MrBoness

-- WSA 2025 Entry --

“Five… Four… Three… Two… One…”
As the countdown towards the new year went on to the last second, Miles looked up to the sky, just as everybody else did.

In the middle of the crowded street, Miles for once felt like he belonged. Being a teenage gamer, living with his parents, and trying to build a life as a streamer, he did not feel like leaving his room every day.

But there, in the middle of that crowded street, with everyone around him paying attention to the sky, the countdown on the digital billboard, and mostly anything else but him., Miles felt like a ghost.

A welcomed ghost, but a ghost, after all.

With a smile on his unseen face, he looked up as the countdown reached one, and everybody sang in unison.
‘HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

But Miles’ eyes widened as he watched in utter horror, and curiosity, even, hovering above him, a holographic screen with a few lines of text written in it.

All around him, although he did not pay much attention to it, a few other people seemed to experience the same situation.

[Updating home-world 39515’s version]

[Version 20.25 update brings a lot of fun and games with the new and improved survival mode]

[Do you want to convert your previous avatar to home-world 39515’s latest version?]

[Yes] [No]

“Survival… Mode?” Miles’ lips quivered.

Before he could think of anything else, though, the people around him began to scream…

Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game

Sarissa's pulse pounded like a war drum in her ears, the raw power of her new Attribute thrumming inside her veins like wildfire, even though she was not consciously using it.

The moment the system's notification faded from her vision, she felt it. Something different, something untamed.

She didn't understand it yet, but she felt what it meant.

Whatever it was, it was an antithesis to Miles' skill, and one so powerful that it had broken his time stop completely.

Miles stood across from her, his scythe resting lazily against his shoulder. But for the first time since the battle began, he wasn't laughing. Instead, the glowing eyes in his mask were narrowed to slits, and even the stitched lips, masterfully carved on the mask, were not smiling anymore.

Ch53. RE: [World Quest] (11) - Or I will