Taehyun came bursting through the door, energy spilling out of him as he kicked off his shoes. "hey ! What the hell am I hearing? You’ve got a spirit core now?" His voice was filled with excitement, and his eyes widened in disbelief as he walked up to Soobin. " Bro , You’ve waited for this for so long! Hey tbh , i kinda always knew, you had to get one! Lol."
Soobin blinked, feeling a little overwhelmed by Taehyun’s enthusiasm. He smiled awkwardly . Taehyun was so close to him—close to the original Soobin, the one who had grown up with him—but that wasn’t who he was anymore. Still, he tried to match Taehyun’s energy.
"Yeah," he said with a small laugh, "finally..."
Just then, Soobin’s mom, Yuna, walked into the room, wiping her hands on a towel. She smiled warmly at Taehyun. "Taehyun! It’s good to see you. Look at you—every time I see you, you’ve grown taller i was just talking to your mother when she told me that you rushed out ."
" Also stop swearing every time" She gave him a 'playful' bump on his head.
"aaah.. sorry " taehyun touched his head in pain
He then turned toward her, " Ah Auntie!, I couldn't control when I heard the news."
Yuna chuckled. "Don't give your mom too much stress! She's already busy as she is.'
"cmon auntie, you know that I literally am the most angel of a son that one can have. I am not the one providing stress to them."
"Oh really!" Yuna laughs a bit
Taehyun was really a carefree guy, but he seemed to have his way with adults.
Soobin, feeling the weight of the moment, cleared his throat. "Uh, Mom, we’re gonna head upstairs for a bit."
Yuna gave them a knowing smile. "Of course. Don't make much noise though. "
The two boys made their way up to Soobin’s room, Taehyun moving with the casual familiarity of someone who had been there a hundred times before. He threw himself onto Soobin’s bed, making himself comfortable. "Man, it feels like forever since we just hung out like this."
Soobin sat at the desk chair, feeling out of place in his own room. It was weird how comfortable Taehyun seemed, how he acted like nothing had changed. But everything had changed for Soobin. He was in a new world, a new life. He wasn’t the Soobin that Taehyun thought he was. "Yeah... it’s been a while," Soobin said, trying to push aside the strange feeling inside him.
Taehyun leaned forward, his curiosity getting the better of him. "So, how did this happen? I mean, you’ve been waiting forever and then—boom—spirit core out of nowhere. What the fck happened?"
"dont swear"
"shut up"
Soobin hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain without getting into too much detail.
"There was... an incident. But let’s not talk about that." He waved it off quickly.
"The important thing is that I’ve awakened now. I’m thinking about trying to get into Arcane Spirit Academy with you."
Taehyun's face lit up like a Christmas tree. " Hell yea! now thats what im talking about. "
"Wait—since you haven’t contracted a spirit yet... you’re going to the Spirit Contract Ceremony next week, right? So we are going together then."
Soobin felt a little lighter hearing that.
Taehyun’s excitement was infectious. "fuck Yeah, let’s go together."
Taehyun bounced a little on the bed, unable to contain his energy. "This is gonna be epic, I'm sure our parents have already made some plans about it. Mom was very happy when she heard that. You know how she likes you so much"
Taehyun’s parents ran one of the biggest guilds in the country, the Silverlight Guild. His father was an S-rank hero, and his mother wasn’t far behind as an A-rank. With that kind of family background, Taehyun always had a lot of pressure on him to succeed. It was no wonder he’d always been trying to outdo the hero of the original novel.
Just as Taehyun kept talking, Soobin’s dad appeared at the door, holding a sleek tray. The snacks were laid out on shiny, hovering plates that shifted colors gently, powered by spirit energy. "Thought you boys could use something to eat," Seojin said, placing the tray down.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Taehyun’s eyes widened again. "Uncle! You’re coming to the ceremony next week too, right?"
Seojin nodded. "Of course. I’ve already spoken to your parents. We’ll all be going together."
"Nice!" Taehyun looked genuinely thrilled as he grabbed a snack and bit into it, barely waiting to finish chewing before continuing. "Soobin, this is it, man. You’re going to be able to show those guys who doubted you what you’re really made of, especially your cousins." He paused, lowering his voice a bit. "And you can show him up too."
Soobin stiffened at the mention. He didn’t like thinking about him. He didn’t even know why the thought of this person bothered him so much. Maybe it was some lingering feeling from the original owner. Either way, he didn’t want to dwell on it.
Noticing Soobin’s reaction, Taehyun quickly changed the topic. "Anyway, we’re going to crush it at the academy. I know the acceptance rate is low, but we’ve got this. Plus, with both of us going, it’ll be like old times, right?"
