The subway platform was dead quiet except for the sound of water dripping somewhere in the darkness.
Marcus crept down the cracked stairs, his Debug Vision painting warning messages across his view.
[ANOMALY ALERT: High Priority Target Detected] [Master Admin ETA: 3 minutes] [Suggested Action: Find Safe Zone]
His phone buzzed with a new notification
[Emergency Quest Activated]
Objective: Survive the Underground
Difficulty: ★★★☆☆
Reward: EXP +500, New Skill Unlock
Failure: Permanent Account Deletion
"Account deletion," Marcus muttered. "Great way to say death."
The platform stretched ahead, empty except for broken vending machines and scattered trash.
But his Debug Vision saw more. Yellow text floated above a maintenance door
[Hidden Passage: Glitch Hunter Safe Zone]
Access Requirements: Defeat Guardian Entity
A low growl echoed through the tunnel.
Marcus spun around. Something moved in the shadows near the far end of the platform.
It stepped into the dim light, and Marcus's stomach dropped.
The creature looked like it was made from corrupted code. Black pixels shifted across its skin like living static.
Its head twitched at wrong angles, and dozens of red eyes blinked randomly across its face.
[BOSS ENTITY: Data Wraith]
Level: 5
HP: 450/450
Type: Corrupted Guardian
Weakness: Core Data Cluster (Chest Area)
Special: Reality Distortion Field
"A boss fight," Marcus whispered. "Of course it's a boss fight."
The Data Wraith let out a sound like dial-up internet mixed with a scream. It raised one arm, and the air around it rippled like water.
Marcus dove behind a concrete pillar just as reality twisted. The wall where he'd been standing folded in half, stone bending like paper.
[WARNING: Reality Distortion Detected]
[Environmental Damage: High]
[Recommended Strategy: Exploit Core Weakness]
Marcus peeked around the pillar. The monster's chest pulsed with a bright red light—the data cluster his Debug Vision had marked as its weak point.
But how could he reach it? He wasn't some superhero with fire powers or super strength.
He was just a programmer with weird vision.
Then he remembered his new skill.
[Available Skill: Memory Rewrite] Effect: Edit one visible System value Duration: 10 seconds Cooldown: 60 seconds
Marcus focused on the creature's status window. The numbers were clear.
HP: 450/450
"Let's see if this works," he muttered.
He concentrated, imagining the numbers changing. The HP display flickered.
450... 400... 300... 200...
The Data Wraith suddenly stumbled, clutching its chest like it was having a heart attack. Dark pixels scattered from its body like digital blood.
[MEMORY REWRITE SUCCESSFUL] [Target HP Reduced: 450 → 200] [Duration: 8 seconds remaining]
Marcus grinned. He'd just hacked a boss monster's health bar.
But his celebration was cut short. The creature's eyes locked onto him, and it charged.
Marcus ran. The Data Wraith slammed into the pillar, crushing concrete like it was made of foam. Chunks of debris rained down.
[Environmental Hazard: Structural Collapse Imminent] [Escape Route: Platform East Exit]
Marcus sprinted toward the exit, but the creature was faster. It leaped over him, landing between him and the escape route.
Up close, Marcus could see the corrupted code crawling across its skin like digital parasites.
The monster swung at him. Marcus threw himself sideways, rolling across the dirty platform. The creature's claws scraped sparks from the concrete.
That's when Marcus noticed something. His Debug Vision showed more than just the creature's stats. It showed the environment too.
[Object: Support Beam Alpha-7] Structural Integrity: 67% Load Capacity: 2,400 kg Current Load: 2,200 kg
The support beam was already close to its limit. And the Data Wraith weighed...
[Data Wraith Mass: 340 kg]
Marcus had an idea. A really stupid, really clever idea.
He ran toward the damaged support beam, the creature chasing him.
Just before reaching the beam, Marcus activated his Reality Debug skill—the one he'd unlocked after escaping the fake Iris.
[Reality Debug Active]
[Target: Support Beam Alpha-7]
[Modifying: Load Capacity]
He changed the beam's load capacity from 2,400 kg to 1,900 kg.
