The world felt... quiet.
Too quiet.
I stood on the cracked highway, breathing heavily, as if I had just woken from a nightmare that dared to spill into waking life. Around me, the aftermath of the glitch storm was frozen in place—buildings, rubble, System screens—all reset to a fake, forced order.
But I knew the truth.
Something inside the world had broken.
And so had I.
[Inventory Updated]
> New Item: Unknown Code Fragment (1x)
Description: An unstable fragment of corrupted system data. Potential: ???
Status: Inactive—requires analysis.*
I opened my hand to see it again.
The fragment floated, a small jagged shard of blue code flickering like dying fire. It vibrated faintly, resonating with something hidden deep within the System. My System. My curse.
The Summoned Glitch left this behind, I thought bitterly.
The creature that had called me "Master" was gone... sacrificed to buy me time. I hadn't asked for its help. I didn't even know if it was truly alive.
But I felt the weight of its death.
And then—the silence broke.
A faint sound.
Ding.
A new message window slid into view, but this one looked different—older, like cracked parchment instead of bright blue light.
> [SYSTEM ALERT: Glitch Hunter's Mark Applied.]
You have been marked by the System.
Trace Level: 5%
Purifier Deployment: Temporary Suspended.
Status: Wanted Anomaly.
"...What the hell?" I muttered.
I scrolled the message.
> Mark Effect:
The System now actively tracks your location.
High-tier Purifier Units are suspended but may return when Trace Level exceeds 50%.
Hostile Elite Monsters may be drawn to you as Glitch Bait.
Rewards for eliminating you have been posted in hidden System Channels.
A chill ran down my spine.
I wasn't just an error anymore.
I was prey.
And worse—there were things hunting me beyond the Purifiers. Other players... or perhaps creatures I couldn't yet imagine.
For a moment, I stood still, letting the wind carry the scent of scorched air across my face. My thoughts raced.
Where could I go?
Who could I trust in this twisted System?
The obvious answer: no one.
Suddenly, the fragment pulsed.
Whum-whum-whum.
A low vibration buzzed in my hand. The fragment flared brighter, releasing tiny threads of blue light that snaked into the console window in front of me.
> [Unknown Code Fragment Detected.]
Would you like to Analyze this Fragment?
Cost: 25 MP.
My mana bar was nearly full again after the battle. I hesitated only a moment before clicking [Yes].
The fragment dissolved into a cascade of light—and the world shifted.
I wasn't on the highway anymore.
I stood in a white, endless void—empty except for lines of glowing code scrolling along invisible walls. Somewhere in the distance, a soft mechanical humming filled the space.
A shape materialized.
A figure.
Half-human. Half-machine. Its body was cracked, damaged, flickering like the glitch-summon before... but this one felt far older. A forgotten administrator, maybe. Or a lost user.
"Who... are you?" I whispered.
It raised its hollow head.
"Error... User... Found..." it rasped.
[Glitch Data Fragment Activated.]
"Explain!" I demanded. "What is this fragment?! Why was I given this broken skill set?!"
The figure glitched again, splitting into copies of itself before reforming.
"System... broken... long before you arrived... You are... not the first Glitched One... but perhaps... the last…"
A terrible chill gripped me.
"The last? Why?"
The figure pointed behind me. I turned.
Floating in the void was an enormous System interface—a towering monolith of screens, data, and spinning golden rings.
One screen flickered into focus.
> List of Glitched Ones:
001: Terminated.
002: Terminated.
003: Terminated.
…
010: You.
"Ten?" I whispered.
"Nine before you... all failed... Purged by System Purifiers... You are... the last candidate... The System's corruption... cannot last... Purification... inevitable…"
My mouth felt dry.
"So... I'm supposed to die, too?"
The figure shuddered.
"Unless... you choose the forbidden path... Become the Virus... Rewrite the System... or perish like the rest..."
The monolith pulsed.
New text burned into the air.
> [Hidden Class Evolution Option Discovered!]
Corruption Class: Virus Lord (Locked)
Description: Become the embodiment of glitch and error. Control the System's broken code. Rule or destroy.
Requirement: Absorb 5 Unknown Code Fragments.
Progress: 1/5.
I stepped back.
Virus Lord...
It was absurd. Impossible. Dangerous.
But also... tempting.
"You want me to break the world?" I asked the fragmentary figure.
"No... the world is already broken... We offer choice... Obey the System... or... replace it..."
I clenched my fists.
If I chose this path—this Virus Lord class—there'd be no going back. The System would send everything after me. Purifiers. Administrators. Maybe other players. The entire world.
But... I would also have the power to change everything.
