Monster Spirit

After who knew how long in the darkness, Andy finally woke up. Still groggy, he sat up on the soft beach, looked around in confusion, then suddenly cried out and jumped to his feet.

"Oh no, oh no! Our dinner!" Andy stared at the sun about to sink below the horizon and smacked himself hard on the head.

Andy crouched dejectedly on the beach. He hadn't realized he'd been unconscious for most of the day. The sun was about to set—how was he supposed to find anything to eat now?

His hand, dangling near the ground, suddenly brushed against two wet, slimy things. He looked down and saw the two fish Uncle Niwa had given him.

"Creator God, old man, if you don't want me to die, you should at least let me eat my fill first!" Andy bellowed at the sky. Of course, he was soon to be disappointed: that bastard of an old man couldn't care less whether he had enough to eat.

"Ugh!" Andy sighed, picked up the fish, and reluctantly set off for Old Man Dick's home.

"Getting yelled at is getting yelled at. Old Man Dick did save my life, after all. The important thing is to fill my stomach first." Old Man Dick's health had been poor lately. A month ago, he'd been so sick he couldn't get out of bed; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent little Andy out to catch crabs.

As he walked, Andy looked himself over from head to toe. That Creator God had done a thorough job repairing him, all right. There wasn't a trace of blood left, and even the huge hole in his clothes where the giant fork had pierced through was gone. Once he'd made sure nothing seemed amiss, he hurried toward home.

"Dad, I'm back!" Andy called as he walked in.

There was no lamp lit inside because they were out of lamp oil. There was no fire, either; the whole place was pitch-black.

"Dad?" When Old Man Dick didn't answer, Andy took two steps forward and called again.

"Mm... cough, cough..." Old Man Dick lay on a bed made of rough planks, with a layer of weeds spread over it. Hearing Andy's call, he groaned, but then a violent bout of coughing overtook him.

"Dad!" Andy dropped what he was carrying and hurried to the bed, rubbing his father's back.

"You're back," Old Man Dick said weakly, having caught his breath.

"Yeah. You rest, Dad. I'll go make something to eat," Andy said.

"Ah, this illness of mine... You've had it so hard. You're still just a child," Old Man Dick said, his heart aching.

"Don't say that. I'd be dead already if it weren't for you. All right, I'll go cook." Andy turned and left, wiping beneath his eyes as he went.

Though Andy's soul didn't belong in this body, Old Man Dick's kindness still touched him. After all, he wasn't a bastard by nature.

A little while later, Andy brought Old Man Dick a bowl of hot fish soup made from a coconut shell.

"Andy, did you catch these fish?" Old Man Dick asked weakly.

"Well... Dad, eat first. We can talk afterward," Andy said.

"Hmph. If you don't explain, I'm not eating!" Old Man Dick was being stubborn again.

"These fish... Uncle Niwa, our neighbor, gave them to me." Andy sounded far from confident.

"Hmph! What have I told you? Fishing is hard work for Niwa, and he has a whole family to support. We're poor, and we can't repay other people's kindness, so we have to remember it for the rest of our lives!" Old Man Dick's voice grew strained, bringing on another coughing fit.

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

Only after Andy had coaxed him again and again did Old Man Dick finally drink the fish soup. Then he fell into a deep sleep.

Andy stood alone outside the little house, gazing up at the star-filled sky and the enormous moon.

Wasn't Azeroth Continent supposed to have two moons? Why was there only this absurdly huge white one? Where was the blue one?

Andy's thoughts churned as he considered his situation.

It seemed things here weren't quite like they were in the game. Weren't all the Elves in the game covered in colorful skin, none of them looking remotely human? Only the Blood Elves, who had split off from the High Elves, had fair skin. But the Elves here only had different-colored hair; most had white skin, while a few had tanned to a wheatish brown.

What was he supposed to do? Spend his whole life in this world? How? Become a fisherman or a hunter?

What period was he in, anyway? Teldrassil existed, which meant the explosion of the Well of Eternity had already split the continent in two. One part was called Kalimdor, and the other was the Eastern Kingdoms.

He just didn't know whether the Horde had already occupied this part of Kalimdor.

After standing there dazed for a while, Andy shook his head hard. It didn't matter. He couldn't even leave the island of Teldrassil, let alone make his own way to the main city of Darnassus.

Sigh. The thing the Creator God had given him still hadn't appeared. What was it? He'd said Andy would know when the time came, but when would that be?

After a night's sleep, Andy got up especially early. The things the morning tide had washed ashore were still on the beach. He'd better collect some before the tide took them back out. They might be small, but there were plenty of them.

Andy grabbed his basket and headed for the beach. He'd just picked up a few small shells when, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a Giant Fiddler Crab cautiously crawling out of the sea, its two beady eyes darting around.

Damn it! Andy cursed inwardly. Wasn't that the crab that had toyed with him yesterday? How had it escaped being dinner for those big Naga?

Andy lowered himself until he was almost lying flat on the sand.

The giant crab inched forward without even glancing his way. It had no idea that it had run straight into its little Elf nemesis.

"Stop right there! This tree is mine, and this road is mine too! Uh... no, wait, what am I even saying?" Andy muttered.

The giant crab froze in fright for a full five seconds. Andy stood with both arms spread, blocking its path.

Five seconds later, the giant crab swiftly turned around, on the verge of fleeing.

In a sudden flash of inspiration, Andy shouted, "Kick!" He spun and launched a flying kick, sending the giant crab sailing through the air. It plunged headfirst into the sand and lay motionless.

Andy didn't stop to wonder how he'd kicked the giant crab— the one that had bullied him before and nearly cost him his life—into stillness. All he could think about was how he'd found something to eat today.

Using the grass rope he carried with him, Andy tied the giant crab up tight and tossed it into his basket. Watching it struggle inside, he couldn't help laughing.

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

Andy frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly leaped up. Wasn't "Kick" a skill used by Rogues—that is, Stealth users?

What was going on?

Andy was standing there, lost in thought, when he suddenly fell straight onto the sand, stiff and motionless as if dead, his eyes wide open.

But inside Andy's mind, an entirely different scene was unfolding:

"Monster Spirit activated!"

"Host detected. Automatically scanning host!"

"Host name: Andy. Host class: none. Abilities: none. Level: none. Two skills: Kick, a Stun skill and a melee skill. Beast Tracking, a passive skill with a range of thirty meters."

"Waking host!"

"Ah!" Andy sat bolt upright and gasped for breath. What was all that?

What was Monster Spirit? As soon as Andy thought the question, a synthesized voice sounded in his mind: "Monster Spirit is the host's parasitic system, a gift from the Creator God to the host, Andy!"

"Are you kidding me?" Andy suddenly cursed aloud. "You old bastard! This is all you gave me? You could've at least given me an artifact! What good is this system? If I'm going to die, I'll still die!"

"Your insult to the Creator God has been duly recorded and will be sent directly to the Creator God!" The system's words made Andy obediently shut his mouth. Who knew where that old Creator God might strike him with a fatal blow?

"Monster Spirit..." Andy gave a bitter laugh. "Why didn't you give me a giant foot?"

"All right, let me ask you something. What can you do?" Andy asked in his mind.

"Assist the host in learning various skills, assist the host in identifying various resources, assist the host..." The system continued listing its functions one by one.

"Can you make me invincible in an instant?" Andy asked.

"No. The host must learn all kinds of skills independently, including combat skills. The system can only rapidly increase the host's skill proficiency!" Monster Spirit explained.

"Fine. It's better than nothing!" Andy stood up and brushed the sand off himself, saying helplessly, "But I have to say, this is freaking awesome!"