[LOCATION: EMPIRE STATE BUILDING - SUB-BASEMENT] [TIME: 05:15 PM]
The Warden moved faster than lag.
One second he was at the elevator doors. The next, he was in front of Miller.
CRACK.
His black greatsword slammed into Miller's shield. This wasn't a normal attack. It was a [Moderator Strike]—an attack that ignored defense stats.
Miller didn't scream. He just flew. He hit the far wall with a sickening crunch and slid down, his HP bar flashing red.
[MILLER HP: 5%]
"Miller!" Sarah screamed, casting [Heal].
"Don't bother," The Warden said, his voice cold. He turned to me. "I turned off health regeneration in this room. You die here, Potato. Permanently."
He walked toward me. I was holding the [Sector 7 Master Key]—the glowing golden USB drive.
I aimed my Rusty Revolver at him.
KA-BLAM.
The green mana bullet hit his chest.
[IMMUNE]
The Warden laughed. He didn't even flinch.
"You think a test weapon can hurt me?" He sneered. "I have [GM Invulnerability]. I cannot be damaged by players lower than Level 50."
I backed up, hitting the wreckage of the Server Golem.
"You're cheating," I said, my mind racing. "You're using Admin powers to bully low-levels."
"I am the Admin," The Warden raised his sword. Dark purple energy swirled around the blade. [Skill: DELETE USER]. "And you are a glitch."
He swung.
I ducked. The blade sliced through the air where my head had been a millisecond ago. The wind pressure alone threw me backward. I crashed into the Golem's melted chest cavity.
My hand touched the hot metal of the server rack.
Wait.
The Golem was dead. But it was still a Server.
I looked at the USB drive in my hand. Then I looked at the exposed USB port on the Golem's neck.
"Dave!" I shouted. "Distract him!"
"Me?!" Dave squeaked from behind a rock. "He's invincible!"
"Throw money at him! Insult his mother! Do something!"
Dave stood up. He reached into his bag. He didn't have gold. He had the [Shield of Screaming Faces] that Miller had dropped.
Dave threw it like a frisbee.
SCREEEEEEEEE!
The shield sailed through the air, screaming its lungs out. It hit The Warden in the back of the helmet.
CLANG.
[IMMUNE]
It didn't hurt him. But it annoyed him.
The Warden spun around. "You little worm."
That one second was all I needed.
I jammed the [Master Key] into the Golem's port.
CLICK.
My vision turned gold.
[SYSTEM ALERT: EXTERNAL BOOT DRIVE DETECTED.] [LOADING: ROOT_ACCESS.EXE] [USER: JAX (ADMIN_TIER_0)]
The dead Golem shuddered. The monitors in its eyes flickered back to life—not red, but Green.
"What?" The Warden turned back to me. "What did you do?"
I stood up. I wasn't just Jax anymore. I was connected to the City's Core. I could see the code of the entire building flowing through the walls like the Matrix.
And I could see The Warden's source code.
[TARGET: THE_WARDEN] [ACCESS LEVEL: MODERATOR] [PERMISSIONS: BAN, MUTE, GENERATE_ITEM, GOD_MODE]
"You said you were the Admin," I said, my voice echoing through the Golem's speakers. "But you're just a Moderator. You have permissions. And permissions..."
I raised my hand. I made a pinching motion in the air.
"...can be revoked."
I mentally slammed the [ENTER] key.
> [ACCESS CONTROL LIST] > [TARGET: THE_WARDEN] > [ACTION: REVOKE_ALL]
The Warden's armor flickered. The purple glow around his sword vanished.
[SYSTEM ALERT: YOUR PERMISSIONS HAVE BEEN UPDATED.] [GOD_MODE: DISABLED] [FLAG: MORTAL]
The Warden stared at the notification. For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.
"No," he whispered. "You can't. I am the Law!"
"Not anymore," I said. "Now? You're just a player."
I looked at Vane, who was hiding in the shadows.
"Vane," I said. "He's vulnerable. He has no armor buffs. No invulnerability."
Vane grinned. It was a terrifying sight.
"Finally," the Assassin whispered.
SHING.
Vane appeared behind The Warden.
STAB.
This time, the blade didn't bounce off. It sank deep into the gap in The Warden's armor.
CRITICAL HIT! [-2,500 HP]
The Warden screamed. He stumbled forward, clutching his side. Red blood—real blood—leaked through his fingers.
"He bleeds!" Miller cheered, pulling himself up from the floor. "Get him!"
The Warden panicked. He swung his sword wildly, but without the System Assist, he was clumsy. I dodged. Vane dodged.
Sarah cast [Lightning Bolt] from the Book of Errors.
ZAP.
[-800 HP]
The Warden fell to one knee. His HP was dropping fast.
"You... you trash..." he gasped, looking up at me. "You think this is over? The Iron Vanguard is infinite. The System... the System will correct this."
"Let it try," I said, aiming my Rusty Revolver at his head. "Game over, Warden."
I pulled the trigger.
But The Warden didn't die.
He reached into his inventory and crushed a black crystal.
[ITEM USED: EMERGENCY LOGOUT (FORCED)]
His body began to glitch. He was dissolving into pixels.
"I will return," The Warden hissed as he faded away. "And when I do, I will bring the Devs."
POOF.
He vanished.
[COMBAT ENDED.]
Silence fell over the room. The Golem was dead (again). The Warden was gone.
And in my hand, the Master Key was pulsing.
[ZONE CAPTURED: SECTOR 7 (NEW YORK)] [NEW OWNER: JAX]
[REWARDS:] 1. [CITY CONTROL PANEL] 2. [10,000,000 GOLD (RECOVERED)] 3. [TITLE: THE GLITCH KING]
"We won," Sarah whispered, collapsing onto the floor.
"We rich!" Dave dove into the pile of gold coins that had spilled from the Golem's chest. "We are so rich!"
I walked over to the main console of the Golem. I typed a single command.
> [CITY_DEFENSE: ACTIVATE] > [TARGET: IRON_VANGUARD] > [ACTION: EXPEL]
Outside, in the streets of New York, the massive auto-turrets turned. They aimed at the confused Iron Vanguard soldiers.
"ATTENTION," my voice boomed across the entire city. "THE IRON VANGUARD HAS BEEN BANNED. YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES TO LEAVE THE SERVER."
I watched on the monitors as the tyrant's army routed. They ran. They teleported. They fled.
The city was free.
Miller limped over to me. He slapped a heavy hand on my shoulder.
"So," he grinned. "What do we do now, Mr. Mayor?"
I looked at the screen. I saw thousands of players celebrating in the streets. I saw the Potato wanted poster burning.
But then, I saw a new notification in the corner of my vision.
It wasn't green. It wasn't red.
It was Black.
[SYSTEM ALERT: ANOMALY DETECTED.] [SOURCE: SECTOR 7.] [ADMIN_PRIME HAS TAKEN NOTICE.] [INITIATING PURGE PROTOCOL IN 30 DAYS.]
I adjusted my glasses.
"What do we do?" I smiled, hiding the terrified shaking of my hands.
"Now," I said. "We get ready for the sequel."
[END OF VOLUME 2]
[STATUS:]
Jax: Level 20 (Class: Glitch King)
Miller: Level 21 (Class: Iron Tank)
Sarah: Level 20 (Class: High Mage)
Dave: Level 18 (Class: Gun-Merchant)
Base: Empire State Building Penthouse
Threat: PURGE PROTOCOL (30 Days Remaining)