Disregarding the three levelling messages, one from each Human, Neophyte, and Savage, TJ focused his attention on the new Skills that reaching level 20 in Savage granted. The five Skills presented were all new to TJ, and that was a large part of the reason why he struggled now to know what he would choose moving forward. Each was valuable, but he figured he'd go through it again to ensure he made the right choice.
Primal Savagery, (Copper (I)): This is an evolution of your current Skill of the same name. This Skill evolution will change the Primal Savagery Skill from an untiered Skill to a tiered one, and as such the Skill will be able to continue to advance in power and influence. This Skill will retain its 20% bonus to all Attributes that its untiered iteration does, but that 20% bonus will be universal and apply not just in combat, but at all times that you are only equipped with items created solely without any pre-Integration tools, materials, or equipment. As such, the 20% bonus will apply to resources as well as Attributes.
This wasn't the first upgrade to a Skill that TJ had seen, but he was particularly drawn to it, as it would keep pushing him ahead in power. All those additional Attributes would be huge.
Simple Weapons Fighting Proficiency, (Dirt, (0)): You have created and battled with weapons made entirely from items and materials from after the Integration, and have dealt deadly blows with magic and strength of fist. This Skill will grant you an intrinsic understanding of how to leverage the strengths of basic, simple weapons, such as the dagger, club, stave, and spear. Additionally, this Skill grants a 20% increase to all your attributes while you engage in combat while wielding any simple weapon.
Though simple and Dirt tiered, TJ recognized the silent power this would grant him. When he asked if this bonus would apply while he was transformed into a coatl, though, he was told that he was unable to wield any of the weapons he had as a coatl. Even so, if TJ figured out how to create what the System deemed a simple weapon that a serpent could wield, then he would do so.
Equipment Manufacturing, (Dirt, 0)): You have perfected the process of creating copies of an original item. This Skill will reduce the experience penalty for creating additional copies of the same item and will grant a slight increase of 7% to the aspects and bonuses to every Item you create.
Though this was probably the least likely of the five options available for him to take, it was still a possibility, given that TJ suspected he'd spend a fair amount of time refining whatever items he created. Or wearing through them, considering how thrashed the armor he'd seen on every one of the Zealots. Even so, TJ didn't imagine that he'd become the equivalent of a factory, pumping out dozens of copies of the same thing again and again.
The other two Skills available were different from the first three, with an entirely different focus than anything he'd seen before, though they were somewhat similar to the Primeval Champion he'd been offered before.
Primeval Barbarian's Awakening, (Copper, (I)): You have lived as a personification of primitive anger and justified slaughter. This Skill serves as one of the requirements to evolve to the Copper tier. In addition, it will unalterably change the path of your Savage Occupation to that of a Primeval Barbarian. The Savage Barbarian Occupation is a combat-oriented Occupation, though it does retain benefits and a minor focus on wilderness survival and exploration.
Primitive Craftsman's Awakening, (Copper, (I)): You have proven yourself as one who has embraced the new world, and this new world's need for creators. This Skill serves as one of the requirements to evolve to the Copper tier. In addition, it will unalterably change the path of your Savage Occupation to that of a Primitive Craftsman. The Primitive Craftsman Occupation is a production-focused Occupation, though it does retain any combat-oriented Skills already granted by the Savage Occupation.
The last two Skills' descriptions were somewhat similar to the Primeval Champion's, in that they promised permanent changes to the Savage Occupation. Seeing the description now, TJ suspected that taking the Champion Skill would lock him into that particular Occupation evolution. Regardless, both were appealing, though TJ didn't want to cast aside either half of the Occupation's versatility. Each of these evolutionary options would limit him somewhat, and TJ had hesitated to take Primeval Champion for the same reason. Since he'd just barely spoken with the System about Occupations and their evolutions, he figured there was a possibility he'd be able to glean some more information at this point.
"Are the Primitive Craftsman and Primeval Barbarian both Occupations that are evolutions of Savage?"
Yes.
"Other than what's already written, what are the differences for these Occupations? What do they offer?"
No answer. TJ rolled his eyes and moved on.
"So, when I evolve to Copper tier, I'll get access to them either way?
Unknown.
"Why is it unknown if I'm getting them offered to me right now?" TJ asked, aware that there were some people coming closer to him and listening. He waved them off, focusing on the conversation he was having.
The System does not grant any guarantees to Participants anticipatory to evolutions, Ascensions, Tribulations, or anything of the like.
TJ figured that meant he'd almost certainly be offered at least one of the two options when he inevitably evolved, but when that would occur without these Skills remained a mystery. He nearly decided on one of those two Skills right off the bat, but something in the back of his mind told him to ask a question he'd already asked and been rebuffed on before.
"What other evolutionary requirements am I closest to?"
Due to having crossed this threshold artificially, you are granted additional information: One of the potential benchmarks to complete to qualify to evolve to the Copper (I) tier of Divinity is to reach 100 Fixation.
