Ed spent less than an hour extracting various different skills from the orc consciousness. The different skills were all interesting in their own way.
[<(Orc) Axemanship lvl. 6> Skill Ink]
[<(Orc) Dancing lvl. 4> Skill Ink]
[<(Orc) Instinct lvl. 0> Skill Ink]
Ed had inserted all of those skills into the goblin consciousness. Most of them were cut in half as far as level. The instinct skill was not even learned properly to boot.
[<Gut Feeling lvl. 0> has been branded]
It was instead converted into a gut feeling skill which Ed wasn't entirely sure would be very useful in most scenarios.
'I wonder if I can extract it and then put it on myself' A gut feeling skill couldn't be wrong in every aspect, right? The main issue Ed could foresee was the fact that some of these were body skills. The fact that Ed could even obtain some of these skills from consciousnesses was already something that deeply confused him.
The orc's Instinct for example was limited to orcs, this was likely the reason for the transformation into gut feeling. But that wasn't the point, the point was that it should have been exclusive to the orc body in every way, he shouldn't have been able to extract it in the first place!
'Well, the consciousness has to have some trace of it' If a grizzled warrior were to somehow switch into a new body they wouldn't suddenly forget how to wield their weapons of choice now, would they?
'I guess some of my predictions were simply off the mark' Ed found it a pity that the system didn't just spell things out for him, but there was no point in crying over such a thing this late into the game.
Back to the issue at hand however, Ed had multiple bodies so if the consciousnesses did still retain some skills… how exactly did it do it?
'I've always been able to relearn skills from one body to the next with relative ease, this must be why' So if the main purpose of the branding machine was to spread skills… if he were to use it on himself would it be simply making it easier to acquire?
To Ed that sounded like a logical conclusion so he left things there and promptly exited the system. He opened the garden shack's door and noticed Bob next to the door.
'Bob is still knocked out' Ed commented as before closing the door behind him and facing forward. Much to his surprise, Sharog was right in front of him! It in fact looked like she was waiting for him.
"Erm, Ed. Th- That human… why did you bring him here?" Sharog asked unsure if she really should be vocal on the topic. When she saw the sack previously it was still uncertain if Ed had kidnapped a human. But even if she had been certain, talking about it when all the settlement orcs were present would have been simply unwise.
"Oh, I'm going to interrogate him" Ed responded honestly. He didn't think he would kill him soon but he also didn't see himself keeping him for long. As unfortunate as it was, Bob had a human soul which Ed just so happened to never have enough of.
"I see. Can… Can you let me be there when you do?" Sharog sincerely requested. Once again Ed found that there was no need to keep her away from things but…
"I'm not sure when it'll be so I can't guarantee it" Ed admired her desire to seek out the truth of her situation, assuming that was what drove this request, but with how he worked it was hard to picture a full-fledged interrogation happening in the near future.
With this short exchange out of the way, Ed and Sharog parted. She remained to create more potions and Ed started to run over to where the goblins were lodged.
"Oh! Ed!" On the way to the goblins, however, Ed was intercepted by an unfamiliar orc. The first thing he did was to scan the orc before they could even catch their breath.
[Gorgo (Excited)]
[Assessment has leveled up]
'Huh neat' The assessment skill leveled up at that moment by chance. That was also when Gorgo had the chance to speak the words he so hurriedly ran over to deliver.
"Dakgu is awake!" Gorgo yelled displaying that great excitement the assessment spoke of earlier. His words did merit excitement some excitement though so it was only fair.
"I'll go quickly have a look then" Ed wasn't sure if there were any serious side effects to the method used to recover Dakgu. He expected some minor memory loss but he needed to perform a small check-up through assessment at the least to be a hundred percent certain.
The two ran over to Dakgu's lodging and entered. There they saw that the subject in question was still laying in bed.
"E- Ed!!!" He shouted excited to see the latter. His eyes held traces of deep respect.
"Dakgu, I'm glad to have you with us" Ed said with a smile that expressed this. He was training Dakgu to run things for him alongside Sharog, so how could he let him die? This also meant he felt responsible for him.
"I- Thanks, I'm not sure what you mean…" Dakgu in his usual awkwardness responded with mild embarrassment.
Ed understanding what was happening sighed while Gorgo seemed to be slightly mad by Dakgu's lack of awareness.
"Dak, after making us go through that you dare say you are unsure! What else could it be but that you were out like a log?!" Gorgo screamed in reprove.
Ed stopped Gorgo before he could continue his small rant by signaling at him with his hand.
"I'll take care of him, Gorgo please exit" Ed said surprising Gorgo. This was both because of the contents of Ed's sentence but also because of Ed using his name. Feeling somewhat touched, he quietly closed the door and left.
Ed then started to recount the events that transgressed to get Dakgu to his current state. He had learned all of this from Sharog, but Ed described everything with a deeper understanding of it.
'He must have died but as his body was preserved it was still possible to revive in a non-zombified state' He had initially been afraid that Dakgu would end up like some of his experiments but suffice to say that hadn't happened.
"Th- That's crazy…" Dakgu muttered learning the full picture. He had died! The scariest part was that he couldn't even remember having died! Dakgu couldn't help but gulp nervously all the while considering the extra information Ed provided.
This included how they retrieved his consciousness from God and how this was all thanks to the goblins he captured.
"I- I'll need to thank them" There was, unfortunately, a language barrier but Dakgu was certain they'd pick up his sincerity.
Ed and Dakgu then stayed silently in the room for about a good minute.
"Then... What will you do now?" The first one to break the silence was surprisingly Dakgu as he asked an odd question.
"Me?" Ed replied subconsciously to which Dakgu nodded. Ed pondered what he could mean before answering.
"I'll do what I've always done" Ed answered causing the light of admiration in Dakgu's eyes to recede ever so slightly.
"I see…" Dakgu was disappointed. He had entered Sanctuary because he had no other choices but even if 100 other settlements were pinned against this one he knew this would have still been his pick.
The reason was Ed. But after staying here the reason was more than just Ed, it was also the friends like Gorgo that he made.
To Dakgu, Ed was a teacher he wished he had. But after tossing him to work with the boars Dakgu rarely caught a glimpse of him. He was a bit dejected by this.
After dying… he could only say he wasn't strong enough. The skills he learned were strong, but his wisdom was limited. If only… If only Ed had offered to help… He was too afraid to ask after all.
'Now's a good a time as any' Ed activated his assessment skill and scanned Dakgu.
[Dakgu (Disappointed)]
{The ex-tribe leader of the thunder cry tribe. Currently, tends to orcs in Sanctuary. After dying once, Dakgu finds himself to be too weak. Given his bodies current condition, it is an accurate assessment}
Ed sifted through the assessment quickly and picked up some key points. Dakgu was feeling disappointed about being too weak and he was weak due to his body having been frozen for who knew how long.
It couldn't have been too long based on Shel's and Sharog's versions of the story, but the time was not any short. Dakgu should have been dead in Ed's eyes.
'Now, I should probably test out the goblin consciousness' Dakgu would recover in a couple of days. He could get going with a settled heart.
"Oh, right. Dakgu, I'll have to try and teach you some things" If things went well with the goblins he could do the same for Dakgu. His consciousness had entered the system before and all, so things like command could work in the worst-case scenario.
'But, let's be extra careful' There was no need to test this out on Dakgu first. He could use some other orcs from the settlement.
"R- Really!?" Dakgu unaware of Ed's thoughts asked excitedly. It was almost enough for him to jump out of bed, almost, but his body wouldn't budge.
"Yes" Ed said honestly. If things went well then Ed could start handing skills left and right to all!