Ethan

Ethan stared at the sky. What was this dream, this vision he just had? Was that a real person? Was the blue eyed, long haired boy real? "Urk..," he cried, as his head started throbbing once more. Various scenes were etched into his mind- places that he had never seen, yet felt familiar to him. The boy was real. And somehow, Ethan had inherited his memories.

Ethan slowly got up. The sun was dimming as the day came to a close. "Those assholes! They beat me up so badly! Aahhh..I'm definitely gonna get them back for this!" He sighed. His dad wouldn't be happy when he got home. He always worried his dad by getting involved with idiots like Douglas and his gang. But he couldn't help it. Getting beaten up was better than shutting up. It was the only way he could stay sane.

Tap...tap...tap. Ethan shuffled along as he walked back home. He'd inherited the memories of a random boy. So now what? Who did this, and why did that person do this to him? Surely, there must be some meaning to this. Ethan searched through the boy's memories. He truly led a pitiful existence. Thta, of course, meant that he was a lot like Ethan.

Ethan.....wasn't Ethan anymore. He wasn't the boy either. Inheriting both of their memories had changed him into something that was and wasn't Ethan or the boy. He was similar enough to consider himself Ethan Miller, yet different enough to consider himself the boy.

The boy! What was his name? How was he connected to Ethan? He was a lonely orphan with no friends. He liked reading webnovels. His favourite webnovel was- The Ghost System. Ethan suddenly stiffened. He quickly recalled the story's setting. Noah Evans, a boy who lost his parents to a monster attack when he was young. He was the protagonist and.....

Ethan sat down. He franctically tried to recall any details that might prove his hypothesis. The world had gates and gatekeepers. This was strange enough, as most novels called these people awakeners. Awakeners were humans above H rank, and gatekeepers were awakeners who delved into gates. What else was similar?

The world was largely under the influence of five families, descendants of the great five B rank heroes who saved humanity in 2032. Ethan's face paled. Many details, including the names and structures of the 5 families was exactly the same.

"Huu...."Ethan took a deep breath. Things were slowly starting to become more apparent. What were the chances that a webnovel he had read could predict the future? But he still wasn't convinced. After all, there was a chance that all of this was just a delusion concocted by him. That may be why the events in the supposed webnovel resembled reality.

Noah Evans. He was supposed to be famous by 2252, having gotten his system when he was 14 years old, in 2251. What was the year now? 2022, no, 2252. Ha! There was nobody called Noah Evans. This was just a dream after all!

Was Crookie a dream then? No! He had felt too real. Ethan quickly checked his phone. 'Breaking news! A new S rank potential awakener has been born!' 'Noah Evans, survivor of the tragedy of Knightsville, revealed to be an S rank potential awakener' Numerous headlines flashed as they confirmed Ethan's suspicions.

There were too many coincidences. The boy's memories, Noah's public reveal, Ethan's fusion with the boy- all these things happening at the same time was highly unlikely. Yet, they did! Ethan was convinced that he wasn't crazy. He had acquired knowledge of many events and calamities that were going to descend upon the world.

S rank potential awakeners were rare. Almost all S rank gatekeepers were either employed by the five families, or by the Awakened Protection Force, a government organisation. But their numbers were low. Currently, there were less than twenty S rank gatekeepers of the one million gatekeepers humanity possessed. An S rank potential awakener being discovered was big news. It was a dangerous event that could shake the balance between the 5 families and the government. If the boy's memories could predict an event of such a large scale, the possibility of the webnovel accurately predicting the future was quite high.

Honk! Honk! Ethan stared at the road as a large, white hover truck speeded past. "Technology sure has come far, hasn't it," he wondered. He knew the future. He knew what was going to happen. But should he tamper with the flow of time? This world was cruel to him. 75% of the world was infested with monsters, yet within the little land they had, humans had never changed.

The knowledge of future events was undoubtedly something that would allow Ethan to thrive in the world. With the stuff he knew, getting rich and acquiring political power was possible. Yet...he didn't want that. What he wanted, what the boy had wanted, was simply to be free.

Ethan was trapped, destined to risk his life to survive in dangerous gates, earning next to nothing. His life would be full of hardship, surrounded by people who wouldn't hesitate to remind him how pathetic he was. And there would always be a Douglas waiting for him, some asshole who would enjoy crushing him just because he was stronger.

Ethan wanted to escape this fate. He wanted to transcend all of these boundaries, becoming someone who was truly at the top. He wanted to soar high and feel the wind in his face, not stay shackled and be abused for the rest of his life. He wanted to become strong. Stronger than he was now. Stronger than anybody was. So strong, that even if the 5 families wanted to kill him, they'd be unable to do so. So strong, that he'd be able to live peacefully and keep his family safe.

Ethan dusted his pants as he stood up. He was determined. He would get strong. He'd get into Keystone Gatekeepers School, train like hell, and become a gatekeeper. He'd become an S rank, no, an SS rank gatekeeper. He'd surpass the five families. And by golly, he'd kick Douglas, James, and their pathetic gang's asses.

