Mateo nearly tripped the moment he arrived, falling down to the grass. Fortunately for him, said grass was really soft. Still, he didn't exactly want to sit out in the open for super long without clothes. He quickly scrambled up to his knees, looking around for something that could be used to at least cover himself. Unfortunately, while he was scrambling around, he heard the most dreaded thing he possible could in his current predicament. A voice.

"Now what's this, then? Who might you be?"

Mateo quickly covered up, looking back at the voice with a nervous expression, hoping he didn't run into someone who might immediately arrest him for indecency.

"Because you look like a Man to me. An' this ain't the land of Men."

What Mateo saw when he turned around was a short figure. No more than 3'6, standing before him was what looked like if someone shrank a full grown adult down to almost half the size. A mat of neck-length, brown hair sat on top of his head, and he wore what looked like linen tunic held up by a brown belt, stained with dirt and grass. He looked like he'd been working hard, and was more surprised to see a human than he was at Mateo's nudity. Finally, Mateo realized he should probably speak, though he had to conceal his surprise at the fact that a man this small was speaking to him like he was, even implying that he wasn't human in his second sentence.

"Oh, sorry. I'm... lost? Lost. That's it. Er, do you have anything I might be able to... wear?"

The half-man chuckled as he took a draw from a pipe.

"Clothing, fit for a man, in the Flatland? Ha, you're lookin' in the wrong place, pal."

"The flatlands?"

"The Flatland. Named such for how flat it is. Easy land to farm, it is. Simple name for a simple people, it is. If you dun' know that much, you must really be lost, friend. You look confused. This your first time seein' a halfling?"

The word 'halfling' ticked in Mateo's head immediately, and a few things fell into place. He briefly wondered if he'd see elves.

"Yeah... yeah. Just. REALLY far from home I guess."

"Sounds like it, never heard an accent like yours. You hungry?"

"Am I... hungry?"

"Well, yes, friend. If you're lost and without clothes I can imagine you might just need a bite to eat before much else. I know I always feel better after puttin' something on me belly."

He let out another laugh.

"Come on, we'll see if we can stitch you together somethin'. I've got a pot of stew sittin' in me kitchen, should be done about now. Always make a bit o' extra, just in case I get a visitor. And a visitor it seems I have."

Mateo stared in stunned silence back at the halfling. He was a complete stranger. They didn't even know each other's names, yet the halfling was so immediately friendly. Mateo could hardly wrap his head around it. He remembered that Viola had mentioned she'd be putting him in the most peaceful place possible, and sighed as he stood finally, still trying to cover himself as best as possible.

"Right, uhm, lead the way."

The halfling gave a friendly nod and started walking, leading him through the grassy field down a small hill.

"My name's Bentley, family name Springboro. What about yourself, stranger?"

"Mateo... family name, uh. Stabile."

Bentley took another draw from his pipe as he walked.

"The names of Men sound unusual to my ears, indeed. Still, something about the name fits you. Mateo Stabile, then?"

"Right..." he was still trying to stop being so embarrassed about not wearing any clothes in front of a complete stranger. It was not working.

Eventually Mateo was led inside (thankfully without encountering anyone else), having to duck beneath a small doorway and stay hunched over in a low-roof house, dug into the side of a hill. Bentley walked into the back and pulled out what looked like a cloak at first, before Mateo realized it was basically a bedsheet. He still wrapped it around himself gratefully as Bentley pat a small stool.

"Go ahead and have yourself a seat there, I'll go right ahead and grab you a bowl of stew, and you can tell me a bit of your story in exchange. How's that sound?"

Mateo fixed the bedsheet over his form, then nodded.

"I'll share what I can."

Bentley walked into the adjacent kitchen, where a pleasant aroma was wafting from. He dipped a ladle into a large pot, then scooped some stew into 2 separate bowls. One for each of them. The bowls weren't particularly large, but they were enough. Once both bowls were set down, Bentley sat across from Mateo with a pleasant smile, putting his pipe down.

"Sorry the ceiling's so low. Every few moons or so we may have some taller-folk come by, so I pulled out some of my larger bowls set aside for those occasions, but otherwise it's just a bunch of us halflings around."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"You live here by yourself?"

"Most of the time, yes. Twas my father's home, and his father's before that. Been that way since the records go back."

Mateo tried some of the soup. He hadn't been expecting much, thinking that a place like this would be lacking in spices, but he actually quite loved what he tasted. Bentley gave a big smile at him.

"Good, ey? Grow all of the herbs 'n spices in my garden out there. Besides that, the vegetables are my cut from work out in the farm. I recently raised by Strength Boost skill to level 3, so they increased how many they gave me."

Mateo internally took note of the fact that even a man as seemingly peaceful as this had a skill like that, and spoke of it so casually.

"Sorry, I've not really acquired anything in the name of skills, my education was a little lacking in that area. Could you tell me how one might go about... obtaining the Strength Boost skill?"

Bentley paused from taking a bite of his soup, before he looked down and saw the potato on his spoon tempting him. After putting the bite in his mouth and swallowing, he looked up.

"Your father never taught you the basics of skill acquisition?"

"... no, I lost him at a young age."

