Eridale's sun dipped low, painting the streets gold. Peaceful. Calm. A perfect evening.
Naturally, this meant doom was coming.
The guild hall buzzed when Yuto's party entered, dungeon dust still clinging to them. Every table paused mid-laughter and mid-drink.
Whispers burst instantly:
"That's them...." "The spirit boy!" "He cleared a hidden dungeon?" "No way!" "He glowed like a spirit king!"
Yuto blinked. "Wow, we're famous now?"
[Technically infamous. People fear and admire you. Mostly fear.]
"Comforting."
Mimi spread her arms dramatically. "Bow before Lord Yuto!"
Nobody bowed. One guy choked on soup.
Seraphina face-palmed.
Zarek crossed his arms, proud. "Let them tremble."
Then....
BOOM!
The guild doors slammed open.
A trembling scout stumbled in, bloodied and pale.
"R-Rankers… emergency! South forest! Something corrupted! It..it devoured a whole patrol unit! M-mana is decaying! Even trees are rotting!"
The hall froze.
Corruption.
The word dropped like stone in a quiet lake.
Yuto stepped forward. "Point us to it."
"Yuto, wait," Seraphina whispered. "You just fought."
Yuto's eyes sharpened. "I can feel its mana. It's strong. If we don't go, who will?"
[Heroic. Stupid. I support it.]
The scout pointed, trembling. "South edge… black mist… monstrous silhouette..."
"Say no more."
Yuto burst forward, team behind him.
And this time..
He didn't jog.
He vanished.
Air cracked, dust scattering, wind spiraled in his wake.
His new agility was showing off.
"W-WHAT SPEED?!" someone screamed.
Half the guild sprinted to the window, jaws dropped.
[Congratulations. You have officially traumatized civilians with cardio.]
---
When they arrived.
The forest shifted from lush to dead in minutes.
Leaves wilted. Grass decayed. The air grew thick, acidic. Mana collapsed around them.
A smell like rot and burnt ether.
Mimi trembled. "This isn't normal…"
[This is hostile spiritual interference. Not natural. Something wants you dead.]
"Lovely," Yuto muttered.
At a clearing's center .... a twisted beast hunched over corpses, growling.
A Corrupted Direwood Stag ,.. but warped. Antlers jagged like bone. Veins glowing sick crimson. Flesh dissolving into shadow vines.
Its eyes locked onto Yuto.
It screamed ... a horrible, distorted cry as black aura exploded outward. Grazing Yuto has he quickly dodged.
HP -30
"Cheap shot," Yuto muttered.
[ HP below 80% triggers spirit-core alert. Don't be dramatic.]
Yuto exhaled. Mana surged around him, crackling. Earth splintered under his foot.
Then he moved.
---
He blurred, appearing above the beast.
"Mana Shaping: Crescent Strike!"
Two arcs of light cleaved the air, fast enough to hum.
The stag deflected with bone-like antlers, sparks exploding.
They crashed together, shockwave blasting leaves into ash.
Zarek shielded the others. "Monsters do NOT move like that!"
The creature lunged, faster than anything so far.
Yuto shifted, foot sliding, aura erupting ..
Acceleration Burst!
He side-stepped, grabbed its skull, and slammed it into the ground, earth cracking like glass.
BOOM!
But the corruption pulsed and the beast reformed, flesh writhing.
"Persistent bastard."
[I believe the term is 'annoyingly tanky.']
Dark tendrils shot toward him. Yuto let them pierce him...
[HP -80]
Then his body closed instantly, shimmering spirit energy knitting his form.
Mimi gasped. "He let it hit him… on purpose…"
Seraphina whispered, awestruck. "To analyze its corruption…"
Zarek grinned like a felled mountain. "Mad lad."
Yuto raised his arm.
Spirit aura flared ...elegant, ancient, divine.
His eyes glimmered silver-blue.
[Spirit Manipulation engaged. Corruption purification activated.]
Spirit Purge = Radiant Pulse!
Light exploded from his palm, washing over the clearing. Shadow aura screamed, peeling off the beast.
"Now....fall."
[Mana Blade = Overflow Technique]
A giant spectral slash tore through the monster, splitting it in half. Corruption howled...then died.
Silence fell.
Steam curled from Yuto's body as spirit aura faded.
He exhaled. "Still got it."
Mimi clapped, tail wagging. "So cool!"
Seraphina bit her lip. "…Too cool."
Zarek fist-bumped him. "Lord Yuto… absolute unit."
[ Congratulations. You obliterated one corrupted deer. Universe saved. Parade incoming.]
"Let me have my moment."
[ Fine. 19 seconds. Then we train.]
---
Status: Level Up!
Level: 14 → 20
HP: 420 → 520
MP: 600 → 780
Strength: 58 → 92
Agility: 72 → 110
Endurance: 54 → 78
Intelligence: 80 → 103
New Skill:
Spirit Purge : Cleanses corruption, purifies mana
Evolution Progress: (....%?)
[ Slow progress. You need far stronger stimuli to evolve. Preferably not death, but… we work with what we get.]
Yuto nodded.
"Then bring me stronger threats."
The corrupted forest wind whispered like a prophecy.
And far, far away ... something heard him.
And smiled.
---