Quinn
As expected, this town was lively with residents going about their businesses here and there. Along the shopping district, there were the usual shops such as bakeries, butchers, tailors, grocers, and more. There were even taverns and restaurants, too. I strolled along, eyeing each store with interest, noting that the buildings were very medieval-era and made of brick and timber, the typical Tudor style, which indicated wealth. I supposed that meant this town was prosperous then.
The bakeries interested me the most since I wanted to know what sort of baked goods they sold. Surely, there'd be something like soft bread, pastries, pies, tarts, and the sorts?
I stood in front of the store and gazed at the products displayed before me, feeling disappointment building inside me. There were no such things as soft bread, pastries, pies, or tarts. There were only loaves of bread, and they ranged from light brown to dark brown to black, and the loaves looked so hard that one thrown across the air could possibly knock a man unconscious.
Perhaps I was staring at the bread too long? Not to mention my very thin physique and pale complexion, the owner thought I was starving and wanted to steal his goods because he glared at me and snapped, "Get out of here, you little rat!" He shooed me away with his hand fluttering in the air. "Go! Out with you, rat!"
I was quite taken aback even though I wasn't surprised by his treatment of me. I looked like a homeless scum, after all.
"Still standing there?" He raised his hand in the air as a threat. "Go! Away with you, brat! Or I'll beat you up."
I snorted. What sort of world was this? To beat a youth just because he stared at your goods for a bit too long. Indeed, it was a cold, harsh world, I decided. The poor just didn't have a chance.
I turned on my heel and started on my way again when a woman, dressed in fine clothing, walked up to the owner. She looked like she was from a well-off family, and immediately, the attitude of the owner did a one-eighty. He clasped his hands together, and with a big smile plastered on his face, he said, "Mrs. Owen, how lovely to see you."
I rolled my eyes in exasperation.
"As if your hard-as-rock bread is anything like the softness of a normal bread back home," I said. "Or the heavenly taste of pastries like croissants or Danish pastry or chocolate Eclair." I pumped my fist. "When I'm out of here and have a more stable life, I'll start experimenting making those and introduce them to this world and then your business, you bastard, will turn to dust." I grinned with mischief.
I loved a challenge. The more difficult the better. It was part of the scientist within me. One simply couldn't be a research scientist without loving challenges.
I continued with my exploration of the town, heading toward the market. There were many stalls here, and after spending an hour just exploring and researching, I came to the conclusion that there was not a lot of variety in terms of fresh fruits and vegetables. I noticed also that stalls with those as goods did not sell well.
I racked my brain, going through Quinn's memory, wanting to understand this topic, but there was none. Obviously, being poor, buying fruits and vegetables as part of groceries was not an option where Quinn and her family were concerned. Then again, Quinn had never been one to cook in the family. It had always been Elizabeth or Maria.
In terms of fruits, there were only apples and pears. As for vegetables, there were potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, beans, peas, onions, celery, and cabbage, and not much else. Counting out of the fifty or so stalls here, four were fruits and vegetables, while more than ten were grains and flours, which were mostly oak, wheat, rye, and barley, and the flour version of those were coarsely grounded, which meant their color was darker than the ones I was used to which were fine and pure white. I suspected also that the use of yeast for baking was not done here, which explained why the bread was so hard and did not raise well.
"There's not a lot to offer at all," I said to myself. "How disappointing." And turning on my heel, I left the market.
I headed toward where Quinn had always headed in her spare time when she wanted to be alone, the woods in the west. It took me about half an hour to get there, but it was worth it because the place was serene and quiet.
I wandered around for a bit, taking in the sight of the yellow and brown leaves falling and scattering across the ground. A soft, muffled crackling sound sang from under my feet as I walked. Across on the other side, I saw a creek, and excitedly, I toddled toward it.
Close, I knelt on my knees and inspected the trickling water, which looked clear and cool. Was it safe to drink, I wondered? From Quinn's memory, she had never drunk straight from the creek.
"Wouldn't it be nice if I could somehow purify the water," I said under my breath. "Distill it or something. Or even better, have chlorine tablets as a water disinfectant."
Chlorine tablets, eh? Since I had the creation blessing, why not?
