Kael didn't move for a while.
Not because he was stunned.
Because he was thinking.
The screen in front of him hovered silently:
[Abyss System Initialized]
[Skill: Glitch – Lv.1]
No stats.
No class.
No friendly little numbers telling him he was special.
Just… that.
"…Minimalist," he muttered.
Either the system was broken.
Or it was hiding something.
Kael stood up slowly, brushing dirt off his clothes. His body felt… normal. No sudden surge of strength, no dramatic transformation.
If anything—
He felt too normal.
Like something important had been deliberately left out.
A sound broke the silence.
Rustling.
From the trees ahead.
Kael's gaze shifted instantly.
Focused.
Sharp.
Three figures emerged.
Humanoid.
Barely.
Gray skin stretched tight over twisted limbs. Their eyes were sunken, their mouths hanging open in unnatural angles.
Ghouls.
Or something close enough.
They froze when they saw him.
Then—
They rushed.
Fast.
Faster than a normal human.
Kael didn't step back.
Didn't panic.
Instead, his eyes flicked briefly to the floating text.
Glitch.
No description.
No instructions.
Of course.
"…Let's test it."
The first ghoul lunged.
Claws aiming straight for his throat.
Kael raised his hand—
Not to block.
But to touch.
"Glitch."
For a split second—
Nothing happened.
Then—
Reality stuttered.
The ghoul froze mid-motion.
Its body flickered like a corrupted video file. Limbs shifted positions unnaturally, snapping between frames that didn't connect.
Forward.
Sideways.
Backward.
All at once.
Then—
It broke.
Not died.
Not fell.
It simply… came apart.
Pieces of it scattered across the ground like fragments that no longer agreed on existing together.
Silence.
The other two ghouls stopped.
Not out of fear.
Out of confusion.
Their instincts couldn't process what they had just seen.
Honestly, same.
Kael lowered his hand slowly, staring at the remains.
"…Interesting."
No blood.
No clean cut.
Just disassembly.
Like deleting something badly.
The second ghoul shrieked and charged again.
Kael didn't hesitate this time.
"Glitch."
This time—
He aimed differently.
The ghoul's legs distorted.
They elongated, twisted, and snapped into impossible angles.
It collapsed instantly, dragging itself forward with broken limbs that couldn't decide which direction gravity worked.
The third one turned to run.
Smartest one here.
Didn't matter.
Kael stepped forward.
Faster than before.
Not superhuman.
But efficient.
He grabbed the creature by the shoulder.
"Glitch."
Its head vanished.
Not cut off.
Not destroyed.
Just… gone.
A blank absence where something used to be.
The body twitched once.
Then fell.
Silence returned.
Kael stood there, breathing steady.
Watching.
Analyzing.
A new screen appeared.
[Skill "Glitch" has leveled up]
[Lv.2 Reached]
[New Effect Unlocked: Partial Targeting]
"…So it evolves."
Good.
That meant it wasn't random.
Kael crouched beside the first ghoul's remains.
Or what passed for remains.
He reached out, touching one of the fragmented pieces.
It flickered faintly under his fingers.
Like it was still… unstable.
"Not destruction," he murmured.
"Disruption."
That was the difference.
And it mattered.
A lot.
Another message appeared.
[Warning]
[System Observation Increased]
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…There it is."
He looked up at the sky.
Still perfect.
Still fake.
"They noticed."
Of course they did.
He wasn't playing by the rules.
And whatever ran this world clearly didn't like that.
For a moment—
The air grew heavier.
As if something was pressing down from above.
Watching.
Measuring.
Then it vanished.
Kael exhaled quietly.
Not relieved.
Just… thoughtful.
"So there's a limit to how obvious I can be."
Or maybe—
A limit before something comes to erase him.
He stood up, glancing toward the forest ahead.
Dark.
Dense.
Full of things that would happily kill him.
Perfect.
Kael started walking.
No hesitation.
No grand plan.
Just forward.
"Let's see how broken this world really is."
Behind him—
The fragmented ghoul finally stabilized.
Then—
It dissolved into nothing.
As if it had never existed.
Far above—
Beyond the sky—
Something shifted.
And this time—
It was paying attention.