Ethan ran. He ran as fast as he could. The wind whistled past his face. He ran so fast that his legs ached, but he didn't care. He had never felt more alive. "Ethan? Where have you been? Why are you running? Is somebody chasing you?" Ethan heard his dad's voice. He had a worried look on his face. "Hey dad.....pant....pant....I was just....pant....coming home. You didn't need to....pant....come looking for me."

Ethan's dad's face suddenly turned serious. "What's this? Are you hurt? Why is your lip bleeding? Did you get into a fight?" Carl Miller unleashed a barrage of questions on his son. "No dad, I just fell down and hit my head. I fainted," replied Ethan nonchalantly. "What do you mean you fainted? Do you know how worried I was? And those bruises aren't something you get from hitting your head!" "Relax dad," smiled Ethan. "Why would I lie? Anyways, let's go back home. I'm starving!"

"Hu....What am I going to do with this kid," sighed Carl. He knew something was afoot, but decided not to pry. After all, if Ethan didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to force him. "Hey dad! How was work today? Did you kill any new monsters?" "Umm, not that I know of." "Oi dipshit! Why are you so late? Dad was waiting for you." The door to Ethan's house was flung open as his sister marched out. "I fell," said Ethan simply. "Huh? You fell? You fucking with me or something?"

"Estelle! Where did you learn to speak like that," yelled Ethan's father. "What do you mean? I' just speaking like I always do!" "What do you mean? What are they teaching you at school? Seriously,..." Ethan stared at his father and sister bickering amongst themselves. The boy never had any family. The only person he had cared about was Crookie. Watching his family warmed his heart. He'd learnt to value his family after he had seen the boy's memories- even more so after he had experienced what it was like to live without one. He smiled. "Let's have dinner now. You guys can have your language lessons after we eat. I'm starving!" "Yeah sure, let's go. Wait, why's your lip bleeding? Did something happen to you? You didn't..."

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Scribble...scribble....scribble. Ethan glanced at the clock placed on his desk. 1:03 a.m. He stretched his arms as fatigue slowly overtook him. The first thing he had done was create a diary consisting of all the important events that would take place, and the potential assets he could monopolise. He hadn't read 'The Ghost System' completely. The author of the book had announced a hiatus just before the final arc had started. Many things, including the source of gates and monsters were unknown to him. But there were enough things that he could monopolise.

The only way to increase one's potential was to harvest cores from the hearts of monsters and absorb them through a special machine called a mana cutter. However, mana cutters weren't created for that purpose.

Mana cutters were used to process mana stones, mana pools, and monster cores into electricity. Monster cores were extremely rare. Increasing one's potential involved exposing a human body to a semi-processed core, which increased their mana capacity.

Or so Ethan had believed. The boy's memories revealed that this was a sham. The five families had managed to create a machine that allowed a human body to absorb monster cores with perfect efficiency, without any risk. Ethan swore. This was serious. If this got out, people wouldnt stay quiet.

The sale of monster cores was strictly prohibited, citing safety issues, and the vast majority of people believed that everybody's potential was set at birth. But Ethan could guess where all of those monster cores were going. Right into the hands of rich families! Actually, it made perfect sense! Literally every rich family saw stronger gatekeepers every generation, although the gap between generations grew smaller.

But knowing all this didn't help Ethan. Potential was practically set in stone when you turned 12. So absorbing monster cores was impossible. But there was another way. He circled a word written in capital letters. 'RAGNAROK'.

Everybody knew what ragnarok was. It was a terrible catastrophe that struck Knightsville, a border city located near Sector E. Sector E contained a dangerous A rank dungeon, and its inhabitants- the frost and fire giants- had trampled over Knightsville, causing the worst tragedy in modern times.

Ragnarok was called so after hearing people's description of the tragedy that befell Knightsville. The descriptions were so horrific that it was thought to be as bad as when the gates had first opened. And Ragnarok was where Noah had lost his parents.

Noah had fallen into a large pit where he had gained his system when he had returned to Knightsville a year ago. That pit was special. It also contained one of the few other ways to increase potential. Getting to Knightsville wouldn't be that tough. It was around fifty kilometres from Centin, so it wasn't too far. But Knightsville was full of monsters. Going unarmed was akin to suicide.

Ethan took a deep breath. A part of him wanted to see the area where the protagonist, no, Noah got his powers. But going there would be tough. It was currently February. The KGS entrance test was in July, 5 months from now. He'd have to leave for Knightsville in a month at most, or he wouldn't be able to get in. He took a deep breath.

First things first, he had to start sensing mana. That was the minimum requirement to take down G rank monsters. He'd have to start sensing mana in one month by any cost. Then, he'd make his way to the pit. "Hu...." Ethan sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a tough day. But he didn't resent it. He was looking forward to the next day for once.

Ethan's path was going to be full of difficulties. He couldn't be as brazen as Noah. He had his family to protect, after all. He'd have to be quiet. He'd have to amass power without anybody finding out. He'd slowly grow stronger, keeping his family safe along the way. He'd stay quiet for now. But one thing was certain. When he would show himself, nobody would be able to ignore him. He would shake the world.