Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

The place where Cho dragged me was the spot where I used to train my mind.

It was an open space beneath a massive zelkova tree, with a few rocks scattered around. Nearby, the tree that Sister Seol had once cut down with her Blood-Soaked Greenwood Saber now lay on its side, withering away.

As I got closer, still bound by Cho, I heard an angry voice.

— Tssrrr!

Looking down at the sound, I saw Bini rushing out from under the large tree, her expression brimming with fury as if demanding to know why I was only arriving now.

The moment I landed next to Cho and Bini, sharp words struck me.

— Tssr! ”Sister, well done!”

— Tssrrr! ”Dad, why are you so late!?”

Cho, who had dragged me here, greeted me with great enthusiasm, while Bini, with a sharp tone, scolded me for taking too long.

”I-I was delayed because Uncle Gyu-seong came by...”

— Tssrrt! ”Liar! You were hesitating because of Hyang!”

I tried to use Brother Gyu-seong as an excuse, but Bini instantly called me out on my lie, snapping at me.

Looks like she’s grown enough to see through those kinds of excuses now.

‘There’s some real truth in the words of elders, huh?’

When you’re running around, you wish you could just walk. When you’re walking, you wish you could just lie down. And when you’re lying down, you wish you could go back to when you were running around.

The once tiny, adorable creature had grown enough to talk back to her dad, and just like the venom she carried, she now had a sharp, stinging charm of her own.

As I got lost in a moment of nostalgia, reminiscing about the past, Cho and Bini suddenly exchanged glances and began intertwining their legs in a peculiar way.

It looked like they were exchanging a silent message, communicating through pheromones with their antennae.

Watching their conversation unfold, I waited for a bit. Eventually, it seemed they reached some sort of agreement, because Bini turned to me and stretched out her head.

— Tssrrrt. ”Me first!”

”You first?”

Bini nodded once more.

I glanced at Cho, and he also nodded in agreement.

It seemed like their earlier discussion had been about who would receive the energy first, and Bini had won.

If I did this and got caught, Hyang would definitely make me suffer. But if I refused, I’d have to deal with Cho and Bini whining about how I only favored Hyang. Either way, I was doomed.

‘Ah, there’s no way out of this, is there?’

Should I suffer now?

Or get caught and suffer later?

Fine. If I was going to suffer anyway, I might as well use this chance to see how they would change.

‘If I die from witnessing a special technique, at least it’ll be worth it.’

Since fate had already decided I wouldn’t be able to avoid this, I might as well enjoy the moment.

To be honest, I was curious to see what kind of transformation they would undergo.

With that, I shifted my mindset into a more positive mode—like a runaway train on full throttle.

‘Life is short! Let’s go!’

I placed my hand on Bini’s head and slowly began drawing up the energy of Beast Heart Art.

Closing my eyes, I focused on channeling the energy, feeling Bini’s essence at my fingertips.

Bini’s energy was slightly damp and dark, like moss growing in a deep forested valley.

It had a black, moist sensation... should I say it felt shadowy?

In contrast, the energy of Beast Heart Art was like a bright, refreshing green.

Following the method Sister Seol had taught me, I visualized Bini’s body as an extension of my own and slowly infused her with energy.

At first, there was a slight resistance, similar to what I had experienced with Cheongwol, but as Bini and I remained connected, our energies gradually started to mix.

Bini’s dark, damp aura and the bright green energy of Beast Heart Art intertwined, flowing from the top of her head to the tip of her tail, circulating throughout her body.

But then, as time passed, something unexpected happened.

‘!?’

Sister Seol had made this process seem relatively quick and simple. But even after a long while, the process was nowhere near finished.

I had expected the energy to be nearly full, yet it kept pouring in endlessly.

It wasn’t like I was using my internal energy, but rather something tied to my mental strength—constantly being drawn in without stopping.

Even though it wasn’t exhausting my Qi, I could feel the mental fatigue building up.

‘What’s going on? Did something go wrong?’

