet, bloodied and cut.
"I see," Matthew said. "Yes, I am."
"Well then Travis, I'll make sure the boy is nice and clean before anything else," Linda said, moving towards a door behind the counter. 'Follow me kid."
.
Matthew followed Linda, Travis leaving the tavern to head back to the Gate where Matthew had met him.
Where Linda had led him was an open courtyard. She showed him to a stool next to a bucket.
"Sit here... I don't believe I have your name. I don't want to have to call you 'kid' all the time, and I'll take a wild guess that you don't like being called that either," Linda said.
"It's Matthew," Matthew told her.
"Well then, Matthew, take a seat and I'll fix you right up, or at least to the best that I can manage."
Matthew took a seat on the small wooden stool, and Linda knelt down on a cushion she had pulled out of nowhere.
"Wait, Miss Linda, you don't have to wash me, I can do it myse..."
Matthew stopped talking as water began floating out of the bucket, his eyes wide.
"Magic...," Matthew whispered in amazement.