Tara keeps dashing through the forest, moving from tree to tree, putting distance between himself and the mage's hideout. Dash, wait 2 seconds, dash, wait 2 seconds.

  The forest is dense, full of trees and undergrowth. Tara dashes through it, his pyramid form moving in quick bursts, covering 10 meters every 2 seconds. It is strange, being able to move after so long being stationary. Strange, but good. And profitable—he is gaining energy while moving.

  As he moves, he thinks about the other abilities he's seen. Demonic Fission sounds interesting—dividing into multiple parts. That could be useful. But what will it do? How will it work? And will it be worth choosing over the other options?

  He's seen Claw, Soul Drain, Fear Aura, Shadow Step, Energy Blast, Devour, Corruption Touch. So many options. But he has 22 ability points remaining. He needs to choose carefully.

  "Demonic Fission," Tara thinks, dashing past another tree. "That sounds useful. If I can divide into multiple parts, I could be in multiple places at once. That's like having multiple hands, except they're all pyramids. And they're all me."

  He keeps dashing, the forest blurring past. 173,944 units. 177,592 units. 181,240 units. Still gaining energy, moving forward.

  "Let me think about this," Tara thinks. "I have 22 ability points. Demonic Fission costs 3 points, so I'd have 19 left. But what about the others? Claw would let me attack. Fear Aura could help me avoid fights. Shadow Step could help me hide."

  He dashes again, moving another 10 meters. The forest is getting thicker, the trees closer together. But he can still move, still dash, still escape.

  "Actually," Tara thinks, "let me select Demonic Fission. Right now, I need a decoy. It's not guaranteed to work, but neither is shadow step."

  He focuses on the ability selection. Demonic Fission. He selects it.

  **ABILITIES SELECTED:**

  - **Dash (Common)** - Level 1

  - **Demonic Fission (Rare)** - Level 1

  **ABILITY POINTS REMAINING:** 19

  "Good," Tara thinks. "Now I have it selected. I'll figure out how to use it later. For now, I need to keep moving, keep putting distance between me and that mage's hideout."

  He keeps dashing. Dash, wait 2 seconds, dash, wait 2 seconds. The rhythm becomes automatic, almost meditative. The forest passes by in a blur of green and brown. Trees, undergrowth, occasional clearings. Each dash moves him 10 meters. The storage counter keeps climbing: 184,888 units. 188,536 units. 192,184 units.

  As he moves, Tara thinks about the other abilities he could choose. "Claw would let me attack at a distance," he muses. "That could be useful if I run into trouble. But do I want to attack? I'm just trying to escape, to survive."

  "Soul Drain sounds... dark. Absorbing life force? That's what the mage wanted to use me for. But maybe it's just a tool. Tools aren't inherently evil, right? It's how you use them."

  "Fear Aura could help me avoid fights. Make enemies run away. That's defensive, which is good. I'm not looking for trouble."

  "Shadow Step could help me hide, move undetected. That's also defensive. Useful for escaping."

  "Energy Blast... release stored energy as an attack. That could be powerful for attacking."

  "Devour... consume materials for temporary power. That sounds situational. Maybe useful, maybe not."

  "Corruption Touch... corrupt objects and creatures. That sounds like something the mage would use. Not really my style."

  The forest is changing now. The trees are getting sparser, the ground more open. He is moving through different terrain, putting more and more distance behind him.

  Time passes. Minutes turn into an hour. The forest stretches on, seemingly endless. Tara keeps moving, keeps dashing, keeps gaining energy. The storage counter keeps climbing: 2.5M units. 4.0M units. 6.7M units.

  Another hour passes. Tara has been running for 2 hours straight now, dashing every 2 seconds, gaining energy with each cycle. The rhythm is automatic, the movement constant. The forest continues to pass by, terrain changing, distance growing.

