Hate me, Miss Witch!

"To experience a real death once." Shiayar gazed at the azure screen in his mind, sinking into deep thought.

The task conditions given earlier for this Echo of History were ones he could actually understand.

After all, his system was named 'Destined Great Villain.'

Infamy throughout history, as well as hatred ratings and such, were essentially extensions and expansions of a newbie task.

However, this newly revealed information from the 4th Soul Pact now shrouded everything in this Echo of History in layers of fog.

Shiayar had not forgotten that this piece of information had only emerged after he entered this instance of the Echo of History.

To experience a real death...

People die when they are killed.

If it's just to send me to my death, even a fool wouldn't agree to it.

While pondering, Shiayar swiftly made his way out of the cathedral.

As a newly appointed Knight of the Sacred Hall, Shiayar had also been assigned a room of his own in the town surrounding the church.

In theory, as a Knight of the Sacred Hall at 4-Ring, already considered a master, he could be called a strong person anywhere.

Even owning an independent manor, or being directly honored as a noble with an entire village as his fief, wouldn't be too strange.

But due to the rampant Abyss Demons on the land of Escarnia, many once-fertile towns had been abandoned. Countless refugees had left their homes, seeking sanctuary in territories guarded by Great Knights and other powerful beings.

Therefore, land around the Dawn Great Cathedral had become incredibly scarce. Coupled with the Dawn Church's emphasis on integrity and devotion, the compensation for clergy of equal rank was indeed not very high compared to that of other powerful individuals of similar standing.

Shiayar walked and paused, eventually finding his room among a row of houses.

The furnishings inside the room were simple, equipped only with the most basic wooden furniture. Even the lighting was from a kerosene lamp, not the magictech lighting that was already prevalent in later eras.

Just like everything surrounding the Dawn Great Cathedral, it was extremely plain.

The clothing was merely coarse cloth, and even the diet consisted mostly of ordinary rye bread and water.

But as Shiayar walked, he found that the eyes of the civilians living there held not a hint of dissatisfaction, but only gratitude.

They were grateful that, in such troubled times, they could have a full meal under the protection of the Dawn Church, without living in constant anxiety, fearing their lives could be swallowed by a tide of demons at any moment.

This significantly altered the stereotypical impression Shiayar had formed of the Holy See from many works in his previous life.

No matter the purpose—be it spreading doctrine, gathering faith, or accumulating a good reputation—the Holy See did indeed establish a place of order amidst the chaos in Escarnia, providing a sanctuary for these displaced refugees.

Judging by actions rather than intentions, perhaps not all, but within the Holy See, many truly were maintaining order and protecting the populace.

No wonder she chose to become the Dawn Saintess.

In Shiayar's mind, the figure of a young girl involuntarily appeared.

Dressed in a white skirt, with a joyous and lovely smile.

Her beautiful eyes held a gentle smile that was somewhat hazy, making it difficult to see clearly.

Of course, this is the Holy See shortly after its establishment, before the Holy Calendar...

The Holy See is orderly and good now... but in a thousand years, that might not be the case.

A thousand years could change many things.

Perhaps the initial intentions were good, but after long years and prolonged stays in high positions, corruption could set in; such things had already happened countless times before.

People like Silvia, who could remain true to themselves for five hundred years without changing, were ultimately a minority.

Shiayar closed the room door, sat down at the wooden desk, and lit the kerosene lamp.

Then, he took out paper and pen from the Spatial Pocket. He began to write on the paper, organizing his thoughts.

This was a habit Shiayar had always maintained; otherwise, he wouldn't have taught Silvia to write in a journal to relieve worries during the Echo of History in the Ancient Dukedom Azure Garden.

Who keeps a serious diary anyway?

But the characters he wrote were Chinese, so even if someone managed to probe what he wrote using divination or transcendent abilities, they would only deem it a bunch of gibberish.

He wrote:

"1. Negative Historical Legend Rank."

"2. The favorability and hatred levels of important figures in this Echo of History."

These two were also Shiayar's main objectives in this instance of the Echo of History.

After all, he entered the Echo of History in order to gain task rewards and enhance his own strength.

Farming points, unashamedly.

Of course, to achieve these two conditions, the difficulty was not small.

Because to be remembered for posterity, whether for fame or infamy, is not something an ordinary person can do.

At least the evil deeds you commit, the villainy you enact, must be sensational enough and involve a high enough level to qualify as atrocities to be recounted by the world.

To put it bluntly, wanting to be a great villain, a major antagonist, also required strength as support. Otherwise, if you were just a bandit engaged in bullying men, abusing women, and plundering commoners, on what grounds could you bear infamy throughout history and gain any Historical Legend Rank?

In Shiayar's assessment of himself, his current rank was high within the 4-Ring. Even without using the 4th Soul Pact, his real combat power should be around the Peak 5-Ring.

If he added targeted preparations, or stacked buffs like negligence, underestimation, and complacency on the opponent, plus exchanged for some one-time items and spent some money if necessary, then he could hold his own against a usual Titled Rank... like that "Silver Fox" Riel, who died unable to rest in peace.