The sunlight in Vastveil had a strange sheen today, like someone added post-processing filters to the sky. I stood atop the guild hall, cloak flapping, the wind trying to tear it off my shoulders. Below, the city hummed with the tension of a system about to receive an unstable update.

  

[EXP: 168,100][Custom Skill Slot: 1 Available]

  And just like that, the world decided to react to me again.

  A courier—a real one, not some code-stringed summon—burst through the plaza. His tabard bore the seal of Kingdom Caelistra, the largest of the seven ruling dominions. Behind him? Two knights in shining, mana-imbued armor. Smooth. Regal. Not glitched in the slightest.

  Their presence sent ripples through the air. Literal interface lag to anyone standing nearby.

  They approached the Guild Gate like it was a courtroom.

  “You are Kai, yes? The one who broke the rank board?”

  “Guilty. You offering a medal or a prison sentence?”

  “Neither. King Alther himself requests your audience.”

  

[New Quest Unlocked: “Audience with the Sovereign”]

  

  
• Rewards: ???


  
• Warning: This event may alter world state.


  

  Of course it will.

  They escorted me to the outer realms of Caelistra in a hover-carriage lined with floating sigils and anti-glitch stabilizers. Every few miles, I saw the world bend unnaturally—buildings stretching like rubber, forests where trees blinked in and out of render.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The castle, though, was pristine.

  Like it was manually scrubbed of any imperfection.

  Inside the throne room, a giant table of floating light rotated with live guild rankings, city status, and danger zones across the continent. Kings didn’t just rule with armies here.

  They ruled with data.

  Alther wore silver robes layered with pixel-threaded embroidery. His eyes weren’t just eyes. They were scanners. Every time he blinked, I felt like a system sweep was hitting me.

  “Kai of Glitchwalk, we are… aware of your skills.”

  “Then you know trying to use me would be stupid.”

  He smirked. “Which is why I won’t. I’ll offer you autonomy. But I want a favor.”

  I hate favors from kings.

  “There is a zone, a forbidden one. Glitched beyond our repair. The monsters there don’t respawn. They rewrite. And a beacon was activated there yesterday. A beacon with your signature.”

  My jaw clenched.

  The system.

  Still playing games.

  

[Quest Update: “Echoes in the Glitch Wilds”]

  

  
• Travel to the Wild Zone.


  
• Investigate source of unauthorized beacon.


  
• Survive whatever rewrites you.


  

  “I’ll go,” I said. “But I want access to the Royal Skill Codex.”

  That made his brow twitch.

  “Done.”

  Back in Vastveil, guild talk was wild. Rumors of a city-wide raid. Three guilds—Obsidian Coil, Crimson Lance, and Frozen Sigil—were merging forces. Not against a boss.

  Against me.

  They called it “The Rank Cleanse.”

  I called it Thursday.

  

[Skill Crafted: “Fracture Echo”]

  

  
• Type: Counter-Field


  
• Upon taking damage, creates a distortion zone that reflects 25% of incoming abilities back at all enemies in a 5-meter radius. Can stack.


  
• EXP Cost: 89,000


  

  They wanted a guild war.

  So I gave them one.

  The plaza cracked under the pressure of conflicting sigils. I stood alone at the Guild Gate while dozens of ranked players emerged, their eyes glowing, abilities prepped. Fire, ice, lightning, psionics—it was like facing an army of boss fights.

  

[Mirrorbyte Protocol: Fully Synced][Custom Skill: Dominion Shard] – Deployed[Firewall Breath - Overclocked]

  And then I moved.

  One echo at a time.

  One glitch at a time.

  I didn’t hide. I didn’t hold back. The world knew I was coming.

  Now it knew I was here.

  END OF CHAPTER 13