I’m the Only One Who Can’t See Ghosts

A few weeks had passed since Jamsuni started attending school.

At some point, Myeong-Myeong seemed to have lost its energy.

"Myeong-Myeong seems pretty lethargic these days."

"Myeong..."

I looked at Myeong-Myeong's food bowl, which was still half-full. For now, I had been feeding Myeong-Myeong dog food.

"Are you not actually a dog?"

"Myeong!"

I picked up Myeong-Myeong. It was the cute creature I brought from the lab after it had a dance battle with Kirieon.

How could I describe its appearance?

With its fluffy mane, it looked like a cartoonish lion, but when I touched the small horn-like bumps, it also kind of felt like a baby lamb.

But from a distance, it just looked like a puppy.

"Hmmm?"

What exactly is Myeong-Myeong?

A lion, lamb, or dog?

Carnivore, herbivore, omnivore?

"I've figured out what you are."

"Myeong?"

"You're probably a chobiom."

Chobiom, a term used to describe newly discovered creatures that appeared after the day of psychic awakening. They are creatures that can use supernatural powers, hence the name chobiom.

Wait, was it called that because they're supernatural beings? Or maybe it was because they're creatures that crossed dimensions? I remember something like that from when I worked a delivery job.

Anyway, chobioms were different from ordinary creatures.

So, their diet must be different too.

Then what on earth should I feed Myeong-Myeong?

I placed Myeong-Myeong on the bed and took a picture. I posted the photo on the Anomaly Response Headquarters website.

[Showing off my puppy.jpg]

I titled it like that and uploaded about ten carefully chosen photos of Myeong-Myeong. Jamsuni once told me that, according to some law, you must post at least ten pictures of cute creatures.

At the end of the post, I added, "So, what breed is this?"

The Anomaly Response Headquarters website is pretty quick with answers, so I expected to know soon.

[Site Admin]

[Response: That creature is a Haetae*.]

Haetae? You mean like the ones in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace?

I lifted Myeong-Myeong and said, "You're kind of a big deal, huh?"

"Myeong!"

"But why can I see you? Is it the same reason I can see the Ghost King?"

Joo-cheol had explained once.

Powerful spirit entities like the Ghost King or Demon Loads can create a physical form.

Could it be that Myeong-Myeong is also some kind of powerful being?

But that’s not the issue right now.

I typed another reply to the admin.

[What do Haetaes eat?]

[Response: Haetaes eat sins, they consume guilt.]

Sins? Guilt? How do I even feed that?

Does that mean they devour sinners or something?

"Do you eat people, by any chance?"

"Myeong-Myeong!"

"I'll take that as a no."

I asked the site administrator again.

[How exactly does it eat sins? Do they sell it like pet food?]

[Response: There’s no need to feed a Haetae anything specific. Since the world has already reached its end times, sins are overflowing. A Haetae can gain power just by breathing.]

Just by breathing?

But Myeong-Myeong still seemed weak.

At that moment, the admin posted a follow-up comment.

[However, the Haetae in your photos seems to be an immature specimen. In such cases, it’s necessary to use Sacred Blood to help strengthen it as a Haetae. This will likely allow it to grow up healthy.]

Sacred Blood?

The name alone sounded expensive.

I hurriedly typed another comment.

[How do I obtain Sacred Blood?]

[Response: You can acquire Sacred Blood by placing in the rankings of a tournament hosted by the Sega Union. The name of the tournament is the Sacred Blood Festival. Common folks often refer to it as the Familiar League.]

The Familiar League.

I had heard of it.

It’s a tournament where people battle using their familiars.

It’s one of those prestigious competitions hosted by the Sega Union, and while there aren’t any videos available, it occasionally makes the news. People who’ve attended say it’s quite fun to watch.

[Advice: The preliminary rounds for the Sacred Blood Festival begin next Monday. Sacred Blood will greatly benefit a young Haetae, so if you have the opportunity, I suggest you participate.]

That aside, Mr. Admin from the Anomaly Response Headquarters...

Aren’t you being a bit too kind?

[You always respond so kindly. Sniff, thank you, Sensei.]

[Confusion: It’s nothing. End of response.]

I put Myeong-Myeong down and started searching for information on the Sacred Blood Festival. It’s a competition where you fight using your own chobiom creatures.

No other supernatural powers are allowed except for familiars. They use talismans to strictly monitor this, so don’t even think about using any powers secretly.

I like that.

So, no psychic abilities allowed, huh?

The next notable rule was this:

Although the Sacred Blood Festival is hosted by the Sega Union, many of the winners don’t belong to the union. However, there is some bias toward the Sega Union participants.

No cursed tools or deadly weapons allowed.

Well, that’s obvious.

Or is it?

“Something seems off.”

No cursed tools or deadly weapons allowed?

Why would they even need to specify that?

Do brawls break out inside or something?

It feels strange.

"Why would a tournament for battling familiars have a warning like this?"

This is suspicious.

But I still didn’t have an answer.

Perhaps the only way to figure it out is to experience it myself.

Incidentally, they say this year’s Sacred Blood Festival comes with the best rewards yet.

Rewards—such an enticing word.

I stared at the poster for the Sacred Blood Festival displayed on my monitor. Various cute chobiom creatures I couldn’t even name were illustrated on it.

The instructions for how to participate were also clearly written.

Next Monday.

Exit 2 of Seoul Special District Central Station…

****

Seoul Special District.

