[Location: The Titan’s Vault - Magma Chamber]
[Ti: 2 Hours Post-Raid]
I stood on the obsidian balcony that was overlooking the World Engine.
CLANG. CLANG. HISS.
Ten thousand Goblin engineers that was hired via Gallywix were swarming the massive machine like termites on a sugarcane.
Sparky was directing them from a floating platform through a gaphone.
"No! That pipe carries Starlight! If you puncture it accidentally, we all turn disintegrated! Weld it with Adamantite!"
I checked my construction ledger.
[Project: Big Stick]
[Status: 1% Complete.]
[Daily Cost: 1,000,000 Gold.]
Expensive, but necessary.
"Manager Cain," Gallywix walked up to . He was wearing a heat-resistant tuxedo and was sweating profusely. "The laborers are whining," Gallywix groaned. "The heat is intolerable and they want a ’hazard pay’."
"Hazard pay?" I raised an eyebrow.
I pointed at the massive magmafall. "I’m letting them work inside a Volcano. Do you know how much people pay for a literal sauna?"
Gallywix blinked his eyes. "You... you’re charging them?"
"Of course I am, I’m deducting it from their wages," I said. "It’s called a ’Health and Wellness’ fee."
Gallywix’s eyes lustered with praise. "You are heinous, sir. I respect it a lot."
"Get back to work. I want the main cannon to be operational by next week."
"Yes, Boss!"
I turned away imdiately. I had an exhausting administrative duties. But first, I had biological needs. So did my staff. I walked toward the "Staff Quarters" that I had The Caretaker constructed for us. It wasn’t just a re room but it was a Hot Spring. The Caretaker had diverted a small vein of magma to heat a pool of water. Steam filled the air entirely.
I walked in. I wasn’t wearing my armor nor suit, but I was wearing a towel. And waiting for were my girls.
[Target: Sylvia Frost]
[Status: Overheated.]
The Ice Dragon Princess was sitting in the water. Her luminous white hair was wet, her skin was red and her dragon wings were spreading out across the water. The steam hissed when it touched her skin. She was so cold that she was naturally cooling the bath. "Master," Sylvia puffed while looking up and her eyes were hazy. "The heat... it drains greatly."
[Target: Ahri]
[Status: Charging.]
Ahri was swimming laps. She then looked at and grinned beautifully while splashing water toward . "Co on in, Master! The water is fine! It’s so rejuvenating!"
[Target: Seraphina]
[Status: Modest.]
Seraphina was sitting on the edge, wrapped in three towels. She was blushing so hard she looked like a tomato. "Boss... is this appropriate? A mixed bath?"
I dropped my towel to stark naked. I then walked into the water.
"Sin is a concept, Seraphina," I said hatefully while sitting between her and Sylvia.
The water was hot. Boiling hot. For a normal human, it would peel the skin off. But for ? It felt like a warm hug.
[Passive: Ironclad.]
[Heat Resistance: Max.]
I looked at Sylvia. She was panting profusely. Her ice-based physiology was struggling in the hot water. "You need a recharge," I noted.
"Yes... Master," she muttered. "My mana core is... currently unstable."
I moved closer to her imdiately. The water rippled slightly. I placed my hand on her breasts, then chest, right over the Heart of the Ancient Dragon I had embed into her. Her skin was freezing. anwhile, my hand was burning. Thermal Shock.
"Ah!" Sylvia moaned. She arched her back, her wings trembled and splashed water everywhere.
"Relax," I ordered.
I activated [The Usurper].
[Skill: Mana Transfer (Inverted).]
I pushed my dense, void-corrupted mana into her heart. It wasn’t a gentle stream. It was a high-pressure injection.
Sylvia bit her lip. Her claws dug into my shoulders. "It’s... too much!" she moaned. "I’m overflowing terribly!"
"Take it," I growled. "Expand your capacity. You’re a Dragon, not a lizard."
Her eyes rolled back. The water around us began to freeze, turning it into slush.
[System Notification]
[Bond Deepened.]
[Target ’Sylvia’ Stats Increased.]
I let go. She slumped against , breathless, and her body radiating a cool, satisfied aura.
