Jeff no longer felt his aches and pains. He was truly excited and felt the adrenaline pump through his veins. He could feel that Kazi was getting excited too and he was getting a double shot of the feeling through his body.
He felt antsy enough that facing a monster actually sounded like a good idea to him. That idea brought a sense of caution to him for his newly shared emotions.
"Alright, so I told you before that I am the thing that connects you to the Myst. Well, that connection can let you do some wild things. The connection is the key. We need to find something that you feel truly connected to and I will build a bridge of sorts between your concept and the Mysts capabilities in relation to that concept.
"For example, let's say you had strong memories related to fire. You stared long hours into a flickering flame, or you accidentally burned your house down. Those could be strong memories that I can help you build a connection with. Then the Myst, which is connected to all things, would allow us to manipulate fire or throw fireballs around."
Jeff's imagination started going into overdrive. He could throw fireballs?! How? Where? WHEN?
Kazi's sigh vibrated his bones. "I know you're excited, I am too, but you need to settle your mind so I can build a connection. It also helps if we step out into the Mysts. The connections are clearer out there and your abilities will start at a higher level.
"Move to the exit," the Spore continued. A golden archway formed in the middle of the wall that had turned into a window of sorts. "It should be safe outside and we can get you armed and dangerous before you fight any monsters."
The excitement coursing through him made it easy to follow the request. He still felt fear of the unknown, and realized he was about to fight a real life monster, but that was also exciting for him. He read fantasy books religiously and there was a reason he preferred that over reality sometimes. If he had a chance to turn this game like fantasy into his reality, we wouldn't back down. He might have to take baby steps at times, but he felt determined to move forward on this new path he found himself on.
As he drew near to the golden arch he felt insecurities rise within him and then they were countered by Kazi's own determination.
He walked through the golden wall.
The sticky substance clung to him in an almost pleasant way for the two strides it took to exit the other side.
He stopped himself on a large rocky outcrop that overlooked the view he had seen before. He looked back and saw a System Pillar just like the one he had entered on Earth.
He could feel what he assumed was the Myst. Just like a nice mist back home it felt like tiny droplets hitting his body. The droplets didn't provide a cooling effect, though. Instead it left a different feeling. Warmth, peace, hope?
It wasn't something he could pinpoint with his conscious brain. Instead another part of him reached out to it. The place that burned inside when he saw Ember smile. The warmth he felt when Ammon would hold his hand. The feeling of cuddling with Emily and never feeling like they could be close enough together.
He felt tiny sparks of spiritual yearning all over his body. Yearning for a connection to something. It was not overpowering, but having never felt it before, it was…intoxicating.
Kazi let out a soft hum of enjoyment and it broke Jeff out of his stupor.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"Tutorial Planet!" Kazi answered emphatically.
"Really? It's just called Tutorial Planet?"
"Well, the direct translation of this planets name is 'place that is good for new spore recruits'. I felt that name sounded dumb in English so I renamed it… Tutorial Planet!" Kazi said the name even more emphatically than last time. "I've been waiting to come here for millennia.
"We spore can survive for eons without a host, but once we have connected body, mind, and soul we are stuck for life. Now that I have you, I can finally advance and grow." After a moment Kazi added, "We can advance and grow."
Jeff could feel his frustration mounting. Stuck for life and he didn't know what would happen when drank that potion?! Kazi's statement brought so many questions bubbling to the surface, but he pushed them down.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He had just taken his first steps on a new planet. He may actually be the first human to ever be on another planet. And now he had a chance to be the first to use magic. Yeah, his frustrations could wait. This moment felt too momentous.
"So, how do I cast a fireball? Do I just think of memories with fire and then you let me use the Myst to cast it?"
Kazi laughed. "Not quite, but thinking of those memories is a good place to start. Try thinking of what fire means for you and I will see how strong your affinity for a fire connection is."
Jeff closed his eyes and tried to recall important memories with fire. He remembered camping with his dad and roasting marshmallows. He remembered his mom playing guitar and singing around a bonfire. He remembered learning how to start a fire as a boy scout. He remembered moving to his step dad's ranch and having to feed a wood fireplace throughout the winter. He remembered a friend's bachelor party where they made SoBe bombs and jumped over the fire like morons. He remembered Ammon's excitement as they made their first fire together.
