The air inside the hidden cave shimmered, like it was made of fractured light. Kai stepped carefully, feeling the subtle vibration beneath his boots. Each step caused the system interface to flicker as if reacting to him personally.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Hidden Dungeon Detected – Entry Level Unknown
Recommended Level: 15+
Rewards: Unknown
Kai chuckled. Recommended level? I'm 12. Perfect.
The First Trap
The cave's mouth closed behind him with a faint pulse of sound, like a heartbeat. The walls glimmered with runes he didn't recognize. Hovering in the air were floating cubes of light, each inscribed with symbols that shifted when he looked away.
Kai: "Alright, first thing I learned from every MMO ever…"
He touched the nearest cube. Nothing happened. He touched another. A low hum echoed, and a wall slid open, revealing a narrow corridor lined with glowing mushrooms.
Hidden systems always reward curiosity.
Kai's instincts screamed caution, but his curiosity screamed louder.
The First Monster Encounter
As he moved forward, the ground trembled. From the shadows, something slithered—a grotesque, multi-limbed creature with crystalline armor plates.
SYSTEM SCAN:
Monster Name: Cave Horror
Level: 14
HP: 320
Attack: 35–50
EXP: 120
Kai's pulse quickened. This wasn't a regular spawn; it had no spawn animation. It existed outside the normal parameters.
He clenched his fists. Numbers floated around his hands—glowing stats that hadn't appeared before.
STR: 12 → 12 + 3 (Solo Multiplier)
DEX: 15 → 15 + 2
Critical Rate: 5% → 10%
The Cave Horror lunged. Kai dodged, rolling backward. Damage numbers popped above its claws.
Cave Horror: 35
Kai: 0 (Evaded)
He countered with a quick flurry. Numbers exploded over the monster: 50, 62, 78. The creature staggered but didn't die.
Exploiting the Glitch
Kai noticed something odd: every time he dodged perfectly, the monster's attack pattern repeated in the exact same sequence.
The system is broken… predictable.
He grinned. This was the reward for solo players—the game adapted, but not perfectly. Every pattern he memorized increased his advantage.
By exploiting the glitch, he took no damage and dealt constant critical hits. Within moments, the Cave Horror collapsed in a burst of light.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Hidden Dungeon – Secret Boss Defeated
EXP: 180
Loot: Glitch Fragment x1
Hidden Skill Progress: +1%
Kai pocketed the fragment. Even at level 12, he had found a reward designed for higher-level players. This was going to be too easy if the system kept glitching.
The NPC Speaks Again
Lyra appeared from the corner of his vision, though her form flickered like a broken hologram.
Lyra: "Kai… the rules here are not as they appear. You are stepping outside what was intended."
Kai smirked. "That's my favorite kind of rule."
Her eyes glowed faintly. "Be careful. Players in the real world… some are already missing."
Kai froze. Missing? He had ignored the subtle flickers in the real world—texts that appeared distorted, phone notifications he didn't expect—but this was different.
Reality wasn't just bleeding.
It was leaking—and he was in the center.
The First Puzzle Room
The next chamber was enormous. A glowing pedestal floated in the center, covered in shifting runes. Around it, three massive doors formed a triangle. Each had a different symbol:
Sword & Flame
Moon & Eye
Dragon & Fang
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Choice Detected – Only One Door May Be Opened
Hint: Solo Players Must Choose Wisely
Kai scanned the doors. The runes above the Moon & Eye door shimmered faintly, almost as if beckoning him.
First test of intuition, or trap?
He stepped forward. The symbols pulsed under his feet, and the air thickened. A faint whisper filled the chamber:
"You are alone. Alone you will rise… or fall."
He placed his hand on the Moon & Eye symbol. The pedestal glowed, then shot a beam upward, splitting the ceiling. A vortex opened—a swirling portal of light and code.
Kai felt it tug at him. He wanted to step back, but instinct pushed him forward.
A Glimpse of the Broken System
Through the vortex, Kai glimpsed multiple layers of the dungeon simultaneously—different monsters, traps, and treasures overlapping as if reality itself had fragmented.
Monster Layer 1: Level 15 Specters
Monster Layer 2: Level 18 Crystal Golems
Treasure Layer: Unknown Legendary Chest
System Layer: Glitching UI, hidden timers, overlapping EXP counters
Kai realized: the dungeon wasn't just a dungeon. It was a test. A puzzle. And the system itself was alive… or at least malfunctioning in a way that rewarded him.
He grinned. "Solo grind… just got serious."
Cliffhanger Ending – Chapter
Before stepping into the portal, Kai felt it—a faint vibration through his chest, a pulse in his vision. Outside, in the real world, he could almost hear… screaming?
SYSTEM WARNING: Reality Leak Detected – Unknown Player Status Critical
Kai hesitated. Then he stepped forward.
And the world around him shattered like glass, revealing fragments of the modern city he had left behind… bleeding into the dungeon.
This was no longer just a game.