Akhil logged out after accepting the hidden quest.He pulled off the headset, blinking at the plain walls of his room.
It was still late at night in the real world.He checked the cheap VR device carefully.
Everything was working.
No errors.
No smoke.
Akhil placed it beside his pillow carefully.That headset was his life now.
He lay down and closed his eyes.
Tomorrow...he would start his real journey.
The next afternoon, after school, Akhil rushed straight home.No detours.No wasting time.He skipped dinner.Skipped homework.He had only one goal now.
He set up the capsule, wore the headset, and logged back into Luminaria Online.
The familiar white light wrapped around him.
[Login Complete.]
[Welcome back, Akhil.]
The Beginner's Town appeared around him.
Players laughed and chatted nearby.Merchants shouted about cheap potions and rare gear.
Akhil checked his inventory.
Credits: 10
Equipment: Torn Cloth Shirt, Worn-out Sandals
Weapon: None
Not much.Barely anything.He needed a real weapon.Even a trash one.He looked around.Found a second-hand merchant NPC standing near the town wall.The man wore ragged clothes and smiled with yellowed teeth.
[Welcome, traveler. I sell what others throw away.]
Akhil opened the shop list.
There it was.
Rusty Iron Dagger — 10 Credits.
Weak,old and almost broken.
Perfect.
He bought it without hesitation.The weapon appeared in his hand.It was heavy, chipped at the edges, but it was better than fists.
Akhil gripped it tightly.He was ready.
He moved toward the west gate again.
Past the Beginner's Plaza.
Past the noisy players.
No one noticed the boy in torn clothes carrying a broken dagger.He crossed the gate alone.
Ahead of him, across the fields, loomed the dark edge of Rustfang Forest.The trees were tall and thick.
The ground was covered in fog.It was still evening in the game.Night would fall soon.
Perfect for his skill, Night Predator.
Akhil tightened his grip on the dagger.His heart pounded hard.He wasn't strong.He wasn't ready.But if he waited until he "felt ready," he would never move.
He stepped forward into the darkness.The air inside Rustfang Forest was damp and heavy.Dark fog curled around the tree trunks.Strange howls echoed far away.
Akhil gripped his rusty dagger tighter.
He checked his quest log.
[Quest Active: Whispers of the Forgotten]
Objective: Find 5 invisible gravestones in Rustfang Forest.
No hint and no map markers.
Nothing.
He had to search blindly.He moved slowly between the trees, eyes sharp, ears alert.
Every small sound made his heart race.
After a few minutes, he spotted a creature ahead.It was a Rustfang Wolf, a small, thin, but its teeth were sharp.
Level 3.
Stronger than the boar he fought before.
Akhil crouched low behind a bush.He watched.The wolf circled a tree, sniffing the ground.
Should he fight?
He checked his inventory again.
Level 2.
Rusty dagger.
Basic cloth armor.
Low health potions: none.
It was risky.But if he wanted to survive in this world, he had to take risks.
Now or never.
Akhil moved quietly through the shadows.
Thanks to his Night Predator skill,his steps were lighter.His breathing easier.
He moved closer.
Closer.
The wolf didn't notice.
At the perfect moment,Akhil sprang forward.
He stabbed the dagger straight into the wolf's side.
The wolf yelped and jumped back.
A small damage number floated up:
[12]
Better than fists, at least.The wolf turned, eyes glowing red.It growled low and charged.
Akhil barely dodged to the side.The wolf's fangs snapped shut where his neck had been a second before.
He slashed again, aiming for the wolf's shoulder.The blade scraped off its fur.
Another small damage number.
The wolf struck back, claws flashing.
Akhil blocked clumsily with the dagger.Pain jolted through his arm.
His health bar dropped by 30%.
One more hit like that and he was dead.
The wolf leapt again.Akhil reacted without thinking.He ducked low, rolled to the side, and stabbed upward blindly.
