The forest was thick with shadows, towering trees twisting upward into a night sky veined with blue light from the artificial moon. It felt alive, as if the world itself was watching them. Every step Kevin, Aria, and KTG's party took crunched against damp leaves that shimmered faintly with digital pixels—remnants of corrupted data bleeding into the environment.
Kevin's grip tightened around his sword's hilt. "Aria, you sure this is the right way?"
Aria, her map flickering with faint holographic markers, nodded without looking back. "Yeah. According to the nav-grid, there's a rest zone ahead. It should have a shop. We're running low on food packs and repair kits."
Her voice was confident but calm—too calm for a place like this. The air here didn't just feel dark; it vibrated with unseen energy.
Kevin scanned the forest again. Nothing moved, yet his instincts screamed that something was out there, watching.
Minutes later, they broke through a wall of hanging vines and entered a clearing. At the center stood a wooden cabin that looked absurdly out of place—warm light spilling from its windows, ivy climbing its walls, smoke curling from a crooked chimney.
"Finally," Aria said with a sigh, lowering her bow. "Civilization, sort of."
Kevin exhaled, letting his shoulders relax. "Or it's a trap pretending to be civilization."
"Either way," Aria smirked, "I'm going in."
The creaky door opened to a soft chime. Inside, the place was small but mesmerizing. Shelves curved around the room, stacked with everything from glowing potions to silver-edged weapons. The air smelled of wood, oil, and faint static—like an old machine still trying to function perfectly.
Behind the counter stood an NPC with strikingly blue hair and unnervingly human eyes. His smile was programmed to perfection.
"Welcome to the Fatal Re:Spawn General Shop," he greeted smoothly. "How may I assist, brave players?"
Aria approached first, scanning the display. "We're looking for top-tier gear. We just cleared the forest dungeon."
The NPC tilted his head thoughtfully, as if pretending to consider. "For you, miss, I have something rare." He reached beneath the counter and pulled out a crystalline blade that pulsed with a pink glow. "The Love Emerald. Perfect balance, high crit rate, beautiful aesthetic. Ten-thousand gold."
Aria's confident expression faltered. "I've only got a hundred."
Before Kevin could say anything, Aria's expression softened into amusement. "Hold up. I can cover that."
She flicked open her inventory screen, lines of glowing text scrolling past her reflection in her visor. Within seconds, the transaction completed with a ping.
Kevin blinked. "Wait, what? You just dropped ten thousand gold like it's pocket change?"
"Pretty much," she said casually. "I've got plenty."
"How much is 'plenty'?"
She gave a teasing grin. "About a million, give or take."
Kevin's jaw slackened. "A million gold? How did you even—"
"Bought it," Aria interrupted simply. "Real money. Why grind when I can swipe?"
Kevin stared. "That'd cost a fortune in real life."
"Not for me," she replied, spinning the Love Emerald experimentally. The crystal shimmered, scattering pink light across her armor. "Besides, it looks good on me, right?"
Kevin muttered something unintelligible, half impressed, half annoyed.
The shopkeeper leaned forward again, his mechanical smile never wavering. "If you'd like something fitting your strength, miss, I recommend the Moon Blade paired with the Lunar Shield. Six-hundred thousand gold for the set."
Without hesitation, Aria accepted, her avatar shimmering as the twin weapons materialized across her back and arm. "Perfect."
Kevin could almost feel the game rewarding her for being rich. Typical.
Trying not to sound jealous, he asked, "So… anything here for ten gold coins?"
The NPC's expression softened into fake sympathy. "I'm afraid only this item fits your budget." He placed a small, rusted dagger on the counter. "Not much, but… it has potential for upgrades."
Kevin sighed, checking his balance. "Figures. Fine, I'll take it."
Transaction complete.
The dagger appeared in his hand—pixelated, dim, unimpressive. But as soon as he equipped it, his screen flared red.
