The fog grew thicker as they moved deeper into the mountains.
The cracked highway began to climb, following the curve of the terrain.
Broken guardrails rose on both sides like the ribs of something long dead.
Abandoned vehicles rusted where they were left, slowly consumed by wild growth.
The silence deepened.
Only the footsteps of six people echoed along the road.
Arlan walked in front, as always.
Both swords were still sheathed.
His hands stayed close to the hilts.
His instincts kept warning him.
Something here was wrong.
Not just the monsters.
The world itself felt unstable.
Like it was being forced to hold together.
Bara walked beside him, shield strapped to his arm.
"I'm starting to miss Jakarta," he muttered.
Desta chuckled from behind.
"Few hours in the mountains and you already want to go back?"
"At least in Jakarta I know where monsters come from," Bara replied.
"Here… feels like they can come from anywhere."
Raka stayed silent at the back.
But his eyes never stopped moving.
Watching the fog.
Maya suddenly stopped.
Her staff touched the ground lightly.
Arlan turned.
"What is it?"
She didn't answer right away.
Her eyes lifted toward the sky, barely visible through the fog.
"The mana here is getting more unstable."
Vila raised her head too.
She traced something in the air with her fingers.
Small magic symbols formed… then faded.
"She's right," Vila said quietly.
"The fluctuation is getting worse."
Then—
The sky flickered.
Not lightning.
More like a screen losing signal.
For a fraction of a second, the sky turned pitch black.
Inside that darkness…
strange lines of light fell like rain.
Then it was gone.
No sound.
No trace.
Like it never happened.
Bara stopped.
"Lan…"
Arlan kept staring up.
"Yeah."
"You saw that?"
He nodded.
"Everyone did."
Desta frowned.
"What was that?"
Vila answered.
"…A glitch."
The word hung in the air.
Arlan started walking again.
"If this is part of the system adjusting the zone…"
"…then this place still isn't stable."
[ Cipularang Toll Area ]
[ Adjustment Progress: 75% ]
They moved forward.
The fog thickened.
A few minutes later, they passed an overturned black sedan.
Arlan stepped past it.
The car flickered.
For a split second…
it became a wooden carriage.
Old. Massive wheels. Something from another era.
Then it snapped back into a car.
Desta stopped.
"I didn't imagine that… right?"
Bara shook his head slowly.
"That wasn't a car."
Raka spoke from behind.
"Another glitch."
The tension rose.
If even objects were shifting…
Then the world here was breaking down.
They hadn't gone far when the ground shook.
Arlan stopped.
Everyone took position immediately.
"Contact," Raka said quietly.
A deep growl echoed through the fog.
This one was different.
Heavier.
Deeper.
Something big.
The fog shifted.
Slow.
Then it emerged.
A massive figure.
Nearly two stories tall.
Its body was made of cracked black stone.
Large wings extended from its back like broken cliffs.
Red eyes burned through the mist.
But something was wrong.
Its wings flickered.
For a split second, they turned into a transparent polygon frame.
Like an unfinished 3D model.
Then solid again.
Vila swallowed.
"That thing… it's glitching too."
Arlan focused.
[ Monster Detected ]
Stone Gargoyle Titan
Level 46
Mini Boss
Bara raised his shield.
"Now that's more like it."
He grinned.
The monster roared and slammed both feet onto the road.
The asphalt cracked beneath its weight.
"Formation," Arlan said.
Bara and Desta moved forward.
Raka vanished.
Maya and Vila stepped back.
The Titan attacked first.
Its arm swung toward Bara.
Impact.
A massive shockwave.
Bara was pushed back several steps.
"Heavy!" he growled.
Desta attacked from the side.
His greatsword slammed into the monster's leg.
A deep crack formed.
Arlan moved.
Flash Step.
He appeared mid-air beside the Titan's head.
His blade struck.
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
Harder than before.
Much harder.
The Titan swung its wing.
Arlan was knocked back and landed on the asphalt.
"The wings!" Vila shouted.
She raised her staff.
A white magic circle formed.
Light rained down onto the monster.
"Phantom Rhythm."
Arlan moved again.
A focused strike.
Ignoring part of its defense.
The wings cracked.
Its movement slowed.
Raka appeared behind it.
His dagger pierced into the cracked joint in its leg.
Maya raised her staff.
Healing light covered Bara and Desta.
Warm energy flowed through them.
"Now, Arlan!" Bara shouted.
Arlan jumped.
Flash Step.
He appeared above the Titan's head.
His blade ignited.
"Infusion. Lightning."
"Slash!"
The strike came down.
A vertical cut.
It hit the crack Desta created.
A loud fracture echoed.
The Titan's head split.
Its body trembled.
Then collapsed.
The impact shook the highway.
The fog rippled.
The monster shattered into particles of light.
Silence.
No one moved.
They just watched the fragments fade.
Then—
The system responded.
[ PLAYER STATUS ]
AzureBound
Level Up 36 → 37
Level Up 37 → 38
[ PLAYER STATUS ]
IronWall
Level Up 38 → 39
[ PLAYER STATUS ]
Maya
Level Up 36 → 37
Level Up 37 → 38
[ PLAYER STATUS ]
Desta
Level Up 38 → 39
[ PLAYER STATUS ]
Raka
Level Up 38 → 39
[ PLAYER STATUS ]
Vila
Level Up 37 → 38
Level Up 38 → 39
Some gained more.
Some gained less.
Then—
Another notification appeared.
But the text flickered.
Glitched.
Unreadable symbols replaced parts of the system.
Even the cars nearby flickered into strange shapes.
Arlan narrowed his eyes.
"…This…"
Vila stepped closer.
"The system is breaking."
The fog suddenly moved.
Reacting.
Like the area itself felt the Titan's death.
A cold wind swept through the mountains.
The mist parted.
Just a little.
And through that gap…
They finally saw it.
Far beyond the mountains.
A city.
Tall buildings stood within the fog.
And at the center…
A massive tower pierced the sky.
Desta stared.
"That's…"
He exhaled slowly.
"…Neo Bandung."
Bara grinned.
"So we're close."
But Arlan didn't feel relief.
He kept staring at the fog as it closed again.
Glitches.
Mutated monsters.
A system starting to fail.
All of it felt like a warning.
Neo Bandung wasn't just a safe city.
It might be the center…
of something far bigger.