The heart of Seoul’s Grand Barrier, an area that completely urbanized the surface and underground of what used to be Namsan Mountain. From a distance, it looked like a fortress made of buildings.

Actually, it didn’t just look like a fortress—it was a fortress. The reason the Central District took on this form was to protect the Grand Barrier located beneath the old Namsan.

When you leave through Exit 2 of the subway station in the fortress, you find yourself underground again. To be precise, it’s more like the inside of a dome rather than a typical underground space. It was a district created after they hollowed out the mountain.

Anyway, if you take the escalator in the northeast corner of the underground and ride it for quite a while, you’ll eventually emerge onto the surface where you can see the blue sky.

There, a massive building in traditional Korean style stood.

That building was called the Sacred Blood Hall. The Hall of Sacred Blood. It was a name that perfectly reflected the Sega Union’s elitist sense of superiority.

However, those who worked at the Sacred Blood Hall didn’t see it as elitism. They simply considered it the natural way to describe things.

The Sega truly believed they were the descendants of gods. For thousands of years, their bloodline had remained unbroken, with their ancestors writing the myths themselves. Even the genuine miracles of sacred flames…

The Sacred Blood Hall employee, who had been lost in thought, shook his head.

“Next, please!”

Today was the registration day for the Sacred Blood Festival preliminaries.

There was no time to be zoning out—today would be busy from morning until night.

The employee greeted the man who approached and then looked at the small, human-like creature trapped in the sealed container he had brought.

The employee spoke.

“Oh, is that… a pure fairy? How did you manage to bind it?”

“Haha. I joined an expedition to the Fairy Realm. I caught ten of them, but this is the only one that’s been tamed.”

The man scratched his head, embarrassed.

Meanwhile, the tiny fairy shivered inside its cage.

“Well, this qualifies for the preliminary inspection. Please take this participation badge and wait inside.”

“Thank you.”

A pure fairy from the Fairy Realm.

Quite a rare sight. Maybe this guy has a shot at winning.

After finishing the paperwork, the man called the next participant.

“Next, please!”

“Yes, hello. Haha.”

The next in line was a tall man.

He was holding a dog carrier in one hand.

A dog carrier?

A dog carrier instead of a sealed orb, a binding talisman, or a spirit box? The employee couldn’t hide his bewildered expression as he looked up at the man.

“Uh, could you please take out your familiar?”

“Of course. Myeong-Myeong, come out.”

"Myeong!"

What came out of the dog carrier was... a strange-looking dog. No, it wasn’t even a dog. What is this creature?

As someone who had seen countless chobioms, the Sacred Blood Festival official was puzzled. A chobiom he didn’t recognize? Could this really be a chobiom? Or was it just a mutated dog?

"This one is called Myeong-Myeong," the man explained. "Its species is a Haetae. A Haetae."

“A Haetae?”

The employee’s expression grew even more incredulous.

A Haetae was a mythical creature, a divine beast.

And divine beasts were notoriously difficult to tame—so much so that even the Sega Union had failed to subdue most of them. They were creatures that defied human servitude.

The employee glanced at the man.

He couldn’t sense any psychic powers from him.

That left only two possibilities.

Either the man was a commoner, or he had mastered dark qi techniques at a high level, allowing him to hide his abilities. Given that he’d brought an odd dog in a carrier, he looked halfway to being an eccentric commoner, but the employee decided to play it safe.

“So... a Haetae, huh. Could you perhaps show me what this Haetae can do?”

“Hehe, of course I’ll show you.”

This man, Yoo Hajin, had trained hard as a familiar trainer for the past week. He believed his bond with Myeong-Myeong had reached a level that could break through the ceiling.

“Let’s begin.”

Sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere, the employee grew tense.

Yoo Hajin spoke.

"Myeong-Myeong, paw!"

"Myeong!"

Myeong-Myeong wagged its tail and obediently lifted its paw.

"Good job! Now, Myeong-Myeong, spin!"

"Myeong-Myeong?"

Myeong-Myeong tilted its head in confusion, but after a moment, it clumsily turned in a circle, as if it had finally figured out the command.

Yoo Hajin was so delighted he spun around in the air, while the employee was on the verge of losing his mind.

“To think it would nail it in real-time! That’s our Myeong-Myeong! A genius Haetae!”

“Myeong-Myeong!”

“And finally, Myeong-Myeong, play dead!”

“Myeong!”

And with that, Myeong-Myeong flopped dramatically to the ground.

The employee was at a loss for words after witnessing these “tricks.”

Naturally, it was a failure.

“If there’s nothing else you’d like to show...”

As he spoke, the employee used his abilities to examine Myeong-Myeong more closely.

And then he felt it.

Fear.

‘This fear…?’

It was the same fear he had felt when gazing from afar at the celestial entity that once visited the Sacred Blood Hall. Just for a moment, the employee had experienced that exact terror.

‘This is… fear caused by a difference in the level of our souls. Could it be…?’

The employee, having handled chobioms for many years and possessing psychic abilities, began to understand why he was feeling such fear.

This dog was indeed no ordinary dog.

“You’ve... passed. Please take this participation badge and wait in the waiting room.”

“Thank you! Phew, all that practice wasn’t for nothing!”

“Myeong-Myeong!”

The employee wiped the sweat from his forehead and finished writing up the paperwork.

Species: Rural Mixed-Breed Dog.

Special Notes: Possible traces of the divine beast’s Sacred Blood were detected.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

[TL: Haetae: Haetae is a mythical Korean creature that is said to have a lion's head, a bell around its neck, and a horn on its forehead.

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