The Last Player: When the Game Became Reality

The Choice He Refused

Ethan didn't sleep.

Again.

He sat on the floor of Mina's living room with his back against the sofa, staring at the place where the blue message had disappeared.

Something has been waiting for you.

He had replayed the words in his head so many times that they had begun to lose meaning.

Mina sat across from him.

"You've been quiet for twenty minutes."

"I'm thinking."

"You've been thinking for twenty minutes."

"That's usually how thinking works."

She frowned.

"You're making jokes now?"

Ethan looked at her.

"Sorry."

She sighed.

The apartment was quiet except for the sounds coming from outside.

Sirens.

Car horns.

People shouting.

Occasionally, something would crash in the distance.

The world was still falling apart.

Yet inside the apartment, there was a strange sense of calm.

Mina broke the silence.

"You really know this game that well?"

Ethan looked down.

"I used to."

"How much?"

He hesitated.

"Enough."

"That's not an answer."

"It was my life."

Mina's expression softened.

She knew what that meant.

She had known Ethan since they were children.

She had watched him disappear into his room for days.

She had watched people mock him for spending all his time playing.

She had also been one of the few people who knew that he wasn't simply playing for fun.

He was running away.

From school.

From people.

From the things he couldn't change.

From himself.

Mina leaned against the sofa.

"Do you regret it?"

Ethan didn't answer immediately.

Outside, a siren passed.

"I don't know."

"You spent fifteen years on it."

"I know."

"You became number one."

Ethan smiled faintly.

"For a while."

"What do you mean?"

"I was number one."

Mina looked at him.

"You're still number one."

Ethan shook his head.

"Not anymore."

He looked at the blue status window floating in front of him.

Name: Ethan Vale

Level: 1

Class: None

Rank: Unranked

He almost laughed.

"Look at me."

Mina didn't understand.

"What?"

"I spent fifteen years climbing that Tower."

He pointed toward his status.

"And now a Level 1 monster nearly killed me."

"You survived."

"Because I ran."

"You still survived."

Ethan looked at her.

She smiled.

"Maybe that's where you should start."

________________________________________

The next morning, the government issued its first emergency announcement.

Every television displayed the same official message.

[NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARATION]

Citizens are advised to remain indoors.

Do not approach monsters.

Do not enter unidentified dungeons.

Awakened individuals are advised to report their abilities to the nearest registration center.

A man appeared on the screen.

He looked exhausted.

Behind him stood several military officers.

"The government is currently working with international organizations to understand the situation."

Ethan watched silently.

The official continued.

"We have confirmed the appearance of creatures previously known only from the game Eternal Ascension of Tower."

Mina glanced at Ethan.

The official continued.

"We have also confirmed that players are capable of gaining levels and abilities through combat."

A list appeared on the screen.

F-RANK

E-RANK

D-RANK

C-RANK

B-RANK

A-RANK

S-RANK

Ethan leaned forward.

"Already?"

Mina looked at him.

"What?"

"The ranking system."

"What about it?"

"It's too early."

"For what?"

"For them to know the ranks."

Ethan stood.

"They're copying the game."

Mina followed him with her eyes.

"Isn't that good?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because if they're copying the game..."

He stared at the television.

"...then somebody knows more than they should."

________________________________________

By noon, the streets had become quieter.

Not safer.

Just quieter.

People had learned quickly.

The first day had been chaos.

The second day was fear.

By the third, people were beginning to adapt.

That was something Ethan remembered well.

Human beings were surprisingly good at adapting when survival became the only option.

Mina stood in front of Ethan.

"Ready?"

He nodded.

She raised her hand.

A pale light gathered around her palm.

"I still don't know how to control it."

"You'll learn."

"How?"

"Practice."

"That's your advice?"

"Pretty much."

She rolled her eyes.

"You really haven't changed."

Ethan smiled.

They left the apartment.

Their destination was a small shopping district several blocks away.

They needed food.

Medicine.

Water.

And something Ethan hadn't told Mina.

He wanted to find a weapon.

The metal pipe wasn't going to save him against the next E-rank monster.

They walked carefully.

Every few minutes, Ethan stopped.

He listened.

Looked around.

Checked rooftops.

Mina noticed.

"You're really paranoid."

"Alive."

"What's the difference?"

"Paranoia keeps you alive."

She laughed.

"Fair."

They reached a convenience store.

The glass doors were broken.

Shelves had been overturned.

