Rin and Katty stared at me in shock.
"Kai… how did you do that?" Rin asked.
"What was that power?" Katty added.
"And… who is that little girl?"
I hesitated.
If I told them everything… about the God, about the Fifth Trait… they might not believe me. Or worse—they might get dragged into danger.
So I chose to hide the truth.
"I… don't really know," I said slowly. "When I woke up, she was already there. She told me she was sent by a god to save me."
"Hey! Don't mess up my introduction!"
The tiny girl suddenly flew forward, crossing her arms.
"My name is Chill," she said proudly. "I am an Ice Spirit. And from now on… I am Kai's soulmate."
Rin blinked.
Katty frowned.
"...Soulmate?" they both said at the same time.
Chill nodded seriously.
"That means our souls are connected. If Kai dies, I die. If I die… he dies too."
Silence fell.
"…That's not comforting at all," Rin muttered.
We returned to the guild.
As soon as Mary saw us, her eyes widened.
"You… you're alive?!" she exclaimed. "And don't tell me—"
"We defeated the Goblin King," Rin said proudly.
Mary froze for a moment… then quickly processed our rewards.
"You've completed the mission… and defeated a Goblin King. This is… incredible."
We received a large amount of money—far more than expected.
But something else caught my attention.
My ID card.
It had changed.
Trait: ???
Skill: Spirit User
I stared at it.
So even the system couldn't identify my trait…
Mary suddenly pointed at Chill.
"That… that is a spirit, right?" she asked in disbelief. "How are you able to control a spirit? That's extremely rare!"
"I…" I hesitated again. "She chose me."
Whispers began spreading across the guild hall.
"A spirit user?"
"But he has no trait…"
"That's impossible…"
All eyes were on me.
With our reward money, we rented rooms at an inn.
Two rooms.
One for me and Rin.
One for Katty.
Honestly, I didn't understand why we needed two rooms. Back at the orphanage, we always stayed together—just separate beds.
But Rin insisted.
"She's a girl," he said. "She needs privacy."
Katty nodded.
So… I agreed.
Inside the inn, people kept staring at me.
No… not me.
At Chill.
She was still sitting comfortably on my shoulder.
"Why are you still there?" I whispered.
"Because I'm your soulmate," she replied casually.
"…That's not the point."
"Hmm… fine."
Suddenly, her body glowed—and transformed into a small blue pendant hanging around my neck.
Her voice echoed softly.
"Now only you can hear me. If danger comes, I'll return to my original form."
"…That's actually useful."
The next day, we headed back to the guild for a new mission.
But something felt… wrong.
A crowd had gathered at the entrance.
As soon as I stepped forward—
Everyone turned toward me.
Their eyes… filled with suspicion.
Fear.
Hatred.
"…This isn't good," I muttered.
Suddenly—
"Kill him!"
A man stepped forward, pointing at me.
"He's a monster! He's possessed by a spirit! How can someone without a trait control a spirit?!"
Before I could react—
He cast a fire spell.
"Chill!"
In an instant—
A massive wall of ice formed in front of me.
The flames shattered against it.
"I am NOT a monster!" I shouted. "This spirit was given to me by a god!"
Even as I said it… I knew it sounded unbelievable.
An arrow suddenly flew toward me—
CLANG!
Rin deflected it with his sword.
"We don't believe your lies!" someone yelled.
Multiple warriors rushed toward me.
Katty prepared her magic.
Chill appeared again beside me.
And then—
The ground shook.
Five massive earth golems rose from the ground, blocking the attackers.
"Enough."
A calm, powerful voice echoed.
Everyone froze.
A man walked forward.
Elegant clothes. Noble aura.
"This ends here," he said.
And just like that… the crowd backed away.
The man approached us with a smile.
"My name is Ken," he said. "And yes… I am a noble of this town."
He looked directly at me.
"You are a Spirit User, correct?"
"…Yes."
"Good. Then come with me."
At his mansion, he spoke seriously.
"A case will soon be filed against you," he said. "The government may declare you a monster."
"…What?"
"If that happens… they will try to execute you."
My chest tightened.
"But," he continued, "I can protect you. I am the best lawyer in this town."
"…And in return?" I asked.
He smiled slightly.
"You help me."
"I have a daughter," Ken said. "Her name is Taina."
"Six months ago, she went into the forest. She wanted to become an adventurer."
"But she encountered… a witch."
My expression hardened.
"She was cursed," he continued. "She has been in a deep sleep ever since."
"There is an ancient story… witches fear spirits."
He looked at me.
"Will you help me?"
I stayed silent for a moment.
This was dangerous.
But…
If I refused, I might lose his protection.
"…I'll do it."
We entered the forest.
Hours passed.
We searched for the witch's location—but found nothing.
"This is pointless…" Chill complained. "Should I just freeze the whole forest?"
"…Please don't."
Then—
BOOM!
A massive explosion echoed through the trees.
We ran toward it.
And what we saw…
A giant beast-like man—over seven feet tall—was fighting a witch.
He was badly injured.
The witch lifted massive rocks and hurled them toward him.
"Chill—Ice Fang!"
Multiple ice spears formed instantly—
—and shattered the rocks mid-air.
The witch turned toward us.
"Who dares—"
She froze.
Her face turned pale.
"…A spirit user…"
She use
Lightning struck toward us.
"Ice Barrier!"
The attacks clashed—but one bolt hit my arm.
"Ahh—!"
Blood spilled.
"Kai!" Katty rushed to heal me.
Rin charged forward—but his sword shattered under the witch's magic.
We were losing.
No…
We couldn't lose.
I created a sword of ice in my hand.
"Chill… let's end this."
I rushed forward.
Dodging lightning.
Closing the distance.
Even when another strike hit me—I didn't stop.
The witch smirked.
"You're weak."
"…No," I said.
"You're wrong."
"ICE PRISON."
The ground froze instantly.
A massive block of ice trapped the witch—her body completely frozen.
Only her head remained free.
She couldn't move.
Couldn't cast spells.
We had won.
"Tell me how to cure Taina," I said coldly.
"…Spare me… and I'll tell you," she replied.
"…Fine."
She gave us a potion.
"This will break the curse."
We turned to the injured "beast."
Katty healed him.
And slowly… he transformed.
Into a normal human.
"I… I'm Klen," he said. "I have the Beauty trait."
I introduced our team.
Then asked, "Do you want to join us?"
He hesitated.
"My old party kicked me out… I can only use my power for 15 minutes."
I smiled.
"I don't have any trait at all."
"…I know how that feels."
He looked at me…
Then nodded.
"I'll join."
And just like that—
Our party gained a new member.
Now…
It was time to return.
And save Taina.