The Last Player: When the Game Became Reality

The Man Who Remembered

Ethan didn't notice the man following him.

He was too busy thinking about the registration crystal.

It had broken the moment he touched it.

That shouldn't have happened.

Even the highest-ranked players in the original game couldn't destroy an assessment crystal simply by touching it.

Unless—

Ethan stopped walking.

Mina nearly bumped into him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He glanced behind them.

The registration center was still crowded.

People were talking about the broken crystal.

Some were laughing.

Others were speculating.

The man in the dark coat was gone.

Ethan frowned.

"Let's go."

They walked several blocks before Mina finally spoke.

"You know you're acting strange, right?"

"Am I?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"You keep looking behind us."

Ethan smiled faintly.

"Old habit."

"From the game?"

"From surviving."

Mina didn't smile.

"You think someone is following us."

Ethan was quiet.

That was answer enough.

She lowered her voice.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"Could it be because of the crystal?"

"Probably."

"Then what do we do?"

"Nothing."

Mina stopped.

"Nothing?"

"Not yet."

Ethan looked toward the city.

People were already talking about the new Hunter rankings.

Videos were spreading across the internet.

The strongest players were becoming celebrities overnight.

Some had awakened rare classes.

Some had already reached Level 20.

A few were claiming to have discovered dungeons.

Everyone was rushing to become stronger.

Ethan wasn't.

He had learned something important.

The fastest person wasn't always the person who reached the finish line first.

Sometimes the person who survived longest was the one who understood when to slow down.

That afternoon, Ethan returned home.

His parents were watching the news.

A reporter was standing outside the Hunter Association.

"Registration numbers have exceeded expectations. Authorities have confirmed that awakened individuals will be classified from F-rank to S-rank..."

Ethan listened.

"...however, officials have stated that rankings beyond S-rank will remain confidential."

Ethan looked at the television.

So they've already realized it.

The original game had no public rank above S.

SS and SSS existed, but those rankings were never openly announced.

Most ordinary players didn't even know they existed.

The government was already hiding information.

Ethan didn't blame them.

The world had changed overnight.

If people knew there were beings capable of destroying cities, panic would spread even faster.

The reporter continued.

"Officials are also urging citizens to form organized parties rather than entering dungeons alone."

Ethan smiled.

That part was sensible.

Then the reporter mentioned something that made him stop.

"Several former players have begun forming guilds."

Names appeared on the screen.

Some were famous from the old game.

Others were completely new.

One name caught Ethan's attention.

Iron Crown Guild.

Ethan stared.

He knew that name.

In the original game, Iron Crown had once been a powerful guild.

But it had disappeared more than ten years before Ethan reached the top.

The guild leader had quit.

The members scattered.

Yet now—

Iron Crown had returned.

Ethan narrowed his eyes.

How?

Mina noticed.

"You know them?"

"Yes."

"Are they strong?"

"They could be."

"Could?"

Ethan looked at the screen.

"They weren't strong enough before."

That evening, Ethan went to the backyard.

He placed several stones on the ground.

Mina watched him.

"What are you doing?"

"Testing something."

He picked up one stone.

Then threw it.

The stone struck another.

Clack.

He picked up another.

Threw it.

Missed.

Again.

Missed.

Mina laughed.

"You're terrible."

"I know."

"Then why keep doing it?"

"Because I don't want to rely entirely on the system."

He picked up another stone.

This time—

Clack.

Perfect hit.

Ethan smiled.

The system appeared.

[ACCURACY IMPROVED.]

Then disappeared.

Mina stared.

"Did you see that?"

"Yes."

"So even normal practice affects your system."

"Apparently."

Ethan looked at his hands.

The world was becoming less like the game every day.

And somehow, that made him more interested.

Over the next several days, Ethan developed a routine.

Wake up.

Check on his parents.

Train.

Hunt low-level monsters.

Record everything.

Return home.

Study the system.

Sleep.

Repeat.

He didn't suddenly become powerful.

He didn't unlock a legendary skill.

He didn't discover a secret weapon.

His progress was painfully slow.

