Most of these options seemed very important, and he had a general idea of how to achieve each, still he wanted to be sure.
"Okay, let's break this down," he murmured, leaning against the wall as he reviewed the options in front of him. "System, elaborate on details of option A."
[System response: Class quest unlock conditions are currently unknown. Please continue review of other options.]
"Yeah, that figures, why even bring it up then?" Frank muttered, never able to get used to the system's habit of messing with him.
"Let's see what's next," he sighed, shifting his focus. "Move on to option B"
[System response: Charisma can be improved through social interactions. Progress is accelerated in areas user is most uncomfortable with. Based on current data, the most effective form of training appears to be: flirtation.]
"Flirtation?" Frank raised an eyebrow. Sure, he had a little practice from back when he and Jasmine were dating, but he was rusty as hell now.
'Yeah, I think I'll skip that one for the time being.' he decided, slightly red in the face.
"What about option C?"
[System response: Active skills can be leveled through repeated use. Many passive skills upgrade when certain stats have reached a threshold. Maximum level for base skills is level 5.]
Frank nodded. He had already suspected this was the case. After all "Fireball" had gone up two whole levels after his encounter with the wolves, and his other skills reached the maximum level even without using them.
"Good, good," he said, at least this one was straightforward. He could already picture himself on the roof of the compound blasting fireballs into the sky.
This part actually excited him greatly, as he had been wondering about this for a while now.
"Please elaborate on option D."
[System response: New techniques are generally learned by either finding a prerequisite skill book, or mastery of a skill not provided by system assistance.]
This, once again, made sense to Frank. He thought back to when he had learned "Fireball". He had just blown up a gas station, and how much more "Mastery" of creating a fireball could you get?
This opened up several options.
He could go to the complex's library, as there were plenty of books on different styles of martial arts. He could practice with different weapons, and hopefully gain martial skills related to them. He could even ask Elara, Max, and Leo for help training in their specialties.
He thought about including Jason, but quickly decided against it.
'I don't think I want those kinds of skills...' he shuddered.
"Alright, moving onto option E," he continued
[System response: Two or more skills can combine and synergize when they have reached maximum levels, depending on compatibility.]
Frank licked his lips upon hearing this description. It was a fact that he was starting to accumulate quite the arsenal of skills, which could eventually become hard to navigate in a fight. By combining them, he could get the benefits of multiple skills while still keeping his repertoire manageable.
Excited about that prospect, he moved on to the last option. "So what about skill evolution?"
[System response: A skill can evolve when it has reached max level, and prerequisite stat/stats have reached a certain level.]
He frowned, taking a moment to absorb the information. If he wanted to unlock skill evolution, he would need to utilize a maxed out skill. But what did that mean for skill combination?
Would an evolved skill still be at max level? If it was compatible before, would it still be compatible after? If he evolved a skill before combination, would it change the final result?
'Looks like I'm going to need to do some testing.' He grimaced, realizing he had a lot of work ahead of him.
'Okay, let's make a plan. Step one: Level up Fireball to max level.' It was his only remaining active skill that wasn't max level, and he needed it to be as strong as possible.
'Step two: Try to gain more skills. First by picking up any skills I can in the library, then by bothering Elara, Max, and Leo.' This was definitely a daunting task, and he was fortunate his increased intelligence would help him read faster. He also was very grateful for "Diligent Student" as it would be invaluable.
'Step three: level up the skills I acquire from step two.' This would be important for his final step, step four.
'Step four: Experiment with skill evolution and combination, trying to understand optimal use.' Frank already had a few ideas on how to go about this, but he needed to take these things in order.
Not wasting any time, headed to the roof of the compound. It was time to implement step one.
Reaching the top of the building, he found it completely empty, which was a relief. If anyone saw what he was about to do, they might question his sanity.
Focusing his attention into the sky, he began casting.
"FIREBALL"
"FIREBALL"
"FIREBALL"
He spammed the ability until his mana ran out. He then went down to play with Ana for a while, enjoying the down time his training provided. It had been a very busy last month and a half, and Frank was starting to feel guilty about how little time they spend together.
Once his mana reached back to full, he went back to the roof and depleted it again.
This process went on for a few hours until he finally heard the lovely ding he'd been waiting for.
[Fireball (Lvl 4) -> (MAX): Increased scaling with INT; each cast will now fire two projectiles.]
Frank was overjoyed to get this notification, as it meant he could now jump fully into step two. But looking at the additional effect that reaching max level gave "Fireball", he couldn't help himself. Looking into the sky, he continued.
"FIREBALL"
"FIREBALL"
"FIREBALL"
He fired the projectiles into the atmosphere, now having twice as many per cast. He continued this until he ran out of mana.
'God, that's satisfying,' he thought with a grin, 'Imagine what it could do to a target!'
Then, a horrifying thought hit him.
'I sure hope those things didn't land anywhere important...' he grimaced at the oversight, wondering how that thought hadn't crossed his mind.
'Relax, Frank, those things launch out at Mach 10. I'm sure they landed in some field somewhere; maybe they even made it into space,' he tried to comfort himself, but his luck stat stared back at him, not letting him rest easy.
Still, it was already done, and there was no medicine for regret. Putting up a silent prayer, he headed back into the complex and went to the library.