  It is during this time that Tara finally notices something. He's been so focused on moving, on the rhythm of dash and wait, that he hasn't been paying attention to what is behind him. But now, as he glances back—or rather, as his awareness extends backward—he sees them.

  Wolves. A whole pack of them, chasing him.

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  They are large, their fur dark and matted, their eyes glowing with a predatory hunger. They move through the forest with an unnerving grace, their paws barely making a sound as they pursue him. There are at least a dozen of them, maybe more, spread out in a hunting formation.

  They've been following him. For how long? He doesn't know. But they are gaining ground, closing the distance. And they look hungry.

  "Oh no," Tara thinks, panic rising. "They've been chasing since when? How did I not notice? I have 360-degree perception! That's literally my thing! I was too much in my own head, even though I don't have one."

  "But why?" Tara thinks, confused even as panic starts to rise. "What do they want from me? I'm a pyramid! I have no meat to be eaten, no bones to be picked. They can't be trying to decorate their cave using me. So why are they chasing me?"

  He increases his dashing frequency, trying to put more distance between himself and the wolves. But they are persistent, and they are fast. Some of them are getting closer, cutting off the escape route, their powerful legs eating up the distance between them.

  "I need to fight back," Tara realizes. "I can't just keep running. They'll catch up eventually. I need something, something powerful."

  He thinks about his abilities. Claw? Too weak. Soul Drain? Too slow. Fear Aura? Might not work on these things. Shadow Step? That's for hiding, not fighting.

  "Energy Blast," Tara thinks, remembering the ability description. "Release stored energy as an attack. And it increases with the amount of energy stored..."

  "If Energy Blast scales with stored energy, that could be exactly what I need."

  He has no choice. He needs to fight back, and Energy Blast seems like his best option.

  He focuses on the ability selection. Energy Blast. He selects it immediately.

  **ABILITIES SELECTED:**

  - **Dash (Common)** - Level 1

  - **Demonic Fission (Rare)** - Level 1

  - **Energy Blast (Common)** - Level 1

  **ABILITY POINTS REMAINING:** 18

  "Good," Tara thinks, still dashing, still running. "Now I have a way to fight back. But I need to be careful. If Energy Blast uses stored energy, I need to make sure I don't drain myself completely."

  The forest is thinning out now, giving way to more open spaces. Tara slows his dashing, finally coming to a stop. He's been running for 2 hours straight, putting significant distance between himself and the mage's hideout.

  He checks his storage counter.

  13,294,800 units.

  "Let me charge it," Tara thinks, focusing on the ability. "10 million units. That should be enough to... to what? To wound them? To scare them away? If this won't do it, nothing will. If I miss, I could be gone forever. But even if I don't hit them directly, showing this kind of power might make them back off. I have to show them I'm powerful. It's a blind gamble."

  He focuses on Energy Blast, on channeling 10M-energy-blast into it. The energy flows, building up, concentrating. He can feel it—a massive amount of power, ready to be released.

  The wolves are closer now. The lead wolf is only meters away, its eyes fixed on him, its body tensed to pounce.

  Tara releases the blast.

  A wave of pure energy erupts from him, expanding outward in a devastating arc. The world goes white, then bright, then blinding. The sound is deafening—a roar that seems to tear through the forest.

  When the light fades and the sound subsides, Tara looks at what he's done.

  The wolves are gone. All of them. Not just dead, but... gone. Vaporized. There is nothing left of them, not even ash.

  The forest area in front of him is devastated. Trees—dozens of them—have been torn apart, reduced to splinters and dust. The ground is scorched, blackened, cratered. A path of destruction stretches out before him, tens of meters long, everything in its path annihilated.

  Tara stares at the devastation, shocked. He knew Energy Blast would be powerful, but this... this is beyond anything he's imagined. 10M-energy-blast has done this. Has destroyed everything in its path. Has killed all those wolves instantly, completely.

  "What was that?" Tara thinks, his consciousness reeling. "This is... this is too much. Way too much."