The forest passes by in a blur. Trees, streams, rocks—all flowing past as he runs. Hours turn into a full day. The sun rises, moves across the sky, sets. The moon rises. And still he runs, moving effortlessly.
"I have run far enough." Tara shifts back to his pyramid form, the transformation ending. The storage counter: 1.526B units.
"1.526B units," he thinks. "That's a lot of energy. A whole lot. If 10M-energy-blast was that big, now I can do many times more damage. It's scary. I'm scary. But there's no use getting scared of myself. Let's look at what we got from the hideout."
"This is quite a collection," Tara thinks, examining the items. "He was very busy. I wonder what Mr Busy Twitch was planning to do with all of this."
"And these books—the research notes, the grimoires. Tejran's knowledge. That knowledge is valuable. Perhaps more valuable than the items, in the long run."
But there is more.
**ABILITY POINTS REMAINING:** 17
"Seventeen ability points," he thinks. "I gained two points from leveling up, then spent three of those points on Shapeshift. So I'm actually down one point from before, but Shapeshift is worth it."
"I already have four abilities," he thinks, examining his current abilities. "Dash, Demonic Fission, Energy Blast, Shapeshift."
"Some abilities were already available from killing the wolves and Xyl'tharoth," he thinks. "Claw, Shadow Claw, Corruption Touch, Devour, Fear Aura, Shadow Step, Pack Tactics, Feral Rage, Scent Tracking."
"But I got more options. Dozens of abilities, probably belonging to the creatures in the lab."
"Okay, let's have a look at the new ones," he thinks.
**Phantom Strike (Rare)** - Attack passes through physical defenses, striking directly at energy/essence. Cost: 3 points.
**Blood Rage (Common)** - Increase attack power when damaged, becoming stronger as health decreases. Passive ability. Cost: 1 point.
**Toxic Spit (Uncommon)** - Spit corrosive energy that damages and weakens enemies over time. Cost: 2 points.
**Venomous Bite (Common)** - Inflict damage over time with attacks. Cost: 1 point.
**Mana Burn (Rare)** - Attacks drain enemy mana directly. Cost: 3 points.
**Essence Drain (Rare)** - Drain mana directly from enemies during combat. Cost: 3 points.
**Regeneration (Common)** - Rapidly heal damage by converting stored energy into health. Cost: 1 point.
**Elemental Resistance (Uncommon)** - Resist elemental damage, reducing energy loss from fire, ice, lightning attacks. Passive ability. Cost: 2 points.
**Mind Shield (Uncommon)** - Resist mental attacks, mind control, illusions. Passive ability. Cost: 2 points.
**Adaptive Form (Rare)** - Temporarily adapt form to resist specific damage types. Cost: 3 points.
**Crystal Armor (Uncommon)** - Form protective crystalline barriers that absorb damage. Cost: 2 points.
**Phase Shift (Rare)** - Temporarily become intangible, passing through physical objects. Cost: 3 points.
**Energy Absorption (Rare)** - Absorb incoming magical attacks, converting them to stored energy. Cost: 3 points.
**Stone Skin (Uncommon)** - Increase physical resistance at the cost of movement speed. Cost: 2 points.
**Appraisal (Rare)** - Identify and analyze entities. Cost: 3 points.
**Predator's Instinct (Rare)** - Intuitive understanding of prey behavior, allowing for better prediction of enemy movements. Passive ability. Cost: 3 points.
**Other:**
**Soul Bind (Rare)** - Bind defeated enemies' souls, gaining permanent stat boosts. Cost: 3 points.
**Chameleon Skin (Common)** - Blend into surroundings, becoming harder to detect. Cost: 1 point.
And more...
Tara looks at the list of abilities, his consciousness processing the options. So many choices. So many possibilities. But one stands out to him immediately.
"Appraisal," he thinks. "I remember this is from the humanoid creature. I have all these items from Mr. Busy Twitch's hideout, and I have no idea what most of them do. Appraisal could let me figure that out. Besides, I've read too much isekai to miss this ability."
He focuses on the ability, selecting it immediately.
