As the digital dust of the Shadow Lynx settled, Caelum walked deeper into the Whispering Barrens. He wasn't looking for more monsters; he was looking for a specific coordinate—a place where the System's reality was thin.
[NOTICE: DETECTING HIDDEN SHOP SIGNATURE...]
[ERROR: MERCHANT_ENTITY_04 IS OPERATING OUTSIDE DEFINED PARAMETERS.]
In his past life, there were rumors of a "Ghost Merchant" who appeared only to those who had high enough luck. But Caelum didn't need luck. He had the [BACKDOOR SCANNER].
Behind a twisted black tree, a small, hunched figure sat on a wooden chest. The merchant wore a mask with a single glowing blue eye.
"An F-Rank student in the Barrens?" the Merchant wheezed, his voice sounding like static. "You are either very brave or very stupid, boy."
Caelum didn't answer. He walked up to the chest and placed his hand on it.
"I want to see your 'Null' inventory," Caelum said coldly.
The Merchant stiffened. The blue eye on his mask flickered to red. "Null inventory? That's restricted for High-Level Admins and Gods. How do you—"
"Stop the act," Caelum interrupted. [ACTION: EXECUTE INJECT_COMMAND_BYPASS].
Suddenly, the Merchant's regular shop window crashed, replaced by a flickering, dark interface filled with items that shouldn't exist—items labeled as [DATA CORRUPTED] or [DEBUG_TOOL].
"You... you are a Glitch," the Merchant whispered in terror.
"I'm the customer," Caelum replied, scrolling through the forbidden items. His eyes landed on a small, rusted key labeled: [WORLD_KEY_FRAGMENT: 0.01% DATA].
In his past life, this key was the reason he was betrayed. It was the only thing capable of opening the 'Core of the System'. Back then, it cost the lives of an entire army to find. Here, it was sitting in a glitched shop for 0 Gold because the System didn't recognize its value.
"I'll take this," Caelum said, grabbing the key.
As soon as his fingers touched the metal, a massive shockwave of mana erupted.
[CRITICAL ALERT!]
[YOU HAVE ACQUIRED A 'LEGACY' RANK ITEM!]
[WORLD STABILITY DROPPED BY 1%]
"The Overseers will find you now," the Merchant cried, his body beginning to fade away. "You've touched the forbidden! Run, Glitch King! Run before they delete your soul!"
Caelum gripped the key tight as the Merchant vanished into pixels. He could feel eyes watching him from the sky—ancient, powerful eyes.
"Let them watch," Caelum looked up, the rusted key glowing with a dark, forbidden light. "The locks are already breaking."