A worrying thought surfaced—maybe I had made a mistake.

For a moment, I panicked, wondering if I should forcefully stop. But even if I wanted to, the energy continued to flow into Bini without any signs of stopping, and my hand was firmly stuck in place.

‘Wait, this feels wrong!’

As the energy drain pushed my mental exhaustion to its limits, my hand, which had been placed on Bini’s head, suddenly felt a slight pushback and finally came loose.

”Ugh, finally... Hah... hah...”

‘Damn, this feels like I just spent hours arguing with trolls in the comment section, typing out 5,500 characters each time.’

With my hand off Bini’s head, I slumped onto the ground.

Mentally, I felt as if I had just endured a never-ending battle against thousands of toxic comments.

Cold sweat trickled down my forehead, blurring my vision.

And then—

A strange reaction began to emerge from Bini, who had curled up tightly.

— Drrrrrrrr...

Her body trembled before going still.

Then, the ground beneath her started to shake.

And suddenly, I began to shrink.

No, wait.

I wasn’t shrinking.

Bini was getting bigger.

— Buuuudddd!

”HOLY SH—”

Her body thickened.

Her legs grew longer.

Her antennae stretched out.

Bini kept growing and growing—until finally, she was as enormous as the mother centipede I had once seen in a dream.

Now standing at a full 12 meters in length, her body had swelled to nearly three times its original size.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Before me ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) stood a fully matured Bini.

A wave of catharsis surged through me.

This was it.

This was that feeling.

The ultimate dream of all pet owners.

If your pet could gain a special ability, the first thing you’d imagine would be—

‘G-GIANTIFICATION!’

Yes! The greatest and most fundamental power was definitely size expansion!

If she got huge and hugged me, if I could ride on her back, then—

It was a dream made real.

Staring at the fully grown Bini in awe, I lost control of myself and charged toward her.

”BINI, YOU BEAUTIFUL GIRL!”

The extreme mental exhaustion I had been feeling just moments ago vanished in an instant.

It was like watching a daughter grow up into a fully independent adult.

A father’s heart had no choice but to feel clear-headed in such a moment.

After all, this was Giantification.

‘How did she even grow like this? Are spiritual beasts naturally more energy-dependent?’

Considering that Cho, Bini, and Hyang all grew stronger by absorbing energy, it made sense that Bini had grown larger after receiving such an immense amount.

But that was a question for later.

For now, I just wanted to bask in pure joy.

I ran up to Bini to admire how magnificent she had become and hugged her tightly.

And then—

An unexpected voice escaped from her mouth.

— Tssrrt! ”What the hell!? This is way too big!”

”Huh?”

Bini’s voice was filled with pure bewilderment.

I couldn’t understand why she was reacting this way—she had just become so beautiful! But then, a string of whiny complaints spilled out from her mouth, the kind of sounds she made when she was stuck to a wall and couldn’t detach herself.

— Tssrrt! Tssrrrrrr!

She was upset, saying that now she wouldn’t be able to sleep with me or fit inside the outpost anymore.

— Tssrrt! ”I wanted to shrink back down like Hyang!”

So Hyang’s ability to shrink had become the ultimate aspiration for my daughters, huh?

Now it all made sense—why they had been so eager to test this out. They were hoping they could shrink just like Hyang.

‘No, but being big is great!’

For a full thirty minutes, Bini kept fussing, complaining about how she wanted this transformation to wear off, until finally, she managed to return to her original size.

— Tssrrrt. ”I’m never doing that again!”

And with that, Bini made her grand declaration that she would never use Giantification again.

‘Wait, what?! I risked my future just to see this!’

And yet, after all that, my daughter had completely rejected it.

Feeling exhausted from her tantrum, Bini dozed off under the tree, curled up like a Blood-Soaked Greenwood Saber.

The moment I confirmed she was asleep, Cho suddenly pushed his head toward me.

— Tssrrrrr.

It was obvious what he wanted—his turn.

