Dungeon Gate Seoul,
Abandoned Midtown Plaza
If you asked Kang Jinho what he feared most about dungeons, it wasn't the monsters.
It was the escalators.
Specifically, the ones that moved even when the power was off.
"Why is that one going backwards?" Jinho asked, pointing as they approached the massive, run-down shopping mall. Its glass exterior had cracked like an eggshell, and warped digital signs above the doors flickered with half-rendered logos and Korean phrases like "Always Open. Always Watching."
Yoo Mirae glanced up from her mission pad. "This gate is classified as a C-rank urban static domain. Fang Unit is sweeping the interior. You and your team are backup."
She looked directly at him.
"No pan tossing unless you're dying. Understand?"
"It's a pan. It tosses itself."
"I'm not joking."
Jinho adjusted the strap on his backpack. The frying pan purred. Probably from the anticipation.
🔹🔹🔹
The Team – Fang Unit's Bottom Rung
Bang Daeho – Tank. Still has snack crumbs in his armor.
Min Yura – Buffer/healer. Vlogging this mission.
Seo Hari – Spirit summoner. Currently channeling a haunted department store mannequin.
Kang Jinho – Freelance Glitch, liability, proud pan wielder.
Their mission: Assist with sweep-and-clear, collect data, survive, and don't trigger any system anomalies.
So naturally, thirty seconds in, the escalator tried to eat them.
🔹🔹🔹
Inside the Dungeon
The Hollow Atrium
Once past the cracked front doors, they entered a warped dimension of what the mall used to be.
Everything shimmered between nostalgia and nightmare.
A children's clothing store had tiny handprints on the glass. A half-broken food court sign flickered between "Bingsoo Heaven" and "RUN."
[Dungeon Manifest: The Hollow Atrium]
Status: Stable… mostly
Warning: Mannequins may contain traces of sentience
Objective: Locate and neutralize core corruption
Current Threat Level: C (Fluctuating)
"So far, so good," Yura whispered. "No creepy mannequins in sight."
They turned a corner.
The mannequins stared at them from every shop window.
Dozens of them.
Different sizes. Different poses.
All… subtly turned toward Jinho.
He froze. "Okay. Anyone else feel like I'm being followed by fashion victims?"
Daeho held up his shield. "Just don't make eye contact."
One mannequin lifted its hand and waved.
[System Distortion Detected]
Jinho's UI glitched.
[ERROR: Dungeon Recognition Conflict]
You are being perceived.
Do not answer any questions.
Would you like to enable: PANIC MODE?
"Wha—no, I don't want to enable—!"
[PANIC MODE ENABLED]
All stats: ???
Logic resistance: 100%
Self-awareness: Leaking
Jinho's frying pan vibrated in his grip like it was trying to warn him.
Then the dungeon spoke.
"Hello, Kang Jinho."
The voice echoed through the abandoned speaker system. Calm. Genderless. Like a voicemail from a haunted machine.
"You are not authorized to be here."
Yura dropped her phone.
"Did… did the dungeon just say his name?"
"Yep," Jinho said, pan raised. "Yep, and I hate that."
[Warning: Dungeon has identified you as a Glitch Signature]
[System Protocol Engaged: Unpredictable Adaptation Imminent]
From the food court, mannequins began to walk.
"Scatter!" Daeho roared.
The team leapt into motion as mannequins sprinted, limbs cracking like shattered plastic.
Hari's ghost-cats leapt from her hands, hissing spiritual flame.
Yura cast a buff only for her spell to turn into a ringtone and vanish.
"JINHO!" she yelled. "Fix the system!"
"I don't know how! I'm not even sure I'm legally a player!"
He ducked a mannequin punch and reflex-swung the frying pan.
[GLITCH COMBO – Counter + Rewrite Active]
Mannequin forgets what it was doing. Sits down politely.
Others glitch out trying to copy it.
"I think I just pacified them with… customer service?"
From the ceiling, a hologram flickered to life.
A figure stood there. Genderless. Abstract. Face made of corrupted code and shopping slogans.
"KANG JINHO. YOU ARE AN ILLEGAL FUNCTION."
"YOUR EXISTENCE CAUSES NONSENSE."
"WE WOULD LIKE TO NEGOTIATE."
The simulation warped.
The mall melted into a pure white void, like a loading screen.
Only Jinho stood there.
And the figure.
"You're not a dungeon," Jinho said.
"No. I am a residual thread of the Administrator Layer."
"You are a problem. But you are also… useful."
Would you like to accept the Glitch Protocol Questline?
Reward: Unknown
Risk: Absolutely.
Jinho blinked.
"…Is this gonna make me explode?"
"Yes."
"Cool. Sign me up."
Back in the real (simulated) world, Jinho snapped back into his body.
His frying pan glowed with unstable code.
A new UI opened:
[Glitch Skill Tree: Threadfork Detected]
➤ Reality Rewrite Lv.2 – Modify dungeon rules for 3 seconds
➤ Skill Swap : Chaos Mode – Randomly repurpose any skill within 10 meters
➤ New Passive: Bugspeak – Can now understand system-layer entities (even if they hate you)
The dungeon shuddered. Mannequins fell limp. The sky returned to a sickly mall-gray.
Daeho stumbled up. "Did we win?"
Jinho blinked. "I think I… signed a contract with a dungeon ghost."
"Cool," Hari said. "Totally normal day."
The dungeon stabilized. Mirae's voice rang through their comms.
"Fang Unit, report."
"Minimal injuries," Yura said.
"Mana loss," Hari added.
"Existential dread," said Daeho.
"And Jinho?"
There was a long pause.
He looked at his pan. It sparkled ominously.
"…I might have leveled up in a way that makes me uninsurable