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SoK Chapter 127
🕑 Added 2025-04-23 15:00:40 +0000 UTCThere was obvious evidence of ransacking, and TJ fought down that sense of rage and violation. He’d done worse to every home he came across in Pine, and he’d done more than leave a front door open. Even so, he gritted his teeth as he went through the gate on the side of the house and dropped the massive mound of black, untreated hide on the porch. A puff of dust rose up as he did so, and TJ ground his teeth as he forced himself to take a calming breath, and then another.
For some reason, the large bay window into the kitchen had been shattered. Remnants of glass were everywhere, inside and out of the house, and TJ walked through them without concern. Even though his moccasins had been lost or forgotten in the madness of the siege and Boss fight, he was unconcerned with the glass everywhere. It couldn’t cut the thick calluses on his feet, and he peered into his home.
The fridge was open, only a couple sauces left inside. Past that, the pantry had been raided, he could see, but the specifics of what might have been lost was impossible to tell from this angle. As the door had been left closed, TJ stepped through the remains of the window and looked at what had happened to his home.
Funnily enough, if he could find any humor in what he was looking at, the things that’d been most valuable before were untouched. The giant 4k TV he’d bought cheaply as a floor model, the couch set he’d done the same thing with, the fancy china Mari’d bought and never used… all were left alone.
The food, kitchen utensils, and blankets he’d kept on the couches, though, were all gone. Though Mari’d complained about how small it was, the pantry had once held plenty of food, and there was nothing left in there. Not a sauce, can of soup, or cellophane-wrapped treat. When he turned down the hall towards the three bedrooms, he saw that the office and Junior’s rooms were basically untouched. There was one thing, more monetarily and emotionally valuable than the rest, that TJ worried about.
In his bedroom, his bed had been stripped. He found himself growling under his breath, wondering why in the hell people would need his sheets. Maybe to carry the food they’d stolen, but that was just… bleh. TJ forced himself to calm down. It wasn’t personal, it was survival. Plus, his anger was petty. And, most importantly, Mari’s wedding ring that he kept on his nightstand remained there. It was a simple white gold band with a pillow-cut diamond, and he kept it there to be something to see when he woke up and went to sleep. Now, though, TJ worried that he wouldn’t spend as much time in his home as he had before. If there were monsters threatening his life, then he realized that his single-story home wasn’t going to do a whole lot to protect him.
“System.” TJ whispered. “If I put her ring on a chain and wear it as a necklace, will it count as equipment?”
Yes.
“Why?” He demanded.
Appraise the item in your hands.
The System didn’t give a real explanation, but TJ Appraised the ring.
Item: Ring; Ring of the Devoted (Silver (II)). This ring is the last remnant of a mother, wife, sister, and daughter. It was presented to the owner by one truly devoted to her, and worn daily thereafter. When the owner was killed, it was covered in her blood as she died, damaged by the ravages that slew its owner. After being cured in its owner’s blood, the ring was repaired, though some of its owner’s blood remained in the deep scars in the gold. This ring has since served as an effigy of the owner, tended to daily by the original giver of the ring. This ring can only be equipped by the original giver of the ring, or the owner’s offspring. If any other than the original giver or the owner’s offspring attempt to take or wear this ring, they will suffer from a Severe Cursed affliction. Equipping this ring will not negatively impact the original giver or the owner’s offspring in any way. This equipment grants the Shield of the Devoted (Silver (II)) Skill to its wearer. This equipment grants additional attribute points to its wearer. Points granted: +10 to Strength, Agility, Wisdom, Intelligence, Perception, Willpower, and Fixation, +20 to Endurance, Vitality, and Toughness.
While TJ sat on his bed, disbelieving, he checked what the Shield of the Devoted Skill did out of habit.
Shield of the Devoted (Silver (II)): This Skill is a blessing given by one devoted to those who are being protected. This Skill grants the protected a shield which covers their entire body for up to five minutes. During those five minutes, the Shield will safeguard the protected from 25% of all damage, or until the Shield is dispelled. As it has been bestowed by equipment, using this Skill does not cost the user anything. Instead, the item’s wielder can, at any time, activate the Skill, or it will be automatically deployed if the item’s wielder’s HP falls below one third of their total maximum. This Skill has a 24 hour cooldown.
Just to make sure, he asked the System, “If I wear this ring, will it keep me from using Primal Savagery?”
No. As listed in the Item’s description, equipping this ring will not negatively impact you in any way, as you were the original giver of the ring.
He sat down and chuckled to himself, mostly in disbelief. Somehow, Mari had blessed him with a lifesaving item that also would give him a lot of Attributes. Yes, he’d rather have her with him, but as something to remember her, her ring was more than just a memory. In reaction, TJ looked down at his own left hand. His simple gold band was there, and when he Appraised it, the System told him that it wasn’t anything more than a Simple gold ring and it didn’t count as equipment. Picking up the diamond ring, he pulled it onto his left hand’s ring finger, to sit just above his own wedding band.
As it touched the tip of his finger, the ring that was much too tight for him expanded until it fit comfortably just above its paired ring. Just as soon as the ring was on him, TJ could feel his mind open, his muscles grow more limber, and his general sense of self improve. Just like when he’d put the Minor Shroud on, TJ could feel how to activate his new Skill, though he made sure not to. Looking around his bedroom, TJ almost decided to change into some of his own clothes, but instead, he looked down at himself, covered in filth, mud and coagulated viscera coating his whole body.
