SYSTEM GLITCH

The first problem

THE SYSTEM'S GLITCH*

Chapter 2: The First Problem

Rent was paid.

That meant I had exactly 3 hours to be a normal human being before the apocalypse asked me for money again.

I spent 2 of those hours sleeping.

The last hour I spent staring at the text from GM-07.

*[WE NEED TO TALK. -GM-07]*

No number. Just appeared in my System inbox. Like spam, but with existential dread.

I deleted it. Then I blocked it. Then I realized you can’t block a System admin and felt stupid.

My phone buzzed. Hana.

*Hana*: _C-rank dungeon in 40 min. Same party. 200k. You in?_

*Me*: _Does it involve cranes falling on things?_

*Hana*: _No promises._

*Me*: _On my way._

200k was 200k. And my Anomaly Meter was at 9%. I could afford to be “lucky” one more time before I had to go hide in a cave for a week.

---

The meetup spot was a PC bang in Hongdae. Because of course it was.

Four people were already there. Hana in full plate. The healer from yesterday, a guy named Seok. The mage who hated me, Yuna. And one empty chair.

“Where’s the fourth DPS?” I asked, sitting down.

“AFK,” Yuna said, not looking up from her phone. “Probably dead. This is why we took a D-rank.”

“Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

Hana smiled. “Ignore her. She’s like this to everyone.”

“She’s like this to me specifically,” I said. “It’s fine. I’m used to being the tutorial character.”

The portal opened in the back room of the PC bang. w******l logic: most dungeons in Seoul spawn in basements. Cheaper rent.

*[C-RANK DUNGEON: ABANDONED FACTORY - REPEAT]*

*[RECOMMENDED LEVEL: 30-40]*

*[CURRENT ANOMALY METER: 9%]*

“Same dungeon as yesterday?” Seok asked. “We’ll get less rewards.”

“Less rewards, less risk,” Hana said. “And we have a lucky charm now.”

They all looked at me.

“I’m not a charm,” I said. “I’m a liability with a bow.”

We stepped in.

---

The factory looked exactly the same. Same robots. Same conveyor belts. Same smell of oil and death.

We cleared the first two rooms fast. I shot arrows. 12 damage. Missed on purpose. Yuna fireballed everything and still complained.

“Archer, focus,” she snapped. “You’re barely pulling 1k DPS.”

“My bow is wood,” I said. “What do you want from me, blood?”

*[ANOMALY +0%. CURRENT: 9%]*

We hit room 3. And that’s when the problem walked in.

Another party.

Five people. All in matching black armor with a gold fist on the chest.

Guild: *Iron Fist*. B-rank guild. Known for scamming solo players.

Their leader was a big guy with a sword. Name: Baek. Level 48. B-rank Berserker.

“Well well,” Baek said, grinning. “Iron Shield. And a D-rank babysitter.”

“Public dungeon,” Hana said, stepping forward. “First come, first serve.”

“Technically,” Baek said. “But see, we were here first. 5 minutes ago. So this is our dungeon now.”

“That’s not how it works,” Seok said.

“That’s how it works if you want to keep your loot,” Baek said. He pointed at me. “Especially your little RNG god. I saw the video. You owe us a cut.”

Ah. There it was. The first problem.

People had seen the crane video. And now they wanted a piece.

“Look,” I said, holding up my hands. “I’m just a D-rank. I got lucky. Like, stupid lucky. Please don’t scam me, I have rent.”

Yuna looked like she wanted to murder me. Hana looked like she wanted to murder Baek.

Baek laughed. “Cute. Here’s the deal. You give us 50% of today’s loot. And the ring you got yesterday. Then we let you live.”

50%. Plus my [+5 AGI] ring.

That was 100k + an item worth 300k.

My bank account cried.

“No,” Hana said.

“Then we PK you,” Baek said. “System allows it in C-rank and above. D-rank dies, he loses a level and drops everything.”

He meant me.

I checked my UI.

*Anomaly: 9%*

If I used [Force Crit] I’d hit 10%. If I used [Cooldown Reset] I’d hit 12%.

If I used [DELETE] I’d hit 59% and GM-07 would show up for dinner.

None of those were good.

So I did the only thing I could.

I sighed. Loudly. Like this was all so annoying.

“Fine,” I said. “50%. But I’m picking the loot.”

Baek’s grin got wider. “Deal.”

---

We fought the rest of the dungeon together.

Awkward. Tense. Like a bad family trip.

I “accidentally” pulled extra robots. Twice.

“Sorry! D-rank reflexes!”

Yuna healed me through it while glaring.