For a moment, TJ wasn't sure what the System was saying, but then he looked at his Status. There, at the bottom of the column, was his Fixation: 97+3. He put the dots together pretty quickly after that. "So you told me that this is an evolutionary requirement because, with the bonus from the Raven Mocker's Remnant, I've crossed that baseline already?"
Correct.
Looking at the two Free Points left, TJ couldn't help but laugh. He could bring himself to 99, but not. To add insult to injury, if he gained a single level in either Neophyte or Savage, he'd gain a level in Human as well, which would give him at least three Fixation, regardless of if the level came in his Occupation or Class.
Though he asked it, TJ suspected he knew the answer, and when the System answered, he felt more and more stuck. "Will there be any difference in what options are available to me at evolution if I get the third evolutionary requirement through a Skill or through reaching the Fixation benchmark?"
Yes.
TJ grumbled unintelligible curses to himself as he looked at the System displays in front of him. The System wouldn't tell him if the Occupations offered after evolution would be any better than the one he chose through a Skill selection at this moment, so he was left needing to choose what he was going to do. Did he want to take the evolutionary certainty right now, or wait and possibly have better options available to him? After thinking for a moment, another question occurred to him.
"If I evolve to Copper by taking one of these two Skills, will Neophyte also evolve?"
Yes.
"Will there be any negative consequences if I do?"
Evolution within the bounds of the System is complex. As an explanation, there is a relationship between the level of your Class and Occupation and the quality of the evolutionary options offered to you at the time of Ascension to the next tier. If a Participant is able to evolve at a lower level, they may not have done everything necessary to acquire certain evolutions. However, if a Participant does evolve at the lower level, they will more easily be able to gain levels whilst in a higher tier. A higher tiered Class, Occupation, and Race grant higher Attributes per level than their lower tiered counterparts, and they also grant additional Skill options that their lower tiered counterparts cannot.
So there were benefits to both. That didn't really help though… TJ asked, "If I evolve by taking one of these two Skills, will I be able to choose how my Race and Class evolve without limitations?"
Yes you will be able to choose, but if you decide to evolve more quickly, you may have limited your options by keeping yourself from achieving certain tasks while still at the Dirt (0) tier.
He felt like he was talking in circles. No matter how many times he asked, it felt like the same things kept coming back to him. Now, the choice was if he wanted to evolve now and possibly keep himself from being able to choose the best options, or to wait and give himself greater benefits in the long run. After continuing to lay down and ponder over it while occasionally asking the System more questions that didn't give him any satisfactory answers, TJ decided that he couldn't make the decision right now. He didn't want to wait, but there were other people he could ask, even if they didn't know better than he did.
Walking back to within the bounds of the walls, TJ saw that Peter had made his decision regarding what to do to stabilize the walls, and holes were growing around the interior perimeter of the walls, holes where tree trunks could be buried vertically and used as supporting braces for the logs making up the walls. He liked Peter, but TJ wasn't going to ask him for any sort of advice on this. Instead, TJ walked into the general store, where Laura, Stanton, Seth, Sarah, and most of the other elites were sitting around, recovering in Meditation. Zig too was there, but she was watching over the assembled Participants instead of Meditating herself.
Unsure of what to do, TJ nodded when he saw her and walked forward to get closer to Stanton. Behind him, he heard Sarah sigh and walk out, muttering something unflattering about him under her breath. With a poke, Stanton roused, blinking a couple times to focus on TJ.
"Something wrong?" Stanton asked, shooting to his feet. "Did I miss something?"
"Nope, just looking for some advice on a difficult decision I've got. You willing to talk? I was going to ask a couple of people what they thought before I made it."
Stanton grunted as he rolled his neck and walked out of the center of the Meditating Participants. "Hit me."
"Well, I've learned that I can take a Skill right now and evolve to Copper tier, or get one more level and do it then." Stanton nodded, waiting for TJ to continue explaining. "Doing it now will limit my Occupation a little, which I don't like, and doing it later will allow me to make a couple more choices. Doing it now gives me two more levels with Copper bonuses to Attributes instead of Dirt tier."
When he saw that TJ was basically done explaining, Stanton asked, "How fast do you think you can get that one level?"
TJ checked internally, though he knew he'd only just reached the levels he'd gained today. "Maybe today, if I'm lucky? If not, early tomorrow."
"And how long does it take for someone to become Copper tier?"
TJ shrugged and asked the System.
While within the Tutorial, the System is more willing to put its hand on the scale and hurry things along. Evolution to the Copper tier would take no more than 12 hours.
"Half a day."
"We've got more than a day and a half ahead of us. You make the decision. What do you want to do? Which option do you think you'd regret more?"
When Stanton asked that, TJ realized he knew the answer. He was pretty likely to get at least similar options if he got one more level, and being forced into something that didn't quite suit him was uncomfortable—even if he'd just been lamenting how neither his Class nor his Occupation granted good Attributes for the physical side.
"Looks like you've made your decision." Stanton said with a smile under his thick moustache. "What do you need me to do?"
"I'll let you know. For now, I need to choose a new Skill."