The blue window lingered in front of Arin's eyes.
Player Status:
Name: [ERROR]
Level: 1
Class: None
Title: The Bugged One
Arin stared at it until the glowing letters blurred. "Bugged One," he muttered, almost laughing. "Figures. I always was a glitch magnet."
He closed the window, but it didn't go away. It hovered at the edge of his vision no matter where he looked. Another reminder that this wasn't real—or rather, that it was too real.
The grassy plain stretched around him, silent now that the corrupted wolf had been reduced to shards of code. But the peace didn't last.
The ground shivered. The sky cracked like glass.
Arin whirled, clutching the jagged rock he still held. "Oh, come on. Already?"
A second window popped up.
[System Message: Unstable Environment Detected.]
[Warning: Player Data Corruption 0.3%]
"Wait—corruption?" Arin's chest tightened. "As in… me?"
His hands trembled. If his data corrupted enough, what would happen? Would he just… vanish?
The thought made his throat dry.
Before he could dwell on it, the grass rippled ahead. Another wolf flickered into existence, this one larger, its body spliced with fragments of armor. A higher-level monster.
Arin cursed under his breath. His rock wasn't going to cut it this time.
The beast lunged.
Time stuttered—then froze.
[Bug Exploit Activated.]
Pause Function: 3 Seconds.
Arin's eyes widened. The world around him hung still once more.
"This… this is my cheat, isn't it?" he whispered. "My only damn chance."
His gaze darted across the field. Rocks. Branches. Nothing useful.
Unless…
Arin sprinted to the wolf's side during the pause, positioning himself perfectly. The timer ticked down.
3… 2… 1.
The world resumed, and the wolf shot past him, jaws snapping at empty air. Arin rammed the rock into its exposed flank.
The monster shrieked, glitching violently as sparks of code burst from its body.
He struck again. And again. Until the beast dissolved into digital fragments, leaving only silence and a faint chime.
[Glitched Beast Defeated.]
[Bug Exploit +1 Acquired.]
Arin collapsed onto the grass, chest heaving. His hands tingled from exertion, and a faint static hummed across the air, brushing against his skin like icy fingertips.
"This world… is insane," he muttered, a grin tugging at his lips. "But maybe… just maybe… I can survive it."
A new message flashed.
[Quest Received: Find the Village of Errors.]
Arin's grin faded. "The… what?"