You defeat a shadowy, glitchy monster that tries to delete you from reality, and all you get is a glowing rock with error symbols on it.
Sounds lame, right?
Yeah, well—turns out that rock might hold the key to everything.
---
What's in the Core?
Back at the Aeronfall Guild, I placed the Eater Core Fragment on a table. It pulsed like it was alive.
Every time I touched it, my system pinged a warning:
> [Warning: Fragment contains raw corrupted code. Decryption not recommended without supervision.]
Naturally, I ignored that.
I mean, when has "do not press" ever worked on me?
---
Enter: The Code Whisperer
That's when the guild receptionist (you know, the tired cat-eared one who probably has trauma from just watching me exist) dropped a name.
"There's someone in the Lower Rings. Calls himself 'The Code Whisperer'. Knows things. Dangerous. Overcharges. Talks like a drama villain."
Rina raised an eyebrow. "And we're trusting him?"
Me: "Of course we are. He sounds like my kind of person."
---
The Lower Rings – Shady, but Fashionable
The Lower Rings of Aeronfall were like the city's basement — dark, cramped, full of suspicious soup stands and shady deals.
We found the guy in a back alley.
Leaning on a glowing bench. Wearing sunglasses. At night.
That's how you know he's the real deal.
"You must be the Glitched One," he said, without turning.
"…That's not ominous at all."
---
Meet 'Zell'
His name was Zell. Apparently, he used to be a system architect before he… "broke off."
Literally. His system signature was corrupted like mine — but stable enough to talk in full sentences and not explode.
I showed him the Eater Core Fragment.
He pushed his glasses up and smirked. "Oho. You made one of them bleed. That's rare."
"I make lots of things bleed," I said proudly. "Mostly by accident."
Zell waved his hand and created a glowing code circle, scanning the core.
> [Decryption: 43%… 68%… ERROR: Hidden Command Found.]
Suddenly, a burst of static screamed through the alley. Everyone froze.
The core spoke.
> "System Reset Protocol: Architect Awakening… Phase 1."
Rina tensed. "That sounds… bad?"
Zell chuckled. "Worse than bad. The Architect's waking up."
I raised my hand. "Uh. Who's the Architect?"
Zell leaned in.
"The original system creator. The one who wrote the rules… and buried anything that didn't follow them."
He grinned.
"You, my glitched friend, are public enemy number one."
---
New Quest – Hack the Dungeon
Before I could panic, Zell tossed me a scroll.
> [Side Quest: System Override – Dungeon Hack Test]
Location: Fragmented Dungeon, Level 3
Objective: Inject Glitch Code into the Boss Core
Reward: +2 Glitch Points, System Rewrite Upgrade
"You want me to hack a dungeon boss?" I asked.
Zell smiled. "Yup."
"While it's still alive?"
"Preferably while it's trying to kill you."
I stared at him.
"…I love this plan."
---
Final Prep
Before heading out, I checked my updated screen:
Name: Yuto Kurogane
Race: Codeborn (Glitched Core)
Level: 9
Title: Loop Breaker, Cheese-Fu Master, Core Cracker
HP: 38/38
Strength: 13 | Agility: 13 | Intelligence: 18
Traits:
- Data Sense
- Debug Mode
- Crash Override (1x/week)
- Glitch Core (Unstable Power)
- Static Immunity (Minor)
New Resource:
- Glitch Points: 2
Skills:
- Glitch: Random Buff
- Lag Clone (Lv3 – Independent)
- Rollback (1x/day)
- Sound Lag
- Packet Skip (1x/day)
- Inventory Toss
- Data Pulse
- System Rewrite
Inventory:
- Glitch Token x1
- Debug Fragment x1
- Eater Core Fragment (decoded)
- Hacking Scroll (NEW)
Rina looked over my shoulder. "You sure you're ready to start hacking dungeons now?"
I grinned. "Nope. Which is exactly why I'm going."
---
Final Thought
As we left the Lower Rings, Zell called out to me.
"Oh, Yuto."
I turned.
"When the Architect wakes up… you won't be fighting for XP anymore."
"…Then what will I be fighting for?"
Zell smiled darkly. "Freedom."
---
To be continued...