Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 79: "The Blasphemer"—Xia Ya

The carriage sped through the rain-soaked streets of the Imperial Capital, splashing water in its wake.

Ailora sat by the window in the back seat, staring blankly at the misty, gray city beyond the curtain of rain.

Raindrops trickled down the glass, carving tiny, winding streams.

She had always been the cold and reserved type, but the emotional outburst earlier had drained her completely. Now, she was even quieter than usual.

“Why are we going to Dark Night Garden?”

“I need to confirm something.”

“For instance… whether what I experienced was truly the real history of five hundred years ago or just a fleeting dream.”

“Oh.”

That was the only conversation exchanged between them after getting into the carriage.

After that, Ailora simply gazed out the window, lost in thought, while Xia Ya idly played with her silky golden hair—just like one would with a cat that had grown used to affectionate head pats.

And cats only allowed their most trusted people to touch their heads.

Xia Ya, of course, was more than happy to indulge. As he twirled her soft strands between his fingers, he focused his mental energy, pulling up his system interface to check his rewards—something he hadn’t had the chance to do until now.

Speaking of which… not long ago, there had been another cat-like girl by his side.

He wondered—would he ever have the chance to see her again?

—

[Beginner Quest: Make Sylvia, the innocent and naive Duchess' Daughter of the Cangting Principality, experience the betrayal of her closest kin (Completed)]

[Historical Echo—"Cangting Ancient Kingdom" Cleared]

[Quest Rewards Calculated]

[Based on the host’s overall performance in this mission, the following rewards have been issued: "Sands of Time" ×40]

[Beginner Tutorial Completed. Beginner Protection Period Over. Quest Guidance Function Disabled]

[Exchange Store, Titles, Historical Renown, and other features unlocked. Please check the newly added functions yourself.]

[The first post-beginner quest will be available in five days. Please wait patiently.]

[You have new Titles and Historical Renown to review.]

—

Deep within his soul, in that vast yet empty mental world, tiny specks of light suddenly began to flicker to life.

Those specks gathered, radiating a soft, starlike glow—pure and luminous, resembling a nebula that cast away the surrounding darkness.

Xia Ya could feel it.

Under this starlight, his once hazy and unformed mental world had suddenly become more structured, more solid.

“My mental power has grown again… Along with my insights from the last battle, breaking into the Fourth Ring really isn’t far off now.”

Xia Ya assessed his current state and made a judgment.

People were born either with intelligence or strength—as a Beastmaster, one’s core focus was on mental energy, or rather, the power of the soul, which was the foundation for forming Soul Pacts and contracting Summoned Beasts.

In general, before breaking through to the Fourth Ring, before reaching the level of a Master-Tier Beastmaster, mental energy remained an intangible, elusive force—something one could only vaguely sense, but not manifest.

But after breaking into the Fourth Ring, Beastmasters would begin the process of expanding and solidifying their mental world, turning it from a tiny, illusionary space into something more concrete and vast.

One of the hallmarks of a Legendary Beastmaster was the ability to cultivate a sprawling, boundless mental ocean of their own.

Xia Ya had always had an abnormal level of mental energy for his tier. Even before reaching the Fourth Ring, he had already been able to perceive his mental world—and now, with these newfound starlike specks, his mental world had become even more stable and well-defined.

This was already on par with a Fifth-Ring Beastmaster.

In other words, for Xia Ya, breaking into the Fourth and Fifth Rings would no longer pose any major obstacles.

“So this is my reward from the Beginner Quest—these forty Sands of Time, huh?”

Xia Ya was pleasantly surprised.

This was a treasure capable of directly enhancing his Beastmaster potential.

Even though he already considered his talent and aptitude to be top-tier, potential was something one could never have too much of.

And as the forty minuscule, star-like Sands of Time merged into his mental world, Xia Ya could clearly feel his affinity with the Laws of Time and Space increasing.

If he were to enter another Historical Echo, he’d undoubtedly be able to withstand the Temporal Currents for a much longer period.

“But—”

“Where’s my free EXP? And my Skill Seeds?”

After all, he still had three summoned beasts waiting to be nurtured!

It was great to enhance his future potential and affinity with time, but immediate combat power was just as crucial!

Luckily, he soon found the answer within his expanded system menu.

—

[Sands of Time Exchange Store]

[Current Remaining Sands of Time: 29]

[Certain store items will rotate periodically. New categories will unlock as the host progresses through quests.]

—

[Small EXP Crystal]

Price: 1 (Sands of Time)

Effect: Grants 10,000 Free EXP upon use.

Effect: Merges multiple skills of the same summoned beast to create a higher-tier ability. Works best when paired with Skill Seeds.

—

[Thief’s Gloves]

Rarity: Purple (Rare)

Category: Transcendent Item

Price: 15

Effect: When used on a target, randomly steals two items from them. Single-use.

Effect: Summons a Phantom Pegasus for battle. If equipped on a mount-type Summoned Beast, significantly enhances all its attributes.