Level 6 became Level 7.

Then Level 8.

Then Level 9.

Mina was already Level 13.

Other players had reached Level 20.

Ethan remained far behind.

People who saw him hunting laughed.

"Isn't that the guy whose crystal broke?"

"Yeah."

"He's still Level 9?"

"Maybe his class is garbage."

Ethan ignored them.

He had stopped caring what strangers thought.

He had spent too many years being judged by people who knew nothing about him.

One evening, Ethan was hunting near the forest when he noticed something unusual.

A group of players had surrounded a wounded Goblin.

There were six of them.

The Goblin was Level 4.

The players were between Level 10 and 15.

It should have been an easy kill.

But the Goblin wasn't fighting.

It was protecting something.

A small hole in the ground.

Ethan stopped.

He watched.

One of the players raised his sword.

"Kill it."

The Goblin screamed.

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

He remembered something.

Monsters that protected territory usually had a reason.

He walked closer.

"Wait."

The group turned.

A tall man laughed.

"What?"

"Don't kill it yet."

"Why?"

"It's protecting something."

The man scoffed.

"It's a monster."

"So?"

"So we kill it."

He raised his sword again.

Ethan stepped forward.

"I'll buy it from you."

Everyone stared.

The man laughed.

"You want to buy a Goblin?"

"How much?"

"Are you serious?"

Ethan nodded.

The man looked him over.

"You don't even look strong."

"I'm not."

"Then why do you care?"

Ethan glanced toward the hole.

"Because something is inside."

The man smiled.

"Fine. Ten thousand."

Ethan handed him the money.

The group left.

Mina looked at him.

"You just paid ten thousand for a monster."

"I know."

"Why?"

Ethan crouched beside the Goblin.

"Because it was protecting something."

He carefully moved the dirt.

A small object was buried underneath.

A crystal.

Ethan picked it up.

The moment he touched it—

his system appeared.

[UNKNOWN OBJECT DISCOVERED.]

Then:

[LEGACY MATERIAL DETECTED.]

Ethan's eyes widened.

The crystal began glowing.

[HIDDEN POTENTIAL ANALYSIS: 5%]

The Goblin suddenly bowed its head.

Ethan stared.

"Interesting."

Mina crouched beside him.

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

The crystal changed color.

A symbol appeared inside it.

The same tower.

The same ring.

The same symbol from his grandfather's key.

Ethan slowly reached into his pocket.

He pulled out the key.

The two objects reacted.

BOOM.

A pulse of energy spread through the forest.

Every monster nearby froze.

Every player stopped moving.

For a few seconds, the entire forest became silent.

Then a voice echoed through Ethan's mind.

Not the system.

Not a monster.

Something deeper.

"You finally found the first fragment."

Ethan's eyes widened.

"Who are you?"

No answer.

The crystal cracked.

A small piece broke away.

Ethan caught it.

The voice returned.

"You were never meant to begin again."

Then silence.

The crystal turned to dust.

Ethan stared at his hand.

Mina looked frightened.

"What was that?"

Ethan slowly closed his fingers.

"I don't know."

But deep inside—

he knew someone was watching.

Someone who remembered the player he had once been.

Someone who knew about the Tower.

Someone who knew what had happened on Floor 1,000.

That night, Ethan couldn't sleep.

He placed the fragment beside his grandfather's key.

They fit together perfectly.

A tiny section of the tower symbol lit up.

Ethan stared at it.

Then his computer turned on.

He hadn't touched it.

The screen displayed a single message.

[LEGACY MEMORY RESTORED: 1%]

Ethan stood.

Another line appeared.

[MEMORY FILE: FLOOR 1000]

His breath caught.

The screen began loading.

1%

2%

3%

Ethan stepped closer.

Then—

the screen went black.

A voice whispered from the speakers.

A voice Ethan hadn't heard in three years.

His own voice.

"If you're seeing this..."

Ethan froze.

The recording continued.

"...then the game has finally become real."

The screen went dark.

Ethan stood motionless.

He had no memory of ever recording that message.

And yet—

the voice was unmistakably his.