As he considered his options, their travels took them out of the bounds of the Chindi's Forest and onto the highway. There, though part of him longed merely to continue musing over the Skill options, TJ figured that it would be for the best if he paid more attention to their surroundings. He peered around, looking for whatever could be nearby. As he did so, Rebekkah walked up next to him and placed a hand on his elbow. Looking down at the slightly shorter woman, TJ tried to look as open and honest as he could manage.
"I don't blame you for your reaction." Rebekkah said. "There may be others who cannot help but to blame, and if so, that is their prerogative. Do know that I forgive you your weakness in that harrowing moment."
TJ couldn't bring words through the lump in his throat, the unexpected ball of emotion threatening to overwhelm him completely. Instead, he merely nodded his gratitude.
"That said," Rebekkah continued, "you need to make a decision. Will you live in the past? Will you lose today in yesterday and allow the pains and sufferings of a life lost too soon to steal all opportunity for happiness? Or will you allow tomorrow to be brighter than today, allow that pain to wash over you and through you and then leave you in its wake?"
There was a soft yet pained tone to her voice, something that warned TJ of her wisdom. "You lost a spouse?"
"My second son would be 13, if he hadn't drowned in a neighbor's pool." Rebekkah answered, the mental image shaking TJ to his core. "My family and I nearly broke from his death, but we've recovered. We miss him dearly, but there is a future without him. We will see him when we return to God's arms."
"You really think there's a God out here when all this shit is happening? Really?" TJ whispered in disbelief. "How can you?"
"You're hurt, and bitter, and I understand." Rebekkah answered, surprisingly calm after the insult.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said–"
"You meant what you said, and I forgive you. To answer, I hope there is a True God out here now. I hope that He hears our prayers and witnesses our suffering and is here for us. I hope He feels my fear and washes it away with the certainty of His divinity. There is much I hoped for before all this and much more I pray for now."
"Even though the System said the Divine Throne is empty? It sure seems like it knows everything." TJ doubted.
"I'll believe the things it says that I can see. Maybe it's a bit hypocritical to say that as a woman of faith, but I've found my path, and I'll keep hoping it's right." Rebekkah laughed. "And you know, if there isn't one right now, there will be. So, whoever it is, I'll pray for their well-being and mercy and love."
Though he couldn't bring himself to agree with the idea, TJ also couldn't bring himself to continue thinking she was foolish for hoping. Sarah and Zig listened to the conversation while still keeping their distance from him. Farid approached, clapped a hand on TJ's shoulder, and smiled. Half of the people who'd been affected by him succumbing to the Chindi's influence were willing to extend the olive branch, and he felt obligated to reach out again, more honestly, to Sarah and Zig.
"I'm sorry. I know that there isn't much of anything that I can do to prove myself, but I'll do what I can to gain your forgiveness." Then, without pushing his apology further, TJ continued walking the trail and paying more attention to their surroundings while trying to decide what to choose for his Skill. Of the two new Skills, the easier to address was Wind Scythe.
It read to be somewhat underwhelming, if he was honest. A large part of this was due to the generic, unclear phrasing the Skill's description had. "Strengthen" and "Decrease" were basically useless for him in terms of understanding exactly how much impact the Skill would have on him. Regardless, that the Skill was Copper tier was enough to speak of its potential and potency. Though there was plenty that he did with Wind Manipulation that didn't involve cutting, it was quickly becoming his chief use of the Skill. Thus, even with the vague and generally unexciting language in the Skill description, it was a contender.
The more complex and confusing Skill was, of course, Raging Coatl. The blanket 50% boost to every one of his attributes was beyond what he'd believed possible. Effectively, it would double the strength of his Divine Transformation, though not solely on the attributes he already received. Even so, that increase was more than enough for TJ to want to take it outright. The rest of the Skill's description, though, gave him pause.
First, the phrase, "fully lose yourself in the bloodlust and fury of your Divine Transformation" was far from a pleasant idea. Like with Wind Scythe, the description wasn't clear on what exactly it offered in this case. He felt he was relatively sure that the three afflictions that the Skill would permanently inflict on him while using the Skill would illuminate that concern, though. Before that, though, he wanted to understand the two other conditions that Divine Transformation would give him with Raging Coatl.
Fearless condition: While under the influence of this condition, your resistance to the Fear affliction and its variants is increased by 300%.
Painless condition: While under the influence of this condition, your susceptibility to pain will be reduced by 75%.
