With a firm snap of his jaws, TJ dispatched the third coyote. The single remaining member of the pack fled into the bushes and left the cooling corpses behind as TJ dismissed the System’s notification that he’d killed three level 2 coyotes. These were what was left of the fourth pack that TJ had found since his encounter with the Anubis-blessed coyote, and he still hadn’t hit level 5 in either his Occupation or Class. That Savage hadn’t gone up wasn’t as surprising, as after the second pack had been slain, TJ couldn’t bring himself to try to skin the corpse. Making it to his goal was more pressing and important than squeezing every last bit of experience out of these mangy creatures. Even so, that Neophyte had yet to reach the juncture of TJ choosing his first Skill probably was more to do with the relative level of his foes than anything else.
He hadn’t encountered anything beyond a level 4 coyote, and with the additional levels he’d gained in Savage and Human, his Coatl form could dispatch these weaker creatures with impunity. The packs he’d encountered all tried their level best to swarm and overwhelm him, but none were able to breach his scales’ defense. When he’d finally asked the System, the answer shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
Just as all Participants will experience a notable surge in power every five levels, due to the acquisition of a new Skill, other creatures under the influence of the Divine System gain boons every fifth level. Other than the additional alacrity and intelligence bestowed upon the Anubis-blessed coyote, coyotes in your Tutorial grounds will nearly universally be bestowed with a marked increase to their Strength attribute as well as an enhancement to their bite. They are granted a Bite skill which heightens the power of their attacks.
“Guess I should have realized that.” TJ sighed to himself as he picked over the corpses, seeing if there was one that was whole enough to merit his lugging further towards the cabin. The only one he decided to continue with was the second he’d slain, since the only blood spilled here came from its mouth and nose. He’d crushed its spine with a swipe of his tail, so it wouldn’t soak his jacket with blood as he carried it, since his backpack was full. In fact, with the specially prepared pelts and meat filling it, the ripped pack was splitting where it’d been attacked the day before. The black fur spilled out of the pack, and TJ wondered if the pack would make it to his destination.
TJ continued his path onwards, pleasantly surprised by the relative ease with which he could hike. He’d spent months trying to get back into shape, but TJ knew he still was far from the fittest he’d ever been. At least, before the System’s Integration. Now, he could guarantee that he’d never been stronger. Three complete bodies worth of meat and pelt as well as four additional coyotes’ worth of pelts weighed the backpack down. Then, he’d placed the latest one across his shoulders, so TJ would be amazed if it was less than 100 unbalanced pounds he was actively hiking with right now. And he was doing that without breathing hard or stumbling or getting tired.
His steps thudded rhythmically as TJ trotted down a steeper slope and hopped across one of the dozens of two foot wide washes that covered every mountain around here. He didn’t struggle to stick the landing and continue on his path further down the mountain. The old brandless tennis shoes he’d worn for years were close to giving up the ghost, and TJ prayed they too could make it all the way to the cabin. Maybe, once he was there, he could find a new pack and clothes.
There were no more interruptions on his path to the clearing, and as TJ bulled through the brush between the trees, he stepped into the lightly tended yard of the cabin. It was a pretty standard cabin for the area, as far as he expected it was, at least, wooden paneling and windows, a wraparound porch and a little shed for firewood and maybe a snowblower. Two stories, but pretty small, maybe 2000 square feet total. TJ, for the first time, realized how grateful he was that there hadn’t been any more rain this winter. He’d struggled for water, but if he’d had to walk through the foot of snow that sometimes dropped here, he’d have died of exposure long before he could get an Occupation or Class.
The cabin seemed abandoned, no car or lights on, no movement inside. When TJ drew near and peeked through a window, he saw no fire either. He knocked once, twice, three times. No answer. He banged the door hard. No answer. He tested the knob, and it was unlocked.
“Hello? Checking in on you. Things are… kinda going crazy out here!” TJ shouted, but got no response. The cabin was a little warmer than outside, but not by much. He stepped in, “I’m coming in, if you don’t want me to or anything, just say so!” Still nothing, so he walked in and shrugged off his backpack and the coyote corpse to the floor. They thumped heavily, and TJ rolled a bit of the stiffness out of his shoulders as he looked for the fireplace. It didn’t take long, since he only needed to take a couple steps forward and look. There it was, with a bucket full of firewood beside it, a month's worth of newspapers stacked up under the bucket. No lighter though.
