After some time, a white cocoon made from lizard silk hung from the cave wall, suspended by thin strands of webbing that stretched outward, anchoring it in place.
---
Inside the cocoon, Lizarius lay coiled tightly, golden eyes glowing in the dark.
In its mind, a cold, mechanical voice echoed:
> [System Evolution Points Available: 50,300.]
Lizarius thoughts were calm, focused.
"Use 10,000 points to evolve the White Scale Dragon Gene."
"Another 10,000 for the Lightning Gene."
"10,000 more to evolve my eyes."
A pause.
"Hmm... 10,000 for the Fire and Earth Gene fusion."
"And the last 10,000 to evolve my scales and body."
> [Confirming Evolution Choices...]
> [ Confirmed.]
[ Now Beginning Evolution...]
A blinding pain surged through Lizarius body.
His golden eyes, glowing, slowly began to close as consciousness slipped away.
The fox's ears twitched.
Its pouch stirred.
It opened its eyes and peered into the pouch, eyes gleaming. Muttering with a grin, it said,
"Spirit stones… pills… all good stuff."
A low chuckle escaped its throat.
Suddenly, its ears twitched again — sharply this time — catching something new.
Silence.
The cave had gone quiet.
"Hmm?"
Its head snapped around, gaze shifting to where the lizard had been feeding earlier. But the creature was no longer there.
All that remained was blood-soaked ground and torn robes.
The fox's eyes narrowed.
"Already finished eating the corpses? That was fast… but where is it now?"
It spun around, golden eyes scanning the cave shadows.
Then — it stopped.
"Hmm... what's that?"
Its gaze locked onto the white cocoon at the far end of the cave, swaying ever so slightly on the wall.
---
The fox narrowed its eyes, ears twitching slightly.
"I can still sense its presence inside… so it hasn't left the cave," it muttered.
For a moment, it had thought the lizard had gone out to hunt after it — finished with the corpses, hungry for more prey.
"That would've made sense… that thing doesn't seem like the type to stop at one meal."
Its eyes stayed locked on the white cocoon.
The fox took a cautious step forward, then another, slowly approaching.
"What is that, anyway? Looks like… a cocoon? Made from silk webbing?" it mumbled. "Could it create silk too?"
It tilted its head thoughtfully.
"Hmm… I guess I'm starting to get used to it. But still, I wonder what kind of beast it actually is."
The fox paused, eyes narrowing further as it studied the cocoon.
"And where does it even release the silk from?"
A beat of silence.
Then a smirk.
"Probably its mouth… though, that seems most likely Or…" The fox chuckled to itself. "Maybe it comes from its rear."
It let out a soft snicker as it reached the far end of the cave, now standing just a few steps from the cocoon.
---
Raising its gaze, the fox stared up at the cocoon.
"Huh?"
Its eyes suddenly widened.
A slow, toothy grin spread across its face as it muttered,
"Wait a minute… am I seeing this right?"
It took a cautious step closer, the crunch of stone under its paws echoing softly in the cave.
"That's spirit silk... There's no way."
The fox narrowed its eyes, examining the webbing more closely.
"It might be common-grade silk… but this purity—I've never seen spirit silk this pure."
It leaned in slightly, eyes gleaming with greed.
"If forged with the right spiritual materials…"
Its voice dropped to a whisper, "It could be turned into a spirit tool… High-tier Mortal grade at least… Or maybe even Earth grade."
Its tail flicked as its thoughts raced wildly.
"And to think… the beast that can produce such a valuable treasure is mine."
Drool pooled at the corner of its mouth as its grin widened.
"Should I harvest the silk now? While it's still cocooned?"
But after a moment, it shook its head.
"No. There's no need for that. Sooner or later, it'll be mine anyway. I just have to wait for it to come out."
With one last lingering look at the cocoon, the fox turned away.
"For now…"
It padded back toward the center of the cave.
"…I need to finish going through my pouch."
---
A few minutes passed.
The fox crouched beside the now-organized treasure pile, carefully picking up its storage pouch.
Holding it with both paws, it infused a small thread of spiritual energy into it.
The pouch shimmered slightly—then opened.
One by one, the fox began placing each item inside. In just a few seconds, the entire pile vanished, sucked into the storage space.
With a satisfied nod, the fox bent its head and looped the pouch's string around its neck, letting it hang securely against its chest.
"Now that I'm done going through all my treasures…" the fox muttered, eyes narrowing.
"…It's time to get started on this."
It stared down.
Lying on the ground directly in front of it was a long, jet-black spear.
The fox tilted its head slightly, eyes scanning the weapon.
"Could've sold this for a few hundred spirit stones…"
A grin tugged at its muzzle.
"…But it's best if I keep it for myself."
Its voice dropped into a low murmur, as if reminding itself:
"Having a mid-tier Earth-grade spirit tool… that's not something you just let go of. Out there, one mistake can end you."
"But with a weapon like this..." the fox murmured, gaze lingering on the black spear, "...it increases my chances of surviving when things go wrong."
Its ears twitched.
"And out there, things always go wrong — sooner or later."
It exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing with thought.
"But this gives me options. Buys time. Turns losing fights into close calls… and close calls into victories."
A quiet chuckle.
"Doesn't matter how much treasure I've got if I'm not alive to use it."
It reached down, claws tapping gently against the cold shaft of the spear.
"Shame..." it muttered, "would've been even better if it was a defensive tool. I'd feel a lot safer with something that blocks attacks, not invites them."
The fox sighed.
"I prefer things that help me live longer."
For a brief moment, it just sat there in silence, then finally gave a small nod.
"But first things first — need to wipe off that imprint. Can't have someone else's stink on my weapon."
It closed its eyes.
A faint pulse of energy flowed from its paw into the spear. The weapon glowed dimly, the fox had began the process of erasing the previous owner's spiritual imprint.