Chapter 2: Level UP!!!!

The rumble above grew louder, and Kuro tilted his head back, squinting into the crackling blue rift in the sky. The tear in reality widened, and something massive moved within the swirling void. A shadow, hulking and grotesque, began to take shape. It was larger than any of the glitch-beasts that had poured into Akihabara so far. The ground beneath Kuro's feet vibrated as if the city itself sensed the approaching catastrophe.

A grin spread across his face, wild and unhinged. His heart raced, not with fear, but with the thrill of what was coming next. The chaos, the destruction, it was everything he had wanted. The world was finally shedding its mask of order and control, and he was right in the middle of it. Exactly where he belonged.

The screams of people around him blurred into background noise as they fled from the scene. Some were too slow, too frozen in terror, and were torn apart by the smaller glitch-beasts still rampaging through the streets. Kuro didn't care. His eyes were fixed on the rift, waiting, itching for whatever was about to come out of it.

And then it emerged.

The creature's first step onto the street sent a shockwave rippling through the ground. The pavement cracked under its weight, splintering outward like spider webs. The thing was huge, easily three stories tall, with a body that seemed to be both organic and mechanical. Its skin, if you could call it that, was a patchwork of jagged metal armor and glitching digital static. One of its arms ended in a massive, shimmering blade, sharp and distorted, flickering like bad data on a corrupted screen.

The beast's red eyes locked onto Kuro, burning with a malevolent intensity. It roared, the sound deep and primal, shaking the glass in nearby buildings. Windows shattered, sending shards raining down onto the streets below. Neon signs flickered wildly before shorting out completely, plunging parts of the street into darkness.

Kuro just stood there, laughing softly to himself, his breath visible in the cold, damp air. "Oh man, this is too good," he muttered. "Just look at this thing. Kind of reminds me of the Robo beasts."

The beast growled, the ground beneath its feet continuing to tremble as it took another step forward. People scattered like ants, their terror palpable. Kuro barely noticed them. He was too focused, too excited by the sight of the towering monstrosity before him.

Most people would have run. But Kuro wasn't most people.

Kuro adjusted his grip on the metal pipe he'd grabbed earlier, flexing his fingers around the cold steel. His grin widened. "Alright, big guy," he called out, his voice echoing through the emptying streets. "Let's see what you've got!"

The creature answered with a roar that rattled Kuro's bones. Its red eyes flared as it lunged forward, the ground buckling beneath its massive weight. Kuro's instincts kicked in, and he rolled to the side just as the creature's blade-arm slammed into the ground where he had been standing. The impact sent chunks of concrete flying into the air.

Kuro sprang to his feet, his pulse quickening. "Nice try, ugly!" he taunted, swinging the pipe in front of him like a sword. The creature snarled, its digital form flickering and glitching as it turned to face him again.

This time, it moved faster, more coordinated than the other glitch-beasts. Kuro had barely enough time to dodge as it swung its blade-arm again, aiming for his torso. He ducked low, feeling the rush of air as the blade passed over his head. His heart pounded in his chest, but the grin never left his face.

Kuro swung the pipe at the creature's leg, the metal connecting with a resounding clang. Sparks flew as the pipe clashed against its glitching armor, but the beast barely flinched.

"Shit," Kuro muttered, stepping back. "Guess that's not gonna cut it."

The creature let out another ear-splitting roar and charged again, its bladed arm slicing through the air. Kuro knew he couldn't keep dodging forever. He needed to figure out how to bring this thing down.

Kuro's eyes darted around the street, searching for anything he could use to his advantage. The city was falling apart around him, burning cars, overturned vendor stalls, and the remains of smashed electronics littered the ground. His mind raced, calculating.

The creature swung again, and Kuro ducked behind an overturned car, barely avoiding the deadly blade. The car crumpled under the beast's strength, metal screeching as it was torn apart.

"Alright, think, Kuro, think," he muttered to himself, crouched behind the wreckage. "It's big, it's strong, and it's glitching out. There's gotta be a weak spot in there somewhere."

He peeked out from behind the car just in time to see the creature's arm glitch, flickering in and out of reality for a split second. That was it. The glitch. The data that made up its body wasn't stable. If he could hit it at just the right moment…

Kuro grinned. "Gotcha."

The creature roared again, and this time Kuro didn't wait for it to come to him. He sprinted out from behind the wreckage, running straight toward the beast. Its eyes widened in what Kuro could only assume was confusion, but he didn't give it time to react.

He dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a swing of its bladed arm, and slid across the slick pavement, aiming for the creature's glitching leg. The moment the glitch flickered again, Kuro swung the pipe with all his strength.

The impact was perfect. The beast howled in pain as its leg flickered, destabilizing. Kuro didn't let up. He swung again, and again, each hit causing the glitch to spread. The beast's form began to stutter, its massive body struggling to hold together.

"Not so tough now, are ya?" Kuro shouted, the thrill of victory surging through him.

But the beast wasn't done yet. It roared, louder than before, and in a desperate attempt to regain control, it lashed out wildly with its bladed arm. Kuro barely had time to react as the blade slammed into the ground just inches from him, sending him flying backward.

He hit the ground hard, the breath knocked out of him. The world spun for a moment, but Kuro forced himself to his feet, gasping for air. The creature was still glitching, but it was recovering quickly.

"Damn it," he muttered, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. "Alright, one more time…"

Kuro gripped the pipe tightly and charged at the beast again, his eyes locked on the glitch still spreading across its leg. This was it. The moment of truth.

With a roar of his own, Kuro swung the pipe one last time, aiming for the heart of the glitch. The metal connected with a sickening crack, and the beast let out one final, agonized howl as its entire body flickered violently.

And then, just like that, it shattered. The creature's form dissolved into blue sparks, glitching out of existence entirely.

