SoK Chapter 211

Sorry, just forgot to post yesterday. My bad. Other chapter's up in a couple minutes.

TJ didn’t look at the further System notifications as he led the descent of his people back to the ground. He’d watched as the last of the thunderbirds attempted to flee, but with Storm Manipulation, he kept them from escaping. Slowed and prevented from anything but accepting their fate, every last thunderbird was picked off, Molly especially taking special enjoyment in leaping from one cloud to the next as she ripped the monsters to pieces. TJ had the thought to Appraise her as she did so, and saw in real time as she gained a level.

Neophyte (Copper (I)), 42

She was gaining levels at a rapid clip, much like everybody else in North Tempe who had decided to rededicate themselves to getting stronger. Sarah and Farid were currently fighting for the position as the person with the highest level besides TJ himself, both at level 44, last he checked. TJ Appraised Sarah, seeing that she’d managed to tip over to 45 in the wake of the fight against the Boss.

TJ idly noted as he gained another level in Neophyte, which gave him another level in Human, making him a Human 48, Neophyte 45, Shaman 51 as the last of the thunderbirds fell from the sky. With the bodies falling, one caught by a bounding Molly, and the group descended from the skies. As they dropped through the clouds, TJ could see his people still gathered around his Ziggurat, faces expectant as they looked up. Seeing every one of their friends return safely, the feathers of their enemies still trailing around them, a cheer went up, and TJ came close enough to revert back to his human form. He descended to the top of the pyramid as his supporters and subordinates fell in behind him. As Sarah landed on the Ziggurat, her feet on the lower floor in front of him, she offered the corpse of the Boss up.

TJ reached down and took it in one hand before raising it up above his head. Its blood ran down his arm as the body, too large to have been held up without dragging, swayed with the constantly whipping wind. The cheers grew for another short time before TJ forced a breeze to blow in everybody’s faces and bring quiet back. Once the crowd was listening, TJ spoke.

“Finally, we have slain the thunderbirds that plagued us! No longer will a Boss appear while thinking we are its prey! Victory has come at last!”

Not one for long speeches, TJ left it at that, and his people cheered again. He could feel the experience flowing into him at this display of his power as his followers grew greater confidence in his capability. With the blood of the thunderbird Boss seeping into the slightly porous stone of his temple, TJ could feel the very slight changes in his Ziggurat and the ritual circles carved within. It wasn’t quite a live sacrifice, but it was a valuable material that was being incorporated into the main body of his temple. More and more, TJ was seeing that his path was becoming one of a leader, one of an example to the rest of his people. When he was successful, when they witnessed his ability to overcome overwhelming odds, small trickles from the path of faith filled him.

As he let the corpse fall to the center of the permanent ritual circle, TJ considered what he should do with the materials. Given that it was a Boss and nearly level 60, not a single part of the patriarch would be wasted. Every one of its individual feathers, every droplet of blood, all of it could be used. His immediate thought went to his Ritualist’s Knife, something he always carried in his left hand as he transformed into a coatl to ensure that the benefits from the item could still be applied to him. Most of the equipment that he’d made in the past weeks ended up being distributed to his followers, used as prizes and incentives to those who proved themselves in any number of ways. He hadn’t made anything other than the knife that was worth taking for himself for the longer term, so TJ continued experimenting with the construction of items while also considering if he would want to invest any more Skill choices in item creation moving forward. Michelle was already more than just head and shoulders ahead of him in her ability to create new items, given that she was a Smith.

He sighed as he left the corpse on his temple for now. Letting the blood soak into the temple was probably one of the best possibilities available, given that any minute upgrade to the singular Gold tier item they had access to would be much more impactful than anything else. There was also something to be said of having so many other thunderbird bodies to deal with. Looking at the mound of corpses, TJ figured that he could probably, and should probably, bring Acalan some of them as a gift. The Ahuizotl seemed to be one of the most excited people whenever TJ had even the smallest steps of growth, saying things about how it had chosen right.

That would be something to do later tonight or early tomorrow, TJ decided as he turned his attention back to his immediate surroundings. Looking around, the plains that the freeway continued to morph into spread further in every direction, long grass swaying in the wind and leaving no trace of the asphalt it once was. TJ knew that underfoot, the swampy expanse where the Yagas dwelt continued to spread as well, just another sign of how the world was changing with the System’s arrival and interference. Down below, several shambling mounds were hunted, at least two a week, but not a single other Yaga was ever found. 

That was worrisome, but now that he had dealt with the patriarch Boss that was harassing them from above, TJ could turn his attention down below once again. He refused to foolishly rush forward through the marsh, burning everything in his path in a desperate attempt to find his enemies. After all, there was so much they didn’t know about what was down there, so he wouldn’t get himself killed for no reason. That said, he also refused to let this trouble brew uncontested while his people sat in foolishly confident positions. Dealing with the Yagas, however much he could, would be his next point of business.

There still remained other things to do, more things that demanded TJ’s attention, but for now, he allowed himself the brief relaxation that came from victory. He came down from his place on top of the Ziggurat and, once he’d used Storm Manipulation to peel all the blood and filth from battle from his body, reached out for Luz. The little girl eagerly climbed into his arms, babbling nonsensically about something, only one in maybe three words enunciated clearly enough to make any sense. Even so, TJ nodded seriously and engaged in what the toddler considered to be this most important discourse. She continued her babbling for several minutes, then demanded to be let down so that she could show him something. Once she was able to guide him to her goal, TJ held her hand and continued following behind her as she ambled onto whatever it was that had so captured her attention.

