----Chapter 1----
I opened my eyes to the wide-open prairie outside Ethille.
The tall grass swayed in the wind, wildflowers dotted the ground, and distant hills rolled gently toward the horizon.
For a moment, it looked peaceful. Almost like nothing had happened. Almost.
Everyone else was starting over at level one, but me? I still had every skill, every spell, every cheat the glitch had given me.
I ducked into a small hollow between a cluster of rocks to test a spell. Fireball. Small, controlled, just enough to make sure nothing broke. The flame fizzled in my palm. Still perfect. Still mine.
Which dungeon should I tackle first? I hesitated. This world wasn't exactly the same as before. Bosses might behave differently.
Monsters could have new attack patterns. Maybe it was smarter to lie low, gather beginner quests, and explore safely like a normal player.
I left the prairie and wandered into Ethille. The town looked quaint, almost like a picture-perfect fantasy village, but with odd touches that didn't fit.
Windows flickered like faulty mirrors. A street lamp stuttered in place. One NPC repeated the same greeting three times before moving on.
I shook my head.
Something was off.
I ducked into a quiet alley to check my stats. My level read 1.
Perfectly ordinary for a beginner. But my health and mana were maxed out. My vitality, reflexes, and all active skills were fully functional.
I could move, fight, and cast like the Glitch King of old, but outwardly, I looked like a fragile beginner.
I clicked through the menus and froze. A slot in the Passive Skills section glowed faintly, labeled LOCKED.
I had never seen this before. My fingers hovered over it.
Why was it locked? What skill could possibly be hidden here? I tried everything, but it was inaccessible.
"Well, isn't that convenient," I muttered.
"Some hidden skill waiting for me. Probably just a placeholder. Or something dangerous. Fun."
I strapped on my rusty sword and wobbly wooden shield, loaded my potions, and readied my map.
Even at level one, I could move through town unnoticed, complete quests, and slowly gauge how the world had changed since the reset.
One wrong move and every adventurer would see through my facade.
•••••••••••
A commotion caught my attention. A group of level one adventurers were cornered by a rogue mob of kobolds, their swords barely glinting in the sun.
One of them—a furfolk mage, shaking with fear and was about to get pummeled.
Then, right in front of me, a glowing prompt appeared.
>Exclusive Quest
Save the adventurers
[Yes] [No]
Eh!?
This wasn't part of the usual tutorial. The system was practically daring me. Intervene and risk exposure? Or let them flounder and gain a beginner's experience?
I hesitated, then muttered to myself:
"Old habits die hard."
Before I could make a plan, the kobolds lunged. Time seemed to slow. I flickered through the mob, stepping between them like a ghost.
One kobold slammed into another. Chaos, barely visible to the untrained eye, but I smiled.
When the smoke cleared, a notification flashed in front of me:
Congratulations! First Quest Completed
Cooldown: 12 hours
Huh? Cooldown? I raised an eyebrow. Guess the system wanted to limit
"helpful" behavior.
I glanced around. The kobolds' drops glittered in the sunlight: gold coins, a rusty short sword, and a strangely glowing potion.
Just then, three adventurers stumbled toward me, brushing dirt off their armor and wide-eyed.
"Did you see what just happened?" one asked, a mix of awe and confusion in their voice.
They caught their breath, and then, one by one, introduced themselves.
"I'm Lyra, a mage of the Arcane Arts," said the furfolk, clutching a battered staff.
"I'm Garrick, a brawler of the Vanguard class," said the burly dwarf, his massive fists already itching for action.
"Name's Selene, rogue thief," added the nimble elf, flipping her daggers with a flourish.
Selene's eyes suddenly darted to the small bag of coins near the fallen kobolds. She raised a hand to her forehead, squinting.
"Wait…was that the loot from the kobolds?
Lucky!"
Before she could pick it up, the tall grass rustled ominously. Three massive brutes stepped into view, grins stretching across their faces.
"Hey! That's our loot!" one shouted, and the other two laughed cruelly.
"I'm Dieval, and I am your worst nightmare," the tallest growled.
The adventurers froze. Lyra's eyes widened. Garrick clenched his fists. Selene took a cautious step back, daggers ready.
This was bad.
Why are the weak always treated like they don't matter?
Seeing the adventurers cornered like that, feeling the tension and danger, it reminded me too much of my own past.
Bam! A punch landed squarely on my face. Pain flared, my nose stinging. Blood trickled down as boots and fists rained on me.
I wanted to disappear. My name, my looks, my awkward, gloomy self—they were constant targets for bullies.
Then I saw him, Riven. Tall for his age, dark hair falling slightly over his sharp eyes, and a calm, quiet aura even in the chaos.
He was cornered, trying to block punches with his arms, but clearly outnumbered. Something snapped inside me.
"Hey! Leave him alone!" I shouted.
But…why did I do that? How in the world did I find the courage to stand up, to make myself a living punch bag for someone I barely knew?
Of course, they turned on me. I got beaten up too. Yeah…pretty bad. I felt every shove, every kick, my chest stinging, blood trickling down.
But Riven looked at me with genuine thanks, his sharp eyes softening for a moment. Later, he handed me a CD.
"Try this game," he said. "Etherissia. It's trending online. Looks fun."
I was hesitant.
Another popular game, probably full of glitches, maybe even a trap. But curiosity got the better of me.
That night, I booted up the CPR gear—Comprehensive Personal Reality.
Not the kind of CPR you do to save drowning people. This gear projected a virtual world around you as if it were real, full immersion, full danger, full life.
I didn't know it then, but that CD changed everything. It gave me power I never imagined. It gave me a world to hide in. And it trapped me inside.
••••••••
I left the prairie and wandered into Ethille again, this time paying closer attention. Shops were opening, blacksmiths calling out, and townsfolk moving about. Yet something felt off.
Windows flickered like faulty mirrors, lanterns blinked, shadows stretched oddly. Even NPCs repeated the same lines, almost like the world had a stutter.
I ducked into a quiet alley to check my stats once more. Level one. Standard for a beginner.
But health and mana maxed out, vitality through the roof, every skill I'd ever learned still intact.
The only thing holding me back was the outward level, which wouldn't matter with my experience boost.
I noticed the locked passive skill again. It glowed faintly, taunting me. Some hidden ability waiting, inaccessible, mysterious.
I strapped on my rusty sword and wooden shield, loaded a few potions, and readied my map.
Pretend to be weak. Act like a beginner. Survive.
One wrong move, and every adventurer around me could see through my facade—and then who knows what would happen.
Passing the plaza, I noticed clusters of adventurers whispering near the fountain, voices tense.
"No logout button…if you die, you're gone."
"I saw it happen to a level three. Poof—gone. No respawn."
"How are we supposed to handle that? Even a small dungeon can kill us all!"
I froze. If anyone figured out I was the Glitch King, they would probably try to kill me on the spot. My heart thudded.
Subtle anomalies continued to flicker around me. Lanterns, shadows, repeating NPCs.
Everyone else ignored it, too busy panicking about permanent death.
Perfect.
I checked my inventory again. All my powerful gear was hidden. Rusty sword, wooden shield, a few potions, map of the surrounding area.
Pretend to be weak, act like a beginner, survive.
And that locked passive skill? That was going to haunt me.