Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 20: Skill Prototype – Amaterasu

“In my concept, your new skill should still be categorized within the illusion arts.”

“However, unlike Tsukuyomi, your new skill—Amaterasu—is an offensive ability that can inflict real damage on enemies.”

“A fire born from the crevice between imagination and illusion, yet manifested in reality.”

“As long as the target is touched by even a spark, it will continue to burn endlessly until they are reduced to ashes.”

“An eternal, inextinguishable curse.”

“Just thinking about it already makes it sound so damn cool.”

In the frozen tundra, Xia Ya casually grabbed a handful of snow, molded it into a snowball, and weighed it in his palm.

Then, he snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, amid the howling northern winds, a small flame flickered into existence out of thin air.

At first, it was vague and indistinct, as if teetering between illusion and reality.

But in mere moments, the flame grew sharper and more intense, and in the blink of an eye, it melted the snowball completely.

Perched on Xia Ya’s shoulder, the little Snow Ferret’s eyes sparkled as it gazed at the phantom-like flame.

Its fluffy white tail instinctively wrapped around Xia Ya’s neck, tickling his cheek.

"Ying ying ying~ (Coach! Coach! I wanna learn this!)"

"Ying, ying ying~ (My attack skill! My attack skill!)"

There was no helping it—Silver had been suffering from a lack of offensive abilities for far too long.

No matter how mystical Tsukuyomi was, it was still primarily a control skill designed to restrain and confuse opponents. It could never compare to the thrill of outright overpowering an enemy.

As for Rending Claw at the beginner level and Ice Blade at the proficient level? Not even worth mentioning.

Against opponents of the same rank, they barely even worked as harassment.

In fact, against tanky summoned beasts with high defense, thick health bars, and self-healing abilities, even if Silver knocked them unconscious with Tsukuyomi, it would still take an enormous effort just to break through their defenses.

In the past, it wasn’t too much of a concern—Silver knew that as Xia Ya’s main summoned beast, its weaknesses would eventually be patched up through point allocation.

But then, not long ago, that big dumb rock finally unsealed itself.

Shiny, as a Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey, wasn’t just on par with Silver when it came to being adorable—it also had the incredibly rare Time-Space dual attribute.

That instantly triggered Silver’s sense of crisis. If things continued like this, its position as Xia Ya’s number one pet was in serious jeopardy.

That was why Silver had long been eagerly anticipating the "Amaterasu" skill Xia Ya had promised.

If it could truly master this ability, who would ever expect an iceborn Snow Ferret to unleash a fire-element ultimate move in battle?

A surefire trump card—cool as hell and deadly.

With this, it could finally cement its spot as Xia Ya’s top summoned beast.

“That’s why I’m here to teach you. Don’t be impatient.”

Xia Ya adjusted the fluffy tail wrapped around his neck and placed it over his other shoulder.

“You’ve already learned Tsukuyomi, so you should be familiar with the process.”

“First, through practice and simulated deductions, you need to construct the prototype of this new skill based on the prerequisite—Tsukuyomi.”

"Ying ying~ (Got it!)"

The little Snow Ferret eagerly nodded and immediately closed its eyes, trying to visualize it.

However, in no time at all, Silver opened its eyes in confusion.

As a creature born in the icy northern tundra, it had no real concept of a raging inferno.

"Watch carefully."

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on novelbuddy.cσ๓.

The next moment, Silver heard the words it had been expecting from Xia Ya.

Then, its ruby-red eyes widened in astonishment.

Before the Snow Ferret’s eyes, an endless, scorched mountain range gradually emerged. Cracked earth flowed with rivers of molten lava.

“This is the Flame Mountain. According to legend, only the Banana Leaf Fan can extinguish its eternal fires.”

“Oh, and by the way, this is also the domain of the Bull Demon King—or rather, a powerful bovine-type summoned beast. Its rank? At least Imperial Tier or higher.”

The scene shifted, and the burning peaks vanished.

In their place, a massive golden crow soared across the sky, leaving behind a trail of blazing fire that seemed ready to incinerate everything in its path.

"This is the Golden Crow—also known as the sun’s embodiment. If all nine Golden Crows were to appear at once, the entire world would be reduced to scorched earth."

…

One after another, surreal images unfolded before Silver’s eyes.

Its mental energy fluctuated as it absorbed everything.

And as time passed, deep within Silver’s soul, a tiny seed slowly began to take root.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Just as both Xia Ya and Silver were approaching their mental limits, Xia Ya was beginning to consider pausing the simulation.

That was when he finally heard the long-awaited system prompt.

【Unrecorded skill model detected】

【Would you like to consume three Skill Seeds to materialize this skill prototype?】

Last time, it had only taken one Skill Seed to create Tsukuyomi.

Now, it required three?

It seemed that Amaterasu’s rank far exceeded that of Tsukuyomi.

It made sense—after all, a skill that bypassed physical defense and dealt true damage would obviously be a cut above.

Xia Ya didn’t hesitate and confirmed the selection.

【Three Skill Seeds have been consumed. Current remaining Skill Seeds: 0】

【Your summoned beast, Silver, has learned “Skill Prototype: Unnamed”】

Almost simultaneously, Xia Ya saw a new entry in Silver’s status panel, listed right after Hunting Rhythm, Rending Claw, and Charm.

【Skill Prototype: Unnamed】

Attribute: Mental, Fire

Rank: Unknown

Proficiency: None

Description: A prototype of a dual-attribute skill (Mental + Fire). Requires an external fire source to be completed.

Note: The quality of the fire source will directly determine the effectiveness and power of this skill. Please select your Transcendent Material carefully.

"I knew it."

Xia Ya looked at the skill panel, feeling a mix of excitement and frustration.

Excitement because he and Silver had finally created Amaterasu—a skill they had dreamed of for so long.

And given the cost of three Skill Seeds, its potential had to be massive.

Frustration because, in order to complete this skill prototype—meaning the "fire source" mentioned in the description—he was going to have to spend a ton of money again.

The reasoning was simple: as an ice-element summoned beast, Silver had no natural ability to generate fire.

So, whenever it used Amaterasu, it would require an external fire source.

And the final power of Amaterasu would be directly linked to the quality of the fire source.

After all, a tiny flame from a matchstick and the breath of a pure-blooded Red Dragon were obviously leagues apart.

“To match Amaterasu’s rank, the fire-element Transcendent Material I need should be at least Fourth-Ring.”

“If I want it to be perfect, then Fifth-Ring would be ideal…”

"The price of a Fifth-Ring fire-attribute Transcendent Material…"

Just the thought of it made Xia Ya feel his already empty wallet—drained from political contributions and archaeology expenses—shrivel even further.

“How many Rhine Gold Coins do I even need to make for it to be enough…”