Chapter 86: Fragments of the Fallen Crown

A symphony of plastic and metal rang out as ten fingers danced across a mechanical keyboard radiating a neon kaleidoscope of colors. The clatter of the keys echoed through the silent room, accompanied by the hurried clicks of a mouse.

“The last round!”

The man sat perched on his gaming chair, one leg tucked against the seat while the other remained firmly braced against the floor. His hands were a blur of motion, flying across the interface as he manipulated the digital world.

He was a man of twenty-two, with messy black hair and eyes as dark as a starless night. His build was nothing extraordinary—tall and lanky, a silhouette shaped by long nights and the pale blue glow of a monitor rather than the natural sun.

With a final click of his mouse, the character beyond the screen responded without a heartbeat of delay.

The avatar, a warrior whose white hair shimmered like moonlight, swung a longsword in a devastating arc, finally cleaving through the boss’s defenses.

After the final blow landed, the character’s radiant glow began to bleed away. His hair faded back to a dull blond as he ‘detransformed,’ his legendary weapon crumbling to dust.

The man slammed his palm against the desk with a resounding bang. “YES!!! That’s why I chose you, idiot!”

The room that surrounded him was a cathedral of neglect, littered with the holy relics of a shut-in: empty beer cans, skeletal noodle cups, and a drifting sea of miscellaneous trash.

It was a place where time held no meaning, where the owner hadn't lifted himself from his throne in days.

Fragments of the Fallen Crown is a game that the world dubbed the ‘impossible game,’ but I… I’ve already beaten ninety-nine bosses!

The man reached for a lukewarm beer, taking a long, celebratory pull as a faint smile cut across his face.

The only thing left is the final chapter.

“Did you guys see that? I’m just one step away from finishing the game!” he yelled at the camera attached to his monitor, his voice cracking with adrenaline. “Who said Riven was useless, huuuuuh?”

[SW999: Oh shut up, will ya?]

[Foodontable: Do a food review again!]

[KFZisgood: No he needs to do a vid of him cleaning his room first lol]

[AdhDGod: That character was actually good?]

[youCan’tplAy: Can’t believe anyone was able to even pass level 60]

[McisLife: Congratulations!]

<McisLife donated 50000 won through unsuper chat!>

Comments on the stream rose in a rapid blur, the automated voice of the donations echoing through the cluttered room. New viewers came pouring in, drawn by the scent of history in the making.

A long exhale escaped the man’s mouth as he tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling. The adrenaline was beginning to cool, replaced by the quiet hollowness of a journey nearing its end.

“Okay then, let’s move on!” He returned his hands to his tools, the keyboard and mouse, ready to cross the final threshold.

[Imlosttoo: Ohhh!!! You’re going forward just after!?]

[whathowwhy: Hoooo!!!]

[fadfj: Am I witnessing history?]

The man leaned forward, his face illuminated by the harsh glare of the monitor as he read the title of the final chapter.

They’re always so lazy when coming up with chapter titles.

It was simply named ‘End.’

He stared at the word for a few seconds, his expression shifting as the corner of his lip quirked downward.

“Only one chapter remaining, huh? …I think I’ll feel lonely without this game.” He hovered his cursor over the start button, a momentary hesitation flickering in his dark eyes. “Well, you gotta end what you started, I guess?”

But after his finger clicked down, the monitor didn't load the new chapter. Instead, it erupted in a blinding white light that scoured the room, turning the trash and the shadows into a bleached void.

Out of the brilliance, an ornate panel manifested inside the monitor.

‘Would you like to start the 100th chapter ‘End’ and complete the game?’

‘Yes                     No’

“What do you mean ‘yes or no’!? I already pressed start because I want to start it.” He scowled at the screen. Then he turned toward the chat. “Look at this, chat. Never happened before, right—!!?”

His face froze.

Something he had never seen—something no one could have expected—was happening in the chaotic sea of his chat. The thousands of voices, usually a riot of disagreement, had somehow harmonized into a singular chant.

[KFZisgood: Down]

[whathowwhy: Down]

[Foodontable: Down]

[AdhDGod: Down]

[LiteralOfTheMoon: Would you like to enter the 101st chapter ‘Change’ and continue the story?]

[Yes                     No]

[fadfj: Up]

[Imlosttoo: Up]

[McisLife: Up]

[youCan’tplAy: Up]

“Huh? …Are you guys pulling a prank on me?” He scratched the back of his head, looking dumbfounded at the screen. “It’s… not like you guys to act this cooperative. Hey… enough of that. And who the hell is this LiteralOfTheMoon guy?”

He waited for a punchline, but it never came. The chat didn't move, the viewer count hung frozen in the air, and the follower count remained static.

The world had gone silent, awaiting his move.

“So you want an answer that badly even if it’s a joke, huh?” He clicked his tongue before looking at the game’s prompt. “End the story,” he looked back at the chat, “…or continue.”

End… or continue? I really don’t have to think this deeply because it’s just those idiots’ question, but if I have to choose…

He looked directly into the camera with a smirk. “I will definitely continue onward if I get the chance.”

The moment the words left his lips, the power in the room vanished. The PC, for which he had forgotten to buy a UPS, went black instantly.

