A ghost player was haunting me, meaning he was attached to me. He was annoying, a liar, and talked too much. I had just now learned that I had to pay EP for him to exist. If my EP reached 0, he would take control of my body.

It was the scam of the century.

As I summarized this in my head, I tried to find some benefits to the situation, or at least downplay it.

"But how can you take control of my body? Until when? Forever?" I asked.

"From what my screen tells me, until my EP drops to 0. Which isn't very long since I can't generate EP unlike you. A bit unfair if you ask me," he said.

Unfair? The nerve. I'm the one getting scammed here.

But upon learning that possession was not permanent, I was somewhat reassured.

I had to do everything to keep my EP from dropping to 0, no way I was letting this nutcase take control.

"Is there anything else I need to know about... our 'situation'?" I asked.

He rubbed his chin. He was still floating in mid-air, looking thoughtful.

"Yes. I saved your life in this dungeon, you should be nicer to me," he said.

I said nothing, looked at him for a moment, then turned my head back to my screen.

Checking my profile, I saw that I had the following status: "HAUNTED"

But nothing was specified.

It was Yav who had access to all the information regarding this status, and he was also the one who could see my screen, but not me.

My back was hunched, I leaned against the tree trunk and looked at the orange sky.

"Since our lives are linked, do you have any info that could help me?" I asked.

He nodded, then began to speak. "Okay, but you first have to explain what situation we're in. I've had access to a number of things about you, but I'm still a bit in the dark. For example, I know you came to this dungeon for the orb and that you wanted to use it for something, but I don't know why," he said.

"I had to give it to a Merchant in exchange for a good chain," I explained.

"Is he the one who gave you the information about the secret entrance?" Yav asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"So you have the King Merchant as an enemy, and now also the one who sent you," he summarized.

"Do you think he's going to want to kill me?" I asked, somewhat worried.

"In Hell, information is worth PP. He told you where the secret passage was, it's priceless. But what's his return on investment? Nothing. Merchants are fairly peaceful, except when their interests are on the line," Yav explained.

I felt doomed.

I was just a lowly level 12, but I had several high levels wanting me dead.

Hell trying to drive me crazy, and now a ghost threatening to take control of my body.

It was discouraging.

Yav saw that I looked crushed under the weight of Hell and tried to reassure me.

"You know, together we can face anything," he said.

"Hmm," I said, still staring at the sky.

"I died once, and you too to have this secret class. We know more about death - together - than anyone else in all of Hell, more than the high levels who want to erase us," he explained.

"And how is that going to help us?" I asked, curious to know where he was going with this.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

By asking this, I realized that I had just reasoned in 'us', and not just in 'I'.

I didn't like being forced into a situation, especially this one.

"Are you afraid of death?" he asked me.

"I don't want to die, but if it has to happen, it will," I replied.

"That's it. We're not afraid of the unknown beyond death. We've already experienced it. Our fear is concrete, pragmatic!" he spoke with conviction.

I said nothing, not sure I understood the meaning of his words.

"We can't avoid what we don't know. But us, we know what it looks like on the other side. We know the scent of death, and the coldness of its embrace," he continued.

"I've already skirted death several times since I resurrected. Not sure that knowing death helped me," I replied.

"Yet you're still here, despite the impossible situations you've gotten out of," his voice was full of assurance.

He was right about one thing: I had gotten out of deadly situations numerous times, it was almost miraculous. Maybe there was some truth to his words.

"Mmm... Maybe..." I muttered, not really knowing what to answer. But what he had said brought back a memory.

"Ah, by the way, that reminds me of something. When I was burning in the dungeon, everything seemed lost and yet you didn't give up. What makes you so attached to life?" I asked the ghost.

"Well, why give up? Life is incredible, that's all," he replied.

That's a reason?

I didn't know what to expect from him.

I wanted to sleep. It was enough emotion for the day, even for the week.

"Yav, can you keep watch while I sleep?" I asked the ghost.

He nodded. "No need to ask me, I never get tired of looking around," he said cheerfully.

"Reassure me, no one can see you?" I then asked.

"Only you, now that I haunt you," he replied.

I didn't completely trust him, so to reassure myself I wrapped my chains around my body, thus protecting my organs and my head.

The weight of the metal on my body was strangely reassuring.

I fell asleep quickly.

.

"Oko…" I heard Yav's voice, he was whispering my name.

I opened my eyes.

One of my chains was wrapped around my head; I could see in front of me through the links.

The first rays of the sun reflected on the gray metal of my chain.

Yav put his index finger to his lips and gestured for me to look down.

I lowered my head slightly, somewhat obstructed by the chain wrapped around my neck.

Down there, I saw a player moving alone.

I looked up to glance at Yav.

"Level 27, an Archer. Those bastards have quite the perception, avoid moving," the ghost told me.

He was very well-informed for a guy who died before level 10.

I didn't move, waiting for the player to pass.

Yav floated in the air, his head lowered towards the player.

I hope he wasn't lying and that I'm the only one who can see him.

A long minute later, Yav turned his head toward me.

I was sitting on my branch, back against the trunk, still looking ahead.

"He's watching you," Yav said to me.

I froze. No way I was fighting a level 27.

Yav raised his hands to his shoulders, palms forward.

"He's drawing his bow," he said next.

"What do I do?" I asked him in a whisper, panic growing in me.

"Don't move," he replied.

It didn't seem reassuring.

Suddenly I felt something hit against the chains I had around my ribs.

"He shot at you," Yav commented.

I moved my arm, ready to defend myself.

"No, don't move. He's testing you. Archers are often the most cautious players," he explained.

"I don't care about your class astrology, he attacked me, I'm not going to wait here for the next attack to hit its mark," I said, whispering nervously.

I was like a mummy, protected by chains from my hips upward.

I deliberately let myself fall from my branch by leaning to the side.

My body raced towards the ground, each second faster than the last.

I aimed for a branch close to the ground, using a chain around my torso to catch it. My weight made the branch bend under the strain.

I managed to land on my legs, cushioning the fall as if I had dropped only a few yards.

From the outside, I must have looked like a big piece of metal that had fallen from the sky.

The Archer backed up several yards in an instant, drawing his bow. He had me in his sights.

Nearly naked under my chains, my face was hidden by the metal.

Yav was next to me, his face buried in his palms. He was clearly not happy with my choice to descend.

"I don't want to fight," said the Archer.

"So why attack me?" I asked.

"It was just to check if you were human or not," the player replied.

Yav explained to me with a sigh, "Weird behavior, like being wrapped in chains high up in a tree, is often a precursor sign of turning into a Drifter. He was likely checking if you were still conscious."

"I'm not a Drifter," I clarified to the Archer.

He slowly lowered his bow.

"So, no need for us to kill each other," he replied.

"Yes, you can continue on your way," I responded simply.

"In fact, I've arrived at my destination," he said.

My confusion was quickly replaced by anxiety.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, my chains wrapping— one by one — more tightly around me.

"I think you know who sent me. You've angered someone very powerful, Oko."