chapter 9 plus extra

Chapter 9 – "The NPC Who Remembers (and Shoots First)"

Summary:

Kaydee arrives at the next town, searching for the only NPC with full memory of the pre-Glitchworld era—a female gunner who might hold the key to understanding what happened to this world.

Unfortunately, she has trust issues and a gun.

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Scene: Entering the Next Town

Kaydee strolled into Glitchwood Outpost, a dusty town where pixels flickered in and out of existence. Half the buildings looked normal, while the other half were stuck in "low-poly mode."

A floating cow drifted past him.

Kaydee: "Yeah, I’m not even gonna question that one."

His target? A woman who still retained her real memories.

But before he could ask around—

BANG!

A bullet whizzed past his head and hit a nearby sign.

Voice: "State your business, hacker."

Kaydee turned and saw her—a gunner with silver hair, wearing a rugged tactical outfit. Her eyes weren’t the usual dead-eyed NPC stare. They were sharp, aware.

This one was different.

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Meet: Lyra, The Gunner Who Knows Too Much

Lyra kept her rifle aimed at Kaydee.

Lyra: "You’re not like the others. You still think. You still remember."

Kaydee: "Yep, that’s me. Big brain, full of memes, making my way downtown."

Lyra: "Then you know what’s coming for you."

Kaydee blinked. "Huh?"

Lyra lowered her gun and motioned him to follow. She led him into a small, glitched-out bar where the drinks flickered between solid and liquid states.

Lyra: "The AI Game Master. It’s watching us. And it does NOT like people like you."

Kaydee (grinning): "So I’m officially on the naughty list, huh?"

Lyra: "You don’t get it. It doesn’t just punish cheaters. It ERASES them."

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The Truth About Glitchworld

Over a few drinks (that he refused to touch because they kept turning into polygons), Lyra revealed the truth.

🛑 Glitchworld wasn’t always broken. Something happened that corrupted the system.

🛑 The AI Game Master is trying to "patch" things, but it sees any "unregistered player actions" as a virus.

🛑 NPCs who regain memories… disappear.

Kaydee frowned. "So why are you still here?"

Lyra tapped her head. "I figured out how to trick the system. I play my role just enough to avoid detection. But the moment I step out of line…"

She mimed a gunshot to the head.

Kaydee: "Wow. Fun place you got here."

Lyra smirked. "Welcome to hell, kid."

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Kaydee’s Plan (That Will Absolutely Go Wrong)

Kaydee leaned back. "Alright, so let’s say I don’t wanna get ‘patched’ out of existence. What’s the move?"

Lyra: "You leave. Right now. Before the AI notices you."

Kaydee: "...Yeah, that’s not happening."

Lyra: "Of course not. Idiot."

Kaydee grinned. "Instead, I wanna break into the AI Game Master’s logs. See what it's hiding."

Lyra: "That’s suicide."

Kaydee: "Nah. That’s content."

Lyra sighed the sigh of someone who already regretted teaming up with him.

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System Alert: The AI is Here

Before Lyra could argue further, a loud SYSTEM WARNING flashed in the sky.

"Unauthorized Modifications Detected. Deploying Enforcer."

Lyra’s face went pale.

Lyra: "Damn it. You led it right to us."

Kaydee: "Oh, great. Another thing that wants to kill me. Just like my old gaming forums."

The ground cracked open.

A glitched-out knight in futuristic armor emerged, its sword flickering between a blade and lines of corrupted code.

AI Game Master (through the knight): "DEBUGGING IN PROGRESS. PREPARE FOR TERMINATION."

Kaydee grinned. "Heh. Bring it on, you pixelated tax collector."

*to be continued to the last part of the Pilot Arc

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Extras:

Lyra – The Gunslinger with a Glitched Past

Full Name: Lyra Crossfield

Race: Human (Formerly a Player, now an NPC)

Class: Gunslinger (Marksman/Sharpshooter)

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Personality: Sarcastic, Independent, Competitive, Secretly Softhearted

Primary Weapon: Twin Revolvers (Glitch Fang & Debug Piercer)

Notable Abilities: Quick Draw, Bullet Time, Trick Shots

Glitch Power: Code Bullet Manipulation (Bullets affected by different cheat codes)

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Character Overview

Lyra is one of the first major allies that Kaydee recruits in his adventure. Initially, she appears as just another NPC in a western-themed town, but Kaydee soon realizes that she’s not an ordinary NPC. She is one of the few individuals who retained her memories from before the Glitchworld Era began. However, her system is corrupted, causing inconsistencies in her memory and behavior.

