Hate me, Miss Witch!
Chapter 48 - 39: I, Shiayar, Have a Dream of Becoming an Extremely Lucky Guy

Chapter 48: Chapter 39: I, Shiayar, Have a Dream of Becoming an Extremely Lucky Guy

The burst of blinding white light shot up into the sky.

A massive shockwave spread outwards, sending even those observing the battle dozens of meters away reeling.

That intense white light rapidly expanded in the eyes of the white-robed old man, finally causing his expression to change.

This was the first time he had been so moved in front of a candidate since he began presiding over the Brunestadt family’s adult ceremonies.

He had even disregarded his rule of not intervening during the assessment, as commands were quickly relayed through the bonds of their Soul Pacts.

At the very center of the explosion, the majestic Silver Spirit let out a roar.

Halos of light emanated from its body, and its pure silver form became illusory in an instant.

"Elementalization."

A basic racial Skill possessed by the vast majority of Element lifeform Pet Beasts.

After activation, their bodies enter an elemental state, losing the ability to attack but significantly reducing incoming damage.

A mere thousandth of a second after completing this, another surge of white light swallowed it once more.

「...」

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—

Explosions echoed continuously.

Such fierce power silenced all the spectators for a moment.

"Explosive Clay... Is this the blasting material created by those Alchemists?"

"No, if it were merely that, it definitely wouldn’t possess such lethality."

The Assessment Elder’s pupils contracted slightly.

His spiritual power fluctuated constantly; it even made the surrounding air feel oppressive, causing bystanders to feel a faint sense of suffocation. This showed that the elder’s mood was far from as calm as it appeared on the surface.

"I’ve seen similar alchemical material on the border. The military often uses this kind of alchemical material in siege warfare to destroy enemy fortifications and defensive structures."

"But—given the amount your Pet Beast used, it couldn’t achieve such an effect..."

The Assessment Elder’s spiritual power swept over the scene continually.

After a long while, a guess emerged in his mind.

A guess even more surprising to him than the recent massive explosion.

"You deliberately didn’t detonate all those alchemical materials at once... but intentionally spaced out their detonations."

"Then, through precise calculation and control... you manipulated the blast waves from the explosions to converge and superimpose at the center—"

"Was this to maximize the power of the explosive array?"

"That’s right," Shiayar nodded calmly. "A technique to maximize power by superimposing shockwaves at the center."

"As they would say back in my hometown, it could perhaps be called a ’Phased Array’."

"Of course, what I used was only a fraction of the principle, far from the true effect of using a nuclear Phased Array to bomb the moon, which would require microsecond-level precision in detonation timing."

The yellow figure flashed, and Shiny landed deftly on top of Shiayar’s head.

The little snub-nosed monkey smugly showed off the word "Justice" on its back to Shiayar, only to be promptly snatched down by him.

A Pet Beast daring to sit on its Beastmaster’s head? Has the world gone mad?

But Shiayar’s gaze did not shift with his playful interaction with Shiny; it remained locked on the distant location of the Peak Commander Rank Silver Spirit.

A moment later, the rumbling ceased.

The flying dust finally settled, revealing the scene within.

The once-majestic Sovereign-to-be Silver Spirit was now riddled with injuries.

Its once smooth, mirror-like metallic exterior was now pocked and dented, with several sections of its body missing.

For an ordinary Pet Beast, such injuries would have been fatal.

However, as silver-white glimmers spread, the liquid metal constituting the Silver Spirit’s body instantly flowed, filling the gaps and smoothing over the dents and craters.

Another major racial Skill of Element lifeform Pet Beasts—"High-Speed Regeneration."

For beings entirely composed of elements, injuries that would cripple ordinary Pet Beasts were not irreparable for Element lifeforms.

Even so, after its body was fully restored, the Silver Spirit’s aura had clearly dimmed.

It appeared exceedingly weak, no longer possessing the majesty of a Sovereign-to-be.

The Assessment Elder waved his hand and recalled the Silver Spirit into his Soul Pact Space.

Shiayar nodded slightly.

Using "Flash" with "Fling" and "Falling Rocks" to plant Explosive Clay on the opponent, then detonating it in a Phased Array formation, inflicted moderate damage on a Sovereign-to-be rank Pet Beast.

And that’s considering it was an Element lifeform, inherently more resilient.

If it had been an ordinary Pet Beast, that explosion would likely have been enough to critically injure and incapacitate a Sovereign-to-be.

Considering I only used sixty percent of the Explosive Clay, the power output is quite satisfactory.

After all, this was just my experiment with a new skill set, and the elder bore me no ill will, so there was no need to go all out.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with the results of this experiment.

After fully assimilating the gains from the last novice mission, while Silver and Shiny might still lack the comprehensive abilities of true Sovereign Rank Pet Beasts, they both now possess the means to threaten a Sovereign.

"Elder, according to the rules you set, I should have passed this assessment, right?" Shiayar addressed the Assessment Elder, who still seemed not to have recovered from the shock.

Through this battle, Shiayar also gained an understanding of the Silver Spirit race.

Pure combat power was only secondary; the key was the potential I sensed within the Silver Spirit race... a potential far surpassing that of other Pet Beast races.

The developmental path for this race isn’t as rigidly defined as for other Pet Beast races; it holds a multitude of possibilities.

This trait might not be very useful for an ordinary Beastmaster who trains Pet Beasts conventionally, but for me... it allows me to maximize my upgrade ability.

"Of course."

The Assessment Elder came to his senses and nodded. A gap, large enough for one person to pass, appeared in the surrounding magical formation.

"Though they all belong to the same Silver Spirit race... different individuals will exhibit great variability in their tendencies and personalities."

"With your Beastmaster talent, it would be a pity if you were to form a Soul Pact with a mediocre member of the Silver Spirit species."

The Assessment Elder looked deeply at Shiayar.

Rapid cultivation speed and contracting rare Pet Beasts could be attributed to talent or luck. After all, people’s innate constitutions vary; some are simply born with a better starting point.

And if that explosion had merely been the detonation of an alchemical bomb, it wouldn’t have been particularly astonishing to him.

Ultimately, that would just be a clever trick relying on external aids, most effective on its first use. He had seen plenty of those in his long career as a Beastmaster.

However, the fact that the superimposed Phased Array explosion was executed entirely under Shiayar’s precise remote control... that was something worth deep consideration.

This implied that Shiayar’s current achievements might not stem from some ethereal luck, but were entirely of his own making.

Meanwhile, Shiayar was unaware of the Assessment Elder’s thoughts.

Or rather, even if he had guessed, Shiayar would have only scoffed at the elder’s musings.

If one could get stronger by relying on luck, who would want to struggle and defy fate through their own efforts?

Aren’t we all just forced into it by life?

These days, everyone complains about those who flaunt their incredible luck, yet everyone secretly wishes they were that lucky.

He stepped into the gap in the magical formation, quietly initiating "Moon Reading" on himself.

I’m not unlucky; I’m an extremely lucky guy.

I am an extremely lucky guy.

The self-hypnosis gradually took effect, bolstering Shiayar’s murmurs with greater conviction.

That’s right, I am an extremely lucky guy!

May the gacha gods bless me! Let my 3rd Soul Pact be an SSR!