"This game better be worth it…"
Kael leaned back in his chair, staring at the download bar finally hitting one hundred percent. His room was quiet except for the soft hum of his PC and the faint noise of traffic outside. Midnight again. Another night wasted on something new, something temporary.
He rubbed his eyes.
"I swear, if this is just another pay-to-win trash…"
He clicked Start.
The screen went black.
No loading bar.
No logo.
No music.
Just—
Instant light.
---
Kael blinked.
He was standing.
Not sitting.
Standing.
In a village.
"…what?"
The air felt real.
Too real.
A soft breeze brushed against his face. He could smell grass, wood, even something cooking nearby. The sky above him was bright blue, with clouds slowly drifting like a perfect painting.
NPCs walked around naturally. Talking. Laughing. Living.
Not scripted.
Not robotic.
Kael looked down at his hands.
They moved instantly.
No delay.
No stiffness.
"…this is insane."
He clenched his fist.
Opened it.
Turned his wrist.
Everything felt smooth.
Too smooth.
"This isn't normal VR…"
He took a step forward.
The ground felt solid under his feet.
Another step.
Still fine.
Then—
His foot sank.
Just slightly.
Kael froze.
"…wait."
He slowly lifted his foot.
The ground returned to normal.
He stepped again.
Nothing.
"Okay… maybe I'm just tired."
He laughed nervously.
But something didn't feel right.
The world was perfect.
Too perfect.
And perfect things…
Always break.
---
Kael walked through the village, observing everything.
Players.
NPCs.
Animals.
Everything moved naturally.
He passed a group of players.
"Yo, this game is crazy realistic!"
"I know, right? I feel like I'm actually here!"
"Graphics are insane—"
Their voices faded behind him.
Kael frowned.
"No UI…"
No health bar.
No mini map.
No quest log.
"…where's the system?"
He tried to open a menu.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
"That's… not good."
Most games had at least basic UI.
But this one?
Nothing.
It felt like he was just…
Here.
---
He stopped in the middle of the road.
Something was wrong.
He could feel it.
Like a small itch at the back of his mind.
A glitch.
Invisible.
But real.
"…whatever."
Kael shook his head.
"Let's just play."
He stepped forward again.
And that's when it happened.
---
The ground disappeared.
No warning.
No crack.
No sound.
Just—
Gone.
"WHAT—?!"
Kael dropped instantly.
The village above him vanished in a blink.
Wind rushed past his ears as he fell.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
"HEY—! WHAT IS THIS?!"
He looked up.
Nothing.
Looked down.
Endless darkness.
Floating debris.
Broken land.
Fragments of something that used to be whole.
"This… this is a bug."
His heart pounded violently.
No system warning.
No safety net.
Nothing.
"This is a bug. It has to be."
He kept falling.
Seconds felt like minutes.
Minutes felt like forever.
Then—
He hit something.
Hard.
---
Kael gasped.
He was lying on a floating platform.
Cold.
Dark.
Silent.
"…I'm alive?"
He touched his body.
No pain.
No damage.
"…that should've killed me."
He slowly stood up.
The space around him was… wrong.
Pieces of land floated in the air like broken puzzle parts. The sky above wasn't a sky—it was a cracked void, flickering like a broken screen.
"This isn't part of the game…"
He walked forward carefully.
Step.
Step.
Step.
No enemies.
No sound.
Just emptiness.
"…hello?"
His voice echoed.
Then disappeared.
No response.
Nothing.
He turned around.
The place where he landed was already gone.
Vanished.
"…okay, that's not normal."
His breathing became uneven.
This wasn't exciting anymore.
This was wrong.
---
Kael took another step.
And suddenly—
Everything changed.
---
He was back.
The village.
Bright.
Normal.
Alive.
"…what?"
He turned around.
Same road.
Same players.
Same everything.
Like nothing happened.
Kael stood still.
"…did I just glitch?"
His hands were shaking.
That didn't feel like a normal bug.
That felt like—
Something else.
---
Then—
A sound.
Soft.
But sharp.
Ding.
A message appeared in front of him.
But it wasn't like normal game text.
It flickered.
Distorted.
Broken.
---
[Error Detected]
---
Kael stared at it.
"…error?"
The message glitched again.
---
[Unknown Condition Achieved]
[Reward Granted]
---
"Reward…?"
The air around his hand twisted.
Distorted.
Then—
Something formed.
A sword.
Black.
Pure black.
But not normal black.
It looked like space itself.
Like it was swallowing light.
The blade flickered slightly, like it wasn't fully stable.
Kael slowly reached out.
"…this feels wrong."
But he grabbed it anyway.
---
The moment he touched it—
A cold sensation ran through his entire body.
Not painful.
But heavy.
Like something entered him.
Something that didn't belong.
"…what was that?"
He looked at the sword.
No name.
No stats.
No description.
Nothing.
"…no data?"
That shouldn't be possible.
Every item in a game had data.
Even trash items.
But this one—
Had nothing.
Like it didn't exist in the system.
---
Kael tightened his grip.
The sword pulsed slightly.
Like it was alive.
"…I really shouldn't have this."
A strange feeling grew inside his chest.
Excitement.
Fear.
Curiosity.
All mixed together.
---
Then—
Something in the distance moved.
A wolf.
Level 3.
Normal.
Real.
Safe.
Kael exhaled slowly.
"…good."
Something normal.
Something he understood.
He raised the sword.
"Let's test this."
The wolf noticed him.
It growled.
Then rushed forward.
Fast.
Aggressive.
Real.
Kael stepped forward.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Just instinct.
He swung.
---
The world stopped.
For a split second—
Everything froze.
Then—
The wolf disappeared.
Not cut.
Not damaged.
Not killed.
Gone.
Erased.
---
Kael stood there.
Frozen.
"…what?"
No body.
No blood.
Nothing.
Just empty air.
---
A message appeared.
---
[Damage: ERROR]
---
"…that's not damage."
His voice felt distant.
Unreal.
Like he wasn't fully here anymore.
---
Then—
Another message.
---
[Devour Triggered]
---
Kael's body jerked slightly.
Something entered him.
Again.
Stronger this time.
Colder.
He staggered back.
"What… is happening…?"
---
His vision blurred.
Then cleared.
---
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
---
Level 1 → 4.
---
Kael stared at the numbers.
"…that's impossible."
He didn't fight.
He didn't grind.
He just—
Erased something.
---
His hands trembled.
"This isn't a game mechanic…"
This was something else.
Something broken.
Something dangerous.
---
Around him—
Other players started to notice.
"Did you see that?"
"What skill was that?!"
"That's not normal damage!"
Kael slowly stepped back.
Their voices felt far away.
His focus was on one thing.
The sword.
Still in his hand.
Still flickering.
Still wrong.
---
"…what did I just get myself into?"
---
The sky above flickered.
Just for a second.
Like something was watching.
---
Kael didn't notice.
But something had already noticed him.
---
And it wasn't part of the game.