Chapter 173: Blessing (Part 1)

"I should reach the capital by tomorrow," Evan muttered as he took out the egg he had obtained from the Castle of Lizardmen.

Looking at the egg before him, he couldn’t help but sigh.

"Rascal, I’ve been giving you my blood every day. When are you going to come out and pay off your blood debt?"

After making a shallow cut on his palm, he placed his hand on the egg, which immediately began absorbing his blood.

As the egg absorbed his blood, Evan suddenly noticed something and leaned forward.

"What’s going on?" He frowned slightly as he watched the runes engraved on the egg slowly fade away, sinking into the eggshell.

Those runes had been present on the egg ever since the day Evan had obtained it, so seeing them disappear immediately caught his attention.

"Don’t tell me it’s about to hatch..." He muttered under his breath, his eyes lighting up with anticipation as he continued staring at the egg.

The egg continued absorbing his blood for twenty seconds before finally stopping. Just as it stopped, the runes on its surface, which had almost completely faded away, suddenly burst forth with a crimson glow.

Evan pulled his palm away from the egg and took a slight step back to avoid disturbing the hatching process.

Woosh!

The crimson aura surrounding the egg suddenly intensified, and the mana in the surroundings began stirring violently as it rushed towards the egg.

A small mana whirlpool formed above the egg, and it began absorbing mana like a black hole.

As the egg absorbed more mana, the crimson aura surrounding it grew stronger and stronger.

Evan couldn’t help but gulp when he witnessed this scene because the amount of mana the egg was absorbing was simply too enormous.

’Just what kind of creature is going to come out of this egg?’ He wondered, hoping it wouldn’t be a lizard like the ones he had seen in the dungeon.

Evan waited for nearly thirty minutes before the egg finally stopped absorbing mana from its surroundings.

At the same time, all the runes on the surface of the eggshell completely sank into the egg, as if they had been absorbed by the creature inside.

The mana whirlpool and the crimson aura surrounding the egg gradually disappeared, allowing Evan to once again see the white color of its eggshell.

Crack!!!

Suddenly, a cracking sound echoed through the surroundings, and a shallow crack appeared on the egg.

Evan took a step forward and approached the egg to get a closer look.

Crack!!! Crack!!! Crack!!!

One crack after another continued to appear on the egg, and soon, its entire surface was covered with dense cracks.

Crack!!!

Suddenly, a large chunk of the eggshell broke apart, and a small paw covered in red fur emerged from inside.

Soon, the entire eggshell crumbled, revealing a tiny creature standing on all four legs.

The beast was covered in red fur and looked similar to a small fox. Its eyes were amber-colored, and two small tails extended from its back. However, what stood out the most was the red colored star-shaped gem in the center of its forehead, which gave it a unique appearance.

’A fox?’ Evan was taken aback when he saw the creature, as he hadn’t expected the egg he had obtained inside the Lizardmen’s dungeon to hatch into a fox.

After emerging from the egg, the small creature looked around curiously before its gaze finally landed on Evan.

Because of their Blood Pact, the creature could feel a deep connection with the two-legged creature standing before it.

After staring at him for a few seconds, the little fox blinked several times before taking a step forward and walking towards him.

As the fox walked, Evan noticed that its steps were initially unstable and awkward. However, within just a few seconds, it began walking normally.

’Its intelligence seems to be pretty high...’ Evan thought when he noticed this.

Soon, the fox reached him and stopped at his feet.

It raised its head slightly and opened its tiny mouth.

"Eee! Eee!"

Hearing the cute sounds the fox was making and seeing its adorable appearance, Evan felt as though an arrow had shot out from its amber-colored eyes and pierced straight through his heart.

"What is this adorable little creature...?"

Evan gently picked up the fox and brought it closer to his face, examining it carefully.

"Eee! Eee!"

The fox wagged its two tails from side to side and made another cute sound when Evan lifted it.

"Damn... How can such a cute creature exist in this world?" Evan couldn’t help but exclaim when the fox began rubbing its head against his cheek.

He gently pulled it away from his face and smiled slightly.

"You sure took your time coming out of that egg. Did you enjoy my blood that much?"

The fox tilted its head slightly upon hearing Evan, seemingly unable to understand what he meant.

Evan paid no attention to its confused expression and was about to speak again when he suddenly noticed something he had completely overlooked earlier.

"Are you for real?" He nearly screamed as he stared at the fox in his arms.

"Level 45? You just came out of the egg, and you’re already close to the peak of Rank One?"

"Eee! Eee!"

The fox merely made a cute sound and stretched out its little head, wanting to rub against Evan’s face.

Evan’s mouth twitched slightly when he saw this because his current level was only 44.

That meant this little creature was actually at a higher level than him.

"Just what kind of creature is this?" He muttered in a low voice, feeling incredibly shocked.

Moreover, when he carefully sensed the little creature’s aura, he noticed that it was even more powerful than an ordinary early-stage Rank Two Evolver.

Looking at this tiny creature, no one would ever imagine that it could fight against a Rank Two Evolver.

"Eee! Eee!"

The fox suddenly let out a louder cry and looked at Evan with an aggrieved expression as he was holding it in the air without allowing it to move even a little.

Evan snapped out of his thoughts when he saw this and placed the fox on the ground before squatting beside it.

He stared at the little creature for a moment before speaking.

"Alright, now that you’re out of the egg, I can’t just keep calling you a little fox or something. You need a name, right?"

"Eee! Eee!"

The fox nodded its head, agreeing with what Evan had just said.

Evan was surprised to see the fox nod, but he soon remembered that although it had just been born, it was already at Level 45. Therefore, it wasn’t particularly strange for it to understand a few things.

’What should I name it?’ Evan thought as he looked closely at the fox.

Just then, another thought suddenly crossed his mind.

’Before giving it a name, I should at least confirm whether it’s a male or a female.’