It was barely the break of dawn when Theo woke all on his own. There was no bright morning sunlight caressing his face, nor was there any particular noise brushing his ears. He wasn’t uncomfortably warm nor cold. He was simply ready for his third day in this new world. He was excited, more so than he had been for quite a long time. And why wouldn’t he be? He was getting the hang of sigil weaving. He had made new friends. His progress was actually quantifiable, having gained three skills already in just two days.

  According to Chaste there should be some learning, some repetition, and some success before the world would see one fit for gaining a particular skill. Sure, Theo had spent most of his first night weaving sigils this way and that. Also, he supposed he had used mental arithmetic to calculate his mana output, keeping track of his Boon’s remaining mana and so on. But the planting skill? Oh, there were ten violetberry seeds he’d planted! Would that really count as repetition, even though he planted them all at the same time? If it did, could he use that as an advantage?

  Also, the moment he sat up in the bed and stretched his arms and legs like a man possessed, the ever-present system decided to give him some good news.

  Congratulations! Blue (Magical) has expired.

  A part of you is no longer blue. Good for you.

  “Woo-hoo,” Theo whispered to himself to continue the rhyme.

  Theo found a stash of neatly folded clothes just beside his door where Wen must’ve placed the clothes after having them washed. He found them dry and put on a nice, new set of clothes. A thought crossed his mind as he felt the used, already worn shirt. If the water was so dirty from the well, where did she wash these? Would the bathing water be as filthy? He sure hoped not. I had planned on bathing today.

  He left his room and headed downstairs, finding a ghostly apparition hovering over the decently clean counter of the tavern bar area. Wen looked dead, yet her gaunt face, red eyes and pale skin still contained some life. Her deathly stare found him and her lips were slowly pulled to the sides.

  “I need more of that water,” her hoarse voice said. “This place has never looked so clean, not in years!”

  Theo smiled. “That’s great! But you look like you’ve been up all night. You should sleep.”

  “Nah! Just gotta stay the course. Two days left. Hafta make every second count.”

  “About that,” Theo said, finding this the perfect time to actually ask about the ranking.

  “No! I’m onto you, you know! I checked the well and there’s naught but the usual slop! You’ve got some from elsewhere.”

  Theo roiled. He’d been discovered, and so soon! Did he have an excuse that would help him? Maybe that he travelled with some water and had used the last of it yesterday? No, she knew he had no animal and no stuff of his own already. Where would he have hidden it?

  “Now, I don’t care where or why, don’t you worry! But I need more.”

  “I-I might be able to get you more,” he said as he shrunk a bit into himself.

  “You betcha! And for yer trouble, here’s your money back. You aren’t payin’ to stay here.”

  “I can’t accept that,” he said, gaining back some of his lost stature. “Instead, is there maybe some easy skills you can teach me? It’s a bit embarrassing, but I’ve learned I don’t really have the normal spread of general skills.” It was a bit of a white lie, but it was quicker than telling her his reincarnation story. Resurrection? He wasn’t even sure himself.

  “I suppose that’s fair. Mind you I’m not a teacher and I can be a bit direct.”

  “Oh, I have no doubts about that! I saw you after that trader got his keys, remember?” Theo snickered.

  “Aye, that wasn’t my best moment… Still, it seems I’d still be getting more out of the deal, what with you then having to help me in here free o’ charge, and all,” Wen argued.

  “I can’t say I know the value of general skills, but I don’t think helping out around here for a few days can measure up to a lifetime-lasting skill, do you?”

  “That’s true, I guess. Alright, it’s a deal.” She returned the coin in her hand to a box beneath the counter. “Too bad I got the place so clean, there’s no work required right now,” she then added with a devious smile.

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something soon enough. I should go see to the plants.”

  She nodded and waved him off. Theo headed outside through the door leading to the backyard and took a deep breath of fresh air through his nose. The air was only slightly foul this morning. Many had likely not risen from their slumber yet, meaning the morning urine and the sour alcoholic feces of villagers was spreading minimally through the air. Such was the mediaeval life he was living.

  He eyed the berries first, finding them right where he left them. There was nothing but a fine sand of dry dirt with a few clumps spread thin over the entirety of the box. They shouldn’t require any more water until later that night. Theo then looked over the next box where the gingerelli had been planted. There was nothing of note there, either.

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  Slapping his hands together as if he was just finishing a long day’s work, Theo headed back inside with a smile. This wasn’t so hard, was it?

  There was Wen again, half asleep with her head held crooked on her hand with nothing but a firm elbow placed on the wooden counter keeping her upright. She didn’t even seem to notice him entering the room again. He waved at her just in case she had as he left through the front door of the establishment, deciding to take a morning walk around Brook Town. It was by no means large, but he hadn’t stepped foot outside the somewhat circular town square since he arrived. He should probably go investigate the well, as well. He should at least know where it was.

  A thought struck as he was nearing the Barge again some time later. While he’d been wandering around the town and familiarising himself with the notable features like where Willam’s farm was located, where the well was and where the fresher, cleaner water was coming from, Theo felt his sightseeing had been pretty much entirely lacking in magic. He hadn’t seen any magical lighting, anyone using magic to dry their clothes or sheets nor anyone easing their labour with the stuff.