Soobin just nodded, not wanting to dig deeper into his thoughts. He was grateful for how easily Taehyun could move past heavy topics. They chatted a little more, mostly about the academy and how competitive it would be, with Taehyun growing more excited by the minute. After a while, they decided to call it a night, and Taehyun stayed over.
---
The next day, after a quick breakfast, the two of them went out to explore the city. The streets were buzzing with energy, people moving about their business. Everything around them was powered by spirit energy, from the vehicles that hovered above the ground to the holographic billboards glowing in the sky.
They wandered around for a bit, enjoying the lively atmosphere. Eventually, they made their way to a restaurant where they were supposed to meet someone. Hanbin, one of their old friends, was already waiting for them when they arrived. He had already ordered some drinks .
image [https://i.imgur.com/C3tzjDM.jpeg]
Hanbin smiled as they approached, waving them over. "Soobin, Taehyun, it’s been a while"
"Hanbin!" Taehyun greeted him, slapping him on the back. "It’s been forever, man. How’ve you been?"
Hanbin was more soft-spoken compared to Taehyun, but he had a quiet confidence about him.
"I’ve been good. Heard you finally awakened your spirit core, Soobin. Congratulations."
"Thanks," Soobin replied, shaking his hand. He didn’t remember much about Hanbin from the original novel. All he could gather from his memories was that , he lived with his grandparents, his parents died when he was very young, to the huge dungeon break that happened over a 14 years ago. He also had contracted a silver-ranked healing spirit a while ago.
"hey I'm gonna go to the washroom" taehyun told and went away,
Now me and hanbin were left alone, soobin felt a bit awkward wondering how to act, but then hanbin himself spoke first,
"can i accompany you guys next week?"
"off..of course " soobin replied,
"heh thanks, im really happy for you btw, soob, i know how hard it must have been for you" he said with a warm smile. hanbin was such a soft spoken person, with his brown hair and soft voice, it felt so soothing hearing him talk.
image [https://i.imgur.com/rJLZDc2.jpeg]
"ah also, I've been contacted by arcane hide, they want to sponsor me"
"what? wow... that's... good.. what have you thought of it?" Soobin asked, he got kind of flustered hearing that.
"its an obvious decision, but im still thinking"
"hmm" soobin replied
In the original novel , there were 4 major guilds of korea introduced, The Golden zone, Silver knights, Ethereal alliance and Arcane hide. These 4 were the biggest guilds of Korea.
Among them Arcane hide was a guild known for their healers, their potions and their knowledge about medicinal plants etc, it didn't mean they were bad at combat, but all the major healers in korea were from Arcane hide. There was an incident related to arcane hide , where something happened to the leader of arcane hide , and the guild got destroyed, it was one of the major events of the novel, hearing hanbin suddenly bring out that name, made soobin a bit uncomfortable.
"I wanted to tell you about it first soob, even no one in my house know about it" hanbin added. "T..thanks.... i know you will make a sensible descision but... send me the details of the contract they send you once you get it, just to be sure, ill get it checked by my parents too, you know.." soobin replied,
" sure, thank you so much!"
after a while taehyun joined,
They continued talking, making plans to apply to the academy together. The conversation was easy, comfortable. For once, Soobin felt a little more at peace with the situation, as if he was starting to fit into this new life—at least for now.
---
After they finished eating and said their goodbyes, Taehyun headed off for his parents guild directly in the other direction , there was some kind of event, while Soobin called for a cab. As he settled into the floating vehicle, he gazed out the window, marveling at how the city came alive at night. Neon lights reflected off the streets, high rise buildings made of glass.
As they passed through one of the more upscale areas, something caught Soobin’s eye. A high-security zone came into view, guarded by heavy security and tall gates. In the distance, a massive luminescent tree glowed faintly. It was beautiful, almost otherworldly.
The cab driver glanced back at him. "That’s a Lifeblood Zone."
Soobin nodded, his eyes still glued to the sight. But then, suddenly, his vision blurred. His head throbbed, sharp pain spiking through his mind. Weird images flooded his brain—blue feathers, strange flames, a screeching bird-like noise that echoed in his skull.
His breathing quickened, and he gripped the seat tightly, trying to hold on. "What... what’s happening?" he muttered, though the driver didn’t seem to hear.
The pain ebbed after a moment, and as quickly as it had come, the strange vision disappeared. Soobin leaned back in his seat, exhausted and confused.
When the cab finally dropped him off, Soobin headed straight to his room, his head still swirling with unanswered questions. He didn’t know what had just happened, but whatever it was, he knew it was only the beginning.