The battlefield stank of ozone and burning meat.
My summoned glitch tore through the horde like a wild storm. Its body shifted—one moment a blade, the next a clawed beast, the next a writhing mess of jagged code that shredded monsters into particles of light.
I stared, numb, unable to process what I was seeing.
The System notifications flooded my vision:
> [Crawler Beast defeated: +50 EXP]
[Hellhound defeated: +100 EXP]
[Raider defeated: +150 EXP]
[Level Up! 4 → 5]
[Level Up! 5 → 6]
Stat Points +10
It was unreal. I hadn't moved a muscle... and I was leveling faster than any sane player could.
But then it happened.
The glitch stopped moving.
Static filled the air like the buzz of a thousand flies. Its shape froze, stretched, cracked—like an overworked machine reaching its limit.
> [System Error: Summoned Entity Stability Critical.]
Risk of Collapse: 89%
Warning: Unstable Glitch Entities may cause WORLD CORRUPTION.
"...World corruption?"
A loud cracking sound rang out, like breaking glass.
Crimson threads of broken code began to spill from the glitch's body, seeping into the ground, into the System screens, into the air itself.
And then, the world glitched.
For one breathless second, the sky flickered to black. The highway twisted sideways—buildings stretched into the sky like rubber, the laws of gravity and space buckling like paper. Monsters froze mid-charge, jaws half-open, limbs frozen in place.
Everything paused.
Except me.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Unauthorized Glitch Detected.]
> Locating Source...
Error: Source Corrupted. Cannot Trace.
Deploying System Purifiers.
The glitch turned to face me—its formless head splitting into a jagged smile.
"Master... they are coming…"
"Who?"
A new portal ripped open in the sky.
And from it came something worse than monsters.
White, faceless figures descended—humanoid, featureless, clad in armor made of pure light. Their eyes glowed blue, and golden System rings floated behind their heads like angelic halos.
[SYSTEM PURIFIER UNIT: Class Omega]
> Level: ???
Purpose: Annihilate Glitches.
Target: [Glitched One] — YOU.
"Oh... shit."
I backed away, heart racing. My console flared with warnings.
> [Rewrite Console Disabled during Purifier Intervention.]
Manual Override: Impossible.
Suggestion: RUN.
"Not this time..."
The glitch beside me raised its hand, code swirling like a hurricane.
"Master... run. I will hold them."
It knew.
It was... sacrificing itself.
"No, wait—"
But the glitch lunged upward in a burst of static and raw data—slamming into the Purifier units before they could touch down. The sky lit up with impossible shapes, code and light shattering against each other in silence.
And then... BOOM.
A blinding white explosion swept the city. The world reformed in a blink—the highway intact, the buildings unmoving, the monsters gone.
So was my Summon.
The console returned—flickering weakly.
> [Glitch Entity Lost.]
Connection Severed.
System Integrity: Unstable (12% corruption)
Reward: ??? Unknown Code Fragment obtained.
I checked my inventory.
One new item.
> [Unknown Code Fragment]
Type: ???
Description: A piece of forbidden system data. Origin: The Glitched Summon. Potential: ???
Warning: Contains traces of corruption.
I felt its power in my hands—raw, untamed, hungry.
And dangerous.
Then... another message.
[Hidden Quest Unlocked!]
> Title: "The Price of a Glitch"
Objective: Discover the truth behind the System's corruption.
Reward: Unique Class Evolution.
Penalty: System Termination.
"System Termination…?"
Was this fragment the key to escaping this broken world?
Or the fuse that would destroy it?
I clenched my fist.
One thing was certain.
The System had noticed me. And it would never let me go.
Not until this game—this nightmare—was finished.