The entrance to the alley was hidden behind a flickering neon sign that read "Closed Forever."
Rael moved silently, his steps echoing in the forgotten lane. Trash bins overflowed, the walls were cracked, and stray cats scattered as he passed.
He stopped in front of a graffiti-stained wall—harmless at first glance.
But he remembered.
> June 12, 7:04 PM. A hidden gate opened here. No one believed the F-class who reported it. Three days later, 36 people died when it finally overflowed into the streets.
Rael checked his watch.
7:03 PM.
He reached out and placed his palm on the wall.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the air shimmered.
> [UNREGISTERED DUNGEON DETECTED.]
[ENTER? Y/N]
[WARNING: SYSTEM ANOMALY DETECTED.]
He smirked.
> "Y."
In a flash of blue static, he vanished.
---
📍 Unknown Dungeon – Level 0
The air was thick with rot.
The ground pulsed like flesh. The walls oozed black sludge. This was no ordinary dungeon—it felt alive. Hungry.
Rael stepped forward, the corrupted system panel flickering beside him.
> [YOU HAVE ENTERED: "THE SINGULARITY WOMB"]
[RECOMMENDED LEVEL: N/A]
[DANGER RATING: ???]
[NOTE: This dungeon does not officially exist.]
He moved cautiously.
His boots sank slightly into the spongy floor. In the distance, something screeched—a wet, gurgling sound that echoed through the tunnels.
Then it came.
A creature crawled from the shadows—twisted and eyeless, with limbs that moved like broken puppets.
Its status panel blinked violently.
> [ERROR: CANNOT IDENTIFY ENTITY]
Rael's eyes narrowed. The system didn't recognize it… just like it didn't recognize him.
> We're both mistakes. Let's see who's more dangerous.
The creature lunged.
Rael didn't flinch. The world slowed.
> [GLITCH STEP – ACTIVATED]
Time fractured. His body flickered left, then right—reappearing behind the beast mid-leap.
A crimson shimmer formed in his hand—a blade made of broken code, jagged and pulsing like corrupted data.
He plunged it into the monster's back.
It shrieked as its form pixelated—disintegrating into nothingness, as if it had been deleted.
> [1x Undefined Core Acquired]
[Skill Shard Absorbed: "Mimicry Flesh" (Locked)]
He exhaled slowly.
> So the system lets me absorb things… even ones it can't classify.
That meant he could grow stronger in ways no one else could.
Not through levels. Not through classes. But through error.
---
He walked deeper into the dungeon.
The walls pulsed more violently now, reacting to his presence.
Suddenly, a door—smooth, metal, utterly out of place—rose from the ground. At its center was a glowing red eye.
Rael's corrupted system flickered.
> [SECRET BOSS ROOM DETECTED.]
[CONDITIONS MET: ANOMALOUS SIGNATURE MATCHED]
He stared at the door.
This wasn't just a dungeon—it was a testing ground. A place not meant to be accessed by anyone. Not even high-ranked Hunters had spoken of it. But Rael knew.
He touched the door.
It hissed open.
---
📍 Singularity Core – Inner Sanctum
A massive chamber opened before him, lined with glowing glyphs—codes and symbols that looked like a hybrid of magic and machine.
Floating at its center… was a figure.
A boy, no older than ten, suspended in a crystal cocoon. His body flickered between real and unreal, his expression peaceful—too peaceful.
> [WARNING: HOSTILE SYSTEM ENTITY DETECTED.]
The crystal glowed red.
Rael's panel went wild.
> [INTRUSION DETECTED. INITIATING COUNTERMEASURES.]
[WARNING: YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE.]
Rael's eyes didn't waver.
> "Neither is he."
He raised his glitch-blade as the chamber darkened, and red tendrils of light snapped toward him.
---
Outside, the alley remained silent.
No one would ever know this dungeon had existed.
And no one would ever understand that the system itself had begun to fear one of its own.
> "Only I can break the system," Rael whispered as he faced the impossible.
And the system, for the first time, responded.
> [Challenge Accepted.]