Girin caught the scent of the wild ginseng and began to devour it with waguwagu.

It seemed to suit its palate, as it focused entirely on its meal, even swaying its tail salrangsalrang.

In the blink of an eye, 1,000 Spirit Jade vanished right before his eyes.

‘I managed to hatch it, but I need to make it grow as well.’

Seo Kangrim brought up Girin’s Fortune Window once more.

═══════════════

[Name] Girin (Infant Stage)

[Rank] Third Ghost Grade

[Description] A spirit beast born from the Harmony of Five Elements. In exchange for being unable to kill living things, it possesses the ability to purify impurities.

[Special Ability] Purification (Third Dragon Grade), Harmony of Five Elements (Third Dragon Grade), Sky Walking (Third Ghost Grade)

═══════════════

Its grade was Third Ghost Grade, and it had quite a decent set of special abilities.

It was the ultimate support spirit beast, but its drawback was its negligible combat capability.

‘Since it refuses to harm living things, I won’t expect it to participate in attacks.’

Instead, he needed to raise it to a level where it could provide support from the sidelines.

Among its various abilities, the one Seo Kangrim was keeping a close eye on was ‘Harmony of Five Elements’.

═══════════════

[Special Ability] Harmony of Five Elements

[Rank] Third Dragon Grade

[Description] Possesses all attributes of the Five Elements. Grants attribute bonuses to all special abilities without receiving any penalties. Can also be applied to targets other than the user.

═══════════════

‘Harmony of Five Elements’ was an ability that amplified the effects of special abilities.

Furthermore, it could be used not only on itself but also on allies it recognized as companions.

There was another distinct characteristic as well.

‘The kirin can possess special abilities of any attribute.’

Most spirit beasts possessed only a single Five Elements attribute.

For example, the Vermilion Bird possessed the fire attribute, making it impossible for it to acquire abilities of other attributes.

Even if it somehow managed to acquire an ability of an opposing attribute, its potency would be drastically reduced.

However, the kirin had no such restrictions.

‘If I want to put it to good use, I need to feed it well first.’

Unaware of Seo Kangrim’s thoughts, Girin was enthusiastically devouring the Wild Ginseng Jeonggwa.

[‘Girin’ has consumed ‘Wild Ginseng Jeonggwa’!]

[Experience points have increased!]

[‘Girin’ has consumed ‘Wild Ginseng Jeonggwa’!]

[Experience points have incr…]

The messages notifying him of the experience point increase continued for a while.

Finally, a new notification window popped up before Seo Kangrim’s eyes.

[‘Girin’ has grown to ‘Second Ghost Grade’!]

[Acquired the special ability ‘Water Catching’!]

‘It finally grew.’

He received the message about its grade increasing only after it had eaten over three packs of Wild Ginseng Jeonggwa.

Unlike humans, spirit beasts could increase their Fate Rank.

With its belly round and full, Girin had rolled over onto its back to rest.

‘I guess since it’s a Third Ghost Grade, it requires a lot of experience points.’

It was one of the downsides of a high grade, but it was still better than having a low one.

‘And the newly acquired ability looks pretty good, too?’

═══════════════

[Special Ability] Water Catching

[Rank] Second Ghost Grade

[Description] Grants freedom of movement in water and allows the user to manipulate water freely.

═══════════════

The description of being able to manipulate water freely didn’t quite click with him just yet.

Seo Kangrim spoke to Girin, who was lying down.

“Hey, try using Water Catching right now.”

“Uung…”

[The special ability ‘Water Catching’ is activating!]

Girin squirmed around as it activated the ability.

Moisture from the surroundings gathered, forming a massive sphere of water in midair.

It took a shape very similar to a Water Bullet.

Seo Kangrim pointed at a chair sitting in the corner of the room.

“Fire it at that.”

“Ung…”

“Just think of it as cleaning with water.”

Since Girin disliked destruction, it showed brief hesitation.

However, once he offered cleaning as an excuse, Girin quietly stood up and stared at the chair.

And at that moment.

-Kwagwang!

Along with an ear-splitting roar, water droplets rained down in all directions.

Not only the chair but the wall itself was blown away, leaving the adjacent room in full view.

‘I think the next room was Choi Sangwon’s.’

Fortunately, Choi Sangwon seemed to be out.

Seeing the wide-open view, Girin jumped in surprise.

Then, as if protesting, it headbutted Seo Kangrim.

“Ung, ung!”

“I got it. I got it. I won’t make you attack.”

Only after hearing those words did Girin stop headbutting him, though it still looked sullen.

Seo Kangrim silently stared at the ruined room.

‘Since it has a base grade, the ability’s effect is excellent. With this level of power, it’ll be outstanding for defense as well.’

And this was the effect of an ability it had just acquired.

Just how strong would it become if he made it grow even more?

-Tok tok

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Seo Kangrim fell silent for a moment before whispering to Girin.

“Go back to the Spirit Realm for now.”

“Uung…!”

Girin hastily fled back to the Spirit Realm as if running away.

Only after confirming that Girin had completely disappeared did Seo Kangrim open the door.

He assumed the owner of the adjacent room had come to complain.

However, the person standing outside was an unexpected figure.

“Death Messenger Ahn Nabi, what brings you here?”

The person standing at the door was Ahn Nabi.

She gave a slight nod before speaking in a businesslike tone.

