I was watching the flames light up the dark corridor.

In the distance, I saw a huge Drifter approaching, clad in armor. Skulls adorned his belt and a lantern swung on his chestplate.

It was the biggest and most impressive Drifter I had seen so far. He stopped in front of the flames, waiting for them to die out.

It was time to leave. I looked at Yav, he was silent.

What use was this ghost if he couldn't even tell me where the traps were?

I turned around and began to run, wiping against my skin the luminous orb, slightly dirtied by the ashes.

"Yav, why didn't you tell me about this damn trap?!" I asked him, a little annoyed.

"Well... actually... You're going to laugh, but this trap wasn't there when I went through, when I was still alive," he simply said. As if that explanation was supposed to calm me down.

"So, you're of no use to me, then?" I asked him.

"No, you saw that I saved you from a trap when we met. I know where 'most' of the traps are," he now clarified. This guy wasn't reliable. I had just bonded with the worst possible person.

"Can you try to focus on the path ahead to prevent me from dying?" I asked, my voice was urgent.

He nodded.

I had used a lot of PP to get to level 11.

At a glance at my screen, I saw the situation. I had used 515PP to level up, leaving me with only 354.

The next level required 540DP. I couldn't level up to 12.

I had therefore already used my wild card, the next trap could be fatal.

"Hey, Yav. Can you go ahead on the path alone and warn me of what's ahead?" I asked my sidekick.

"I can only move a few meters away from you," he simply said.

"Great..." I muttered bitterly.

Nevertheless, he continued to tell me where to turn at each intersection we encountered.

I was afraid of encountering another Drifter as much as a trap.

I was beginning to understand why even a high-level player would avoid coming to a Merchant's dungeon. It was a place designed to kill in all possible ways.

"OKO!" Yav shouted in my ear. He was yelling loud, as if I were dozens of meters away from him.

"WHAT?" I yelled back, but that didn't seem to bother him.

"I remember where we are!" he said, quite pleased with himself.

"What do you mean, you know where we are? You didn't know before? You were guiding me blindly?" I asked, completely lost and quite a bit angry.

He seemed to realize he had said something stupid and took a little time to answer.

"Yes, yes of course. But now, I remember 'better'," he said.

At this point, it didn't matter anymore. The damage was done. I was tied to an idiot. If he could be a little useful, it was already a victory.

"Okay, so where do I go?" I was losing patience.

"On the right there's going to be a trap, something very sneaky! Slow down!" he said.

I obeyed and began to slow down. He pointed out where the trigger was that activated the trap.

He showed me what to avoid, without explaining what the trap was. So I passed it by stepping over a whole part of the floor. Then I resumed my run.

"No, no! Stay!" he said.

"What? You want me to stay near the trap?" I asked, an eyebrow raised.

"This trap, it's not just any trap. When I passed through here - when I was alive - I saw someone activate it. It's going to be useful to us," he said.

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I scratched my head looking at him. A trap that could be useful? It didn't make sense.

Yav raised his two index fingers up, he had a slightly mad look on his face, with his smile and his wide eyes.

"Trust me, it's our way out," he said.

"If you say so... So what do I do?" I asked.

"Well, go on, step on the switch," he seemed sure of himself.

"Can you first explain to me what's going to happen?" I wasn't reassured.

"We don't have time, go quickly before the Drifter catches up with us," he didn't want to answer.

If he wanted me dead, he had had the chance to make me fall into several traps, I decided to believe him and walked on the piece of stone that slightly protruded from the ground.

Suddenly, many small trapdoors opened and chains wrapped around me. They lifted me into the air, my arms and legs stretched out.

I was like caught in a metallic spider web. The pressure was strong and completely prevented me from moving.

"SURPRISE!" he shouted.

I looked at the chains with joy; it was more than just a good surprise. I could finally fight again.

There were exactly 18 chains: 3 on each limb and 6 reserved for my torso and neck.