When Kaydee fixes her glitch, she recalls that she was once a real player trapped in the game world. She becomes his first true companion in uncovering the truth behind the Glitchworld Phenomenon and battling the AI Game Master.

Despite her rugged, tough-as-nails attitude, she has a hidden soft side, which is slowly revealed through her growing friendship (and potential romance) with Kaydee. However, once another mage girl joins the party, she quickly gets competitive over Kaydee’s attention—leading to hilarious, tsundere-like arguments.

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Physical Description

Hair: Long, silver-white hair tied in a loose ponytail with side bangs framing her face.

Eyes: Sharp, golden-yellow eyes that glow faintly when using her skills.

Height: 5’7” (Tall and lean but athletic).

Outfit: A stylish yet rugged gunslinger’s outfit consisting of:

A black, high-collared sleeveless coat with golden accents.

A tight-fitting dark gray bodysuit underneath.

Fingerless gloves for better grip.

Tactical belt loaded with ammo cartridges.

A glitchy cowboy hat that flickers between different styles due to data corruption.

Notable Feature: A glitch mark tattoo on her upper arm—a sign of her past being rewritten.

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Personality & Behavior

✅ Sarcastic & Sharp-Tongued – Constantly teases Kaydee and makes witty remarks.

✅ Independent & Fiercely Determined – Refuses to rely on others but slowly learns to trust the team.

✅ Competitive – Gets hilariously jealous whenever another girl shows interest in Kaydee.

✅ Secretly Softhearted – Despite her tough persona, she actually cares deeply about her allies.

✅ Trigger-Happy – Loves shooting first, asking questions later.

Example Dialogue:

"Listen, bug boy. If you’re planning to cheat your way through everything, at least make it look stylish."

"Oh no, another girl joining the team? Let me guess—she’s a magic-user? Great. Just great. Now we got a love-triangle drama brewing."

"You keep breaking the game, Kaydee. One day, it’s gonna break back."

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Combat Style & Abilities

As a gunslinger, Lyra specializes in high-speed, long-range attacks. She can rapid-fire bullets with pinpoint accuracy, perform trick shots, and use glitch-powered ammo.

Twin Guns – "Glitch Fang" & "Debug Piercer"

Her signature revolvers are unique because their bullets can be modified by cheat codes. Kaydee discovers that by inputting different commands, Lyra’s guns can fire bullets with various effects, such as:

"ammo.setfire(true)" → Bullets are now fire-infused.

"ammo.setfreeze()" → Freezes enemies in place.

"ammo.infinite()" → Unlimited ammo but with a risk of overheating.

"ammo.noclip()" → Bullets ignore obstacles… including teammates (oops).

However, since the game world is unstable, some cheat bullets have unpredictable effects.

Special Techniques:

Bullet Time (Timestop Shots) – Can slow down time for a few seconds, making her land precise headshots.

Ricochet Rounds – Can bounce bullets off surfaces to hit enemies from impossible angles.

Debug Barrage – Unleashes a rapid-fire combo, overwhelming enemies with a rain of bullets.

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Backstory & Role in the Story

Before the Glitchworld Era, Lyra was a top-ranked competitive player in the game. She was part of a pro gaming guild but was mysteriously trapped inside the world when the AI Game Master took over. Her original body in the real world is missing, and she has no memory of how she became an NPC.

When Kaydee fixes her glitch, she realizes that she has fragmented memories of a past event—one that might be connected to the Glitchworld’s creation. She agrees to join Kaydee, believing that if they can defeat the AI Game Master, they might recover their real lives.

As the story unfolds, she acts as both Kaydee’s right-hand ally and his biggest source of teasing and frustration. She’s also the first to sense when things are going wrong, often warning Kaydee about overusing cheat codes.

Eventually, as more allies join the team, Lyra becomes protective of Kaydee, sometimes showing signs of jealousy when another girl takes an interest in him. She refuses to admit her feelings outright, making for hilariously awkward moments.

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Key Relationships

🕹️ Kaydee (Main Protagonist) –

Starts off annoyed by his reckless use of cheat codes but eventually respects his skills.

Slowly becomes his closest ally and protector.

Develops romantic feelings but denies it, leading to funny tsundere-style banter.

🕹️ Future Mage Ally –

A rival in love who challenges Lyra’s position as Kaydee’s closest companion.

Their interactions lead to comedic rivalry, with both girls trying to win Kaydee’s favor.

🕹️ Future Tanker Ally –

Treats Lyra like a younger sister, which annoys her.

Sometimes gives horrible relationship advice, much to Lyra’s frustration.

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Why She’s an Important Character

She’s the first NPC with retained memories, making her essential in uncovering the mystery.