Hana tanked while watching Baek’s party.

We hit the boss. Same Ogre. 2M HP.

“Standard formation,” Baek said. “DPS burn. Tanks hold.”

“Right,” I said. “Burn.”

The fight started.

Ogre at 100%. Ogre at 80%. Ogre at 60%.

Then Baek’s mage messed up and pulled aggro.

Ogre turned and one-shot him.

“REVIVE!” Baek screamed.

The healer was on cooldown.

The Ogre turned to the next closest target. Me.

“s**t,” I said. Very D-rank. Very scared.

It charged.

I had 3 options.

1. Die. Lose a level. Lose everything. 0% Anomaly.

2. [Force Crit] its eye. Kill it. 10% Anomaly.

3. [Cooldown Reset] on Seok’s revive. 12% Anomaly.

Option 1 was dumb.

Option 2 would make the video go viral again.

Option 3 looked like I was just “helping”.

I chose 3.

The Ogre’s fist was 1 meter from my face when I stumbled.

“Seok! Revive!” I yelled.

[Cooldown Reset]

Seok’s revive came off cooldown instantly.

He revived the mage.

The mage fireballed the Ogre.

Hana taunted.

The Ogre turned away from me at the last second.

*[ANOMALY +3%. CURRENT: 12%]*

*[SYSTEM NOTE: COINCIDENCE DETECTED. MONITORING.]*

“Monitoring,” I muttered. “Yeah yeah.”

The rest of the fight was normal. We killed the Ogre. No crane this time. Just a long, boring burn.

*[BOSS DEFEATED!]*

*[REWARD: 180,000 CREDITS + UNCOMMON LOOT BOX]*

Baek walked to the loot box first. “50%. Remember?”

“Remember,” I said.

He opened it. Inside: 90k credits, a B-rank sword, and a skill book.

He took the sword and the book. “Thanks for the carry, D-rank.”

He left 90k credits on the floor. “Your half.”

I picked it up. 90k. Not 100k. He shorted me 10k.

And he took my ring from yesterday. It was in my inventory. He must’ve had a thief skill.

“You took the ring too,” I said.

“Finders keepers,” Baek said. “Cry about it.”

His party left through the portal, laughing.

Silence.

Yuna broke it first. “You just let them—”

“I have 293k in my account,” I said. “Rent is 400k. After this I have 383k. I’m 17k short.”

“So?”

“So I’m not fighting a B-rank guild over 17k and a ring.” I shrugged. “It’s just math.”

Hana was staring at me. Not angry. Curious.

“You could’ve killed them,” she said quietly. “Yesterday you—”

“Yesterday was luck,” I said. “Today was math. Different thing.”

Seok handed me a potion. “You did good. For a D-rank.”

“Thanks,” I said. “My mom will be proud.”

We left.

Outside, my phone buzzed again.

*[GM-07: ANOMALY SPIKE DETECTED. 12%. EXPLANATION REQUIRED.]*

I deleted it.

*[ANOMALY: 12%]*

I had 88% left before the System sent someone to delete me.

At this rate, I had maybe 2 weeks.

“Yo,” Hana said as we walked out. “Drinks? My treat. You look like you need it.”

“I look like I need a lot of things,” I said. “But sure. Beer is cheaper than therapy.”

---

We went to a pojangmacha. Tents, beer, tteokbokki. Normal people stuff.

Hana drank one beer and told me about her little brother. He was sick. Hospital bills. That’s why she was grinding dungeons.

I drank three beers and didn’t tell her anything.

Because what was I supposed to say?

“Hey, I have Admin powers and if I use them too much a GM will erase me from reality. Pass the ramen.”

Instead I just listened. And for 2 hours, I wasn’t the Glitch.

I was just Ren. Broke, tired Ren.

When we left, she bumped my shoulder. “You’re weird. But in a good way.”

“Thanks,” I said. “You’re weird too. In a tanky way.”

She laughed.

My phone buzzed one last time before I got home.

*[SYSTEM ALERT]*

*[TRENDING: #DRANKRNGGOD]*

*[VIEWS: 2.3M]*

And below it, another message.

*[GM-07: 24 HOUR WARNING. REPORT TO SYSTEM OFFICE OR BE FLAGGED.]*

I stared at it. Then I threw my phone on the bed.

12% Anomaly. 2.3M views. 24 hour warning.

Tomorrow was going to be a problem.

But tonight?

Tonight I had beer, 383k won, and I was still alive.

“Not bad,” I told the ceiling stain. “For a glitch.”

[END OF CHAPTER 2]