Looking for a weapon, traveller. That was all I said. Every day, I stood behind the forge, hammering the same dull swords, selling the same weak gear, and repeating the same useless lines. I didn't feel bored. I didn't feel anything. I was just doing what I was made to do.
I was an NPC. A background blacksmith in the town of Viremill. Nothing more.
Then something changed.
A player walked into the shop. He didn't say anything. He didn't move toward the counter. He just stood there, staring at the forge like he knew something I didn't. Then he dropped something on the ground. A crystal. Small, glowing faint blue. It rolled toward the forge and stopped at my feet. I looked down.
I wasn't supposed to.
Then it flashed.
Everything froze. The fire stopped flickering. The hammer in my hand went still. Even the sound in the air vanished. It felt like the world itself had paused.
Then I heard something. Not with my ears. Inside my head. Words I had never known.
[Class update detected].
[Chaos Architect awakened.]
Pain exploded in my chest. My vision blurred. My hand trembled. I dropped the hammer. I didn't know I could feel pain. I didn't know I could feel anything.
But now I did.
Then the sky screamed.
[Unauthorized class detected.]
[Debug Hunters notified. Zone lock initiated.]
I didn't know what Debug Hunters were, but something told me they were strong. Dangerous. And they were coming for me.
In a rush, I stormed out of the shop, hoping to escape from the debug hunters before they find me.
The sky above Viremill was grey, still and heavy. Like the world knew something was wrong.
I ran.
My feet hit the cobblestone hard. I pushed past villagers. They didn't look at me. They didn't speak. Just walked like always, faces empty. One of them bumped into me. He didn't even blink.
I reached the end of the market square. That's when I felt it, the cold air. Like a crack in the world had opened behind me. I turned.
Something was falling from the sky.
Not flying, not teleporting. Just dropping, slow and quiet. A shape wrapped in light. His armour was black. Blue symbols moved across it like liquid. A sword hung by his side. His eyes glowed white.
He was not from this town.
He was a player.
He was a Debug Hunter.
I ran again. Turned into a side street. Heart pounding.
Behind me, I heard the system speak.
[Trace lock engaged. ]
[Target: Chaos Architect.]
[Reward: 1,000 merit.]
They had put a bounty on me.
I cut through a narrow path between houses. Slipped behind a cart. Climbed a fence. My foot caught on the edge but I didn't stop. I ran until I reached the old mill behind the forge district.
It was dark inside, dusty, empty and just broken crates and rotting wood.
I hid behind a barrel. My hands were shaking.
Everything felt too fast. I didn't know what was happening. What I was. Why me?
A small window opened in my mind.
[Class: Chaos Architect]
[CP: 0]
[All abilities locked]
[Warning: instability detected]
I had no powers, no weapons and no idea of what to do.
But I was alive.
Footsteps echoed outside, slow. It was getting closer.
The Debug Hunter was here.
And I had nowhere else to run.