The next morning.
Qalish sat at his desk before the light had fully settled, system panel open in front of him.
He had been staring at the same two lines since he woke up.
⚠ Hidden Path — Unlock Conditions Unknown
⚠ Requires further analysis to reveal.
Then — a new prompt he hadn't seen last night.
[ Hidden Path Analysis Available ]
[ Cost: 50 MP ]
[ Proceed? ]
Qalish stared at it.
50 MP.
He looked at his current Monster Points.
[ Monster Points: 214 MP ]
He could afford it. That wasn't the issue.
The issue was the feeling sitting behind it.
Every time he turned around — the system wanted MP. Analysis costs MP. Evolution costs MP. And now unlocking a hidden path costs MP.
He exhaled through his nose.
Sometimes I wonder if this system is genuinely helping me — or just finding creative ways to drain my points.
Foxy opened one eye from her spot on the bed.
She looked at him.
He looked at her.
"Fine," he said.
He confirmed.
[ 50 MP deducted ]
[ MP: 214 → 164 ]
[ Analyzing hidden path... ]
[ Loading... ]
A pause. Longer than usual.
Then — the panel expanded.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ EVOLUTION PATH — STANDARD ]
[ Dual Eclipse Fox — E → D Rank ]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Species : 🔥🌑 Eclipse Shade Fox
Focus : Fire + Dark (Deepened Balance)
Type : Beast / Spirit
Skills Gained:
› Eclipse Fang (Active)
› Ember Veil (Active)
Requirements:
› Evolution Aura : 100%
› Monster Points : 150 MP
› Twilight Shard x1
(Dual-element material. Dropped by E Rank dual-element monsters.)
› Dark Flame Essence x1
(Rare fusion material. Found in deeper zones or specialty monster shops.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ EVOLUTION PATH — HIDDEN ]
[ Dual Eclipse Fox — E → D Rank ]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Species : 🔥🌑✶ Void Ember Fox
Focus : Fire + Dark (Fused Core)
Type : Beast / Spirit / Phantom
Skills Gained:
› Phantom Eclipse (Active)
› Void Sense (Active / Passive Hybrid)
Requirements:
› Evolution Aura : 100%
› Monster Points : 200 MP
› Void Crystal Shard x1
(Extremely rare. Crystallised remnant of a
Phantom-type monster core. Almost never
found in standard zones.)
› Eclipsed Beast Fang x1
(Material from a monster that has undergone
natural dual-element fusion in the wild.
Exceedingly rare.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ New Quest Generated ]
[ Hidden Path Preparation — Void Ember Fox ]
Objectives:
□ Obtain Void Crystal Shard x1
□ Obtain Eclipsed Beast Fang x1
□ Foxy Evolution Aura 0% / 100%
Rewards:
- 5x Crystal Boost : +20%
- 2x Crystal Boost : +50%
- Monster Points : +200 MP
Status : In Progress
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qalish sat very still.
He read through the hidden path again. Slowly this time.
Void Ember Fox.
He had read through almost every monster-related volume available in this academy. Evolution texts, mutation studies, species catalogues, elemental theory.
That name had never appeared in any of them.
Not once.
Beast. Spirit. Phantom. All three types in a single Monster at D Rank — that alone should have been documented somewhere. Phantom-types were rare enough on their own. A natural triple-type fusion at this stage—
He looked at Foxy.
She was sitting upright, watching him with that steady amber focus. Two tails moving slowly. Unbothered. Patient.
As if she already knew.
He turned back to the requirements.
Void Crystal Shard. Eclipsed Beast Fang.
He had never heard of either.
Which meant one thing.
He needed to find them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The academy library opened at seventh bell.
Qalish was at the door before the librarian had finished unlocking it.
He went straight to the advanced monster taxonomy section — the shelves most students never touched. Thick volumes, old bindings, arranged by species classification rather than rank.
He pulled everything that mentioned Phantom-type monsters.
Four volumes. One index. He read fast, cross-referencing between them.
Phantom-types were documented — briefly, inconsistently, often with conflicting information. Most sightings were unverified. Most specimens had never been formally catalogued because they were almost impossible to capture alive.
