Hate me, Miss Witch!
Chapter 50 - 40: The Qualifications of a Successful King (Two in One)_2

Chapter 50: Chapter 40: The Qualifications of a Successful King (Two in One)_2

As for Pet Beast skills, ’Elementalization’ and ’Rapid Healing’ (the lower-rank skill of ’High-Speed Regeneration’) were naturally expected.

Slash and Elements Fluctuation were standard damage-dealing skills in the magical and physical domains, respectively. Their status was akin to the ’Fireball Technique’ for mages in traditional Western fantasy novels—nothing special, but universally known.

The two subsequent High Order skills, ’Metal Strengthening’ and ’Super Hardening,’ on the other hand, indicated that this particular Silver Spirit’s growth was more inclined towards physical combat. Both skills were trump cards in close-quarters combat.

All in all, this was a very standard front-line fighter, a benchmark for its role, perfectly meeting Shiayar’s requirement for his 3rd Soul Pact to bolster his direct combat capabilities.

However—it still feels a bit too standard.

Not weak, but it lacks uniqueness, seeming somewhat out of sync with the individually exceptional style of my own Pet Beasts.

When the time comes for a group fight, the little white ferret will don a long robe embroidered with red clouds on a black background, Shiny will wear a divine robe patterned with the fourth generation’s emblem, but the new Pet Beast wouldn’t even know what to wear.

Shiayar silently added the Silver Spirit before him to his backup list and then looked towards the other Silver Spirits.

"Growth period, Level 28, specialized in spellcasting... possesses the same High Order damage skill ’Silver Meteor’ as the Sovereign-to-be Silver Spirit he had seen with the examining Elder."

Not bad, but it doesn’t meet my requirement for the 3rd Soul Pact. If it’s just a pure magic artillery, its role would pretty much overlap with Silver.

"Juvenile stage, Level 19, specialized in perception, with the High Order passive skill ’Omen,’ able to sporadically receive premonitions from the Astral Realm. The content of the Omen was random; in other words, whether it was good or bad was entirely up to luck..."

If I were truly an extremely lucky guy, I might have chosen it. Who knows? Maybe through an Omen, I could have found some 6th or 7th Order Extraordinary material and achieved financial freedom overnight.

Too bad. No matter how many times I used Moon Reading to delude myself, I was still painfully aware of my rotten luck...

Shiayar, keenly aware of his usual bad luck, mentally passed on this option.

He traveled down the valley and, along the way, saw many Silver Spirits in their juvenile or growth stages, suitable for forming a pact.

But overall, none particularly dazzled Shiayar or caught his eye.

Looking around, it seems the most suitable one for me is still the first Silver Spirit I saw.

I just don’t know if it would reject me because I treated it as a backup.

Just as Shiayar stretched lazily, walking down the valley and preparing to turn back to find the first Silver Spirit to form a pact with, his gaze suddenly paused.

From a not-so-distant slope came a faint clanging sound.

Shiayar followed the slope down into a dense forest.

In the clearing before him, a petite Silver Spirit was swinging something at a huge metal ore.

The blade clashed with the hard black iron ore, producing a resonant clang and sending sparks flying.

Only when Shiayar stood still at the bottom of the slope did he notice the differences between this little silver spirit and the other Silver Spirits he had seen.

For Element lifeforms, permanent disabilities shouldn’t exist; injuries typically healed with time and energy. Yet, for some unknown reason, this little silver spirit’s left arm was eerily missing.

A dim yellow glow lingered around the stump. It seemed some unidentifiable, corrupt power had infiltrated the wound on its left shoulder, preventing the regeneration of its silver elements.

What caught his attention the most, however, was the body of this little silver spirit.

While all Silver Spirits typically boasted pure and beautiful, bright silver bodies, this particular little silver spirit’s entire form was stained with a hue like fresh blood.

Even the sword on its right arm, formed of flowing metal, was permeated with Crimson Blood, each swing casting a red gleam.

Compared to its kin, the favored children of nature and the Elements, this crimson little Silver Spirit no longer appeared pure and flawless. Instead, it carried a hint of corrupt, eerie otherworldliness.

In Shiayar’s mind, lines of information, starkly different from before, emerged.

[Species Name: Silver Spirit (Twilight Corrosion State)]

[Category: Abyss Species, Contaminated Species]

[Attribute: Metal, Darkness, Sword]

[Stage: Juvenile]

[Soul Pact Status: None]

[Combat Level: 7 (1st Order)]

[Species Rank: High-Level Sovereign (4th Order)]

[Pet Beast Skills: Blood of Filth (Beginner), Dark Descendant (Beginner), Slash (Extraordinary), Sword Bone (Expert), Blood Incineration (Expert), Heart of the Tyrant (Beginner)]

A Silver Spirit with a Combat Level of only seven.

As a High-Level Sovereign species, even a newly born Silver Spirit would typically possess at least an Awakening Rank combat level. The little silver spirit before him could be considered an extreme outlier.

This implied that the so-called "Twilight Corrosion State" was clearly not a beneficial mutation. That corrupting aura severely restricted the crimson Silver Spirit’s growth.

What startled Shiayar even more was the "Extraordinary" proficiency level indicated after the "Slash" skill.

This was the first time Shiayar had seen a skill on a wild, uncontracted Pet Beast that surpassed "Perfection" to reach "Extraordinary" proficiency.

Although "Slash" was a low-rank skill and relatively easier to improve, reaching such a proficiency level still required an unimaginable amount of training.

Previously, Shiayar had spent five whole years just to raise Silver’s "Bewitchment" skill to "Perfection" to help Silver develop Moon Reading. Even then, the final push to mastery had relied on the system’s assistance.

Moreover, this little silver spirit had achieved this without a Beastmaster’s supervision or assistance, let alone the aid of Extraordinary materials—purely through its own perseverance.

The little crimson Silver Spirit hadn’t noticed Shiayar’s arrival.

It simply continued to slash at the huge metal ore. Amidst the scattering sparks, a clear gash slowly emerged on the ore’s surface.

This wasn’t a momentary whim but a routine practiced day after day, year after year.

Only through such dedication could it elevate the most common, and often most overlooked skill, "Slash," to such a height.

Quite interesting.

Shiayar’s gaze rested upon the little sword-wielding Silver Spirit. He didn’t disturb it, merely continuing to examine the little silver spirit’s skill panel.

[Blood of Filth]

[Attributes: Abyss, Curse]

[Rank: High Order]

[Proficiency: Beginner (0/100)]

[Skill Description: The Element body is eroded by a higher-dimensional power of filth. Consequently, it loses racial traits such as Elementalization and Element affinity. The left arm, damaged by the Twilight’s Curse, is also unable to self-heal.]

[Dark Descendant]

[Attributes: Abyss, Curse]

[Rank: High Order]

[Proficiency: Beginner (0/100)]

[Skill Description: The flesh and Soul are corrupted together. Once fallen, it will lose its self-identity and become an Apostle of the Abyss.]

[Sword Bone]

[Attributes: Metal]

[Rank: High Order]

[Proficiency: Expert (1,193/10,000)]

[Skill Description: After countless sword swings, the mental image of "Sword" has been seared into its very Origin.]

[Blood Incineration]

[Attributes: Mental]

[Rank: High Order]

[Proficiency: Expert (3,018/10,000)]

[Skill Description: Burn the body, incinerate the mind, and use the Soul as fuel to drastically enhance all attributes for a short period.]

As for "Heart of the Tyrant," the final skill listed, its description was just a short line of text:

[The potential to become Sovereign]