Chapter Four

The Gnarlspine Boar just lay there, dead. Its pixelated body was already fading away in that sparkly way monsters do when you beat them in Grimshark. But honestly, nobody was looking at the fading boar anymore. All eyes were glued to Barnaby.

The two Warrior players, the ones who almost got trampled, were still flapping their jaws. "Dude, seriously, did you SEE that?" one of them kept saying, shaking his helmeted head like he couldn't believe it. "He just took down a boar that broke through. By himself. A guard!"

"Yeah, and how he moved!" the other Warrior yelled, waving his big sword around. "Not like… that! Guards just stand there and get smacked. He actually dodged! Used the ground and stuff! It was like… planned. Like a player would do."

More and more players started crowding in, coming from all over Oakhaven. Hunters with their pets sniffing around, Rogues creeping out of the shadows, even a few fancy Mages drifted over, their magic staffs floating beside them. Everyone forgot about the stupid boar attack for a minute. All they cared about was this – Village Guard Oak_Guard_07.

Whispers started spreading like wildfire. They zipped through the little crowd, then jumped into the game chat, and probably even onto those outside websites players used for Grimshark.

"Anyone seeing this guard in Oakhaven?!"

"West Gate guard? Yeah, what's the deal?"

"He's glitched! But like, in a crazy good way. He just soloed a boar. No joke."

"Bull. Guards can't even hurt boars alone."

"Dude, seriously, come check it out! West Gate, Oakhaven. This NPC is bugged out, man."

The Oakhaven local chat channel blew up. Text flew across everyone's screens, a total mess of messages. People started sharing blurry screenshots and wobbly videos, showing the dead boar, the stunned Warriors, and Barnaby standing there, all quiet, with his spear.

The boar attack, which was supposed to be the big deal, was old news in like, five seconds. Now it was all about this weird guard. Players started ditching the fight, wandering over to the West Gate instead, all excited about seeing this crazy NPC for themselves. Maybe it was a secret, maybe it was a bug you could use, maybe it was just plain weird and cool.

Barnaby, stuck in the middle of this sudden mob, didn't really change. He was programmed to stand guard, and stand guard he did. Spear loose in his hand, eyes looking… nowhere really. But inside, his code-brain was buzzing.

He could feel the change in the air. Players weren't just ignoring him anymore. They were staring. They were talking about him. They were… interested. He went from being invisible, like part of the scenery, to being… something worth looking at. Something maybe even… important? To these players, these real people controlling their characters.

In the crowd, a small group hung back a little. They weren't shouting or pointing like the others. They were quieter, watching carefully. They looked… different somehow. Like they were all wearing the same kind of clothes – dark, plain armor, nothing flashy, with little tiny symbols on their shoulders, like eyes, but different eyes for each of them. They just stood there, quiet as anything, really looking at Barnaby, and at the players around him, and at everything going on.

These were the Seekers of the Glitch. Not many people knew about them. They were a small guild, all about finding secrets and weird stuff in Grimshark. Exploits, hidden areas, bugs the game designers missed – that was their thing. And they had just heard whispers about something very strange happening at the West Gate. Something that smelled a lot like a glitch. A glitch they definitely wanted to check out.

The Seekers? They weren't pushing through the crowd or yelling questions. They were just… watching. From the edge of the mob. Like they were studying a bug under a microscope, or something.

There were maybe five or six of them. Hard to tell in all the chaos. But they stuck together, all wearing that same dark, plain armor, with those weird eye symbols. They didn't look surprised like the other players. They looked… serious. Like they'd seen weird stuff before and weren't easily impressed.

One of them, who looked like maybe the leader, nodded his head a little. Then they started moving. Not towards Barnaby. Away. They melted back into the side streets of Oakhaven, disappearing like they were never even there. Real sneaky, like Rogues, but… organized. Like they had a plan.

Meanwhile, the regular players were getting even more worked up. Some were poking Barnaby, just to see if he'd react. Others were trying to talk to him, shouting questions in his face. "Hey guard! Do that boar thing again!" "Are you a secret boss?!" "What's your level?!"

