The aqua colored table dissipated from my view as I materialized in a sparse central square area like you might find in any 16th or 17th century fantasy town. The lack of people was a bit unnerving, but that is one of the reasons I chose Magras. The population difference between Magras and other Afterlife program worlds could be compared to full and dead or low population servers of the massively multiplayer games of old. Due to this population disparity, it has twice the resources and about the same monster density as every other world had.The downside being that the monsters were considerably stronger as fewer people existed to hunt them and keep them weakened.

Magic in Magras was supposed to be intuitive as there were no arduous incantations to memorize. I didn't get the opportunity to research the magic system online before coming to Magras. I decided to see how intuitive the magic system was for myself. I closed my eyes and feel whether or not I could tell the difference between a mana infused environment and the real world's atmosphere, but I didn't sense anything new about it.

I guess starting with the highest possible score in intelligence doesn't mean much. The overview in the pamphlet listed this world as not really having a level up system so I'm not sure how the stats affect me, but I am sure that having a high intelligence can't be a bad thing. I wonder why ten was considered the highest anyway... Maybe it's a percentile thing.

I checked out my reflection in the display window of a store in the square and noticed that I was a bit more buff than the gnome example was. I also have more clothing than it did. I have a tool belt that reminded me of my time as a construction worker in my mid twenties. It was a happier time for me, back before every job I took was replaced with automated machinery. Like when I was working in a mine that got bought out and the new owner was informed that machines would be cheaper in the long term. Or when I worked in the steel mill and we built our own replacements. The machine shop was fun though, I worked alongside machines there and there wasn't a way to replace people there due to our flexibility. The downside of the machine shop is that we all knew the automata we were building would replace some other poor sap.

I examined all the pouches on my tool belt and found that I was carrying what equated to a small workshop with me. I had wrenches, pliers, a hand drill, screws and a screw driver, hammer and nails, even a small set of tongs. I had a pack on my back that contained rope, a dense fabric that might have been for making a tent, and a pickaxe. I knew at this point I would have to gather all my own materials, but I would still need a hatchet to collect wood and it probably wouldn't hurt to have a machete or a short sword to clear underbrush and defend myself.

I looked at the signs on the shops in the square noting that, thankfully, they were all in English or they were an easy to understand pictograph. There was a tavern, an inn, a general store, an apothecary, and a library in this square. One major road cut through the square and four smaller roads or alleys were at each end of the square. I decided to start with the general store as I had already determined it would meet my most urgent needs.

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A clattering noise that served as a doorbell went off as I entered the shop. The general store must have been a great deal longer than it was wide as the store was so long that I could not see the back from the entrance. The dark wooden walls were lit from above by rods of metal that glowed in a light blue shade that ran the entire length of the store. Against the walls there were shelves that had bins of metal, like the little trays in old style hardware stores. The center of the store had tables that were bolted to the floor that displayed things like work gloves and shoes, coils of rope and such hung on pegs on the sides of said tables. I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat beside me and took notice of a middle aged human man standing behind a counter near the door.

"Good day sir." I greeted him with a smile as I recovered from the size of his store. "Greetings young dwarf." He replied with a slight laugh, "It's nice of you to finally come in, though I admit you were fun to watch as you were flexing at your reflection in my window."  I covered my face with my hand and said, "I'm sorry you saw that, I was just noticing that I looked different than the last time I saw myself. Also, I'm not a dwarf." The man looked at me suspiciously for a moment before saying, "What do you mean? Only dwarves are that small and while you're not entirely strong looking, you could well be a dwarven forge priest!" The man's tirade nearly knocked me over as he kept getting closer to examine me again. "I notice you don't have a beard though, maybe you're too ashamed of something you did and aren't allowed to call yourself a dwarf, is that it?" I thought for a split second and then asked, "Why can't you recognize a gnome?" The man looked shocked for a moment before covering his eyes with his palm, "No wonder, there hasn't been a gnome in this town since I was a child!" I can't believe what I'm hearing... I shake my head in doubt while trying to rationalize why there would be no gnomes in this town at all. "Don't worry young gnome, nothing bad happened, they relocated to the capital after the monsters in the area got out of hand. gnomes always play it safe and they know when to retreat." He smiled, then he frowned. "But why are you here, it's a bloody jungle outside the walls of this border town, how did you even get here?" I tried to think up an excuse before finally saying, "I was dropped off here by a a floating mask." The shopkeeper appeared stunned, the silence stretched on for what seemed like a minute before he said, "Well if you don't want to tell me that's fine, but no need to lie and say the Goddess set you here."  It seemed like the man was severely upset with what I had said so I made a mental note not to tell anyone else how I got here. If they ask I guess I'll just be a disgraced dwarf.

I searched the store for around half an hour and came back to the front counter with a set of work gloves, boots, and a helmet that had a disc of that glowing metal in the front. I asked about the machete and the hatchet and the man brought out one of each from behind the counter. It seems like things that could be used to rob him are kept away from the rest of the merchandise. I also purchased a small pot, a waterskin, and two whetstones. I paid with almost a third of my converted money which turned out to be twenty silver and left the store. I felt that information would be my next priority, so I decided that the library should be my next stop.