----Chapter 3----
THOOM. THOOM. THOOM.
The ground beneath Ethille shook violently. Dust and pebbles skittered across the cobblestones.
NPCs stumbled and fell, carts tipped over, and wooden signs rattled on their hinges. Children screamed and clung to their parents as merchants tried desperately to protect their stalls.
Every heartbeat seemed to pulse in rhythm with the tremors, the air humming with a growing, electric tension.
Those who had completed the Blobbling quest froze in small clusters, whispering nervously as they scanned the horizon. Beyond the town walls, the clearing pulsed with chaos.
A massive, gelatinous creature writhed and heaved, its semi-transparent blue form rippling like liquid glass. The thing shimmered under the sunlight, constantly shifting shape, as if alive with unstable energy.
The town, usually alive with the chatter of NPCs and adventurers, fell eerily silent. Even the birds had stopped flying.
Outside the gates stood Fenriz, arms crossed, sapphire scales glinting beneath the sun.
His piercing eyes locked onto the distant battlefield, calculating every movement with cold precision.
"So… you already finished the quest. Quite impressive," he said, voice calm but edged with challenge.
Scarlet, the Arch Witch, arched an eyebrow. "Tchh, I didn't expect to see you here either. I thought you'd be off somewhere, gloating with those weaklings since you couldn't even handle those pathetic Blobblings."
Fenriz smirked, stepping forward.
"Huh? What did you just say?"
Before the tension could explode, a powerful, commanding voice cut through the air.
"Hey. If you're going to fight, don't do it here. Take it somewhere else."
Both Scarlet and Fenriz turned toward the sound.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Scarlet demanded, eyes glowing faintly with magic.
One of Fenriz's underlings swallowed hard.
"It's… it's Volrax. The Lord of the Beastial Kin, leader of the Dread Fang Clan, from the original server of Etherissia."
Scarlet's expression faltered.
"You mean… the top global rank one? That Volrax?"
From the shadows, Volrax stepped forward. His face was that of a white lion, regal and fierce. His mane shimmered like strands of silver silk, and his golden eyes gleamed with both intelligence and authority. Even standing still, he radiated dominance, the kind that demanded silence.
"Show me what you've got, kid," Volrax said, tone deep and mocking.
"From the first time I saw you, I knew you weren't an ordinary level one player. If you think you can hide everything from me, you're wrong."
The air rippled again, echoing the faint, distant tremor coming from beyond the town. Fenriz's claws flexed instinctively. NPC guards took a step back, muttering fearful prayers.
Volrax narrowed his gaze toward the horizon, his mane stirring in the rising wind.
"It's happening again…" he whispered.
---
•••••••• 30 minutes earlier...
The clearing was already chaos.
The Blobbling King loomed before us, its semi-transparent blue body twisting like liquid glass, absorbing every attack we threw at it.
Every strike sank into its form, only to be tossed back by its unstable, elastic body.
My weapon felt useless, like trying to wound water.
"Everyone, attack at once! Time it perfectly!"
I shouted, trying to steady my breathing.
But even as I yelled, frustration clawed at me. Every blow we struck seemed meaningless.
I gritted my teeth, then turned toward the group on our flank. Dieval's party. They had been watching, hesitant, uncertain.
"Oy, Dieval!" I shouted over the roaring tremors.
"If you want to get out of here alive, I need you and your party's help!"
Dieval blinked, still in shock. His hands trembled, but I saw the fire in his eyes flicker back to life. He swallowed hard, then nodded.
"Okay… but just this once."
I smirked faintly. "Ah, only this once, huh?"
Then I looked around, scanning for the mage who had cast an ice dagger earlier.
"You... the one who used ice magic!"
I pointed.
"You threw an ice dagger a while ago, didn't you?"
The mage startled, stammering.
"W-What?....Yeah, I did!"
"Good. I want you to freeze its belly—right where its core lies!"
She hesitated for half a second, then nodded sharply, already gathering mana in his hands.
"Lyra!" I turned next. "Pin its movement with your vines!"
Lyra's eyes widened, but she nodded firmly, pressing her palms against the ground. Vines burst from the soil, wrapping around the Blobbling King's gelatinous limbs, straining to hold it still.
