The wolves lead Tara to their den—a natural depression in the ground, hidden deep in the forest, its entrance partially concealed by thick undergrowth and hanging vines. The den is simple, with multiple hollows dug into the earth where everyone resides. The hollows for mothers with cubs are bigger, providing more space for the families. One such shelter has been left for Tara.

  The pack leads Tara to his hollow. It is very small, barely fitting Tara when he's in his wolf form. The area around the den is marked with scratches and scents—territorial markings, pack history, generations of wolves claiming this space as their own.

  "Okay," Tara thinks, looking around. "So this is my den. It's... cozy."

  He moves outside, leaving his hollow and stepping into the main area of the den. The wolves are there, waiting. As he emerges, they turn toward him, their eyes bright with recognition and something else—something that makes Tara pause.

  They approach him, not with the cautious distance of subordinates, but with the familiarity of pack. As he moves, they come forward, rubbing their bodies against his pyramid form, pressing close, greeting him. The kids are curious and careful at first, hiding behind their elders. But as they grow more comfortable, they smell him, touch him. One even jumps on top of him, only to be scolded by the alpha female who grabs him and puts him back.

  He has been mostly alone for so long. Even when he isn't physically alone, there is a distance, a loneliness that has always been there. He had friends in his previous life, but everyone was busy in their lives. They only met once in a while. Maybe to grab a beer or something.

  Further, even in this life, being a pyramid and sitting all by himself for such a long time, he is genuinely grateful to have someone familiar. Someone he can talk to, or howl to in this case.

  And in that moment, surrounded by their presence, feeling their warmth, he realizes he has found something phenomenal in this life. This sense of belonging. This sense of family.

  He dashes to a stone platform outside the den, his pyramid form settling into place. The wolves are now going about their business. Some resting, some playing with the kids and some guarding the den. A couple of wolves including Notail sit behind Tara.

  Tara sits there for a while, observing the wolf pack, thinking about everything that has happened.

  After a while, he decides to continue where he's left off. The appraisal work. Many of the books are written in ancient languages, and he's been interrupted by the wolves before he can finish appraising everything. With his Appraisal skill, he can identify them, and at higher levels, he might even be able to translate them automatically.

  "Let's see. Yes, this grimoire. It said the Appraisal level is not enough for information transfer. Which means given enough Appraisal levels, I will be able to access this information. I knew Appraisal was a cheat ability."

  He continues appraising other items. More books, research notes, scrolls. Most show the same message—appraisal level insufficient. But unlike the grimoire, these aren't in ancient language.

  "And what's this?" He takes a look at the pouch that he grabbed from the hideout.

  **APPRAISED: Sapphire Gems**

  **Quantity:** 247

  - High-value currency gemstones

  - Can be used as magical shields for defense

  "Two hundred and forty-seven sapphire gems," he thinks. "That should be a lot of money. Twitchy twitch is definitely Ri￠hie Ri￠h. Or was, before I robbed him. It wasn't robbery though. It was just my compensation. For the torture that I went through."

  After appraising a bit more, Tara is done with all the items.

  "Okay, so now that I have this many books, my aim should be to get my Appraisal to the next level. But I don't want to spend ability points. Who knows what I will need them for. And to level up the ability I only need to do it repeatedly, since Dash leveled up on its own when I was repeatedly using it."

  "How many days will it take though? Is there a faster option?"

  "Wait," he thinks. "I have Demonic Fission. I can split. If I split into multiple clones, each clone can train different skills. The experience, the improvements, they all will be part of me since everything is shared. That's... that's brilliant!"

  "Unlike Naruto's training method, I don't even need to undo the clones to get the progress. All the progress is shared between all my clones. This is going to be incredibly efficient. In fact, when I am done with this, I may be able to read many books at once since my knowledge is also shared between the clones."

  He focuses on Demonic Fission. At level 26, he can create up to 26 clones.

  "Okay," Tara thinks, his consciousness split across 26 bodies. "Now... now I need to coordinate them."

  It is overwhelming. Three clones have been manageable somehow. But 26? 26 separate bodies, one consciousness? It is chaos. Pure chaos.

