The air shimmered with unreality.
Violet's fingers clenched tighter around her healer's staff, though it was barely more than a cosmetic wand now. She stared down the corridor at the man who stepped through the spatial rift like a reaper walking out of a dream or a system log file.
[TYLER_JAX – ADMIN HUNTER | LEVEL ???]
Everything about him felt... wrong. Not in the way monsters felt wrong. This was sharper, cleaner like code wrapped in skin.
"Admin Hunter," Violet repeated, her voice steady despite the instinct screaming inside her.
"So you've heard of me," Tyler said, tilting his head. His eyes glowed faintly blue, HUD overlay scrolling across his irises. "That makes this easier."
"I'm not a threat," she lied.
"Violet Maxwell. Age 19. First-time player. Chose Cleric class." He read it like a file. "System records show full compliance until two hours ago, when you glitched into a forbidden class and restructured localized dungeon data."
He stepped closer.
"You rewrote a core mechanic," he added, more amused than angry. "That's not just a bug. That's a declaration of war."
Violet backed away slowly. The corridor around them rippled stone twisting into code, trees flickering along the walls. Her HUD trembled.
[NEW SYSTEM STATUS: Encounter — High-Rank Admin Entity]
[Combat Recommended: 0.01% Survival Odds]
[Suggestion: Run]
She didn't need to be told twice.
She turned on her heel and sprinted, heart pounding. The dungeon shifted with her panic paths rearranging, sound skipping. The Vault was collapsing. Behind her, Tyler walked calm, calculated. Not chasing. Just watching.
That scared her more.
She burst into a glitched side corridor, where torches blinked in and out like fireflies. Vines hung from broken ceiling tiles. A half-loaded chest flickered to life before her.
[QUEST ITEM: Anomaly Core]
Absorb this unstable core to stabilize your new class.
She didn't think just slammed her palm into it.
The chest exploded into particles. Light flared in her chest. A burning sensation shot through her spine as system files recompiled.
[FATEBREAKER CLASS — LEVEL 2 UNLOCKED]
[SKILL GAINED: Echo Mend]
→ Heal residual glitch damage in corrupted zones. Clears path distortion.
[Skill Gained: Anomaly Drift (Passive)]
→ Auto-teleport to unstable coordinates when below 20% HP.
A crack split the air.
Tyler appeared in front of her no teleport rune, no warning. Just blinked from one corrupted point to the next like a shadow skipping frames.
"Running won't help. Not anymore," he said.
He raised a glowing black hand. System code wrapped around his wrist like chains admin level bindings.
[Tyler_Jax casts: Rule Execution Lv. 3 — DELETE TARGET]
A massive sigil formed in the air, targeting her entire body. Her limbs locked in place. Violet's HUD blurred, life bar dropping to red instantly.
[Status Effect: Paralyzed | HP: 20/500]
But just before the spell hit, her body jerked Anomaly Drift triggered.
She vanished in a burst of glitch-light.
The blast tore the corridor in half.
She reappeared in a crumbled chamber far below, coughing on digital dust. Debris flickered like half-rendered polygons. Her hands trembled as she pulled herself upright.
"Okay. Can't fight him. Can barely run from him," she muttered.
She opened her skill tab, staring at her Fatebreaker class tree.
- FATEBREAKER — CLASS TREE (Partial)
Rewind Pulse Lv. 1: Reverse 10 seconds for target. 1 RP
Death Unwritten Lv. 1: Negate one fatal blow. 3 RP
Echo Mend Lv. 1: Heal glitch damage in corrupted zones
Anomaly Drift (Passive): Auto-teleport at low HP
Patch Note Lv. 1: Rewrite one minor stat daily (random outcome)
Rewrite Points (RP): 3/5
[NOTICE]: Boss Room Unlocked Dungeon collapse imminent.
Violet sucked in a breath.
If she stayed here, she'd die. If she went back the way she came, Tyler would kill her. But the only thing more dangerous than him… might be ahead.
She stepped through the crumbling hall.
[ENTERING BOSS ROOM: ECHO OF THE FORGOTTEN QUEEN]
The chamber was immense. Half-formed, flickering in and out of visibility — like the developers abandoned it mid-build. At the center stood a skeletal figure in a shattered crown, tethered by glowing glitch threads.
The boss turned.
"You… are not like the others," it said.
[BOSS IDENTIFIED: QUEEN VARASIA (CORRUPTED)]
[Level: 12]
[Status: Bugged | Linked to System Core]
Warning: This boss cannot be defeated by normal means.
Violet's heart pounded.
"Can you... feel it?" the queen whispered. "The world... unraveling..."
Glitching enemies spawned twisted knights, half-loaded minions with static faces. She dodged desperately, casting Echo Mend on the shifting tiles to clear safe paths. But it wasn't enough.
A corrupted knight's blade slashed toward her.
[HP: 10/500]
[Anomaly Drift Activated]
She blinked across the arena behind the queen.
Suddenly, she saw it: a corruption node embedded in the boss's back pulsing red, raw code exposed.
She needed a miracle. Or a cheat.
She opened her Patch Note skill.
Choose a stat to rewrite:
▢ Echo
▢ Willpower
▢ Agility
▢ Focus
She picked Focus and whispered, "Please work."
RNG ROLLING...
[FOCUS boosted by 500% for 30 seconds]
Her world slowed.
Everything crystallized like time folding itself for her.
She rushed the node, jammed her staff into the corruption, and screamed:
"REWIND PULSE!"
The world shuddered.
The glitch reversed a full 10 seconds. She was back in the middle of the arena… but now she knew exactly when and where the enemies would strike. And where the weak point was.
[COMBO UNLOCKED: TIMED REWRITE]
Critical chain detected: Glitch node destabilized. Boss thread collapsing.
Queen Varasia shrieked.
"You... are not bound by fate…"
Her body shattered into pixel light.
[BOSS DEFEATED: + EXP + RP GAINED + SYSTEM SHOCK DETECTED]
[New Title Gained: Dungeon Rewriter]
[Rewrite Points +3 | Fatebreaker Level Up: Lv. 3]
The chamber trembled violently.
A new portal opened jagged, unstable.
And through it, a familiar figure stepped out. Again.
Tyler Jackson.
This time, he didn't strike.
He stared at the fallen boss, then back at Violet eyes narrowed.
"You rewrote a system-locked boss," he said flatly. "No player should be able to do that."
She raised her staff, pulse racing. "You gonna try and delete me again?"
"No," he said slowly. "Now I need to figure out what the hell you are."