It wasn't long before she found what was so interesting, a particular tuft of grass that, for whatever reason, was more important than the rest, and finally, she slowed down enough to explain, “is tall.”

As far as TJ could tell this particular patch wasn’t any more impressive than another, but that didn’t matter to the little one. She patted the grass several times and TJ watched her with a contented smile on his face for a while. She continued on her journey, getting distracted from her special grass and walking away, though TJ followed. His mind wandered, wondering if he’d really be able to trust Junior to enter this world when he eventually evolved to Silver. He could protect Luz pretty well right now, but if someone was actively trying to kill her, he couldn’t stop it. But could he just protect his son from this world for forever? That’d just cripple him in the long run, right? 

Just a few minutes later, Molly walked up and interrupted TJ’s train of thought as she unwittingly prompted Luz to excitedly stretch her arms up to the teenager. Molly took her in arms and walked alongside TJ.

“It got a little dicey up there.“ Molly reported. “Sam gave us all a scare when he got knocked out of everyone else’s reach and got surrounded by the thunderbirds.”

“I felt that.“ TJ responded, losing his serious demeanour as he chuckled at Luz losing interest in being held and fighting to be released. Molly continued to hold the toddler, though she fought against it, and TJ returned to seriousness and said, “I don’t think it was as dicey, as it may have appeared, though. Even the people down here weren’t facing much of a reduction in their resources. It was all in hand and under control.”

“It’s not that he almost died, it’s that you’re the only reason he’s alive!” Molly raised her voice, accidentally scaring Luz. The little girl absolutely demanded to be released, and Molly allowed it with a sigh. “It’s scary, you know? We depend on you for just about everything, and having that proven to us, that we would have died without you, is terrifying.“

“Yeah, it is. Having anybody depend on you can be terrifying, much less having dozens of people rely on you for everything.” TJ agreed. “That’s why we haven’t tried to make this a safe zone from the System. We don’t know what that would bring, so we haven’t done it, at least until after the System event in a month and I’ll, ideally, be here for the entire time it requires. Until then, we’re just going to defend ourselves.”

“That’s not the point.” Molly protested. “Sure, that would make things more dangerous for a little while, but they’re already dangerous enough for us! Most people, we’re ants now. Monsters are literally hidden under feet that could kill every one of us, and we couldn’t do anything about it. Nobody likes that feeling, and I just wanted to talk to you about it.”

“And you’re always welcome to. I’m not sure why exactly you wanted to talk to me about it, because if I could do anything to help, I would. I’m pushing all of you to be higher level and to be stronger to make sure that you can do something about it, but as far as I can tell, it’s in the System’s plans to continue to make things harder and harder until somebody can’t help but become in charge of everything, you know, get on the Divine Throne. But if you need somebody to talk to? I might not be the best, but I’ve got an ear that can listen.” They both walked in silence for a little bit after that, watching Luz. As they continued, TJ eventually asked, “How’s Tessie? Is she doing any better?”

“You can ask her yourself.” Molly grumbled. “She’s not mute.”

“Yes, I can,” TJ agreed, “but if I ask her, she’ll just say she’s OK, or say something simple like how she’s not feeling great, but holding on. With you, she’ll tell a lot more, and I want an honest answer more than I want an easy one. So, how is she?”

Molly kicked out a couple rocks before she answered. “She feels like a failure most days. Says she should be better than she is, so she spirals. If she can get herself out of it, that would be great, but with every day that passes, she seems to get worse, not better. Maybe she’ll never get better? I kind of thought that the whole ‘System’ thing would make people be healed, but I honestly think that she’s depressed.”

“I’m surprised that most of us aren’t.” TJ answered. “I mean, even with easier Tutorials than ours, people saw their companions die. Not an easy thing to witness the bloody death of a person you know. I do wonder why she’s been so much more susceptible to this than everybody else, though…”

“Can you heal her?“ Molly asked softly.

“You know I would if I could.“ TJ responded. He couldn’t get himself to speak any more clearly, instead remembering the look on Tessie‘s face when Granny Penny was killed—the old woman’s blood covering the poor teenager's face, being teleported away by the mountain lion, throwing her to safety.

The two continued walking in silence for a short time, eventually herding Luz back towards the town. It had progressed nicely, with 20 or so buildings having been constructed from stone. They lacked many of the modern amenities that everybody wanted, but given that Tempe Marketplace, the large mall, was just across the lake, they’d been able to scrounge up sufficient supplies to create comfortable beds, good meals, and the beginnings of fields for planting. Fortunately, the miraculously quick growth rate of other, wild plants was also carried over into farmlands, and corn, lettuce, peas, and tomatoes were growing and nearly ready to harvest after less than a month of focused efforts.

As they walked into the town once again, the conversation having long gone quiet, a familiar voice greeted TJ.

“You’re a hard man to find, TJ. Fortunately, I’m patient and clever. Now, are you ready to submit to the Heaven Devouring Serpent?”