"Thick Hide, Powerful Swipe, Endurance," Tara thinks, reading the skills. "No wonder it was hard to take down."
The pack finishes feeding, the wolves looking at Tara. Through Pack Coordination, he can sense their question—approval?
He sends back approval. They did well.
Big Daddy seems satisfied, and the pack begins to move, heading back toward the cave. But before they leave, Big Momma moves to the bear's body, and with careful precision, she separates the head from the body. Then she looks at Tara, pushing the massive bear head toward him.
"Wait, what?" Tara thinks, looking at the bear head. "They're leaving me the head?"
Through Pack Coordination, he can sense Big Momma's intention—a gift. For the leader.
Then Notail approaches, moving closer. Notail's thoughts come through with surprising clarity.
The head. Rich. Full of power. Mana. Nutrition. The brain holds it. The leader should have it.
Tara is surprised by the clear communication from Notail. "Interesting," Tara thinks. "I can communicate with the pack through Pack Coordination, but his communication is surprisingly clear. His Intelligence ability must help with that."
"So," Tara thinks, understanding now. "The head is full of mana and nutrition. But I'm an artifact—will I get anything from this?"
He shifts closer, examining the head. It's massive, still warm, still fresh. The pack has already finished eating, most of them resting now, recovering from the hunt.
He bites into it. The essence had already flowed into him when the bear died—essence transfers on kill, not on eating. Eating is just what mammals do to survive. But Tara doesn't need to eat. He has no biological needs.
And as he eats, Tara realizes something disturbing. He's not feeling as bad about this as he thought he would. Psychologically, he expected to be horrified. Disgusted. But he's not. His wolf form makes it natural, instinctual, right.
"This is messed up," Tara thinks, even as he continues eating. "I'm eating raw bear head, and I'm not even bothered by it. I thought I'd be horrified. But I'm just... eating. Like it's normal."
The realization is unsettling, but also liberating. He's not human anymore. He's not bound by human sensibilities. He's a wolf, part of a pack, and this is what wolves do.
As he continues, he notices something flowing through the tissue, absorbed into his wolf form. Not essence, but mana. Raw magical energy. It's not much—not compared to his own energy generation—but it's there. The energy required to maintain his shapeshift form feels slightly less, probably due to the mana assimilation. Noticeable, but subtle.
But as he finishes, something else happens. Something connected to the pack.
**ABILITY UNLOCKED: FREELOADER (Rare)**
**SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:**
**Freeloader (Rare) - Level 1:**
- Automatically receives 10% of EXP gained by pack members
- EXP is shared passively—no action required
- Works with all pack members under Pack Coordination
- EXP sharing increases with ability level
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"Wait, what?" Tara thinks, staring at the notification. "Freeloader? FREELOADER? That's what I am now? I'm getting EXP from my pack's work?"
He checks his EXP. Sure enough, there's a notification.
**EXP GAINED FROM PACK:**
- **Bear (Level 24):** 37,500 EXP
"37,500 EXP," Tara thinks, his eyes widening. "I just got 37,500 EXP for doing nothing. While my pack did all the work. I sat back, watched them hunt, and then got EXP for it. This is... this is great. And also kind of makes me feel like a terrible person. But mostly great."
The EXP flows into him, and he feels a shift.
**LEVEL UP!**
**LEVEL 27 REACHED**
**STATS UPDATED:**
- **m:** 54
- **v:** 27
- **Energy Generated:** 19,683 units per second
"Wait, what?" Tara thinks, shocked. "Oh yes. I was already close. The pack and I have been hunting constantly. I was on the verge of leveling up, and this bear just pushed me over the edge."
He feels the changes—bigger, stronger, more powerful. His form has grown, his energy generation has increased. Level 27.
He looks at the pack, resting peacefully around him.
"Okay, so I'm a freeloader now," Tara thinks, accepting his new reality. "I get EXP from my pack's work. They hunt, they kill, they get stronger, and I get a cut. Just for being their leader. I delegate, and I profit. This is capitalism at its finest."
Still processing the new ability, he watches the pack.
"Freeloader," he thinks, shaking his head. "What's with the naming? It feels like I'm a moocher. A leech. But you know what? I'm okay with it. Because 10% of all pack EXP? That's going to add up. Fast. Especially with a pack of wolves hunting constantly. I'm going to be rolling in EXP without lifting a finger."
He looks at the pack. They're his pack. His family. And now they're also his passive EXP farm.
He feels the signal from Big Momma. It's getting dark—they need to get to the den. The pack moves briskly toward home.
They reach the cave and settle in. Some rest, some guard, some play. All of them together, connected, safe.
Today was a day of many gains. EXP, level, ability. But the most important thing Tara gained today was something else. Or rather regained. Something he couldn't yet do in this new life of his.
Tara moves towards Notail—who is sitting near the den, licking a shallow cut on his right foot. Tara sits right next to him and tries to communicate. "Notail buddy, tell me more about the pack."
********* Chapter end *********
