Glitch in the system

Takeru's hands were shaking as he sat in the academy's common room, the hum of the fluorescent lights above him a dull background to the chaotic thoughts in his head.

His status screen flickered in front of him, just like it had during the Hero Trials, but it wasn't the same this time. The glitch, the "Debug" was something entirely new, something that didn't belong.

His name, his rank, his power... none of it made sense. But now, it was there. A flicker in the system. A secret.

Takeru leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, eyes glued to the screen.

He stared at the blank space where his abilities should have been listed. Just a list of words, some garbled mess of code, and... nothing.

"Error Detected: Power Undefined"

"Rank: E"

It felt like a joke. Everyone else had clear, defined powers.

Akari had her elemental prowess, another student had earth manipulation, and some could control time. But Takeru? He wasn't given a proper ability. He was a blank slate with no purpose. At least, that's what it looked like.

The door to the common room creaked open, and Takeru's attention snapped to the figure that walked in. Akari.

"You still staring at that thing?" Akari's voice was cool, but there was an underlying curiosity beneath it. She leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms, watching him like she expected him to do something amazing again.

"I'm just trying to figure it out, alright?" Takeru snapped, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "Not like you'd understand. You have the perfect system."

Her lips quirked into a small smirk, but she didn't answer right away. Instead, she leaned casually against the edge of his desk, folding her arms.

The screen still glowed brightly, as though mocking him with every new line of error.

"Actually, I think I understand more than you'd think," Akari said. "You've got a problem, Takeru. And it's not just that your system's broken. It's... different. And not in a good way."

Takeru's gaze flicked to her, irritation rising. "Oh? So now you're a system expert too?"

Akari held up her hands in mock surrender. "Calm down. I'm just saying, something is off. This glitch of yours isn't normal. I've never seen anything like it."

Takeru leaned back in his chair, trying to ignore the way his stomach tightened. She was right.

He wasn't like the other students. He couldn't just use his powers like they did. No fireballs, no enhanced speed. He was stuck with some broken, incomplete system.

It was like being told you could be a hero, but then having the game crash before you could even start.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Takeru asked, gesturing to the screen, where more lines of code appeared, things like "Skill Unavailable" and "Debug Mode Active." He had no idea what any of it meant.

Akari frowned, but her expression softened a little. "You're asking the wrong person, Takeru. I don't have the answers, but I know one thing. You can't just sit around, waiting for your system to fix itself. You need to use it."

"Use it how?" Takeru shot back. "If I had any idea how this thing worked, I'd be out there already, kicking villain ass. But instead, I'm just... stuck."

She considered this for a moment, then took a deep breath, as if weighing her next words. "Look, your system might be glitched, but that doesn't mean you're completely powerless. Maybe you can't fight like everyone else. But you have something they don't, creativity."

Takeru blinked at her, thrown off by the sudden shift in her tone. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Akari smirked again, a glint of mischief in her eyes. "It means you think outside the box. You're not bound by the same rules. Whatever this glitch is, you can exploit it. You might not know how yet, but I can tell it's got potential. Just... don't sit back and wait for the system to tell you what to do. Take control."

Takeru frowned, mulling over her words. It sounded a lot easier than it was. But deep down, something about the idea clicked.

Maybe she was right. He couldn't keep waiting for the system to hand him answers. If he was going to get anywhere, he needed to start using this glitch, his glitch, the way he wanted.

Before he could say anything else, a loud beep cut through the air, and Takeru's screen flickered. The lines of code morphed and shifted. This time, instead of the usual error message, the words changed into something far more... intriguing.

[Ability Available: Rewrite Combat Rules]

His breath caught in his throat. Was it... was it actually giving him an ability?

"Wait," Takeru whispered, leaning forward. The prompt on the screen expanded, showing a brief description. Rewrite Combat Rules. It didn't explain what it did, just that he could alter the conditions of combat. Change how powers worked. Change the battlefield itself.

Takeru's mind raced. This was it. The glitch wasn't just a bug. It was a power. Maybe not the one he expected, but a power nonetheless.

"What did you do?" Akari asked, her voice barely a whisper now as she leaned closer, her eyes wide with curiosity.

Takeru didn't answer. Instead, he tapped the screen again, activating the ability. The air around him shimmered for a split second, and suddenly, it felt like the entire room was different. Like the rules had shifted.

His body felt lighter. Faster. He could feel the change, like a weight had been lifted from him. He could hear Akari's voice, but it seemed distant. He looked at his hands, feeling a strange hum of energy.

"This... this is crazy," he muttered under his breath, grinning for the first time in what felt like forever. He didn't know what he'd just done, but he could feel it. Something was different now.

"Alright," he said with more confidence. "Let's test this out."

Takeru's grin widened as he stood up, feeling the electricity in the air hum around him. The air itself seemed to buzz with newfound potential.

