As we walked toward the fountain—me trying desperately not to make eye contact with my new theatrical shadow—I finally spotted the quest NPC Devon had mentioned. She stood at the fountain’s edge, a tall woman with simple leather armor, auburn hair tied back in a braid, and a stern expression.

[Quest Available: 'A Troubled Beginning']

* Objective: Investigate the Strange Shadows in the Forest Outside Eldergrove.

I reached her side, Lucien trailing behind like a loyal golden retriever with too many feelings.

“Excuse me,” I said carefully. “Are you the one handing out quests around here?”

The NPC turned to face me, her sharp eyes narrowing slightly as she scanned me—and then drifted past me to Lucien.

“Another bard? And a… Succubus?” She sighed heavily. “Why do I always get the strange ones?”

Before I could respond, Lucien stepped forward, hand on his chest. “Fear not, good lady! For I—Lucien, Master Bard—will see that my muse succeeds in every trial before her!”

The quest NPC pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Okay, fine,” she muttered. “You want a quest? Take this.”

“She seems a bit rude,” I mumbled into the party chat.

[Devon]: Certain races and classes can affect NPC dialogue interaction. So the story could change for you in unexpected ways that I haven’t seen yet. Tried to warn you, Kiera.

Ugh, fine. I guess this is a consequence of my action for not ‘reading the fine print.’

[Quest Accepted: 'A Troubled Beginning']

I nodded, feeling some of the earlier awkwardness start to fade. At least I was progressing with a real quest and an actual objective. Progress!

“Alright, Lucien. Let’s get moving.”

“After you, my midnight muse.”

The deeper we went into the forest, the more the air shifted—cooler and heavier, like stepping into a place that had been abandoned for far too long. The HUD marker glowed faintly in the corner of my vision, pulling me toward an ancient altar nestled beneath the twisted branches of a massive oak tree.

The altar was cracked and overgrown with moss, glowing runes pulsing faintly across its stone surface. It radiated an eerie energy that made my skin prickle.

Lucien adjusted the lute slung across his back and scanned the area with narrowed eyes. “My muse, I feel compelled to ask—are we certain this is wise?”

“Nope,” I said, swallowing hard, “but the quest marker says this is where we need to be, and the glowing rock with spooky letters is basically screaming, ‘Interact with me!’”

I stepped closer, my boots crunching over dead leaves and brittle twigs. A glowing prompt appeared:

[Quest Objective: Activate the Altar.][Proceed? Yes / No]

“Alright, here goes nothing.” I selected ‘Yes.’

The runes flared brightly, casting harsh shadows across the clearing as the altar hummed with power. A sharp wind kicked up, carrying a faint, distant growl on its tail.

Lucien’s hand hovered near his dagger, his knuckles white. “Muse… something stirs.”

Something moved from the shadows. The ground trembled as a hulking figure stepped into the clearing. Its blackened hide shimmered faintly under the light of the runes, and glowing crimson eyes locked onto me with predatory intent.

[EVENT BOSS ENCOUNTER: SHADOWBOUND GUARDIAN]

* Level: 10

* Health: 3,500 HP

* Status: Aggressive

“What. The. Hell. Level 10? Okay,” I said, backing up a step. “Okay, okay, okay, Devon? DEVON?! This thing is freakin’ level 10. Why am I here again?!”

His voice crackled through the party chat. [Devon]: Relax, Kiera. It’s just a mid-tier field boss. You were supposed to grind before you went in there. Geez, I look away from the party screen for one second and—damn it, don’t just stand there! MOVE!

The Guardian let out a guttural roar before lunging forward, claws raking through the air. I screamed and stumbled to the side, narrowly avoiding being turned into a Kiera-shaped pancake.

[Health: 84%]

Lucien dashed forward, his dagger glowing faintly as he slashed at the creature’s claw. “I shall distract the beast, muse! Do something useful!”

“Right, useful. Yes, useful!” I fumbled through my skill menu, my hands shaking.

