Hate Me, Miss Witch!

"While completing the second-class wanted fugitive capture, you perfectly secured the evidence and avoided any casualties among innocent bystanders."

"With this accomplishment, your cumulative merit in the Bureau is enough for you to qualify for a knighthood or, after graduating from Saint Roland Academy, to directly become an executive officer in the Bureau, with a rank equal to mine."

In the Reza branch of the Bureau, a middle-aged officer in a black cloak gazed at the document in his hands, slightly surprised as he examined the young man before him.

In this world, extraordinary beings and Beastmasters with unusual powers existed. The profession of Beastmaster, in particular, required immense soul talent. As such, institutions like the Church, the noble families, and the Bureau all had a high demand for fresh young Beastmasters.

Of course, as a government body directly affiliated with the Empire, the Bureau had much higher standards for talent compared to the young people who had been deceived by Anlina earlier. Those individuals, who were so easily manipulated, didn't even qualify to serve as errand boys fetching tea in the Bureau.

The Bureau would occasionally grant some senior students from extraordinary academies access to bounty tasks, not because they were short-handed, but as a means to filter and select future talents and reserve personnel.

Undoubtedly, the young man named Xaya, standing before him, was an undeniable talent. Within less than a year of arriving in Reza from the capital, he had completed almost all high-level bounty tasks at an alarming rate. Even some long-forgotten cases had been cleared, allowing the Bureau staff to enjoy a period of relaxation.

However, the officer's veiled recruitment attempt didn't yield the expected response.

The knighthood or military rank that would have seemed incredibly attractive to most commoner students now lost its usual appeal.

"I don't need the knighthood or military rank," Xaya said calmly. "I'd prefer to use my accumulated merit in the Bureau to exchange for the purchasing rights for a fourth-tier extraordinary resource."

Xaya's voice was composed. While military rank and noble titles in the Empire held value, he had already planned his own path. The final piece of the plan was now in motion.

Gray-White Hills.

This place was several hundred miles from Reza, very close to the border of the Freesta Empire. The surrounding area was barren and uninhabited, bordered by the Golden Plains, which were home to imperial beast kings and vast herds of beasts, making this a true no-man's land.

Given these factors, Xaya had easily secured the excavation rights to Gray-White Hills after providing enough political contributions to the officials in Reza.

A remote, unwanted region had now turned into a source of solid gold, all in exchange for a pile of glistening Rhine gold coins. Why not?

Of course, if not for the system's guidance, which clearly indicated that this was the location for Xaya's starter mission, he might have agreed with the officials' assessment.

But right now, perhaps only he knew the truth.

Over five hundred years ago, this barren Gray-White Hills was once the capital of the Cangting Duchy.

Xaya moved through the dense underbrush, Silver, his snow ferret, crouched on his shoulder. Silver's left eye, gleaming like crystal, held silver moon and blood-red crescent-shaped patterns, slowly spinning.

Around Xaya, ordinary beasts from the ordinary tier passed by, but under Silver's illusionary magic, they remained oblivious, brushing past without noticing anything unusual.

[Successfully completed a skill use, skill proficiency increased by three points.]

["Silver's" illusion skill "Tsukuyomi" proficiency has broken through and upgraded from "Proficient" to "Perfect".]

["Silver's" battle level has increased, current battle level: 28 (Extraordinary Tier).]

As the light in Silver's eyes flickered once more, a blue glow appeared in Xaya's mind.

"Has it finally broken through?"

"It seems that fighting the Nightmare Butterfly, which also specializes in illusion magic, really helped improve Silver's skill proficiency."

Xaya muttered to himself. His mind shifted slightly, and in the next moment, the light in his mind changed.

[Name: Silver]

[Species: Snow Ferret]

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

[Battle Level: 28 (Second-tier)]

[Species Level: High Commander (Third-tier)]

[Beastmaster Skills: Hunting Rhythm (Proficient), Rending Claws (Novice), Ice Blade (Proficient), Charm (Transcendent), Tsukuyomi (Perfect)]

Silver, the Snow Ferret, was Xaya's first soul-bound beast, with whom he signed a soul bond when it was still a newborn cub.

According to standard practice, as a High Commander-tier Snow Ferret, it would generally focus on strengthening physical skills like "Hunting Rhythm" and "Rending Claws," walking the agile assassin path. Alternatively, it could enhance its elemental skills like "Ice Blade" to become a powerful ice-element artillery.

"Charm," a lower-tier illusion skill that could reduce the enemy's wariness and hostility by charming them, was intended for support and buffing.

However, since Xaya was a transmigrator and had the system, despite its unreliability, he wasn't going to let Silver follow a predictable, limited path.

Using Silver's high proficiency in "Charm," Xaya created a high-level illusion skill, "Tsukuyomi," which would be Silver's evolution route.

Since Snow Ferrets were members of the Mustelidae family, it made sense that one could learn "Tsukuyomi."

As for the outcome of this unconventional path—well, among his classmates at Saint Roland Academy, even those from noble families with low-tier royal beast species often found themselves losing to Silver.

Xaya's footsteps paused for a moment, halting his wandering thoughts.

He pushed aside the dense foliage, and suddenly, the landscape before him opened up.

The dim forest disappeared, replaced by an open plain.

The previously dense forest had been cleared, and beneath the flat ground, there were numerous excavated pits.

In these pits, there were several decayed, gray-white ruins of buildings.

Though the bricks that made up the architectural structures had long since weathered and rotted, Xaya could still imagine the grandeur and magnificence of the buildings when they were intact.

Just at that moment, the cold, mechanical sound of the system echoed in Xaya's mind.

[Target location reached, mission progress panel activated.]

[Starter Mission: Make the naive and innocent daughter of Duke Cangting, Sylvia Brunestadt experience the betrayal of her loved ones, leading to her transformation and rebirth in pain and despair.]

[Current Mission Progress:

Arrived at the site of Cangting Duchy (Completed)

Became a member of the Cangting Duchy's ducal family (Completed)

Increased Sylvia's favorability to over 30 points (Not completed)]**