Kai's vision shimmered as the dungeon floor pulsed beneath him. The Glitch Blade in his hands felt heavier—yet alive. Each swing sent faint ripples through the fractured light, and for the first time, he felt the dungeon reacting to him instead of just spawning challenges.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Hidden Dungeon – Layer 2
Objective: Survive and Master Reality Rift
Recommended Level: 20+
Kai grinned. Recommended level? 13. Perfect again.
Reality Rift Emerges
As he moved forward, the walls of the chamber began to fracture. Light bent unnaturally. Shadow patches stretched in impossible angles. The system interface flickered.
Kai's Status:
HP: 420/420
MP: 120/120
Level: 13
EXP: 820/1000
Reality Exposure: 20%
Suddenly, a massive distortion opened mid-air: a Reality Rift. Inside, he glimpsed a fragment of the real world—his apartment, his gaming setup, but twisted. Shadows moved where there shouldn't have been any.
Lyra's voice echoed in his head.
Lyra: "Kai… you can step into it. But be warned. The system… fights back."
Kai's pulse quickened. "Perfect. Solo grind… infinite power… reality-bending style."
First Rift Experiment
He raised the Glitch Blade and swung. The rift reacted. Numbers appeared:
Reality Rift Damage +20%
XP Multiplier +50%
Hidden Skill Bonus +3%
Kai stepped through. His body felt strange, weightless yet grounded. The dungeon bent around him, enemies flickering between two states—one in the game, one in a twisted reflection of the real world.
Enemy Spawn: Level 22 Rift Wraith
HP: 600
Attack: 80–120
Abilities: Phase Rift, Temporal Swipe
Kai smirked. So it's PvE… with PvP mechanics.
PvP-Style Danger
The Rift Wraith moved with intelligence unlike normal monsters. It learned his pattern with terrifying speed. Shadow Step dodges barely avoided its attacks.
First attack: Temporal Swipe → Kai evades, DEX +4 from Solo Multiplier
Counterstrike: Glitch Blade Fusion → 380, 420, 450 damage
Rift Pulse: reality flicker → numbers glitching, 0 damage but Reality Exposure +5%
Kai's pulse rose. Every swing, every dodge, could leave me… physically unstable.
Lyra whispered urgently: "Kai… reality link rising. If you fail… it won't just be the dungeon that kills you."
Hidden Skill Unlocked: Reality Rift Mastery
The system glitched violently, numbers overlapping.
New Skill Available: Reality Rift Mastery
Step into fractured reality
Manipulate dungeon physics for 5–10 seconds
Temporarily increase all damage by 50%
Risk: Reality Exposure +10% per use
Kai grinned. High risk, high reward… exactly how I like it.
He activated the skill. The dungeon bent, walls twisting. Shadows became platforms. Enemies staggered. He teleported through space, striking from impossible angles.
Critical hits exploded: 520, 550, 580
Rift Wraith staggered.
Reality Exposure rose: 30%
First Real-World Consequences
Through the fractured ceiling, Kai glimpsed a glitching figure in his apartment. His friend, the same one who had texted before, was frozen, flickering, mouth moving but no sound.
Lyra's voice trembled: "Kai… the more you push the Rift… the more players in reality vanish."
Kai's smirk faded. This wasn't just a game. People were dying—or disappearing—in real life.
He clenched the Glitch Blade. That just made it more interesting.
Echo's Moment
Echo, the hidden NPC companion, moved closer. She wasn't just observing—she reacted.
Echo: "Kai… I think I can stabilize the Rift… if we work together."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Work together? Solo grind, remember?"
She nodded. "I can help… but it will cost me some… existence."
The stakes crystallized. The Rift could be manipulated—but doing so could permanently harm Echo, who was already partially linked to reality.
Kai now had to balance infinite power with real-world consequences.
Cliffhanger Ending – Chapter
The Rift Wraith roared, its shadowy form splitting into multiple projections. Kai teleported across the fractured floor, blade cutting through illusions.
Reality Exposure: 40%
Hidden Skill Bonus: +5%
Echo Status: Stabilizing
The dungeon walls cracked further. Outside, in the real world, multiple players flickered, frozen mid-action, their consciousness trapped.
Kai's grin returned, sharper this time, his eyes burning:
"If this game wants to fight reality… then I'll show it what a solo player can do."