MMORPG: Surviving a Death Game with a Glitched System

Sure, Ash had seen the anchor point when the smoke had disappeared, but that didn’t mean they were particularly close. He surmised it would be several hours at minimum before they arrived.

The rift between him and the princess seemed to widen with each passing second. She rarely even glanced his way. Without her chirping at him or asking questions, he was left alone with his thoughts as he trudged along the chain’s rising curve.

Alongside considering scenarios for the Seal Guardian encounter, he reflected on the message he’d received after killing the Spire Serpent.

’Conditions have not been met...’

Sadly, he knew next to nothing about this mysterious condition. However, he’d thought of a few possibilities.

One was related to the word that seemed to be thrown around often: affinity.

Perhaps a class wasn’t something one chose, but something one was chosen by. And one’s goal was to uncover which one they had an affinity for.

Such an answer was definitely plausible, but Ash didn’t exactly know where to begin testing it.

There was also the chance it was based on weapon proficiency, with repeated use increasing the likelihood of fulfilling the condition.

However, the chance of that being correct seemed low, as becoming a mage seemed impossible under those stipulations.

The condition could also be unrelated to the class itself.

Perhaps it required completing a certain task, such as finishing the quests given by the Totem or completing an instance.

Speaking of those quests...

’I wonder what they are.’

Sadly, the only way Ash could learn was by getting out of this place. To his knowledge, the only way to do that was to complete it.

Either way, if one of those possibilities proved correct, he’d get his answer.

Other than theorycrafting and hypothesizing, there wasn’t much he could do on that front. Instead, until he discovered the condition, he would focus on strengthening himself through items.

In particular, he’d love to return to the spire island to hunt more Spire Serpents, though that seemed unlikely when their pursuers could show up at any moment.

He had to admit the armor he had gotten was quite nice.

Not only did it look cool and have a neat animation, but the stats it provided were nothing to scoff at.

Beyond the strength of its natural material, it provided +5 Agility, +2 Dexterity, and +5 Constitution. It was an odd feeling, but he felt lighter with the armor on than without it.

[Spire Serpent’s Skin] - [Many have tried to slay the spire, but few have lived long enough to claim its guardian’s skin.]

Sadly, the description didn’t reveal anything about the seal’s true origin — or anything of substance.

’How does one slay a spire?’

And why did the serpent ’guard’ the spires?

Ash didn’t know, nor did he care. Still, he kept the description in the back of his mind on the off chance it became relevant.

More important was the practicality of having something to wear with his glitch. After experiencing the bliss and ease of wearing it, Ash could only imagine the unbridled ecstasy that would well up inside him once he got proper shoes.

Even more...

’A pillow...’

Ash had no idea if one existed in some corner of Rite of Ruin’s world, but he needed a pillow item. Sleeping with hard sandals for a pillow was simply not it. He had only done it once, and he’d woken up with quite the stiff neck.

Marching up the steepening chain, Ash adjusted the [Goblin’s Bracers], tightened his grip on [Scrawler’s Fang], and warily scanned the haze on either side of them.

In the past three hours of their journey along the chain, Ash had not seen a single figure in the haze. No fish had leaped from the magma beneath them, nor had he seen any land below. The chain’s curve had become significantly steeper, suggesting that they were nearing the end.

"Sense anything, wolf?"

"Asking me for something...? I thought you considered that beneath you. Are you... hitting on me?"

’What the fuck is wrong with this mutt?’

Ash growled back:

"Just answer the question."

The wolf glanced back over its shoulder, a self-satisfied grin plastered across its long face.

"Keke. Nothing abnormal. Though we will be entering the Seal Guardian’s radius at any moment."

’Its domain...’

The princess had mentioned it to him. Although she lacked deeper insight, she’d said that when they reached the guardian, they’d enter "its space." She didn’t know much for sure — only that something about the area or its laws would change.

’I’ll guess it’s a field effect, like the haze that settled across the seal.’

Walking beside him, the quiescent princess broke her long silence.

"Ash...?"

"Yes?"

The princess opened her lips, but closed them again before a word escaped. She lowered her gaze and turned away, a downtrodden expression crossing her face.

"..."

"...?"

"Never mind, sorry."

’Huh?’

’What was that about?’

Ash wasn’t necessarily starving for an answer to that question, but it was also clear that, if he was going to get one, it would have to wait.

The haze vanished in an instant, as if someone had accidentally flipped a switch and turned it off. In its place, countless droplets of water hung suspended above and around the chain, slowly circling through the air.

Water that should normally have evaporated instantly in such an environment.

’Shit...’

Beyond the curtain of swirling droplets, a shrouded humanoid figure knelt where the chain met the anchor point. Both of its arms were stretched behind it and bound by chains to the towering wall beyond.

Before Ash could study it further, water surged outward beneath them and hardened into a broad platform surrounding the final stretch of chain.

’Is this like a boss room?’

The glasslike surface appeared solid enough to stand on.

The princess stopped beside him, braced her feet against the chain, and steadied her broadsword in a single hand before summoning her shield in the other.

Ash remained where he was, observing the suspended droplets as they drifted through his body yet struck against his armor, bracers, and dagger.

"Princess."

"Yes?"

"I’m afraid my contribution in this fight may be limited."

"Huh? Why’s that?"

Ash sneered.

’I’ll may be riddled with holes if I ever dare cast [Focus].’

’How ironic...’

Just when Ash found his resolve once again, he was given an even more brutal reminder of the new world he found himself in.

As Ash sighed, the creature at the anchor point stirred. It raised its shrouded head and pulled against the restraints binding its arms. One by one, the links securing the chains to the wall began to tear free.

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