a first encounter

There's always that moment in anime when the protagonists realize the world isn't what they thought. That gut-punch realization—the false peace, the eerie silence before everything spirals. This? This was that moment for my classmates.

They were still gawking at their ability windows when the world responded to our presence.

> [System Update: Battle Protocol v1.01 Engaged] Enemies detected. Prepare for encounter.

A low, metallic screech echoed across the plains. The silver grass trembled, parting in swirls. Then they emerged—beings that looked like corrupted chimeras, digital static coiling around beast-like forms. Glitched wolves with limbs that clipped through the ground. Floating cubes fused with horns and eyes that blinked sideways.

Rose snapped to attention. "We have to fight?! I haven't even figured out how to use this thing!"

Sofia flipped open her notebook. "Command: Shield." A glowing hexagonal barrier shot out in front of her just in time to deflect a darting blur.

I watched quietly from a hill, arms crossed. The system was beginning its tutorial—the hard way.

Lucas was vibrating with energy, hands pulsing. "Okay, shockwave time!" He slammed his hands into the ground, sending out a quake that tripped two of the incoming enemies.

Ivy created two mirror clones, flanking herself and baiting one of the glitch beasts into attacking the wrong version of her.

"Focus! Cover each other! This is like a group raid!" Jack shouted, already reinforcing Olivia with a translucent wall of willpower.

"I... I can do this!" Hana pointed a finger. "Luck Stitch!" One of the wolves stumbled mid-leap, impaling itself on a stray glitch-spike that hadn't even been aimed.

Yuna's invisible thread caught another, its limbs tangled mid-air before Daichi's fists finished it off with a pillar of earth.

Ayaka moved like glass herself—elegant, sharp. Her blades shimmered as they danced around her body, forming a swirling defense.

Kenji let out a beast-like roar that split open the field like a sound cannon, knocking creatures back like Dragon Ball shockwaves.

"Rewind ten seconds!" Satoshi cried, flipping his cracked watch. A creature leapt at him, then reversed in real time, giving him a second chance to duck.

Nari stood calmly. "Illusions on." Suddenly, three clones of her moved through the battlefield like ghosts, each drawing attention away from the real her.

Riku laughed. "You guys are playing with swords. I'm playing with code." His hand flicked and a system window glitched open sideways. He slapped a 'GLITCH BUFF' on Rose's thread, and suddenly her wires burned with digital flame.

Even Haru joined, leaping high and catching a mid-air claw strike only to reverse it mid-spin. "Zero Shift! Counter!"

Watching them figure things out was... amusing.

This was their intro fight. The classic Episode 2 of a shounen, where they start unleashing powers like they've been training their whole lives. Only this time, there were no announcers or transformation music. Just fear and instinct.

And somewhere in the code of this world, I felt it stir.

Fracture.

A ripple at the edge of the world. Something cracking where it shouldn't. My fingertips itched. The air buzzed like electricity in a broken arcade cabinet.

"Not yet," I muttered. "Let them believe this is their story."

Eventually, the last enemy fizzled out in a burst of static. The field was silent again, filled with panting breaths, bruises, and confusion.

A new notification rang out.

> [Victory: First Encounter Complete] Exp Distributed. Abilities Now Unlocked: Advanced Mode. New Quest: Explore the Sky Pillar. Coordinates Set.

Jack wiped sweat from his brow. "Did we just level up...?"

Sofia checked her notes. "Seems like our abilities evolved. There's more data now."

Rose gave me a look. "You knew. You knew all this would happen."

I shrugged. "Call it a hunch. Or call it experience. This isn't my first world-hop."

Noah muttered, "You're really weirdly calm for someone tossed into another dimension."

I chuckled. "Maybe I just watched too much Re:Zero. Or maybe…"

I looked to the sky—its cracked edges flickering like a bad VHS overlay.

"…maybe I've been waiting for this story to start."

Their eyes followed mine.

The sky above shimmered as something huge emerged beyond the clouds: a tower of impossible architecture—floating, broken, glowing at the edges with an ominous red light.

"Sky Pillar, huh?" Kenji grinned. "Bet it's a dungeon."

Lucas looked like he was gonna puke. "Please, not a boss already."

I took a deep breath, cracking my neck.

"Level one's over. Welcome to the real game."

> To be continued.