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SoK Chapter 179
🕑 Added 2025-07-16 15:00:16 +0000 UTC***
TJ whipped around, looking for the source of the heat, but as he looked up, two pairs of wings buffeted him and clawed at his body. His scales held under the initial assault, but he quickly realized that the source of the heat was not one of the two creatures that was scratching and pecking madly at him. Looking up, somehow there was a ball of lightning that didn’t crackle or fluctuate like lightning. Instead, it almost looked like a sun, but with his own familiarity with heaven's wrath made electrical, TJ knew that it was, in fact, lightning.
Despite a dozen questions filling his mind about what was going on, TJ focused on the fight. He hissed and bit out at one of the two birds that was attacking him, but it dodged out of his immediate reach. Their Agility was obviously significantly higher than his, even while in his coatl form. While he tried to get his bearings and keep an eye on each of the monsters, he also realized that he was fighting three Elite tier monsters as his Attributes spiked even further. TJ whipped his tail through the air, sending a blade of wind at the birds, but they dodged back out of his immediate reach.
As soon as they were clear, the ball of concentrated, compressed lightning flew towards him. TJ dodged, trying to escape, but the lightning followed him and smashed into his torso. As his body shuddered uncontrollably, TJ started to fall from the sky. He heard the screams of his people below, but he couldn’t pay them any attention. Instead, TJ Appraised the three birds that were trying to kill him.
Thunderbird (Copper (I)), 29
Thunderbird (Copper (I)), 29
Thunderbird (Copper (I)), 30
Three Elite monsters his own level and tier, and these ones were obviously made for combat, much different from the few Minotaurs he had run into before. They screeched as one as they dove towards him. With the lightning still coursing through his body, TJ fought to escape their clutches, to get to some measure of safety, but the three Elites had him in their eyes as their next prey. He screamed a hissing roar in challenge as he threw blades of wind at his enemies, Wind Manipulation easily doing as he wanted it to now that Wind Scythe amplified his cutting attacks. A flurry of nearly invisible blades cut through the air, hissing and screaming as they shot towards the thunderbirds.
Despite his best efforts, the birds were too fast, and his attacks did nothing but cause them to dodge as the trio of birds smashed into his falling body. Claws and beaks ripped through his defenses, though they were unable to sink particularly deep into his flesh. TJ screamed again in challenge as he tried to fight back, to escape, to do anything, but the hunters knew what they were doing, and they continued to press their attack on him without any hesitation. Then, with their claws and beaks inside of him, they unleashed electricity into his body.
Different from when he had merely been hit by a glancing blow by the lightning before, this was lightning directly applied inside of his body, lightning that he had no opportunity to exercise any control over. TJ‘s body convulsed as the three birds flapped their wings in tandem and started to yank him higher into the air.
For a second, TJ‘s mind was blurry, and all he could do was take in the sight of his terrible situation. Each of the birds was huge, their wingspans at least 20 feet, their bodies large enough for an adult human to ride on. They looked, when the lightning wasn’t dancing through their feathers, like giant golden eagles with rich brown feathers, huge yellow talons and beaks, and eyes made for seeing their prey from far off. As their beaks slowly gained purchase in the soft flesh past TJ‘s highly defensive scales, they started to try to rip the muscles and organs from his body.
Despite the agony of three monsters trying their best to rip him apart, TJ’s body held together, his Toughness and Vitality working together to keep him from sustaining too much damage while keeping 100% of the pain. Much more important than the pain, though, was that if he stayed in this situation, there would be little he could do other than suffer painfully until he died. In his desperation, he prepared an attack to throw everything into. For whatever reason, the Storm Coatl’s tongue had particular affinity with Wind Manipulation, so TJ condensed a blade of wind inside his mouth as he let his body go limp in the raptors’ grip. The birds of prey chittered back-and-forth, communicating in a language he couldn’t understand, but as TJ felt the blade condense to a cold, flesh-ripping frenzy on his tongue, he lifted his head, just enough to possibly appear to be still be out of his right mind, and then aimed his attack. He threw everything he could into the attack, fully half of his MP disappearing in an instant. There was a scant several hundred that remained as the attack screamed into existence. The birds kept him aloft as his sneak attack was empowered by his Wind Scythe, Monster Slayer, Prehistoric Huntsman, and Nascent Deity Skills. The faintly blue wind exploded from his tongue and shredded through the first thunderbird without issue.
It was instantly bisected, and TJ grinned at the kill notification that appeared in his eyes. That was one down, and the other two had sustained minor injuries as they released his body and dodged away from this first attack that drew their blood. They keened and shrieked words that he couldn’t understand, and TJ hissed back as he allowed himself to tumble from the sky. At the last second, he used Wind Manipulation and the last of his MP to slow his and the dead thunderbird’s bodies’ fall.