Food was scattered across the floor.

Ethan stepped inside.

"Take whatever we can carry."

Mina grabbed a bag.

They began filling it.

Canned food.

Bottled water.

Medicine.

Batteries.

Anything useful.

Then Ethan heard something.

A faint scratching sound.

He stopped.

Mina looked at him.

"What?"

He raised one finger.

Silence.

There.

Again.

Scratch.

From behind the storage room.

Ethan slowly reached for the metal pipe.

Mina's hands began glowing.

The storage door moved.

Something was behind it.

Ethan whispered:

"Stay behind me."

The door suddenly burst open.

A small creature jumped out.

Mina screamed.

Ethan swung.

Bang!

The creature flew sideways.

It hit the wall.

Ethan froze.

It wasn't a monster.

It was a cat.

A terrified orange cat stared at him from the floor.

Mina covered her mouth.

"Oh."

Ethan lowered the pipe.

The cat hissed.

Mina crouched.

"Poor thing."

Ethan sighed.

"Nearly killed a cat."

"You nearly killed me."

"I thought it was a monster."

"You hit it first."

"Instinct."

Mina picked up the cat.

The animal immediately buried its face against her jacket.

Ethan stared.

"You've adopted it."

"No."

The cat tightened its grip.

Mina smiled.

"Maybe."

Ethan shook his head.

They continued searching.

For the first time since the world changed, Ethan smiled genuinely.

It lasted only a few seconds.

Then—

BOOM!

The entire building shook.

The cat jumped from Mina's arms.

Ethan immediately turned toward the entrance.

Outside, people were screaming.

Mina's expression changed.

"What was that?"

Ethan grabbed his pipe.

"Not a monster."

"How do you know?"

He looked at the blue notification appearing in front of him.

[EMERGENCY EVENT DETECTED.]

Another message followed.

[UNIDENTIFIED DUNGEON HAS APPEARED.]

Then:

[DISTANCE: 127 METERS.]

Ethan stared at the number.

His face became serious.

"That's close."

Mina swallowed.

"What happens if we go there?"

Ethan looked at her.

"In the old game?"

"Yes."

"Nothing good."

Another explosion shook the building.

The windows rattled.

Ethan looked outside.

A massive crack had appeared in the road.

Blue light was pouring from beneath it.

People were running away.

Ethan remembered something.

There was no dungeon in this location in the original game.

Not on Floor 1.

Not on any early map.

He walked toward the window.

The blue light became brighter.

A black stone structure slowly rose from beneath the street.

A doorway appeared.

And above it—

a symbol Ethan had never seen before.

His stomach tightened.

"What is that?"

Mina stood beside him.

"You recognize it?"

Ethan shook his head.

"No."

That answer frightened him more than anything else.

He knew the Tower.

He knew the game.

He had memorized its maps.

He knew almost every dungeon entrance.

But this place wasn't part of it.

The system displayed one final message.

[SPECIAL DUNGEON DISCOVERED.]

Then:

[RECOMMENDED LEVEL: 10+]

Ethan looked at his status.

Level 1.

Mina looked at hers.

Level 2.

Neither of them said anything.

Then Ethan noticed another line beneath the dungeon warning.

His expression changed.

[SPECIAL CONDITION: FORMER PLAYER REQUIRED.]

Mina turned toward him.

"Ethan..."

He stared at the message.

His name appeared beneath it.

[DESIGNATED PLAYER: ETHAN VALE.]

The screen disappeared.

For several seconds, Ethan couldn't speak.

The dungeon wasn't random.

It had been waiting for him.

Mina quietly asked:

"Are you going in?"

Ethan looked toward the black entrance.

Every sensible part of him said no.

He was Level 1.

He didn't have a class.

He didn't have proper equipment.

He didn't even know what was inside.

But another part of him—the part that had spent fifteen years climbing an impossible tower—had already made the decision.

Ethan tightened his grip on the pipe.

"Not yet."

Mina looked surprised.

"Really?"

"We're not ready."

He turned away from the dungeon.

"First, we get stronger."

Then he looked back at the entrance.

"And when we're ready..."

His eyes narrowed.

"...we find out why it knows my name."

Far above the city, hidden behind the clouds, a blue screen flickered into existence.

No human saw it.

No Hunter detected it.

No system announcement accompanied it.

Only one line appeared.

[THE PLAYER HAS RETURNED.]

Then another.

[BEGIN PREPARATION.]