Monster Spirit

Andy finally awoke after what felt like an eternity of darkness. He sat up dizzily on the soft sand, looked around in confusion, and then suddenly let out a loud shout as he scrambled to his feet.

"It's over, it's all over! Our dinner for today!" Andy stared at the sun, which was just about to sink below the horizon, and hammered his own head in frustration.

Andy sat dejectedly on the sand. He had no idea he had been unconscious for the better part of the day; with the sun about to set, how was he supposed to find food now?

His hands, hanging limply against the ground, suddenly brushed against two wet, slimy objects. He looked down to see the two fish that Uncle Niwa had given him.

"Old man Creator God, if you don't want me to die, you at least have to let me eat my fill!" Andy roared at the sky, though he knew he would soon be disappointed—that bastard old man wouldn't care in the slightest whether he was fed or not.

"Sigh!" Andy sighed, picked up the fish, and stood up helplessly to head toward the home of Old Man Dick.

If I get scolded, so be it. Old Man Dick saved my life, after all. Filling my stomach is what matters. Old Man Dick's health had been poor lately; he had been bedridden for a month, or else he never would have let little Andy go out to catch crabs.

As he walked, Andy checked himself over from front to back. The Creator had certainly done a thorough job repairing him; there wasn't a trace of blood left, and even the large hole in his clothes from that trident was gone. Satisfied that he looked normal, he quickened his pace toward the dwelling.

"Old man, I'm back!" Andy called out as he stepped through the door.

There were no lights on in the house because they had run out of lamp oil, and no fire was burning either; it was pitch black inside.

"Old man?" Seeing that Old Man Dick didn't answer, Andy took two tentative steps forward and called out again.

"Ugh... cough, cough..." On the bed made of broken wooden planks covered in a layer of weeds, Old Man Dick lay still. Hearing Andy's voice, he let out a groan, followed immediately by a fit of violent coughing.

"Old man!" Andy dropped what he was carrying and rushed to the bedside, reaching out to stroke the old man's back.

"You're back!" the old man wheezed, his voice weak and listless.

"Yeah. You rest for a bit, Old Man, I'll go get some food," Andy said.

"Sigh, it's all because of this illness of mine. I've really put you through so much, and you're still just a child!" The old man sounded pained.

"Don't say that. If it weren't for you, I would have lost my life long ago. Alright, I'm going to cook." Andy turned and walked out, surreptitiously wiping beneath his eyes.

Although Andy's soul did not belong to this body, the old man's kindness still moved him; after all, he wasn't a heartless person by nature.

A short while later, Andy brought a coconut shell bowl filled with hot fish soup to the old man.

"Andy, did you catch these fish?" the old man asked weakly.

"This... Old Man, just eat first!" Andy replied.

"Hmph, if you don't tell me the truth, I won't eat!" The old man's stubborn streak had returned.

"The fish... they were a gift from Uncle Niwa next door," Andy said, lacking confidence.

"Hmph, what did I tell you! Niwa works hard to catch fish, and he has a whole family to feed. We are poor, and we can't afford to owe others favors. We must remember people's kindness for a lifetime!" The old man's voice grew rapid, triggering another coughing fit.

"Yes, I'll remember!" Andy replied with his head bowed.

After much persuasion from Andy, the old man finally drank the fish soup and drifted into a deep sleep.

Andy stood alone at the doorway of the small hut, looking up at the star-filled sky and that massive moon.

They say the Azeroth Continent has two moons, so why is there only this ridiculously large white one? Where is the blue one?

Andy's thoughts churned as he pondered his current situation.

It seemed that the game was quite different from reality. In the game, the elves were all colorful, with skin tones that didn't look human at all; only the Blood Elves who had split from the High Elves had fair skin. Yet here, the elves mostly had white skin, with only their hair coming in various colors, and a few had skin tanned to a wheat-like hue.

What am I going to do? Spend my whole life in this world? How? By being a fisherman or a hunter?