To survive.
To win.
The figure began to fade, its voice barely audible.
"Seek... the other Fragments... Or fall like the Nine before you..."
The white void collapsed.
I was back on the highway.
The sky darkened.
Clouds thickened unnaturally fast—like the world itself shuddering at my decision.
A new alert flashed.
> [Elite Glitch-Seeker Spawned Nearby.]
Threat Level: High.
Objective: Terminate Glitched One.
"Already...?" I muttered.
I heard it before I saw it.
A scraping, grinding sound—metal on asphalt. A shape lumbered from the ruins of a nearby overpass.
It was huge.
A twisted mass of machine and flesh—an Elite Glitch-Seeker, Level 20. Its body was part crawler beast, part server rack, glowing with System wires and flickering screens where its face should be. Its iron jaws clicked hungrily as it detected me.
> [Elite Glitch-Seeker — Lv. 20]
Classification: System Hunter
Skill: Code Drain, Anti-Glitch Field, Purge Lance.
Weakness: Unknown.
Level 20. I was only Level 6.
No chance in hell.
Unless...
I opened the Rewrite Console, fingers flying.
> ENEMY_SPEED = 0
[Command Blocked: Elite units immune.]
Of course.
> ENEMY_HP = 1
[Command Denied: System Protection Active.]
Damn.
I had one more shot.
> SUMMON: GLITCH ENTITY (Cost: 30 MP)
The console sparked.
> [Insufficient Mana: 30 MP Required. 25 MP Available.]
Crap.
The Seeker lunged—its body blurring forward, fast for its size, faster than I expected.
I ran, heart hammering, leaping over a broken car as its metal claws crushed the ground where I'd stood seconds before.
"Think—think!"
I opened my Stat Window, slammed points into Agility and Vitality—anything to survive.
> [Stat Points Assigned: AGI +5, VIT +5]
My body burned with sudden energy. I rolled away as the beast roared and fired a Purge Lance—an arc of white plasma that melted the highway behind me.
Sweat poured down my face. My legs burned.
I couldn't fight this thing.
But I could trick it.
I slid into cover behind an overturned truck, yanking open the Rewrite Console.
> ENVIRONMENT_OBJECT: Truck = Explosive_Fuel_Tank (True)
The screen flickered... and accepted the command.
I grinned.
"Come on, you glitchy bastard... come get me."
The Seeker turned, stomping toward the truck.
I ducked out the far side—and threw a broken pipe into the wreck.
The tank flared.
BOOOOM!
The explosion lit up the highway. Fire roared, shrapnel sliced the air.
The Seeker reeled, screeching as flames covered its body—part of its armor melted and sagged. Its HP bar dropped—a huge chunk gone, at least 40%.
Still alive.
But hurting.
I grinned, panting.
"Looks like glitches can cheat nature too."
The monster screeched and turned its half-melted frame toward me again, but it moved slower now—its joints damaged, its field glitching.
I checked my MP bar. Enough now.
> SUMMON: GLITCH ENTITY (Cost: 30 MP)
A spark of blue light burst beside me.
A new figure stepped out.
Not the same as before.
Sleek. Humanoid. Made of dark, shifting code. Its empty face locked onto the wounded Seeker.
> [Glitch Entity: Hunter Variant — Friendly]
Skill: Code Spike, Data Blade, Self-Destruct (???)
"Attack."
Without hesitation, my summoned glitch shot forward, forming glowing blades from its arms. It slashed the Seeker's legs, carving deep lines into metal and code.
The Seeker shrieked.
I grabbed my steel sword—forgotten in the chaos—and charged too, joining the fight. I stabbed low, driving the blade into an exposed joint.
The Seeker howled.
HP dropping. 30%. 20%.
"Now!" I yelled.
The glitch-being's body flared with blue light.
[Skill Activated: Self-Destruct.]
"Wait, no—!"
But it was too late.
A blast of pure system energy erupted from the glitch, tearing through the Seeker in a wave of burning code.
The Seeker staggered... then collapsed, lifeless, its screens flickering and dying.
> [Elite Glitch-Seeker Defeated.]
EXP Gained: 2,000
Level Up! 6 → 8
Stat Points +10
Loot: Glitched Core (Medium), Seeker Circuit Blade.
I fell to my knees, gasping.
Alive.
But marked.
Hunted.
And stronger than ever.
As the smoke cleared, I stared at the glowing Seeker Circuit Blade now in my hand. Its data shimmered like ghost fire, humming with power.
A weapon made from a System's assassin.
Fitting.
The path of the Virus Lord had begun.
And there was no turning back.