The ceiling cracked with a deep grinding sound.
Chunks of stone fell to the floor as the glowing fracture widened. The distortion in the air rippled like broken glass being forced apart.
Marcus took two steps backward.
"Everyone back," he said calmly.
The group immediately retreated several meters down the corridor.
The fracture pulsed again.
Then something forced its way through.
A claw.
Long, black, and twisted like melted metal. The limb tore through the broken ceiling as if the stone were paper.
Tom whispered something under his breath.
"...That's not a goblin."
The creature pushed further through the crack.
Its body looked wrong.
Parts of it resembled a wolf. Other parts looked unfinished, like pieces of different monsters stitched together. Sections of its skin flickered in and out of existence.
The system interface appeared in Marcus' vision.
Unknown Entity Detected
Classification Failed
Victor swore quietly.
"What the hell is that thing?"
The creature dropped heavily onto the dungeon floor.
Its body landed with a heavy thud that shook the corridor.
The monster stood nearly three meters tall.
Six legs.
A twisted jaw filled with broken teeth.
And its body kept glitching, entire sections of it dissolving into static for a moment before snapping back into place.
Marcus felt a cold realization settle in his mind.
"...A corrupted spawn."
Daniel looked at him.
"A what?"
Marcus kept his eyes on the creature.
"In a stable system monsters follow defined parameters," he explained quickly. "But if the environment glitches badly enough the system tries to repair itself."
The creature turned its head toward them.
Yellow eyes flickered with unstable light.
"And sometimes," Marcus continued, "the repair process fails."
The monster screamed.
The sound was distorted, like multiple roars layered together.
Then it charged.
Daniel reacted instantly.
"Spread out!"
The Knight moved forward, raising the pipe spear like a barrier.
The creature slammed into him with terrifying force.
Daniel was thrown backward across the corridor.
He crashed into the stone wall with a painful grunt.
Victor rushed forward from the side, knife flashing.
The Assassin slashed at the creature's leg.
The blade cut through its flesh.
But instead of blood the wound spilled fragments of glowing particles.
The monster barely reacted.
One of its claws lashed sideways.
Victor barely avoided the strike as the claw smashed into the stone floor, cracking the rock like glass.
Marcus watched the fight carefully.
Normal attacks were not slowing it down.
Because the creature was not fully stable.
Parts of it were literally broken code.
"Daniel!" Marcus shouted.
The Knight struggled back to his feet.
"What?!"
Marcus pointed at the creature's chest.
A massive fracture pulsed across its torso.
"Hit the glitch!"
Daniel did not question it.
He charged.
The pipe spear drove forward with all his strength.
The weapon struck the glowing fracture.
For a split second the monster froze.
Then the entire creature flickered violently.
Error Detected
Structural instability increasing
Marcus felt a grim smile form on his face.
"Good," he said quietly.
"If it's broken..."
The creature roared again as the glitch spread across its body.
"...then we can break it more."
The creature shrieked as the spear pierced the glowing fracture in its chest.
For a moment its entire body froze.
The flickering sections of its skin began flashing faster, like a broken signal struggling to stabilize.
Error Detected
Structural instability increasing
Marcus saw the message appear again.
"Hit the crack!" he shouted. "Don't attack anywhere else!"
Daniel ripped the pipe spear free and lunged again.
The Knight drove the weapon back into the pulsing fracture.
This time the reaction was immediate.
The creature's body twisted violently as if something inside it was collapsing.
Victor moved like a shadow.
The Assassin darted in from the side and slashed directly across the glowing wound.
The moment the knife touched the fracture the monster glitched again.
Its body fragmented for a split second.
Pieces of it vanished and reappeared in different positions.
Tom stepped forward with both hands raised.
"I'll try something!"
Blue light gathered around the Mage's fingers.
A small bolt of energy shot forward and struck the unstable section of the creature's chest.
The result was explosive.
The fracture spread instantly across the monster's torso.
Cracks of glowing distortion crawled through its body like lightning.
Marcus stepped backward as the air around the creature distorted violently.
"Keep attacking that spot!" he said.
Daniel slammed the spear forward again.
Victor struck twice in rapid succession.
The creature tried to retaliate.
One of its massive claws swung wildly through the corridor, smashing into the stone wall and sending shards of rock flying.
