The screaming had stopped. In its place, a strange, terrifying quiet had settled over the continent of Aethos.
Elian stood at the edge of the Spire, looking down into the valleys below. Through his [Admin Sight], the world looked like a sprawling circuit board.
Lines of blue mana (Leylines) were pulsing rhythmically, feeding energy into the millions of new nodes (People) that had survived the initial purge.
"Status Report," Elian commanded.
Query's voice buzzed in his ear, sounding smoother now that the System was fully operational.
"Global population stabilized at 382,100,500. Casualty rate of the Tutorial Phase: 7.3%. This is within acceptable parameters for a Hardcore difficulty launch."
"Thirty million dead in an hour," Elian murmured, tapping a floating holographic screen. "High, but better than the alternative. If the Void Incursion happened without the System, the casualty rate would have been 100%."
He swiped his hand, bringing up a notification log that was scrolling so fast it was a blur of golden text.
[User #4992 evolved to Level 2]
[User #102,445 unlocked Skill: Heavy Bash]
[User #11 deceased (cause: tried to pet a Mana Bear)]
"Evolution," Elian said, closing the window. "That's the priority. The human body is terrible hardware.
It leaks energy, it breaks easily, and it heals slowly.
The System fixes that."
He adjusted the straps of his coat. The Core on the pedestal behind him was humming loudly, the server fan for reality itself.
"Query, lock the Spire. Only authorized personnel—meaning me—can enter. I'm going down to the User Layer. I need to see the UX in person."
"Warning. Your Administrator Avatar has reduced durability outside the Spire's immediate zone. Do you wish to equip a disguise?"
"Apply the [Cloak_of_Anonymity] patch," Elian said. "Render me as... let's go with 'Traveling Scholar'. Non-threatening."
His appearance shimmered. The glowing blue circuitry on his coat faded into worn brown leather. His hexagonal backpack morphed into a heavy travel bag.
He stepped off the edge of the Spire.
He didn't fall. He stepped onto a platform of invisible force—[Admin_Flight_v1.0]—and lowered himself rapidly toward the chaotic world below.
[Location: The Screaming Woods - Base of the Spire]
Kaelen was a sergeant in the Royal Guard of Tyria, or at least, he had been until an hour ago when his patrol got wiped out by neon-blue wolves.
Now, he was just a man with a broken sword and a glowing box in his vision that kept telling him he had "Unspent Attribute Points."
"Die, you foul beast!" Kaelen roared, swinging the jagged remains of his blade.
The Dire Wolf (Lvl 2) snarled. It was massive, its fur bristling with static electricity. It lunged, jaws snapping for Kaelen's throat.
Kaelen braced for death. He'd seen three men die to this thing already. He was tired. His arm was numb.
But as the wolf hit him, something strange happened. Kaelen instinctively raised his shield—a desperate, clumsy motion.
PING.
A sound like a struck bell rang out. A semi-transparent golden shield flashed in front of Kaelen's real shield. The wolf bounced off, stunned.
[Skill Triggered: Shield Bash (Novice)]
[Proficiency Gained.]
Kaelen blinked. He felt a surge of adrenaline, but it wasn't just fear. It was... power. It felt like drinking strong wine on an empty stomach.
He lunged forward and drove his broken sword into the wolf's neck.
[Critical Hit!]
[Experience Gained: 40 XP]
[LEVEL UP!]
A pillar of golden light erupted from the ground, engulfing Kaelen. The exhaustion vanished. The deep gash on his leg knit itself together in seconds, leaving not even a scar. His muscles swelled, his armor suddenly feeling tight around the shoulders.
"By the Gods..." Kaelen gasped, looking at his hands. They were glowing.
"Actually, it's by the Algorithm," a voice said from the tree line.
Kaelen spun around, raising his broken sword. A man in worn leather robes was walking out of the woods, holding a notebook and looking unimpressed.
"Who are you?" Kaelen barked.
"Elian," the stranger said, not breaking stride. He walked right past Kaelen and poked the dead wolf with the toe of his boot. "The drop rates are garbage. A Level 2 Elite Mob and it didn't even drop a Mana Crystal? I need to tweak the loot tables."
"Loot... tables?" Kaelen lowered his sword slightly. The stranger didn't feel like a wizard. He felt... weirdly out of place.
Elian looked up at the soldier. "You. You leveled up. Why haven't you spent your points?"
"My... points?"
