Matthew's eyes shot open. This meat was the best food he had ever tasted. The second he slipped the piece of chicken into his mouth, it seemed to melt, the flavor coating his tongue, the meat effortlessly making its way down his throat as he swallowed. He began to shove more food into his mouth, happy noises coming from him as, before he had realized, all of the food was gone.
Matthew suddenly heard a laugh behind him, and spun around to look at the person it had come from.
"Well Linda, looks like your amazing cooking strikes the heart of another," A man said, with a mug of what Matthew assumed to be some sort of alcoholic beverage in his hand. "How about a toast everybody!" The man exclaimed loudly. Many heads turned to him, smiles coated on their faces.
"What to Chief?" asked another, mug already in his hand, held above his head. Everyone with a mug followed suit.
"Why to another soul that has been blessed by the food of the Goddess of Cooking that graces our village with meals fit for a King!" The man who was called 'Chief' yelled.
The whole of the tavern roared as people began to empty their mugs. Some had started to sing a song of praise, and others began to dance.
"Victor..." Linda said. She had a hand on her face, attempting to hide the blush she had.
Victor made his way towards the counter and took a seat next to Matthew.
"So Linda, whose the newcomer?' The man asked.
Matthew inspected the man. He was much shorter than him, which said a lot. Short white hair and a long beard which ended at his chest did not escape Matthew's perception, and a single word appeared in his mind.
"Dwarf?"
Matthew's eyes widened as he realized, he had said the word out loud.
Linda began to laugh hysterically, the embarrassment from earlier fading. Now it was the man's turn to blush.
"No Matthew, this is Victor Greyvault. He's the Chief of this village. Victor here is just a short man who continues to neglect the idea of shaving. You won't believe the countless amount of people that have asked the same thing."
Matthew looked at Chief Greyvault, apologetically.
"No need to worry boy. It's a pleasure to meet you. The name's Victor Greyvault. As Linda stated earlier, I'm the Chief of this fine village." Chief Greyvault stuck out a hand. Matthew reached out to shake it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Chief Greyvault. My name is Matthew Kaido." As Matthew shook his hand, a notification box appeared in the corner of his eye.
-Status-
Name: Victor Greyvault
Race: Human
Class: Locked
Magic Abilities: 0/5
Health: 25/25
Mana: Locked
Strength: Rank 0
Speed: Rank 0
Stamina: Rank 0
Intelligence: Rank 0
Wisdom: Rank 0
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The Chief was indeed human, despite his look.
"Please," The Chief said, "Call me victor outside of any political conversations. I enjoy being treated as a friend rather than a leader." Victor smiled at the nervousness of the boy.
"Okay, Victor," Matthew said.
"Well then, do you have a place to stay Matthew?" Victor asked. "If not, I'm sure Linda and I can work out something for the time being."
Matthew's eyes lit up as he looked at Victor. "I don't," Matthew said.
Linda smiled. "I'll set you up with a room for the time being."
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Matthew walked through a door into the room that had been provided to him by Linda and Victor. It wasn't big, inside only having a single mattress bed and a small drawer. There was a window on the side of the wall that was next to the drawer that overlooked the village.
He slowly made his towards the bed, his body aching from the journey he had just had. Matthew had walked for a whole night through a forest, fought and killed a Goblin and then followed a road for hours after that. He then found himself at a village where he had been fed the best meal he had ever had, met the Chief of the said village, and witness something that he had only heard about in fantasies and games... Magic.
Matthew once again pulled the maroon colored pebble that he had placed in his inventory.
-[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-
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Matthew read the description twice more and took a deep breath. He was nervous. Uncertainty filled his mind.
"What ability will I get from this? Will I even be able to use it properly? What if it's something evil that will make people hate me?" Matthew continued to voice out his thoughts, talking to himself once again. The image of Linda controlling water popped into his head, and his finger moved...
-You have selected [Yes]. Absorbing [Monster Core 'Rank 0']-
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