Chapter 174: Blessing (Part 2)

Evan rubbed his chin as he stared at the little fox.

"There is no way this little cutie is male. That villainous grandfather of mine also said that male are always handsome, not cute."

He picked up the fox to check its gender and indeed found that it was female.

After he confirmed its gender, another thought suddenly crossed his mind.

’Grandpa said that only female are cute while male are handsome. But grandfather himself is neither handsome nor cute. Does that mean...’

He quickly shook his head as he felt his thoughts were heading in a very dangerous direction.

Coughing lightly, he looked back at the little fox.

"Alright, I’ve decided..." He said seriously as he gently touched the gem in the center of the fox’s forehead. "I’ll call you Ruby from now on."

"Eee! Eee!"

Ruby wiggled her tails from side to side and nodded excitedly.

"It seems you like your new name," Evan said with a slight smile before patting her little head.

"Eee! Eee!"

Ruby responded to Evan, and suddenly, the star-shaped gem in the center of her forehead began to glow with a golden light.

"What the..." Evan was startled when he saw this and immediately asked, "Ruby, are you alright?"

Ruby nodded and brought her face closer to his.

"Eee! Eee!"

She let out a soft sound and tried to press the star-shaped gem on her forehead against his. However, since Evan was holding her, she couldn’t reach his forehead.

Evan noticed her actions and asked hesitantly, "You want me to press my forehead against yours?"

"Eee! Eee!"

Ruby nodded her head in response.

Through the Blood Pact he shared with Ruby, Evan could feel that she wanted to give him something in return for giving her a name.

He thought for a moment, and after confirming that his Danger Sense skill wasn’t giving him any warning signals, he nodded and pressed his forehead against hers.

The moment Evan’s forehead touched the star-shaped gem on Ruby’s forehead, the golden aura surrounding it flowed into his forehead, and he felt a warm energy rushing through his body.

Before Evan could even understand what was happening, several notifications appeared before him.

[You have received the blessing of the Star Lunar Fox.]

[Your resistance against spiritual attacks has increased by 30%.]

[Your soul power has increased greatly.]

[Fear skill leveled up!]

[Fear (Rank Two) Level 1 -------> Fear (Rank Two) Level 3]

The gem on Ruby’s forehead gradually stopped glowing, and she backed away from Evan, looking at him with a proud expression.

"Eee! Eee!"

She made a cute sound while raising her head high, as if asking Evan to praise her for what she had done.

Evan looked at Ruby’s proud expression and then at the notifications before him with a dumbfounded look, his heart filled with shock.

"This..." Evan was at a loss for words because the unexpected surprise was simply too great.

Increasing one’s resistance against spiritual attacks was extremely difficult. Just look at what had happened to Eric when Evan used his Fear skill against him, and one could understand just how terrifying spiritual skills could be.

Yet, without doing anything, he had not only received a significant increase in his resistance against spiritual attacks, but his Fear skill had also leveled up.

Not only that, he could feel that his mind was much calmer than before, and his thought process had become noticeably faster.

Evan took a deep breath and once again looked at Ruby, who was still staring at him proudly.

Seeing the look in her eyes, which seemed to be asking for praise, he picked her up and gave her a kiss on the head.

"Ruby, you are the best!"

"Eee! Eee!"

Ruby closed her eyes and nodded her head.

Evan couldn’t help but laugh when he saw how shamelessly she accepted that she was the best. However, considering what she had just done, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she really was the best.

"Ruby, are you hungry?" Evan asked while lifting her up and walking towards the fire he had made earlier to cook some meat for himself.

He took out some raw meat from his storage ring and started cooking it.

"Eee! Eee!"

"Yeah, yeah. There’s enough for both of us."

While the meat was cooking, Evan started asking her questions.

"Do you know what a Star Lunar Fox is?"

"Eee?"

Seeing her confused expression, Evan realized that asking her about her species was pointless for now.

’Maybe, as her level increases further and her bloodline becomes more active, she will understand more about herself,’ He thought before beginning to talk to her, trying to teach her some simple things.

Although she could understand some of his words right now, he still needed to teach her more, as what she could currently understand was limited to simple words.

If he said something too complicated, she wouldn’t understand anything.

As he talked to Ruby, Evan couldn’t help but feel much more relaxed.

’Traveling all alone through this forest was getting boring, but now I finally have someone to talk to,’ He thought while gently patting Ruby, whose eyes were glued to the meat cooking over the fire.

"It’ll be ready soon," Evan said when he noticed her eager expression.

After some time, once the meat was cooked, Evan cut it into small pieces and served it to Ruby.

"It’s still hot, so be careful while eating," He warned her, completely forgetting that she was a Level 45 magical beast and that this little bit of heat was nothing to her.

Ruby completely ignored his warning as well and the instant he placed the meat before her, she immediately took a big bite.

"Eee!"

Ruby made an adorable expression, looking as if she were on cloud nine. Seeing this, Evan’s heart once again suffered a fatal attack from her cuteness.

He extended his hand to pet her. However, the moment Ruby noticed his hand approaching, she quickly covered the meat with her tiny body and looked at him with puppy eyes, as if begging him not to steal her food.

Evan’s eyes twitched when he saw this, and he withdrew his hand, feeling speechless that she had mistaken him for a food-stealing thief.

Soon, Ruby finished her food and looked back at Evan.

"Do you want more?"

"Eee!"

Ruby shook her head and jumped onto Evan’s lap. Once there, she curled up into a little ball and closed her eyes.

"Going to sleep right after eating?" Evan smiled when he saw this and shook his head.

He looked up at the night sky and let out a yawn.

"I should get some rest too. Who knows what will happen when I arrive at the capital tomorrow?"