* Shadow Bolt (Ranged Attack)

* Lustful Gaze (Charm Skill, single target)

* Venom Kiss (Close Range, damage-over-time skill)

“Okay, okay. Uh… Shadow Bolt!”

I raised my hand, dark energy crackling along my fingertips, and fired. The purple bolt of energy shot out—

—only to whiz harmlessly past the Guardian’s head and hit a tree.

[Missed Attack]

“Oh, come on!”

The Guardian roared again and slammed one massive claw down toward me. I screamed, stumbled, and face-planted into the dirt.

[Health: 67%]

[Devon]: You need to dodge toward the side, not downward. If you can’t beat it, leave until you come back stronger.

Lucien glanced at me as he backflipped away from a sweeping claw strike. “Muse, might I suggest not dying?”

“Great advice, thanks!”

I scrambled back to my feet and fired another Shadow Bolt. This one hit the Guardian square in the chest.

[Damage Dealt: 75 HP]

It barely flinched.

“Devon, I’m not doing enough damage! This thing’s a sponge!”

[Devon]: You need to use combos. Use Shadow Bolt, dodge, and follow up with Venom Kiss or—wait, are you seriously just button-mashing?

I was absolutely button-mashing. The Guardian lunged again, and this time, I barely escaped by tumbling sideways into a bush.

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[Health: 42%]

Lucien’s health bar wasn’t much better.

[Lucien Health: 28%]

We weren’t going to make it. I wasn’t skilled, fast, or coordinated enough to win this fight. My breathing hitched, my HUD flashing red with low-health warnings.

And then… a small notification popped up in the corner of my vision:

[SYSTEM MESSAGE: You’ve received an email from UNKNOWN.][Do you want to open this message? Yes / No]

“Uh… Devon?” My voice trembled. “I just got… an email?”

[Devon]: An email? Like, in your in-game inbox? From who?

“It just says UNKNOWN.”

There was a pause on the other end. When Devon spoke again, his voice was tight.

[Devon]: Kiera, listen to me. Players sometimes get emails from random accounts offering cheat codes. Most of them are scams or illegal mods that’ll corrupt your data or, worse—flag your account for a ban. Do not open it.

The Guardian was stalking toward me now, its glowing eyes fixed on my low-health bar. Lucien was barely standing, his breathing ragged.

“Devon… we’re not going to make it. You know I have the patience of a squirrel; I can’t grind. This is my only option.”

[Devon]: Are you, you can’t be serious, Kiera. Just log out, then. Don’t—

I selected ‘Yes.’

[SYSTEM MESSAGE FROM UNKNOWN]If you want to survive, enter the following command:

/CMD::FORCECLASS.UPDATE

[WARNING: Unauthorized Access Detected. Proceeding May Cause System Instability.]

[Devon]: Don’t do it. DON’T—

But the Guardian roared and lunged.

With no other option, I opened the console and typed:

/CMD::FORCECLASS.UPDATE

The world froze.

Every pixel, every animation, every sound—all locked in place. Red error messages cascaded down my HUD in a flood of corrupted text.

[SYSTEM ERROR: CLASS OVERRIDE DETECTED][CLASS UPDATE IN PROGRESS… ERROR… ERROR… CLASS UPDATE SUCCESSFUL.]

NEW CLASS ASSIGNED: SUCCUBUS DEMON LORD

* Warning: Unauthorized Class Designation

* Status: System Integrity Compromised

The world snapped back into motion. Shadows erupted around me, swirling and twisting like living smoke. My HUD flared with new skills:

* Absolute Command: enemies are paralyzed briefly.

* Crippling Aura: Reduce enemy attack power.

* Abyssal Barrier: Absorb incoming damage.

The Guardian froze mid-attack, claws inches from my face. Its yellow eyes flickered with confusion.

Lucien stumbled backward, shielding his face from the shadows swirling around me. His voice was trembling. “My Lady…?”

