"Soobin-ah, congratulations!!! Mom is really, really proud of you!!" came the jubilant chorus from Yuna and his father, who showered Soobin with praise as he and Taehyun returned to the booth.
"Yeah…im so relieved ," they declared warmly.
Taehyun, always quick with a tease, added, "ahh aunie, please praise him more.. he's been through a lot."
Yuna laughed and patted Taehyun's head affectionately. "Of course we know. And you've done wonderfully too, Taehyun."
"Thanks, Auntie," Taehyun replied, a smile softening.
Taehyuns parents also congratulated both him and soobin.
Hyunmoo leaned in with a note of quiet pride, "Soobin, didn't I always tell you? There's something special in you—I've always believed in your potential."
Taehyun nodded, chiming in, "Yeah, Dad always talked about you, Soob."
Soyeon then added, " But Soobin, from now on , you need to take your next steps carefully—the world will be watching you!"
She then turned to both his parents, "Yuna and seojin needs to be careful and serious too"
Before anyone could speak further, Eunhee burst in with effusive delight: " Ohh Soobin, we are so happy for you! Oh my you got so much lucky!!"
Eunjeong echoed, "Yes soobin, we are really Happy. We hope you take care of jun too!."
Soobin understood their intensions and shifted uncomfortably and murmured, "Hmm… yeah…"
Just then, Hanbin appeared at the booth, a warm but slightly nervous smile on his face. "Both of you did really well—I was so nervous for you guys out here," he admitted.
The group shared friendly banter as they exchanged congratulations. After a while, Hanbin broke the light chatter, "Aren't you guys already qualified to join Arcane Spirit Academy?"
"Yeah, since we got Gold and Platinum," Taehyun replied with a proud smirk.
"what about you? Have you registered for the entrance test yet?" Soobin asked, turning to Hanbin.
Hanbin replied slowly... "Actually,... you know since .... I got sponsored by Arcane Hide, so they suggested I try for Mesprit Academy instead."
"huh but why???? " Taehyun stood up rasing his voice.
"I knew theres something wrong with that guild, their leader has not been seen for who knows how long"
Hanbin shrugged, his expression calm. "Taehyun, it's one of top guilds and their point made sense...mesprit academy is actually extremely good for noncombat types especially their healing department is top notch..."
"But still..." Taehyun tried to retort..
"It's okay.. " Soobin stopped him
"Im sure Hanbin thought a lot before taking this decision.. if that's what he decides then let it be"
"Hmm..." Hanbin replied. and for a few moments the conversation dwindled to a low, reflective murmur as the adults mingled with other important guests.
With a bit of time left, and with many influential people still socializing in the booth, Soobin decided to wander out a bit. He knew that after what happened today, roaming freely here might be tougher, so he first bought a decorative mask from a nearby stall. The booth and surrounding area were bustling—a huge, beautiful space more colorful than anything from his previous life. The light blue sky, was softened by the approaching evening There were bright orbs of spirit energy in the sky, as it was a lifeblood zone, the abundance of spirit energy could be seen. People were out here shopping , stalls, chatters .. if Soobin had to describe it , he would say it's like "Festival of Lights"
Holographic advertisements, fireworks, it was just so colorful.
Soobin had fun just strolling around. He bought some colorful marble looking candies that literally turn to smoke in the mouth.
While walking around he came across a huge 2 floor shop made completely out of glass. it was decorated with holographic lights and orbs. He goes inside through a glass door and takes a huge look at the surrounding. Loads of people inside, looking at holographic boards and talking to people and inspecting artifacts and stuff. it seemed to be a luxury artifact shop. Suddenly he was approached by a man, the owner of the shop.
"Would you like something here?" The owner asked, looking at Soobins jacket, he knew that he was probably wealthy.
"Can I see what you have?" Soobin replied politely.
"sure"
the owner brought out a holographic board which listed all the items , and when Soobin selected each of the item, it came projected in 3d.
"Hmmm... There's none I want" ... since his dad owned a guild Soobin kind of knew that most of the stuff here were something hed easily get from the guild.
He kept scrolling, and then his eyes suddenly stopped at a peculiar, glowing blue orb...
"Huh.. what's this?"
"Ohh thats a extremely high purity and high grade spirit beast core . we have only one of them " the owner replied.
"But why is it so cheap?" Soobin asked, tilting his head in genuine curiosity.
The shopkeeper let out a half-laugh and rubbed his head. "We paid a fortune for it, expecting it to be a prized artifact. But it turns out—defective.
"Defective? how so?" soobin asked..
The owner sighed, shaking his head. "Although this orb stores spirit energy at twenty times the rate of a standard core, its design is flawed. It refuses to be refined. I've sent it off for tests to the top artifact-making guilds, who buy from us, and every single one returned it saying they couldn't refine it. At this point, I just want to get rid of it.".
" Hmmm its kind of pretty though... you know what? ill buy it, ill pay you even extra if you can manage to make it into a locket for me?"
Soobin made a decision. He was in a good mood and just randomly thought of it. Blue was his favorite color, and his spirit energy aura was also blue, so he was kind of mesmerized by the shiny light blue core.
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up at the request. "Really? Amazing! Just give me two minutes." He disappeared into the back room, returning moments later with the orb set delicately inside a finely crafted locket, presented in an ornate sleek luxury box.
"Here it is. Please, take a look," the owner said, his voice tinged with hope that he might finally offload the troublesome artifact.
Soobin examined the locket carefully without touching the core . The core's soft, blue glow shone through translucent panels. Satisfied, he said, "Please pack this up," and handed over his card without hesitation.
As he stepped out of the fancy store and prepared to return to the booth, a familiar voice halted him. "Shopping? Huh… I guess it was your day," the voice teased.
Soobin instantly recognized the voice and turned around
" ahh.. brother"