**ABILITY SELECTED:**
- **Appraisal (Rare)** - Level 1
**ABILITY POINTS SPENT:** 3
**ABILITY POINTS REMAINING:** 14
**SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:**
**Appraisal (Rare) - Level 1:**
- Identify and analyze any entity
- Passive ability - automatically activates when examining items
"Perfect," he thinks. "Now I can appraise everything. And this doesn't cost any energy either."
He reaches out with his awareness, focusing on the items he's collected. The dark crystals, the scrolls, the potions, the artifacts. One by one, he examines them, and information begins to flow into his consciousness.
---
**APPRAISED: Void Binding Elixir**
- Strengthens magical channels between entities
---
**APPRAISED: Dark Crystal Cluster**
- Stores dark mana
- Can be used in rituals and enchantments
- Absorbs negative energy from surroundings
---
**APPRAISED: Enchanted Ring - Mana Storage**
- Stores up to 10,000 units of mana
- Recharges slowly over time
- Compatible with most magic systems
---
**APPRAISED: Soul Fragment Container**
- Stores captured soul fragments
- Preserves souls in stasis, preventing decay
- Can hold up to 50 soul fragments
- Soul fragments contained: 12
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
---
**APPRAISED: Scrying Crystal Orb**
- Allows remote viewing of distant locations
- Requires mana to activate
- Can track individuals if given a personal item or essence sample
- Range: up to 100 kilometers, mana cost increases with range
---
**APPRAISED: Barrier Amulet - Warding**
- Creates a protective barrier around the wearer
- Absorbs magical attacks up to a certain threshold
- Recharges slowly over time
- Breaks after absorbing too much damage
---
**APPRAISED: Shadow Cloak**
- Renders wearer partially invisible in shadows
- Enhances stealth and concealment
- Reduces magical signature detection
- Requires mana to maintain invisibility
---
**APPRAISED: Potion of Dark Regeneration**
**Quantity:** 3
- Rapidly heals physical damage
- Uses dark magic to accelerate natural healing
- Side effects: temporary weakness to light magic
---
**APPRAISED: Artifact - Cursed Dagger**
- Deals additional damage to magical entities
- Cursed: wielder becomes more aggressive over time
---
**APPRAISED: Backup Inventory Bag**
- Extra-dimensional storage space
- Can hold up to 1,000 items
- Items inside are preserved in stasis
- Requires magical attunement to access
---
**APPRAISED: Teleportation Scroll**
- Instantly transports user to a previously marked location
- Requires mana to activate
- Range: up to 500 kilometers
- Single use
---
**APPRAISED: Mana Potion - Greater**
**Quantity:** 8
- Restores 5,000 units of mana
- Works instantly upon consumption
---
Tara appraises more items. Health potions, mana potions, potions of invisibility, strength enhancement, magical resistance, speed, night vision—dozens of potions in total. But he pauses, thinking.
"Do these even work on me?" he wonders. "I don't have health or mana, at least not visible to me. I have energy, but that's different. Still, worth a try."
He takes one of the mana potions and consumes it, watching his energy counter carefully. Nothing. His stored energy remains unchanged at 1.526B units.
"No effect," he thinks. "These potions are designed for creatures with health and mana systems. I'm something else entirely. I'll save the rest and have a look at what's useful later."
---
**APPRAISED: Binding Contract Scroll**
- Creates a magical contract between parties
- Enforces terms through magical binding
- Violations result in magical penalties
- Requires signatures from all parties
---
**APPRAISED: Enchanted Gauntlets - Strength**
- Increases physical strength of wearer
- Enhances grip and hand-to-hand combat
- Compatible with most magic systems
---
**APPRAISED: Ritual Circle Components**
- Used in various magical rituals
- Includes chalk, candles, and ritual markers
- Enhances ritual effectiveness
- Consumable materials
---
**APPRAISED: Grimoire - Forbidden Magic**
- Contains spells and rituals
- Advanced dark magic theory
- Written in ancient language
*Appraisal level insufficient for information transfer*
---
In the midst of this, something catches his attention. Growling.
"Wolves," he thinks as he senses them. "Another pack. They're coming this way. This could be trouble."
*Thank you so much for the follow! I really appreciate the support.*
