The dungeon gate loomed at the far edge of the settlement, its stone arch half-buried in the ground as if it had always been there and simply waited to be noticed. Light spilled from its interior in a steady glow, illuminating worn steps that descended into darkness beyond the reach of sight.
Jax approached alone.
Groups passed him without comment, players focused on their own preparations and alliances. Weapons were checked. Armour straps tightened. Quiet arguments broke out over roles and loot distribution. No one spared him a second glance, which suited him just fine.
As he crossed the invisible boundary near the gate, the pressure behind his eyes intensified. The system reacted immediately, its response slower than before but forceful.
[Dungeon Access Confirmed.]
[Instance Type: Trial.]
He took another step.
The world lurched.
Not physically, but perceptually, like reality slipping sideways rather than forward. The sounds of the settlement dulled, then vanished altogether. Light bent at the edges of his vision as the stone steps beneath his feet shifted subtly, their texture smoothing as if rewritten on the fly.
Jax stopped.
The gate behind him was gone.
In its place stood a sheer stone wall, seamless and unmarked. The air felt heavier here, charged with the faint hum he had begun to associate with system strain.
His interface surfaced again.
[Instance Allocation Complete.]
[Status: Isolated.]
[Party Status: Solo.]
"So that is how it wants to play this," Jax murmured.
The corridor ahead stretched forward in a straight line, lit by faintly glowing runes etched into the walls at regular intervals. The stone underfoot was smooth but worn, bearing shallow grooves that hinted at repeated passage over time. This place had been used. Often.
He advanced cautiously, senses tuned outward.
The first sign of trouble came not from sound, but from resistance.
Each step forward felt marginally heavier than the last, as though the dungeon itself pushed back against his presence. The sensation was subtle, but cumulative, like walking against a current that grew stronger with distance.
His interface flickered.
[Environmental Modifier Detected.]
[Threat Scaling Active.]
Jax frowned.
That was not standard for a trial dungeon.
He continued anyway.
The corridor opened into a wide chamber supported by thick stone pillars. The ceiling rose high above, lost in shadow, while the floor dipped into shallow depressions filled with stagnant water. The glow from the runes reflected off the surface, casting distorted patterns across the walls.
Movement stirred near the far side of the chamber.
Figures emerged slowly, their shapes resolving into hunched forms with elongated limbs and crude weapons clutched in their hands. Their eyes caught the light as they turned toward him, expressions unreadable but intent clear.
Dungeon mobs.
Jax did not wait for them to advance.
Stealth activated, his presence blurring as the system complied with a delay that felt longer than it should have. He shifted to the side, keeping a pillar between himself and the approaching enemies as he assessed their movement patterns.
They spread out.
That was wrong.
Low-level dungeon creatures typically rushed in without coordination. These adjusted their spacing, flanking instinctively, as though guided by something beyond simple aggression.
The system flickered again.
[Warning.]
[Instance Behaviour Deviates from Standard Parameters.]
"Of course it does," Jax muttered.
He struck first.
Circling wide, he closed the distance on the nearest creature and drove the Glitched Shiv into the back of its neck. The blade slid in with minimal resistance, and the creature collapsed without a sound.
[Stealth Strike Successful.]
[Target Eliminated.]
The remaining enemies reacted immediately, turning toward him with unnatural speed. One hurled its weapon in a direct arc, forcing Jax to twist aside as it struck the stone wall with enough force to crack the surface.
He moved without hesitation, weaving between pillars and using the terrain to break line of sight. The shiv hummed in his grip, responding to each movement with unsettling familiarity.
Another enemy lunged.
Jax sidestepped and slashed across its arm, severing muscle and dropping the limb uselessly at its side. He followed through, driving the blade into its torso and pulling free in one smooth motion.
The creature fell.
The last mob hesitated.
For a moment, Jax thought it might retreat.
Instead, it let out a sound that resonated through the chamber, low and pulsing. The air vibrated in response, and the runes along the walls flared brighter.
The system reacted violently.
[Threat Adjustment Triggered.]
[Enemy Reinforcement Authorised.]
The floor cracked.
Stone split open near the centre of the chamber as something massive forced its way upward. Dust filled the air as a larger figure emerged, its form bulky and misshapen, wielding a weapon far too large for a creature of its kind.
A miniboss.
In a trial dungeon.
Jax felt the glitch system stir, pressure building behind his eyes as the interface struggled to adapt.
[Instance Difficulty Escalated.]
"So it wants to test me," he said quietly.
The creature roared and charged, each step shaking the ground. Jax moved to intercept, slipping into shadow as he closed the distance from an angle that avoided the direct path of attack.
He waited for the swing.
The massive weapon came down in a heavy arc, smashing into the stone floor where he had been moments before. Jax darted forward and struck at the creature's side, carving a deep line across its torso.
The shiv bit deep.
Blood spilled, dark and thick, but the creature did not fall. It turned with surprising speed, catching Jax across the shoulder with the haft of its weapon and sending him skidding across the stone.
Pain flared.
Jax rolled to his feet, ignoring the damage warning flashing at the edge of his vision. His breathing steadied as he reassessed.
Brute force would not be enough.
He focused inward, reaching for the glitch system with intent rather than instinct. The pressure intensified, followed by a brief moment of resistance, then release.
The world sharpened.
Lines appeared where none had been before, faint distortions in space that marked paths of least resistance. Jax moved along them, slipping past the creature's next attack and striking again, this time driving the blade into a joint where armour plating thinned.
The creature staggered.
Jax did not give it time to recover.
He pressed the attack, each strike guided by the shifting distortions only he could perceive. When the creature fell, it did so heavily, its body cracking stone as it collapsed.
Silence followed.
The system hesitated.
Then the rewards came in a rush.
[Victory.]
[Experience Gained.]
[Level Increased.]
Jax did not smile.
This dungeon was not a challenge.
It was a warning.
And it had only just begun.