When he walked to his bathroom, of course the water didn’t run, but sharing his back wall, the neighbor had an in-ground pool. Without thinking more deeply about it, TJ stripped off his clothes and pulled on a pair of trunks and threw a towel around his neck before unlocking, opening, and walking out the door and into the backyard once again. He didn’t need to try to jump over the wall and into the pool, landing directly in the water with a splash.
TJ ran his fingers through his matted hair, the water going murky all around him as he scrubbed the dirt and vestiges of the Tutorial from his body. It wasn’t long before most of the filth settled to the bottom of the pool and, with a thought, he pulled up his Status Sheet. Wanting to simplify it, he divvied up the Free Points as he could to round out the Attributes where he could. When he was done, he admired his Attributes and his Status as a whole.
Status Sheet
Name: TJ (Thiago Jorge) Harris IV
Race: Semi-Divine Human – lvl 26
Class: Storm-Calling Neophyte lvl 26
Occupation: Savage Shaman lvl 26
Level of Divinity: Copper (I)
Divine Bloodline: Kukulkan
Health Points (HP): 4600/4600
Mana Points (MP): 4610/4610
Stamina: 4140/4140
Attributes
Strength: 230+15(+46)
Agility: 210+10(+41)
Endurance: 328+20(+66)
Vitality: 360+28(+72)
Toughness: 270+25(+54)
Wisdom: 260+10(+52)
Intelligence: 370+17(+74)
Perception: 280+10(+54)
Willpower: 330+10(+66)
Fixation: 390+13(+78)
Free Points: 0
Skill List: Hidden
Titles: Irregular
Elite Hunter (Copper (I))
Evolutionary Frontrunner
Current total maximum Divine Transformation time: 7:20:15
(End+Vit+Will+Fix)/4 Current cooldown: 0:00
Status Sheet
Name: TJ (Thiago Jorge) Harris IV
Race: Storm Coatl – lvl 26
Class: Storm-Calling Neophyte lvl 26
Occupation: Savage Shaman lvl 26
Level of Divinity: Copper (I)
Divine Bloodline: Kukulkan
Health Points (HP): 8920/8920
Mana Points (MP): 9050/9050
Stamina: 8070/8070
Attributes
Strength x2.5: 575+15(+115)
Agility x2: 420+10(+82)
Endurance x2: 656+20(+131)
Vitality x2: 720+28(+144)
Toughness x2.5: 675+25(+135)
Wisdom x1.5: 390+10(+78)
Intelligence x2: 740+17(+148)
Perception x2: 560+10(+112)
Willpower x1.5: 495+10(+99)
Fixation x2: 780+13(+156)
Free Points: 0
Skill List: Hidden
Titles: Irregular
Elite Hunter (Copper (I))
Evolutionary Frontrunner
Divine Trial Records (Copper (I)):
1 Minor, 0 Moderate, 0 Bitter, 0 Celestial
“Who is that? We’ve killed monsters before, so don’t think you can get one over on us!” A voice interrupted TJ from pulling up his Skill Selection options for Storm-Calling Neophyte.
“It’s just me!” He replied, holding his hands up and out of the water. “I’m your neighbor from the other side of the wall. I didn’t have any water and was just trying to get clean. I wasn’t thinking, I’m sorry. Is it ok if I get out now?”
“Move slowly!” The faintly accented voice called out. “We’ll shoot you if we need to!”
“Sure.” TJ said, keeping his hands up. “I’m gonna put one hand down to help me get out, alright?”
“Sure thing, neighbor.” He hopped out of the water with one hand’s assistance. “Am I alright to hop back to my side of the wall or do you want me to stay here for a minute.”
“Get back in your yard, if you would.”
“On it.” TJ hopped right over, and as soon as he was out of sight, he couldn’t help but grin a little. Whoever that was, he couldn’t imagine that they could have done anything to him any time soon, but he wanted to respect them and the fact that, regardless of the collapse of society and so on, he was in their pool using their water.
“You can call me TJ.” He called over the wall. “I’ll be in my backyard working on some stuff for the rest of the day, so if you wanna talk, you can holler over or hop over whenever.”
“Call me Roger.”
“Sounds good.” TJ didn’t say any more, instead stripping down and wrapping himself in the towel he’d laid aside. Seeing no peeking eyes, he ducked into the house just long enough to get dressed in nothing more than another pair of shorts. Then, he spread the pelt out on the grass and set to scratching the connective tissue, fat, and flesh from it. As time passed and he lost himself in the vaguely meditative feeling of just continuing to prepare the pelt, TJ noticed that Roger poked his head over the wall and saw what TJ was doing, but then didn’t do anything else. For the first time, he regretted not having done more to meet the neighbors. He’d lived in the house for almost six years, and he didn’t even know the last names of any of the people who lived nearby.
As soon as he was done and the pelt was scraped free of all the unnecessary bits, TJ looked around for how he could build a fire to boil the brain. He didn’t have any firewood, and though nature was supernaturally quickly reclaiming everything, it was far from providing enough for him to build a fire sufficiently large to prepare the brain slurry. Looking back and forth, the grill caught his eye, and TJ laughed, pulling a pot out from inside the house before getting ready to set it on the steady flame of the grill.
“Roger!” TJ called out.
“What?”
“Could you fill my pot with water from your pool?” TJ asked while holding the pot over the wall. “I don’t need potable water, just any water.”
After a moment, Roger took the pot, and TJ heard the sloshing of water filling the pot and it came back to his hands.
“Thanks!”
The other man grumbled something and TJ waved over the wall before placing the full pot on the flames. At last, he was ready to make his Skill selection.
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Torus al-Nashihra
TJ the Toolman Thiago
