Chapter 3: Discovering System Glitches
Ethan stared at the rewards he had received from defeating the Dire Wolf. The Dire Wolf Pelt was a coarse, dark grey, and he could almost feel the residual power emanating from it.
He idly wondered if he could sell it for a good price. More intriguing, however, was the "System Manipulation (Lv.1)" skill and the "Iron Skin" skill.
He immediately checked his status.
[Ethan]
[Level: 2]
[Experience: 0/200]
[Strength: 7]
[Agility: 9]
[Stamina: 8]
[Intelligence: 8]
[Wisdom: 7]
[HP: 120/120]
[MP: 70/70]
[Skills: Iron Skin (Lv.1), System Manipulation (Lv.1)]
[System Lord Interface: Available]
[Aethelgardian Language: Basic
comprehension]
He focused on "Iron Skin (Lv.1)."
[Iron Skin (Lv.1)]
[Passive Skill]
[Description: Slightly increases the durability of your skin, providing a minor reduction to physical damage.]
*[Damage Reduction: 5%]
Ethan frowned. "Slightly" and "minor" seemed rather… underwhelming.
He then looked at "System Manipulation (Lv.1)." He tapped the skill name, and a new window opened.
[System Manipulation (Lv.1)]
[Active Skill]
[Description: Allows limited manipulation of System parameters.
Current Level allows for minor adjustments to skill descriptions and basic stat allocation.]
[Available Manipulations: Skill Description Alteration, Stat Point Distribution]
"Skill Description Alteration?" That sounded interesting.
He went back to the "Iron Skin" skill and, using System Manipulation, attempted to edit the description.
[Iron Skin (Lv.1) - Editing Mode]
[Current Description: Slightly increases the durability of your skin, providing a minor reduction to physical damage. Damage Reduction: 5%]
Ethan hesitated for a moment, then began to type.
[New Description: Fortifies the skin, significantly increasing its resilience and providing substantial protection against physical attacks. Damage Reduction: 15%]
He saved the changes. The System responded with a message:
[Skill Description Updated]
He checked the "Iron Skin" skill again.
[Iron Skin (Lv.1)]
[Passive Skill]
[Description: Fortifies the skin, significantly increasing its resilience and providing substantial protection against physical attacks. Damage Reduction: 15%]
Ethan grinned. It worked! He had actually changed the skill. It wasn't just a description change; the damage reduction had actually increased! This was incredible.
He wondered what else he could modify. He decided to experiment further.
He remembered a basic "Sprint" skill he had seen mentioned in some introductory text about the System.
He tried to locate it within his (currently empty) skills list. It wasn't there.
He then tried to create it using "System Manipulation," but the System responded:
[Insufficient System Authority to Create New Skills at this time.]
Disappointed, he closed the System Manipulation window. As he did, a flicker of static crossed the edge of the interface.
It was barely noticeable, but Ethan's sharp eyes caught it.
He stared at the interface, watching for it to happen again.
A few moments later, another flicker. This time, he noticed something else. A line of text, too quick to read, flashed and disappeared. It was like a glitch, a momentary error in the System.
Ethan felt a chill run down his spine. Something was watching him.
He didn't know what it was, but he could feel it, a presence lurking just beyond the edge of his perception.
He tried to use System Manipulation to scan the System for any anomalies, but he couldn't find anything.
The System logs were inaccessible to him at his current level.
Another flicker. This time, Ethan focused intently. The fleeting text resolved itself for a split second – a string of characters unlike anything he'd ever seen. They weren't letters, nor numbers, but something more angular, almost glyph-like.
They pulsed with an inner light, a vibrant crimson against the usual blue of the System interface, before vanishing again, leaving behind a lingering sense of…wrongness.
He felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, as if unseen eyes were boring into him. The air in the small clearing seemed to grow heavy, the faint scent of damp earth replaced by something metallic, almost like ozone.
He instinctively reached out, trying to touch the fading afterimage of the glyphs, but his hand passed through empty air. "Who's there?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
The silence that followed was thick with unspoken dread.
He decided to put the strange occurrence aside for the moment.
He needed to find civilization, somewhere he could learn more about this world and the System.
He started to walk, following the path he had instinctively chosen after defeating the wolf.
After several hours of walking, the forest began to thin.
He could see patches of cultivated land in the distance, and the faint sound of livestock reached his ears.
Finally, he came to a small village nestled in a valley.
It was a quaint place, with thatched-roof houses clustered around a central square. A wooden palisade, clearly in disrepair with several planks broken or missing, surrounded the village, offering some protection against the dangers of the forest.
As he approached the village gates, he noticed that they were damaged, with several planks broken or missing.
The villagers he saw moving around seemed weary and apprehensive.
They eyed him with suspicion as he approached.
Their clothes were patched and faded, their faces thin and etched with worry.
The fields beyond the palisade were overgrown with weeds in places, hinting at a struggle to maintain them.
"Halt!" a gruff voice called out. A man, dressed in roughspun clothes and carrying a spear, approached him.
"Who are you, stranger, and what brings you to Rivenwood?" The guard's face was lined with fatigue, but his eyes held a spark of defiance.
Ethan explained that he was a traveler, lost and seeking shelter. The guard remained suspicious but eventually allowed him to enter the village.
The village was small and clearly struggling. Many of the houses were in disrepair, and the fields surrounding the village looked neglected.
The villagers were thin and their faces etched with worry.
A thin wisp of smoke rose from a few chimneys, smelling faintly of burning wood and something else… something acrid and unfamiliar.
Ethan was taken to the village elder, a wizened old man named Harren.
Harren listened to Ethan's story with a thoughtful expression.
He seemed to sense something different about Ethan, something beyond his simple words.
"You are welcome to Rivenwood, stranger," Harren said finally, his voice raspy but firm. "
We do not have much to offer, but you may stay here for the night." But as Ethan turned to leave, Harren placed a hand on his arm, his grip surprisingly strong.
"Be wary, traveler," he whispered, his eyes narrowing.
"There are whispers in the wind, whispers of shadows growing stronger, of a darkness that consumes even the light of the System. And…," he paused, his gaze intensifying, "I sense something… different about you. A mark, perhaps. Or a destiny."
He released Ethan's arm, his expression returning to its usual stoicism. "The night will be long. Be prepared."
As Ethan was settling into a small, empty hut, a new quest appeared on his interface:
[Quest Received: Protect Rivenwood]
[Description: Rivenwood is facing an imminent monster raid. Protect the village and its inhabitants.]
[Objectives: Defend Rivenwood against the monster raid.]
[Rewards: 200 Experience Points, Rivenwood Membership, Random Skill Book]
Ethan sighed. It seemed his peaceful respite would be short-lived. He had barely arrived in Rivenwood, and already he was being asked to defend it against a monster raid.
He looked at his interface, at his meager skills and stats. He had a feeling this was going to be a long night. He wondered what kind of monsters threatened Rivenwood.
He'd need to find out quickly. And what was Harren talking about? A mark? A destiny? He glanced at his hands, turning them over in the dim light of the hut.
He saw nothing unusual. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that Harren's words held a deeper meaning, a connection to the strange glitches he'd encountered earlier.