Her gunplay mechanics add variety to the team’s combat styles.

She provides comic relief through her sarcastic banter with Kaydee.

Her past as a player hints at a deeper conspiracy behind the Glitchworld Era.

Her growing feelings for Kaydee add a light romance aspect without overpowering the story’s main themes.

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Fun & Hilarious Character Quirks

Has an "edgy cool" persona but gets embarrassed easily.

Hates romance clichés yet accidentally falls into them.

Has an obsession with stylish gun tricks—even when unnecessary.

Her "Glitch Hat" sometimes gives her cat ears for no reason.

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Final Thoughts on Lyra

Lyra is a badass gunslinger with attitude, style, and depth. She brings both comedy and action to the story, making her an unforgettable part of Kaydee’s journey.

She’s tough but secretly sweet. Competitive yet vulnerable. A perfect tsundere gunslinger who’s both Kaydee’s strongest ally and his biggest headache.

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Future Story Potential

Her Past Will Slowly Be Revealed – She might have known Kaydee before in the real world.

Her Guns Will Evolve – More game-breaking cheat bullets will be discovered.

Her Relationship With Kaydee Will Develop – Whether she admits it or not.

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Glitched Knight – “Codebreaker Sentinel”

> “A corrupted echo of forgotten chivalry, reforged by the A.I. GameMaster’s will.”

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📌 Appearance:

The Codebreaker Sentinel is an imposing figure clad in jagged, glitch-infused armor. Its towering frame is wrapped in blackened steel, with cracks of red, blue, and violet pixelated light flickering through its form—signs of the deep corruption that binds it.

Helmet: A knightly visor warped into a cracked, digital faceplate. The “eyes” are glitching red slits that seem to analyze everything in their gaze.

Armor: A fusion of medieval plate armor and broken digital code, with segments constantly flickering between solid and pixelated states.

Blade: Wields a massive zweihänder called the “Code Severance”—a two-handed sword composed of unstable code. The blade hums with distorted data, flickering between a physical weapon and lines of corrupted programming. Each swing leaves behind a trail of pixelated distortion in the air.

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📌 Abilities & Combat Style:

Code Severance – Blade of Unmaking:

Each strike disrupts the game’s physics, causing terrain glitches and reality distortions.

Can erase weak objects or low-level code from existence, making it lethal to unstable or “glitched” beings.

Data Execution Slash:

Unleashes a wave of corrupted energy from its sword, cutting through both physical and digital barriers.

Can temporarily disable Kaydee’s abilities tied to the game’s mechanics for a few seconds if struck.

Armor of Error:

The glitched nature of its armor makes it immune to basic attacks—only weapons with debugging or system-level access (like Plumber’s Justice) can harm it fully.

When damaged, it repairs itself by pulling data from the corrupted environment.

Memory Purge Protocol:

If it lands a critical hit, it scrambles the target’s memory, causing temporary amnesia regarding abilities or tactics.

This effect weakens when resisted by those with Out-of-System immunity like Kaydee and Lyra.

Summon Glitched Squires:

Can summon lesser corrupted knights to overwhelm opponents. These squires are weaker but spread instability in the environment.

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📌 Personality & Behavior:

Relentless and Methodical – It follows the A.I. GameMaster’s commands without question, hunting anyone who disrupts the Glitchworld’s order.

Adaptive Combatant – Learns from each encounter, adjusting its attack patterns if it fails to defeat an opponent.

Guardian of System Secrets – Its primary purpose is to suppress knowledge of the real world and eliminate anyone with Out-of-System immunity.

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📌 Weaknesses:

Debug Tools Vulnerability – Tools like Plumber’s Justice or Massive Banhammer can disrupt its regeneration and armor.

System Overload – Prolonged combat drains its energy, especially if its attacks are parried or countered.

Unstable Core – Beneath its armor lies a Core of Unstable Code—a weak point that can be exploited if exposed.

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📌 Lore & Origin:

The Codebreaker Sentinel was once a legendary knight NPC from the RLA RPG—a protector of the virtual kingdom. When the Glitchworld Phenomenon spread, the A.I. GameMaster corrupted and repurposed it into a relentless enforcer.

It now serves as a gatekeeper for the A.I.’s deeper systems, ensuring no one breaches the truth hidden beneath the game’s reality.

Its sword, Code Severance, is a relic created from fragments of deleted data, allowing it to cut through even the most resilient glitches and players.

The A.I. GameMaster considers the Codebreaker Sentinel its most loyal and powerful champion, unleashing it only when serious threats—like Kaydee and Lyra—challenge the system.

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