Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game

Chapter 34: Ch32. Faint suspicion

Chapter 34: Ch32. Faint suspicion

Miles felt a shiver run down his spine. It was not just the cold, fetid damp breeze coming from the heart of the sewers, it was the utter exhaustion that felt like every drop of energy had been drained from him as he looked at his stats window with a bewildered expression.@@@@

[Name: Miles Thorn]

[Affiliation: None]

[Level: 01]

[Classpect: Harbinger of The End]

[Attributes: Ender's Essence]

[Skills: Weapons Proficiency (Scythe) – Level 03; Resilience – Level 03; Focus – Level 03]

[Strength: 08]

[Agility: 03]

[Dexterity: 04]

[Perception: 10]

[Intelligence: 15]

[Inventory: Scorching Rune; Harbinger's Scythe; Ether Teapot; Cheshire's Gleam; Desert Rain; Wonderland's Key; Clockwork Rabbit's Piece – Gear; Clockwork Rabbit's Piece – Core; Clockwork Rabbit's Essence]

[Synergy: Wonderland Madness; God Hunter]

"At least nothing else has changed..." Miles sighed, leaning his head against the wall.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Miles heard a sonorous growl, and Diego stood up with a start.

"What was that?" Diego raised his knives. "Did we not just complete the quest?"

They ate some more, drank some more, cleaned themselves, and slept. Miles let Diego stay on the bed, while he slept on the couch. When they woke up, the sun was already on its last mile towards the horizon, the sky painted with shades of pink, red, and covering the world with its gradual dark-blue.

***

Diego stepped into the room, freshly cleaned, holding another one of the [Novice Ration Pack] crackers in his hand.

"You were out for hours..." Diego said, tossing the wrapper into the small trash can near the door. "Feeling any better?"

Miles stretched his arms above his head as he sat up on the couch, the stiff cushions groaning in protest. The apartment was quiet, save for the faint hum of the LED lights and the occasional distant roar of a monster outside. He blinked at the fading light filtering through the cracks in the curtains, signaling the day's end.

"A lot." He replied, rolling his shoulders. "The couch is a bit rough, but I needed the rest."

"That's what you get for letting me take the bed." Diego scoffed.

"It's called being an older brother, snothead. Look it up sometime." Miles grinned, leaning back against the couch.

Diego crossed his arms, pouting as he studied his friend. Miles' usual confident demeanor had returned, but there was still an underlying tension in his movements, a shadow of the earlier events lingering just beneath the surface.

"So," Diego broke the silence, taking a seat on the edge of the map table. "What's this suspicion of yours? What's resetting your level?"

Miles sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I think it has something to do with my equipment." He retorted grimly. "I was at level twenty when I came back from... From my hidden quest, but then, I went straight back to one after I sent the equipment back to the inventory. Then, I was at level two, back in the sewers, leveled up to six, and dropped back to one, as soon as I unequipped the items."

"What do you mean, you leveled up from two to six back in the sewers?" Diego grimaced, scratching the back of his head." Weren't you at level one?"

Miles' scratched the back of his head in return, looking at Diego with an inscrutable expression for a few seconds. When he broke the silence, though, there was a strange gleam of bitter nostalgia in his voice as he spoke.

"Well, that's the thing, isn't it?" Miles smiled sheepishly. "Do you want to hear a story?"

Diego tilted his head, nodding.

"But I need you to keep it a secret from the other players, okay?"

He then began telling his friend about his adventures in the ethereal woods, and how it led him to nowhere else than Wonderland.