Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game
Chapter 97: Ch95. Pain as a teacher (19) - Lesson number two

Chapter 97: Ch95. Pain as a teacher (19) - Lesson number two

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.

Like something was watching.

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.

He stopped abruptly, forcing Miles to halt just before slamming into his back. Without turning, Kurt gestured toward the path ahead.

"Wha-"

"Lesson one: Learn when to shut the fuck up."

Miles blinked, about to fire back, but then he heard it. A soft, wet squelching sound, slow and rhythmic.

He followed Kurt’s gaze to a wide, arching doorway just ahead, the metal edges warped like something had melted through them. Beyond the threshold, the corridor widened into a cavernous space lined with skeletal remains of machinery. Pools of black sludge rippled across the ground, distorting like something was breathing beneath them.

And in the center of the room stood a single figure, or what was left of one.

Its humanoid frame was half-dissolved, the remnants of armor fused to its twisted flesh. Its head twitched unnaturally, the lower jaw missing entirely, leaving behind a gaping maw that pulsed as if trying to speak. The black ooze dripping from its body steamed against the floor, eating away at the metal itself.

Miles barely resisted the urge to vomit.

"What in the thousand fucks is that?" he muttered.

"A Scourged." Kurt’s voice was quiet but steady. "A Revenant that’s been here too long. Also, nice choice of words..."

The thing took a step forward, its melted foot sizzling against the ground as Kurt exhaled, flexing his fingers before tossing Miles a small, jagged blade. It was crude, made of repurposed metal, but sharp. Miles caught it on instinct, frowning.

"What’s this for?"

"Lesson two." Kurt took a step back. "You’re going to kill it."

"Wait, what?" Miles snapped his head toward him.

"You want to survive here, don’t you?" Kurt grinned, winking at Miles, his silver eye gleaming. "Then prove it. Kill it before it kills you."

The Scourged jerked its head, something clicking in its throat. Its gaze locked onto Miles.

Then it moved.

A blur of motion, far too fast for something so broken. Miles barely had time to react before it lunged, a sludgy, clawed hand swiping toward his face.

"Shit!" He twisted his body, the attack missing him by inches.

The creature’s momentum carried it past him, but it recovered almost instantly, its melted frame snapping back into position.

’Fast! Too insanely fast!’ Miles gritted his teeth.

No time to think. No time to hesitate.

He gripped the jagged knife tight and charged.

The Scourged hissed, its body convulsing. As Miles closed the distance, it lashed out again, its arm stretching as if the sludge itself was alive. He ducked, rolling to the side, but even then, he felt the heat of its presence burning his face. The thing was burning through the air itself.

Miles came up swinging, gritting his teeth through the pain of his face burning.

The knife bit deep, sinking into the creature’s shoulder. A spray of dark fluid sizzled as it splattered against the floor, eating through the metal like acid.

The problem was that a few drops spilled on Miles’ shoulder too, making him hiss in pain.

"As if my face wasn’t fucking enough..."

The Scourged shrieked, the sound warping into something like a glitched-out scream. Its form twitched violently, and before Miles could react, still half-blinded by the pain, it lashed out with its other hand in a direct hit.

Pain exploded in his ribs as he was sent flying, his body crashing against a pile of debris. His vision blurred, and for the briefest of moments, everything went black.

The impact knocked the air from his lungs, and a split second after Miles recovered his consciousness, everything tilted.

’Come on, get up! MOVE.’

He pushed himself onto his hands, gasping. His side throbbed, but nothing felt broken. He wiped the blood from his lip, glancing at Kurt, who was still watching.

Not helping, not intervening.

Simply watching from a comfortable distance.

"Fucking asshole..." Miles muttered, gritting his teeth. He staggered to his feet, and the Scourged rushed again.

This time, though, Miles did not retreat.

He let it come to him, its deformed body lunging forward, clawed fingers reaching, and at the last second, Miles dropped low, spinning on his heel. The motion let the creature’s momentum carry it forward.

Right past him, its arm swinging wide, missing entirely.

’Now.’ Miles bit through the pain and surged forward, gripping the knife with both hands, driving it straight into the back of the Scourged’s skull, a loud cracking sound escaping from it.

The Scourged jerked, its whole body locking up. Then, a shudder rippled through it, its twisted limbs spasming before it finally collapsed, motionless.

Immediately after, it began to dissolve, its remains crumbling into black ash, leaving nothing but scraps of armor and tattered cloth.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Miles stood there, his breath coming fast and heavy. He stared at the spot where the thing had fallen, his hands still trembling around the knife’s handle when suddenly, he felt it.

It was not the system’s notification, but he definitely felt it.

It was as if some of the Scourged’s residual energy was being absorbed by his body, and as the pain dimmed a little, he felt like his body was being slightly – ever so slightly – reinforced.

As though he was getting stronger by...

’By feeding on them...’

Then, finally, Kurt let out a whistle.

"Well, color me impressed." He walked over, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. "I was kind of hoping you’d get your ass kicked at least one more time before figuring out how to use the momentum against the Scourged."

Miles shot him a glare, but the exhaustion in his body muted his usual snark.

"... I didn’t get a system notification, but I felt as if..." He muttered, finally looking at his interface. "I felt like I got just a tiny bit stronger, how?"

"Yeah. Welcome to The Horizon, kid." Kurt’s smirk faded slightly.

"Great. So, the game doesn’t recognize me or what?" Miles exhaled sharply, gripping the bridge of his nose.

"Bingo." Kurt patted him on the back, nearly making him stumble. "But hey! At least I saw it."

"That supposed to mean something?" Miles scowled.

"Yeah," Kurt’s grin returned, wider than before as he walked past Miles. "It means I’m not wasting my time on you."

Something about the way he said that sent a shiver down Miles’ spine. Not because it was a threat.

But because it was a promise.

Welcome to The Horizon, indeed.

But there was something even more troublesome eating at him at the moment...

’If the game doesn’t recognize me here in The Horizon... Then it means that the game has... No influence in here, but then...’

He could not keep The Archivist’s words from scratching at the back of his mind.

"The world is a larger, vaster place than you might currently think, child."

But how vast was it, even?