Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 35: Historical Echo, Activate!

The soft glow of the magic lamp illuminated Xia Ya’s eyes.

He sat at his desk, calmly writing with a steel pen.

"…During the Ashen Order’s Fire Sacrament incident, I broke through the Third-Ring bottleneck and initiated my Third Soul Pact."

"At the same time, by sheer chance, Silver managed to assimilate one of the Ashen Order’s corrupted objects and gained the ability to command Black Flame, the dominion of the Lord of Ashes."

"This incident took place within Saint Roland Academy and caused quite a commotion. Some keen observers may have noticed my connection to the Black Tower—and to you."

"However, given the Black Tower’s standing and your position within it, even if someone were to try to make a move, they likely wouldn’t dare act openly."

Xia Ya paused, refilled his pen with ink, and continued writing.

"Shiny and Silver both have rather unique attributes. While I can compensate for their weaknesses in various ways, neither of them excels in direct combat—especially when it comes to tanking damage."

"Therefore, for my Third Soul Pact, I intend to choose a Summoned Beast that specializes in direct combat, particularly physical prowess."

"Right now, my Summoned Beast system leans heavily towards law-based abilities, which leaves me at a disadvantage in situations requiring sheer brute force."

"Of course, when Ailora is around, this weakness instantly becomes my greatest strength. But as you once said… No one can defeat a Black Tower sorcerer armed to the teeth, yet a competent Beastmaster should never overly rely on others."

"My top choice for the Third Soul Pact is a Hill Giant species. I’ve heard that one of your colleagues—one of the Eight Pages of the Black Tower, the legendary dwarf known as ‘Thunder’—has a Storm Giant Emperor that evolved from a Hill Giant as his primary battle beast."

"However, Hill Giants have structured tribes where their young are heavily protected. They typically only form pacts with Beastmasters once they reach adulthood… which conflicts with my approach to training Summoned Beasts."

Xia Ya stopped writing, hesitated briefly, then added a few more lines.

"Additionally, I recently uncovered some traces of the Cangting Principality during an archaeological dig."

"This was an ancient kingdom that perished centuries ago. Based on my findings, its downfall appears to be linked to a certain Evil God known as ‘Twilight.’"

"This event occurred during the Era of Cataclysm and seems to be connected to the founding of the White Chalk Tower."

"As far as I know, the Black Tower also underwent significant upheaval during the Era of Cataclysm, with more than one of the Eight Pages perishing as a result… So I believe you might be interested in this information, in uncovering that lost history."

"Your student, Xia Ya Egut."

After signing his name, Xia Ya double-checked the letter before folding it neatly.

He pulled open a drawer beneath his desk, took out three Rhine Gold Coins, and placed them atop the paper.

Then, he spoke in a calm voice.

“Hathaway.”

“Hathaway.”

Xia Ya paused briefly before repeating the name a third time.

“Hathaway.”

A single breath later—

In the windless room, ripples spread through the air.

Xia Ya felt a strange sensation, as though he were being watched.

The source of this gaze did not come from the material plane. It was something higher and farther away, able to bypass spatial coordinates, dimensions, and the boundaries of existence to directly fixate on him.

A moment later, the feeling of being observed slowly faded.

And right before his eyes, the folded letter—along with the three Rhine Gold Coins—

Vanished in an instant, without a trace, as if they had never existed.

Had an ordinary civilian or even a low-tier Beastmaster witnessed such a phenomenon, they would have considered it an incomprehensible miracle.

But Xia Ya, knowing the truth, was unfazed.

This was merely the ability of his master’s space-based Summoned Beast—one that served under the legendary Gold Elf of the Black Tower.

As for the three Rhine Gold Coins, they were essentially the fee for the summoning.

It was precisely because he had seen the prestige of high-tier space-based Summoned Beasts that Xia Ya had worked so hard to push Shiny toward spatial mastery.

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There was no other choice. While the early investment was massive and the results were slow to show—once trained, space-based creatures were in a league of their own. Pure concept gods. They weren’t even on the same level as fire-breathers or water-sprayers.

Of course, even though the letter had been sent, Xia Ya had no expectations of receiving a reply anytime soon.

His master was notoriously unpredictable, frequently vanishing even from her own Summoned Beasts.

Moreover, the lifespan of high elves was absurdly long. Their sense of time differed from that of ordinary humans—spending over a decade on a single dimensional journey was nothing unusual.

Since leaving Arcane City, Lokhia, Xia Ya had never seen his master again. She was probably still drifting through some dimensional rift or the Void.

So these letters were less about keeping in touch and more of a habit—something akin to a journal.

BOOM BOOM—

From the direction of the Summoned Beast training chamber, a series of controlled explosions echoed.

Immediately after, Xia Ya sensed a surge of uncontainable excitement from Shiny through their Soul Pact.

The next moment, a dust-covered Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey blinked onto Xia Ya’s shoulder, its fur completely covered in soot.

Xia Ya, looking disgusted, promptly grabbed the little monkey and tossed it into the pool.

But even as it was scrubbed clean, Shiny couldn’t hide its exhilaration.

"Chirp chirp chirp! (Master! Master!)"

"Chirp chirp chirp! (I did it! I finally did it!)"

“I know, I know. Good job.”

Xia Ya nodded.

In his mind, lines of glowing blue notifications emerged.

[Shiny’s low-tier passive skill Explosion Resistance has reached Perfect proficiency.]

[Shiny’s low-tier skill Throwing has reached Perfect proficiency.]

[Current remaining Free EXP: 10,340.]

A Summoned Beast’s abilities were divided into innate racial skills and learned skills.

For high-tier abilities like Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, which had no real-world equivalents, acquiring them required both Skill Seeds and the completion of intricate developmental processes.

But for common mid-to-low-tier skills, as long as they weren’t entirely incompatible—like forcing a Fire Mouse to learn Surf—most could be obtained through rigorous training.

For instance, to master Explosion Resistance and Throwing, Shiny had endured hundreds of explosions and hurled thousands of stones at targets before finally succeeding.

From a technical standpoint, investing too much EXP into such mundane low-tier skills was a bit wasteful. Even Silver’s Rending Claw and Ice Blade—rarely used—had never received a single point of investment from Xia Ya.

But right now, Shiny was brimming with confidence in its newly honed abilities.

"Chirp chirp chirp! (Big Sis! If we’re fighting next time, let me take the first opponent!)"

On Xia Ya’s shoulder, upon hearing Shiny’s enthusiastic challenge, the little Snow Ferret simply flicked its tail in exasperation.

"Mrrr~ (As if I’d steal your kill…)"

“You want to rest for a bit?”

Xia Ya lifted Shiny from the pool, dried it off with a towel, and asked.

"Chirp chirp! Chirp! (No need, Master! I’m in top form right now!)"

The little Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey’s voice was still full of vigor, clearly eager to test out its newfound skills.

“Good.”

Xia Ya tossed Shiny back onto his shoulder.

He glanced at the still-silent meditation chamber in the distance, pondered for a moment, then stepped into the second-floor washroom.

He locked the brass door behind him.

Then, as his mind reached into the depths of his soul and touched the distorted Space-Time Imprint—

Everything around him froze.

Once again, he entered the Historical Echo.