1.19.2 Old guy meets the cute young girl.

"No, Commander. He didn't speak of you while in the research ward. I only ever get a small chance to talk with him, to begin with. And he could barely make up words as the pain of regeneration was too much for him." Tarkov calmly told the man in front of him.

But this calm was only on the surface. For the person sitting in front of him was none other than the man that had killed his tribesmen all those years ago.

It was Yoshikov, his target for all these years.

"Oh I see, I do understand how painful it would be for him. I was just worried about how he disappeared from the world in the last few days so I thought I should ask someone close by." Yoshikov was frustrated. After the city went on a lockdown due to beast invasion warnings, Yoshikov thought it would be the perfect chance for him to drag Girisia away from WIlkis's watch,

But his luck didn't play out as he wanted. Whether it was fate or just a bad coincidence, Girisia had been dragged to be administered with regen medicine. And as one's body requires a huge nutritional intake during this time, Girisia couldn't even move.

As for kidnapping Girisia from the Research Lab. Yoshikov didn't even try to entertain this thought, he didn't intend to give Wilkis any reason to harm him.

"If that's all commander, I still have to oversee my men during this time."

"Of course… Sorry for taking your time Captain Tarkov." Yoshikov sighed while looking at the departing figure of Tarkov who seemed to be pretty harsh on his men.

'Well, this mission is a failure. All those hours wasted.' Yoshikov wasn't that sad that things didn't work out as he wanted them to. It was not like the first time he failed a mission from Utena.

Though the last failure did cost him a lot.

"Are… are you Commander Yoshikov?" A girlish voice asked Yoshikov who was planning to leave Riber city before the beast invasion began. There was no need to defend a place where someone like Wilkis stood guard and he was also too old to fight anyway.

"Yes, I am, young lady. What is it?" Yoshikov knew the girl before him. It was an anoman that usually stuck close to Girisia. And this fact alone made interest in her grow.

"There is something Uncle Korus asked me to tell you."

*****

<Mission completed: Tell the details about Korus Fedorov's escape to Yoshikov.>

<Quest Taker: StarKillerTara>

<Reward: 12k+3k exp points and right to join Tarkov's team.>

<Quest Giver Award: 12k exp refunded, 16k exp earned.>

'She succeeded.' Girisia rejoiced at the prompt. This much experience is nothing to him at the moment. But the news it brings to him is pretty good.

Girisia had thought about who to give this mission to. He can't have Tarkov act as a mediator and at that time, there was no contract established between him and Wilkis. So he couldn't use his resources.

The only perfect individuals left were the anomans. Due to their peculiar nature, a job given to them will be completed no matter what. And they could not also act or lie on their own.

So words like these from the mouth of an anoman were not that suspicious. And this anoman also happened to be pretty close to Girisia.

Though after the recent events, Girisia did plan to change this mission a bit. But he never got the chance, so he has to make do with what he has.

The place of capture remains the same.

"Have you read through the files yet?" Farsight asked, looking at the smirking face of Girisia.

Her interest was taken over by the notes that Tarkov brought from Hermat forest. But only a few among them were not under encryption.

And these encrypted data sticks were probably the ones that held the most important information inside them.

And this importance is the reason why Wilkis was currently cracking them.

"Oh yes, this was an interesting read. But it's just that I keep forgetting the older stuff the moment I change to a different subject." Girisia was experiencing something he had done as a teen long ago. Trying to ingrain the knowledge right before the exam.

As for what this hard-to-grasp knowledge was?

<<Obtained Class knowledge: Elementary Biomass control>>

[Your mind and flesh are one, control your body to tiny details.]

[cost: 2 KP]

<<Obtained Class knowledge: Elementary Madness suppression>>

[Your understanding of mind helps you to suppress the madness that comes with mutant path]

[cost: 3 KP]

<<Obtained Class knowledge: Elementary Geneticist>>

[You are not just a mindless meat mountain anymore. You are a smart meat mountain.]

[cost: 5 KP]

Yes, the knowledge he was trying to ram into his head was the requirement for a class up.

He had thought that he would just need to obtain the information in hand and let the player screen do its job. But it seems his NPC template stopped him from taking advantage of it.

Girisia used all the time he had before his operation to cram the class information.

But he didn't feel cheated and annoyed by it. Instead, he was fascinated by the words he read.

As a player, he never knew how deep the knowledge he was using to class up was. Using all the tools that are provided as a player and helper add-ons. Even an illiterate child could become a master mecha builder in this world.

But what about NPCs?

They work hard and build up all their strength on their own without any helpers. After this experience, Girisia felt more respect for all the strong people that live in this world.

But it is also true, an NPC will never need this class-up knowledge and they can directly use their respective serums to upgrade.

There still exists a difference between those that have learned ways to manage these mutant/cybernetic abilities beforehand and those that haven't.

'Well after class-up, I will be a geneticist too.' Girisia also felt happy with the three class-knowledge he picked up.

A Geneticist is a hard passive skill to come by. Which gave him a massive advantage early on.

"Of course, it will be hard, your brain is already strained enough. Even if the serum healed parts of it. The problem remains and there should be a limit to the amount of data that can be stored in your brain for a particular time." Farsight summarized her thoughts.

"No, It's not due to a problem with my mind. It seems I am just bad at this kind of work." Girisia can't say that he was always bad at cramming. For his current identity never had a history according to him.

"Also, my headaches have subsided. I think it's the perfect time to conduct the operation." Girisia also placed these words down. After Tara's mission had been completed and he had filled up all the class requirements besides the mutant serum. He thought it was about time.

"Oh! At last… I was waiting for it for a long time." Her eyes brightened up from her papers on the table and then looked at Girisia intently.

There was no one in the room at the moment, besides her and Girisia. A fact when added with Farsight's eyes gave Girisia massive chills.

So before Farsight does anything weird, Girisia lift's his pinkish hand that had just regrown and gestured Farsight to stop.

"Wait Miss Farsight, isn't it better to first obtain the Marrow from the mayor first?" Girisia was truly scared. His newly grown tale was dancing in fear from the side of the bed.

"Oh! You are right… "

*****

"So it's time," Wilkis informed Vanras about Girisia. Wilkis's work has increased threefold since they announced the upcoming mutant beast raid and he had to go through countless papers and meetings with his commanders every few hours. One can even say that Wilkis's work had completely taken over his life.

But even with all this, he gave Girisia's operation priority. Wilkis was still suspicious of the content sealed in the canister and was not sure whether it was safe.

And he also needs to be present in case Girisia goes rabid. There hasn't been a case where a person gains power so fast and they don't go mad.

The same may be the case for Girisia. His claims of instantly ascending to grade two carry a danger with itself.

One needs to slowly adapt to new strengths and suppress any negative impact such growth has on a person.

"Sir Mayor, I can't leave at the moment. The complaints from battalion commanders have been increasing these days. The new anoman can't adapt to the military properly." From new anomans, he was speaking to the free players left before the players were through into eastern barracks.

Among these players were also the group that Spoon made.

And it was Spoon himself that led his team to conscript into the army for the upcoming battle. But due to their free lifestyle, these players were finding it hard to adapt to new leadership that treated the immortal players as fodder.

"Then keep at it. I will be back in a few hours." There was no need to change Vanras's mind at all. There was a certain understanding between the two, to begin with.

And anyways, Wilkis will be enough if things go awry.