As Soobin stood among the crowd, the noise and excitement swirling around him, he found his gaze locked on someone he hadn’t expected to see. His heart skipped a beat. 'Blonde hair... golden eyes... it’s him... ' His thoughts spun as he stared at the boy across the arena. 'San Jiho... the original protagonist'.

For a brief moment, everything else faded. Seeing Jiho brought back a rush of memories. Soobin had been too caught up in everything to fully process it, but now, it was crystal clear. 'Kim Jisoo’s name on the screen... I should have guessed then. Jiho and Jisoo... they contracted their spirits on the same day.'

Just as Soobin was lost in thought, a familiar voice pulled him out of his daze. "Soobin... Soobin... are you even listening?"

Soobin blinked rapidly, realizing Taehyun was standing right next to him, his voice cutting through the noise of the arena. "H... huh?" he stammered, his mind still half-distracted.

"What are you even staring at?" Taehyun asked with a curious tilt of his head, then followed Soobin’s gaze. "Oh, Jiho..." His voice dropped slightly, the casual bravado momentarily dimmed. "He’s here too...huh, I forgot. It’s the first time I’ve seen him since school."

Soobin turned to Taehyun, slightly surprised. 'They went to school together...? ' He racked his brain, memories of the original Soobin surfacing. Of course. They had all gone to the same middle school—Jiho, Taehyun, Hanbin, and even Jisoo. Jiho, Jisoo, and Taehyun had been in Class A, while Soobin and Hanbin were in Class B. The idea that the original Soobin had known Jiho this whole time felt surreal.

'And Hanbin... wasn’t he supposed to come today too? ' Soobin thought, glancing around the arena.

Taehyun, seemingly unfazed by Soobin’s distraction, kept talking, "I’m going to get ahead of him today, you know? I’ve trained like crazy for this. Finally, I’m going to beat him.."

"By the way," Soobin interrupted, ignoring his rambling , "where’s Hanbin? Isn’t he supposed to be here already?"

"Oh, he says he’s in the stands. In our box." Taehyun waved a hand dismissively, still caught up in his own thoughts.

"nice," Soobin replied absentmindedly, his attention split between Taehyun and the arena as the announcer's voice boomed across the space.

"NOW! The next individual! Daughter of S-Rank Hero, Kim Jinsoo, heir to the prestigious Golden Zone... IT'S KIM JISOO!"

The roar from the crowd was deafening. Soobin glanced up at the massive screen, where Kim Jisoo, with her platinum blonde hair gleaming under the arena lights, was making her way forward. The screen flashed images of her fan clubs, banners, and posters waving in the stands. Her popularity was clear.

In this world, the popularity of these future talents, and spirit users were huge, it was even bigger than most celebrities.. Jisoo , Taehyun too were extremely popular since middle school, they even had their fanclubs etc. Other than individual fans, also fans of the respective guilds also supported the heirs of the guilds too.

"Wow, she’s really popular..." Soobin murmured, taking in the sight.

"Yeah," Taehyun scoffed. "I don’t know why people like that stingy girl." He laughed, but it was clear there was no malice behind the words, just their usual banter.

Soobin chuckled. "You’re popular too, you know. Look at your fans. They came with posters for you."

Taehyun sighed dramatically, trying to play it cool. "Hmmm... yeah, I guess."

"Go wave at them!" Soobin urged, grinning. "They came from so far just to see you."

"Ahhh, fine, fine," Taehyun muttered, pretending to be annoyed, but a hint of a smile played on his lips. Acting as if he was doing it just because Soobin said so, he turned to the stands and waved. Then, with a cheeky grin, he even started blowing kisses to the crowd.

The reaction was instant. His fans screamed, some even jumping up and down, waving their posters even more enthusiastically. The noise reached Jisoo’s ears, and as she turned, her face twisted into a scowl. "Ugh, that idiot..." she muttered under her breath before focusing back on her own task.

All attention returned to Jisoo as she approached the Tree of Life. The massive tree stood tall, ancient, its bark glowing faintly. As Jisoo touched the tree, its glow intensified, the aura around her blending with the tree’s light. This time, however, it was different from the others before her. The entire tree seemed to pulse with power, the glow growing so intense it was almost blinding.

