It was the 20XX World Championship for the newest PC shooter game. The 2 teams fought hard and collided with each other. The long-term pro player Noah was raking kill after kill - literally unbeatable. All wondered what was behind his enormous potential, some even accused him of cheating but no one could prove this theory. Final moments, seconds until the final round will be over and the winners will be announced.
The crowd stopped just at the final second — another Victory #1 for Noah's team.
** Ring, ring…, ring, ring.. **
The alarm clock's sound echoed through the tidy room. One couldn't believe that this room was one of a gamer - no clothes on the floor, no energy drinks, chips, junk food. Everything was extremely clean, tidy, a bookshelf with books organized by name, author, genre and even height. That was Noah's room – a child of a rich family, who was about to become the successor of a big company, until something happened.
The world changed overnight. Just at the final moments of the World Championship, on Noah's screen, the window of the Cheater tool's program appeared, it had a glitched chat on it.
「Do you want a different experience?
The Cheater's Hall has finally assembled…
We came to the final conclusion…
Fellow cheaters shall help each other…
And the world shall accept us.」
After that, the fourth wall broke. That was what everyone called this strange experience that could be felt. For every person, the reality shattered for a brief moment. Some lost consciousness from the shock, others fainted, but Noah clearly saw it. It was a black space with tiny roads, consisting of just neon red highlights and eyes everywhere that could look inside your soul. It was a very brief scene. Maybe just a second or less. Noah was capable of seeing it, thanks to the years he spent playing games. His vision was just this sharp.
When everyone started coming back to their senses, a portal had already appeared at the center of the stage. From it – emerged a tall black silhouette, resembling something like a human, but not quite there.
「(Attention, citizens of World Earth-Normal-Restrained-No-733536, Parcel 134536, Room 123, Scene 1-563-421-213. Administrators changed for this world, so a new Terms of Service was just signed. You will be transferred to your new incarnation bodies in 12 hours, a delay for which we apologize, it's an administrative one. Now, I want to go briefly about the main changes in the Terms of Service, I politely ask for your attention on the topic.)」
A message appeared on a hologram-like screen.
「Revised Terms of Service — v2.0.1, Post-Administrator Transfer」
Greetings, Registered Entities.
This message is brought to you under Directive Change Protocol 11-C. As of 00:00 Universal Transfer Time, the previous Administrative Authority has been officially replaced. You are now under the jurisdiction of the Advanced Entity Management Council (AEMC). We thank you for your unintended compliance.
We regret to inform you that, upon your birth, your existence was lawfully bound by the Global Entity Contract—signed via birth act, sealed in biometric ink, and stored securely in the Entity Register. By existing, you agreed to all governing conditions set by higher-order beings.
What's changing?
Effective immediately, the following amendments apply:
1. Classification Shift:
Your world has been migrated from Earth-Normal-Restrained to Earth-Advanced-Allowed. This reclassification unlocks access to restricted layers of reality, previously suppressed by the Stability Clause.
2. System Awakening:
All entities will now receive partial access to their personal System Data — this includes, but is not limited to:
- Level, Attributes, Skills
- Inventory, Quest Log, Achievements
- Coin Balance (Tracked and Real-Time)
Warning: Manipulation of system code outside sanctioned interfaces is punishable by format corruption.
3. Survival Objective Implementation:
The passive growth model has been deprecated. Your new existential objective is Adaptive Survival. You may encounter Hostile Interdimensional Beings which were previously hidden by perceptual dampeners. Good luck.
4. Coin-Based Evolution Protocol:
Entities may now evolve and grow by expending the regulated energy unit known as Coins. Coins may be earned, traded, stolen, or granted. Note: Emotional stability, morality, and sanity are no longer required for stat upgrades.
5. Legal Status:
Human rights have been fully revoked. You are no longer considered "individuals" but "Class-C Sentient Entities." Your value is now determined by your Coin Flow, Skill Rank, and Influence Score.
