Matthew marveled at what he saw. Water was floating out of a bucket and enveloped his feet, cleaning the mud, blood, and faint stench of Goblin poo from them.
"Never seen magic before Matthew?" Linda asked. She had began to smile when she saw Matthew's face. She was not surprised that the wandering 'Rank 0' boy had never seen magic before. Not many people in the area were able to use it after all.
From what Linda knew, one needed to unlock mana with one Monster Core, and then use another to obtain their first magical ability. What made it difficult out where her village was located, was that no one was strong enough to deal with even a 'Rank 0' monster, and those that did either didn't have the courage or the luxury to leave in order to hun them down.
Linda herself was incredibly lucky to obtain a core when Travis first showed up. Travis was a 'Rank 1' adventurer who came by Greyvault village to restock supplies before heading out.
He had run into her daughter and had fallen for her, giving him a reason to stay. The people accepted him instantly, happy to have someone strong enough to protect the village, incase any roaming monsters might come near it.
"This is my Magical Ability 'Liquid Manipulation'. It's only 'Rank 0' so I am only able to manipulate small bucket amounts of water," Linda said as she continued to wash Matthews feet. "Though it's a good ability when it come to my job. It allows me to clean the tavern well, especially whenever a spill happens." She laughed to herself.
"It's amazing," Matthew said. "Where I come from, Magic doesn't even exist."
"And where do you come from Matthew?" Linda asked.
"Ah... Just a small village. Really small. There's only me and my Mother left there..." Matthew looked at the ground, thinking about his Mother. He was not at home right now and it was already the middle of the day. How would she act if she didn't find him at home?
"I see..." Linda said, noticing the look Matthew had. "She must be worried about you."
"Yeah, she's probably be freaking out," Matthew said.
Linda finished cleaning Matthew's feet and began to move up his body, washing his legs and cleaning his pants at the same time.
"Where on Raistus did you get pants covered in Goblin Blood from?" Linda asked.
"Raistus?" Asked Matthew.
Linda looked up from Matthews legs towards his face. She saw genuine curiosity on the boy's face, and not ignorance.
"That village must have been isolated," Linda said to herself. "I guess the education his Mother could give him was the bare minimum. No knowledge of Ranking, Geography, I wonder if the boy can even read or write."
The two continued to make small talk, Matthew learning more about where he was. The world he was currently on was called 'Raistus'. He was in the southern continent 'Notios' which he knew, from a class that he actually enjoyed, was similar to the greek word which meant 'Southern'. The other continents were the Norther Continent 'Voreios', the Western Continent 'Dytikos', the Eastern Continent 'Anatolikos' and the Central Continent 'Kentrikos'.
There were many species of humanoid species on Raistus, some of which Matthew knew from fantasy stories and myths. There were the usual Elves, Dwarves, Beastfolk and even Draconians. Others were new to him, such as Crysalites, Serinoids, and fryars. To his surprise, even Gods existed in this world. Linda explained that Gods blessed certain individuals, often showing themselves to people when they felt the need to. The most common area that he would even find a God was in one of their temples.
'Gods... Wow. This place is amazing,' Matthew thought to himself.
Earth had the concept of Gods, many religions claiming that their God was the one true God, but this world had multiple. Some of the cultures that Matthew knew of believed that there were more than one God, but him being an Atheist had had always had a skepticism to the topic. Even now in a world of magic, Matthew still didn't believe in the idea.
After a few more minutes, Linda had finished washing the grime off of Matthews body and clothes. Despite her using water in order to clean him, Matthew did not feel any wet sensation on his body.
"How am I so dry?" Matthew asked her, confused.
"Because I am able to control water, I am able to pull the moisture off of people as well, though only in small quantities," Linda said.
'Magic is amazing. I wonder if I should just use this Monster Core now and unlock my mana? I wonder what my first ability will be? I want a fire bolt!'
Linda led Matthew to the counter, pulled out a plate of food and a glass of water, and placed it in front of Matthew.
"Eat up Matthew. You look starving," Linda said, with a smile, "And don't worry about the cost, it's on the house."
Matthew boggled at the food in front of him. His stomach began to growl at the scent of the steaming food. He reached out, picked up a fork and poked at what looked like him to be chicken.
[Cooked Chicken].
"Huh, I guess this world has normal animals as well," Matthew murmured to himself.
He picked up a bit of the meat with his fork and slipped it into his mouth.