“N-no, no, no! Not now! I didn't save it!” He panicked, spinning around in his chair as he clawed at the dark air. “Why now of all—”

Suddenly, even the faint, silvery light of the night sky filtering through the window was snuffed out. The floor beneath his feet dissolved into nothingness, and his ‘precious computer’ vanished.

He was adrift in a place where the concept of ‘place’ no longer existed.

His mouth moved in a silent scream of panic, but no sound emerged. He reached out for anything to grasp, but there was neither soul nor object to find.

His body started to stretch, parts of him collapsing inward while others contorted outward into the dark. His limbs distorted and dissolved, his very existence being stripped away like layers of peeling paint.

It didn't hurt—which was somehow worse.

Once only his soul remained, flesh, veins, blood, and organs—all the things he had been stripped of—came rushing back from the darkness. But as they stitched themselves together, the form they took was not the one he remembered.

The darkness shattered into a blinding white. His senses, which had been dormant in the black, were suddenly assaulted by a riot of stimuli.

He heard the rhythmic strike of footsteps on stone, the murmur of a hundred voices, the low braying of animals, and caught the scent of spices.

“…What is this?” He looked down at himself, his mind a knot of confusion and fear.

His clothes were no longer his comfortable gaming rags; he wore a simple white shirt and sturdy brown trousers. But the change ran far deeper than fabric. His voice was higher, his height had shifted, and his skin felt different.

He caught a glimpse of himself in a dark window. There stood a boy around seventeen. Layered black hair with blue undertones fell over eyes that were a calculating gray, his skin as pale as parchment.

Around him, the denizens of a bustling market street went about their lives. Some glanced at the boy’s frozen, haunted expression and hurried past, while a few lingered, wondering if he was okay.

[Chapter 01: Beginning starts!]

“Huh?”

[Importing necessary information!]

Memories of places he had never walked, names of people he had never met, and faces of a family he had never known surged into his mind. At the same moment, a translucent purple window appeared before his eyes, hovering mid-air.

…

The boy stumbled down the cobbled street, his face pale and his mind spinning.

“No way. No way. No way!” he muttered to himself, his pace quickening until he was nearly running. “No way this is real… I’ve actually transmigrated? …And it had to be ‘that world’ of all places!?”

Fragments of the Fallen Crown’s story revolves around a protagonist in an elite magical academy. And the body I’m in just had to be scheduled to enter that same academy in two months!

He came to a stop at an elevated overlook that offered a sweeping view of the sprawling city below. He was alone here, the wind whipping through his dark hair.

I have no choice. Lucion Vale, a commoner, was pushed into the academy under a professor’s sponsorship. If I don't go, that woman will probably track me down and kill me herself. But how did a commoner even get into a place crawling with nobles and royals? Is that professor just bored, or is she insane?

He had a thousand questions, but the purple window in front of him—unseen by the rest of the world—demanded his attention.

[Chapter 01: Beginning has started]

“What is this? Is this like one of those RPG game systems? Can I see my stats and stuff?”

The moment the word ‘stats’ left his lips, the interface rippled and expanded.

[Name: Lucion Vale]

[Race: Human]

[Age: 17]

Attributes

• Attack: E

• Speed: D

• Defense: E

• Aether: F

• Intelligence: C

Skills

[Basic Aether Sensitivity (Common)]

• Allows the user to sense nearby Aether flow and detect basic fluctuations in energy.

[Mental Clarity (Common)]

• Improves focus and resistance against mental interference, panic, and confusion.

[Threaded Observation (Uncommon)]

• Enhances the user’s ability to follow movements, patterns, and interconnected details in real time.

[Perfect Recall (Rare)]

• Allows the user to remember information, images, sounds, and experiences with near-perfect accuracy.

Curses

[Black Vein Erosion]

• Aether slowly erodes the user’s internal Aether pathways.

“So it gives me this if I say ‘stats’?”

He stared at the glowing text, his gray eyes narrowing.

“If Lucion’s memories are right, this curse is the reason he couldn't use magic or high-level skills. Most people with this don't even live to see their twenties. I’m surprised I’m still breathing. But system… what are these trash attributes? Am I really this pathetic?”

He waited for a snarky reply, but the window remained silent.

Seems it can’t communicate. It’s just a passive interface, then. He looked up at the vast, unfamiliar sky. If this is a game… what would the typical commands be? For example—

“Missions.”

[Chapter 01: Beginning]

[Complete the following missions to earn rewards and dispel the curse]

[Story Mission: Enter the Onyx Spire Academy where nobles and royals reside as a Recommended Student]

[Sub Mission: Sprint 100Km to build up stamina]

[Sub Mission: Refine Aether Core until the attribute ‘Aether’ reaches C tier]

“Aha! I knew that would work!” A spark of his old gamer spirit flickered in his eyes, though it was quickly tempered by the daunting reality of the tasks. “But hey… 100km? Do I really have to run that far?”

He looked back down at the city, a long sigh escaping his lips. The sun was beginning to set, casting long, golden shadows over the stone streets.

“Whatever it is, looks like I have to get busy if I want to survive in the academy.”

I have so many questions: Who is LiteralOfTheMoon? What happened to the chat? But for now… I have to focus on keeping this heart beating.

He felt a faint, grim smile touch his lips.

At least I spent half my life mastering this game. I know where the secret items are, and I know all the shortcuts. I just have to make sure I don't break the script too much, or the future I’m counting on will vanish.