A pond about 100 ters in diater.
Right now, a human and dozens of beasts were in it together.
Shaaah—
A white tiger, a black bear, a gray wolf, a hippopotamus, and more.
Each one exuded an overwhelming presence that made it impossible to dismiss them as re animals.
Among them, the one with the most intense presence, the white tiger, pressed its massive body against the human at the center—Cha Hyeon-seung.
The scene looked almost like that of a giant cat demanding affection.
Cha Hyeon-seung effortlessly accepted the affection of the massive beast, which weighed well over 300 kilograms, and stroked its head.
The white tiger let out a low purr, clearly enjoying his touch.
Grrrng!
‘More! More!’
Because of his ability to communicate, Cha Hyeon-seung could understand the white tiger’s words perfectly.
"Yeah, yeah. Baekseol, you worked the hardest."
Likewise, understanding his intent was not difficult for the white tiger—no, for Baekseol.
Grrrrng!
‘Praise more!’
He had to enjoy this mont as much as possible while he could.
After all, this sweet respite was hard-earned, a reward after weeks of relentless labor.
Then, suddenly—
Swish—
The air around the pavilion at one side of the pond warped, and a man appeared.
The mont Baekseol recognized the man’s face, her expression stiffened.
"Cha Hyeon-seung."
Hearing the voice, Cha Hyeon-seung responded.
"Jaehyun-nim?"
"May I have a mont of your ti?"
"Of course."
Without a mont's hesitation, Cha Hyeon-seung started to rise from the pond, but Kim Jae-hyun stopped him.
"It's fine. You can stay where you are."
Baekseol, still in the pond, glared up at the man in the pavilion with displeasure.
She could understand it—
The overwhelming presence radiating from Kim Jae-hyun, the power he had displayed at their first eting, the instinctive recognition of an absolute difference in strength.
She had to admit that the man was strong.
But did that really an he had to lower himself this much?
After all, Cha Hyeon-seung was the leader of their pack.
To see him react this way—it was unacceptable.
Krung!
‘I don’t like this.’
Even so, she knew—no matter how displeased she was, she could not openly object to a decision made by their leader.
Throwing a tantrum here would only make Cha Hyeon-seung look weak.
So she had no choice but to endure it, to listen in silence to their conversation.
Krrrr...
‘Is another grueling campaign starting again...?’
Every ti he t with Kim Jae-hyun, a relentless monster hunt soon followed.
She had expected the sa this ti.
But the words that ca out of his mouth were completely different from what she had anticipated.
"Have you ever heard of vassals?"
"Aren’t they the people you have personally empowered?"
"That’s right. However, contrary to common misconceptions, I don’t grant abilities myself. Rather, I forcibly awaken a person’s latent potential."
"...Then, what happens if soone already has an ability?"
"Usually, their ability is strengthened, or they gain a new, related one."
Kim Jae-hyun continued, explaining the various benefits, rights, and duties of vassals.
"I’m always grateful to my vassals."
"...The fact that you’ve co to tell this personally—does that an you want to recruit ?"
Kim Jae-hyun nodded.
"That’s right. Your strength would be a great help. Will you beco my vassal?"
A vassal.
Because she was ntally linked to Cha Hyeon-seung, Baekseol imdiately understood the aning behind the offer.
He was asking Cha Hyeon-seung to co under him.
Click!
‘Ha!’
It was an absurd proposition.
Cha Hyeon-seung was the leader of an entire pack. There was no way he would accept becoming subordinate to soone else...
"I accept."
...What?
"When I felt that monster passing over the barrier during the snowstorm, I was certain. If I want to protect myself and those around , I have to beco stronger. Just as you’ll be using , I’ll be using your power as well."
"That’s reassuring."
...What??
Baekseol struggled to process what was happening.
And she wasn’t the only one. Every beast in the lake that had been eavesdropping on their conversation wore a similar expression.
K-Kaang!
‘N-No way!’
This was different from simply helping with monster hunting.
But before Baekseol could even attempt to stop him—
Wuuuung
A mysterious light appeared and seeped into Cha Hyeon-seung’s body.
Then—
Fwaaaaah—!
A powerful burst of light exploded from him, spreading in all directions.
Baekseol, who had been pressed closely against his body, was caught in the sudden outburst without warning.
And in that instant—
Pain.
Unbearable, excruciating pain flooded her entire body.
‘!!!’
The shock was so intense that she couldn’t even scream.
It felt as though every muscle and bone in her body was twisting and tearing apart.
Fortunately, the tornt lasted only for a brief mont.
But the real problem was—
Her body wasn’t responding.
She couldn’t even move a single claw.
The paralysis only lasted for a short while, but when she finally regained control, she imdiately saw Cha Hyeon-seung’s face.
And at that mont, she completely forgot about her own body as she demanded answers.
"Why did you do that, nya! Why did you throw away your freedom and submit to that man, nya?!"
In her outburst, Baekseol didn’t even realize that she was speaking in human language.
It was only when she felt Cha Hyeon-seung’s body suddenly stiffen in an awkward manner that she noticed sothing was strange.
And then she recalled the pain she had just endured.
A new worry arose in her heart.
"Are you in pain, nya?"
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Baekseol licked Cha Hyeon-seung’s cheek.
"Uh...!"
Cha Hyeon-seung flinched, then went completely rigid again.
His reaction was clearly unnatural, and Baekseol’s concern deepened.
"Is the pain still lingering, nya? Snap out of it!"
And then—
From the pavilion above, Kim Jae-hyun’s voice rang out.
