Hate me, Miss Witch!

The carriage dashed down the waterlogged streets of the Empire Capital, sending up a spray of water.

Enola sat in the back seat by the window, gazing blankly at the grey, mist-shrouded city outside.

Rainwater trickled down the glass, carving tiny, winding ravines.

She had always been the ice-queen type, and the recent outpouring of emotions had seemingly drained her potential, making the current Enola even quieter than before.

"Why go to the Dark Night Garden?"

"I want to confirm some suspicions."

"Like... whether what I experienced before was the true history of five hundred years ago, or merely a long dream."

"Oh."

This was the only conversation that had taken place between Shiayar and Enola after they had boarded the carriage.

After that, she just sat by the window, lost in thought, allowing Shiayar, who sat beside her, to restlessly stroke her hair as if she were a cat accustomed to being petted.

A cat only lets those it is closest to pet its head.

Shiayar certainly enjoyed this. He played with the soft, smooth strands of hair between his fingers while focusing his spiritual power in his mind to check the system panel for his rewards, which he hadn't had a chance to examine earlier.

Speaking of which, not long ago, there was also a cat-like girl by my side, he mused. I just don't know if we'll ever have the chance to meet again.

[Newbie Mission: Make Silvia, the naïve and young Duchess of the Azure Garden Dukedom, experience the betrayal of a loved one (Completed)]

[Echo of History—"Ancient Dukedom Azure Garden" has been cleared]

[Mission rewards have been settled]

[Based on the host's overall performance in this mission, the following rewards are granted: Forty "Sands of Time"]

[Newbie tutorial completed; newbie protection period is over; mission guidance function has been disabled]

[The Exchange Mall, Titles, Historical Legend Rank, and other functions have been unlocked. Please check the newly added functions yourself.]

[The first mission after the newbie period will be available in five days. Please wait patiently.]

[You have new Titles and Historical Legend Ranks to check]

...

Shiayar perceived something in the depths of his soul. In what was once the pitch-black expanse of his Spiritual World, dozens of points of light now suddenly shone.

These points of light gathered, emitting a faint starlight, pure and clear like a nebula, illuminating the surrounding darkness.

Shiayar could feel that under the illumination of this starlight, his Spiritual World—originally chaotic, empty, and exceptionally illusory—had suddenly become clearer and more stable.

My spiritual power has grown again... Coupled with the insights from the previous battle, it seems breaking through to 4-Ring really isn't too far off, Shiayar surmised.

Humans are intelligent but not inherently strong. As a Beastmaster, one primarily cultivates spirit—or rather, soul power—to initiate Soul Pacts and contract Pet Beasts.

Generally speaking, until one breaks through to the 4-Ring level and becomes a Master Rank Beastmaster, spiritual power remains a very abstract and elusive concept. One can vaguely sense it, but it cannot be concretely manifested.

Gradually expanding that newly manifested, extremely small and illusory Spiritual World, making it clearer and more real, is the cultivation process for Beastmasters after the 4-Ring level.

One of the symbols of a Legendary Beastmaster is the ability to open up one's own vast and expansive sea of spiritual power.

Shiayar's spiritual power had always far exceeded that of his peers. Even before reaching 4-Ring, he could sense his own Spiritual World. Now, with the help of those tiny, starlike points of light, his Spiritual World had solidified considerably, already reaching the standard of a typical 5-Ring powerhouse.

This also meant that breaking through to the 4-Ring and 5-Ring levels would no longer present a significant bottleneck for Shiayar.

Are these the rewards for the newbie mission? Those forty 'Sands of Time'? Shiayar's heart filled with pleasant surprise. This was something that could directly enhance his potential as a Beastmaster.

Although he considered his own aptitude and talent to be extremely outstanding, potential was, of course, something one could never have too much of.

Moreover, as those forty tiny, star-like Sands of Time integrated into his Spiritual World, Shiayar distinctly felt his affinity with the laws of time and space increase slightly.

If he were to enter an "Echo of History" again, he would undoubtedly be able to withstand the erosion of the river of time for even longer.

But— Shiayar thought, where are my Classless Experience Points? And my Skill Seeds?

After all, he had three Pet Beasts clamoring for nurture. Enhancing future potential and affinity with time was great, but an immediate increase in combat power was also urgently needed.

Fortunately, Shiayar soon found the answer on the newly expanded system screen.

[Sands of Time Mall]

[Current Sands of Time remaining: Twenty-nine]

[Some items in the mall rotate periodically. As the host's mission progress advances, new categories of items will continuously be unlocked.]

...

[Small Experience Crystal]

[Price: 1 (Unit: Sands of Time, abbreviated hereafter)]

[Item Description: Gain 10,000 Classless Experience Points upon use.]

[Note: Small ones are cute too.]

...

[Book of Skill Fusion]

[Price: 10]

[Item Description: Fuses multiple skills of the same Pet Beast to create higher-rank skills. Works even better when used in combination with 'Skill Seeds'.]

...

[Thief's Gloves]

[Rarity: Purple]

[Category: Extraordinary item]

[Price: 15]

[Description: After equipping, activate on a designated target to randomly obtain two items from the target. The item disappears after use.]

