Everything around started to make sense. The magic. The monsters. These were things normally found in games and tabletop RPGs. If Mat really wasn't on Earth, or at least- the Earth he knew of, then things really were going out of control.

Many thoughts raced inside his head, trying to make sense out of all this. Though the more he dug deeper, the more questions came to surface. It was clear this wasn't getting him anywhere. In the end, he dropped it, letting out a deep sigh. There was no use thinking about it now.

Mat then stared at both his hands, beaming a wide smile. He had used magic. Magic.

He didn't know how he got it. He didn't know why he got it. But he knew that was magic. It may not be fireballs and explosions, but this surely was magic. He then turned to the light floating around him, staring at it. If this place really was based on games and RPGs, then there's one thing he had to try out.

"Can I see my character sheet?"

[Character Sheet]

Information

Name: Mateo Arsenio

Class: Soulmancer

Mana: Eclipse

Race: Human

Rank: Normal

Stats

Strength: G

Endurance: G

Agility: F-

Sense: F-

Spirit: F

Magic

Materialize I, Absorb I

It really was like a game. He could understand most parts of it: the name, the race, the stats. This was a character sheet. As he trailed his eyes up and down, they landed on a single word.

"Mana?"

[Guide]

Mana is the fundamental element from which magic and sorcery are made. There are three types of mana: sun, moon, and eclipse.

Mat shooed away the words in front of him, not asking for more out of the light. Thinking really wasn't his best department, and with the bombardment of information left and right, his head might as well burst from overloading his last two brain cells.

A gust of cold wind rushed by, sending shivers down his body. "Ask questions later Mat, you're going to freeze to death if you don't do something about all this."

Mat had a weird habit of talking to himself constantly when his friends weren't around. Now that he was alone out in the middle of nowhere, this habit of his really shows itself in the grandest of ways.

Mat then turned to the wolf. It stared at him with intelligent eyes, the same way it did when it was still alive. Its green, translucent body stood against the cold wind passing by, glowing with a faint luminescence. If Mat were to describe its appearance in two words, the first thing that would pop up would be 'ghost dog.' This was brought about by his magic- Soulmancy.

"Sit."

The wolf followed, shifting its entire weight to sit upright on the ground. Mat then stepped back to a slight surprise before inching closer to the wolf, holding out his hand.

"Paw."

The wolf raised its front paw and laid it on Mat's hand. It was careful to carry its paw's weight, trying not to crush Mat's hand under.

"Good boy."

The wolf then laid down on the ground, showing off its furry belly to him.

Mat beamed a smile. The wolf really wasn't a threat to him. After playing with the wolf for a short while, he eventually warmed up to it, ending up sitting beside it and cuddling under the warmth of its fuzzy fur. He felt his eyes close, his body in full comfort with a fluffy dog to lean on. The cold from outside could no longer reach him, now blessed by a warm fur blanket tempting him to sleep. This really was the perfect time to take a rest.

. . .

It was morning, with the chips and whistles of birds tuning the song of the forest. The leaves and branches of the canopy swayed along with the gentle breeze passing by, the rays of soft sunlight showering the backdrop with a warm feeling.

Mat was in bliss. He half expected to wake to the sight of his dull ceiling back in his boarding house, but he was still here, with a warm fuzzy wolf beside him.

"Good morning."

The wolf opened its eyes with a tail wagging.

Mat let out a long yawn, with the wolf following after. They both then stretched their bodies together as if they were in sync, turning to stand up.

Mat's stomach growled. "I'm hungry."

The wolf stood upright, its ears turning left and right as if it was trying to track down something. It then started heading into the thicket of the woods. It turned its head back, barking for Mat to follow.

Passing through brushes, branches and vines, they came into a small clearing with a gentle river flowing by. The burbling of water invigorated Mat's senses, as if springtide came to wash over him. He sat by the bank and leaned to the water, taking his fill of much-needed water to his dry mouth down his parched throat.

Mat stared at his reflection: a rough face complete with shaggy black hair. He looked like the people you normally see sleeping on the streets, though that might've just been his usual appearance at play.

A brown object then caught his attention on the corner of his vision. He turned his gaze to it, finding a crab scuttling along the riverbed almost the size of his palm.

Mat pounced to it, shoving his hand into the water and grabbing the crab on both sides of its shell. He dragged it out of the water and took a closer look, seeing four claws instead of two.

"What's this?"

Four-Clawed Crab (G) [Beast]

A small brown crab characterized by its four claws. Generally spends most of their time on river beds.

"Food is food, I guess."

Mat was drooling to eat, until he realized he had no tools to cook with. He also didn't know how to prepare fire without a lighter.

He also couldn't eat the crab raw.

Mat sighed. "I should've watched more of those survival shows."

Then, as if by some coincidence, he heard a couple of laughters downriver. They were faint, but the wind picked them up to his ear. He turned his attention to it.

Mat was wary of strangers, and in a mysterious world filled with magic and monsters, bandits and thugs were not out of the question. In fact, they were fairly common in the games he played.

Mat ordered the wolf to stay behind. He passed through the thickets of woods, careful not to make any sound that would give him away. He then found another clearing on the same river a couple of feet away, peeking through a small shrub to see where the laughter came from. What he saw then were not bandits nor criminals, nor anything of the sort, but three naked rabbit girls taking a dip in the river.