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

Kurt turned a small luminous artifact, and Miles could finally see him again.

When Kurt looked at him, though, there was a note of seriousness in his eyes.

"Did you sleep at all, kid?" Curiosity coated his quiet tone.

"Yeah, why?" Miles tilted his head ever so slightly.

"I don't know… You could have also wandered through the place and found something that gave you insight into something." Kurt scoffed, shaking his head slightly. "You just look… Different."

"Why didn't you threaten me with your knife like before, then?" Miles' lips curled upward ever so slightly. "If I'm different, how can you tell I'm not the Hatter?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow, his silver eye shining with mockery.

"Really?" He tilted his head. "You're not wearing the top hat, and underneath that stupid shadow you're still wearing, there's no sign of his coat. So, no, no Hatter around."

Ch108. Harder