Elena rushed to Daniel's side.
The Healer placed her hand on his shoulder as soft golden light spread across the Knight's body.
Minor healing applied
Daniel gritted his teeth.
"Good timing."
The monster staggered.
The glitch in its chest now pulsed like an open wound in reality.
Marcus could see the distortion clearly through Glitch Vision.
The creature was collapsing from the inside.
"One more good hit," Marcus said.
Daniel nodded.
The Knight planted his feet and thrust the spear forward with everything he had.
The weapon struck directly into the center of the fracture.
For a split second the entire dungeon corridor went silent.
Then the creature shattered.
Not exploded.
Shattered.
Its body fragmented into thousands of glowing particles that dissolved into the air like broken data.
System Notification
Glitch Beast Eliminated
Experience gained: 85
Multiple Level Ups
Marcus blinked as the familiar interface expanded in front of him.
Level Up
Level: 3
Stat points available: 2
Level Up
Level: 4
Stat points available: 2
Victor stared at the empty space where the creature had been.
"...Did we just kill a boss?"
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
He looked up at the damaged ceiling where the fracture still pulsed faintly.
"That was something worse."
Daniel wiped sweat from his face.
"Worse than a boss?"
Marcus nodded slowly.
"A system error."
The Knight frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Marcus glanced at the unstable crack above them.
"It means the dungeon itself is starting to break."
And somewhere deep within the massive network controlling the experiment a silent process activated.
Anomaly interaction confirmed.
Creator level anomaly affecting dungeon stability.
Observation priority increased.
The corridor slowly returned to silence.
The glowing particles from the destroyed creature faded into nothing, leaving only cracked stone and dust behind.
Victor exhaled.
"...I did not sign up for that."
Daniel leaned on his spear, still breathing heavily.
"That thing almost crushed me."
Elena placed a hand on his arm again and another wave of warm light passed through his body.
Minor healing applied
Daniel straightened slightly.
"Thanks."
Marcus remained quiet for a moment while looking at the ceiling.
The fracture was still there.
But it was smaller now.
As if the system had partially repaired itself after the creature disappeared.
Marcus frowned.
"So the dungeon is trying to stabilize."
Tom walked closer.
"You understand what's happening here?"
Marcus considered his answer carefully.
"I understand parts of it."
Victor crossed his arms.
"Then explain."
Marcus turned toward the group.
"The dungeon runs on rules," he said. "Every floor has a structure. Monsters spawn in specific zones. Paths connect in certain ways."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"Okay."
Marcus pointed upward.
"But when those rules break the system tries to fix itself."
Tom looked confused.
"By creating monsters like that thing?"
Marcus nodded.
"Exactly."
Victor looked back at the empty space where the creature had died.
"So glitches create monsters."
Marcus shook his head.
"Not exactly. The system creates monsters to repair the glitch."
Daniel frowned.
"And we just killed it."
Marcus gave a small shrug.
"Which means the system will probably try again later."
That statement made the group noticeably less comfortable.
Sarah spoke quietly for the first time since the fight ended.
"Then we should keep moving."
Marcus agreed.
The longer they stayed near an unstable area the more likely something worse would appear.
He turned toward the corridor ahead.
But before he could take a step another notification appeared.
Error Class Interaction Detected
Hidden Skill Unlocked
Marcus stopped.
The interface expanded.
New Skill Acquired
System Fracture Sense Lv.1
Marcus read the description slowly.
Allows the user to detect unstable system fractures and corrupted entities within a limited radius.
He blinked once.
"...That is useful."
Victor noticed the glowing interface.
"What did you get?"
Marcus closed the window.
"A new skill."
Tom raised an eyebrow.
"Already?"
Marcus nodded.
"Looks like breaking the system has rewards."
Daniel chuckled quietly.
"I like that kind of class."
Marcus did not respond.
Because one thought had already formed in his mind.
If fighting corrupted creatures strengthened his abilities then deeper floors might contain far worse glitches.
And those glitches might make him far stronger.
He started walking again.
The corridor stretched forward, leading deeper into Floor 299.
Behind them the fractured ceiling slowly repaired itself as the dungeon system worked silently to erase the damage.
But the system could not erase one problem.
Marcus Hale was still inside the experiment.
And every step he took created more errors.