Kael stood in the center of the ruined lab, pulse steady, eyes pulsing with a violet gleam. His breathing had evened out, but his mind spun faster than ever.
The system had called him a glitch. A deviation. A mistake.
But the power he just absorbed? It didn't feel like a mistake.
It felt like freedom.
[🧬 Stability: 24%]
[New Directive: Leave Containment Sector.]
[Warning⚠️: Unauthorized movement may alert System Guardians.]
"Let them come," Kael muttered, voice steady now. "Let's see who's really unauthorized."
He moved toward the far wall. A sleek, curved panel shimmered faintly in the dark — untouched by decay. He reached for it, but before he could touch it—
[Analyzing Path...]
[Door is protected by Class-4 Biolock.]
[You possess: NO CLASS]
[Bypassing Lock Protocol... 🧩 ERROR: User Invalid]
A second passed.
Then a new line appeared.
[Overriding Lock using GLITCHFORM...]
[🟪 ACCESS GRANTED.]
The wall folded open like paper.
Beyond it was a corridor bathed in sterile white light, humming with quiet power. Cold air rushed past him, artificial and clean — too clean.
Kael stepped forward.
The hallway was wide, but empty. No footsteps. No voices. Just the soft thrum of machines buried in the walls, like the building itself was alive and watching.
A flicker. Something moved.
He stopped.
Ahead, a silver humanoid figure emerged from the ceiling — featureless, faceless, built of shifting metallic plates. Its eyes lit up red.
[SYSTEM GUARDIAN – RANK: ALPHA SCOUT]
[Status: Hostile]
[Authorization Required: CLASS-C+]
[Target Classification: UNREGISTERED ENTITY – TERMINATE ON SIGHT]
It raised an arm. Energy pulsed in its palm.
Kael reacted without thinking.
Phase Echo — Activate.
The world blurred.
Time bent slightly. Kael stepped aside just as the energy blast passed through his afterimage. His body flickered like static, then solidified beside the Guardian.
[Skill: Phase Echo – Successful Dodge]
[System Confusion: 3 seconds]
[🟪 Bonus Effect – ERROR STACK: +1]
He grabbed a metal shard from the ground. As the Guardian recalibrated, he plunged it through its neck joint. Sparks burst.
[Critical Hit – Weak Point Exposed]
[Guardian Integrity: 26%...]
[14%...]
[...0%]
The machine collapsed in pieces.
Kael stared down at it.
[System Feedback Received.]
[Level: N/A]
[EXP Gained: N/A]
[Result: UNTRACKABLE GROWTH DETECTED]
[You are outside the level curve.]
He didn't know what that meant yet.
But it sounded like he was becoming something the system couldn't understand. Couldn't measure.
Kael smirked.
"Good."
He turned toward the corridor's end, where a lift shaft opened, waiting.
[Next Zone: Data Core – Sector B-7]
[Estimated Hostility: EXTREME.]
Kael stepped in without hesitation.
Let the system come for him.
Because he wasn't part of the program anymore.
He was the glitch in its code.
[End of Chapter 2]