I placed my hand on Cho’s head, but...

Maybe it was because his class was different from Sister Seol’s Blood-Soaked Greenwood Saber, or maybe it was just that my mental endurance was running low, but I couldn’t muster the strength to pour energy into him.

”Cho, I’m too tired. Dad’s got nothing left in him.”

— Tssrrt!?

Right now, I felt like I had just fought a one-versus-eleven battle against internet trolls—there was no way I could squeeze out any more mental strength.

”Cho, can we do it tomorrow? Dad’s exhausted—I really can’t do it today.”

— Tssrrt...

Maybe it was because he was the eldest, but Cho paused, then glanced up at the sweat trickling down my forehead before nodding obediently.

‘Yeah, that’s my firstborn. I really need to go lie down for a bit... This exhaustion is no joke.’

”Cho, can you watch over Bini? Dad’s going to rest for a while. I seriously need to lie down.”

— Tssrrt!

”Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Just as I was heading back to the outpost, weighed down by fatigue, Sister Seol emerged carefully from inside, her steps cautious.

”Sister Seol!”

”Shh. Hyang’s asleep.”

”O-oh, really?”

I peeked inside and saw Hyang curled up, asleep, wrapped around Hwaon.

Perfect. I needed to talk to Sister Seol anyway, and with Hyang asleep, this was my chance.

”Sister Seol, let’s go over there for a bit...”

”Hm? Do you have something to say?”

”Yes.”

I was exhausted, but I wouldn’t get another opportunity like this.

Leading Sister Seol back to the training grounds, I spoke.

”Sister Seol, I tried infusing Bini with energy... and she grew bigger.”

”She grew?!”

”Yeah.”

”What?! You should’ve shown me! Why did you do it when I wasn’t there?!”

Sister Seol pouted, sulking over the fact that I hadn’t let her see it firsthand.

I hurriedly explained the whole situation.

Seriously, why did every woman around me—human or not—always get so sulky?

”Sister Seol, it’s not like I did it on purpose! I nearly died, okay? The kids just—”

After I explained everything, she still seemed dissatisfied, but she nodded in understanding.

”Fine. But you have to show me next time, alright? A giant Bini? That sounds incredible!”

”Got it. But that’s not the important part.”

Even though Bini swore she’d never do it again, with the right persuasion, I was pretty sure I could convince her for one more demonstration.

I nodded slightly, then explained just how much energy I had used—and how mentally drained I was.

”You felt exhausted? And you used up a ton of energy?”

”Yeah, I think I was pouring energy into her for at least a quarter of an hour. And afterward, I was unbelievably tired.”

Sister Seol’s eyes widened.

”Seriously?”

”Yeah. I thought something was seriously wrong.”

She fell into deep thought, her gaze flickering between me and Cho.

And then, suddenly—

She smiled.

”Then this is great news.”

”Huh? What?!”

Hearing that, I blinked, completely baffled.

What was great about this?

Before I could process it, Sister Seol continued.

”Think about it. You originally wanted to train your mind to resist mental fatigue from insults and curses, right? But that failed because your mind wasn’t shaken by those things.”

”Well, yeah, that’s true.”

I had grown up in such a rough environment that the insults here felt like child’s play.

They were way too tame to have any real impact on me.

”But if infusing energy tires you out mentally, you can use this for training!”

”Huh?!”

Sister Seol, are you a genius?!

I gawked at her, my eyes wide in shock.

She chuckled at my reaction and ruffled my hair like she was praising a clueless little kid.

”Alright, then. Let’s do Cho next. Pushing past your limits when you’re already exhausted is how you grow stronger.”

If I poured all my remaining mental strength into Cho, I might just end up hating myself...

But if this led to my growth—and if I could gain a giant scorpion as an ally—then I was fine with becoming trash.

‘No matter what!’

”I understand!”

With renewed determination, I turned toward Cho, who had been keeping watch over Bini.

”Cho! Let’s do this!”