Read Nightmare Glitch :: Chapter 7

[Chapter 7:]

HUFFFF

Long, pained wheezes sounded out through the dim night, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps!

'Goddamnit! What is my luck!' A boy could only curse to himself.

As Crow made his way down the streets, he ran at his top speed as shouts sounded out behind him.

"Catch that criminal!"

The neighborhood had been put on high alert.

The killing of novice guards was something that was taken very seriously by the town.

Novice guards were the Guard Foundation's future; if criminals could slaughter them willy-nilly without consequence, then what would be left of the town's safety?

Any attack on a novice guard would be met with the town guard's undying retribution!

Crow had been running his top speed for nearly a minute, yet it felt like an eternity, and as the flares shot in the air, signaling to the more powerful guards of even higher strength and rank.

The boy knew his time would come to a close if he didn't leave soon, so he swallowed any hesitation he had before diving headfirst towards the exit gate, leading to the grasslands.

"Hey, you! Stop right there!" a guard near the town gate called out.

Word of a killer had already gone around the guards, and no one was allowed to leave the town until the novice killer was apprehended.

Much less an individual suspiciously sprinting for the exit gate at this time of night.

Yet Crow did not stop or even slow down, as thoughts rang through his head, 'These guards may be stronger than me, but I'd rather struggle and get past them before the true dangers come.'

He thought back to how his Blacksmith mentor burnt players to a crisp on only his 1st day of being here.

The thought of there being those equally as strong or more powerful than the robed figure sent shivers down the boy's spine as he continued to sprint on ahead.

"I said stop!" A guard stepped in front, trying to stop the boy, but Crow was having none of it.

Quickly, he withdrew his dagger from his back and slashed at the guard's face.

Yet, the guard reacted quickly, backing up, yet was still caught in the eye!

"Aaaghhh!!"

"You dare?!"

The other guard, seeing his teammate get attacked, quickly moved to apprehend this criminal, yet the boy was too quick and sped away into the night.

Time passed, and a man in golden armor finally arrived at the gate.

His head to toe was covered, with not even his eyes being seen through 2 black holes in the eyes of his helmet.

With him came a small group of 3 knights in silver armor, who gave off the air of elites.

Both guards immediately bowed, not daring to look up.

The guard whose eye was scratched out immediately spoke as he bowed, "The criminal went towards the grasslands, sir."

"Hmmm," The golden armored knight looked out towards the gate before nodding his head and walking back with his squad, "Send out a quest."

"Yes, sir!" Both guards shouted at once, not daring to look up even 5 minutes after the golden knight and his squad had left.

Finally, the guard with both eyes intact spoke up, "To think we'd see him in person."

The guard with one eye nodded his head, "Indeed, just his aura alone is profound. It wouldn't be worth his time to go and hunt for such a pest."

His teammate scoffed before responding, "The Blessed can finally be useful."

The one-eyed guard looked out with his remaining eye towards the gate, "I'll send word of the quest, that bastard will pay."

NPCs knew that the "Blessed" could come back to life, so sending players out was akin to throwing a swarm of undying warriors at one small fry.

This fugitive's death was only a matter of time.

Heck, a criminal that had done much more or much less would be taken care of all the same.

The guards smiled to themselves in pity, knowing that the young criminal's time was almost up.

[In the Grasslands...]

Crow waddled through the grasslands in exhaustion, still not having fully caught his breath.

'Fuk! I said I wanted to go out to hunt, who knew it'd happen this soon? Then again, it has already been a month,' the boy mused as he walked through the tall grass.

Only the slight weight of the bag on his back, and the flower within it, put his heart a bit at ease.

Though he also had books, and most importantly, a map, which would certainly come in handy out here in the grasslands.

Closing his eyes, the boy calmed his breathing and took a seat on the soft, tall grass.

The flowing wind pooled into his ears before he calmed himself and got back up to continue his journey.

Finally, after about 20 minutes of walking, he stumbled upon a cave.

