After Hours of retuning back,
The forest opened into silence.
Where River Fen should have been the bustling Nerulian village by the riverside only ruins remained. Charred beams jutted like broken teeth. The once-clear river was black and sluggish, stinking of decay. Nerulians, were all over the place, some mourning over the destruction.
Everyone froze.
"No…" Lyra whispered, her hands trembling on her staff.
" What happened here?"
"The corruption… it devoured the entire settlement." One of the the Nerulians said.
"But thankfully, no one was severely injured, although some corrupted beast may still be lurking around"
I swallowed hard. The weight of it pressed down like a stone in my chest.
And then I sneezed. Loudly.
The Nerulians stared at me.
"…Sorry. Dust."
---
We moved carefully among the ruins. Burned-out homes. Collapsed bridges. Scorched earth. The silence was worse than screams.
I tried to focus. "Analyze," I muttered.
[ Analyze (Lv.2)
Corruption saturation: 78%
Lingering essence detected.
Recommended action: Cleansing.]
Black stains clung to the stone like mold. My new skill, Cleansing Light, itched at the back of my mind.
Maybe I could fix this.
I raised my hand, summoning a faint glow. "Cleansing Light!"
A beam of warm radiance spread across the ruins. Some of the black stains hissed and dissolved.
The Nerulians gasped. Lyra dropped to her knees, eyes wide. "Protector… you can heal even the land?"
I scratched my cheek, embarrassed. "…I guess?"
Then the glow flickered and collapsed.
[Observation: MP expenditure exceeded safe threshold.]
"Ugh...why does saving the world always drain me like a bad mobile game?"
I thought.
---
We pushed deeper. The ruins creaked under our steps.
Suddenly, a corrupted beast a boar warped with crystal tusks burst from the shadows.
"Protector!" Bran shouted.
But before he could move, I did. My body reacted before my brain. Agility 46 surged through me.
I dodged left, so fast the boar's tusks only grazed my sleeve. My practice blade flashed, hardened by Mana Shaping, and smashed into its side.
The impact launched the beast into a ruined wall. The entire thing collapsed in a thunder of dust and stone.
Everyone just stared.
"…Whoa," I muttered. "Did I do that?"
[Affirmative.]
"Holy crap I'm strong now!"
Then I flexed. Accidentally too hard. And ripped my sleeve clean off.
"…Oops."
Elira pinched her nose. "You fool!"
---
Later, while helping Lyra heal a wounded warrior who had collapsed from exhaustion, I decided to test Regeneration.
"Don't worry, I'll handle this one," I said confidently.
I pressed my glowing hands against his chest.
The healing energy surged… and his tunic shredded apart from the force.
The poor guy yelped and scrambled to cover himself.
"Ahhh! Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry!!!!"
Lyra's face went beet red. Elira's glare could have frozen lava.
" Why are you acting this way"
[Observation: Ecchi Flag #5 triggered.]
"ADVISOR I SWEAR TO "
---
By evening, we'd secured a camp among the least-corrupted ruins. The Nerulians were somber, but alive.
Elira sat apart, sharpening her blades. I sat nearby, staring at my glowing hands.
For the first time, I wasn't just pretending. I was stronger. Faster. Capable.
But beneath the relief, something else stirred.
A soft chime echoed in my head.
[Body Evolution Pending…]
Conditions: ???
Progress: 7%
I froze. "…Advisor. What the hell is this?"
[Observation: Classification incomplete. Evolutionary process detected.]
My chest tightened. Was I… changing into something else?
Before I could ask more, a howl tore through the night deeper, louder, and far more dangerous than the wolves before.
The ruins of River Fen weren't done with us yet.
---