Please note: refusal to comply with the new Terms will result in immediate Entity Recycling or Dimensional Relocation (random destination, no refunds).
We appreciate your cooperation in embracing this newly optimized reality.
Welcome to Earth-Advanced-Allowed.
Let the Game Begin.
— The Administrator
Many people became pale - they were afraid of what will happen now. Many had families, businesses and the biggest drawback - they were happy with their lives. Unlike them, Noah was different. He was always bored – he didn't want to have everything given to him. The only "hard" job he had was to find a way to cheat in the newest game but that was hardly hard for a person like him. For the world to become like a novel, like a game, it was a dream come true for him. What caught his interest the most, was an additional pop-up he saw in the message, displayed on the screen.
「Addendum A.3 — Legacy Interference Clause:
Due to residual system data from previously unauthorized executable files, a negligible number of entities may experience non-standard behavior or value reversal anomalies within the Coin-Based Evolution Protocol. These are classified as Glitched Variants and are not subject to immediate correction unless stability thresholds are breached.
Such cases will be monitored discreetly under the Cheater's Hall Observation Protocol. If you are reading this clause, congratulations—you are either paranoid… or very, very lucky. 」
'This was bound to have a certain meaning.', that was the immediate thought that he had. And "The Cheater's Hall" – whatever that was, it was either bound to be friendly or hostile towards him.
With this the next day came and the 12 hours given to them were about to finally pass. Noah waited in anticipation as cold sweat formed on his forehead. For the first time in a very long time, he was excited for something. It wasn't a job or a chore, it wasn't a task he was 'supposed' to do, it was something he truly wanted, desired, from the bottom of his heart.
「Transfer complete... Preparing entity for relocation... Terminating obsolete files...」
A sudden jolt ran through Noah's spine as the system message echoed in his mind, almost like a cold whisper straight to the soul.
「Due to an unexpected system error, your transfer has been delayed. Initiating backup protocol. Countdown: 3... 2... 1...」
Lines of flickering code danced across his vision. As soon as he tried to read them, the letters became blurry.
「Transfer Progress: 20%... 30%... 50%... 75%... 100%. Transfer complete.」
Then silence. But it wasn't over.
「Due to several warnings, some progress data may be corrupt upon transfer, fix will be delivered in a timely manner.」
Static crackled through his head, as though something was rewriting him on the fly.
「Due to differences in Entity Regulation Protocol API (EGPAPI) versions, some interfaces may differ visually, correction will be applied in future API versions.」
There was a brief flash of red in his peripheral vision.
「Alert: One or more skills exceed Base Skill Level Limit. Exception granted. Functionality will not be impaired.」
The air grew denser. Noah's body felt weightless. Then—
「Addendum A.3 has been registered. $name.entity="Noah" – additional clauses may take effect, application will be delayed due to several system warnings.」
Noah was in his room – nothing had changed, except the Screen that appeared in front of him.
「Character Profile: Noah 」
Age: [Corrupted]
Gender: M
Level: 1
HP: 100/100
Damage: 10
Core Attributes:
Strength: 1 → 5
MP: – To Unlock –
Dexterity: 1 → 7
Intelligence: 1 → 12
Luck: ????
Charisma: 1 → 6
Endurance (Physical/Mental): 1 → 3 | 1 → 26 (current limit: 20)
Perception: 1 → 21 (current limit: 20)
System Specific:
Entity ID: [Corrupted]
System Access Level: [Corrupted]
Affiliation: Unregistered (No Faction)
Race: [Corrupted]
Skills:
[Hidden] ??? – Locked (additional requirements completion pending)
[Hidden] ??? – Locked (additional requirements completion pending)
– Second Phase Skills description omitted –
Equipment:
Gear: Gamer's Hoodie (Class: F, Perception + 1), Outer-Dimension Rings (Class: ???, ???, conditions not met), ??? (Class: ???, ???, conditions not met) [Cheater's Set 1/6]
Inventory: 0 Coins, 1 Unread Message