With his quickly climbing Vitality, the cold shower was only brisk over TJ’s body instead of bone-chilling. He shivered as the water sluiced over his body, cleaning the viscera and blood of the pukwudgies from his skin, but not his mind. A hot shower to wash away these emotions and suffering sounded glorious, but it simply wasn’t possible. Beyond that, TJ refused to waste however much water there still was available, so the cold shower was only long enough to thoroughly scrub himself twice over with a bar of soap and loofa. He toweled off and dressed into the clothing he’d somewhat fortunately had to leave behind on his slaughtering spree. They were clean, though TJ swore he still felt blood sticking to his hair and skin.
He padded down the hallway and in front of the fire, where Stanton sat with his new pistol non threateningly placed on the floor before his feet. As TJ walked in, Stanton raised his hands as calm as could be.
“Hey son. Just so you know, I’m keeping the gun out to fill it with bullets. You’re no monster I’ve gotta put down.”
“I, you… I wasn’t thinking you would.” TJ felt his eyes dart wildly at the thought.
Stanton shrugged. “Lots of people think that they’re monsters the first time they have to kill something. To do it like you have to? I can’t say I know how you feel. It’s awful, though. I know that.”
“Have you… killed someone before?”
TJ watched as Stanton began to deny, but then decided to answer differently. Stanton’s eyes held steady on TJ’s as he spoke. “I was 16 right near the end of the Vietnam War. Had nothing good in my life, decided I’d lie about my age and fight for my country. Wasn’t too long before I was in jungles and in hell. It was a shitty time, and I puked my guts out and cried like a little kid for a long time after the first time I killed a man. I got used to it for a while, but war doesn’t leave you. I’ve got scars, most of ‘em here.” Stanton knocked his temple lightly as he said as much. “Can’t say you get over it, but it gets easier for most people. Not sure if it should, but in a situation like this? I hope it does.
“Anyways. I was sick like that, and that was after I used a gun, not my body like you. It must be hell for you, and I don’t blame you for suffering. But this wasn’t for you, you didn’t want to kill those things. You did that for me. I appreciate it. I would have died, if you’d left me behind. You’ve got a kid to live for, and you chose to put yourself in that danger for me. Thank you.”
TJ felt his breath catch in his throat as the emotion of killing a thinking, nearly human creature in cold blood fought against the emotions of protecting a friend from certain death. Again, he was reminded of his resolution to do whatever necessary to find any leg up he could get to get through this. Even so, it had been less than two days since he’d just been an administrative manager in a real estate firm. Saying he’d save his son and himself was a lot different from biting the head off of something that was talking to him. Bile rose in his throat again, but TJ focused instead on the genuinely appreciative wrinkled face of Stanton before him.
“Thank you, Stanton. I guess that’s what I need to hear…”
“Well, kid, that’s how it’s going to be sometimes.” The old man rolled his shoulders, obviously uncomfortable with what he said before moving on. “You got healed up right good, right? I’m not seeing any bleeding or anything.”
“It got close there, at the end.” TJ hedged. “I was bleeding out, and had to chase those ones down to get the level before I passed out.”
“Why didn’t you come in and have me patch you up?” Stanton questioned, his tone incredulous. “I’ve got two hands, and you did it for me.”
“I… kinda panicked, I guess. Plus, being that snake makes me more violent, angry, vengeful. It’s weird like that. Makes me feel like I’m not myself, but still myself. Not sure if that makes sense.”
“Adrenaline’ll do that to ya. I can see how that’d be, like how you got all naked for it.”
TJ felt himself flush in embarrassment. “No, I have a Skill that gives me bonuses if I’m not using equipment from before the Integration. I thought regular clothes would be fine, but when I fought some pukwudgies before while wearing my clothes, I couldn’t use the Skill. With all them attacking at once, I figured I better be safe than sorry.”
“Makes sense, I guess. You should figure out what you can keep on to keep the Skill going.”
TJ nodded his agreement. “Anyways. I’ll not do something so stupid again.”
“Best hope not.”
“So… what new Skill did you get?” TJ asked, happy to change the subject again. “Something to do with that gun?”
“Yup.” Stanton nodded. “It’s only a .22, so can’t do as much as my M16 or even my 9mm, but against things like this, it’ll do just fine. I can fill it up with bullets, takes 10 MP and seconds each. Fills up entirely at 20, so I’m waiting for my MP to refill to continue loading the little girl.”
“Little girl?”
“Eh. She’s a Suzie, if you ask me.” Stanton said as he carefully hefted “her” up in front of TJ’s face, sure to keep his finger away from the trigger while never pointing it at the younger man. The little gun was a revolver inlaid with mother of pearl while the barrel was formed of the stylized wings of a crow. While the gun looked like a regular revolver TJ’d seen in any number of old western films, the little… spinny thing was full of little holes that were mostly filled with bullets.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“She’s pretty, I guess.” TJ allowed as Stanton flicked open the spinny and checked to see how he was coming along.
“Just a couple more minutes, and I think I’ll be ready to go.” Stanton answered before putting the gun back down. “The cylinder’s only got four more to fill, and that shouldn’t take longer than it does to get the backpacks ready to go.”