A flash, like a burst from a camera, lit up the entire arena. When the light finally dimmed, Jisoo stood in front of the tree, looking at her hand where a glowing platinum blonde wings, tattoo had appeared—the mark of her spirit contract.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, all eyes glued to the giant screen above the arena. The tension in the air was palpable. Then, the screen changed, showing her stats in bold letters.

Kim Jisoo, Spirit Rank: GOLD. Points: 80,259.

The crowd erupted into cheers, their roars echoing throughout the arena. "THE FIRST GOLD-RANKED SPIRIT OF THE YEAR!" the announcer boomed.

Taehyun, covering his ears from the sheer volume of the crowd, muttered, "Wow... that idiot. Not bad."

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In the Golden Zone booth, the atmosphere buzzed with excitement. The guild members cheered and celebrated, eyes glued to the massive screen showing Jisoo's newly formed spirit contract. Among them stood Kim Jinsoo, the current leader of Golden Zone and Jisoo’s father, his expression a mix of pride and calm satisfaction.

"Hah! I knew it," Jinsoo said, a confident smirk crossing his face. "That girl never disappoints," he continued, his voice carrying a distinct pride, as if he'd expected nothing less.

Meanwhile, Kai, leaned against the railing with his hands in his pockets, offered a small nod."Good for her, I guess," Kai muttered, his tone cool and indifferent, "Looks like the guild’s future isn’t so bad after all."

"Of course," Jinsoo replied, the smirk on his face deepening as he observed the screen.

Soobin knew about the spirit jisoo had contracted.. it was Seraphael, the Celestial Mirage; her spirit allowed her to become a master of illusions, At her prime she can create realistic illusions that deceive enemies, turning the tide of battle. These illusions range from copies of Jisoo to entire landscapes that confound and disorient her opponents.

As Jisoo returned from the stage, instead of heading back to her original spot, she veered towards Soobin and Taehyun Soobin’s heart raced. 'She’s coming this way...'

For a brief second, Jisoo’s eyes flickered towards Soobin, a suspicious glint in her gaze. He tensed, but she quickly looked away, her focus settling on Taehyun. "Your turn’s next," she said with a light smile. "Try to match that."

Taehyun scoffed. "Haah... you did well, I guess... but now it’s time for the main character."

" main character.... are you?.. no matter how big our status is,, isnt he the main character?" she points to his left side...,

Both Soobin and Taehyun turned, and there walking towards them , was Jiho. San Jiho.

"Ugh..." Taehyun muttered under his breath. Soobin remembered , even in middle school taehyun had always come second to jiho.

Jiho, oblivious to the tension, greeted them cheerfully. "Jisoo! Congrats! A gold-rank spirit is amazing!"

Jisoo, ever composed, simply nodded. "Thanks."

Jiho turned to Taehyun next. "Your turn’s up next. Best of luck! I ran into your dad earlier. He seemed pretty excited!"

"Huh, whatever," Taehyun grumbled, but his voice trailed off, clearly nervous.

Soobin stood on the side, watching the three of them interact. He felt a little out of place, overwhelmed seeing the original characters all together like this. Just as he was thinking that, Jiho’s gaze shifted to him.

"Soobin? You’re here too?" Jiho asked, a smile tugging at his lips., both taehyun and jisoo also turned towards him..

"ah.. y..yeah!" Soobin stammered, feeling the weight of both their gazes,

"But... you don’t have an energy core, right?" Jiho began, his voice trailing off as if realizing the awkwardness of the topic.

Before Jiho could finish, Taehyun cut in, a bit too quickly. "He just awakened one recently. He’s going to join Arcane Academy with me."

Soobin nodded, "Yep..."

Jiho smiled brightly. "That’s great news!"

Jisoo, meanwhile, remained silent, her expression unreadable as she looked elsewhere.

Just then, the announcer's voice rang out again. "Now! The next individual, oh what a roster we have today!!!.. the heir of Silverlight Guild! The son of the famous heroes, Sir Hyunmoo and Madam Soyeon... Kang Taehyun!"

The crowd’s cheers filled the stadium once again. Taehyun’s fans were out in full force, waving banners and shouting his name.

