You have Failed to craft Rope.

You have Failed to craft Rope.

You have Failed to craft Rope.

“Damn it!” Alistair shouted after his last attempt at crafting the rope. What am I doing wrong?

[Hmm, I’m not quite sure, can you allow me to see what you are imagining when crafting the rope?] Myst said.

“How can you see what I am imagining? I Don’t know what I’m doing here Myst!” Alistair exclaimed, “This is all too new to me and it was so easy with the staff and the plant fibers.” He finished throwing a branch in the distance in frustration.

[Remember that connection we have, just focus on that, and while visualizing the rope, allow me to see it.] Myst said. [It should be as easy as that.]

Fine, ill try,” Alistair said. He closed his eyes and felt the connection open a bit. He thought about rope and “Allowed” Myst to see it.

[All I am getting is the word “Rope.”] Myst said after about ten seconds of silence. [Are you just saying “Rope” over and over in your head?] Myst asked.

“Yeah you told me to think of rope, and use craft,” Alistair said out loud. “Why, am I doing it wrong?”

[Yes, I see now, you can't think of the word, you have to visualize what the rope is, what it's made of, how strong it is, what causes it to be so strong. Then after you have that visualized in your head, you visualize mana going into the plant fibers, moving them in a way that braids or spins the fibers together. Imagine strengthening the fibers making them more coarse so they can grip the other fibers more firmly.] Myst went on.[All of that and then and only then do you use the skill. At that point, the mana is triggered and channeled through your hand and created what you are imagining.] Myst said. [Allow me to show you what I see if I were to craft rope. perhaps that will give you a clue.]

Okay. Alistair thought.

After what seemed to be thirty seconds or so Myst spoke up sounding strained. [Will you allow me in please?] he asked. [This is very straining to try and push all of this through this narrow of a connection.] He said.

Oh, okay. Sorry. Alistair said, focusing on his connection to Myst and slowly trying to open it. Frustration and annoyance hit him first then came the flood of information, first, it was the feeling the rope had when firmly holding onto it with your hand. Then there was the outline of the rope and its braided pattern. Then came the color, all the way down to the tiny fibers holding it all together. There was something else as well. Some kind of pulse coming from it as if it were like an artery, and you suddenly knew that that was mana. He focused on the rope information Myst was sending him and then suddenly, as quickly as it had come, it was gone.

[Hurry, while it is still fresh in your mind, try and visualize what I showed you and craft it.] Myst said hurriedly.

Alistair snapped out of it and began visualizing the feeling, the strength of it, the mana pulsing from it all the way down to the fibers holding on tight. With his eyes closed and focusing he thought Craft.

Nothing Happened. He thought it again, and again, desperately trying not to lose focus on what he had in his mind. Alistair opened his eyes after the third failed attempt and looked down, to see that his crafting failures resulted in his plant fibers being consumed.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Alistair yelled out in frustration. Punching a nearby sapling. The sapling shook and leaves began to fall. Wait a minute. Alistair thought, an idea forming in his head. Alistair placed his hands on the sapling imagining all of the plant fibers that made up the sapling, all the way down to the roots, there were so many. He then thought, Craft.

Would you like to bulk craft Plant Fibers (28) from:

Sapling (28 units)

[What are you doing? DON’T DO TH - -]

Yes. Alistair thought before his vision closed in on itself. The last thing he remembered was the sapling disappearing, and then with nothing there left to hold himself up he fell forward, face first into a massive pile of plant fibers.

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[What a fucking idiot....] Was all Alistair heard from Myst before blacking out.

—Sometime later—

Alistair woke up, the first thing he noticed before opening his eyes, was how soft whatever he was laying on was. it reminded him of his bed back at home, not the crappy one his dorm room had back in college.

[Thank Mother you are awake now.] Myst said. [Look, don’t do that again, okay.]

Do what? Alistair responded in his head. I needed more plant fibers…

[Sure, I get that, but you didn’t need thirty-one units of plant fibers!] Myst rushed out. [You do remember the conversion rate correct?] Myst asked.

The what? Alistair asked trying to think back. Oh right, Something about every 1 unit crafted for every 10 mana, right? Alistair was starting to remember what Myst was talking about when he finally opened his eyes, he first saw the notifications in front of him, they were stacked on top of each other.