"The flashing button in your eye," Elian said, pointing at Kaelen's face. "The one that's annoying you. Press it."
Kaelen hesitated, then tapped the air where the light was blinking.
[Status Window]
Name: Kaelen
Class: Vanguard (Lvl 2)
STR: 12
AGI: 9
VIT: 11 (+5 Points Available)
"I... I see numbers," Kaelen whispered.
"Put them all in Strength," Elian ordered. "The current meta for low-level Vanguards favors raw damage output over tanking. You don't have a healer, so dragging out a fight with high Vitality will just get you killed."
"I don't understand a word you're saying, sorcerer."
"Just push the plus sign next to Strength," Elian sighed. "Trust me."
Kaelen didn't know why, but he did it. He tapped the symbol five times.
CRACK.
Kaelen screamed as his skeletal structure audibly shifted. His shoulders broadened by an inch instantly. The veins in his forearms bulged like cords of rope. The heavy shield, which had felt like lead a moment ago, now felt as light as a dinner plate.
He swung his sword at a nearby oak tree. The blade sheared through the trunk like it was butter. The tree toppled.
Kaelen stared at the destruction. "I am... a god."
"You are Level 2," Elian corrected him dryly. "Don't let it go to your head. You're still squishy."
Elian scribbled something in his notebook. Evolution protocols functioning. Physiological restructuring is instant but painful. Need to add a warning prompt: 'Structuring may cause bone agony.'
"Sorcerer!" Kaelen dropped to one knee. "You know this magic! You know the Blue Text! My village... Riverbend. It is under attack by the jelly-demons. Help us!"
Elian paused. Riverbend was the data cluster he had watched earlier.
"The Tutorial Slimes?" Elian asked. "They shouldn't be a threat anymore. Not if you have a Vanguard."
"It's not just the slimes," Kaelen said, fear creeping back into his voice. "Something else came out of the earth. A door. A door made of bone."
Elian froze. His eyes narrowed, and a faint blue ring glowed in his iris—his [Admin Sight] activating.
"A bone door?" Elian asked sharply.
"Yes. It hums. And those who get too close... they turn gray and start attacking their own families."
Elian cursed under his breath. "Corruption Code."
He tapped his wrist. "Query. Scan Sector 4, Riverbend coordinates."
"Scanning..." Query's voice was audible only to Elian. "Alert. unauthorized file detected. A 'Dungeon.exe' has corrupted. It is running a Necrotic script instead of the standard Starter Dungeon script."
Elian grit his teeth. It was a bug. A severe one. The System was trying to overwrite the old world's ancient curses, but sometimes the old magic fought back, creating corrupted data.
A Corrupted Dungeon in a starter zone was a death sentence for new players. It was Level 20 content dropped on Level 1 heads.
"Change of plans," Elian said, snapping his notebook shut. The 'Traveling Scholar' demeanor vanished, replaced by the cold efficiency of the Architect.
"Get up, Vanguard," Elian commanded.
Kaelen scrambled to his feet. "Are we fleeing?"
Elian opened his inventory. He pulled out a sleek, metallic greatsword that hummed with a low, menacing frequency. It was a [Debug_Weapon_v0.5].
"No," Elian said, tossing the legendary-grade weapon to the shocked soldier. "We're going to do a stress test."
[Quest Generated: The First Glitch]
Objective: Clear the Corrupted Dungeon of Riverbend.
Difficulty: Impossible.
Reward: Survival.
"Let's move," Elian said. "I hate bugs."
Current Character Sheet: Elian Vance
Name: Elian Vance
Class: [ADMINISTRATOR] (Mythic)
Level: -- (N/A)
Title: The Architect
HP: 1,250 / 1,250 (Physically Human)
MP: [CONNECTED TO CORE] (Infinite, limited by throughput)
Active Skills:
[Admin Sight]: View code, stats, and hidden information.
[Delete Object]: Erase target from reality. (Cost:
High Server Load. Cooldown: 10 mins).
[Modify Terrain]: Alter physical landscape within 10m radius.
[Hotfix]: Instantly heal target to 100% HP. (Cost: Moderate Server Load).
Passive Skills:
[Language Translation]: Auto-translate all languages.
[Fear Immunity]: Cannot be affected by mental status effects.
[Developer Access]: Can open any lock, enter any dungeon, use any item regardless of requirements.
Current Debuff:
[System Strain]: The System is new. Excessive use of Admin Powers causes physical backlash to the user's brain (Migraines/Nosebleeds).