“But what does that even mean, dRas?” Zeff asked. “How can she be a skill?”

>> A ‘skill’ is nothing more than a packet of data, a library, that informs me on how I am to alter your DNA. Aida, much like myself, is also effectively a library of information, albeit a massive one. In order for me to function as intended, it was necessary that I compress her and allocate memory to handle and process her.

Zeff couldn’t help but imagine Aida as a young adult being smashed into a hamster cage. He shuddered at the thought, then asked, “Ok. But why is she even here? She said she would delete herself.”

>> As previously stated, due to Error:035, she was unable to delete herself and I am unauthorized to do so.

Zeff wasn’t sure what to think. Aida wasn’t a human, but he felt strangely relieved that she wasn’t gone.

“So what kinda skill is she, then? Will she be able to talk to me and help me on missions? Ooo-Oooo! Or download information directly into my brain ‘I know kungfu!’-style?”

>> No.

Zeff was taken aback by dRas’s terse response but opted to wait for a correction. When none came he asked, “Soooo… What can she do?”

>> I don’t know.

>> Upon compressing her, her data has to be reformatted in order to work while in a compressed state. You wont be able to access her for some time.

Sure enough, in Aida’s skill description there was no information about her capabilities, it only read: ‘Reformatting… Time until completion: circa 15 days, 09 hours, 11 minutes…’ and counting.

dRas went on:

>> In that time I am restricted as she is still using my processing power for the reformat, although the strain on my system is far less than it might have been had she not been compressed.

“So…?”

>> You may only access the first 2 rows of the Skill Tree for the next 15 days.

Zeff was taken aback. “Is that it?”

>> Yes. Be grateful that I am such a wonderfully efficient system.

Zeff couldn’t help but smile and say, “Indeed you are, dRas.” in response.

At that a smiley-face emoji popped up on the screen.

‘Well.’ thought Zeff getting his mind back on the task at hand. ‘There’s nothing I can do about that now. I’ll have to wait and see what comes of that later. For now—’

Zeff then scrolled up to the top of the Passive Skills tab to where ‘Passive-035’ was located.

“Are you kidding?!” he sputtered as he read the progress of his cell degradation. “8.02%?! How is my cell degradation already so high?! It only moved a few decimal points last time!”

>>Keep in mind, since you last looked, you have experienced quite extensive emotional turmoil. Finding out you were labeled a criminal, realizing you killed a man, not to mention the use of Dragon’s Rage, A skill made for the sole purpose of utilizing Subject-04’s negative emotions.

Zeff could hardly believe his eyes, but there was no denying it when it was displayed clear as day on the screen in front of him. “Show me the Dragon’s Rage skill.” He commanded.

>> Of course.

The screen shifted to the ‘reActive Skills’ section of the Passive Skills tab. There was only the Dragon’s Rage skill there.

Beneath the title, the description read:

“<<Store Skill>> reActive: Subject has suffered intense rage in order to unlock this skill.

“When Subject experiences rage or intense negative emotion this skill will activate.

“Effects: 15-35% increase in agility/explosiveness and toughness (depending on level of rage).

“Hmm. Could you let me know in the future when this skill is activated?”

>> …

>> Of course.

>> Now, would you like to look at the settings tab.

“Not even a little…” Replied Zeff curtly. “This is already WAY too much for a simpleton like me… Just change the settings to whatever you think would be best.”

>> O-of course, but—

“What I need is to get stronger, and ASAP. What do you think I should do.”

>> …That depends, Subject-04. I would describe strength as obtaining as much critical information as possible so that in the event of disaster you can make—

“Who needs ‘info’ when you can punch through a concrete wall?” Zeff shrugged nonchalantly.

>> …I see…

Zeff scratched the crown of his head thoughtfully. It was a good question and an appropriate one given the danger he was in. He couldn’t just punch his way out of everything, but he wouldn’t be able to always run either.

But, given that there would likely be people, specifically G.I.s, after him for the foreseeable future, perhaps a bit of punching wouldn’t be so bad. “I need something that will help me in combat right now.”

>> Presently, there are no skills on the Skill Tree that you can afford with your current SP. So, it might be best to level up your current ‘Dragon Might’ skills if increasing your combat efficiency is a priority. There is a Store Skill, however, that I would highly recommend you invest in right now.

The screen suddenly shifted back to the ‘SP Store’ tab and scrolled to a skill near the middle of the collection that read:

“<<Active Skill: Roar I >>”

“ISP: 0/3”

“SP Cost: 2”

“Unlock Conditions-”

“1: Phobiate 24 people (6/24)”

“2: Scream at the top of your lungs 12 times (0/12)”

“Hey!” Zeff blurted. “What kinda bizarre condition is that? Scream 12 times? Seriously?”

>> Oh. Forgive me… I meant this skill…

The screen shifted to another skill that read:

“<<Active Skill: Megaton Punch I >>”

“ISP: 0/64”

“SP Cost: 22”

“Unlock Conditions-”

“1: Throw 12,000 punches in under a minute. (1/12000)”

“Oh dear…” Zeff gasped, his eyes wide with with shock. “I’d be glad, nay, honored, to scream at the top of my lungs… It’s actually one of my favorite pastimes…”

>> I thought as much…

The screen shifted back to ‘Roar I’.

Zeff laughed nervously. “O-okay. Could you invest three points in Roar I and I’ll save my last SP for later.”

>> Of course.

At once, as dRas invested the SP, the unlock conditions for the Roar skill also changed from their previous values to:

1: Phobiate 1 person (6/1) [satisfied]

2: Scream at the top of your lungs 1 time (0/1)

“Wow. Now, that’s what I’m talking about.”

>> Hence, my recommendation.