The night burned with chaos.
Hounds lunged from the forest, eyes glowing red, jaws snapping. Soldiers fought desperately, spears thrusting, shields shuddering under the beasts' weight.
And in the middle of it all her.
The silver-haired girl danced across the battlefield, twin daggers flashing. Every movement was swift, precise. She cut down a hound, flipped over another, and landed gracefully like she'd been born for this.
I hovered nearby, blasting mana bolts, my glow pulsing with each shot.
MP: 180/260 → 150/260 → 120/260
The numbers dropped with every strike. Sweat didn't drip in this form, but I felt the pressure, like my core was overheating.
The girl glanced at me mid-spin. "You spirit! Can you keep this up?"
"Define keep up!" I fired another blast, barely saving a soldier from being mauled. My HP was still fragile.
HP: 39/100
One more hit and I'd shatter.
---
Then it happened.
A hound broke past the militia's line, charging at me. I flared, shot a desperate beam
Click.
MP: 0/260
"Oh no no, no, no"
The hound's teeth clamped down on me. Agony seared my essence.
HP: 39/100 → 9/100
Critical Warning: Core Collapse Imminent
This is it. This is how I..
[Emergency Protocol: Initiating incomplete Evolution.]
[ Levelling up]
"Wait, WHAT?!"
The world froze. My vision filled with light as my body cracked, splintering apart.
[Rebuilding Host Vessel… unlocking physical attributes… synchronizing form.]
A cocoon of energy wrapped around me. My voice caught in a scream as my essence stretched, molded, reshaped
Then silence.
---
When the light faded, I stumbled to the ground on legs.
Arms. Fingers. A body.
I gasped for air I didn't even need, staring down at myself. Pale skin. A lean frame. My reflection in a puddle showed a messy shock of dark hair and glowing eyes.
"Holy...holy crap, I'm… I'm hot!"
Behind me, the silver-haired girl stopped mid-fight. Her eyes widened. "You… were the spirit?"
I tried to answer but realized something horrifying.
I was naked.
Completely.
The girl's face went crimson. "W-What are you doing standing there like that?!"
"I didn't exactly get to choose my wardrobe!" I yelped, covering myself with my hands.
[Observation: Clothing not included in base model.]
"SHUT UP, ADVISOR!"
A soldier nearby tripped over himself laughing. Even Bran blinked, for once speechless.
The girl turned away, muttering something about indecent spirits.
"Wait, wait! Don't look at me like I'm some streaker! I literally just evolved!"
---
[Displaying Updated Status.]
A glowing screen appeared before me:
Status
Name: Yuto (Reincarnated Human-Form Spirit)
Level: 4
HP: 120/120
MP: 150/300
Strength: 16
Agility: 18
Endurance: 14
Intelligence: 22
Skills:
- Absorption (Enhanced)
- Analyze ( lv2)
- Mana Shaping( lv2)
Unique Trait: Shared Growth (All allies linked to you gain partial stat growth)
My jaw dropped. "Holy crap, I actually have stats now!"
[Correction: You had stats before. They were just… pitiful.]
"I swear one day I'm uninstalling you."
---
But celebration was cut short.
The ground trembled.
From the forest came not just more hounds but something larger. A hulking beast, its twisted horns scraping the treeline, eyes burning like twin embers. Its roar shook the earth.
The soldiers staggered. Even the girl's expression hardened.
She gripped her daggers, muttering: "…A Corrupted Alpha."
My newly-formed hands trembled. My HP was low, my MP half-drained. And yet, when I looked at the villagers' terrified faces, I knew
"I can't back down."
The Alpha roared again, charging toward us, each step shaking the ground.
---