And what time period am I in? The existence of Teldrassil means the continent has already been split in two by the explosion of the Well of Eternity—one part called Kalimdor, the other the Eastern Kingdoms.

I just don't know if the Horde has already occupied this part of Kalimdor.

After a moment of distraction, Andy shook his head vigorously. Forget it. I can't even leave the island of Teldrassil, let alone travel to the capital city of Darnassus.

Sigh, the thing the Creator gave me hasn't even appeared yet. What could it be? He said I'd know when the time came, but when is that?

After a night's sleep, Andy rose exceptionally early. In the morning, the debris washed up by the early tide was still on the beach; he had to pick some up before the tide went out. They were small, but there were plenty of them.

Andy grabbed his basket and hurried to the beach. He had just picked up a few small shells when he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye: a Giant Fiddler Crab, its two beady eyes darting about, cautiously crawling up from the sea.

"Screw you!" Andy cursed under his breath. Isn't this the one that toyed with me yesterday? How did it avoid being dinner for those Naga?

Andy lowered his body, pressing himself almost flat against the sand.

The giant crab scuttled over step by step, never once glancing toward Andy; it had no idea it had run into its little elven nemesis.

"Halt! This tree was planted by me, this road was opened by me! Uh... no, no, what kind of nonsense is that!" Andy muttered.

The giant crab was so startled it froze in place for a full five seconds as Andy stood up and blocked its path with both arms outstretched.

After five seconds, the giant crab made a nimble turn, clearly intending to flee.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck Andy. "Kick!" he roared. With a spinning flying kick, the giant crab was sent soaring through the air, crashing headfirst into the sand, where it lay motionless.

Andy didn't stop to wonder how he had managed to kick the crab that had bullied him and nearly cost him his life into submission; all he could think about was that his food for the day was secured.

Andy used a piece of grass rope he carried to tie the giant crab up tightly and tossed it into his basket. Watching it struggle inside, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

But after only a few laughs, Andy stopped in horror. What the hell was "Kick"?

Andy frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly jumped up. Isn't "Kick" a skill for Rogues?

What is going on?

Andy, who had been lost in thought, suddenly collapsed straight onto the beach, lying motionless as if dead, yet his eyes remained wide open.

Inside Andy's mind, however, a different scene was unfolding:

"Monster Spirit activated!"

"Automatically matched to host, and scanning host now!"

"Host name: Andy. Host profession: none, abilities: none, level: none. Two skills: Kick, Stun, melee skills. Beast Tracking, passive skill, sensing range thirty meters."

"Waking host!"

"Ah!" Andy sat up from the ground in an instant, gasping for air. What on earth was all this?

What was this Monster Spirit thing? No sooner had the thought crossed Andy's mind than a synthesized voice echoed in his head: "The Monster Spirit is the host's parasitic system, a gift bestowed upon the host, Andy, by the Creator God!"

"Screw that!" Andy suddenly cursed aloud. "You old geezer, you give me this thing? You could have at least given me a divine artifact! What use is this system? If I'm going to die, I'm still going to die!"

"Insulting the Creator God has been recorded accurately and will be sent directly to the Creator God!" The system's single sentence made Andy shut his mouth immediately; who knew where that old Creator God was, or if he might strike him down with a fatal blow.

"Monster Spirit!" Andy chuckled bitterly. "Why didn't you just give me a big kick instead!"

"Fine, I'll ask you: what is your purpose?" Andy asked in his mind.

"Assisting the host in learning various skills, assisting the host in identifying various resources, assisting the host in..." the system listed one item after another.

"Can you make me invincible instantly?" Andy asked.

"Negative. The host must learn various skills personally, including combat skills. The system can only allow the host's skill proficiency to increase rapidly!" the Monster Spirit explained.

"Alright, better than nothing, I suppose!" Andy stood up, brushing the sand off his body, and said helplessly, "But I really have to say, this is truly f***ing ridiculous!"