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

As soon as Miles told him what he was going to do, Diego left the apartment building and stepped out onto the cracked sidewalk, his boots crunching against loose gravel as the last remnants of daylight bled across the skyline.

The sun dipped low, painting the horizon in streaks of orange and violet, while the towering city loomed like a silent sentinel against the coming night.

Most players had already retreated to the [Safe Zones], unwilling to risk encounters with Beasts and Monsters that started roaming the streets lately by night. But Diego had time. Especially not now.

He checked his wristwatch and noticed the date. March the 26th of 2025, almost a month after Miles had disappeared, due to his [Hidden Quest].

Ch63. Hall of The Seers