Reality broke.
Not metaphorically. Not dramatically. It just... broke.
Nero's hand touched the code-space where the corrupted boss existed, and every line of corrupted script became visible—not just to him, but radiating outward like a pulse of distorted light. The dungeon walls flickered, their textures glitching between stone and raw wireframe. Numbers cascaded through the air like digital rain.
And Kade, Finn, and Lyra could see all of it.
"What the—" Finn's voice cut off as the boss charged.
"NERO!" Kade braced his shield, but his eyes were fixed on the impossible sight—reality laid bare, code where there should only be matter.
Nero didn't have time to explain. The corrupted hobgoblin was on them, and his Patch Rewrite skill had activated automatically, his hands moving through gesture commands that shouldn't mean anything but did.
His Debug Mode showed him everything:
```
[CORRUPTED HOBGOBLIN CHIEFTAIN]
TRUE LEVEL: 28 (Artificially Enhanced)
CORRUPTION SOURCE: Dungeon Core Malfunction
WEAK POINT: Reality Anchor - Chest Cavity
HP: 2,400/2,400
EXPLOIT IDENTIFIED:
The corruption keeping it alive is a recursive loop
Break the loop = Entity ceases to exist
Method: Patch Rewrite with precision targeting
Cost: 15 CORRUPTION
Success Rate: 67%
```
"Sixty-seven percent?" he thought. Not great odds. But better than zero.
The boss swung a massive corrupted claw. Kade caught it on his shield, and the impact drove him back three feet—Kade, who weighed two hundred and fifty pounds in armor.
"It's stronger than a Gold-rank!" Kade shouted. "Way stronger!"
Lyra's arrows struck true—throat, eye, shoulder—but the wounds just glitched and healed, reality rewriting itself around the damage.
"Physical damage isn't working!" she called out.
Finn tried to flank, his daggers finding gaps in the corrupted armor, but the boss spun with impossible speed. Its backhand sent Finn flying into a wall with a sickening crunch.
```
[PARTY MEMBER: FINN COOPER]
HP: 180/320 (INJURED)
STATUS: Dazed, Possible Concussion
```
"FINN!" Lyra's focus wavered for a split second.
That's all the boss needed. It lunged at her. Nero moved without thinking. His Exploit Detection showed him the attack vector, the timing, the exact angle. He threw himself forward, not to block—he couldn't block something that strong—but to disrupt.
His sword caught the boss's leg mid-stride. The blade shattered on impact, but it worked. The boss stumbled. Lyra rolled clear.
```
HP: 95/140 (CRITICAL)
WEAPON: DESTROYED
STATUS: This Was A Terrible Idea
```
"NERO!" Kade was back on the boss instantly, shield-bashing it away. "Get back! You can't tank this!"
But Nero could see something they couldn't. The corruption was spreading. Every second the boss existed, it was infecting the dungeon further. Soon, the corruption would hit critical mass, and the entire space would collapse.
They'd all die, unless he did something.
"Kade!" Nero shouted. "I need you to pin it! Just for five seconds!"
"Are you insane?!"
probably!
"Just do it!" He yelled.
Something in his voice must have convinced the big man because Kade roared and activated a skill. His body glowed red, his muscles bulged, and he charged the corrupted boss like a freight train.
[Titan's Stand] - a full defensive lock skill that would pin an enemy but leave Kade completely vulnerable. The boss and Kade collided. For a moment, neither moved—two massive forces locked together.
"Five Seconds!" Kade bellowed. "clock's ticking!"
Nero ran forward, his hands already moving through the code-manipulation gestures. His Patch Rewrite skill flared to life, and he could see it—the recursive loop, the corrupted script keeping the boss alive.
```
function hobgoblinCorruption {
if (HP <= 0) {
HP = restore(2400);
realityGlitch.apply();
}
return immortal;
}
```
It was elegant in its simplicity. Whenever the boss should die, reality rewrote itself to restore it. An infinite loop—Unbreakable. Except every loop had a break condition. Every code had an exit. You just had to find it. Nero's fingers found the corruption source—the reality anchor in its chest—and he rewrote the function.
```
function hobgoblinCorruption {
if (HP <= 0) {
return TERMINATE;
}
}
```
One line. One change and then His Corruption spiked.
```
[PATCH REWRITE: SUCCESSFUL]
CORRUPTION: 27 → 42/100
⚠️ WARNING: REALITY STABILITY COMPROMISED
⚠️ WARNING: DEBUGGER ALERT TRIGGERED
```
The boss froze mid-motion. Its body flickered—solid, wireframe, solid, wireframe—like a glitching video game texture.
And then it just... stopped existing. Not died. Not collapsed. Just ceased to be, dissolving into clean white particles instead of the normal light burst.
```
[CORRUPTED ENTITY: TERMINATED]
[DUNGEON LOCKDOWN: RELEASED]
[CORRUPTION SOURCE: ELIMINATED]
[+850 XP]
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 3!]
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 4!]
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 5!]
[WARNING: Your actions have been flagged]
[WARNING: Debugger investigation probability: 78%]
```
Kade stumbled as the force he'd been pushing against vanished. He caught himself, turning to stare at Nero with an expression that was equal parts awe and confusion. The dungeon walls stopped glitching. The corrupted code faded. Reality reasserted itself. And in the sudden silence, three pairs of eyes locked onto Nero.
"What," Lyra said very carefully, "was that?"
Nero's mouth went dry. His hands were still glowing faintly with code-light. The air around him shimmered with reality distortion.
Well. Shit.
"I can explain—"
"You just rewrote reality?" Finn said from where he'd picked himself up, one hand pressed to his ribs. His voice was strained but steady. "I saw you. We all saw you. You reached into that thing's...and you just changed it?"