I looked at Seraphina. She was peaking through her fingers.
"Your turn," I said.
"?" She squeaked. "I... I don’t need mana! I’m full!"
"You’re tense," I said. "Stress reduces healing output." I grabbed her ankle and pulled her into the water. SPLASH. "Eek!"
She surfaced, her wet towel clinging to her body. "Boss!"
I pulled her close. "Do you know why I made you the Shadow Pope?
She shook her head, water dripping from her nose. "Because... I’m a figurehead?"
"Because you have the Charisma," I said.
I traced the line of her jaw.
"But you lack Confidence."
I leaned in toward her. "I’m going to give you so of mine." I kissed her. It wasn’t romantic but it was possessive. I used [Mind of the Abyss] to project my Will into her mind. I showed her the world bowing, the Interstellar Species burning, and us standing on top of the pile.
Seraphina went rigid. Then, she lted. Her arms wrapped around my neck.
[Trait Activation: Fallen Saintess.]
She kissed back eagerly and desperately. She was draining my stamina. Lifesteal on a kiss.
[HP: -10... -10... -10...]
I let her do that. I had plenty of HP. She could drain for a week but I wouldn’t even feel it.
Ahri popped up between us. "Hey! No fair!" she pouted. "Where’s my mana transfer?"
I broke the kiss. Seraphina was dazed, her eyes swirling with a new dark ambition.
I looked at the Fox. "You don’t need mana, Ahri."
"I need attention!" she seethed.
"You get plenty of violence," I said while standing up.
"Get dressed, ladies." I walked to the edge of the pool. "Playti is over, ladies. We’re going to the Dead Zone."
[Location: The Skies - Heading West]
[Ti: Sunset]
The Profit Margin left Zimara behind. We flew far West. Past the mountains. Past the forests. Into the Grey. The map called it the "Dead Zone." The System called it [Error 404: Texture Not Found].
The sky here wasn’t blue or black. It was static. Like an old TV tuned to a dead channel. The ground below wasn’t dirt. It was wirefra shes and floating islands of rock that defied physics.
[Zone: The Void Rift]
[Danger Level: ???]
[System Influence: 0%.]
"My magic..." Sylvia muttered, looking at her hands. "It feels... sluggish."
"The System is weak here," I explained. "This is a wound in reality. The Creator tried to patch it, but they failed."
"Why did they fail?" Seraphina asked.
"Because sothing broke it from the outside."
I stood at the helm.
"Sparky. Scan for life signs."
"Sensors are going haywire, Boss! I’m reading... negative life? It says everyone down there is dead, but moving."
"Undead?" Ahri asked while drawing her daggers.
"No," I said. "Glitches."
We landed on a floating island the size of a city block.
[Landed.]
We stepped out. The gravity was wrong. Sotis you felt heavy, sotis light.
"Stay close," I ordered.
I activated [Void Eyes]. Usually, this shows stats, nas, and levels. Here?
[Na: %$#&@]
[Level: NaN]
A creature that was looking disarrayed toward us. It looked like a wolf, but its texture was stretched, like a bad polygon model. It didn’t growl. It made a sound like dial-up internet. KRRR-SSSHHH.
"Ew," Ahri wrinkled her nose. "It’s grotesque."
"Kill it," I said.
Ahri threw a fireball. The fireball hit the Glitch Wolf. It didn’t burn. It passed through it.
"What?" Ahri blinked.
The Wolf lunged. It bit Ahri’s arm suddenly.
[Damage: ERROR.]
[Ahri HP: 90% -> 50%]
"GAH!" Ahri scread. "It hurts! It feels like... cold fire!"
"It ignores defense," I realized. "It deals True Damage. Sylvia! Physical attack!"
Sylvia summoned an ice-sword and swung. The sword passed through.
"Physical immunity?!" Sylvia gasped. "And Magical immunity?!"
"No," I said, watching the creature’s code flicker. "It’s not immune. It’s Lagging."
"Lagging?" Seraphina healed Ahri (the green light flickered).
"It’s out of sync with our ti," I explained. "You’re hitting where it was, not where it is."
"So how do we hit it?"
