There were also interesting connotations behind the fact that these lenses could effectively change Myst from one…wavelength…to another…
Does the Myst actually behave like light when interacting with a lens? Jeb thought, his mind buzzing. The idea had been tickling the back of his mind for a while, but after talking with Acorn, he was nearly positive.
If Myst behaves like light, then if I were to carve the worm stick into the shape of a lens, I could make it summon a giant freakin’ worm! Or put two indents on it to split the light and make two giant worms.
He pulled the square piece of bone out of his pocket and inspected it, still crawling with phantom scarabs.
Or carve thirty-two by thirty-two dots to summon one thousand twenty four identical worms.
“EEK!” Acorn screeched, backing away from the bone lens like it was radioactive.
“Do you have any idea what that could do to us!?” he said, pointing at the lens with a shaking hand.
“Nothing good, I imagine,” Jeb said. “I was planning on saving it for rations.” He slipped it back in his pocket.
“Just to confirm, if the lens concentrates the Myst into a single point, It’s a more pronounced effect than if it’s scattered all over the place, correct?”
“Of course,” Acorn said, still eyeing Jeb’s pocket nervously.
“If I break a lens apart, will all the pieces of it retain their ability to alter Myst?”
“Yeah, are you really going to keep that?”
“Yes. Are creatures that I create with these lenses under my control?”
Acorn shook his head. “Not without some kind of control lens or taming lens, or your Myst Core is a Summoning one. That’s why that lens is so dangerous. If you used that in here, and missed killing even a single breeding pair… they might eat all of us.”
“I promise not to use this lens anywhere near your tree,” Jeb said.
“Not in the forest at all, would be better.” Acorn said.
“I don’t know yet if I’ll need it, so I can’t promise that.” Acorn looked miffed.
“Well, that was all the burning questions I had for you – ah, wait – how much would you charge to actually collect these lenses for me?”
“We physically can’t move treasure placed by the System for the Tutorial.” Acorn said, shaking his head. “Otherwise the fairies of the woods would have already looted everything.”
“Suppose you’re right about that,” Jeb said, nodding.
Alright, now we need to expand our repertoire. Can’t expect everything to just run into a spear on its own.
Now testing: Floppy objects, and multiple objects at once.
For his first test, Jeb grabbed the garrote wire and set it down in front of him, injecting it with Myst and lifting it up.
The wire stayed looped up like it had been when he first set it down.
He turned it upside down and tried to stretch it out, but his Myst felt like it was locked in position. The garrote stayed pooled up in a loop, unmoving in his mental grasp.
He worked on it for half an hour without any discernable progress, then switched tactics, aiming at learning how to move two things at once.
There was more progress on this front. Rather than feeling like an unyielding wall, this simply felt like really difficult juggling.
If someone had a gun to your head and told you to learn how to juggle, you’d probably learn pretty fuckin’ quick.
Jeb was in the same situation, and he poured all his concentration and focus into mastering the skill. Eventually he was rewarded with two spears, floating independently of each other.
There were some caveats, though.
Jeb had to target both of them with a fresh batch of myst drawn from his core. Something about splitting the myst into two identical portions was easier than lifting one object then another.
He was sure he’d get the hang of it eventually, but for now he needed to target both objects at the same time.
Still, it gave him a lot more options than he’d had before.
Stab, stab, He thought, the two spears lunging forward at his mental urging. His speed had improved.
Jeb had the feeling his Core was nowhere near done growing. His magic, and the little burning star inside him, would continue growing stronger until he stumbled across whatever his limit was, most likely defined by his Myst.
The setting sun suddenly darkened, and Jeb glanced up, spotting the World Tortoise in the distance, having just walked in front of the sun, casting a shadow over the entire forest. The sunlight cast a red glow around the creature’s shell, which played host to its own forest, where the parasites lived.
Stab, stab, Jeb thought, closing one eye to remove his depth perception and pretending to stab the boss monster.
***2 days 23 hours remaining***
Jessica got back with the items that night, tossing him the cane that was seemingly made of one solid piece of ivory.
Vivicant Cane, Consumable item.
Carried as a supplementary item by the vaunted healers of Mestikos, These Canes allow the master healers to handle emergencies when circumstances would otherwise prevent them from being able to help, maintaining their prided success rate even in the most adverse conditions, along with their priceless prestige.
Channel Myst through this valuable cane to heal wounds and remove fatigue in an area of effect.
Effect is proportional Myst spent.
4/4 Uses remaining
Nice, Jeb thought, setting it down beside him, his mental evaluation of Jessica going up a notch. She came back despite having a map in her head, rather than leaving him to his own devices, or selling the information to another group and disappearing entirely.
They set up a warning system around the edge of the safe zone and went to sleep.
