Shadows of the Past Beta Days

Fin couldn't sleep.

Lying in bed, staring at the faint glow of his phone screen, his mind drifted back to the early days of Ram Online. Back before the leaderboards, before the sponsorships, before the game became a worldwide sensation.

He had been there from the start. Closed beta. A time when Ram Online was just another MMORPG in a sea of failed projects. The servers were small, the community even smaller. It wasn't about fame or clout back then—it was about the thrill of discovery.

And Fin had been one of the best.

No, he had been the best.

His character, Kuma, was a name whispered in the PvP arenas, a legend in the speedrunning scene. His strategies were ahead of their time, his reflexes god-like. He mapped out boss mechanics before guides existed. He had theorycrafted builds that were considered broken years later. If you played competitively back then, you knew his name.

But the game didn't pay the bills.

He remembered the moment he left. Real life came knocking—bills to pay, responsibilities piling up. He had no choice but to walk away. Ram Online became a distant memory.

He told himself it wasn't a mistake.

Yet… watching Ren live the life he once dreamed of made it hard to breathe.

Revisiting Ram Online

The next day, Fin couldn't focus at work. He tried to drown himself in spreadsheets, in mindless tasks, but something gnawed at the back of his mind.

Maybe… he could still do it.

That night, as soon as he got home, he dusted off his old PC. The Ram Online launcher was still there, buried under forgotten folders. The game's icon was different—sleeker, modern, unfamiliar.

After an eternity of updates, the login screen loaded.

The music hit him like a punch to the gut.

Pure nostalgia.

The character select screen appeared, and there he was—Kuma.

A Level 80 Swordsman. Once a titan in the game, now… outdated. His armor was obsolete. His weapons, once the best in the game, were laughable now.

Fin spawned into the starting town.

Everything was different, yet the same. The graphics had been overhauled, the NPCs looked sharper, but the streets were laid out exactly how he remembered them. He walked through familiar paths, retracing the steps of his past self.

Then, he tested himself.

He entered Scarlet Caverns, one of the dungeons he had once memorized to perfection. He had soloed this place blindfolded before.

Now?

The mobs moved differently. Their attack patterns were smarter, their AI unpredictable. His once god-like reflexes felt sluggish. His combos—instinctual back then—felt rusty.

He barely made it to the first checkpoint before getting wiped out.

This isn't the game I remember.

Frustrated, Fin logged off, staring at the blank screen.

"What the hell am I doing?" he muttered.

It was over. That chapter of his life was over.

A Return to Legacy

Yet, the next day at work, he couldn't shake it off.

That night, he logged back in.

Not to fight.

Just to walk.

He wandered through old haunts—the PvP arena, the forgotten grinding spots, the market districts where he once dominated the economy.

Eventually, his feet led him to a place he hadn't thought about in years.

Twilight Sanctum.

One of the first dungeons he ever mastered.

At the entrance, a massive leaderboard display caught his attention.

"Fastest Clear Times (All-Time Records)"

Curious, he clicked on it.

The list loaded.

1st – Crowd – 5:58

2nd – Kuma – 6:43

3rd – ??? – 6:55

4th – ??? – 6:58

His breath caught.

I'm still here?

Scrolling through other dungeons, Kuma's name was everywhere—2nd, 3rd, sometimes 4th.

A strange mix of pride and disbelief swirled in his chest.

Despite the years, despite the new updates, his legacy still existed.

But one name kept showing up.

Crowd.

He had never seen this name before.

Who the hell was Crowd?

The Weight of the Past

Fin leaned back, staring at the screen.

He should've felt proud that Kuma's records still held up.

But all he could see… was Crowd's name above his.

Every. Damn. Time.

This wasn't just some new kid on the block. This player had rewritten the history of Ram Online.

And Fin had no idea who they were.

He exhaled slowly.

I need to know.

Researching Crowd

He pulled up YouTube.

"Crowd Ram Online Highlights"

The first video had 2.3 million views.

Fin clicked.

What followed was a montage of absolute destruction.

Crowd's character—a high-level Assassin—moved unlike anything Fin had ever seen. He wasn't just fast. He was flawless. No wasted motion. No unnecessary dodges. Every move calculated, every second optimized.

The comments were flooded with praise:

▶ "Crowd is insane! Best Assassin in the game, no doubt."

▶ "Bro moves like he's reading the opponent's mind."

▶ "That reaction time is unreal."

Fin clicked on another video.

"Crowd's Last PvP Tournament - International Solos Grand Finals"

The match began.

Crowd's opponent was a world-class Duelist, a former champion.

On paper, it should've been a close fight.

It wasn't.

Crowd barely moved. He waited.

Then—strike, dodge, counter, execute.

The fight was over in 16 seconds.

Fin's heart pounded.

This… this is exactly how I wanted to play.

He had dreamed of this playstyle years ago—he had written guides about it, theorized about this exact movement, but… he never perfected it.

Crowd had.

A chilling thought hit him.

Fin pulled up an old bookmark.

His Dailymotion account.

It had been years since he touched it, but back in the day, he used to upload guides, strategy breakdowns, theories on high-level play.

Hands trembling, he typed in the URL.

His account still existed.

His guides were still there.

He clicked one at random:

"Assassin Positioning - Perfect Dodging Techniques (By Kuma)"

Then, he clicked back to Crowd's PvP highlights.

Back to Kuma's guide.

Back to Crowd's fight.

Again.

Again.

The exact same movements.

The same spacing.

The same predictive dodges.

The same kill timing.

But… better.

He rewound the clip, comparing it to his old guide: "Dodge left on frame 22 of the Duelist's Windslash animation. Requires pixel-perfect positioning to avoid the follow-up…"

Crowd didn't just execute it.

He improved it.

Where Fin's guide prescribed a 3-step retreat, Crowd countered mid-dodge—a move Fin had theorized but never mastered. The blade flashed. The Duelist fell.

16 seconds.

Fin stared at the screen, gripping his mouse tight.

"Who the hell is Crowd?"

Had this player… studied his old guides?

Had his abandoned knowledge become the foundation for the game's greatest player?

Envy.

Admiration.

Curiosity.

It all blended into obsession.

Fin had to know the truth.