MMORPG: Surviving a Death Game with a Glitched System

[[Starter Tunic] has been destroyed]

Dust particles floated through the air, mingling with the haze and reducing his vision further.

Wading through it, he made his way toward a pile of debris, from which a rather convenient drop protruded.

Reaching it, Ash bent down and cast [Focus], knowing he wouldn’t get another chance once the Seal Scrawlers swarmed the area.

The dust prickled his skin, and the heat assaulted him with furious intensity.

He quickly retrieved the drops and shoved them into his inventory.

[You have acquired Super Rare item: [Spire Serpent’s Skin]]

It was a suit of snakeskin armor partially covered in scales.

Something the now naked man desperately needed.

Alongside the armor was a bundle of pink meat, which Ash happily shoved into his inventory as well.

Wasting no time, he pulled the green armor from his inventory and watched as it formed around his body, molding itself perfectly to his frame through quite the intriguing animation.

Miniature green snakes slid around his body in droves before biting and latching onto one another. Then, in a shimmer, their heads vanished, leaving behind the sleek outfit.

[You have equipped: [Spire Serpent’s Skin]]

The only problem was that it didn’t extend to his feet, so he still had to rely on the sandals to walk around.

And...

From within the haze, a twisted black leg covered in setae split the white fog like a scythe and slashed toward him.

The sudden attack struck Ash’s shoulder, where small scale pauldrons had formed. The armor absorbed the blow with minimal damage.

Ash’s glitch stopped the attacking limb — and the Seal Scrawler attached to it — dead in place.

’Nice...’

That was dandy and all, but...

"How do I climb back up?"

He’d thought things through as far as killing the serpent — destroying its wings and having it plunge to its death. If it survived, he’d merely have to wait for the Seal Scrawlers to swarm and kill it. Assissting or finishing it off as needed.

However, he hadn’t figured out what came after.

He’d simply reasoned that he would make it back up somehow, someway.

Not the most calculated thing he’d done in his life, but everything had gone perfectly thus far.

’Hmm...’

Ash looked toward the Seal Scrawler, only to see another emerge beside it. Then another.

A sly smile crept onto his face.

***

Vera stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down into the haze.

Despite his harsh words and sudden change in attitude, she didn’t want him to die.

Narrowing her eyes, she saw the ashen clouds faintly churning below.

"Will he be alright?"

Demitra made an awkward series of growling sounds. While Vera could never interpret them precisely, she felt she understood her this time:

’Don’t concern yourself with worrying about him.’

What did that mean?

That Ash would be fine, or that he was a cretin unworthy of her worry?

Vera quickly settled on the former.

Demitra had formed a contract with him. If he possessed a rotten spirit or an impure heart, the Great Spirit would never have allowed it. She would never willingly bind herself permanently to a deplorable man.

All Vera could do was plead:

"Please, Ashley... be okay."

After all, she’d yet to apologize for whatever she’d done wrong to upset him. Though she was waiting until she understood her mistake before doing so.

As her words faded into an echo, she saw one silhouette emerge within the haze, followed by several more.

A group of Seal Scrawlers appeared, their black bodies outlined against the thick white veil as they rushed up the cliff toward her.

But the Scrawler leading the pack looked different from the others. Something was poking out of its back.

’No way...’

As they climbed closer, their silhouettes sharpened into distinct forms.

She saw a horned man in skintight armor seated astride the back of a Seal Scrawler.

Again and again, he threw his equipment — first his sandals, then his dagger and bracers — at the rock face above him.

The items bounced harmlessly from the stone and fell, but each impact sent a faint vibration through the cliff, luring the Seal Scrawlers higher.

By the time he finished cycling through his equipment, the first item had returned to his Spirit’s Realm and been resummoned, ready to be thrown again.

Vera couldn’t help but chuckle.

"What an insane man he is."

Demitra laughed as well, then muttered something that came out as a low snarl.

Eventually, Ash and the pursuing Scrawlers burst through the veil and scrambled onto the landing.

Vera jumped back as six Scrawlers frantically swarmed toward the dagger skitterering on the ground ahead of them.

Ash leaped from his mount and landed on his wooden sandals, which had just formed beneath his scaled feet.

He spoke with his usual confidence.

"Hey, bastards!"

Vera silently watched as Ash ran back toward the edge he’d just climbed. The loud clicking of his sandals showed that he’d used whatever ability allowed him to become tangible.

The Seal Scrawlers instantly shifted their attention from the dagger to Ash.

Ash stomped repeatedly against the stone, making sure he had their attention. Then, at the last second, he rolled forward beneath the charging horde.

Of the six, four hurtled off the edge, while two slid to a stop. Their hooked legs struck Ash’s back, but the strange green armor absorbed both blows. A moment later, his body became intangible again.

Vera used the opening to dash forward and sweep her broadsword horizontally through one of the remaining Scrawlers, cleaving its body apart.

Its body collapsed, and the second snapped its gaze toward her.

It lunged, but one of its bowed legs collided with Ash’s shoulder, abruptly halting it.

The interruption gave Vera enough time to reset her stance and slay the beast without difficulty.

’Phew...’

It all ended well.

The others could climb back up if the fall hadn’t killed them, but with Ash and Vera fighting together, they wouldn’t be too difficult to handle.

Vera smiled as she looked at Ash, who wore a gaudy expression, perhaps without realizing it.

’I was worried when he said he wanted to fight that thing, but maybe he knew he’d receive the armor.’

There was the strange phenomenon of corpses disappearing and transforming into items whenever something died with Ash nearby.

’I don’t know why it happens, but it’s definitely useful!’

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