The Academy's social hierarchy was as rigid as its training protocols. At the top were the A-Ranks, the prodigies and scions of powerful Hunter families, their futures all but guaranteed. Below them, the B and C-Ranks, the solid performers and rising stars. Then came the D and E-Ranks, the bulk of the student body, striving for recognition. And at the very bottom, the F-Ranks, often dismissed as cannon fodder or, in Han-sol's case, an anomaly.
His subtle improvements in training and his unexpected insights in Professor Ahn's class had not gone unnoticed. While Min-jun and a few others regarded him with growing respect, others viewed him with suspicion, or worse, disdain. Chief among them was Jin-woo, the cocky D-Rank mage Han-sol had observed on his first day. Jin-woo was talented, arrogant, and deeply resentful of Han-sol's sudden, inexplicable rise in performance.
"Look at the F-Rank, suddenly a combat prodigy," Jin-woo sneered one morning in the training grounds, watching Han-sol execute a flawless series of energy projections. "Did you find a hidden cheat code, porter? Or did you just bribe the instructors?"
Han-sol ignored him, focusing on his form. He could see the [MANA CONDUIT: MINOR BLOCKAGE] error around Jin-woo, still present, still causing inefficiency. It was a subtle flaw, one that Jin-woo's raw talent usually compensated for, but it was there.
"Don't ignore me, trash!" Jin-woo's face flushed with anger. He conjured a large, crackling fireball, its heat radiating even from a distance. "Maybe a taste of real power will remind you of your place."
Instructor Kim, who had been observing from a distance, stepped forward. "That's enough, Jin-woo. This is a training ground, not a dueling arena."
"He's disrespecting me, Instructor!" Jin-woo protested. "An F-Rank trying to act superior!"
"Superiority is earned, not given," Instructor Kim retorted, his voice firm. "Now, both of you, back to training. And Jin-woo, control your mana. Your projections are sloppy."
Jin-woo seethed, but he backed down. Han-sol, however, had seen a new error flash around Jin-woo during the confrontation: [EMOTIONAL REGULATION: UNSTABLE]. It was a psychological glitch, one that made Jin-woo prone to outbursts when challenged. This wasn't something Han-sol could rewrite directly, but it was a vulnerability nonetheless.
Later that week, during a simulated dungeon crawl, Han-sol found himself grouped with Jin-woo and Min-jun. The simulator was designed to mimic a low-level Tower floor, complete with holographic monsters and environmental hazards. Their objective was to retrieve a simulated artifact from the deepest chamber.
As they navigated the labyrinthine corridors, Han-sol's System was a constant stream of information. [HOLOGRAPHIC GOBLIN: AI PATHING - PREDICTABLE], [TRAP: PRESSURE PLATE (GLITCHED) - DISARMED] (a subtle rewrite he'd performed earlier), [ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD: ACID PIT (SIMULATED) - OVERFLOW].
Jin-woo, leading the way with his flashy fire spells, was effective but reckless. He burned through his mana reserves quickly, relying on brute force rather than strategy. Min-jun, still a bit timid, followed closely, providing support with his increasingly reliable water spells.
They reached a chamber guarded by a simulated Ogre Brute, a hulking holographic monster known for its massive health pool and devastating melee attacks. Jin-woo immediately launched a barrage of fireballs, but the Ogre, despite being holographic, seemed to shrug them off. [OGRE BRUTE: DAMAGE RESISTANCE - HIGH (GLITCHED)].
Han-sol saw the error. The Ogre's damage resistance was artificially inflated, a glitch in the simulator's programming. It wasn't meant to be this tough for a D-Rank team.
"Jin-woo, stop!" Han-sol yelled. "Its resistance is glitched! Your attacks aren't doing enough damage!"
"What are you talking about, porter?!" Jin-woo snarled, still blasting away. "It's just a tough monster! Stay out of my way!"
But Han-sol knew they were wasting precious mana. He focused on the Ogre, his mental energy flowing into the simulator's System. [REWRITE OGRE BRUTE: DAMAGE RESISTANCE - HIGH (GLITCHED) TO (NORMAL)? Y/N].
He slammed 'Y'. A subtle blue shimmer enveloped the Ogre, imperceptible to Jin-woo and Min-jun. The [DAMAGE RESISTANCE - HIGH] notification around the Ogre flickered, then vanished. Han-sol felt a familiar drain, but it was less severe than rewriting the Core.
"Now!" Han-sol urged. "Focus your attacks on its legs! Its movement speed is also glitched!"
Jin-woo, surprised by the sudden effectiveness of his spells, hesitated for a moment, then redirected his fireballs. Min-jun, seeing the Ogre falter, conjured a powerful jet of water, striking its legs. The Ogre roared, its holographic form flickering, and finally collapsed, dissolving into pixels.
Jin-woo stared at the spot where the Ogre had been, a mixture of confusion and grudging respect on his face. "How… how did you know?"
"My skill," Han-sol replied, keeping his explanation vague. "I saw the errors in its programming. It was artificially buffed."
They retrieved the simulated artifact and completed the dungeon crawl, their mission a success. But the experience had left Jin-woo unsettled. He had witnessed Han-sol's unique ability firsthand, and it challenged everything he thought he knew about power and skill. The rivalry between them, Han-sol realized, was not just about strength, but about understanding the true nature of the System.
As they exited the simulator, Han-sol noticed a new error around Jin-woo, one that was both familiar and unsettling: [EMOTIONAL REGULATION: UNSTABLE], but now accompanied by [PRIDE: CHALLENGED]. Jin-woo's arrogance was a glitch, a vulnerability that could be exploited. But Han-sol wasn't interested in exploiting it. He was interested in understanding it, in debugging the human element within the System. The Academy, he realized, was not just a place of training, but a microcosm of the glitched world, full of both systemic and human errors, waiting for his touch. And his journey as the Sovereign of the Glitched Tower was just beginning to delve into the complexities of both.