Anyone else would have been immobilized, unable to do anything, completely at the mercy of the Drifters. But not me.

I commanded these chains one by one to separate from the system projecting them, and then to coil themselves on the ground. It was done quickly.

I analyzed all of them. They were of high quality, better than the one I had sold to the merchant.

They were, however, a bit shorter. I decided to take three, one around each shoulder, and one coiled around my hips.

I quickly sold the other 15. Each one earned me 200PP, so 3000PP in total. Amazing.

Oddly, they didn't count as theft, but the total points were too high for me to complain. I now had enough to level up several times.

"Yav, thank you," I simply said. He had, for once, proven his usefulness.

"Yeah, you're welcome. Now it's time to use the orb," he replied.

"Huh? The orb?" I asked.

"I know you came here for it, but we're going to have to sacrifice it to get out," he explained.

"What? Why?" I didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Even with all these chains, and all these PP, and me as a guide, you're going to die if you try to leave here through the door. We need to force our exit," he said.

He had a smirk on his lips, seeming embarrassed to announce this.

"But... You managed to go through almost the entire dungeon," I countered, trying to find another solution.

"If I got that far, it's because the dungeon was smaller and not as well equipped back then. And besides, we were a whole team coming here. The others attracted the Drifters towards them. I, in the meantime, was free to find the traps and avoid them," he explained.

"So you lied to me when you said you could guide me to the exit?" Losing this orb felt like losing a limb. I hated the idea of parting with such an important object.

I had to find a way to keep it.

"I didn't think the dungeon had changed so much. But hey, I found a plan B. We just need to use the orb. I know it's hard, but it's worth your survival, right? Plus, I found you chains, that's what you wanted, right?" he asked.

"How do you know all this?" I demanded.

"I'm haunting you; I have access to a lot of info," he simply stated, as if it was a minor detail.

"Damn..." I thought. I didn't like not having control. "Alright, tell me what you're thinking," I finally requested. I was willing to hear his plan, but not yet ready to sacrifice the orb.

"This orb is a huge concentration of energy; you're going to break it, it'll go boom, and we'll leave through the hole it creates. Simple," he said.

I looked down at the orb. I was holding a bomb in my hand.

I felt like dropping it and running away. But I lifted my head and nodded.

"Assuming that's true, how do you know it will work?" I asked.

"This orb has been here a while; my team wanted to get it too. But it's a thing that everyone knows that an energy-packed orb is unstable. This one could have already exploded. It's safer to get rid of it," he admitted.

If he was telling the truth, he was right. I didn't want to keep such a dangerous object with me.

"The Merchant that sent me won't be happy," I told him.

"Screw him. From now on, it's you and me against Hell. We'll kill anyone who gets in our way," he said, a disturbing glow in his eyes.

"Yeah, no. I'll take you outside and then we part ways," I responded.

He didn't reply.

"Alright, what's the plan?" I asked next.

A few minutes later, we were near the wall, in another corridor, apparently closer to the outside.

"Put it against the wall, and then we need to find a way to crush it from a safe distance," Yav instructed.

I gently placed it and looked at it for a moment. I hadn't even thought to analyze it, but I preferred not to. I felt that if I saw its value, I wouldn't want to part with it.

I turned my head towards Yav, almost tearful. "Is there really no other choice?" I asked.

He shook his head, looking sorry. "It's the only solution," he said.

I clenched my teeth, then dropped one of my chains to the ground.

"If I squeeze with my chain, will it be enough?" I asked.

He looked down as if reading something, then nodded. Did he have a screen? Probably, he was still a player after all.

I started to back away to a nearby intersection, positioning myself behind a wall to control the chain.

Yav was right behind me. We were about ten yards from the orb.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Let's go," I answered.

Then I commanded the chain to crack the orb.

"Oh, I almost forgot, prepare to level up because you're going to be in bad shape," Yav added at the last moment.

The next moment a blinding light reflected off the grey walls of the dungeon.

The explosion was much more powerful than anticipated.