Now that I thought about it, what did it look like again? A round tablet of blue or white color, and once put into the water, it dissolved and destroyed the bacteria cell wall. It worked against hydrophilic viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoans.
I supposed creating a tablet was wonderful for when one had a pool or tank of water, but not when one simply wanted to take a sip with a cupped hand.
I tilted my head to one side. Perhaps I should try purifying with a magic circle? I mean, surely, I could do that with my creation magic.
Thrilled at the prospect, I leaned forward and gathered some water in my cupped hands. Then I stared hard and concentrated as I said, "Purify."
I burst out laughing as a small magic circle appeared, glowing, and then a small screen popped up showing a sentence that said: Water has been purified. Well, there was only one way to test if my purification magic circle worked, and that was to drink.
I leaned in and sipped. Ah, so cool and fresh, and it was damn delicious. Wiping my mouth, I wondered if water that had been purified by my magic circle gave it a better taste. Although I admit water in general didn't taste like anything, this did have that sense of deliciousness to it.
I stood, and turning on my heel, I carried on with my expedition. Farther in the woods, I encountered an assortment of wild berries and apple and pear trees, and they surrounded me in overgrown thickness.
Wow! I couldn't believe they grew so well here, and no one thought to make use of the fruits. How wasteful.
Since the berry bushes were close to the ground, I choose to assess them first. There were a few types: black, dark red, and bright red. The black one looked like blackberry back home while the dark red looked like boysenberry, and the bright red was raspberry.
I wondered why the people in this world didn't eat these. Were they poisonous or something? From the look of some of the damaged fruits, it told me that birds were pecking at them, so they shouldn't be.
"Wouldn't it be nice to have an appraisal skill?" I said, chuckling.
Just as I jokingly mentioned that, a screen appeared before my eyes and words flashed at me. It said: Boysenberries – Edible. Health benefits: Contains high Vitamin K, manganese, iron, calcium, and potassium.
I dropped my mouth open. I had appraisal magic! Honestly, at this point, I should start considering myself as something next to a deity or something, with so many skill sets. Creation's blessing was unlimited enough with all the possibilities I could think of, and the healing was a lifesaver, and now it was an appraisal skill.
Come to think of it, what was this one under? Certainly not creation, destruction, healing, or foresight. Wait, could it be a sort of foresight? Or was it under a different umbrella completely? The type that was not heard of yet.
Whatever it may be, I was pumped to have an appraisal skill in my arsenal. It just meant I'd never starve if I were to get lost in the woods like this one.
I scanned the raspberries and blackberries next, and both stated they were edible and had a list of vitamins and minerals as health benefits. I started picking a few and popping them into my mouth, enjoying the sweet deliciousness exploding against my taste buds. They were so juicy as well.
Damn, if only I brought along a bag or something, but with Quinn's family being so poor, there was nothing like that. Perhaps a cloth to wrap the berries even.
Aha! I summoned a creation magic circle and out popped boxes, completed with attached lids, made of flax. I wasn't going to create one that was made of plastic like a Tupperware since it'd only draw attention if anyone saw.
I continued picking and dropping the fruits in the boxes, and now and again eating, and all the while, the gears in my head turned.
In fantasy novels, especially the LitRPG ones, there was always a storage space, wasn't there? Mages usually had that magic bag, didn't they?
It clicked. Surely, I could create a storage space with my creation magic?
Pausing my fruit packing for the moment, I took in a deep breath and braced myself for something awesome to happen, like when I had done an experiment and it turned out as I had predicted.
I closed my eyes and started imagining it, a storage space that was timeless and limitless. Once stored, items should not age, or rather their biological clock stopped, preserving them as they were at that moment in time.
Nervous now, I peeked one eye open, and when I saw the magic circle hovering in the air before me, I sucked my breath in delight.
Oh, my goodness! This... With this, I didn't need to worry about carrying bags and luggage when traveling. Not to mention when I had very precious items, like gold coins and such likes.
"Testing time," I said and then started humming as I picked the filled boxes and placed them into the magic circle.
I spent the next two hours picking berries and apples and pears and putting them into storage. When the weather got a little colder, indicating evening was approaching, I returned home. I couldn't wait for Elizabeth, Maria, and Liam to try out the fruits, since it'll be their first time.