He could feel the system, no, the glitch, responding to his will. He clenched his fists, testing the new sense of power coursing through him.

It wasn't the same as others' abilities. He didn't have flashy flames, or superspeed, or a force field to hide behind. But something about this, the way the very rules of reality bent to his touch, was exhilarating.

Akari took a step back, her eyes narrowing as she watched him. "Takeru..." she began, her voice laced with a hint of concern. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

But Takeru was already caught up in the moment. He needed to test it out. He needed to understand what he could do with this glitch. The possibilities were endless if he could just figure it out.

He raised his hand and focused. His fingers twitched as he felt the air warp around him. With a deep breath, he whispered under his breath, "Let's change the rules... just a bit."

Suddenly, the floor beneath him shifted. The gravity wasn't the same. His boots felt lighter, as if the entire room's weight had been halved.

He took a cautious step, then another, and realized that he was now moving faster than he ever had before. The simple shift in the gravity field had drastically altered his perception.

Akari's eyes widened, and her lips parted slightly in disbelief. "What the hell...?"

Before she could react, Takeru sprinted across the room, feeling the enhanced speed as though he were gliding instead of running. He zigzagged in a blur, the world slowing around him. He skidded to a halt, grinning ear to ear.

"This is insane! I've never felt like this before!" Takeru shouted, pumping his fists into the air.

Akari blinked, still processing what she was witnessing. "You... changed the gravity?"

"Not just the gravity," Takeru replied, eyes lighting up. "I just altered the rules of how the environment works. This is just the beginning."

He turned back to her, eager to see her reaction, but there was no time for her to speak.

Takeru's heart raced with excitement, the adrenaline of the moment still pumping through his veins. He had just rewritten the very laws of the room, and it felt exhilarating, like a puzzle piece finally clicking into place.

Akari's shocked expression didn't faze him as much as it should have. Instead, his mind was already racing ahead, thinking about all the ways he could use his newfound power.

"This is insane!" he repeated, his voice almost a little too loud. "I can control the battlefield! Gravity, speed... maybe even time itself."

Akari, still stunned, stepped forward cautiously. "Takeru... you don't know the full scope of this ability. This isn't just some parlor trick. You could mess with reality, with everything around you. Are you sure you know how to control it?"

Her concern was clear, but Takeru's excitement drowned out any doubts.

"I don't need to know all the details right now," he replied, his voice steadier than he felt. "I'm just going to keep testing it until I figure it out. This glitch it's mine now. And I'm going to make it work for me."

With that, he focused again, his thoughts shifting from the gravity to something else entirely.

The room around him seemed to blur, and for a moment, it felt like time itself had slowed down. The walls stretched, the light flickered, and the air grew thick.

"Oh i'm so gonna get all the ladies.." Takeru muttered, almost to himself.

He moved to the desk and placed his hand on it. The clock on the wall ticked in slow motion as he focused, bringing the room to a crawl. The seconds dragged like hours.

Akari's voice came in muffled, distant tones. "Takeru, stop. You're playing with forces you don't understand!"

But it was too late. Takeru was too deep into the thrill of manipulating the rules. With another snap of his focus, the room suddenly snapped back to normal. The ticking of the clock returned to its normal speed, and the air lightened around him.

Akari stood frozen, her eyes wide, her arms hanging limply at her sides.

Takeru turned to face her, his grin still wide. "I think I'm getting the hang of it."

But even as he said the words, something in the back of his mind told him this power wasn't going to be as easy to control as he hoped.

It wasn't just about bending the rules of combat. There were consequences, he could feel it. What would happen if he pushed too far?

Akari was staring at him, her expression unreadable. "I don't know if I should be impressed or terrified."

Takeru's grin faltered for a moment, and he rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly unsure of himself. "Yeah... I get that. But I can't just sit around, can I? I have to figure out how to use this."

Akari's eyes softened slightly, but her voice was firm. "Takeru, this glitch of yours might be powerful, but it's dangerous. Be careful. It's not just the powers you have to worry about, it's what you're willing to risk to keep using them."

Takeru met her gaze, the weight of her words starting to sink in. "I know. But I've spent too long being the guy who's always behind. I'm done waiting for a system that doesn't work. I'm taking control."

His words were resolute, but inside, a small voice warned him not to get too cocky. He had to find balance, before he lost himself in the process.

Akari didn't say anything more. Instead, she walked past him, brushing his shoulder lightly as she went toward the door. "Just don't get too carried away, Takeru. This isn't a game."

As the door clicked shut behind her, Takeru sat back down, staring at the screen again. His mind raced with possibilities, but now, the excitement felt different. It was tinged with caution.

He didn't know the full scope of his power yet, but he intended to find out. The first step was to master the glitch. The second step was to make sure he didn't lose himself in the process.