Luck or maybe his hidden class was with him.
The dagger sank deep into the wolf's belly.
The wolf howled once, then fell over, twitching.
[Level Up! Level 3 Reached!]
[Item Drop: Rustfang Claw (Low Quality)]
Akhil dropped to one knee, panting hard.He had done it.Again.Not clean.Not easy.But real.
He wiped the blade on the grass and picked up the small loot.
20 more Credits added to his total.
[Total Credits: 20]
Akhil grinned slightly.
20 Credits.
Enough to maybe buy a cheap health potion if needed.Suddenly, a system message popped up.
[Monster Trait Absorption Successful.]
[You have absorbed: Minor Poison Resistance.]
Akhil blinked.
Absorbed?
He quickly opened his Status Window.
There, at the bottom:
[New Passive: Minor Poison Resistance — Reduces poison damage slightly.]
It was weak.But it was something no normal player could get from killing regular monsters.
It was only because of his Glitchborn class.
He realized it now.Every monster he killed…
there was a small chance to steal part of their power.
Slowly. Quietly. He would become unstoppable.
Akhil stood up.He sheathed the dagger.He looked deeper into the forest.
Night was falling fast.Shadows thickened.
Perfect for him.
Somewhere in this darkness,the invisible gravestones were waiting and Akhil was ready to find them.
One by one.
Perfect!
Akhil moved deeper into Rustfang Forest.
The trees grew thicker.The air colder.
The shadows longer.Fog covered the ground like a crawling river.
He gripped his rusty dagger tightly.The forest was alive with strange sounds howls, whispers, creaking branches.
He checked the quest log again.
[Quest: Whispers of the Forgotten]
Objective: Find 5 invisible gravestones.
No map. No guidance.
Only his instincts.
After walking for what felt like hours,
Akhil noticed a strange spot near an old tree.
The ground looked.... wrong.The mist there was thicker and the air colder.
He stepped closer carefully.As he approached, a faint shape appeared.A small, cracked gravestone.Almost invisible unless you stood right next to it.
The moment he touched it,a whisper echoed in his mind.
"Forgotten... left behind..."
Goosebumps ran down his arms.But the system chimed.
[1/5 Gravestones Found.]
One down. Four to go.
He smiled grimly.He was making progress.
Suddenly, the mist around him shifted.
Figures appeared.
Dark, shapeless things.They looked human.
But their faces were blurred, like broken paintings.
Illusions.
One moved toward him fast.Akhil reacted immediately.He slashed out with his dagger.
The blade passed through empty air.
The figure disappeared.
Another came from the left.
He dodged.
It vanished too.
They weren't real.
But they felt real.
Every time one touched him, his health dropped slightly.
This was the real danger.
Not the monsters.Not the players.
The mind games.
Akhil closed his eyes for a second.
He took a deep breath.
Focus.
Ignore the fear.
He moved forward, step by step, trusting his instincts.More illusions attacked.
He ignored them.Moved faster.
Dodging.
Running.
Breathing.
Finally, after what felt like forever,the mist thinned slightly.
The figures faded.He opened his quest log.
[1/5 Gravestones Found.]
No change.
It wasn't about fighting.
It was about surviving.
He had passed the first test.
Exhausted, Akhil leaned against a tree.
He drank a small sip from his basic water pouch.
He checked his health bar.Low, but manageable.
[Health: 50/140]
No potions left.But he was alive and in this world, being alive was everything.
A soft shimmer in the distance caught his eye.
Another gravestone?
He pushed himself up and walked toward it.
Slow.
Careful.
His steps light in the growing darkness.
Every move mattered.
Every breath counted.
Somewhere deep inside,Akhil felt it again.
That small fire.
That stubborn spark.
He wasn't strong.
He wasn't lucky.But he was still moving and that alone made him dangerous.
Awesome!
Akhil moved through the trees, more careful now.He trusted no sound.