Then ice mage from Deival's party stepped forward, brushing her silver hair from her eyes as mana surged around her. The air turned cold, sharp and heavy, like a winter storm descending on the battlefield.
Frost gathered beneath her boots, crawling outward in pale spirals.
"Let's see you freeze, you overgrown slime."
She raised her staff, tracing a glowing sigil in the air.
"Ice Dominion: Frost Lance!"
The air detonated in a roar of frost and wind. A massive shard of ice burst from her staff, spiraling like a comet before slamming into the Blobbling King's lower body.
The impact froze its gelatinous form solid from the belly down, crystalizing the creature's translucent body. Steam hissed as the ice spread, locking its movements completely.
Beneath the frost, its core pulsed faintly—visible now, like a heart caught in glass.
"Everyone else," I shouted, "we'll attack simultaneously, so we don't collide with each other's attacks! On my mark!"
The team moved instantly—each motion rehearsed through desperation, not training.
Garrick and Dieval were the first to move, charging in tandem. Garrick swung his battle axe in a brutal arc, slamming it into the Blobbling King's frozen belly. The impact cracked the surface ice, spiderweb patterns racing across its slick form as shards burst outward.
"Now!" I yelled.
Dieval followed right after, his fists crackling with energy. He slammed into the fractured ice, sending shards scattering across the clearing.
The shockwave nearly knocked me back, but it was working. The cracks were widening.
"Selene... Kina... your turn!"
I called out.
"Got it!" Selene replied, sprinting forward with blinding speed. Her twin daggers gleamed under the sunlight as she moved in sync with Kina, who raised her enchanted broadsword, the edge glowing with bright blue mana.
"I'm counting on you both!" Garrick called, taking a step back to recover.
Kina grinned. "Let's finish this!
Cosmic Starfall!"
Her sword descended in a flash of light, splitting the cracked ice and carving deep into the Blobbling King's pulsing core. The impact shook the ground, fragments of slime splattering everywhere.
"Go for it, Selene!" Kina shouted.
Selene leapt into the air, her daggers tracing precise arcs that widened the gash. Each slash exposed more of the Blobbling King's glowing heart until its core throbbed visibly beneath the layers of slime.
"Everyone… perfect work," I said under my breath. My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
"Now it's my turn."
I raised my hand, focusing the mana swirling within me. A small flame flickered to life at my fingertips, unstable but powerful.
I aimed straight for the exposed core and released it.
The fireball shot forward and then the world stopped.
Everything froze.
The shards of ice hovered midair. Garrick and Dieval hung suspended, weapons inches from impact. Selene's daggers glinted in stillness, frozen in motion. Even the Blobbling King's gelatinous body had stopped mid-wobble, motionless like solid glass.
But I could still move.
"What…?" My voice sounded alien in the dead silence.
No wind. No sound. Not even the faint hum of magic.
Then, the sky cracked.
A jagged fissure split across the heavens, stretching like a wound in the world. Colors bled from the edges, sickly reds, purples, and greens twisting like corrupted light. The entire clearing felt like it was being rewritten.
And then it descended.
A hooded figure emerged from the rift, slowly floating downward. Its cloak rippled like black water, the air around it distorting.
I couldn't see its face, but its presence pressed down on everything—thick, suffocating, wrong
A distorted laugh echoed across the frozen battlefield.
"Do you like it?"
The fireball I'd cast hung suspended before the King, its flames flickering helplessly against the figure's presence.
"How does it feel," it hissed, voice sharp and cruel, "to be so powerful? Huh? Tell me!"
My stomach turned. That voice… I'd heard it before.
It was the same one behind the first glitch.
The figure spread its arms as though welcoming the silence.
"Yes… yes, I like the way you look. It gives me chills," it whispered, tilting its head.
"Now don't disappoint me. Show me how you'll finish the game you started."
The air pulsed. The fissure above flared brighter. The Blobbling King trembled beneath the frozen ice, a dull red light glowing deep within its core.
It's rage skill was awakening.
I clenched my fists tighter, knuckles white.
This isn't just a bug anymore. If I mess this up the whole world's done for.
The weight of the moment crushed down on me. I could barely brea
I whispered, eyes narrowing as I gripped my sword.
So this is how it feels to be truly powerless.