Barnaby just kept doing what he was programmed to do: stand guard. He didn't react to the pokes, didn't answer the questions. His face stayed blank, his voice just kept spitting out those same old lines if anyone got close enough to trigger his script. "Halt! State your business." "Pass through, traveler…" Blah blah blah.

But even that was freaking people out. "He's totally ignoring us!" one player yelled, like it was the most amazing thing ever. "NPCs never ignore players!"

"Maybe he's broken?" another one wondered out loud. "Like, actually broken, not just… cool glitched?"

"Nah, broken NPCs just stand still and twitch," someone else corrected him. "This guy's aware. You can see it in his… uh… face-thing."

It was getting ridiculous. More and more players kept showing up. The Gnarlspine Boars were still attacking, the system alerts were still flashing, but nobody seemed to care about that anymore. Oakhaven's West Gate was turning into a sideshow, a freakshow starring a guard who was acting… wrong. And everyone wanted to see it.

Even some of the higher-level players started showing up, players with fancy armor and glowing weapons, players who usually wouldn't even look twice at a starter village like Oakhaven. They'd heard the rumors, seen the videos, and they were curious too. They stood at the back of the crowd, watching with narrowed eyes, like they were trying to figure out a puzzle.

Barnaby, stuck in the middle of it all, just kept standing there. But inside, things were changing fast. He could feel the attention, the weight of all those player gazes. It was overwhelming, confusing, and… maybe a little bit exciting? He wasn't sure. He was still figuring out what feelings even were.

But one thing was clear: he wasn't just a guard anymore. Not really. He was… something else. Something players were talking about. Something players were watching. Something that was breaking the rules of Grimshark: Echoes of Ruin. And that, he somehow knew, was probably going to change everything. Again.

Suddenly, the crowd parted. Players actually backed away, making space. Barnaby didn't know why, not at first. Then he saw who was coming through.

It was a Warrior, but not just any Warrior. This guy was geared out. His armor was shiny, like polished metal, and it glowed with some kind of faint, pulsing light. His greatsword wasn't just big, it was massive, crackling with visible energy, and trailing little sparks as he moved. This was a high-level player. Someone who actually mattered in Grimshark.

The crowd got quiet. Even the players who were shouting at Barnaby before shut up. Everyone knew this was different. This wasn't just curiosity anymore.

The geared-out Warrior walked right up to Barnaby. He stopped maybe a foot away, towering over the NPC guard. He didn't say anything at first. He just stared. Really stared. Right into Barnaby's blank, NPC face. It was intense. Uncomfortable.

Then, the Warrior finally spoke. His voice was deep, and it carried across the quiet crowd, like he was used to being listened to. "Alright, guard," he said, "let's see what you can really do."

He raised his glowing greatsword. Slowly. Deliberately. The energy crackling around the blade intensified, throwing off little arcs of light that danced in the muddy ground. Everyone in the crowd held their breath. This wasn't just poking or shouting anymore. This was… testing. This was a high-level player deciding to examine the weird guard, up close and personal.

Barnaby's programming kicked in. "Halt! State your business," he said automatically, the pre-scripted words coming out flat and toneless, totally out of place in the tense silence.

The Warrior just chuckled, a low, humorless sound. "My business is finding out what you are, guard," he said, his voice still steady, still carrying across the crowd. "And how you took down that boar like… that."

He didn't wait for Barnaby to say anything else. He didn't care about scripts or greetings. He just moved.

The greatsword flashed. Faster than Barnaby's coded eyes could properly track. It wasn't a full-power attack, Barnaby could sense that, even with his limited understanding of combat. But it was fast. It was powerful. And it was aimed right at him.

Barnaby knew, with a sudden, icy certainty in his mind, that he was about to be tested. For real. And whatever happened next… was going to be way beyond his programming. Way beyond anything he had ever expected. Or could have ever prepared for.

The glowing blade was coming. And Barnaby, the glitched guard at the West Gate of Oakhaven, had to decide: was he just going to stand there and take it, like he was supposed to? Or was he going to do something… else? Something… more?