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The horn still echoed in my head long after the sound faded.
I floated low between tree roots, dimming my glow to a faint shimmer. In the distance, torches bobbed like fireflies, drawing slow arcs through the clearing. Whoever carried them marched in an organized line too steady to be hunters stumbling around.
"Advisor," I whispered, "please tell me they're friendly villagers and not a death squad."
[Correction: Probability of them being friendly is approximately twenty-nine percent. Probability of them being a death squad is seventy-one percent. Congratulations, you are statistically doomed.]
"Wow. Thanks for the morale boost."
I hovered closer, careful not to bump into branches. The group was clearer now: six figures, maybe seven, wrapped in leather armor. They moved like soldiers, each step crisp. A tall man carried a spear with a faintly glowing tip. Another held a wooden staff that pulsed with mana.
Magic users. Actual people who could turn me into glowing dust if they got twitchy.
[Analysis complete. Local militia. Equipment: mid-tier iron weapons, mana-conductive staff, low-tier protective charms. Competence level: moderate. Kill count: untested. Current emotional state: wary.]
I squinted. "You can read emotions too?"
[Correction: I can interpret posture, heart rate, and mana fluctuations. Unlike you, I actually notice details.]
"You're really good at making me feel small, you know that?"
[You are small.]
Ouch.
I debated my options. Hide? Approach? Do a stand-up routine to break the ice? My glowing body wasn't exactly stealth material.
Before I could decide, one of the militia suddenly stopped. "Captain, wait," he hissed. He pointed toward my direction. "Something's there."
Ah crap.
The captain raised his spear. "Show yourself, spirit."
My entire core shivered. Did he… know?
"Advisor," I whispered, "they can actually sense me?"
[Correction: You radiate mana like a lantern at a rave. Even blind goblins could sense you. You are the opposite of stealth.]
"Well excuse me for being fabulous!"
The captain's voice rang out again, sharper this time. "Once more show yourself."
Okay. Think. Play it safe. Maybe they weren't hostile yet. I drifted forward slowly, dimming my glow even more.
"Hi there," I said weakly, "please don't stab me. I'm fragile."
The men stiffened, raising weapons. The mage with the staff hissed, "A spirit. An unusually dense one."
I gulped. "Unusually dense? That's… not insulting, right?"
The captain's eyes narrowed. "State your purpose, spirit. Why are you here?"
"I, uh… got lost?"
Smooth, Yuto. Real smooth.
[Correction: Inaccurate. You were reincarnated here after dying in an idiotic fashion. Should I share the details?]
"Shut up, Advisor!" I hissed.
The militia exchanged glances. One whispered, "It talks. Spirits aren't supposed to… talk."
"Great," I muttered. "Now I'm a freak even in the freak category."
The captain lowered his spear slightly, studying me. His voice softened just a bit. "Are you… corrupted?"
"Corrupted? No, no. I'm just… glowing. Friendly glowball. Harmless, unless you're a mushroom."
[Correction: Mildly harmful to mushrooms, bugs, and anything edible. Moderately harmful to ogres.]
The captain hesitated, clearly unconvinced. "If you're truly harmless, then prove it. Let me see your core."
My glow flickered nervously. "My… core? Isn't this already my core?"
The mage shook his head. "No. Spirits have an internal essence. If he reveals it, we'll know if it's tainted."
Oh crap. Was this a trap? If I let them poke around inside me, would I… explode?
"Advisor," I whispered urgently, "options?"
[Option one: comply and risk exposure. Option two: refuse and look guilty. Option three: distract them with your stunning personality, which is statistically the worst idea.]
"Gee, thanks."
I hovered in silence, debating. That was when a sudden roar split the night.
The entire militia snapped to attention, weapons raised. The trees shook as something huge crashed through them, branches snapping like twigs.
The captain barked orders. "Formation! Protect the mage!"
A massive silhouette emerged furred, four-legged, with horns curling like sickles. Its eyes glowed with red corruption, drool hissing as it dripped on the ground.
The militia gasped. "A corrupted beast!"
The monster lowered its head and charged.
I screamed internally. "Advisor, help!"
[Recommendation: This is your chance. Either fight alongside them and earn trust… or float away like the coward you are.]
"Fight?! I barely know how to chew mushrooms!"
But the militia was already engaging, steel flashing, magic flying. If I ran, I'd lose my chance at allies. If I stayed, I might die again.
Choices sucked.
I glowed brighter, trying to gather courage. "Fine… let's gamble."
I zipped forward, aiming myself at the beast's leg just as it barreled past. My Absorption skill flared, sparks crackling. The monster shrieked, stumbling, giving the militia a perfect opening.
The captain's spear pierced its neck. The mage's staff exploded in a flare of blue.
The beast collapsed with a final hiss, dissolving into foul smoke.
Silence fell.
Everyone turned to stare at me.
I floated nervously. "…So. Do I get a 'thank you' or…?"
The captain lowered his spear and gave me a long, unreadable look. Then slowly he smiled.
"You may not be corrupted after all. Perhaps… we should talk."
[Observation: Congratulations. You didn't die. I am as shocked as you are.]
"Shut it, Advisor."
But inside, my core pulsed with something I hadn't felt since arriving here: hope.
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