The Forgotten Supreme

[Forgotten Town of Elestra - Reintegrating Data]

The silence between them was thick.

Ethan stood in the shadow of a ruined building, his body tense. Across the cobblestone street, two players stared at him, their expressions shifting between confusion and wariness.

Their UI screens had flickered just seconds ago.

[Player Detected - Unregistered Entity]

Ethan's fingers twitched. That system message meant he was flagged.

Not as a normal player.

Not as an NPC.

But as something unknown.

The blonde player narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

His companion, a red-haired woman, instinctively reached for her weapon—a pair of twin daggers strapped to her hips.

Ethan remained still, watching their every movement. Unlike them, he had no armor. No proper equipment. Just a rusted sword at his hip and the faintest trace of Authority humming beneath his skin.

For the first time, he was face-to-face with real players. And unlike him, they had stats, levels, and abilities.

He was at a severe disadvantage.

The wind howled through the abandoned streets.

Ethan's gaze flickered across the town, taking in the surroundings with more clarity than before.

This place was ancient.

The stone buildings lining the roads were cracked and weathered, their wooden frames warped with age. Some houses had entire chunks missing, their edges pixelated and incomplete, like a corrupted save file struggling to reload.

Street lanterns swayed weakly from rusted metal poles, their glass covers fogged with dust. Every so often, Ethan could hear the distant groan of old wood shifting, as if the buildings were breathing—adjusting to their newly restored existence.

And yet…

There was no one here.

No NPCs. No quest markers. No ambient sounds beyond the occasional gust of wind.

A town with no life.

A place that had been wiped from the game.

And now, it was returning.

Because of him.

Leonhart, the blonde player, was still watching him carefully. His name tag hovered above his head:

[Leonhart - Level 19 - Guild: Ironclad]

The red-haired woman's tag read:

[Sera - Level 17 - Guild: Ironclad]

A guild.

Not good.

Guild players meant organized forces, and stronger connections to high-ranking figures in the game. If they became suspicious of him, things could escalate fast.

Ethan weighed his options.

•Option 1: Confront them directly. Risky. They had better equipment.

•Option 2: Hide his true identity and blend in. Could work—if they didn't already suspect him.

•Option 3: Flee. The safest choice, but it could make him look more suspicious.

His mind snapped into action.

He took a single step forward. Not aggressive, but not weak either. His expression remained neutral.

"Just another adventurer," Ethan said casually. "Same as you."

Leonhart crossed his arms, scanning Ethan up and down.

"Funny," he muttered. "Because this town wasn't on the map until five minutes ago."

Sera frowned, glancing around. The world was still shifting, the textures loading in real-time.

"This place was erased," she murmured. "But now it's back. Why?"

Ethan stayed silent, watching them closely.

Leonhart turned back to him. "You aren't in the player database," he said slowly. "That's… impossible."

Ethan clenched his fist. Shit.

The system had flagged him as an unregistered entity. If they dug deeper, they might find out more.

He needed to turn this around.

So he did what any smart player would.

He lied.

Ethan let out an exasperated sigh. "You think I know what's going on? I logged in, and next thing I know, I'm here. Then this damn system error kept flashing in my UI."

Sera hesitated. Doubt entered her expression.

Leonhart didn't look convinced, but he wasn't acting aggressive anymore. That meant he was thinking.

Then, Ethan threw in a bait.

"Besides," he said, nodding toward the town around them, "if this place was erased, doesn't that mean there's something valuable hidden here? Some kind of lost event, maybe?"

That got their attention.

Leonhart and Sera exchanged glances. The possibility of a hidden quest was too tempting for any player to ignore.

Ethan watched their expressions shift.

Good.

He had planted an idea in their heads.

If they thought he was just another player who stumbled onto something valuable, they'd be too focused on loot to question why he wasn't registered in the system.

Leonhart finally relaxed, rolling his shoulders.

"Tch. Fine," he muttered. "If you're lying, we'll find out soon enough. But if there's loot here, we're not letting you take it all."

Sera gave him a smirk. "First come, first served, yeah?"

Ethan nodded, keeping his expression calm. "Yeah. Sounds fair."

But inside, he was already planning.

He wasn't looking for loot.

He was looking for answers.

And if these two wanted to play treasure hunters?

He'd use that to his advantage.