Hate Me, Miss Witch!

Amidst the deafening roar, the entire secret chamber, along with the surrounding ruins, trembled. Fortunately, the ruins of the ancient kingdom were located in a remote, desolate gray hill, far from any populated areas. Had this explosion occurred in a city, it likely would have sparked widespread panic among the people, thinking it a natural disaster like an earthquake.

Xaya stood in the center of the chamber, dust slowly falling around him. But his gaze was fixed on the bronze pedestal. The red glow emanating from the stone sculpture illuminated the entire chamber with bright clarity.

After a long time, the crimson light began to slowly recede, and the rumbling sound gradually faded. Though the appearance of the stone sculpture remained unchanged, Xaya could sense that the corrupt and lifeless aura that once clung to it had disappeared. The sculpture was no longer the strange, sinister artifact associated with a malevolent god; it was now simply a normal stone artifact.

Instead of the earlier malignant aura, twisted beams of light now emanated from the pedestal, converging into a form resembling a doorway.

The little snow ferret on Xaya's left shoulder opened its ruby-like eyes and curiously observed the door-like formation. As a master of high-level illusions, Silver could clearly perceive that this wasn't a visual trick or light refraction. This was the real manifestation of spatial laws, with a crack appearing in the fabric of space itself, distorting even the light passing through.

Xaya looked at the twisted doorway, a surge of excitement rising in his chest.

"Historical Echoes."

Or perhaps "Echoes of History," "Fragments of Time," or "The Faint Shadow of the River of Time." Many names could be used to describe the extraordinary phenomenon occurring before him.

Such phenomena were extremely rare, involving the laws of both time and space. Even ordinary people, if they heard of it, would dismiss it as an urban legend. As for even the most powerful beings at the legendary rank, no one had a definitive explanation for such occurrences.

The current mainstream theory was that "Historical Echoes" only appeared in ancient sites with rich histories, often holding fragments of an important past that were formed due to the obsessions of a mighty being. It was, as the name suggested, the lingering remnants of a lost history within the river of time.

Although Xaya had gathered much information, he still didn't fully understand the specifics. However, to complete his third phase of the beginner quest, finding a "Historical Echo" seemed to be the only possibility. It was within the cracks of time that Xaya might get the chance to meet the "Silver Witch" Sylvia, who had long disappeared from the real world.

After all, the system had judged the task completed simply by writing his name in a family genealogy. It seemed likely that increasing favorability by interacting with someone's echo in the historical fragments might also be possible.

And fortunately—

Xaya had won the bet.

As the last remnants of a glorious ancient kingdom, this ruin indeed contained "Historical Echoes."

Just as Xaya had predicted, the artifact related to the malevolent god, likely the cause of the destruction of this ancient kingdom, turned out to be the key to unlocking this historical echo.

Xaya composed himself and reached out toward the distorted light.

The moment he extended his hand, a force repelled him, and an icy prompt echoed in his mind:

[Entering historical fragments requires the host to have sufficient space-time affinity. The current affinity is insufficient.]

"I knew it."

Xaya's eyes gleamed slightly.

The reason why "Historical Echoes" were so mysterious was not only because of their rarity but also because entering such a phenomenon, a distortion of time and space, required an extremely high affinity with spatial laws. Without enough affinity, even if one stumbled upon a "Historical Echo," they could only watch helplessly as it faded away with the passage of time.

Xaya had prepared for this moment for years, so he was naturally aware of this requirement.

His mind shifted, and next, a large, round stone, almost half his height, silently fell onto the floor of the chamber.

"Ying ying~ (Long time no see!)"

The little snow ferret on Xaya's shoulder greeted the stone cheerfully.

"Ji ji!! (Long time no see!)"

The round stone rolled over, and a muffled voice came from within.

Then, the stone slowly rolled twice and directly toward Xaya.

"Ji ji! (Master, is it finally time to level me up?)"

The connection through the soul contract conveyed a sense of excitement, allowing Xaya, as the contract holder, to understand the meaning behind the call.

[Species: Sealed Stone Monkey (Sealed Stone State)]

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

[Battle Level: 1]

[Species Level: Low-Grade Transcendent]

[Pet Skills (Unique): Gestation (Perfect)]

Although Xaya was a transmigrator, he had not inherited the typical lazy or weak characteristics often found in such stories. On the contrary, his talent as a Beastmaster was exceptional.

At just seventeen, he had reached the intermediate level of a second-ring Beastmaster. According to the system's panel, he had already reached level 28, not far from the third-ring, high-level Beastmaster, and had already opened his second soul contract.

Such rapid progress was comparable to the children of the most prominent noble families in the capital.

However, even though Xaya's peers in the capital knew about his powerful snow ferret, none of them had seen the pet bound by his second soul contract.

Many speculated that Xaya was the type of Beastmaster who focused all his resources and energy on a single pet, not having the time or resources to raise multiple pets.

This was a reasonable assumption. After all, Xaya didn't have a particularly prominent background. The snow ferret's extraordinary strength, capable of defeating many monarch-tier creatures, was a remarkable achievement in itself. It made sense that he wouldn't be able to divide his attention between other pets.

Yet, only a few knew that Xaya's second soul contract had already been occupied.

And over the years, he had invested most of his resources into this second soul contract. Compared to the now-settled abilities of Silver, Xaya had invested far more into this second contract.

Xaya crouched down, picked up the large stone that was slowly rolling toward him, and stroked it, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Since I already have a snow ferret that knows Tsukuyomi—"

"Then, training a monkey that can use space-based skills should be quite reasonable, right?"