  One clone tries to move forward while another moves backward. One tries to dash left while another dashes right, bumping into each other. They are all him, but they can't coordinate. They can't work together. They are stepping on each other, literally and metaphorically.

  "This is too much," Tara thinks, feeling overwhelmed. "I can't control 26 clones at once. My consciousness is split too thin. I need to practice. I need to train coordination."

  He starts with simple exercises. Some clones move forward. Others move backward. Forward, backward, forward, backward. Simple. Basic. But even this is difficult. The clones keep getting confused, moving in the wrong direction. "I think about moving right with some clone, and I move a couple clones along with that." It's like a finger independence exercise he used to do for guitar or piano.

  Then he tries something more complex. Some clones dash clockwise in a circle. Others dash counterclockwise. Clockwise, counterclockwise, clockwise, counterclockwise. This is harder. Much harder. The clones keep getting their directions mixed up, dashing into each other, creating chaos.

  But he keeps practicing. Forward, backward. Clockwise, counterclockwise. Then more complex patterns. Some clones doing figure-eights. Others doing zigzags. Some moving in straight lines while others move in curves.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Hours pass. Night turns into day, and day into night, and the cycle repeats. The exercises become more complex, more difficult. Different movements, different patterns, different skills. Some clones practice Appraisal, examining items over and over. Others practice Energy Release, controlling the flow, opening and closing channels. Others practice Dash, moving in complex patterns. Others practice small Energy Blasts, firing at imaginary targets while moving.

  Slowly, gradually, independence and coordination improves. The clones can move independently. They can perform different skills simultaneously. They can go in different directions, do different things, all at the same time.

  And then, something happens. Demonic Fission levels up.

  **DEMONIC FISSION UPGRADED:**

  - **Level 1 → Level 2**

  - **New Ability Unlocked: Same Same But Different**

  **SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:**

  **Same Same But Different (Special Ability):**

  - Allows clones to perform parallel tasks efficiently

  - Reduces mental strain when coordinating multiple clones

  - Enables independent action without overwhelming consciousness

  - Automatically activated when using Demonic Fission

  "Same Same But Different," Tara thinks, feeling the new ability activate. "That's perfect. Now I can coordinate all my clones. They can do different things, train different skills, all at once."

  The 26 clones spread out. Some practice Energy Release, controlling energy flow. Others practice Energy Blast, hunting small creatures in the forest, training combat skills.

  All clones use Dash constantly to move around, so that skill is being practiced naturally. "The great thing about Dash is it depends on mass, so no matter how many clones I have, I can always move without getting low on energy."

  Similarly, every clone uses Appraisal on everything they can find. "And Appraisal, this ability doesn't cost anything. I will use it on anything I find."

  As the clones explore, they appraise everything. A rabbit scurrying through the underbrush.

  **APPRAISED: Forest Rabbit**

  - **Level:** 3

  A bird perched on a branch.

  **APPRAISED: Songbird**

  - **Level:** 2

  A deer grazing in a clearing.

  **APPRAISED: Forest Deer**

  - **Level:** 8

  A tree with strange markings.

  **APPRAISED: Ancient Oak**

  - **Level:** 19

  A glowing mushroom.

  **APPRAISED: Luminescent Mushroom**

  - **Level:** 4

  "Interesting," Tara thinks. "I can see levels, but not much else. Still useful though."

  One clone tries to appraise a rock.

  **APPRAISED: Rock**

  - **Level:** N/A

  "Hmm, no level. Makes sense, I guess."

  Another clone tries to appraise a cloud drifting overhead.

  **APPRAISED: Cloud**

  - **Level:** N/A

  "Okay, that was silly."

  Yet another clone tries to appraise the ground itself.

  **APPRAISED: Dirt**

  - **Level:** N/A

  "Alright, I'm getting carried away here. Let me focus on things that actually matter."

  The training continues. Due to the high energy generation rate, Tara is able to practice the skills freely.

  All 26 clones, all training skills, all improving, all gaining experience.

  "This idea is working. I can feel myself getting better. Kakashi-sensei, arigato dattebayo!"