Ah, brother.
Soobin immediately recognized the voice. It was none other than his brother—or rather, the other Soobin's brother.
'Ah... what is he doing here?'
He turned to look. Kai stood before him, dressed in all black, his hair slicked back, hands in his pockets, wearing that cold, unreadable smile.
'To be honest, he leaves a bad taste in my mouth whenever I think of him... but personally, I have nothing against him.'
Soobin still wasn't used to it—the memories, the emotions of two different people tangled inside him. He still hadn't fully accepted the memories of this world's Soobin.
"What brings you here, brother?" he asked, deciding to push aside the emotions of the other Soobin, at least for now, and act normal.
Kai tilted his head slightly, his smirk never fading. "Hmm? I'm just here with my guild. Also..... my only brother, who didn't even have a spirit core ever, suddenly attending his spirit contract ceremony? Of course, I couldn't miss it." His tone was cool, laced with sarcasm.
"I see." Soobin forced a polite smile.
Kai's smirk deepened. "You also gave me such a warm welcome last time, huh?"
Soobin gulped. That had been the moment he'd awakened his spirit.
"You're strong now." Kai leaned forward, his expression turning serious. "So what happened? How did you suddenly develop a core? The last time I saw you, you were still the same."
The probing annoyed Soobin, but he kept his composure.
"It just happened. I don't know either," he replied evenly. "I fought a Shadowfang Wolf, and the battle must have triggered it."
Kai hummed, watching him carefully. "Hmm…"
"Yea" Soobin was about to start leaving, he didn't like the tension
As he turned, Kai spoke again. "I was thinking of asking Father to merge our guild under Golden Zone... but I guess that's out of the question now, hah?" His tone was dismissive.
He was implying the fact that Soobin will now join and work with his fathers guild.
That struck a nerve.
Soobin halted, then turned to meet his brother's gaze. "Well, yeah… there has to be a kid they can brag about."
Kai's eye twitched at that, but he quickly masked it with his usual composure.
"I'm going then," Soobin said, his tone calm. "Visit Father and Mother tomorrow. They were looking for you today." Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away.
Kai scoffed. "Yeah, yeah." He also turned, hands in his pockets, walking in the opposite direction.
A platinum rank, huh…
At least they'll be happy now…
Soobin returned to the booth where his parents were and slumped onto a nearby bench.
"Hahhh…" He exhaled heavily.
Why did he lose his temper like that? It had happened before, too.
He couldn't understand it, he had complicated feelings. The memories and feelings of both him and the other Soobin were mixing up and showing up in his actions.
"I really need to control myself more."
He wasn't ready to mix those memories together. He wasn't ready to accept the other Soobin's life as his own.
"I don't want to lose myself."
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Ah, whatever… let's check it out now.
"Status Window."
A blue holographic screen flickered to life in front of his eyes.
Instead of the usual main screen of the status window, a different screen appeared in front of Soobin.
[Quest: Form a Contract with a Spirit]Rewards: 500 EXP, +4 Status Points[COMPLETE!!][Accept Rewards ✓]
"I guess I need to accept it first."
With a motion of his finger, he pressed [Accept Rewards].
The moment he did—
"Haaah—!"
A rush of energy surged through him, like a gust of wind hitting his body. It was a familiar sensation, similar to when he had first contracted his spirit.
"Ahhh..."
He stood up, rolling his shoulders and swinging his arms a bit.
"Wow, I feel... light."
He threw a few quick punches into the air.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
His movements felt sharper, stronger.
Then—
Ting!
[You have been rewarded 500 EXP][You have been rewarded 4 status points][Level up ↑][Level up ↑][Level up ↑][Level up ↑]
[Congratulations! You are now Level 5!][You have gained 20 status points]
Notifications flooded his vision.
"Holy—"
He sat down again, carefully going through them.
"I leveled up four times off that?"
Other than the +4 status points from the quest, he had received an extra +20 points.
"If leveling up four times gave me 20 points, that means each level grants 5 status points."
Feeling excited, he called for his status screen again.
[Legacy Status Window]
Name: SoobinLevel: 5Spirit Name: ELYNDRIS, THE AZURE PHOENIXSpirit Rank: PlatinumExperience: 0/250
Attributes:Strength: 8 ↑↑Defense: 7 ↑↑Agility: 9 ↑↑Intelligence: 10 ↑↑
Status points: 24
Bond Level: BasicSkills Unlocked (!)Quests (!)Inventory [Accessed]
"WOW..."
"ELYNDRIS..."
"It's... It's... so cool!"
Soobin couldn't stop himself from grinning.
The spirit name sounded so cool to him.
The whole thing about being in this novel, the whole thing about having a status window, the whole thing about contracting a spirit, something he just read in his novel. It felt so cool.
Also a phoenix? That's even cooler.
All his inner turmoil that he was having a few minutes ago ... Disappeared.
"Ah, Soobin, control yourself. You've never been the type to overreact... You're the calm one."
He tried to suppress his excitement, but the smile wouldn't leave his face.
Still, he wanted to test something. He looked back at the status window.
"All my stats went up by 4... so leveling up once must increase 1 status points per level."
He tapped on [Strength].
[Strength: 8 (+)]
He pressed the (+) button twice.
[Strength: 10 (+)]
A familiar rush of energy filled him.
His body felt even stronger.
"This feels amazing. I've always wanted to do this..."
He clenched his fist, still enjoying the sensation, when—
"Interesting..."
A voice interrupted him.
"You... seem to have gotten stronger than you were a moment ago."
Soobin's head snapped up.
"Huh?"
At the Booth
Meanwhile, at the booth where Soobin's parents were—
Yuna had been engaged in conversation with some people when she suddenly froze.
A sharp sensation ran through her, setting off her instincts.
"...Soobin."
She turned toward the door, ready to move.
But before she could—
Tap.
A hand rested gently on her shoulder.
She turned to see Hyunmoo, his usual warm smile in place.
"It seems," he said casually, "like Soobin has caught the attention of a rat."
Yuna's expression was serious. "Hyunmoo-ah..."
"Just wait here," he said lightly. "I'll deal with it."
Swoosh.
In an instant, he vanished—leaving behind a trace of silver energy.