No shadow.
Everything could be a lie in this forest.Soon, he found the second gravestone.
Hidden near a fallen log,half-buried under dead leaves.He touched it.
A whisper slid into his ear.
"Cold... alone..."
Akhil shivered.But the system chimed.
[2/5 Gravestones Found.]
He smiled faintly.Step by step.
One after another.
An hour later, after more wandering,he found the third one.
Behind a small pond, hidden by thick mist.
[3/5 Gravestones Found.]
But as he turned to look for the fourth,the ground beneath him shifted.The mist thickened suddenly.
A new system message popped up.
[Warning: Enemy Detected — Glitched Creature.]
Akhil froze.From the mist, something crawled out.It was not a normal monster.
It had too many arms.
Its body flickered like a broken screen.Its name floated above in red.
[Rustfang Horror — Level 7]
Level 7.
Way above him.
Akhil was only Level 3.
The Horror screeched and charged.Akhil barely dodged to the side.The thing slammed into a tree, cracking it apart.
He ran.
Fast.
Silent.
He knew he couldn't fight it head-on.One hit would kill him.
Survive. That was the only goal.
The mist helped him.The darkness helped him.Thanks to Night Predator,his body moved faster in the shadows.
He weaved between trees, jumping over roots, sliding under branches.
The Horror chased him,its howls tearing through the forest.
Finally, he spotted something,another gravestone, half-lit by the broken moonlight.
Fourth gravestone!
Akhil sprinted toward it.He touched it just as the Horror lunged.The whisper echoed again.
"Remember... even the lost can rise..."
[4/5 Gravestones Found.]
The Horror screeched louder.It lunged one last time.
Akhil twisted his body desperately.The monster's claws barely missed him.
Instead, the creature slammed into a huge rock nearby.The rock cracked.
The Horror let out a distorted scream.
Its body glitched violently then exploded into thousands of black fragments.
Gone.
[Glitch Purge Successful.]
[Minor Experience Gained.]
Akhil collapsed onto his knees, breathing hard.He had survived.
Again.
He checked his health bar.Dangerously low.
Almost nothing left.But he was alive.
And four gravestones were found.Only one left.
He stood up slowly.
His legs shook.
His arms felt heavy.
But he moved forward.
Step by step.
Through the mist.
Through the fear.
Finally, after what felt like an endless walk,he saw it.
The last gravestone.
Sitting under a giant dead tree.He touched it.
The last whisper filled his mind.
"Even broken wings can learn to fly again."
The quest window blinked.
[5/5 Gravestones Found.]
[Hidden Quest Completed!]
[Reward: ???]
Akhil collapsed onto the grass.Exhausted.
Broken.But victorious.
A golden light surrounded him briefly.
A system message popped up.
[Reward Unlocked: Passive Skill — Whisper Sense.]
(Detect hidden traps, secrets, and invisible enemies nearby.)
[Bonus: +2 Agility permanently.]
He opened his Status Window.
For the first time,he felt it clearly:
He was growing.
Slowly.
Silently.
But surely.No one knew his name yet.
No one cared about him yet.
But soon...,they would.
[Akhil's Status Window]
[Player Status: Akhil]
Class: Glitchborn (Hidden Class)
Level: 3
Health (HP): 180/180
Mana (MP): 80/80
Stamina (SP): 110/110
Strength (STR): 4
Agility (AGI): 7
Intelligence (INT): 3
Vitality (VIT): 4
Dexterity (DEX): 6
Luck (LUK): ??? (Hidden)
Title: None
Skills:
- [Night Predator] (Passive)
- [Whisper Sense] (Passive)
- [Minor Poison Resistance] (Passive)
Equipment:
- Weapon: Rusty Iron Dagger
- Armor: Torn Cloth Shirt
- Boots: Worn-out Sandals
Credits: 20
Quest Active:
- None (Hidden Quest Completed)
To be continued.....