"We overload the server." I stepped forward confidently. The Wolf Glitch lunged at . I didn’t dodge. I raised my Left Hand. The Void Ring. "System Override."
[Target: Local Space-Ti.]
[Action: Force Refresh.]
I dumped 50,000 Mana into the atmosphere.
BOOM.
A shockwave of purple energy rippled out. The world snapped into focus. The static cleared for a second. The Wolf beca solid.
"NOW!" I shouted.
Sylvia decapitated it instantly.
[Enemy Defeated.]
[Loot: Corrupted Data Fragnt.]
I picked up the loot. It wasn’t an item, but it was a shard of glowing blue glass.
[Item: Glitch Shard.]
[Description: A piece of broken reality.]
[Effect: Can be used to bypass System restrictions.]
"Oh," I grinned malevolently. "This is very useful. We need more of these."
We pushed deeper into the Rift. We fought Glitch Bears. Glitch Birds. Even a Glitched Tree that tried to eat Seraphina. We fard them.
[Loot: Glitch Shard x50.]
I felt like a kid in a candy store. With these shards, I could hack anything. But we weren’t here for shards. We were here for the Hero.
"Boss," Sparky radioed from the ship. "I’m picking up a distress beacon. Old frequency. Like... 500 years old."
"Coordinates?"
"Dead ahead. inside that... thing."
I looked up. In the center of the Rift, floating in the void, there was a castle but it was upside down. Towers pointed at the ground. Waterfalls flowed up.
[Location: The Inverted Castle.]
"That’s where he died," I said.
"How do we get up there?" Sylvia asked. "Or... down there?"
"We jump." I ran to the edge of the island. "Gravity is subjective here. If you believe you can fly, you might."
"Might?" Ahri hesitated.
"Trust ."
I jumped. I didn’t fall. The gravity of the Inverted Castle caught . I "fell" upward, landing on the ceiling (which was the floor).
The girls followed, screaming.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
We stood at the gates of the Inverted Castle.
The gates were open. Inside, it was silent. No monsters. No glitches. Just a long hallway lined with statues of forgotten warriors.
At the end of the hall, a man sat on a throne. He wasn’t a skeleton nor a zombie. He looked perfectly preserved. He wore armor that looked like it was made of starlight. He held a sword that humd with a low and sad note.
[Target: The First Hero.]
[Na: Sol.]
[Status: Hibernating.]
"He’s... sleeping?" Seraphina whispered.
I walked up to the throne. "Sol," I said. No response. I tapped his cheek. Nothing. I looked at the sword.
[Item: The Star-Slayer (God Tier).]
[Owner: Sol.]
[Bond: Soul-Linked.]
"Nice sword," I muttered. "I want it." I reached for the hilt. ZAP. A shock of white electricity threw back.
[System Warning: You are not the Owner.]
"I hate that ssage," I spat, then I stood up.
Suddenly, Sol’s eyes opened. They weren’t human eyes. They were glowing screens. Blue text scrolled across his retinas. "SYSTEM REBOOT... USER DETECTED... ARE YOU THE PATCH?" Sol’s voice sounded like a synthesizer.
"I’m not a patch," I said, dusting off my coat. "I’m a virus."
Sol blinked. He looked at , my harem, and my ring. He smiled. A sad, tired smile. "Finally," Sol stood up. His armor creaked. "I have waited 500 years for a Virus."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because," Sol raised his sword. "The System is broken. I tried to save the world by playing by the rules." He took a step forward. The pressure was imnse. Level 99 pressure. "And I failed.
The Creator reset the server. They wiped humanity, then started over." Sol pointed his sword at . "If you want to save this tiline, Boy..." "You have to destroy the Admins. But first..." Sol’s aura exploded. Golden light flooded the inverted castle.
[Boss Fight Initiated.]
[The First Hero vs. The Usurper.]
"Show you are strong enough to break the reality. Prove to that you are a better monster than I was."
I grinned vilely. I then drew the Soul-Eater’s Fang. My shadow expanded, covering the floor. "Sol," I said.
"I’m not going to break the reality." I activated my Chaos Broker skill. [Skill: Liquidate.] I targeted the floor under his feet. "I’m going to buy it."
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