The Data Wraith leaped at him. Marcus dove aside at the last second.
The creature crashed into the overloaded support beam.
[STRUCTURAL FAILURE DETECTED] [CRITICAL COLLAPSE INITIATED]
The beam snapped like a pencil. A section of the tunnel ceiling came down, tons of concrete and metal pipes crashing onto the Data Wraith.
The creature let out a digital scream as it was buried under the debris.
[BOSS DEFEATED: Data Wraith]
[EXP Gained: +750]
[Level Up! You are now Level 2]
[New Skill Unlocked: Code Vision (Passive)]
[Effect: See the System's source code in real-time]
Marcus's phone lit up with notifications.
[LEVEL UP!]
Name: Marcus Martinez
Level: 2
Class: [ERROR] → Debug Specialist
HP: 100/100
MP: 150/150
Skills: Debug Vision (Active
Memory Rewrite (Active)
Reality Debug (Active)
Code Vision (Passive) NEW!
[Stat Points Available: 5]
[Distribute Points: STR | AGI | INT | WIS | LUK]
Marcus put all 5 points into Intelligence. If he was going to be hacking reality, he needed all the mental power he could get.
[Stats Updated]
INT: 15 → 20
[New Effect: Faster skill cooldowns, increased hacking success rate]
The dust settled. The Data Wraith was gone, dissolved into static. The maintenance door clicked open.
[Safe Zone Access Granted] [Warning: Master Admin still approaching] [Time Remaining: 45 seconds]
Marcus ran through the door just as heavy footsteps echoed from the tunnel entrance. He slammed the door behind him and heard it lock automatically.
[You have entered: Underground Network Node] [Area Type: Safe Zone - PVP Disabled] [Population: 23 Active Users]
Marcus found himself in a hidden cavern filled with glowing cables and floating screens.
People sat at terminals, their eyes glowing with the same faint light as his Debug Vision.
A woman approached him. She had short silver hair and wore a leather jacket covered in circuit patterns.
"You're the new anomaly," she said. "The one who killed a Data Wraith with environmental damage."
"How did you—"
"We monitor all boss fights in the area. That was creative problem solving. Most newbies just try to punch things."
She extended her hand. "I'm Nova. Welcome to the Glitch Hunters."
Marcus shook her hand. "Marcus. And I'm really glad you're real this time."
Nova raised an eyebrow. "This time?"
"Long story. Something called the Network has been making fake people to trick me."
Nova's expression darkened.
"The Network? You've already encountered them? That's... not good. They usually don't target new anomalies for weeks."
"Why? What's special about me?"
Before Nova could answer, alarms blared throughout the cavern. Red warning lights flashed.
[EMERGENCY ALERT]
[Master Admin attempting to breach Safe Zone] [Firewall Integrity: 78%... 65%... 50%...]
Nova cursed. "It found us. Everyone, emergency protocols! Full system lockdown!"
The other Glitch Hunters jumped into action, typing rapidly at their terminals.
But Marcus could see what they couldn't—the Master Admin wasn't just trying to break in.
His new Code Vision skill showed him the real danger:
MASTER_ADMIN_001.exe
- Executing: trace_user_connections()
- Target: MARCUS_MARTINEZ
- Scanning social_links...
- Found: family_database_entry
- Status: VULNERABLE_TARGETS_IDENTIFIED
Marcus's blood went cold. The Master Admin wasn't just hunting him anymore.
If he breaks in he'll kill everyone here because they are all glitches!
[New Quest Available]
Emergency Mission: Protect Civilian Targets
Difficulty: ★★★
Time Limit: 2 hours
Reward : ???
Failure: Permanent loss of everyone around
"Nova," Marcus said, his voice tight. "I need to leave. Now."
"What? You just got here. It's safe—"
"No," Marcus said, watching the code scroll across his vision. "Nowhere is safe anymore.
And neither is anyone I care about."
The firewall integrity dropped to 30%.
Marcus had leveled up, gained new skills, and survived his first boss fight.
He could probably take on this admin guy. Right? I mean how strong can an ADMIN be ?