As soon as he was close to the water, TJ deactivated Divine Transformation, and, as a man, fell into the water. The boat bearing his people wasn’t far away, and he simply swam towards it as Wind Manipulation continued to hold the corpse in the air above him.
“What the hell happened? All of a sudden there was lightning and a fight?“ Sarah‘s question was, as always, the first and the loudest. The Valkyrie extended a hand and pulled TJ into the raft boat thing. He nodded his thanks and glared up at the sky, where he saw the two thunderbirds circling. A new sphere of lightning was gathering between where they circled, and TJ knew he, and by extension, the rest of his people did not want to be anywhere near that lightning bolt anytime soon.
“Acalan, get us the hell out of here!“
Fortunately, there was no need to clarify what exactly he needed Acalan to get away from, and the barge suddenly shifted to squish everybody together into uncomfortable proximity as the boat latched forward at two or three times the speed it was before.
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on. Thunderbirds ambushed me, maybe they’re territorial and I entered what they think is their area? I don’t know. All I know is I’ve got some food and some good materials and some new enemies and we need to go.“
“New enemies? I feel like we get those pretty often.“ Sarah said as Farid, Tessie, and Seth kept their eyes peeled on the heavens and ready to hit whatever approached. In fact, Seth was ready to start shooting wildly into the heavens and see if he would be able to strike the creatures down where they flew. He sent several bolts screaming into the sky, but the thunderbirds, even while continuing to circle and enhance the lightning ball or strike that they were creating, dodged deftly away. Several bolts bombed in on the creatures, but they still managed to escape the hits.
“Seth, I don’t mind if you keep doing that, but more than shooting these things right now our goal is to keep moving. If you can do anything to make us move faster, do it!”
“Nope, and if I did, I’d already be doing it.“ Seth grunted the reply as he took several shots in quick succession and grew steadily closer and closer to hitting the Thunderbirds, though they continued to avoid every attempt he made.
“Anyone who can do anything to help us to move faster, do it now! Those of us who have been in Copper for longer will probably end up surviving if this hits us, but the newer members of our team will suffer some pretty bad consequences if they take one of these hits, most likely among them, death. Sarah, you’re on protection duty when the lightning finally falls. Mimi, Sam, Michelle, if there’s anything you can do to help her, do it. I’ll assist as much as I can. Everyone else, do what you can. Be creative and stay alive!“
TJ didn’t have anything eloquent to say, but he rarely did. Instead of continuing to say meaningless, worthless words, he instead launched out of the boat and returned to his coatl form. As best as he could, he swam alongside the boat, ready to attempt to re-distribute the lightning if possible.
“Acalan, will electricity run through the water into the boat and into the people in the boat?”
The water vibrated all around him in a response that had TJ gritting his teeth.
it might. it will not be as strong as if they were in the water, but it will shock.
“Fuck.“
TJ continued watching the gathering storm, arrows, spears, and bolts flying out of the boat towards the birds but to no avail. The attacks coming at the thunderbirds from this distance were obviously simple enough for the Elite monsters to avoid. They must have had some Skill that allowed them to dodge, and while they continued to evade every attack thrown their way, the lightning ball was already more than twice the size of the one that had hit him earlier. Then, something about the lightning seemed to shift, and the center of the ball of lightning slowly began to extend into a point of sorts, and TJ knew it was time for him to do whatever he could.
“Cover!“
TJ extended himself out of the water with just his tail still submerged, nearly 100 feet of serpent, ready to serve as a lightning rod, and that was exactly what he did. The thunderbirds’ attack thrummed through his entire body as he stiffened and fought to keep himself conscious, and the crackling of lightning passed through him. Far more than when he had offered himself up to the lightning to show his willingness, this lightning was malicious, instead of merely proud and powerful. It ripped at his organs and boiled his blood, and TJ felt the steam trailing out of his mouth as his insides were cooked.
Even so, TJ washed as his HP didn’t drop below 3000. His Stamina plummeted, but he held strong as the thunderbirds screamed out a challenge but turned back to their previous spot. Their cries were somehow mournful, but TJ didn’t concern himself with it, instead looking at his people. The first, and most important, person to check, was Luz. She was crying and obviously distressed, but she was also alive, safe, and mostly unharmed. TJ ran a shaky hand over her head as their Ahuizotl beached the ship and had the water suddenly become liquid once again. As he turned back to offer his thanks, TJ saw Acalan waiting there, massive eyes watching TJ.
“Thank you, Acalan. I’ll come here to offer you some more food sometime. Maybe even prepare a place for you in our new settlement. Sound good?”
Acalan cocked his head to the side but didn’t say anything as he retreated below the waves. TJ shrugged, turned, and looked at the land where he was, hopefully, going to be able to settle with his people.
