Kim's stats had barely nudged up since the Fang sale, but his spirit was lighter. He had food buffs, real gear — a steel-edge dagger and a reinforced cloak — and a bit of coin left over. Not enough to splurge, but enough to survive the week and maybe upgrade his gear if he was smart.
The city's outer bulletin board had a new listing:
> [Limited-Time Dungeon: Fracture Spire — Lower Depths Unlocked for Solo Explorers Rank F-6 and up]
Kim checked his current rank: F-8.
Close.
A couple more grind sessions and he'd qualify. He headed back toward the Emerald Brushline to farm glitchbeasts. They were annoying, especially the burrowing ones, but they gave decent XP if you chained combos.
After three hours and a hundred claw scratches, he hit the requirement. A ping sounded in his ear:
[Rank Up! Current Rank: F-6. New Area Unlocked.]
He accepted the dungeon invite immediately and warped to the Fracture Spire's hidden entrance.
Unlike the upper level, the lower depths were… eerie.
The stone here pulsed with faint red veins. The air shimmered like static. There was no music. Just the low groan of the cave itself, like the game engine struggled to render whatever lay ahead.
"Not creepy at all," Kim muttered, dagger drawn.
He stepped cautiously into the first chamber, where shadows moved against the walls.
Then came the voice.
"Pssst. Hey. You. Yes, the guy with the budget cloak."
Kim froze. A hunched figure emerged from behind a glowing crystal. He wore a banana-yellow scarf, lopsided goggles, and carried a staff that looked like it had been stolen from three different MMOs.
"Who… are you?" Kim asked.
"Snix!" the stranger said cheerfully. "Technically S-3. Actually currently… regrinding. Long story. Got wiped in a dev-event bug. You?"
"F-6. Grinding too."
"Ha! Broke squad, unite."
Kim didn't trust him yet, but there was something disarming about Snix's cartoonish movements — like he belonged in a totally different game.
"You soloing this?" Kim asked.
Snix laughed. "Heck no. I came for the secret door."
"What door?"
Snix raised a bushy brow. "You don't know about the door?"
Before Kim could reply, the ground quaked.
[Warning: Unstable Zone Detected — Escape or Stabilize in 2:00 Minutes]
"Welp," Snix said, grabbing Kim by the wrist. "No time! Come on!"
---
They sprinted down a flickering corridor, light panels bursting overhead. Monsters rose from broken stone — distorted hounds with glass bones — but Snix lobbed smoke bombs and shouted nonsense spells like "Boomabunga!" until they got through.
At the end of the hall stood an archway, barely visible.
Kim blinked. "That's…"
"Developer stone," Snix whispered. "You can tell by the glyphwork."
"Why would a dev door be hidden in a public dungeon?"
Snix shrugged. "Why do cats sit in boxes? No one knows. Devs are weird."
The door required two players to press runes simultaneously. Snix and Kim exchanged a look.
"You in?" Snix asked.
Kim hesitated for a heartbeat… then nodded.
They pressed the runes.
The door creaked open.
Behind it: a cave bathed in silver-blue light, filled with strange floating pods. In the center, a single dark crystal pulsed — unlike anything Kim had seen before. A voice echoed in their ears.
"Trial Instance: Shadow Bond — Companion Protocol. Begin."
Before either of them could react, the floor vanished — and they fell into darkness.