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

Miles rolled his shoulders as he followed Kurt deeper into the ruin's dimly lit corridors. The fire's glow faded behind them, swallowed by the eerie blue veins pulsing along the walls. The deeper they went, the more the air changed. Thicker, heavier, charged with an unseen pressure.

Kurt walked ahead, his long coat swaying with every step, casual yet precise, but Miles noticed it.

He wasn't just leading Miles somewhere. He was testing him, slowing his pace just enough to force Miles to stay on edge.

The silence between them stretched until Miles finally broke it.

"So, what's the first lesson?" He asked, keeping his voice level. "Are you going to teach me how to punch a Revenant so hard it explodes?"

"Kid, if you could do that, you wouldn't need my help." Kurt let out a sharp laugh.

Ch95. Pain as a teacher (19) - Lesson number two