  Where were the people who used it? Chaste didn’t mention anything about magic being all that rare, so why hadn’t Theo found anyone using it in Brook Town? He was sure there were spells that weren’t directly combat oriented that could be used for everyday life. Theo just knew of Chaste’s ‘Fireball’ spell, but his friend also knew other spells, he’d said so himself.

  Maybe there was some kind of wind or telekinetic spell that Wen could use to serve in her tavern? Maybe everyone could make their own clean water instead of using that godforsaken well Theo was hoping no one ever used for anything food related. Wouldn’t it be easier to just light a fire by spellcasting rather than tinder or whatever they were using?

  While unexpected, he also understood that mana supposedly regenerated rather slowly. That was certainly a reason to do things manually, but he would still expect someone out here to do something magical.

  There was a river running just past the town, a slight distance to the north of it. This was the town’s namesake as people seemed to just call the small river a brook. It was here Theo had seen some early risers wash a load of clothes pulled or dragged there by wagon. It was much more than double the distance to the well from the Barge, however, and just by investigating it from a distance Theo could see the brown colour of its waters. It was certainly water of a cleaner variety than that horrific well, but he understood why the well was used as an alternative for the consumption-less water needs.

  Seeing as he could create his own perfectly fresh, clean water for the foreseeable future, he didn’t care too much about it. His clothes were clean enough to wear and he could always rehydrate himself if the semi-fluid swill Wen served didn’t prove up to the task. The river water was likely dirty, not dangerous, in any case.

  While taking the scenic route across the town he had also stumbled upon a smithy, if it could be called that, and a general store, among a few other shops he had an interest in browsing. He didn’t buy anything simply due to the fact that he didn’t bother carrying it with him as he walked around, but he found a few interesting things he didn’t mind buying later on which could help him with his own business. He’d need some cutting and trimming tools at some point for his plants, and a trowel would always be helpful when planting or harvesting.

  Theo threw a wild question to the smith, if he could be called that, that was hard at work hammering away at a plate of iron. It looked like he was mostly just bending it to look busy. He asked if there was a standard size of buckets. It was a valid question and Theo was sure not everyone knew the answer, either. There was! It was approximately 5 litres, the approximation only due to the craftsmanship of the bucket and the measuring tools available at the time of crafting. If he saw a bucket, it would likely be very close to a five litre volume.

  This was most importantly not at all the same as a pail, which was a variable-sized bucket of around 7.5 to 10 litres in volume. These were also narrower at the bottom and wider at the top. Buckets were mostly made of iron due to the near-unlimited quantity of iron in the world, while pails were often made of slightly lighter metals like tin, if available.

  Theo had asked for a reason. He now knew that his ‘Create Water’ sigils made approximately 1.25 litres of water. That would very likely be important knowledge in the future. He could now calculate his plants’ water requirements in real life measurements. Also, bonus points to this new world he was in for using not just familiar measurements, but also the correct ones.

  When the otherworldly man returned to the Barge, Wen looked a bit more rested and there were already a few patrons inside. Rather than a rowdy bunch, they were mostly chill, drinking and talking in companionship rather than shouting and cheering. For all Theo knew, these guys could’ve been working nights and came here in the morning to relieve the stress, just like the regular day workers did at night. He didn’t think there would be many freeloaders living the stress-free unemployed life all the way out here.

  Wen spotted him and waved him over to the counter as she dashed to the target location herself.

  “Perfect! I’m thinking this is the perfect time for you to get some work done! Low stress environments are perfect for beginners, right?”

  Theo smiled agreeingly. “Of course! What do you need me to do,” he then asked.

  “First, I’m thinking servin’ and broomin’. Do the latter until someone calls for you or gets up and stands near the counter, then serve them an’ back to the floor you go! Easy, right?” She was positively beaming.

  “I guess. So, the broom, then?” he asked as he gestured to the long wooden handle leaning against the wall in the corner behind the counter. It looked dry and had a long rift down the entirety of the first half from all the way at the top. The brush stuck to the handle was half bald, with the remaining hairs sticking every which way.

  “Aye. Always brush toward the backyard door, there’s a tray there to get the worst of it out the door.”

  “And what if there’s spills?”

  Just then the resounding echo of a wooden cup rang through the entire room just a split second before a chair was roughly pushed along the creaking wooden floor. A man rose to his feet in a haste, but there was nothing he could do to save the cup, nor the liquid spilled all over the floor from it.

  “S-sorry,” the man apologised. Somehow, that impressed Theo. He was likely in his middle fifties, with a rather slim belly and a wide set of shoulders.

  “Don’t apologise to me,” Wen said, filling Theo with a smidgeon of pride. Wen was someone who would take care that her employees were treated right. “Apologise to your coin! You know I don’t refill spills!”

  “Y-yes, ma’am!” the man said.

  Theo sighed. Wen then immediately snapped her fingers at him and made him clean up the cup, fill a new one and bring it over to the man before she set him to work cleaning the spill. All the while she had a nasty grin on her face. It foreshadowed a hard few days for Theo, the man who once made the wrong choice.