Glitch Overlord: The NPC Who Hijacked the Gods’ Player Syste

Chapter 8: The New Ability

The dark energy beam slammed into Jax's chest and threw him backward. He crashed hard against the cold stone wall. Pain exploded through every part of his body like fire and ice mixed together. His vision went completely black. He could not feel his arms or legs. For a moment, he thought this was the end.

Mira screamed his name so loud it cut through the noise.

"Jax!"

Her voice sounded far away but full of fear and desperation.

CrimsonKing69 laughed loudly.

"Finally!" he shouted. "That glitch is done."

The two Overseers stepped closer. Their red eyes glowed brighter in the darkness. Their voices echoed together.

"Anomaly elimination in progress. Final deletion sequence starting."

Jax lay on the ground. Blood pooled around him. His breathing was weak and shallow. But deep inside, the new message from the system still burned in his mind.

[Glitch Overlord System: Core Fragment Absorbed. New Ability Unlocked.]

He tried to move, but his body would not listen. The pain was too much. The stolen power felt like it was fighting against the deletion force. Every second felt like hours.

Mira ran forward without thinking. She dropped to her knees beside him and put her hands on his chest.

"Please wake up," she cried. "You cannot leave me here alone."

Her tears fell on his face. The warmth of them cut through the cold emptiness. Jax felt something shift inside him. The tiny piece of Overseer power he had stolen started to fight back against the deletion.

A faint red glow appeared around his body.

The Overseers stopped moving. Their heads tilted in confusion.

"Anomaly resisting," they said at the same time. "Increasing deletion power."

They raised their hands again. Another dark beam began to form, stronger than the last one.

CrimsonKing69 raised his sword too.

"Let me finish him," he said with a grin.

Jax forced his eyes open just a little. The world was blurry, but he could see Mira's face close to his. He could see the Overseers getting ready to end everything. He could see CrimsonKing69 coming closer with the sword raised high.

He could not let it end like this.

With the last bit of strength he had, he focused on the new ability the system had given him.

The message appeared again clearly.

[New Ability Unlocked: Glitch Pulse—Disrupt nearby systems for three seconds. Cost: Heavy strain on host.]

Three seconds. That was all it gave. But three seconds might be enough.

Jax whispered the words in his mind.

Activate.

A pulse of red energy burst out from his body. It spread fast like a silent wave.

Everything stopped.

The dark beam from the Overseers froze in the air. CrimsonKing69's sword stopped mid-swing. The player's body locked in place. Even the air felt heavy and still.

For three full seconds, the entire underground area glitched. The Overseers' red eyes flickered. Their forms shook like bad code. CrimsonKing69's face twisted in confusion as his sword hand refused to move.

Jax used those three seconds.

He pushed himself up with Mira's help. His body still hurt like hell, but the pulse had given him a small window. He reached out one more time and stole from the closest Overseer while it was frozen.

[Skill Theft Attempted: Basic Deletion Resistance]

[Success. Host barely holding on.]

A small shield of energy settled around him. It was weak, but it pushed back some of the deletion force. His health stopped dropping so fast.

The three seconds ended.

The world snapped back to normal.

The Overseers recovered first. Their voices came out distorted.

"Glitch detected. Rebooting protocol."

CrimsonKing69 swung his sword down hard, but Jax rolled away at the last moment. The blade hit the ground and sparks flew.

Mira helped Jax stand. Her hands were shaking, but she held him steady.

"You did it," she whispered. "You are still here."

Jax nodded weakly. His body felt like it could break any second, but the new ability and the small resistance skill had bought him a little more time.

The Overseers moved forward again. This time, they were more careful. One of them pointed at Mira.

"Companion entity also corrupted. Delete both."

A new beam shot toward Mira.

Jax reacted without thinking. He pushed her out of the way and took the hit himself. The dark energy struck his shoulder. Pain flared hot and sharp. His new resistance helped, but it still hurt badly. He stumbled, but stayed between her and the Overseers.

CrimsonKing69 saw the opening and attacked from the side. His sword cut across Jax's back. Fresh blood sprayed.

Jax cried out in pain, but he did not fall.

He turned and looked at CrimsonKing69 with cold eyes.

"You first," he said.

He activated Glitch Pulse again.

The red wave burst out. Everything froze once more.

In those three seconds, Jax reached out and stole directly from CrimsonKing69.

[Skill Theft Attempted: Advanced Sword Technique Fragment]

[Partial Success.]

A small piece of sword skill flowed into him. His movements became a little smoother. He used the frozen moment to slam his fist into the player's face with everything he had.

The three seconds ended.

CrimsonKing69 flew backward and crashed into the wall. Blood came from his nose. He looked shocked and angry.

"How are you doing this?" he yelled.

The Overseers were already moving again. Their deletion beams charged faster this time.

Jax's breathing was ragged. His body was covered in blood. The new ability could only be used so many times before it broke him completely. Mira stood beside him, ready to fight even though she had no real power.

The lead Overseer raised both hands.

"Final deletion wave incoming."

A massive dark energy ball formed above them, growing bigger every second.

Jax knew this one would be the end if it hit.

He looked at Mira one last time.

"Stay behind me," he said.

Then he stepped forward. His legs shook. His hands trembled. But his eyes burned with cold fire.

The energy ball shot toward them.

Jax raised his hands and activated Glitch Pulse for the third time.

The red wave exploded out.

The massive ball froze in the air, inches from his face.

But this time the system gave a new warning.

[Glitch Pulse Overused. Host Body Critical. Next use may cause permanent damage.]

The three seconds started counting down.

Jax had one last chance to turn this around.

He reached out with everything left in him toward the frozen energy ball and the Overseers behind it.

What happens next would decide if he lived or died right here.