The Last Player: When the Game Became Reality

The World Wasn't Ready

The streets no longer looked familiar.

Ethan had lived in the city for years. He knew which convenience store stayed open late, which alley was the quickest way to the train station, and which streets became crowded during rush hour.

Tonight, none of that mattered.

Cars were abandoned in the middle of intersections.

People ran past him without knowing where they were going.

Some were crying.

Some were shouting names.

Others stood completely still, staring at the blue windows floating in front of them.

Ethan kept walking.

The metal pipe was still in his hand.

It felt ridiculous.

If someone had shown him this scene three years ago, he would have thought it was a badly designed event from an online game.

But the blood on his arm was real.

The pain was real.

The smell of smoke was real.

And the dead Fang Rat lying behind him had been real.

His phone vibrated.

Mina: Where are you?

Ethan typed while walking.

On my way.

He looked at the road ahead.

Three blocks.

Maybe four.

He could make it in ten minutes.

If nothing happened.

Something happened.

A scream came from the alley.

Ethan stopped.

His first instinct was to keep walking.

Mina was waiting.

His parents were waiting.

He didn't have time to become a hero.

Then he heard a child's voice.

"Help!"

Ethan closed his eyes.

"Of course."

He turned into the alley.

________________________________________

A woman was pinned against a wall.

A Fang Rat was standing over her.

A little boy was crouched behind a trash bin.

The creature turned toward Ethan.

Its yellow eyes narrowed.

Ethan tightened his grip.

He had fought one already.

He knew what it could do.

But knowing something and being capable of doing it were two different things.

His forearm was still bleeding.

His breathing was uneven.

The Fang Rat charged.

Ethan waited.

Three attacks.

Leap.

Claw.

Bite.

He moved sideways.

The claws missed.

The creature turned.

Ethan swung.

The pipe connected with its skull.

The monster staggered.

Ethan stepped forward and struck again.

Once.

Twice.

The Fang Rat collapsed.

[FANG RAT DEFEATED.]

[EXP +8]

Ethan breathed heavily.

The woman stared at him.

"Thank you."

Ethan nodded.

He looked toward the boy.

"Are you hurt?"

The boy shook his head.

"Mom?"

The woman immediately hugged him.

Ethan turned away.

He wasn't used to people thanking him.

In the game, nobody thanked the player who killed a beginner monster.

They simply moved on.

He walked back toward the street.

The woman called after him.

"Wait!"

Ethan stopped.

She pointed at his arm.

"You're bleeding."

"I know."

"You should get that treated."

"I'll be fine."

She hesitated.

"What's your name?"

Ethan looked back.

"Ethan."

"Thank you, Ethan."

He nodded once.

Then left.

________________________________________

Halfway to Mina's house, Ethan noticed something strange.

The street ahead was completely empty.

Too empty.

He slowed down.

His eyes moved across the buildings.

Broken windows.

Abandoned cars.

No people.

No monsters.

Nothing.

Ethan's instincts told him to stop.

He did.

A second later—

BOOM!

Something crashed through the window of a building above him.

Ethan jumped backward.

A creature landed on the roof of a parked car.

It wasn't a Fang Rat.

Ethan stared.

Four legs.

Black fur.

Long claws.

A horn growing from its forehead.

His expression changed.

"That's not supposed to be here."

The creature snarled.

Ethan immediately opened his status window.

Then the monster's information appeared.

[DIRE HOUND]

[LEVEL: 7]

[RANK: E]

Ethan's face tightened.

Level 7.

E-rank.

On the first day.

That wasn't possible.

In the original game, Dire Hounds didn't appear until much later.

And certainly not on the streets.

The creature lunged.

Ethan ran.

He wasn't stupid enough to fight it.

The hound slammed into the wall behind him.

Concrete shattered.

Ethan sprinted down the street.

His heart pounded.

He turned into an alley.

The hound followed.

Too fast.

Ethan climbed a staircase.

The creature crashed through the entrance.

Ethan reached the second floor.

Dead end.

He looked around.

Nothing.

The hound slowly climbed the stairs.

Ethan's eyes moved across the room.

Broken furniture.

A window.

A fire extinguisher.

His gaze stopped.

He remembered something.

The old game had taught players one important lesson:

Never fight the enemy where it expects you to.

Ethan pulled the fire extinguisher from the wall.

The hound jumped.

Ethan sprayed directly into its eyes.

The creature recoiled.

He grabbed the extinguisher and swung.

CRACK!