“Hello, Mr. Seo Kangrim. I visited because I heard an explosion from your room, but…”

Ahn Nabi glanced inside the room.

The wall had collapsed, instantly making the room twice as large.

Seo Kangrim spoke as if making an excuse.

“I apologize. It was an accident while I was training.”

“If that’s the case, could you please use the training hall? …Since it’s been wrecked like this, I’ll have to assign you to a different room.”

Ahn Nabi took out a terminal and began recording something.

As Seo Kangrim silently watched her do so.

Ahn Nabi asked in an offhand tone.

“By any chance, were you experimenting with your spirit beast’s ability?”

At those words, Seo Kangrim fell silent for a moment.

He had intended to play dumb, but Ahn Nabi seemed convinced of it.

If she already knew, there was no point in lying.

“Yes. It’s resting in the Spirit Realm right now.”

“I’d like to take a look at it. Could you summon it for me?”

“I can do that.”

As Seo Kangrim issued the summoning command, specks of light began to gather within the room.

A moment later, Girin appeared right where it had vanished moments ago.

Girin, having wrecked the room, was now trembling.

Seeing the kirin in person, Ahn Nabi was inwardly shocked.

‘It’s a real kirin? How in the world…?’

The kirin, a spirit beast that was considered nearly impossible to exist.

Even when she heard that Seo Kangrim had acquired a kirin, she hadn’t believed it.

She had been certain he must have mistaken a deer spirit beast for one, but it was a genuine kirin.

‘Seo Kangrim… this man. Just what is his true identity…?’

She had only thought of him as a strong and wise training cadet, but he was accomplishing astonishing feats every single time.

Ahn Nabi struggled to suppress her astonishment as she asked.

“This spirit beast is a kirin. I heard they are born exceedingly rarely. By any chance, how did you hatch it?”

“An unfamiliar god taught me the method.”

Of course, no such god existed.

It was merely a method he had discovered in his past life.

To be precise, it was information Shin Sooa had shared with him.

[Ms. Shin Sooa, isn’t the method to hatch a kirin exclusively held by the Flying Tiger Sect? And only by the executives, at that?]

[Yes. That’s right.]

[Then why are you sharing it with me? I’m not exactly an executive.]

[It’s just that you’re refusing the executive position, aren’t you? You are an important figure to the Flying Tiger Sect.]

Saying that, Shin Sooa would often share other crucial pieces of information with Seo Kangrim as well.

Seo Kangrim had tried to avoid accepting them as much as possible, though.

At that moment, Ahn Nabi asked.

“A god taught you, you say… Have you received a Divine Descent?”

“No. I haven’t undergone a Divine Descent yet. The god only sent me messages.”

“And how did you come to acquire the egg?”

“That was also through a god…”

Ahn Nabi said nothing further.

She fell into deep thought for a moment.

‘If it’s a god that knows the method to hatch a kirin, it must be a remarkably powerful deity… Is the reason for not performing a Divine Descent because they’re still observing him?’

It was difficult to fathom why Seo Kangrim, who held an Insect Grade fate, would receive such profound divine protection.

It seemed there was something about Seo Kangrim that she couldn’t quite grasp.

Seo Kangrim asked Ahn Nabi, who was lost in thought.

“Then, is your business here concluded?”

Ahn Nabi shook her head at his question.

“No. I have other matters to discuss with you. Do you have any plans after this?”

“I don’t have any particular plans today.”

“That’s a relief. Please follow me. Team Leader Gongju has summoned you, Mr. Seo Kangrim.”

At the mention of Team Leader Gongju summoning him, Seo Kangrim’s eyes widened slightly.

She had sent a message last time, but he hadn’t expected to meet her in person.

Seo Kangrim briefly assessed the situation before quickly sending Girin back to the Spirit Realm.

“Girin is still exhausted, so it seems it will be difficult to bring it along.”

“…Is that so.”

Ahn Nabi looked disappointed, but she didn’t press the issue any further.

She asked him to wait for a moment, then took something out of her pocket and activated it.

With that, she lightly grabbed Seo Kangrim’s arm.

“We will be moving now.”

[Seo Kangrim, confirming movement with Ahn Nabi!]

-Wiiing…!

As soon as she finished speaking, Seo Kangrim felt the ground beneath his feet sway.

Just as he tried to regain his balance.

The scenery before his eyes had completely changed in an instant.

He surveyed his surroundings and asked.

“Where is this? Have we left the Education Facility?”

“Not exactly. The Fate Protection Bureau building and the Education Facility are connected, so…”

The Fate Protection Bureau building.

A flash of surprise crossed Seo Kangrim’s eyes at those words.

At first glance, he had thought it was an ordinary corporate building, but it was actually the Fate Protection Bureau.

‘To think I’d end up infiltrating the Fate Protection Bureau headquarters.’

Strangely enough, Seo Kangrim felt a sense of tension.

For some unknown reason, he felt as though he had stepped into enemy territory.

‘I thought that if Baekyoung was hiding somewhere, it was highly likely to be the Fate Protection Bureau.’

The Death Messengers of the Fate Protection Bureau concealed their identities.

With that in mind, he had kept the possibility that Baekyoung was also a Death Messenger in his thoughts, so entering the Bureau’s headquarters naturally made him tense.

At the same time, Seo Kangrim’s eyes gleamed sharply.

‘Since I’ve made it in here, I need to extract as much information as possible.’