On their face, TJ saw the benefits from these conditions, as being Fearless almost certainly would have saved him from being affected at all by the Chindi. The Painless condition would save him from being crippled by taking a severe hit, though he hadn't yet found himself crippled by pain. On the other hand, he also immediately understood the potential problems posed by these conditions. He knew the reasons why the human body felt pain and fear, and they weren't small. Pain let the mind know that he was damaged, and fear allowed the body to react more decisively to dangerous situations. Did he want to neuter himself like that? Then, there were the three Severe afflictions the Skill would put on him.
"As a consequence, while using the Divine Transformation Skill, you will be inflicted with severe levels of the Bloodthirsty, Enraged, and Frenzied afflictions". TJ hadn't encountered these afflictions, and as he checked them, he was more and more sure that he wasn't ready to be so debilitated while using his primary Skill from his Class.
Severe Bloodthirsty affliction: While under the influence of this affliction, the afflicted will suffer from a 500% increase in their desire to attack and harm others. In addition, the affliction's duration will be extended by one minute each time that the afflicted draws another's blood.
Severe Enraged affliction: While under the influence of this affliction, the afflicted will suffer from an 80% reduction in their ability to engage in rational thought. In addition, the afflicted will be 300% more likely to experience surges in their emotional state with each inconvenience that occurs.
Severe Frenzied affliction: While under the influence of this affliction, the afflicted will gain a 60% resistance to all positive and calming effects. In addition, the afflicted will lose 60 HP per minute if they cease all movement or are forced to cease all movement.
TJ couldn't help but sigh in response to reading the descriptions. All the afflictions and conditions combined would probably force him to devolve into a mindless, ravening beast for the entirety of the time that he spent using Divine Transformation. That may serve him later, after the Tutorial, but for now, he had to work with other people. If, at the time to defend the grocery store, he exhausted himself in a bloodthirsty rage, he'd die. If, even worse, he attacked one of the other defenders, he'd be killed by his allies, and he couldn't blame them.
"If I get the Skill to come back at a later time, like what happened with Introductory Divine Primitive Craftsmanship?"
There is a possibility of that occurring, though in order for a Skill to be offered again at a later opportunity with an improved grade, it would be necessary for you to have improved your usage of the precursor of the Skill being offered. As an example, before you were offered the Introductory Divine Primitive Craftsmanship, you created a Copper tiered item. Thus, if you wish to be offered a higher tier of the Raging Coatl Skill, you must first act in a way that proves that your steps on the Path are those of a Raging Coatl.
With his answer received, TJ fully dismissed the Skill. In the world after the Tutorial, the Skill might be worth much more to him, but he had a goal to complete, and with specific tasks assigned to him, he knew that Raging Coatl would be a detriment, not a benefit.
Then, there was the other Copper tiered Skill offered. Wind Scythe was impressive in name, and he'd already named a particular use of his Skill the same thing. Then, he knew that he'd be much deadlier with this additional aspect to his Skill heightened. Even so, efficiency in using the Skill didn't seem like it was the best choice to make. After all, he could already do those things, and he knew from asking before about other skills that getting a Skill for something specific would allow him to do that something better than he could without it. Even so, did he feel like his Wind Manipulation wasn't deadly enough?
No. His Skill was already capable of cutting through Elites, and though he was sure that the Boss could resist the Skill as it was, he had over a week to heighten his abilities and attributes. Who knew, he could even reach the Copper tier of Divinity by then. Regardless, he didn't think that his Wind Manipulation needed the bonus from Wind Scythe. Thus, he returned to the three Skills that had been offered to him before. Mindful Mouth was still off the table, so TJ needed to choose between Shredding Bite and Crushing Body.
In the basic terms, both of the Skills served the same basic function–give him more points in Strength and serve to enhance a part of his physical combat abilities in the coatl form. That this would also help him to a lesser extent when Divine Transformation had to recover wasn't something to be forgotten, given that there was effectively no way that he would gain enough levels by the end of the two weeks to leave him capable of maintaining the Skill for the 18 hour defense listed in the Tutorial's description.
Thus, the decision came down to if he wanted to reinforce his ability to constrict whatever he wrapped up, or the strength of his bite. TJ knew what snakes did to kill their prey–venomous bites or constriction. That was how they killed. Conventional knowledge would suggest that he follow the same path, either gain venom or become a constrictor of sorts. Conventional knowledge could go rot in a hole.
TJ was a magical monster, and he wasn't going to make a decision on which Skill to take based off of how mundane snakes existed. He was a descendent of the Feathered Serpent Kukulkan, known as Quetzalcoatl and a badass flying serpent. And, frankly, TJ wanted to be like a dragon. With that thought in mind, TJ made his Skill selection and felt his body grow stronger.
Skill: Shredding Bite acquired.