But their cores—
He found one line in the oldest volume, wedged between two paragraphs on elemental crystallisation:
"...the residual core of a Phantom-type, when crystallised under sufficient pressure, produces a shard of compressed void energy. Hunters refer to it variously as a ghost shard, void fragment, or null crystal..."
Void Crystal Shard.
It existed. It just had no fixed name in formal literature — which explained why he had never come across it before.
The Eclipsed Beast Fang was harder.
He found only one reference — a footnote in a mutation study, half a sentence:
"...natural dual-element fusion occurs in less than 0.3% of wild monster populations, and the resulting biological materials carry trace signatures of both elements simultaneously..."
A fang from a monster that had naturally fused two elements.
Not contracted. Not evolved through a system.
A wild monster that had done it completely on its own.
Qalish closed the last volume and leaned back.
Both materials existed.
Both were documented — barely.
Neither had a reliable source.
This was going to take more than a library.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before he left, he checked one more thing.
Evolution Aura. Foxy was at zero percent — reset after the last evolution. He needed to fill it back to one hundred regardless of which path he chose.
He opened the system.
[ Evolution Aura — Accumulation Reference ]
[ Dual Eclipse Fox — Current EA: 0% ]
EA is gained when Foxy consumes a monster.
Foxy does not need to defeat the monster herself.
Any monster carcass — hunted or purchased —
can be consumed for EA gain.
Estimated EA gain per consumption:
› E Rank monster — approx. +10% EA (need x10)
› D Rank monster — approx. +20% EA (need x5)
› C Rank monster — approx. +33% EA (need x3)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qalish read the note twice.
Any carcass. Hunted or purchased.
He didn't need to fight for EA at all.
He just needed to buy it.
He stood, returned the volumes to their shelf, and walked out.
One more stop before class.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He found Aiden near the training courtyard, eating something wrapped in paper, Rex sitting at his feet.
"You're up early," Aiden said, without looking up.
"I need your help."
Aiden looked up. For once, he didn't make a joke.
"What kind of help?"
Qalish sat down beside him.
"I'm looking for two materials. Both rare." He kept his voice low. "One is called a Void Crystal Shard — comes from a Phantom-type monster core. The other is an Eclipsed Beast Fang — from a wild monster that has naturally fused two elements."
Aiden stopped chewing.
"...For Foxy's next evolution?"
"Yes."
"Are those real things? I've never heard of either."
"They're real," Qalish said. "Just not well documented. Which is why I need someone with better connections than me."
Aiden was quiet for a moment.
Then he waved a hand — casual, unbothered.
"I'll have my people look into it."
"Even for something this rare?"
"Rare just means the price goes up," Aiden said simply. "Give me three days."
Qalish nodded.
That was easier than expected. He had half-prepared an argument for why it was worth the trouble.
He hadn't needed it.
Aiden stood, folding the paper wrap.
"Anything else?"
Qalish hesitated for a moment.
"Monster carcasses," he said. "E Rank or higher. For Foxy to consume. She doesn't need to fight them herself — any carcass works."
Aiden blinked.
"Monster carcasses." He repeated it like he was testing how the words sounded. "You can't just buy those at a monster shop?"
"No," Qalish said. "Regular shops don't carry them. The only ones who stock carcasses consistently are Monster Tamer Associations — but those are for internal research purposes only. They don't sell to the public."
Aiden scratched the back of his neck.
"So there's no official channel."
"Not that I can find."
A pause.
Aiden tilted his head slightly.
"There's a place," he said. "Not far from the academy. You'd never find it if you didn't know where to look."
Qalish waited.
"Black market," Aiden said simply. "They carry things that don't show up in regular catalogues. Rare materials, monster carcasses — the kind of stock that official channels won't touch." A pause. "Probably the only place that has both of what you need in one go."
Qalish looked at him.
"Black market."
"You've been there?"
"Once or twice." Aiden shrugged. "My family has... flexible sourcing habits."
A moment of quiet.
"Worth a visit," Aiden said. "If you're up for it."
He didn't wait for an answer.
He turned and walked back toward the main building, Rex falling into step beside him.
Qalish stayed where he was for a moment.
Black market.
He had never heard of a place like that near the academy. Never thought to look for one.
But if that was where the materials were — and where he could get carcasses for Foxy —
He looked down at his hand — at the faint blue glow of his Crystal in the morning light.
Then that was where he needed to go.