'I need a place to sleep, but I don't know if there's something already inside.'

As he slowly walked forward, a vicious, "Oink, oink, oink!" erupted from the depths of the cave.

A figure sped at him, and Crow barely managed to roll out of the way.

WHOOOOSH!

Once he regained his bearings, the boy looked up to see a gigantic hairy boar with large tusks protruding out and a furry tail panting its breath at him.

'Goddamnit...'

The boy could only look at the thick-skinned boar and the dagger in his hand, which he had praised so much earlier.

'Heh... and to think I was gonna pick the Thief class.'

Thief classes in-game most popularly use daggers, which excel at speed and accuracy in the right hands, but against foes like the boar, who have layers of protective skin, it's a clear mismatch.

SWOOOP!

Yet the boy didn't hesitate, instead rushing forward with his dagger in hand.

The boar, seeing this act of directly challenging its might, charged forward as well.

Yet as the pair were only a step apart, Crow dodged to the right side, swinging the dagger into the boar's face, gouging out one of its eyes, and causing it to swing its head in anger.

BANG!

"Ooof!" The boy was sent flying as the air left his lungs.

The boar, seeing its foe down, would not let this opportunity pass and leaped towards him, yet Crow rolled out of the way.

The boar's hooves made a loud CRUNCH where it landed.

The disheveled boy could only gulp as he prepared his dagger once more, 'It's blind in its left eye, I'll take its blind spot!'

Crow once again rushed the boar, and the vengeful piggy responded with rageful oink and charged in return.

Yet, when its human opponent went into its left side, the piggy swung its head around, but it didn't hit anything.

Where was the human?

Suddenly, a heavy weight landed on its back, but before it could even respond, a sharp, painful sensation spiked through its right eye.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!

A painful shriek erupted through the grasslands, sending fear into the hearts of many resting creatures.

Before the piggy could rid itself of the nuisance on its back, it once more felt that painful sensation shoot into its eye.

CHUNK

CHUNKKK

CHUNKKKK

Crow continuously stabbed the piggy in the eye, deeper and faster, before the creature slumped onto its stomach, blood and brain matter leaking out from its eyes.

Huff...

Just as expected, the black box spots began to devour the boar's body.

Yet, as it did so.

Something strange happened.

❏❐▊❑❒▨☳⊳░▃▀❒

◤⫸△▆▎▋▰◆

The world around him started flickering as if it were glitching out, and the world was about to collapse.

Suddenly, everything went black.

...

There was no floor, no sky, no pig.

Only him.

Crow looked around in fear.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

Nothing responded.

...

Yet suddenly, a shrill, high-pitched sound rang out.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

"Aaagh!" Crow covered his ears and closed his eyes, yet slowly the blackness morphed into an array of colors.

Each color of the rainbow appeared as thin lines that covered the entire floor and sky.

Then...

It stopped.

The noise was gone.

The silence was strange; it was eerily quiet, with no wind, no sound of breathing or a heartbeat.

Just silence.

The colorful area had morphed into all white, and Crow stood there in the center.

Yet a familiar black box appeared in front of him.

[Crow]

[Race: Human]

[Occupation/ Class: ◤⫸△▆ ]

[Realm: 0]

[Stage: 0]

[Source: ◤⫸△▆ ]

Crow was baffled, "I-is that mine?"

Before he could receive an answer, the white surroundings shattered like glass, returning him to where he once was.

The boy looked down at his own hands, analyzing the changes to his body.

'Nothing seems to have changed. What does this mean, though?'

Crow was too tired to think about it for now. Was he confused? Heck yeah!

But, he knew worrying him would do no good now.

The boar's body was completely eaten up by those little boxes, so without further ado, he stepped into the cave and collapsed.

[Meanwhile... Somewhere Far]

"There seems to be a mistake?" A cold, feminine voice that could weaken the wills of the strongest men reverberated out in the darkness.

"Hmmm, I will deal with it."

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