My body felt heavy with power, shadows dancing around me like loyal servants. I extended one hand toward the Guardian, and my voice came out low and cold:

“Kneel.”

[Absolute Command Activated]

The Shadowbound Guardian knelt before me, claws digging into the earth as if fighting against invisible chains. Its yellow eyes flickered, and the thick shadows swirling around its form trembled as though the creature itself understood something had changed—something fundamental and wrong.

Lucien stood frozen a few feet away, dagger limp in his hand, his usually confident expression twisted with awe and fear.

The air crackled with energy, thick and suffocating. My outstretched hand still trembled, shadows coiling around my fingers like obedient snakes.

The creature let out a guttural growl, low and resigned, its glowing eyes locked onto me in something almost resembling… fear.

I clenched my fist.

“Be gone.”

A pulse of dark energy erupted from me in all directions. The Guardian’s massive form shuddered violently, its body breaking apart into swirling wisps of black mist. Its roar echoed through the clearing, a final sound of defiance before its form dissolved entirely.

The shadows scattered into the air like dying embers, then… silence.

[EVENT BOSS DEFEATED: SHADOWBOUND GUARDIAN]

* +3000 XP (EXP bonus applied due to class override)

* +5 Skill Points

* +15 Stat Points

* +Rare Drop: Abyssal Crown

* +Rare Weapon: Midnight Fang (Dagger)

* +Rare Armor Set: Empress of Shadows Attire

* +5000 Obsidian Crowns

[CLASS UPDATED: SUCCUBUS → SUCCUBUS DEMON LORD]

* New Skill Tree Unlocked

* Class-Specific Abilities Acquired

* Outfit Updated

I staggered back as my body was suddenly engulfed in swirling violet light. Glowing runes danced across my vision as my leather starter armor disintegrated into flecks of shadow and was replaced by something entirely different.

A flowing black and violet ensemble materialized over me—elegant yet sharp, adorned with intricate silver embroidery and glowing runic designs across the chest and sleeves. A corset secured across my chest that cupped my breast and revealed far too much, and a silk, obsidian undergarment that looked scarily like undergarments replaced my bottoms. My flimsy beginner gloves were replaced with clawed gauntlets of dark metal, a see-through tram hanging off the ends, and a faint, almost imperceptible crown of ethereal shadows hovered above my head.

The Midnight Fang, a sleek, obsidian dagger etched with glowing red veins, appeared at my side, fastened into an ornate sheath.

My HUD lit up with an array of unfamiliar skills and stats, far more intricate than before.

Lucien stumbled back a step, his voice trembling. “My Lady… I… I do not know what you have become, but it is… magnificent.”

I took a shaky breath, my hands flexing as residual energy crackled across my fingertips.

[LEVEL UP!] Congratulations! You have reached Level 10.

* Skill Points: +5

* Stat Points: +15

* New Skills Unlocked:

* Absolute Command (Control enemies briefly.)

* Crippling Aura (Debuff enemy attack stats in an area.)

* Abyssal Barrier (Temporary damage-absorbing shield.)

The silence was broken by Devon’s voice crackling back into the party chat, sharp and panicked.

[Devon]: Kiera—what did you do? Your class icon is… it’s not showing anything. It’s just blank. What did you type?

I opened my inventory and stared at the bounty of rare drops now sitting in my bags: the Abyssal Crown, the Midnight Fang, pieces of the Empress of Shadows Armor Set, and a glittering stack of Obsidian Crowns.

My stats were overhauled entirely, my skill tree branching out into complex patterns I couldn’t even begin to decipher.

This wasn’t just a class upgrade—it felt like I had overwritten something in the game’s code itself.

Lucien’s voice was still hushed with reverence. “My Lady… are you… are you one of them now? A being of the dark realms?”

I didn’t answer him. My fingers trembled as I scrolled through my HUD, the glitched class icon flickering in and out of view like corrupted data.

Finally, I whispered into the party chat.

“Devon,” I said, my voice hollow and trembling. “I think I just broke the game.”