Chapter 32: Void Nether-Wolf

After one hundred hours of waiting, the exotic beast egg finally hatched!

However, when Han Xing regained his focus, the dragon or other legendary creature he had envisioned was nowhere to be seen. Standing before him was a creature that looked like a puppy.

It was pitch black all over, with floppy ears, a round head, and a short body, staring at Han Xing with wide, watery eyes, looking completely bewildered.

Han Xing stared back.

Man and "dog" locked eyes.

"What the... a mutt?"

Han Xing’s eyes widened as he spoke first, his tone filled with shock and a hint of disappointment. He had expected that an egg obtained from a Demon Lord would surely be extraordinary. If it couldn't hatch a legendary creature like a dragon, it should at least have been a Behemoth or a Fire Phoenix, right?

But as it stood, this jet-black creature looked exactly like a common puppy, save for the color of its fur. Han Xing was speechless.

However, a second later, a faint black light shimmered over the puppy's body. Before Han Xing could even process what was happening, a black shadow streaked past, and the puppy vanished.

"???"

Han Xing looked confused. "What just flew by?"

The next moment, he caught sight of the puppy appearing right by his feet. It was panting with its tongue lolling out, hot breath puffing against him, while its short little legs excitedly clawed at his boots.

Just then, he caught a glimpse of the husky-like puppy’s attributes.

[Pet Information: Void Shadow Wolf (Juvenile)]
[Race: Void Race]
[Level: LV1]
[Strength: 6, Agility: 11, Spirit: 7, Constitution: 7]
[Skill 1: Body of Nothingness (When receiving physical or magical attacks, there is a 50% chance to dodge the attack.)]
[Skill 2: Retaliatory Thorn (Every attack the Void Shadow Wolf receives generates a Void Thorn within its body. After accumulating 10 attacks, all thorns explode, with each thorn dealing 220% damage.)]
[Skill 3: Void Power (The Void Shadow Wolf’s attacks carry the effect of Void Power. Enemies hit suffer Void Corrosion; healing received is reduced by 10%, and armor is reduced by 5%. This stacks up to 6 times and cannot be removed by Cleric purification skills.)]
[Skill 4: Void Blink (When entering combat, the Void Shadow Wolf’s movement speed increases by 200%, attack speed by 100%, and critical hit rate by 50%.)]
[Skill 5: Void Absorption (Unlocked at Level 6)]
[Skill 6: Void Frenzy (Unlocked at Level 10)]
[Affection: 100]
[Satiety: 60 (Hungry)]
[Growth Potential: S+ (Can be upgraded via Potential Points; every 10,000 points increases the rank. Current remaining Potential Points: 0)]

Han Xing: "???"

His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He asked in disbelief, "You’re not a dog, you’re a wolf!?"

He pointed at the all-black creature on the ground. The pup seemed to understand, nodding excitedly and circling his feet.

Han Xing took a deep breath. Once the species was confirmed, his disappointment vanished, replaced by irrepressible ecstasy.

"I don't know what a Void Shadow Wolf is, but the name alone sounds top-tier. This was a massive score!" he exclaimed excitedly. "And these attributes... they’re just too broken! A juvenile with six innate skills and an S+ growth rank—this is clearly a legendary-tier pet template!"

As Han Xing brimmed with excitement, the little wolf cub, seeing that it was being ignored, flopped onto the ground and began rolling around. Han Xing’s mouth twitched. If not for the pet interface confirming it was a wolf—and a Void-race creature with S+ growth—it would be hard not to think it was just a regular puppy.

Han Xing crouched down and picked up the palm-sized black pup. Held in the air, the creature seemed ecstatic, its short limbs paddling wildly, its tongue lolling out as its warm breath puffed against Han Xing’s face.

Although the little guy’s appearance didn't quite meet his expectations, its stats were undeniably formidable. Satisfied, Han Xing nodded. "How about I call you Coal Ball? Since you're so black."

The pup paused for a moment, then began wriggling excitedly in his hands, seemingly quite pleased with the name.

"Coal Ball?"

Han Xing tried calling it, and the cub became even more excited at the sound.

"Haha!" Han Xing happily patted its little head.

Just then, Coal Ball jumped out of his hands and began excitedly clawing at his belt... specifically, the space pouch attached to it.

With a *rip*, Han Xing’s expression changed. "Hey! Take it easy! Don't you know how sharp your wolf claws are?"

Han Xing looked on, speechless, and hurriedly pulled up his pants. Coal Ball looked up at him, bewildered.

Recalling the pup's earlier behavior, Han Xing realized something in his pack must have attracted it. He began taking items out one by one—from equipment to spirit spring water, and various materials.

Coal Ball showed no interest.

That was until Han Xing pulled out a small bead emitting a green aura. Coal Ball immediately leaped up in excitement.

"You want this?" Han Xing looked at it strangely, as he was holding a Spirit Core.

The cub seemed to understand him and began bouncing in place. It seemed Spirit Cores held some attraction for the pet, though he wasn't sure of the purpose.

Pondering, Han Xing tossed the Spirit Core.

Black light flashed on Coal Ball, and with terrifying speed, it snatched the core out of the air. It gulped it down in one swallow.

Simultaneously, a system notification appeared.

[Successfully fed pet. Coal Ball's Affection +1, Satiety +1, Potential Points +1.]

"Potential Points?" Han Xing noticed the final notification. He remembered the note on the pet interface: 10,000 Potential Points could increase a pet's growth rank. For instance, a C-rank pet would become B-rank after consuming 10,000 points, and so on. Since higher growth ranks meant better stat gains per level, the sooner the rank was raised, the better.

Han Xing stroked his chin. "So, feeding one Spirit Core gives 1 point of Potential."

"Does that mean I could feed Coal Ball 10,000 Spirit Cores in one go and boost its growth rank even higher?"

Coal Ball was already at S+ rank. If it were boosted further, it might very well reach the legendary SS-rank!