I used to think "power" meant having muscles, money, or enough social skills to not sweat when ordering food.
Now I know better.
Power is walking into a coffee shop and changing the digital price board with a thought.
> ITEM: Mocha Latte – 3.99 credits
Override price = 0.00
Apply to: Zeke_N ONLY
[Confirm]
Beep.
The machine dispensed it like I was some kind of caffeine messiah. Barista looked confused, blinked twice, and said, "You again?"
"Yup," I said, sipping. "Your system must really like me."
She tilted her head like she was trying to remember if I'd been here before.
I hadn't.
But the system… it was doing something weird. Like reality itself had decided to start blurring. I saw her name tag flicker between "Maya" and "Mya.exe" for a second before stabilizing.
I didn't mention it.
On the Street Again
I rolled out on my bike, now equipped with:
Anti-gravity suspension (bouncy, but cool)
Auto-target pigeon tracker (don't ask)
And a custom nameplate that read: "GL1TCH K1NG" (no regrets)
But it wasn't just me who was changing.
The whole world looked a bit… pixelated. No one else seemed to notice, but things weren't running smooth anymore. Trash bags froze in mid-air. A man walked into a wall, apologized to it, then kept going.
And the weirdest part?
No one reacted.
Not the couple filming a vlog next to a levitating manhole cover. Not the kid laughing at a vending machine spewing out candy bars for free.
It was like the world had accepted this glitchy madness — or had been programmed not to see it.
Then It Got Worse
I stopped by the corner of 5th and Avalon, watching a street performer juggle fireballs — actual fireballs — like it was part of his act.
> PERFORMER: NPC tag = FALSE
Entity Type: User (Class: Elementalist)
System Role: Registered
Visibility: Normal
Debug Access: DENIED
That one word hit me: NPC tag = FALSE.
He wasn't part of the system.
He was like me.
But before I could approach him, the sky shimmered. A rift opened — midair, silent, sharp like a knife through paper.
And out stepped...
Something.
Tall. Wrapped in white bandages. Face a blank slate with static leaking from its eyes. It looked like a corrupted mannequin in a hazmat suit. A floating name tag blinked above its head:
> [Patcher_001]
Purpose: Erase Bug
Target: Zeke_N
"Oh crap."
First Fight: Me vs. Whatever the Hell That Thing Was
I didn't have time to run. My screen flooded with options. Too many to process. I tapped instinctively:
> //DISABLE GRAVITY
//INVERT CONTROLS (enemy only)
//PLAY DISTRACTION_SOUND("Baby Shark Remix")
The Patcher twitched — literally started moonwalking backward.
Then it glitched, froze, and reset.
And in that half-second, I launched my bike at it full-speed with anti-grav boost. We both crashed into a bus stop.
I emerged coughing, bleeding slightly from my nose, but alive.
It didn't.
I checked its name tag.
> [Patcher_001 - STATUS: CORRUPTED]
[ERROR: Zeke_N Not Recognized]
[REPORT: System Overflow]
Then it vanished.
Poof. Gone.
Back at My Crappy Apartment
I closed the blinds, collapsed on the floor, and stared at the ceiling.
"Okay," I whispered. "I'm being hunted by computer ghosts."
A pause.
"…Cool."
I didn't know what I'd tapped into. Some secret admin layer of the universe? A game dev's twisted mod kit? A forgotten God's toolset?
All I knew was this:
The system was broken. I had the keys. And for once in my miserable life…
I wasn't playing fair.