"That's not a normal skill," Lyra added, her bow still half-raised. Not threatening, but not trusting either. "That's not even an advanced skill. That's something else entirely."
Kade was silent. His eyes moved from Nero to the space where the boss had been to the fading code-light still drifting through the air like dying embers.
"System Specialist," he said finally. "That's what the class assessment said. 'Unique affinity with system mechanics and reality structures.' That's what it meant, isn't it?"
Damn, he's smart. What do I do now?
Nero swallowed hard. How much truth? How much lie? They just saw me hack reality. They know something's wrong.
"I..." He took a breath. "I can see code. In everything. Monsters, spells, the dungeon itself. It's all just... code to me. And sometimes, I can change it."
"Sometimes?" Lyra's eyes narrowed.
"It costs me. Every time I use it, something inside me gets corrupted. There's a limit. If I hit that limit..." He gestured vaguely. "I believe something bad will happen to me."
"How bad?" Finn asked.
"The system called it a 'Terminal Event.' So probably very bad. I really don't know what it is. Yet."
Kade lowered his shield slowly. His expression was unreadable. "How long have you been able to do this?"
"Since I woke up in the forest. It's part of whatever happened to me when I... when my memories got scrambled."
Not technically a lie. Just incomplete.
The three of them exchanged looks. That silent communication thing again. Nero's heart hammered. They could turn him in. Report him to the Guild. Hell, Lyra could put an arrow in him right now if she decided he was too dangerous. Instead, Kade walked over and placed a hand on the shoulder—gentler than usual.
"You just saved our lives," he said simply. "That thing would've killed us. Maybe not instantly, but eventually. We couldn't hurt it. But you could." He looked Nero dead in the eyes. "Thank you."
Nero blinked. "You're not... freaked out?"
"Oh, I'm fucking terrified," Kade said with brutal honesty raising his hands in defense.
"You just made a boss monster stop existing by rewriting reality. That's nightmare fuel. But..." He started as he placed his hands again on Nero's shoulder. "...you're also the reason we're alive to be terrified, so I'm choosing gratitude over panic."
Finn limped over, still holding his ribs. "For what it's worth, I've seen weirder shit. There's a guy in the Capital who can turn himself into a swarm of bees. At least your ability makes sense in a 'we live in a system-based reality' kind of way."
"I have questions," Lyra said flatly. "Many questions. But Finn needs healing, this dungeon might still be unstable, and we need to report this to the Guild." She fixed Nero with a look that promised they would be having a very long conversation later. "But for now? We get out alive. We can process the existential crisis after."
"Agreed," Kade said. "Everyone okay to move?"
Finn grimaced. "Bruised ribs, maybe a cracked one. I can walk."
"Lyra?"
"Fine. You?"
"My pride's hurt more than anything. Getting ragdolled by a corrupted hobgoblin isn't great for my reputation as an immovable tank." But he was grinning. "Though Nero definitely gets MVP for this one."
The exit had unsealed itself. They limped toward it, exhausted and battered but alive.
As they walked, Nero's system kept pinging notifications.
```
[RELATIONSHIP UPDATE]
Kade Morrison: TRUSTED FRIEND → LOYAL COMPANION (65/100)
Finn Cooper: NEUTRAL-FRIENDLY → CAUTIOUS TRUST (35/100)
Lyra Ashford: CAUTIOUS-NEUTRAL → WARY ALLY (25/100)
[WARNING: Your secret is partially revealed]
[WARNING: Debugger investigation active]
[WARNING: You have 48-72 hours before Arbiter forces arrive in Grayhollow]
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "Reality Hacker"]
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "Boss Slayer (Seriously Overleveled Enemy)"]
[TITLE ACQUIRED: "Code Breaker"]
[You are playing a dangerous game]
[Good luck]
```
They emerged from the dungeon into afternoon sunlight. The fresh air felt like a miracle after the corruption-tainted atmosphere inside.
"So," Finn said as they started the walk back to Grayhollow. "Anyone else feel like we just walked into a way bigger plot than 'clear Bronze dungeon for beer money'?"
"Yep," Kade said.
"Absolutely," Lyra added.
Nero said nothing. His Corruption sat at 42/100. He had maybe three days before hunters arrived. And his party now knew he could manipulate reality itself.
This is fine, he thought hysterically. Everything is completely fine.
"Nero," Lyra said as they walked. "That class. System Specialist. You're going to take it, aren't you?"
It wasn't really a question.
"Seems like the only option that makes sense now," he admitted.
She nodded. "Then we train you properly. If you're going to keep doing what you did in the dungeon, you need to learn to do it safely. For your sake and ours."
"We're really doing this?" Finn asked. "We're really keeping the reality-hacker on the team?"
Kade's response was immediate. "He's part of Vanguard now. That means something doesn't it? We don't abandon our own."
"Even if 'our own' can accidentally unmake existence?"
"Especially then. Means he needs us to keep him grounded and we need him."
Despite everything—the danger, the corruption, the hunters coming for him—Nero felt that warmth again. That sense of belonging. Found family, he thought. Even when they know I'm hypothetically broken.
They crested a hill, and Grayhollow came into view below them, peaceful and unaware of what was coming.
"So," Kade said cheerfully, "dinner first, or should we report the corrupted dungeon to the Guild and ruin everyone's evening?"
"Dinner," all three of them said in unison.
"That's what I like to hear! Nero, you're buying. You just got three levels' worth of loot."
"I literally have five copper to my name."
"Then I'm buying and you're paying me back when you're rich and famous." Kade said with mischievous grin. Wink.
"That's not how loans work—"
"IT IS NOW!"
And somehow, walking down that hill toward the town, Nero couldn't help but smile.
He had three days before everything went to hell.
He'd make them count.