With a firm snap of his jaws, TJ dispatched the third coyote. The single remaining member of the pack fled into the bushes ahe 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 enter with the Anubis-blessed coyote, aill hadn’t hit level 5 iher his Occupation or Css. That Savage hadn’t gone up wasn’t as surprising, as after the sed pack had been sin, TJ couldn’t bring himself to try to skin the corpse. Making it to his goal was more pressing and important than squeezing every st bit of experie 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 retive level of his foes than anything else.

  He hadn’t entered 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 entered 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 e as a surprise.

  Just as all Partits will experience a notable surge in power every five levels, due to the acquisition of a new Skill, other creatures uhe influence of the Divine System gain boons every fifth level. Other than the additional acrity 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 enhao 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 ohat was whole enough to merit his lugging further towards the . The only one he decided to tih was the sed he’d sin, sihe only blood spilled here came from its mouth and nose. He’d crushed its spih 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 a filling it, the ripped pack litting where it’d been attacked the day before. The bck fur spilled out of the pack, and TJ wondered if the pack would make it to his destination.

  TJ tinued his path onwards, pleasantly surprised by the retive ease with which he could hike. He’d spent months trying to get bato shape, but TJ knew he still was far from the fittest he’d ever been. At least, before the System’s Iion. Now, he could guarahat he’d never been strohree plete bodies worth of meat a as well as four additional coyotes’ worth of pelts weighed the backpack down. Then, he’d pced the test one across his shoulders, so TJ would be amazed if it was less than 100 unbanced pounds he was actively hiking with right now. And he was doing that without breathing hard or stumbling etting 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 nding and tinue on his path further down the mountain. The old braennis 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 . Maybe, once he was there, he could find a new pad clothes.

  There were no more interruptions on his path to the clearing, and as TJ bulled through the brush betweerees, he stepped into the lightly tended yard of the . It retty standard for the area, as far as he expected it was, at least, wooden paneling and windows, a around pord 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 Css.

  The seemed abandoned, no car hts on, no movement inside. When TJ drew near and peeked through a window, he saw no fire either. He knocked owice, three times. No answer. He bahe door hard. No answer. He tested the knob, and it was unlocked.

  “Hello? Cheg in on you. Things are… kinda going crazy out here!” TJ shouted, but got no respohe was a little warmer than outside, but not by much. He stepped in, “I’m ing in, if you don’t wao or anything, just say so!” Still nothing, so he walked in and shrugged off his backpad 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 firepce. It didn’t take long, since he only o take a couple steps forward and look. There it was, with a bucket full of firewood beside it, a month's worth of neers stacked up uhe bucket. No lighter though.

  The firepce was devoid of any ashes, more evidenobody had been here in a while, so TJ began searg for a lighter to start the fire more easily than by pure effort. Nothing by the firepce, that was well ed. Baear the door he’d e in from was the kit, and TJ went through the drawers in the hopes of finding something. Silverware jangled and gss tinkled as he searched. Of course, it was the st 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 fme began burning, and TJ’s eyes suddenly watered with ued and unwele emotion. Tearing up over a lighter? Stupid.

  Even so, TJ returo the firepce, and with just a minute or two’s effort, TJ had built up a happily crag fire. He held his fingers over it, and it wasn’t long before the stiffness was slowly baJ 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, ohout a closet or anything of note, while the sed had a fully stocked closet. A couple owhe pce, 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 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 id 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 miil 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 y the pot on.

  After making sure the pot wouldn’t tip and lose the water, TJ returo the kit to gh the rest of the cupboards. In the first one he checked, he found what he was looking for: a tin of hot chocote. 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 ier, and it was still cool, but TJ didn’t want to wait. He stripped all his clothes and began to give himself a spoh. The rag came away filthy after his face, and TJ nearly dipped it ba the water he wao drink before he thought about it.

  He poured enough into the cup to fill it entirely, and then TJ resumed ing 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 doh it, but TJ was happy to strip off his clothing and redress in the outfit he’d pilfered.

  Finally, for the first time, TJ was dressed iher 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 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 Iion?”

  That is correbsp;

  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 khan the ones I’ve already made?”

  If you wish to gain the ability to intrinsically know which pearby reater natural bounty, you select a Skill upon reag level 5 to assist you to do so.

  “Of course.” He grumbled. TJ thought about going to search out something to be a better bde, but searg it out seemed like it’d help less than just doing the dirty work. He pced the cup full of water he fire to warm in preparation of the cocoa that he’d indulge in ter. Preparations plete, TJ grabbed his backpa one hand and the loose body in the sed, 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 pce. Again, TJ turned away from the venience of the tools and instead pulled the stones out of his backpack. Then, his stomaot nearly so flicted as before, TJ began the bloody work of skinning the bodies.

  Ohen two corpses were skinned and hanging before long, and TJ was nearly plete with the third. Then, just as he pulled the st of the pelt free from the body, the blessed notification appeared:

  Savage Occupatioed task pleted. Experience gained.

  Occupation: Savage has advao 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 avaible.

  Level 5 Universal Occupation Skill: Appraisal granted. Level 5 Skill Sele avaible.

  Not only had he gaihe new skill and a level, he got this universal oJ wiped his hands on a nearby rag before happily jogging back to the to check out the bes from this level up.

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