Gales POV
"Is this really the best they could give me?"
After opening my system, I took a look at my skills, but I was a little underwhelmed by the options laid out in front of me.
[Jack of all trades]
[Regeneration]
[Inventory] (Minor)
[Assistant]
[Beastial Takeover] (Locked)
[Absorption]
At first glance, these sounded pretty good, and I was a little ecstatic... until I read them a little closer.
[Jack of all trades]- gain proficiency in all manners of physical combat and with weapons.
[Jack of all trades] didn't sound too bad until I realized a few key words in the explanation. I'll be able to learn all physical combat and learn how to use weapons faster than normal, but it's just that. Proficiency but not mastery, so I would have to put in my own effort in the end. I wasn't sure if the same benefits would apply to learning magic, but I would worry about that later. It was a solid skill I could use consistently, unlike the next one.
[Regeneration]- Once a day, regenerate half of your total HP but temporarily reduce your stamina status by half for the rest of the day.
This one hurt more than I thought. When I read this one, my mind started thinking of all the possibilities until I read the actual skill—not counting the once-a-day use, which was a little upsetting, but temporarily losing half of my entire stamina was awful. One of my main strengths is my high stamina, and losing half of one of my strengths, even temporarily, could be devastating in a life-or-death situation if I end up passing out from exhaustion.
[Inventory] (Minor) - place any item (other than living beings or items in excessive size) in storage. Any items placed in inventory will remain in the same state as when placed. (Currently 32% full) ( Can be upgraded)
This skill actually had quite a bit of use. Being able to store nearly anything in the inventory makes traveling around less of a hassle, and the best part is that no food will go bad regardless of how long it takes. The only downside was the limited capacity of the inventory, which was already a third full from the survival kit, and I had no idea how to upgrade the skill. I decided to put that matter aside for now and focused on the next three that were the most intriguing.
[Assistant]- Activating this skill will turn on the System's special assistant that will assist the system user in navigating the system.
A special assistant. I wasn't clear on the type of assistant the skill would provide; the description was a bit vague. Was it similar to an AI and had some awareness? After a bit of thinking, I decided to check it out after I finished looking at the last and most unnerving skill.
[Absorption]
That was all that was displayed for the skill, and that worried me. I found the skill off. It was as if it was never meant to be a part of the system. I then remembered what Ashes told me about the curse that the wolf demihuman placed on himself and all future wolves. Looks like I was just the next unlucky sap to inherit the curse. Maybe it only became a part of the system because of the curse, and that would explain why there's no proper description. I stared at the skill and decided not to try to use it for now, as it was too dangerous and unpredictable.
I let out a sigh once I finished reviewing my new skills that caught Ashes' attention, who asked if I was alright.
"It's nothing, just checking some stuff."
I took a bit of time to process all the information I just gathered and tried to clear my head a bit by drinking a bit of water, and asked Ashes for the bottle, which she gave without hesitation. After taking a sip of water, I mentally prepared myself and opened my system window again and went to the skills tab again. I pulled up the Assistant skill and decided to activate it. If the skill is really meant to help me, then it might be able to give me more answers than what Ashes could provide.
Would you like to activate [Assistant]?
I agreed, and soon my entire window glowed an almost blinding light that made me cringe from how bright it was. Ashes asked what was wrong. Eventually, the glow condensed into a small orb that separated from the system window and floated in front of me. Once the glow finally stopped, in its place was a small blue orb with a simple-looking face.
"Hello, new user! I am the special assistant Codec 8391NN32 assigned to help you with all your needs, but you can call me Codec!"
....It was more energetic than I expected.
"It's so wonderful to meet you after all this time, user! I thought you would never activate me or that you might end up dying in the mines!"
This thing really had zero filter.
"No worries, user! I'm here to make sure you won't find yourself in a situation like that again! I was one of the most impressive new assistants out of all the other Codecs and-"
Would you like to deactivate [Assistant]?
"W-wait, user, why are you trying to deactivate me? Did I say something wrong? I can do a better job and-"
"You talk way too much."
"H-huh?"
"I get that you're supposed to be something very impressive, but you've done nothing but gloat about yourself and basically insult me for being in a situation in which I had no control over. Why shouldn't I deactivate you?"
"I-I apologize for the disrespect, user and-"
"Another thing, stop calling me user. The name's Gale ok."
"Gale? But it says here that your name is-"
"It's Gale."
"Y-yes, Gale!"
As I continued this conversation with Codec, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Ashes with a worried look, asking me, "Is everything ok? Why are you talking to yourself?"
I forgot that Ashes couldn't see the system, so it makes sense that she can't see Codec. It must have looked like I was talking to myself, and I took the time to explain what was happening.
"Ohhh. I thought you were having a heatstroke." Said Ashes as she sighed in relief.
"Sooo..." Ashes said as she stared at the air in front of me, "You have an assistant now? That's cool."
"What a bright young girl to recognize how cool I am!" Exclaimed Codec with a triumphant look on its face.
I pressed my fingers to my temple as I felt a headache coming on and, against my better judgment, decided to ask Codec some questions.
"Alright, Codec, I have a lot of questions for you, and you better be able to answer them. Can we speak in my head instead of out loud?"
"But of course u- I mean Gale. I can speak directly into your mind! Ask me whatever you like!"
'What was the reason I was sent to this world?'
"....Um. I'm not sure..."
'Why was I made into a wolf demihuman instead of literally anything else?'
"I-I d-don't know-"
'Do you have any knowledge about this world's history?'
"....I know the world is called Eidocosm."
Would you like to deactivate [Assistant]?
"Wait, please don't deactivate me! I admit I don't know much about the world, but I promise I can be useful! I can read any language you show me and manage the system and your skills for you when you don't have the time. Please don't send me back into the system! I beg you!"
My hand hovered over the deactivate button for a moment before I decided not to press it.
'Fine, I won't deactivate you. So long as you don't mess around and actually help.'
"Thank you so much, Gale. I promise I won't let you down!"
'So, Codec, what's the deal with this skill? All it does is show the name and nothing else.'
"What? That can't be right."
I then saw Codec pull up the skills window and could see what looked like a confused expression on its face as it looked at the end of the skills tab and saw Absorption.
"W-what is this? This isn't one of the skills that are given to the system users. Let me try to remove it..."
I could see Codec glow slightly along with the system window, and I could feel a slight pain in my chest as Codec looked as though it began to glitch a little and was sent flying away.
"Ahhh@%$$&#,#@!"
As quickly as it was sent flying, it soon came back with a bewildered expression.
"What is that?! I've never seen anything like that in the handbooks!"
'You guys have handbooks?'
"Of course we do; how else are we supposed to learn how to help the users best? But the handbooks don't say anything about a skill that hurts the assistant!"
'Years ago, apparently, there was a wolf demihuman that used a curse to transfer its power over to a random wolf demihuman, and I'm the lucky guy who inherited it.'
"O-oh. I'm sorry I really never knew such a thing was possible, but I promise that I'll try to find a way to remove it!"
'Don't worry about it. It's not bothering me right now.'
I was concerned about the slight pain in my chest, so I decided not to mess with the skill any further until I better understood it.
Once I gathered my thoughts, I turned to Ashes, who was patiently waiting for me, and spoke to her.
"Sorry for the wait. You ready to head back out?"
"Yup! I'm all rested up and ready to walk again!"
"Oooh, are you on a journey? How exciting! I can't wait to see the world and experience it for myself!"
I sighed. This was going to be a long journey.