Kuro stood over the remains, panting heavily, his muscles burning from the effort. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up at the rift in the sky, still crackling with unstable energy.

More shadows were moving within it. More creatures. Bigger, stronger.

Kuro couldn't help but laugh, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Who's up next HUH? Swing batter batter SWING!"

Kuro stood in the middle of the wreckage, surrounded by shattered glass and broken neon signs, his chest heaving with exhilaration. The massive glitch-beast he'd taken down had disintegrated into blue sparks, but there was still a hum of energy in the air, an electric charge that buzzed under his skin. His fingers twitched, the sensation foreign but somehow… familiar.

Something was happening to him.

He raised his hand and flexed his fingers. A soft blue glow flickered along his skin, and the static-like energy that radiated from the glitch-beasts seemed to respond to him, like it was waiting for his command. His heart raced, not with fear, but with excitement. Power, real, tangible power, was coursing through his veins, and he could feel it growing with each breath.

Before he could process what was happening, his vision blurred, and he staggered backward, catching himself against a crumbling wall. A flash of red crossed his vision, a digital interface he'd seen a thousand times before in the game. But this time, it wasn't on a screen. It was in his mind.

A familiar female voice, smooth and mechanical, echoed inside his head.

"Level up! Level up! Level up! Level up!"

The words repeated over and over, each one ringing out louder than the last. Kuro's grin widened as the notifications continued, a rush of euphoria flooding his senses. He had felt the thrill of leveling up in Dominion countless times, but this, this was real. He wasn't just some player grinding for experience anymore. He was leveling up for real, and he could feel the power surging inside him with each announcement.

"Level 5… Level 6… Level 7…"

His body crackled with energy, blue sparks dancing along his skin as his muscles tightened and his vision sharpened. He could feel the glitches around him bending to his will, responding to his every thought. The ground beneath him trembled, and for a brief moment, Kuro felt like he could tear the entire city apart if he wanted to.

"Level 10 reached. New abilities unlocked."

The Red Screen Appears:

Then, just as suddenly as the voice had appeared, a massive red screen flashed before his eyes, displaying the all-too-familiar interface of Dominion. But this time, it wasn't just a game. It was his life.

Name: Kuro Kobayashi

Level: 10

Abilities:

Glitch Manipulation – Control and unleash the glitching energy from the rift.

Energy Blast – Release concentrated blasts of raw, chaotic energy.

Reality Distortion – Alter the physical world around you, bending reality to your will.

Data Surge – Absorb and harness the energy from digital and organic entities to fuel your power.

Alignment: Chaotic Villian

Kuro's heart skipped a beat as he read the last line. Chaotic Villain. The words burned in his mind, sending a thrill through him. He had always known he wasn't like everyone else, but now… it was official. The game knew it. The world knew it. And soon, everyone would know it.

He let out a sharp laugh, the sound echoing through the wrecked streets.

"So, that's what I am, huh? Chaotic Villain. Guess that's about right."

Kuro's fingers pulsed with energy, and as he flexed his hand, the blue light intensified, crackling like electricity ready to be unleashed. His eyes flicked back to the rift above him, still swirling with chaotic energy, and he could feel it, really feel it now. The connection wasn't just in his mind; it was real. The rift was a part of him, and he was a part of it.

The creatures still emerging from the rift were nothing more than puppets for him to control. He could feel them, every glitch, every flicker of data that made up their forms. His grin widened as he realized what that meant.

"I'm not just a bystander in all this. I am this."

He raised his hand, and with a thought, the nearest glitch-beast, an ugly, digitized mess of limbs and jagged claws, stopped dead in its tracks. Its red eyes blinked, confused, as it tried to resist the invisible force holding it in place. But it was no use. Kuro clenched his fist, and the beast let out a high-pitched screech before dissolving into blue sparks.

Another one charged at him from the side, but Kuro didn't even flinch. He turned his head slightly, and with a flick of his wrist, the creature exploded mid-leap, its body shattering into pieces before it even touched the ground.

This wasn't just about fighting anymore. It wasn't about survival. It was about control.

More creatures poured through the rift, their monstrous forms glitching and shifting as they hit the ground, but Kuro didn't care. They were nothing compared to the power surging through him now. He extended both hands, and the air around him shimmered with blue light. He could feel the energy pulsing, growing stronger with each passing second, and the more he used it, the more powerful he became.

He sent a shockwave through the street, watching as the remaining glitch-beasts were hurled backward, their bodies disintegrating as they collided with buildings and debris. The entire area seemed to tremble under the force of his power, and for a moment, it felt like the very fabric of reality was bending to his will.

"Yeah… this is how it should be."

Kuro looked down at his hands, watching as the energy flickered along his skin. He could feel it spreading, like a virus, infecting the world around him. The neon signs that had once flickered and died were now sparking back to life, but they weren't displaying advertisements anymore. Instead, distorted images of Kuro's face flashed across the screens, his grin wide and menacing, as if the city itself was bowing to him.

The rift above him crackled once more, but this time, Kuro didn't look up in fear. He looked up in anticipation.

This was only the beginning.

Kuro let out a low laugh, shaking his head as he took in the destruction around him. The bodies of the glitch-beasts, the wrecked buildings, the shattered windows, it was all a part of the new world, his world.

"This is it," he muttered, eyes locked on the rift. "This is where it all starts."

He clenched his fists again, feeling the power coil within him like a living thing. His spiky orange hair crackled with static, the energy radiating from him like heat. He could sense the connection between him and the rift growing stronger, more tangible, with every passing second.

Whatever was happening to the world, it was happening to him, too. And Kuro knew, deep down, that he wasn't just some player in this game anymore.

He was the one pulling the strings.