The fireplace was devoid of any ashes, more evidence nobody had been here in a while, so TJ began searching for a lighter to start the fire more easily than by pure effort. Nothing by the fireplace, that was well cleaned. Back near the door he’d come in from was the kitchen, and TJ went through the drawers in the hopes of finding something. Silverware jangled and glass tinkled as he searched. Of course, it was the last drawer that had the lighter, and TJ pulled it out and checked to see if it had any fuel. With a single flick of his thumb, a steady flame began burning, and TJ’s eyes suddenly watered with unexpected and unwelcome emotion. Tearing up over a lighter? Stupid.
Even so, TJ returned to the fireplace, and with just a minute or two’s effort, TJ had built up a happily crackling fire. He held his fingers over it, and it wasn’t long before the stiffness was slowly banished. TJ fed the fire a couple logs before, with just a hint of embarrassment, he began to search through the rooms. The main floor had two, one without a closet or anything of note, while the second had a fully stocked closet. A couple owned the place, with a dozen outfits each for a man much bigger than TJ and a woman much smaller. Even though they didn’t fit, TJ happily pulled a fleece-lined denim jacket, a long-sleeved waffle-print shirt, and a pair of worker’s jeans from the closet.
Though TJ hesitated to search for it, he did find a couple clean pairs of boxers that he immediately pilfered. He was afraid of smelling the ones he’d been through all this in. TJ carried the clothing out to the living room and laid them in front of the fire to warm up. No reason to put on freezing clothing, was there? Then, TJ pulled a pot out of one of the drawers he’d checked and, hoping beyond hope, twisted the tap to on. There was a faint gurgling, then water began flowing freely from the spigot and TJ cheered. The well or water tank that this drew from still had something in it, and TJ let the pot sit for a minute until it was half full. Then, he carried the pot over to the fire, where he poked and prodded until he had something like a bed of coals to lay the pot on.
After making sure the pot wouldn’t tip and lose the water, TJ returned to the kitchen to go through the rest of the cupboards. In the first one he checked, he found what he was looking for: a tin of hot chocolate. Humming tunelessly to himself, TJ grabbed a cup and a rag and carried all three to in front of the fire. He put a finger in the water, and it was still cool, but TJ didn’t want to wait. He stripped all his clothes and began to give himself a sponge bath. The rag came away filthy after his face, and TJ nearly dipped it back in the water he wanted to drink before he thought about it.
He poured enough into the cup to fill it entirely, and then TJ resumed cleaning the rest of his body. As the water evaporated from all over his body, the chill fought to resettle into his bones, but the fire kept him from shivering too badly. The water he was rinsing off with was nearly as brown as the cocoa he would drink when he was done with it, but TJ was happy to strip off his clothing and redress in the clean outfit he’d pilfered.
Finally, for the first time, TJ was dressed in weather appropriate clothes, and he could refocus on the hell that was figuring out his new life as he dumped the filthy water outside.
“Just to be sure, I can see my son at the end of this, right?”
You will have an opportunity to meet with your son at the end of the Tutorial.
TJ gritted his teeth. “And, just to make sure, if I make a tool, I’ll receive more experience using it than using one of the tools here from before the Integration?”
He looked back at the heap of coyote corpses to cut. TJ sighed. Without much hope, he asked, “Is there anything nearby that would be a better knife than the ones I’ve already made?”
If you wish to gain the ability to intrinsically know which places nearby offer a greater natural bounty, you can select a Skill upon reaching level 5 to assist you to do so.
“Of course.” He grumbled. TJ thought about going to search out something to be a better blade, but searching it out seemed like it’d help less than just doing the dirty work. He placed the cup full of water near the fire to warm in preparation of the cocoa that he’d indulge in later. Preparations complete, TJ grabbed his backpack in one hand and the loose body in the second, and with a wistful look at the warm fire, he walked out to the shed. It was no surprise that the shed had a massive wooden table for meat processing, the rusty stain of blood having long seeped into the work surface. A handful of well-kept tools hung on a pegboard, each tool outlined in its assigned place. Again, TJ turned away from the convenience of the tools and instead pulled the stones out of his backpack. Then, his stomach not nearly so conflicted as before, TJ began the bloody work of skinning the bodies.
One, then two corpses were skinned and hanging before long, and TJ was nearly complete with the third. Then, just as he pulled the last of the pelt free from the body, the blessed notification appeared:
Savage Occupation-related task completed. Experience gained.
Occupation: Savage has advanced to level 5.
Attribute points allocated: Strength +1, Agility +1, Endurance +2, Vitality +1, Toughness +2, Wisdom +1, Intelligence +1, Perception +2, Willpower +2, Fixation +1, Free Points +1. Additional Free Point available.
Level 5 Universal Occupation Skill: Appraisal granted. Level 5 Skill Selection available.
Not only had he gained the new skill and a level, he got this universal one! TJ wiped his hands on a nearby rag before happily jogging back to the cabin to check out the benefits from this level up.
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