Hate Me, Miss Witch!

"Kiki kikii kiki~ (Shiny? Well, I guess this name is barely acceptable)."

"Kiki kikii kiki! (But I feel like my name could be more powerful!)"

"Ying~ (Just be content with it)."

"Ying ying~ (Say that again, and I'll change your name to Little Yellow or Little Gold!)"

Silver shot a glare at the little golden monkey.

As the first pet to accompany Xaya, Silver was quite impressed by Xaya's naming skills. After all, the initial suggestions for its name had been "Wang Cai," "Big White," or "Beautiful Ferret," all of which were rather unremarkable. In the end, after a lot of negotiation and even threatening to destroy the house, it managed to get the name "Silver," which was the best it could get from Xaya's original ideas.

"Kiki kiki! (Anything but that, please!)"

The little golden monkey nodded with fear.

It was a rare and powerful Seal Stone Monkey, and if it had been named something like Little Yellow or Little Gold, it wouldn't have been able to show its face to others.

Meanwhile, although Xaya noticed the whispering between the two little ones, he didn't mind much. After all, he was a transmigrator. His sense of naming was ahead of its time, and it was perfectly normal for his pets—and even the world—to not understand it.

As the saying goes, "A genius is someone who is a step ahead of the times; a madman is someone who is a full step ahead." High standards can often be seen as a curse for someone out of sync with their era.

Compared to the earlier tension, Xaya's mood was much more relaxed now. Not only because the little golden monkey looked as pleasing to his eyes as Silver, but also because of a new message that appeared on the light screen in his mind.

[Name: Shiny]

[Species: Sealed Stone Monkey (Unnamed Evolutionary Form)]

[Soul Pact Status: Second Soul Pact (Master-Servant Contract: Xaya Egut)]

[Combat Level: 11 (First Tier)]

[Species Rank: Low King Class]

[Beast Skills: Rockfall (Basic), Blink (Basic), Spatial Pocket (Basic)]

First of all, its species rank had jumped from "Low Transcendent" straight up two major levels, bypassing the "Commander" rank and arriving at "Low King Class."

Additionally, Shiny's combat level reflected its new kingly status, reaching the first tier immediately after evolution.

Of course, none of this was surprising to Xaya.

The resources he had fed Shiny, particularly rare spatial materials, were valuable enough to purchase a young beast of a "Mid King Class" species.

Furthermore, Xaya had invested a significant portion of the free experience points rewarded from phase tasks into perfecting Shiny's Gestation skill.

Because of its infant Sealed Stone Monkey form, developing skill proficiency during this stage was notoriously difficult. Raising Gestation to perfection was a feat even top-tier trainers would struggle to accomplish.

Thus, the evolutionary leap in Shiny's rank was entirely within reason.

But the biggest surprises were the brand-new skills in its arsenal.

While the disappearance of Gestation was expected, and Rockfall was an unimpressive earth-based skill typical of its species, the truly exciting additions were the seemingly unassuming Blink and Spatial Pocket.

When Xaya focused his attention on the skill names, detailed information surfaced on the screen.

[Spatial Pocket]

[Attribute: Space]

[Rank: High Tier]

[Proficiency: Basic (0/100)]

[Skill Description: Opens a micro sub-dimension that can store and retrieve objects from the primary material plane.]

[Blink]

[Attribute: Space, Time]

[Rank: High Tier]

[Proficiency: Basic (0/100)]

[Skill Description: Instantaneous teleportation.]

Spatial Pocket was easy to understand—it was essentially an alternate-world equivalent of the classic "storage ring" or "space artifact" often seen in web novels.

Currently, Shiny's Spatial Pocket could only open a micro sub-dimension less than half a cubic meter in size, but it was clear this space would expand as Shiny's skill proficiency grew.

The more intriguing skill, however, was Blink.

"Shiny, try out your newly learned Blink."

"Kiki!"

The little golden monkey nodded, hopping lightly off Xaya's shoulder and wobbling over to the other side of the chamber.

Then, in an instant—

Shiny's form vanished from its position, only to reappear three meters away.

Although the visual effect resembled a quick dash, this wasn't a burst-speed technique but a true short-range teleportation.

"Hmm... No kunai involved, but this really does feel like Flying Thunder God!" Xaya muttered, a grin spreading across his face.

He could sense that Shiny's Blink was still limited in several ways.

For example, the maximum distance was currently capped at three meters, there was a cooldown period between uses, and the skill required a noticeable activation time.

But this was just the Basic proficiency level!

Moreover, as a space-time skill, Blink held immense potential.

And "Blink" was undoubtedly a space-time skill. For Xaya, enhancing his affinity with space and entering the "Historical Echo" was now possible only through this skill.

"Distribute all the remaining free experience points to 'Blink.'"

Fortunately, Xaya still had a bit of free experience left.

As for "Spatial Pocket," it was a purely auxiliary skill, and the current size was already sufficient for Xaya's needs. Therefore, prioritizing "Blink" was a reasonable choice.

[Are you sure you want to allocate all 12,103 free experience points to the skill Blink?]

"Confirm."

[12,103 free experience points consumed. Remaining free experience pool: 0.]

["Shiny's" space-based skill Blink proficiency has increased: Basic → Mastery.]

[Mastery → Skilled.]

[Skilled → Expert.]

["Shiny's" space-based skill Blink proficiency: Expert (8,503/10,000).]

["Shiny's" combat level has increased: Current level: 23 (Extraordinary Tier).]

With no extra effects, Shiny, now testing its new skill in the room, suddenly paused. Then, Xaya felt a weight shift on his shoulder. The little golden monkey had crossed the room's distance of several dozen meters with a single Blink and appeared next to him.

Without any flashy effects, the upgrade completed quietly.

Shiny, still experimenting with its new skill in the chamber, suddenly froze.

A moment later, Xaya felt a weight on his shoulder as Shiny instantly crossed the room, appearing by his side in a single Blink.

"Kiki kiki! (So this is the power of Deep Blue's leveling system!)"

For the first time, Shiny fully understood what Silver had once told it about their master's mysterious power.

As it reflected on this miraculous ability, memories of other pet beasts training in the Soul Pact space surfaced in its mind.

Those poor creatures—soaked in sweat, battered, and bruised—endlessly grinding to develop their skills.

Shiny recalled a bull-like beast that had to ram its head against a meter-thick granite slab all afternoon just to practice a skill called Charge. It was painful even to watch.

But here it was, casually gaining expertise without breaking a sweat.

Compared to those beasts who bled and wept for their progress, this was—

Absolutely glorious!

"Kiki kiki! (Master, let's keep leveling up!)"

"All right, but remember—while skill proficiency can be raised instantly, learning how to use it effectively and mastering its timing is up to you."

Xaya chuckled, watching Shiny's excitement grow.

Because in that moment, he could feel it—

The twisted doorway on the nearby stone platform, which had once repelled him, was now open.

The spatial affinity requirement for accessing the Historical Echo had finally been met.