[ERROR IN EQUIPMENT OF WEAPON]
Kevin froze. "What the hell—"
The dagger flickered violently, phasing between solid metal and static. A loud bzzt filled his ears. The air around him distorted like a glitch in a video frame.
"Kevin?" Aria stepped closer. "What's wrong?"
He turned the weapon toward her. "This thing… it's glitching."
Aria frowned, inspecting it carefully. "We're not supposed to see raw data errors inside Fatal Re:Spawn. The devs patched all visual bugs before launch."
"Maybe it's not a bug," Kevin murmured. His HUD kept flashing the same message over and over. ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.
Aria shook her head. "Whatever it is, unequip it before it breaks something."
"I can't. The command isn't responding."
Her eyes narrowed. "That's… not supposed to happen."
The NPC behind the counter continued smiling—frozen, unblinking. Then his voice glitched, repeating:
"Thank you for your pur—thank you for your pur—thank you for your pur…"
Kevin's stomach dropped. "Aria—he's looping."
The lights in the shop flickered. For a split second, Kevin saw code bleed through the air—red strings of corrupted symbols crawling over the walls before vanishing.
Then, just as quickly, everything snapped back to normal.
The NPC blinked. "Thank you for your purchase. Please come again."
Kevin looked around, breathing hard. "Did you see that?"
Aria's voice was quiet now. "Yeah… and if that was what I think it was, we're dealing with something way above a normal glitch."
---
They stepped back into the cold air. The digital forest hummed softly, almost too still.
"Let's find a place to rest," Aria said finally. "We can figure out that error later."
Kevin nodded, though unease still gnawed at him. They set up camp near a small creek that reflected the twin moons above—a detail Kevin still hadn't gotten used to. For a VR world, everything in Fatal Re:Spawn felt too real.
The fire crackled as they sat around it. For a long moment, neither spoke. The sound of burning pixels filled the silence.
Then Aria broke it. "Since we're stuck here together, maybe we should know who we really are."
Kevin glanced up, shadows from the fire dancing across his armor. "You mean… in the real world?"
Aria nodded slowly. "Yeah. My real name's Emily. Emily Elite."
Kevin blinked. The name hit him like a lightning bolt. "Wait—Elite? As in Emily Elite? From Class 3B?"
She smiled faintly, amused at his disbelief. "Took you long enough, KTG."
He froze, staring at her. "You knew who I was this whole time?"
"Of course. You were hard to miss, Mr. VR Legend." Her eyes softened a bit. "Guess we're classmates and teammates now."
Kevin ran a hand through his hair, still processing. "This is insane. I didn't even recognize your voice."
"I changed my tone filter when I logged in," she said with a shrug. "Didn't expect to bump into someone from school, though."
Kevin laughed weakly, shaking his head. "Small world… even in a digital one."
For a while, they sat quietly. The fire popped, and the forest murmured like a sleeping beast.
Then Kevin's screen flickered again.
[ERROR IN EQUIPMENT OF WEAPON]
[UNAUTHORIZED DATA LINK DETECTED]
The words glowed blood-red this time.
Aria's head snapped toward him. "Kevin, what's that?"
He stared as the rusty dagger in his hand began to vibrate—harder, faster. The air shimmered, distorting reality around the weapon.
Suddenly, a whisper crawled through his headset. "Player KTG… link established."
Kevin's breath caught. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Aria asked quickly, eyes darting to her HUD. "Kevin, what's happening?"
He looked down. The dagger's blade split open, revealing glowing red lines like veins pulsing with corrupted data. A surge of static tore through his screen.
[SYSTEM INTRUSION WARNING]
Then, just as the light peaked—everything went dark.
---
When Kevin's vision returned, the forest was gone.
He was standing in a vast, empty void. Black floor. Endless horizon. The sound of his own heartbeat echoing in his ears.
And somewhere in the darkness, a voice whispered:
"Welcome, KTG. You weren't supposed to find this."
To be continued...
---