🚇 Part I: The Digital Crossroads and a Fleeting Thought
Kael was thoroughly exhausted, his brain still throbbing from the overused and unauthorized call to [Deconstruct Interface]. He dragged himself up from the pub's debris, his breathing shallow. The icy wind that swept in through the interdimensional fissures carried the smell of dust and the metallic scent of corrupt data.
As he moved away from the epicenter of the Fragmentation, the thought of Marcus Cole crossed his mind. Marcus, the businessman who had frantically claimed the Warrior class, had escaped through Kael's ten-second bug.
I wonder what happened to him? Kael thought. Marcus was a Level 1, unprepared and armed with a sword he likely didn't know how to swing. He lacked the mental discipline to navigate a rules-based world.
Kael shook his head, instantly quashing the distraction. He couldn't afford to worry about unmanaged code. His priority was survival and resource replenishment. Marcus was an uncontrolled variable Kael had released into the simulation. If he was lucky, he had found a hideout. If he was not, he had become a pile of Experience Points for some alien creature. Cynicism was his only emotional armor in this new reality.
The nearest Underground entrance was the most logical choice for temporary refuge: the subterranean tunnels, by their nature, offered a protective labyrinth against airborne threats.
He sprinted towards the stairs leading below ground. The familiar Mind the Gap sign was gone, replaced by a pulsing red and black hologram warning: [TRANSITORY ZONE: Danger Level 3/10].
As he descended, Kael used the [Scan Entity] ability on the brick tunnel wall. This wasn't a safety check; it was a search for understanding.
[MAINTENANCE WALL: Barrier Level 15. Resistance: Clay and Concrete. Weak Point (10%): Electrical Conductivity.]
"Okay, the system labels things logically. It's not random; it's a reference code," Kael muttered, a debugger's smile touching his lips. Understanding the logic was his only way to breathe.
He reached the platform. It was no longer the familiar Jubilee Line. The tunnel was split in half. On one side, normal darkness; on the other, a pulsing green light emanating from a cavern that looked carved out of basalt, labeled by the System as [FRAGMENT A: The Sewers of Barrak (Lv. 5-15)].
Fragment A was an active Dungeon. The London tunnel was now a Digital Crossroads. Kael understood: the Fragmentation hadn't destroyed the world; it had overlaid it. London's geographic points of interest (pubs, stations, bridges) were maintained as Anchor Points, around which the Interdimensional Fragments were rendered.
🔋 Part II: The Core Recharge Experiment
Kael crouched behind a news kiosk that had morphed into [Solid Obstacle: Resistance 8] and focused on the single piece of data he had archived: the error code. He had to learn how to use the [Archive Data] ability not just to store, but to manipulate and regenerate.
"My brain absorbed the data. I need to reverse the process. Release the chaotic knowledge to recalibrate my mental energy," Kael instructed himself, closing his eyes.
[Kael attempts: Release Archived Data: 0x000000_FRAG.8B]
A note appeared in his HUD: Code Decompression Process initiated. Possible Local System Overload.
Kael felt a surge of pressure, followed by an electrical clarity—like an energy drink being injected directly into his mind. The raw, chaotic information of the Fatal Exception flooded out of his brain, leaving behind a trail of sharp focus and a substantial boost to his mental energy.
Mental Energy: +75% (Stable). Data Archive (Slot 1): Empty.
"It works! Archiving raw, decompressed code serves as a booster," Kael murmured. "I need more code. And the best way to find code is to find a running system."
Kael knew exactly where to look: the Underground's control systems. These old systems, not designed for the Fragmentation, were rife with backdoors and vulnerabilities.
đź‘» Part III: Interference and the Recognition System
Kael ventured into the unexplored tunnel, the one still lined with London bricks. Soon, he found an old Underground control panel, dusty but now flickering with a green holographic interface.
[Kael uses: Scan Entity]
[CONTROL PANEL (Original TFL System): Barrier Level 3. Resistance: Mechanical. Status: ACTIVE. Log: Threat Recognition Function Running (World Frame Not Detected).]
"Bingo. A local system still trying to function," Kael grinned. It was like an old PC trying to run a new operating system. It was full of exploits.
Kael used his most valuable ability, focusing intensely to avoid any self-inflicted damage.
[Kael uses: Deconstruct Interface] on the TFL panel.
His mind saw the surveillance system's code. The system was looking for anomalies. Kael could redirect its definition of what an anomaly was. His target: the monsters in Fragment A.
Kael quickly altered the code:
> TFL_Threat_Recognition.Priority_Target = BARRAK_SEWERS_LEVEL_5 > TFL_Alert_System.Broadcast_Frequency = HIGH
At that moment, a Rust Ghoul (Lv. 5), a skeletal creature that moved with a metallic scrape, shambled out of Fragment A. It was Kael's first direct encounter with a System monster.
Kael ducked down, keeping absolutely still.
The TFL panel's interface went haywire. Instead of detecting Kael, the newly rewritten system identified the Ghoul as the priority threat.
A series of fire alarms and strobe lights flashed along the tunnel. The noise was deafening. But it wasn't just noise.
[TFL System Detects Threat. Activating Containment Protocol (Level 1 - Max Acoustic Resonance). Rust Ghoul (Lv. 5) takes 3 Stress Damage from Sound.]
The Ghoul froze, its Agility stats momentarily locked by the noise. Then, the concrete floor, patched with the resistance of the London Underground, vibrated in sync with the sirens.
[Rust Ghoul (Lv. 5) takes 1 Physical Damage from Vibrational Overload.]
Kael had turned the old Underground alarm system into a low-power environmental damage weapon.
But the Ghoul was not alone. Two more Ghouls emerged from the mists of Fragment A, drawn by the clamor. Kael couldn't beat them, but he had obtained two fundamental things:
Confirmation that the pre-Fragmentation systems, though broken, could be exploited for environmental damage.
A huge amount of Log Data generated by the Ghoul's reaction to the alarm and vibration.
[New System Data Detected: Ghoul_Vibration_Response. Log Running. Archiving Recommended.]
Kael didn't hesitate.
[Kael uses: Archive Data (Limited)]
The stream of data generated by the Ghouls taking damage shrunk and was saved into Slot 1. Kael felt his mental energy surge back up to impressive levels.
He turned and bolted in the opposite direction, leaving the three confused and damaged Ghouls to fight a sound attack they couldn't locate.
He had found his method: hacker local systems to force them to fight his battles.