You have successfully crafted Plant fibers (28 units)

You have gained 25 Crafting Exp.

Congratulations you have leveled up Crafting. Crafting is now Level 2.

You have gained 115 Crafting Exp.

Crafting (Level 2): 115/150

As your crafting level increases you have a (1 + [Skill Level]% chance to consume less mana in order to craft.

Crafting passive triggered 1 time out of 28 units attempted.

Warning Low Mana! Mana: 43/300

Reminder, if your mana reaches 0 you will suffer Mana Weakness (Debuff) for 24 hours.

Mana Weakness (Debuff): A condition caused by over-exerting use of your mana causing your mana to reach 0. you are more susceptible to mana-based attacks and energies. You regenerate mana at a decreased rate (25% of the current mana regen rate).

Well alrighty then. So long story short, watch how much mana I consume… Is there a way to make an alert warn me when I am about to use all of my mana before I do it? Alistair asked.

[Do you mean other than the guy in your head screaming at you to not do that???] Myst answered. [Yes, just think about the alert warning and it will guide you through enabling it.] Myst said. [Look, when you pass out, I pass out. When you die, I die. We are in all of this together. so please do be careful of what you are doing, slow down, and listen to me. If you get frustrated just ask me and I will try and help you as best I can. I will even try to lighten up the snarky comments. Okay?]

Oh, I didn’t know. Alistair said, mentally setting up the warning. He felt an emotion seep through the connection like goosebumps and empty fear. Are you okay?

[I'll be fine, I just have never lost consciousness before, and to have that done twice in a matter of hours does not forebode well for you and I… Both times I thought I was snatched away into nothingness…] Myst said trailing off. [I’ll be fine, let's get to work.]

Okay, but I'm nearly out of mana, shouldn’t we wait? Alistair asked.

[Yeah your right. let's go looking for a water source while we wait then.] Myst suggested. [Before we go though, mark your map with something to show this place as your home, so we can easily find it.] Myst said.

Right, good thinking. Alistair replied while mentally dropping a waypoint with a tiny picture of a bed, the word “Home” above it. When he read the word, flashes of his past life came to him. moments he will never be able to have, regrets he felt. And Beth.

[Let's head east] Myst said snapping him out of his moment. We will walk an hour in that direction if we Don't find anything we will come back and walk West, and so on until we find something.

Luck was on their side once again, because a short 20-minute walk East and they heard splashing. It startled them both because it meant water, but it also meant something was splashing the water. Alistair crouched low, thoughts racing through his head, Are there people? What if they are monsters? If they are people, will I be able to understand them? Oh My God I'm naked….

Myst let out a chuckle at the last one and added [Sounds like whatever is splashing is too small to be a person or a monster. it sounds more like a…] Myst stopped when Alistair stepped out from behind the tree he was hiding. [Fish jumping.] Myst finished.

As soon as he said that they both watched as a fish leaped out of this massive lake near what looked like a downed tree, half in the water and the other half out. The sun was still high in the sky and he had been walking through a forest, fought a chimera, and passed out on the ground too many times to be funny. He looked at the water and was aware of how naked he was. Eh, what the hell? I needed to wash up and the water looks so nice.

Alistair started walking straight to the water when Myst spoke up. [How about you take a closer look around before blindly going into a pool of water in a strange new land? Perhaps identify a few things?

Alistair knew Myst was right, but man a swim right now would feel great. reluctantly though, he looked around and started identifying everything he could see. nothing really stood out except for one thing.

Large Tail Treble (Small) (Fish) - Level: 6

Large tail treble? Heh, I see what it did there. That’s funny. Alistair thought to himself. Myst interrupted his comedic thoughts.

[What’s funny?] Myst said. [I don’t get it.]

You wouldn’t, it is a reference to Earth. Anyway, nothing seems too dangerous and no creatures around except for that fish. Can I swim now? Alistair asked impatiently.

[Sigh… Sure, just be careful your mana is about half now, don’t go crafting or anything. we will head back in 10 minutes. and don’t forget to mark this on your map.] Myst said

Alistair did so while stepping into the lake, the water felt amazing. Ohhhhh yeah… There we go.