Magic is Programming

Chapter 3: Civilization

Carlos stared at what lay outside the cave opening that was apparently Purple's former main entrance.

"Well, no wonder you were having people come by every day of the week! That's a major road out there. On the bright side, this will make it really easy to find civilization."

[Outside dungeon. Not see. Not change.]

"Fair." Carlos picked a direction at random and turned right to start walking along the road. His stomach chose that moment to rumble a bit, reminding him that he still hadn't eaten since arriving in this world. "I hope someone around here is willing to help a stranger with food. I had no skill at foraging back in my own world, and this one might not even have the same plants."

[Could spawn food. But no mana.]

"That... would have been good to think of before leaving all your mana behind. I don't suppose we could go back for it?"

[Too late. Mana gone.]

"Oh well. Back to hoping for a stranger's generosity."

The road was hard packed dirt, and Carlos's feet soon felt sore. His legs ached with fatigue as well, and while the meadows and occasional groups of trees he passed by looked pretty, he really wanted some modern conveniences and amenities back. A full refrigerator and a microwave would be nice, for example. A computer would be better. He knew how to be useful with one of those.

He snorted. This world probably didn't even have computers at all. It had magic, though. That would be interesting to learn. "So, about the whole 'mana' thing. People can use it too, not just dungeons, right?"

[Yes. Many delvers did.]

"Could I learn to use it? Could you teach me?"

[Learn mana? Not inherent for human?]

"Uh. I don't know. Is it?"

[...Don't know. Only know what saw.]

"I guess that answers whether you can teach me, at least. I'll have to ask a human. Uh, if they can even understand me. I don't know this world's language. Or languages. However many it has."

[Wish broad. Translation spell broad. Understand other's speech.]

"Will I understand how to speak back to them too?"

[Yes.]

Carlos let out a deep breath. "Phew. That's a relief. One big problem dealt with. Hmm. Speaking of wishes, could a wish give me the ability to use mana?"

[Maybe. Is big wish. Big big.]

"More motivation for me to find you a good spot to gather lots and lots of mana, then."

Carlos was thoroughly bored after two hours of walking when he finally saw buildings and activity in the distance. Details of the town slowly grew clearer as he approached. There didn't seem to be any kind of walls, or guard station, just an open road that passed between buildings and had smaller roads branching off of it. Even when he entered the town, no one paid any particular attention to him. Unfamiliar travelers must be commonplace here.

He'd had plenty of time to think about his approach on the way here, and he looked around for a large building with signage out front and different people going in and out of it. It didn't take long to spot an especially promising building. It had a few windows, and Carlos even thought he caught glimpses through them of people sitting around tables and eating.

The sign above the door showed a stylized ladle pouring something chunky into a bowl. Carlos walked in and looked around a bit hesitantly. A couple dozen people sat at some of the tables in the room, most of them eating from large bowls, and savory smells of meat and vegetables filled the air along with all the chatter. On the right side of the room, there was a counter where a man wearing an apron was handing a fresh bowl to someone, who took it to a table to eat.

Carlos approached the counter, and the man in the apron, presumably a cook, looked him over for a moment.

"Welcome to the Stew Ladle. Hot stew with bread is always ready at three copper for a bowl, anything else we'll have to cook special."

If Carlos focused on it, he could tell that this man was not actually speaking English, but whatever magical translation mechanism he had was working so smoothly he might not notice without specifically checking. He mentally shrugged, and decided to just let it work without inspecting too closely. It would be fascinating to analyze, but he didn't have the skills needed yet, and he had much more urgent priorities right now.

"Stew is fine, but um, I had a bit of misfortune recently and don't have any money. Do you have any work I could do instead, or know anyone who might?"

The cook looked meaningfully at Carlos's waist. "With a sword like that, I'd guess you're an adventurer. Not much call for adventurers around here, but there is a minor dungeon along the road a couple hours' walk from here, if you feel like trying your luck."

Carlos laughed nervously. "I'm, uh, not in good shape to tackle a dungeon right now."

"I can see that, no party and not even the cheapest armor, but most adventurers I've met wouldn't let that stop them."

"Yeah, any chance you could point me to where to find a party and get some armor?"

The cook rubbed his chin for a moment. "Hmm. Now there's an idea." He pointed at one of the tables. "See that girl over there? She might be willing to help you out if you agree to join her party."

The girl looked young, about the same age as the four novices Carlos had encountered in the dungeon, and she was sitting alone, engrossed in a book as she absently ate an occasional spoonful of stew.

"Where's the rest of her party?"

"She doesn't have one. You'll find out why soon enough."

Carlos squinted at him suspiciously. "She's not going to get me in trouble, is she?"nove(l)bi(n.)com

"She won't. Well, probably. It depends. I've said enough already, go find out yourself."

Carlos sighed, and turned to walk over to her, shaking his head. Surely this at least couldn't be worse than starving, right?