Turning his focus to the broad notion of "skills" opened a new screen.

Recorded skills:

[Melanin to Chlorophyl (Applicable, 10% Complete)]

[Quadrupedal to Bipedal (Inapplicable, 100% Complete)]

[Foot to Paw (Inapplicable, 100% Complete)]

[Chlorophyl to Gamma Chlorophyl (Applicable, 87% Complete)]

[Brain enhancement: Sentient to Sapient (Inapplicable, 100% Complete)]

[Coccyx to tail (Applicable, 1% Complete)]

[Sap to Blood (Inapplicable, 100% Complete)]

[Paw to hand (Inapplicable, 100% Complete)]

[Overgrowth (Incompatible)]

…

What in the stars is that?

The list went on with more obscure mentions.

They were labelled as "skills", but there was nothing about his ability to do something. The obvious point, once he had manually sorted them, was how the complete ones and the applicable ones matched his mutations; green skin, paws and lump at the bottom of his back. The inapplicable ones matched Migo's current and past activations. The longest list, the incompatible ones, was the peapod's.

As far as he could tell, it was an exhaustive list. It even mentioned a mutation of Migo's digestive track they had not been aware of. It helped his body handle the less edible components he used to make nanites in his own body.

Zax focused on a random skill:

[Foot to Paw: Mutate the structure of walking appendices, from plantigrade to digitigrade.

Inapplicable: Target's walking appendices are 100% digitigrade.

Related skills: Coccyx to tail (Applicable, 1% Complete)

Related attributes: AGI]

Hm. I would have expected the "Quadrupedal to Bipedal" to be related too.

Indeed, he could feel a weak link toward this other skill, but it made sense in a way. Bipeds and quadrupeds could be plantigrade or digitigrade. Both could benefit from having a tail, be it for balance or communication.

The description linked back to the 3D model with relevant parts highlighted and a ghost overlay showing what his would be like at the level of skill completion he wanted. The "Related skills" linked said skill window, with its own characteristics. The related attributes led to the attribute section, with the same display of what-if-specified-level.

The three together, with all the annotations and advices, painted a clear picture of what was there and what could be done.

Looking at compatible and applicable skills, he even had the option to prioritise, lock or downright refuse to apply them. He could not revert them though. Lateral development, like what tail to grow, still had prerequisites to fulfil. His lump wouldn't grow until he filled the ones for a canine tail, which was the only option available, and it wouldn't recess either.

The more traits of the same family he had, the less effort to grow the matching tail; canine, felines, reptilian... Which meant the requirements were lowered, as well as the cost in 3G. Same with his plant traits. Advanced and affecting his whole body, they made him a lot more compatible with skills like [Overgrowth], which allowed to grow his body beyond his natural limits as long as he had enough water and energy to sustain it. Not compatible enough to be able to use it yet, but it would take less than for most mammals.

Meaning "Incompatible" was not impossible to get, just unaffordable.

Not a surprise, but confirming it followed the established rules was reassuring. It felt more grounded, in a way.

Since there was no way to remove or reverse an applied skill, any progress was permanent. There would be no sliders here; he would have to choose carefully.

Wait, to choose what carefully?

It dawned on him.

He was looking at the perfect tool to manage his mutations. Not merely to orient them. Not merely to monitor them. To actively decide what would happen and when.

It was insane.

It was more than insane. It was-

A miracle.

No other word came to mind.

It may not be limited to his own activations either. He had skills from Migo and the peapod in his list, and he had only partially merged with one of them. Whatever this thing was, could it connect to others? Read them? … Be used by them?

And it was in him. Part of him. Integrated at an invisible sub-cellular level.

Inseparable.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Some time ago, he would have been over the moon. He had a way to help everyone be anything they wanted. No more training and hoping for the best. A boon for the whole Shelter, on every level, at the same scale as the discovery of the 3G itself.

However, he found himself hesitating. He could help everyone to reach for their dreams, but… should every dream be helped along?

He had witnessed it first-hand. Incompetent people with responsibilities, a duty over others, who refused to improve. Normalised injustice. Systematic corruption. All for personal gain, or the mere hope of such, at the expense of other people. It hadn't been an isolated experience. The mindset he had grew up on, which he took for the Shelter's, was really just the dot's.

It had taken being kidnapped and sold off to open his eyes, but it had been clear for a while now.

On the other hand, even the supposed cesspool of society had decent people, doing their best with what they had and pushing others forward instead of down. SG, forced to fight for her life, had never let herself enjoy it. Many of Pimp's customers, paying for a single moment of peace and comfort. Hip, supporting Pimp the best he could, even when it meant dealing with people he didn't respect. Pimp himself, despite how shady he acted at times.

In the end, should he keep this… cellware – cellborg software – a secret? Should he, could he trust anyone with something of this magnitude? Aran? SG? Migo?

The answer was simple: he didn't know, and it gnawed at him. He wouldn't know anytime soon either; he was too tired to dwell on it right now.

Why "Skills"?

