It wasn’t a jungle in the normal sense—more like a living system crash that had somehow grown roots. Trees were fiberoptic; their leaves shimmered with corrupted transparency. The wind rustled not with the sound of leaves but with broken dial tones. And the deeper he walked, the more his system stuttered like it was trying to breathe through a firewall.
[Entering Glitched Zone: Echo Jungle]
[Environmental Instability: High]
[System Sync Rate Dropped to 76%]
[Passive Interference Detected: Skill Delay +0.3s]
“Great. Jungle lag,” Kai muttered.
Still, there was something pulsing beneath it all. Something alive. Or at least pretending really well.
The floor shifted as he walked—moss writhing with embedded code. Occasionally, his boots would step on what looked like solid earth, only for it to open like an eye and blink.
Yeah. This place was going to suck.
But it was also full of potential.
EXP-rich zones, mobs layered with rare mutations, and somewhere in here, the Central Sync Tree—the one thing capable of stabilizing his fluctuating skill architecture.
Just a hundred meters in, the jungle welcomed him.
Hostile Detected: Screechbloom
- Type: Ambush Flora
- Traits: Sonic Disrupt, Vibe Hook, Data Drain Spores
It looked like a flower made of sound waves, petals humming with static. It didn’t move until he did. Then it shrieked—an ultrasonic burst that knocked Kai back.
[Health -2,100 | Sonic Pulse Critical]
He gritted his teeth. The attack wasn’t strong—but it was annoying. And disorienting.
“Time to garden,” he growled.
Kai dropped low, activated Glitch Stash, and swapped out Firewall Breath for Data Purge Beam. The flower’s tendrils writhed as it prepared a second shriek.
He didn’t give it the chance.
[Data Purge Beam – Fire]
[Effectiveness: Super-Effective | Organic-Digital Class]
The beam sliced through its core. No scream this time. Just a soft, static fizz and the smell of burning spam folders.
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[EXP Gained: 4,200]
[Analyzing Skill Trace… None recoverable.]
Kai sighed. Not every mob gave gifts.
As he pushed deeper, the jungle began responding.
The vines seemed to move when he wasn’t looking. The trees pulsed to a hidden beat, like drums being played from beneath the world.
A nearby ruin—half-data, half-vine—caught his attention. Carved into it was a mural of humanoid figures surrounding a massive tree. All of them were reaching toward it, glitching.
One looked a lot like… him.
Kai blinked.
[System Echo Triggered]
[Memory Log: Untranslated Fragment Loaded]
For a moment, the world froze. A flicker of something ancient—almost like a vision.
A worldwalker in armor far older than Kai’s. Standing in front of the Sync Tree. Speaking to someone unseen:
“The Tree bends time, Kai. Bend it too far, and it breaks you back.”
Kai stumbled as the vision faded.
He wasn’t alone—not in history.
Someone else had come before. Maybe not from his Earth, but somewhere. Someone had reached the Tree and tried to do… something.
Maybe it was fate.
Or maybe it was a warning.
New Mobs Encountered:
- Phantom Jackals – Quick, unpredictable. Move in erratic frame skips.
- Wirebeaks – Avian horrors that dive-bomb and inject memory decay.
- Gnarlbind Roots – Trap-based entities that turn the terrain itself into a maze.
- Cache Wraiths – Appear only during “Data Drizzle” weather events; invisible until engaged.
By nightfall, Kai had crafted a temporary camp near a flickering obelisk that read NODE_REST_PNT_02. It barely functioned, but gave him a safe zone—barely big enough to breathe in.
He took stock.
Level: 25
EXP: 8,900
Mirrorbyte Copies:
- Firewall Breath
- Echo Howl
- Data Purge Beam
- Phase Shift Dash (recently gained from Phantom Jackals)
- Toxic Kernel Spit (from a Fragmented Hydra rematch)
His system pinged softly.
[New Skill Concept Detected]
- Based on: Echo Howl + Phase Shift Dash
- Name: Quantum Roar
- Effect: Release sound that teleports user randomly within 3-meter radius while stunning enemies.
[Craft Cost: 6,700 EXP] – Proceed?
Kai smirked. “That’ll be chaotic.”
[Skill Crafted: Quantum Roar]
That night, he dreamt again.
The glitch god was there—but frozen. Silent. And behind him… a new shape.
Feminine. Eyes glowing in binary blue. Watching.
“He’s learning.”
The voice wasn’t his own.
“He’s getting… too good.”
Then static.
When morning came, the vines had grown around the camp—protectively, not aggressively. Almost like they were shielding him.
Or hiding him.
Kai didn’t know which was worse.
But he stood, checked his gear, and stepped out again into the verdant static.
The jungle had just begun.
And he wasn’t slowing down.
END OF CHAPTER 11