Ethan and Aya moved quickly, crossing the metal maintenance ladder to the neighboring rooftop. The night air was sharp, thick with the stench of burning metal and decay.
Ethan's mind was still reeling. His first human kill. His first level up. The System wasn't just about survival—it was about elimination.
Aya moved ahead, scanning their surroundings. "We need supplies. Weapons, food, anything."
Ethan checked his status.
> [Player Status: Ethan Vale]
Level: 2
Class: ???
Title: Last Player
HP: 120/120
Strength: 9 (+2)
Agility: 8 (+1)
Endurance: 6
Intelligence: 5
Unique Skill: Code Breaker [Hidden]
Skill: System Exploit (F), Combat Instincts (F)
The numbers didn't feel real. He was getting stronger, but the System still refused to assign him a class.
Aya glanced at him. "You okay?"
Ethan hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. Just thinking."
She snorted. "That's a bad habit these days."
They reached a rooftop access door, the handle covered in deep claw marks. Ethan's stomach tightened. Whatever had been here wasn't human.
Aya pulled out a hunting knife, tested the lock, then nodded. "We go in quiet."
Ethan gripped his metal pipe. "Let's do it."
Inside the Dark
The stairwell was silent. Too silent.
They moved carefully, descending into what looked like an abandoned office building. The emergency lights flickered, casting eerie shadows along the walls.
Ethan's System Exploit skill activated on its own. His vision shifted, highlighting glitches in the environment. Some walls flickered like corrupted data.
Then—
> [Warning: System Error Detected]
- Anomalous Zone Identified
- Unknown Entity Present
Ethan froze. "Aya, wait."
She turned, eyebrows raised. "What?"
Before he could answer—
Something moved.
A flicker in the darkness. A shape that shouldn't exist.
The shadows twisted, unraveling into something wrong.
It wasn't a monster.
It wasn't human.
It was a glitch.
> [ERROR: UNREGISTERED ENTITY DETECTED]
- Threat Level: ???
- Combat Data: Not Found
Aya's breath hitched. "What the hell is that?"
The glitching figure twitched, its body shifting between pixels and reality. Its face—if it had one—was an empty void.
Ethan's gut screamed danger.
> [New Quest: Encounter with the Unknown]
- Survive the Anomalous Entity
- Reward: Data Fragment + ???
The glitch turned toward them.
Then it lunged.
The Thing That Shouldn't Exist
The glitching figure twitched and shuddered, shifting between existence and non-existence. It was like something half-rendered, an unfinished model in a broken game. Its limbs flickered, stretching and distorting in impossible ways.
Then it lurched forward.
A scream built in Ethan's throat, but his instincts took over. Dodge.
His System Exploit ability kicked in, slowing the world for a fraction of a second. He threw himself sideways as the creature phased through the floor—then reappeared inches from where he had been standing.
Aya wasn't as lucky.
The thing's fingers—if they could even be called that—clawed toward her chest.
Aya reacted fast, twisting her body, but the moment its flickering form brushed against her arm—
She screamed.
Ethan's stomach twisted. The part of her sleeve that had made contact with the creature disintegrated into pixels, like it had been erased from existence.
Aya stumbled back, eyes wide. "What the hell is that thing?!"
Ethan's mind raced. He had no idea. The System had tagged it as unregistered. A monster that shouldn't exist.
Then, another notification flashed:
> [ERROR: Encountering an Unstable Entity]
- System Data Corrupting…
- Error…Error…Error…
The lights flickered violently. The air around them distorted, like reality itself was tearing apart.
The glitch-thing lunged again.
Ethan didn't think. He just moved.
He swung his metal pipe, aiming for its head—
It passed right through.
The weapon didn't hit anything. No resistance. No impact.
Aya cursed and slashed her knife at its legs. Nothing.
"This isn't working!" she shouted.
Ethan gritted his teeth. Physical attacks don't work. So what the hell do we do?
The glitch shifted, its form jittering. It was studying them. Analyzing them.
Then—
> [System Notice: Unstable Entity Interference Detected]
- Last Player Status Reacting…
Ethan's vision flooded with data.
Code. Numbers. System files.
It wasn't just a monster.
It was a part of the System itself.
And he could see its weak points.
> [Exploit Available: Forced Data Reset]
- Would you like to attempt a system override?
YES.
Ethan barely understood what he was doing, but he focused everything on that single command.
> [Executing…]
The air warped.
The glitch froze.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then—
The entity collapsed. Its form shattered into lines of raw code, breaking apart like an old, corrupted file.
Ethan gasped for breath. His heart was hammering. Aya stared at the vanishing fragments in stunned silence.
Then—
> [New System Data Acquired]
- Data Fragment Collected: ???
- System Memory Unlocked: 2%
Ethan blinked. "What… just happened?"
Aya let out a shaky breath. "I was gonna ask you the same thing."
She turned to him, her expression serious. "You did something, didn't you?"
Ethan hesitated. She wasn't wrong.
He had just done something impossible.
The System wasn't invincible.
And somehow, for reasons he still didn't understand… he could break it.
Aya frowned. "Ethan… what the hell are you?"
A Bigger Problem
Before he could answer, another System notification appeared.
> [Warning: High-Risk Anomaly Detected]
- Entities of the System are now aware of your presence.
- Adapting Countermeasures…
Ethan's blood ran cold.
Aya saw his expression. "What now?"
Ethan swallowed. "I think…"
He looked at the darkened hallway, suddenly feeling watched.
"…I think we just pissed something off."
Aya exhaled sharply. "Great. Just great."
The building groaned around them, the walls flickering like static.
Something was coming.
Something worse.
Ethan clenched his fists. Whatever this was… he'd fight it.
But deep down, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had just stepped into something much bigger than survival.
This wasn't just a game anymore.
It was a war.
[End of Chapter 3]