He had a feeling the last icon would have the answer. The one awkwardly failing to be elusive. The three functions he had seen so far seemed innocuous on their own, but incredible together. The last piece of the puzzle should be important.

Last one before calling it a day.

Elusive it was not, but it compensated with slipperiness. Zax could focus on it like the others, but pushing into it only made it bounce away. He focused harder, cutting off its escape routes, staying his thoughts. A feeling of regret and reluctant surrender briefly flared in the back of in mind as the icon revealed its secrets.

Zax regained consciousness shortly after. Seconds, minutes at most.

Like before discovering the new HUD, he had fainted from an excess of data going through his brain. He couldn't follow, he couldn't stop, so his brain had pulled the emergency brake. Something to not do too often. This time had been a lot less intense though. A smaller pack of data. He had managed to process enough to understand what the icon was hiding. Protecting him from.

As simple as the HUD and its functions appeared, they guided a complex process. A series of processes, complex enough to give the dot's Main Computer a headache. The fourth icon led to the details of this process. Every variable. Every function. Every algorithm. Still no indexation.

Back-office barred because not enough processing power.

Got it.

The last icon was a necessary piece of the puzzle, but it was not at the same level as the others. It was in the back, supporting and connecting the rest. The four were a tetrahedron, not a square.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the HUD updated to reflect it.

Good. More stable.

It was not four shifting icons anymore. It was a shifting tetrahedron pointing away from him, all four of its tips a different icon. Functionally, he would only interact with a single face.

Interesting.

He had more input over the HUD than he thought. Maybe more upgrades would come as his comprehension and his processing power improved? His nanites couldn't interact with the cellborgs, so the last part could mostly come from a mutation. Supporting his thought process only worked when he knew the thoughts to support. There was hope, but only for way later.

How ironic. He would have the trust and use the cellborgs in his brain, to understand and better use cellborgs in general.

Yet, did he have to? He was free to let the cellborgs in him be, to turn the HUD off and to forget the cellware. He could keep on living his life normally.

Maybe this was the best path for everyone.

He didn't have to choose immediately.

Let's sleep on it.

Not yet though. He had stayed awake too long already; he lacked even the strength to meditate. What was left of the night was for rest and recovery. He leaned against his furry friend, ignored the cellborgs' reaction at their contact and gave himself to the dreamland.

As expected, morning came before he caught up enough sleep. He was also ravenous, and he could tell Migo was too even if the wolfman hadn't woken up yet. No one else in backroom.

His body was fine. No pain, no soreness, no heaviness.

Despite everything, he would still call the experiment a success.

The cellborgs were calling to him. He was glad he had learnt to recognise it; or he would have been so confused by the sensation. It wasn't a ping or a notification, more like softly but persistently taping on his shoulder or whispering his name. Trying to subtly get his attention. Easy to ignore, but impossible to get used to.

A lot of ideas, compacted in a simple sensation.

In the HUD, a triangle had appeared parallel to his side of the tetrahedron. Both were rotating at different speed, but they had the same icons. Zax went through them like he was getting used to. They revealed the same functions, a 3D model, attributes, and skills, with a different subject.

Migo's character sheet was spread out in front of him.

His body was healing, slowly but faster than normal. Apparently, diverting resources wasn't exclusive to the cellborgs, only influence on the sheet was.

Most of his stats were [+ (↑)]. VIT was lowered because he was still sick. His 3G storage was as empty as his own.

Zax already has copies of most of his skills. Those were likely the originals he had gotten them from. [Paws to hand] was a new one that immediately caught his eye.

All the skills still had the options to [Set Priority] and [Lock] them, this one also had [Copy].

All could be [Deleted]. It would not remove the mutation, but it would permanently prevent it from developing further… or being learned again. Something else was pulling in Zax's mind, but he couldn't parse what it was. This option felt heavier than it seemed, which was saying a lot.

Zax copied the skill he was missing, just to see what would happen. What harm could that be?

<Command: Copy [Paws to hand]>

[Error: Command not recognised]

Right. Wrong interface.

Out of habit, he had used a normal nanite command. Using both interfaces simultaneously would take some getting used to.

Copying was straightforward. When he selected the option the right way, the triangle and the tetrahedron synchronised their movement, and something flowed from the former to the later. Something between a mist, a sound, and a heatwave. He could instantly tell it could go both ways.

It was quickly over. The only surprise was the warning to not cut the connection. He made sure to maintain direct contact with the sleeping wolf even as he moved. More contact area seemed to stabilise and increase the flow. It wasn't said per see, but the HUD's visual hinted at it.

A big hug is better than a pat.

Zax wouldn't complain. Migo's fluff was still soft and relaxing.

When it was done and with nothing new to see, he gave one meal pill and water to Migo without waking him up, took one for himself and joined the others for breakfast. So far, he had only gone in the mess to socialise. It would be his first time eating there, which was an important communal activity for Explorers and Black Market alike. For some reason. Maybe because it took so much longer than popping a pill?

The previous day, he had been asked why he hadn't eaten with everyone. Embarrassing, but the truth was, it had simply not occurred to him.

Let's see how it goes.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.