Taehyun squared his shoulders, trying to mask his nerves. As he moved towards the stage, Soobin called out to him. "Don’t be nervous... and watch out for the ground. There are a few stones scattered around."

"yeah... thanks," Taehyun replied, confused about the last part.

"Good luck, Taehyun!" Jiho called out from behind him.

Taehyun approached the Tree of Life, his hand reaching out to touch its bark. Like before, the tree began to glow, but this time, a brilliant silver light burst forth, engulfing Taehyun completely. The crowd gasped as the light intensified, wrapping around the arena in a swirling aura of silver.

When the light finally dimmed, the mark of his spirit contract shone on his hand, glowing in a bright silver. Taehyun also stood there, he was surrounded by a light silver aura. He looked up at the screen, anticipation in the air.

Kang Taehyun, Spirit Rank: GOLD. Points: 89,250.

"TWO GOLD RANKS IN 1 DAY? THIS IS HISTORICAL... AS EXPECTED OF THE HEIR OF SILVERLIGHT!" ,

The crowd roared once more, louder than before. In the Silverlight booth, Taehyun’s parents, Hyunmoo and Soyeon, jumped out from their seats, cheering loudly for their son.

Kim jinsoo too said looking at the scene.. " Hyunmoo's son huh.... wow, Two Gold ranks, one even almost platinum... this time its something else, do you think i can poach him kai? isnt he your brothers best friend?"

" Dont joke around " kai muttered, not even looking at him.

Taehyun, still a bit in awe of the moment, raised his hand, showing off the spirit mark that glowed with silver light. The crowd’s cheers only grew louder as his fans chanted his name.

Soobin smiled, proud of his friend. Even Jisoo, though she didn’t show much outward emotion, seemed pleased. Jiho clapped his hands, calling out encouragements.

As Taehyun walked back from the tree, filled with excitement, he waved to the crowd and even blew a few kisses toward the stands. He looked completely overjoyed, soaking in the cheers of his fans.

But in his rush, he didn’t notice the small stone in his path. Thud! He tripped and fell flat on his face.

"Ugh, ouch..." Taehyun groaned, pushing himself up.

Soobin facepalmed, muttering under his breath, “I literally told him.”

Beside him, Jisoo let out a short, stifled laugh. “Smooth,” she teased, barely hiding her smirk.

Jiho, quick to act, rushed over to help Taehyun up. "taehyun ah You okay?" he asked, offering a hand.

Taehyun accepted it, embarrassed, as Jiho pulled him up. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just a small trip.”

As they walked back to join the group, Jisoo couldn’t resist taking a jab. "wow the fansites are gonna love those pics" Her tone was light, teasing, with an edge of playfulness.

"shut up" Taehyun looked embarrassed..

Soobin shrugged with a knowing look. "I told you to watch out for the stones, didn’t I?" He smiled, trying to suppress a chuckle.

Taehyun sighed dramatically. "Yeah, yeah... thanks for the warning, psychic."

Jisoo, still looking amused, glanced at Soobin, her golden eyes gleaming with curiosity. “How did you know he was going to trip?”

Soobin froze slightly—this was the first time Jisoo had ever spoken directly to him.

“Uh...” Soobin swallowed nervously. “I didn’t know for sure. It was just... intuition,”

“Intuition?” Jisoo echoed, her eyebrow raised skeptically. But before she could press further, Soobin quickly shifted the conversation.

“Anyway, congrats, Taehyun!” he said, trying to sound casual. “A Gold-rank spirit! Almost Platinum, too... that’s amazing.”

Jisoo’s interest flickered for a moment, but she let it go, turning back to Taehyun as well. “Not bad,” she added. “Gold rank with nearly 90,000 points… You're right on the edge of Platinum. Even I’ll admit, that’s impressive.”

Taehyun puffed out his chest, pride radiating from him.

Soobin, knowing the future trajectory of the story, nodded in agreement .The spirit taehyun contracted was the Argentum Titan, it allowed him to strengthen his body extra , and also control silver sands, it was extremely strong spirit. even though it was gold ranked for now, it had the potential to become platinum and it did.

" NEXT UP... THE ANNOUNCER ANNOUNCED,... SHIN JUN" it was Juns turn, Soobin's cousin