—

[Twin Soul Rings]

Rarity: Purple (Rare)

Category: Transcendent Item

Price: 200

—

Xia Ya skimmed through the list, eyes narrowing slightly.

“…Alright, first things first, let’s stock up on EXP Crystals and Skill Seeds.”

He had three summoned beasts that needed immediate power-ups, and these rewards came just in time.

But beyond that…

His gaze lingered on the Thief’s Gloves for a moment.

A single-use item that randomly stole two things from a target?

Depending on how he used it… this could be a game-changer.

Xia Ya smirked.

“…Well, well. This might be fun.”

—

[Item: Additional Soul Pact Slot]

Effect: Increases the maximum number of contracted Summoned Beasts by +1.

—

[Item: Dice of Fate]

Rarity: Purple (Rare)

Category: Transcendent Item, Evolution Material

Price: 1,000 Sands of Time

Effect: Roll the dice to determine luck value based on the number shown on the face.

Note: All-in! All-in! Fortune favors the bold!

—

[Item: Black Grail]

Rarity: Orange (Legendary)

Category: Corrupted Object

Price: 10,000 Sands of Time

Effect: Originally a miraculous artifact capable of granting any wish. However, after being corrupted by an ancient being beyond the stars, it has undergone a grotesque transformation. It still grants wishes, but the method of fulfillment may be twisted based on the complexity of the wish.

Note: Truly a Holy Holy and a Grail Grail. Do you guys have such a wish-granting machine? I just want to ask!

—

It took Xia Ya quite a while to browse through the extensive Exchange Store catalog.

He could only sigh—his system sure knew how to dangle temptations in front of him.

Some of the high-rarity items made even him green with envy.

Take the Dice of Fate, for example—just imagining the endless possibilities of its use had Xia Ya’s mind racing.

And then there was the Black Grail. The description alone screamed "extremely cursed", but if there was a way to purify its corruption… wouldn't it be a literal all-powerful wishing machine?

The only problem?

He couldn’t afford any of them.

His current balance was a measly 29 Sands of Time.

Even the Pegasus Bridle, which cost 30, was just out of reach.

Actually, Xia Ya had been quite tempted by the Pegasus Bridle.

According to the description, it could manifest a Phantom Pegasus, an illusory species. Even if the summoned creature’s strength was fixed and couldn’t be improved, it would still count as an extra Summoned Beast in the early game.

…A free Soul Pact slot, basically.

Thankfully, the Sands of Time in the store were only a currency unit and not actual consumable resources.

His mental world still contained all forty of his star-like Sands of Time, meaning he hadn't traded away his own potential—otherwise, that would have been a massive loss.

Xia Ya let out a deep sigh of poverty.

Then, he reluctantly shifted his gaze away from those high-end luxuries and focused on what he could actually afford.

—

Items Within Budget

[Large EXP Crystal]

Price: 10 Sands of Time

Effect: Grants 110,000 Free EXP upon use.

Note: Great value, but too much at once for practical use…

—

[Skill Seed (Common)]

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

Price: 3 Sands of Time

Effect: Allows a Summoned Beast to create a new high-tier skill.

Note: So this is the same type of Skill Seed I got before… No wonder "Amaterasu" cost three of them and still only reached pseudo-Transcendent rank.

—

[Skill Seed (Rare)]

Price: 10 Sands of Time

Effect: Allows a Summoned Beast to create a new Transcendent-tier skill.

—

“…I need to save some Sands of Time for EXP Crystals, so in total, before my next mission reward, I can only afford to create two new Transcendent skills.”

“And if I also buy the Skill Fusion Book to pair with a Skill Seed (Rare), I’d only be able to make one skill.”

Xia Ya carefully calculated his choices.

His gaze then shifted back to the top of the store interface, where a certain item caught his attention.

—

[Weekly Lucky Gift Pack]

Price: 1 Sand of Time

Effect: Grants one random item from the currently available store inventory. Limited to one purchase per week.

—

“…Is this system made by a certain greedy corporation?”

Xia Ya couldn't help but complain.

A weekly gacha system? What was next—a Season Pass?

Are you guys trying to farm daily active users now?!

Even as he mentally ranted, he eventually fell silent.

Then—he clicked purchase.

—

[You have purchased "Weekly Lucky Gift Pack". 1 Sand of Time consumed. Remaining Sands of Time: 28.]

[You have obtained "Small EXP Crystal" ×1.]

—

“…Fine.”

Xia Ya closed the Exchange Store interface in silence.

Some people are born lucky.

Some people are born cursed.

And some people, no matter how much they pay, will never escape their bad luck.

It’s fine. It’s fine.

At least EXP was always useful.

With the store browsing out of the way, Xia Ya turned his attention to another section of his system.

A red notification dot was flashing.

The next moment, a series of new messages appeared before him.

—

[Congratulations! Based on your performance in "Historical Echo—Cangting Ancient Kingdom"]

[You have obtained a new Title—"The Blasphemer."]

[You have obtained new Historical Renown—"The One Forgotten by Time."]

—

Xia Ya raised an eyebrow.

“…Blasphemer?”

What the hell did he do this time?