[Note: Stealthily? Yes, stealthily!]

...

[Reins of Pegasus]

[Rarity: Blue]

[Category: Extraordinary Item, Pet Beast Equipment]

[Price: 30]

[Description: Materializes the fantasy species—'Pegasus'—to fight for you. If equipped on a Pet Beast with the 'Mount' attribute, it will significantly enhance that Pet Beast's various attributes.]

...

[Twin Souls Ring]

[Rarity: Purple]

[Category: Extraordinary tool]

[Price: 200]

[Description: Increases the Beastmaster's Soul Pact limit by +1.]

...

[Dice of Fate]

[Rarity: Purple]

[Category: Extraordinary Item, Evolution Material]

[Price: 1,000]

[Description: After flinging the dice, the number on the top face determines the luck value.]

[Note: Aurian Free, ALL IN!]

...

[Black Chalice]

[Rarity: Orange]

[Category: Contaminant]

[Price: 10,000]

[Description: Originally a miraculous object that could fulfill any wish of the wisher, it became deformed after being contaminated by an ancient existence from beyond the stars. It can still grant wishes, but the way wishes are fulfilled will be twisted to varying degrees based on their difficulty.]

[Note: A truly 'holy' 'chalice' indeed! Do any of you possess such a Wishing Machine? I'm just asking.]

...

It took Shiayar quite a while to roughly skim through the dazzling list of items in the mall.

One could only say that the system really knew how to make grand promises.

Even Shiayar felt immense envy looking at those high-rarity items.

Putting other things aside, just the "Dice of Fate" alone instantly brought a multitude of uses to his mind.

And the "Black Chalice"—although its description suggested it wasn't anything good, if the contamination could be resolved, it would truly become an omnipotent Wishing Machine.

The only problem is, I can't afford them, he thought.

To level up Crimson's 'Blood of Filth' and 'Dark Descendant,' the system must have automatically exchanged some Sands of Time for 'Small Experience Crystals.'

As a result, he now only had 29 Sands of Time left, not even enough for the "Reins of Pegasus."

Actually, Shiayar was quite eager for this item. According to its description, it could manifest the fantasy species 'Pegasus.' Even if the manifested phantom beast's strength was fixed and couldn't be improved, it was akin to having an extra Soul Pact in the early stages.

Luckily, the Sands of Time in the store seemed to be merely a currency unit, not something he had to physically exchange. The number of tiny stars in his Spiritual World remained forty; otherwise, it would have been a huge loss.

Shiayar let out a sigh of a man feeling poor.

He then shifted his gaze from the high-level rare items, refocusing on the ones he could afford.

A Large Experience Crystal, valued at ten Sands of Time, can be exchanged for 110,000 Classless Experience Points. It's profitable, certainly, but the quantity is too large to be practical.

A Skill Seed (Common), which allows a Pet Beast to create up to a High Order skill, is valued at three Sands of Time.

The Skill Seeds I obtained previously must be this type. No wonder 'Amaterasu' consumed three Skill Seeds and only reached the quasi-Extraordinary rank.

However, a Skill Seed (Rare), which can create skills up to the Extraordinary rank, is valued at ten Sands of Time.

I still need to save some Sands of Time for purchasing Experience Crystals. This means that before I enter the next mission and receive new rewards, I can create at most two new Extraordinary skills.

Then there's the Book of Skill Fusion. If I really want to use it with a Skill Seed (Rare), I'll only have enough for one.

Shiayar's gaze swept over the items one by one, then paused at the very top of the mall.

[Weekly Warm-Hearted Lucky Bag]

[Price: 1]

[Item Description: Randomly obtain any item currently on sale in the mall. This item is limited to one purchase per week.]

Could this system be a product of the Penguin Group? Are they stooping this low just to drive daily active users? Shiayar ranted internally. They've even learned this kind of trick. What's next, a season pass?

But ultimately, he fell silent for a moment.

Then, he chose to purchase it.

It's irresistibly good, he thought.

There was no way to lose, given that the cheapest item in the entire mall was also worth one Sand of Time.

And if, by some stroke of incredible luck, I actually pull one of those high-rarity items, like the 'Black Chalice' or something, wouldn't the system lose its pants?

[You have purchased 'Weekly Warm-Hearted Lucky Bag', consuming one Sand of Time. Current Sands of Time remaining: 28.]

[You have obtained 'Small Experience Crystal' *1]

Alright then, Shiayar quietly closed the Sands of Time Mall interface.

An unlucky player is always unlucky, it seems; no amount of spending can change a bad streak.

Whatever. It's not a loss as long as I get the guaranteed minimum.

Classless Experience Points are always welcome, no matter the amount.

After reviewing the newly unlocked mall function, Shiayar turned his attention to the section at the bottom, where a red dot was flashing.

The next moment, lines of brand-new information appeared before Shiayar's eyes.

[Congratulations, based on your performance in the Echo of History 'Ancient Dukedom Azure Garden']

[You have earned the new Title—'Blasphemer']

[You have earned a new Historical Legend Rank—'The Forgotten by the Ages']