"I didn't expect the ability enhancent to lead to this result. But more importantly... I never would have guessed that all of your closest subordinates were female."
Baekseol turned her head sharply at Kim Jae-hyun’s strange remark, ready to lash out at him.
She wanted him to fix Cha Hyeon-seung imdiately.
She feared Kim Jae-hyun, but not enough to let him ss with Cha Hyeon-seung without consequences.
However, the mont she looked away from Cha Hyeon-seung, she noticed sothing strange.
"...Huh?"
The comrades who were supposed to be in the pond were nowhere to be seen.
Instead, the entire area was filled with unfamiliar human won.
"Who are you, nya?!"
At first, she thought it was a group following Kim Jae-hyun, surrounding them.
"What did you do to my people, nya?!"
But then—she realized sothing was off.
A strange sense of connection was radiating from those won.
It was sothing she had only ever felt from her comrades.
And more than that—
‘What the hell?’
Their appearances felt slightly unnatural.
They didn’t look like normal humans.
So had beast ears perched atop their heads, tails swaying behind them, or even wings extending from their backs.
And most importantly—their scent was overwhelmingly familiar.
"Y-you guys..."
The scent coming from these unfamiliar won—was undeniably her comrades' scent.
It was only then that Baekseol realized sothing had changed about her as well.
"...Wait, why am I...?"
Why was she speaking in human language?
She looked down at herself, finally taking in her own body.
The soft, white fur she had always taken pride in—was gone.
In its place was smooth, porcelain-like skin.
And where her muscular chest used to be, two strange lumps of fat had taken their place.
Like a human.
"W-what the hell is this nyaaaang?!"
Baekseol shot to her feet, furiously glaring at the one responsible for all of this.
"What did you do, nya?! Turn us back right now, nya!"
Kim Jae-hyun rely smiled and replied,
"Are you sure about that?"
Baekseol, caught off guard by his confident deanor, hesitated.
"W-what do you an, nya...?"
"Right now, there are a lot of things you can do. Are you really willing to throw all of that away?"
"...A lot of things?"
"If you're in a human form, there are plenty of experiences you can share. Besides, you can return to your previous form at any ti just by willing it. And also..."
A lot of things.
After that single phrase, everything else he said faded into the background.
Because one overwhelming thought had completely consud Baekseol's mind.
Right now, she was in the sa form as Cha Hyeon-seung.
Which ant—
‘We can mate now!’
Baekseol, having reached a conclusion, turned to Kim Jae-hyun and nodded with serious determination.
"I understand, nya!"
And then—she slowly turned back to face Cha Hyeon-seung.
Cha Hyeon-seung, who could ntally communicate with Baekseol, instantly read her intent through her gaze and rushed to stop her.
"B-Baekseol, wait—!"
"Hyun-seung! Give your seed!"
Before an inappropriate spectacle could unfold in broad daylight, I teleported away.
‘Beastkin, huh.’
Surprisingly, after becoming my vassal, the ones who had turned into beastkin had also gained citizenship.
And every single one of them had awakened into an ability user.
They had not only retained the ability to return to their original animal form at will, but they had also gained individual abilities suited to their unique traits.
‘This is an incredible power boost.’
Unfortunately, not all of the beasts under Cha Hyeon-seung’s command had been transford.
Only his closest subordinates who had been in the pond at the ti had beco beastkin.
But even that was a massive reinforcent.
‘Recruiting vassals is definitely worth considering more seriously.’
Every single one of the new beastkin had awakened abilities at least A-rank or higher.
Their loyalty and trust in were still low, but that was sothing that could be built over ti.
As I was contemplating how to utilize the beastkin—
[Aha, so here you were.]
The spirits had arrived.
"It’s been a while since all four of you ca together."
"Hello~"
"Sallion was being annoying again."
"Kuruk."
I turned to look at Sallion, who flickered with flas.
[Hmph. Don’t misunderstand. It’s not like I was concerned because you’ve been busy lately.]
If you know I’m busy, couldn’t you let it slide for a day?
‘The others skip days all the ti when they get distracted playing around.’
Sallion, however, always showed up at least once a day.
It seed like his way of caring, but honestly, it just made things harder for .
Still, as he flickered in front of , clearly expecting praise, he looked a little cute.
I reached out and lightly patted him.
"Thanks."
[H-hmph!]
At the sa ti, I began spreading the World Tree’s life force toward the Spirit Kings.
Wuuuung—
"Wow~"
"Yum~"
Water, fire, wind, earth.
The Spirit Kings happily feasted together, and then, for the first ti in a while—
A system notification appeared.
[Sallion’s level has increased.]
[The power of fire within your domain has increased by 100%.]
[Fire power has reached its maximum efficiency.]
Sallion had reached level 10.
Seeing that, I was once again reminded of just how easy it was to raise Kami.
That guy just stayed ho quietly and grew stronger on his own.
He didn’t even need to take care of him.
Just basking in sunlight was enough for his rapid growth.
‘Compared to that, raising spirits feels like babysitting.’
Honestly—it was a hassle.
But they were cute, and they had practical uses, so it was fine.
‘Especially Trowell, the Earth Spirit King. The stronger he gets, the faster the Seoul restoration project will progress.’
Among the Spirit Kings, Trowell was the one who visited the least.
As a result, he was only level 6, making him the lowest-leveled among them.
If Sallion kept dragging him over like this, at least his leveling speed would improve.
‘This should be enough for now.’
And then—
[Conditions have been t.]
[The Spirit Master class has been unlocked.]
A new class had been opened.
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