Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 4: Who Doesn’t Know How to Stack Boxes?

The searing shockwave, formed purely from light and heat, surged upward, sweeping through everything within the Lingering Dream illusion.

Even the illusion itself began to waver. Anlina Tazera’s delicate face turned deathly pale, drained of all color. She had to concentrate every ounce of her mental strength just to barely suppress the impending collapse of the illusion.

Within the Lingering Dream illusion, as the master of the Nightmare Butterfly, she theoretically held godlike control. However, this ability was far from flawless.

A well-known Beastmaster theorist once proposed:

"There are no useless beasts, only useless Beastmasters."

Of course, this so-called theorist had been stuck at Tier 2 his entire life and died in obscurity. Most of his theories were later debunked as complete nonsense—a glorified motivational speech disguised as wisdom.

After all, high-tier beasts could absolutely crush lower-tier ones. If you didn’t believe it, why not let an Awakening-Tier Bobo Bird take on an Emperor-Tier Red Dragon Hatchling and see what happens?

That said, he wasn’t entirely wrong. Even the most powerful beasts had weaknesses and limitations.

And at Mid-Tier Beastmaster level, Anlina's Nightmare Butterfly was far from invincible.

The Lingering Dream illusion was indeed eerie and formidable, but the nightmare projections within it drained Anlina’s own mental strength to sustain.

Especially when the projections materialized into something whose nature and structure were beyond her comprehension, her mental exhaustion increased dramatically.

In just this short period, she was already nearing the limits of her endurance.

"But this… this must be your final struggle."

Anlina’s pale face was fixed on Xia Ya, who stood in the distance, hands casually tucked into his pockets.

He didn’t seem to show any outward reaction.

However, to construct such a complex and incomprehensible illusion, his mental energy must have been consumed at an extreme rate—he was surely just barely holding on.

And for a Beastmaster, whose power was rooted in the soul, once their mental energy was fully depleted, they were no different from a lamb waiting for slaughter.

She just needed to hold out a little longer—just a little more, and his mental strength would be completely drained.

Then, it would be time to feast on his soul.

That thought alone sent a faint blush back to her drained face.

Within the Mental Illusion, she could already perceive the faint ripples of Xia Ya’s soul.

So pure. So pristine. Unfathomably deep and mysterious.

Compared to the ordinary prey she had hunted before—mere homely dishes thrown together in a hurry—Xia Ya felt like the crown jewel of a grand imperial feast, exuding an irresistible fragrance.

And that was only natural.

A genius Beastmaster from Saint Roland Academy in the Imperial Capital—his soul quality was leagues above that of some backwater Apprentice Beastmaster.

Perhaps, if she completely devoured him, her Nightmare Butterfly could even trigger its next evolution.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, Anlina noticed a shift in the illusion.

The previously flickering and distorted nightmare projections began to solidify into something clear and structured.

Towering cities rose from the ground, their buildings forming a magnificent metropolis.

Strangely enough, Anlina felt an odd sense of familiarity.

It looked almost like… the Imperial Capital she had visited as a child.

But why?

The Lingering Dream illusion manifested a target’s deepest fears—the things they perceived as the most powerful and terrifying.

Based on her past experiences with "Lingering Dream", the nightmares her victims produced were almost always the same: dragons of slightly different scale patterns, Silvermoon Demon Wolves, Abyssal Giants, or Ancient Beasts of the Starry Sky—all infamous apex predators.

Xia Ya’s initial illusion, she could somewhat understand—perhaps some experimental suicide-bomber mechanical beast developed by the Steam Faction in Knowledge City.

But why would he fear a city?

At that moment, the illusion began to change again.

The perspective zoomed out.

The once-majestic city shrank rapidly. From dominating half the illusion’s space, it was now a mere pinpoint.

In its place appeared an expansive, earth-toned plain, dotted with scattered city-states and minor kingdoms, resembling miniature models.

A map… of the continent?

Anlina’s pupils contracted.

But the illusion didn’t stop.

The perspective continued pulling back.

Soon, a vast blue sphere filled her vision, with oceans covering most of its surface. The continent she had seen earlier was now just a small patch of land.

And far beyond the blue planet, a colossal, fiery sphere burned against the void.

Anlina’s pupils shrank even further.

Although she was merely the lowest rank of Hereditary Baron, she was still an Imperial Noble. She had access to information that commoners could never dream of.

This scene—

It reminded her of a rumor.

A theory that had emerged a few months ago in Knowledge City, quietly circulating among the nobility, causing a storm in academic circles—

"The land beneath our feet may not be flat, but a vast, unimaginable sphere."

"And our world does not revolve around us—but around the blazing sun."

It was nothing more than whispered speculation.

Yet Xia Ya not only understood it—he could visualize it in stunning clarity.

Could he be connected to Knowledge City? To the Steam Faction?

Before she could process the implications, the illusion shifted again.

The sun—once an overwhelming presence in the sky—began to shrink.

In mere moments, it became a tiny speck of light.

And next to it—millions of similar specks, gently drifting through the endless void.

Then—

A massive hand reached from the darkness, grasping the entire starlit cosmos.

And gently placed it onto a chessboard.

Around it—countless other chess pieces, each made from an entire universe.

"Pfft—!"

Anlina coughed up a mouthful of blood, her face frozen in shock.

The entire illusion shattered.

In an instant, the Lingering Dream crumbled into a million crystalline fragments.

"That’s it? You’re done already?"

Xia Ya let out a regretful sigh, watching the illusion disintegrate.

"And here I was, ready to stack even more boxes."

If Anlina had held on a bit longer, he had already planned his next moves—

After all, a universe filled with countless stars? That was just a Lesser World.

Three thousand Lesser Worlds formed a Medium World.

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Three thousand Medium Worlds formed a Greater World.

And an immeasurable number of Greater Worlds made up the Boundless Pure Lands.

If you really wanted to strike fear into a transmigrator, you had to bring out the Lord of the Boundless Pure Lands—now that was a real nightmare.

But alas, for a minor noble girl from some border town, her imagination had already collapsed at the concept of a planet and a sun.

Her downfall was swift and absolute.

As the illusion vanished, reality returned—the dim ceiling of the manor and the dusky sky outside the window.

Not far away, Anlina lay sprawled on the ground, completely drained of mental energy.

Beside her, the pitch-black Nightmare Butterfly had also fallen, twitching slightly.

Their expressions?

A perfect ahegao.