"Let me get this straight," I said, staring at the notice board.
"Some weirdos in black cloaks are hanging around Crystal Vale… and people are getting stuck in time loops?"
Rina sipped her tea. "Yup."
"And no one thought, 'Hey, maybe this is a bad sign'?"
She shrugged. "Welcome to Aeronfall."
---
Off to Crystal Vale
We packed up and left early.
The town of Crystal Vale was about half a day's walk northeast. Normally it was peaceful — waterfalls, crystals, that kind of shiny postcard stuff.
Except now?
Birds froze mid-air. The wind repeated itself in 3-second loops. And villagers walked the same path again and again.
Like literal NPCs stuck in a bug.
[Data Sense Activated Automatically]
[Corruption Detected: Loop Field – Unauthorized Script Layer]
My screen flickered.
"System Note: This code doesn't belong to us."
Hold up.
Us?
---
Code Eater Appears
The moment we entered the loop zone, reality twitched. The sky shimmered like a broken monitor. Then—
[Hostile Entity Detected: CODE EATER – CLASS B]
A figure in a black cloak materialized. Masked. No face. No name. Just a glitched aura oozing off them like oil in water.
"User recognized," it hissed in a robotic voice. "Glitched Core. Delete target."
"Oh, cool. I'm famous."
Rina drew her blades. "You sure you're ready for this?"
"Nope. Let's go!"
---
Round 1: System vs. System
The Code Eater flicked its wrist. A time spike shot toward me, wrapped in static.
I used Packet Skip.
My body jittered like a YouTube video on 0.25x speed and skipped five feet sideways.
"Nice try, glitch gremlin."
[Glitch: Random Buff Triggered – SPEED +25% (60 sec)]
I felt light. Like I could dodge thoughts.
I dashed in and activated Data Pulse — a wave of blue energy fried the area, revealing glowing error nodes on the enemy's arms.
Weak points. Target acquired.
But the Code Eater didn't flinch.
Instead, it glitched straight into the air, then launched a command:
[ERROR_CAST: Loop Reset]
Time reversed for two seconds.
And suddenly I was standing still again, mid-step — completely open.
"OH COME ON—"
---
Enter Glitch Points
I clenched my fist.
Time to use the new toys.
[Glitch Points: 3]
[Activate: System Rewrite – Subroutine Override]
Target: Loop Reset
Override: Nullify
Reality shattered for a moment like broken glass.
[System Rewrite Successful]
Enemy Skill Disabled Temporarily (60 sec)]
The Code Eater twitched. "Unauthorized command… You are broken."
I grinned. "You noticed."
---
Rina's Turn
While the Eater was stunned, Rina went full anime mode — flipping through the air and stabbing its exposed glitch node.
CRITICAL.
It screamed — a horrible, corrupted sound that made my ears bleed slightly.
[Enemy System Stability: 42%]
Not done yet.
The Code Eater launched corrupted tendrils at us — I rolled and pulled a desperate move:
Inventory Toss: Cheese Wheel (???).
The cheese hit it square in the face.
[ENEMY DEBUFFED – Smelly Aura -25% Focus]
Rina: "…Did you just stun a boss with a cheese wheel?"
"Don't question my genius."
---
Final Blow
I activated Lag Clone, creating two fuzzy copies of me. They swarmed the Eater, confusing its lock-on, while I charged in with Data Pulse again.
Glitch Points Remaining: 1
"System," I whispered, "override again. Just for flair."
[System Rewrite: Activate – Critical Surge]
Blue code circuits lit up across my body.
I punched the final weak node.
BOOM.
The Code Eater disintegrated in a flurry of static.
[Enemy Eliminated – First-Time Kill: Code Eater Class B]
[Glitch Points +2]
[New Trait Unlocked: Static Immunity (Minor)]
[New Item Acquired: Eater Core Fragment (??)]
I fell back, panting.
Rina dropped beside me. "What… the hell… was that?"
I stared at my glowing hand.
"I think… I'm learning how to bend the rules."
---
Aftermath
The time loop cracked like glass, and the town resumed normal flow. Villagers blinked. Birds flew normally again. Someone sneezed in the distance.
Peace returned.
For now.
But I had a bad feeling in my gut.
Because before the Code Eater died, it sent a message.
"The Architect knows you exist. He is rebooting."
Whoever that was… probably not a fan.
---
Status Update
Name: Yuto Kurogane
Race: Codeborn (Glitched Core)
Level: 9
Title: Loop Breaker, Cheese-Fu Master
HP: 36/36
Strength: 13 | Agility: 13 | Intelligence: 17
Traits:
- Data Sense
- Debug Mode
- Crash Override (1x/week)
- Glitch Core (Unstable Power)
- Static Immunity (Minor)
New Resource:
- Glitch Points: 2
Skills:
- Glitch: Random Buff
- Lag Clone (Lv3 – Independent)
- Rollback (1x/day)
- Sound Lag
- Packet Skip (1x/day)
- Inventory Toss
- Data Pulse
- System Rewrite (Unlocked!)
Inventory:
- Glitch Token x1
- Eater Core Fragment x1
- Debug Fragment x1
- Cheese Wheel (Half)
---
Final Note
As I walked back into town, one thought stuck with me:
If that was just a Class B, what the heck was an A-class?
And who was the Architect?
I had a feeling I was about to find out.
And spoiler alert: it won't be peaceful.
---
To be continued...