Kazi interrupted his thoughts, "You have a 64 percent connection with fire. That's fairly strong, but not what we are looking for with your first connection. Those memories, they are more focused on the people around you more than the flames themselves. Can you think of something you do just for you? A hobby of some kind?"
Jeff was startled out of his revelry for a moment then refocused his thoughts. A hobby? He thought of reading, but he didn't feel an affinity for books, just a love for the stories themselves. He thought of gaming, but that was the same story. Maybe a sport? He had a very sporty childhood and played a lot of sports throughout his life. Football, soccer, basketball, baseball, pickleball, racquetball, ping pong, ultimate Frisbee, disc golf-
"Wait, what were those last two? I felt a stronger connection from them." The Spore interrupted.
Disc golf and ultimate? Jeff considered. Why those?
He had gained a love for ultimate frisbee around 16 years old. It was a simple, fast paced game that no one took too seriously. He had joined the cross country team simply because they played Ultimate every Friday for practice. He liked running and catching a disc like anyone else, but he really felt connected to throwing the disc. He almost always found his target when playing. Quick throws through the arms of defenders, curved arcs that found their mark, or forehand tosses that launched the length of the field. He loved that feeling.
He had gotten into disc golf for that same feeling. At first he played with friends whenever they were available. Then as he became a father and had 'adult responsibilities' Emily would let him play whenever he needed to destress. He wasn't amazing by professional standards, but he truly felt the disc was an extension of his arm until hurled. Again he loved the forehand throws the most.
Why was that? Maybe it felt like skipping rocks at the lake? That was something he could do over and over again and never get tired. He would skip rocks for hours and only stop when his arm was spent.
Kazi interrupted his thoughts again. "Now that is a very strong connection. It's at 93 percent affinity. I'm going to build a connection. Hold that concept!"
Hearing that his affinity was so high made the concept he created feel more real. He focused on the feeling of skipping a rock. How that felt so much like flinging a disc through the woods, trying to hit a gap between the trees. How it felt to spin a frisbee on his fingers and then toss it perfectly into outstretched hands.
The yearning feeling he felt from the Mysts landing on his skin felt stronger now. It felt directed at his yearning to hold and throw a disc.
He could almost feel the disc in his hand now. He made the motions of spinning the inside edge on his fingers to help his mental concept. Then he stepped and threw. He opened his eyes as he felt a weight leave his fingertips.
A golden disc flat and sharp flew from his outstretched hand over the trees on the shoreline down below. The bright disc didn't slow down from air friction like his throws normally do. Instead it twisted in the air at the point he felt it should and sped up as it plummeted toward the ground. It sliced through a purple leafed tree and crashed into the ground with concussive force. The tree fell a moment later.
"Well shit…" Jeff muttered then exclaimed, "that was AWESOME! How do I do it again?"
"That worked out surprisingly well. Let me show you what you got.”
A blue screen appeared in front of his eyes.
New Myst Connection:
Disc
New Disc Ability:
Throw Disc
Create a disc to throw and control its movement as you desire.
Jeff’s heart thumped at the confirmation of his new Connection and Ability. He could create discs of energy?! Eat your heart out Krillin!
He thought about the wording in the Throw Disc description. Control it’s movements as he desired? He thought about that a moment. He envisioned having the disc stop mid flight and zoom off in another direction. His mind saw the usefulness of that desire, but his spirit hated the idea. He was grasping at straws, but he felt a certain amount of realism was needed for it to be ‘what he desired’ in his heart. He had a concept for how a disc should fly and he probably shouldn’t move too far away from it yet.
The Spore interrupted his musings. "I didn't expect you to do that right away. That was quite noisy we might have to be wary of–"
Kazi trailed off as they heard loud clicks and scratches come from the edge of the cliff wall. Something was coming up near the base of the outcrop the Pillar was on.
The Spore spoke over Jeff's pounding heart. "Looks like it's time for our first Monster fight. You've got this!"
He saw movement on his right and noticed 'Fight to the Death' had moved to the top of the list.