The metal cylinder struck its horn.

The hound stumbled.

Ethan kicked a broken chair beneath its legs.

The creature fell.

Ethan ran.

He jumped through the window.

He landed on the roof of a lower building and rolled.

Pain shot through his shoulder.

But he got up.

Behind him, the hound smashed through the window.

Ethan ran again.

He didn't stop until he reached the next street.

He leaned against a wall.

His breathing was ragged.

Then the notification appeared.

[DIRE HOUND ESCAPED.]

[NO EXPERIENCE AWARDED.]

Ethan laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because he couldn't believe what had just happened.

He had been Global Rank #1.

He had defeated monsters that could destroy entire cities.

And now—

he had run from an E-rank monster.

He looked at his injured arm.

"Level one."

He whispered.

"I'm really starting from the bottom."

________________________________________

Mina's house was only two streets away.

Ethan finally reached it.

The front door opened before he could knock.

Mina pulled him inside.

"Ethan!"

She immediately grabbed his shoulders.

"You're bleeding!"

"It's nothing."

"You always say that."

He almost smiled.

She looked exactly as he remembered.

Same eyes.

Same expression when she was worried.

But there was something different now.

A faint blue light surrounded her hands.

Ethan noticed.

"So that's your class."

Mina looked at her palms.

"I don't understand it."

"You will."

"You sound confident."

"I know games."

Mina stared at him.

"That's not a game anymore."

Ethan's expression became serious.

"I know."

She looked toward the window.

"There are monsters everywhere."

"I've seen them."

"People are dying."

"I know."

"And the government is telling everyone to stay inside."

Ethan nodded.

"They're trying to organize."

Mina looked at him.

"You sound like you already know what's going to happen."

Ethan didn't answer immediately.

Because he did.

At least, he knew what happened in the game.

But this world was different.

The monsters were different.

The classes were different.

The system itself was different.

And that frightened him more than the monsters.

Mina noticed his silence.

"Ethan?"

He looked at her.

"I need to ask you something."

"What?"

"Did your system show you anything unusual?"

Mina thought.

"Not really."

"Nothing?"

She shook her head.

"Just the class."

Ethan nodded.

He didn't tell her about the message.

Legacy Data Found.

He didn't tell her about the hidden potential.

He didn't tell her the system had called him a different player.

Not yet.

________________________________________

A loud announcement suddenly came from outside.

Every blue screen in the city changed.

[WORLD SYSTEM NOTICE]

[THE FIRST AWAKENING PERIOD HAS ENDED.]

[ALL PLAYERS ARE ADVISED TO SELECT THEIR INITIAL PATH.]

A list appeared.

[COMBAT]

[MAGIC]

[SUPPORT]

[CRAFTING]

[EXPLORATION]

[OTHER]

Mina looked at Ethan.

"Which one should I choose?"

Ethan stared at the choices.

His answer came immediately.

"None."

"What?"

"Don't choose yet."

"Why?"

"Because the game is different."

Mina frowned.

"You keep saying that."

Ethan looked at the blue screen.

"I know what these paths are supposed to do."

He pointed toward the choices.

"But I've never seen this version before."

Mina slowly lowered her hand.

"So what do we do?"

Ethan looked outside.

Smoke was rising over the city.

Sirens echoed in the distance.

People were beginning to gather in groups.

Some were already talking about guilds.

Others were talking about becoming Hunters.

The world was reorganizing itself.

Faster than anyone could understand.

Ethan looked down at his injured arm.

Then at Mina.

Then at the screen.

"I start over."

Mina blinked.

"Start over?"

Ethan nodded.

"I spent fifteen years becoming the strongest player in the world."

He looked toward the city.

"And now I'm Level One."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"So I'll start at Level One."

The system suddenly flickered.

Ethan's smile disappeared.

A message appeared only on his screen.

[SPECIAL CONDITION DETECTED.]

Another line appeared.

[PLAYER ETHAN VALE HAS REFUSED ALL INITIAL PATHS.]

Then—

[HIDDEN REQUIREMENT: ACCEPTED.]

Ethan stared.

His heart began beating faster.

One final message appeared.

[SOMETHING HAS BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.]

The screen vanished.

Ethan stood completely still.

Mina looked confused.

"What happened?"

Ethan didn't answer.

He was staring at the empty space where the message had been.

For the first time since the game became reality, Ethan felt something he hadn't felt in years.

Not fear.

Not excitement.

Recognition.

As if the Tower had been waiting for him to return.