Bentley put his palm down flat on the table and gave a bit of a solemn nod.

"Aye. I apologize friend, for what that's worth. Well, I suppose I could help fill in some gaps of knowledge, if you'll take my humble self as a teacher."

"Yes, I'd appreciate that greatly. Thank you very much for your kindness ever since you met me... are you sure about offering so much to me, even as a stranger?"

Bentley looked at him as if he'd said something foolish.

"Oh don't be like that, Mateo! Even if we've only just met, even if you're a Man and I'm a Halfling, what's a stranger, but a friend you have yet to meet?"

At that moment, looking into Bentley's eyes, Mateo almost dropped his spoon into his soup. He stared hard, his mind slowing for a moment. He'd heard a similar sentiment on Earth from others, but most only seemed to be saying it because it sounded nice, and weren't exactly keen on following through. But Bentley had already put his money where his mouth was. And when Mateo looked into his eyes, he saw nothing but steadfast sincerity. Mateo looked up after a moment, speaking softly.

"Have you heard of what's happening in the west, friend?"

"Ohh, that hero turned tyrant, yes? Worrying times these are. War's ignited over at the western kingdoms, but I haven't heard much else. News hardly reaches this part of the world. War, neither. Still, there's not much room for a people like the Halflings to interfere. We aren't exactly heroes, or the fighting sort, you know? All we can do really is hope another hero will rise and be the one to stop him."

Mateo continued to stare up; in that moment his determination fully crystalized. When Viola was asking him to do this, in his mind it was still as a job. He hadn't been sure. Being told to save people without any firsthand knowledge of them is one thing. But sitting here at the dinner table of a complete stranger and being shown nothing but unwavering kindness, Mateo's resolve changed. He wasn't sure on being a hero. But if he could defeat someone who'd bring war to a place like this, then maybe he could at least trust he was doing the right thing now. He held his amulet, then looked back at Bentley. As much as he'd like to run over west right now and put a stop to his fellow Transmigrator, he knew that he was much too weak and wouldn't even know how to survive out in this world. He'd have to gain strength first.

"... Bentley, after you teach me some things about some skills, would it be possible for me to find work around here, like on the farm you mentioned you work at?"

Bentley smiled wide.

"Aye, I'm sure we can find something for you here. Not got anywhere to go?"

"Not right now, no. I will in some time. But for now, I have my reasons for not being able to. Now, you asked about my story? I apologize, but there's not much worth hearing that I think I can share."

"That's fair. Just something to help pass the mealtime is fine right now. Don't need your life story or anythin'."

Mateo gave a small smile as he started talking about a story from when he was in high school. A time when Elijah had made some seniors angry, and they tried to jump him. So him and Finn got together to assist when they heard about it, and with their combined strength and grit, the three of them managed to beat back a group of twelve enough to open a gap and escape. When they got home, they had a meal together, laughed, stole some alcohol from Finn's folks, then passed out together in a pile. It was a good memory to him, and probably one of the things that solidified those two being his best friends. When the story was done, Bentley laughed a bit.

"Well look at that, looks like we may have the makings of a hero right here!"

Mateo paused for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Nah, I ain't got it in me to be a hero."

"That right? Well, not like there's any sin in a simple life either."

"... no, I suppose there isn't."

They finished their meal together in the warm atmosphere Bentley created with just his jovial attitude. Once that was done, Mateo helped with cleanup, before looking out the window. Still around midday. He looked back at Bentley, who was settling down in a chair with a pipe.

"So, about acquiring skills."

"Yes, yes. Come, sit. I'll tell you what all I know. My knowledge is a bit limited on the subject, but I'll do my best."

Mateo nodded, and Bentley got started.

"The most consistent way to gain a skill for yourself is to do a single thing continuously till the magic in your body acclimates to it. Though you can't rely on that method for certain skills, such as Fire Magic. So if you want to gain the Strength Boost skill, you'll be good to do some hard work for a while. I'm not sure on the inner workings of it, but I know what I need to to live my life."

Listening intently, Mateo leaned forward some.

"So, it's like working out a muscle?"

"Yes, yes that's a good way to put it."

"Do you know of ways to get the other skills, the kind you'd need to use magic?"

"Well, all Halflings are born with the Nature Cultivation skill, which allows us to grow our farms better. As for obtaining new skills, I'm afraid you're asking the wrong Halfling."

Mateo looked dejected briefly, though he supposed getting all of his answers immediately was asking too much. Still, this was valuable knowledge for now.

"So, you're saying that if I help out with farm work, the chance of me getting physical enhancement skills is quite high? What about skills to enhance your Internal Magic supply?"

"Internal Magic? Bit of an odd way of sayin' mana, now, isn't it? Well, Magic Bank is the most consistently good one, but you'd have to learn some meditation, and once again I'm not the Halfling to teach that. I'll see if I can introduce you to a teacher around here later if you really do wanna learn that bad."

"I do. Thank you again, Bentley."

"Well think nothing of it! If you need a place to stay a while, I have a guest bedroom in the room adjacent. Feel free to think of it as yours while you stay and work."

Mateo nodded again, intent on finding a way to repay Bentley one day for all of his kindness.