TJ mentally noted the name “cylinder” for the gun part. “Wait, so we’re definitely going? We fought those ones off, so we can do it again and gain some levels and be ready to make the trip more safely.” After he said as much, though, TJ realized why. “They’ll keep getting stronger too. Maybe faster than us.”
“Exactly. Gotta get to where more people are. You want to get the packs ready?”
“I can, but I want to make my new Skill selection first.”
“Another?”
“Yeah, my other one is from my Occupation. Got past level 5 for my Class in that fight.”
Finally back to his level of comfort, Stanton merely grunted in response before turning and upending both backpacks and beginning to sort general items to both. TJ turned his own attention to the persistent notification flashing in the corner of his eye.
Skill Selection:
Wind Manipulation (Dirt): The descendants of Kukulkan are blessed with an inherent affinity for the skies, winds, and rains. You already have begun to dabble in the art of drawing the winds to listen to your command. This Skill will grant you the ability to more accurately and powerfully influence the winds that surround you. Your Divine Transformation currently inherently grants a sub-Dirt level Wind Manipulation adjacent ability, and while under the effects of the Divine Transformation Skill to a coatl or its subsequent evolutions, the Wind Manipulation Skill will ascend one tier. Usage of this Skill depletes MP at a rate inversely correlated to your Fixation and Intelligence while scaling in potency at a rate directly correlated to your Fixation and Intelligence.
TJ whistled low as the voice slowly read the words he’d already skimmed. His Divine Transformation was Copper tier, and it was the only reason why he’d been able to survive this long. While it would be conditional, having another Copper tiered skill would be a game changer. On top of that, TJ already saw what this Skill could potentially do. Pulling his enemies in from far away was a godsend, with slippery little bastards like the pukwudgies staying out of reach. At a higher tier, it might even work like a tornado or even better.
On the other hand, though he’d been told explicitly by the System that a selected Skill would start stronger, progress faster, and reach greater heights than one developed by himself, TJ knew he could use this already. Maybe he could work hard to develop his coatl’s powers to learn how to use this without making the selection? With a hesitant grimace, he put this Skill at the top of his list for now and moved on.
Shredding Bite: Though born a human, you have embraced the savagery of combat that a bestial form lends. As a predator, your teeth are sharp, and as a serpent, your mouth is built to swallow creatures whole while your teeth prohibit their escape. Even so, you have used your mouth to shred and tear, to rip and destroy. This Skill will strengthen and broaden your fangs as a coatl to teeth meant to tear creatures apart. In addition, this Skill will grant an additional +1 Strength attribute per level of Neophyte, to be applied retroactively.
There’d been no real interest in the Skill until TJ saw the last sentence. He already was feeling how quickly his Strength and Agility were falling behind so many of his other attributes, and this would help to shore up that problem, at least partially. The more dangerous bite and mouth would be beneficial, even if they wouldn’t be the real reason for him selecting the Skill. TJ moved to the next Skill, hoping to help simplify his choice.
Crushing Body: Though born a human, you have embraced the savagery of combat that a bestial form lends. As a predator, your body is hardened, and as a serpent, your entire body is an instrument of destructive potential. In keeping with your serpentine nature, you have broken body and bone, crushed organ and flesh with the force of your constriction. This Skill will strengthen your musculature as a coatl and human alike to better allow you to destroy the bodies of your enemies, not just through constriction, but through any bludgeoning force. In addition, this Skill will grant an additional +1 Strength attribute per level of Neophyte, to be applied retroactively.
TJ got the sense that the benefits granted by Crushing Body compared to Shredding Bite wouldn’t be as specialized or even as impactful, but he did notice that it applied to his human body as well. Though most of his fighting would almost certainly be within the form of a coatl, if he was forced to fight without his Divine Transformation then Crushing Body would help. With a sigh, TJ added Crushing Body to the same list that Shredding Bite and Wind Manipulation had been placed on.
Swift Consumption: Though born a human, you have embraced the brutality of lifestyle that a bestial form forces. As a predator, your hunger is ever present, and as a serpent, your body is built to swallow creatures whole while you digest them. This Skill will strengthen and thicken your mouth, throat, and stomach to ensure that you can more easily consume creatures whole, even if they are yet living. In addition, this Skill will grant an additional +1 Toughness attribute per level of Neophyte, to be applied retroactively.
Though the possibility of a creature ripping through TJ’s stomach while he slithered along, unable to do anything about it terrified him, the Skill didn’t appeal to him. He hadn’t swallowed anything still living yet, nor did he intend to. He’d seen a picture once of a python that had swallowed a still living alligator before, and it had ripped the snake in half from within. TJ wasn’t willing to put himself in that situation, so though he feared that outcome, he didn’t think he’d be in that situation any time soon. Somewhat relieved to find a Skill that didn’t demand his attention, TJ looked at the final Skill offered.
Mindful Mouth: A serpent can taste the world around them, and you have embraced this shift in perception, tasting the air as you move and live. This Skill will better hone your ability to taste and smell the world around you while you are in the form of a coatl or its subsequent evolutions. The bonus to Perception from being in the form of a coatl will change from x1.5 to x2.
Again, useful, but not one of TJ’s current priorities. The Perception bonus would be much more than those offered by the other Skills, but again, he liked and wanted the Perception bonus, but it was far from his current priority. Now, all five potential Skills observed, TJ had to make the decision of which to select. After thinking about it for several minutes and asking the System one question, he made his choice.