"Our escape ticket? You want us to follow an underground tunnel to go where?" I asked.

Yav looked at me with disappointment; he clearly hadn't anticipated my skepticism.

"No one hangs around in these tunnels; it's our chance to get far away from the Merchant King's territory without drawing attention," Yav explained.

I began to survey our surroundings, opening boxes, lifting beds, and checking behind doors.

"Where's the gear you mentioned?" I asked Yav, choosing to sideline his plan for the moment.

"In the next room, you'll find a few things," he murmured.

I passed through a hole in the wall that must have once been a door long ago and proceeded to search the adjacent room. There I found a few boxes sealed with rusty locks. I had no difficulty breaking them open with my chain.

In the first box, I found a soft, black leather sweater.

I examined it: "MEDIUM QUALITY LEATHER SWEATER! 12/12HP"

"Hey, does this thing have HP?" I mumbled.

"Yes, it's light armor, haven't you seen one before?" Yav asked me.

I looked at the small metal hoop around my ankle, the last remnant of my boots. It didn't have HP.

"Your boots had shadow stats, but no additional effects," Yav explained, anticipating my question.

I stood up and put on the sweater. It fit well.

"So, my metal boots protected me a little bit, but less than this sweater?" I queried.

"The metal protects as you would expect. Invisible stats represent attributes that aren't artificially enhanced by the system," Yav elaborated.

I scratched my nose, then took off the metal hoop from my ankle to examine it.

"So, leather boots with low HP are roughly equivalent to metal boots with no bonus?" I sought confirmation.

"Basically, yes... A super muscular guy will be stronger than a skinny guy that only got one extra strength point. Hell's stats are added 'on top' of shadow stats," Yav gestured, imitating muscles as he spoke.

I looked at him with a mix of skepticism and amusement.

This ghost was indeed peculiar. But was he telling the truth?

Probably, I saw no reason for him to lie about this.

"I think I get it," I said, continuing my exploration.

After a few minutes, I took stock of what I had found in the room.

I now had socks, leather boots, pants, and a sweater, and even new underwear.

The sweater and pants both had HP. But these stats did not directly increase mine; they were markers of the items' additional resilience.

Yav explained that a knife cut would only harm me after piercing the item, and thus depleting its HP, effectively reducing the impact of the attack.

The last item I found was a metal spear, it had a value of 35PP, which seemed negligible compared to what I had obtained in the dungeon.

I still had the dead Knight's sword, which I had fastened to my well-resilient belt.

I decided to sell both items, which fetched me a total of 60PP, bringing my total to 2525PP.

I was at level 12 and needed 580DP to progress to level 13, or at least half that to pay off my debt.

It had only been a week since my resurrection, so I had ample time to level up several times before worrying about my debt.

"Are you ready?" Yav inquired, growing impatient.

"Your plan is to navigate these tunnels, okay. But do you know where they lead, or if we should anticipate any danger?" I asked skeptically.

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"There is danger everywhere in Hell. Always be prepared. As for the tunnels, I'm not very familiar with them, but I believe there's another entrance tens of miles to the East," he explained.

"So after years in a dungeon, you're suggesting we traverse a tunnel?" I asked.

He shrugged. "If it ensures survival, why not?" he retorted.

"If it's genuinely our only chance, fine. But we'll need food, and something to light our way," I clarified.

"As for lighting, we have plenty of torches in a corner, and you should be able to find a bag for them. The orb will serve to light them. As for food, we'll need to gather the roots and mushrooms that litter the tunnel," he mentioned casually.

It was easy for someone who didn't need to eat to suggest that, but I agreed. Returning to the surface seemed a risk best avoided.

I returned to the room we had entered through and proceeded to close the hatch.

It emitted a metallic squeak, then we were engulfed in total darkness.

I then rubbed the luminous orb against the end of a torch, and it ignited.

"This orb sure is handy," I commented, slightly elevating the object.

"Don't get too used to it. It'll drain quickly, it's been here too long," replied Yav. He was a buzzkill.

"Over there in the corner, there are mushrooms. They're edible, so grab them," Yav instructed, pointing to a corner of the room.

I turned my head and noticed the faintly glowing plants. "Are those really edible?" I questioned with a disgusted look on my face. Yav nodded. "Are you absolutely certain?" I double-checked.

"It's what I used to eat when I lived here," the ghost stated with his usual nonchalant attitude.

I was growing more and more aware of how similar our stories were.

I picked the mushrooms and stowed them in my pocket. I was hungry but not desperate enough to eat those. It was only an emergency food source.

I grabbed a canvas bag nearby, put the torches in it, and fastened it to my back with some strings lying around. "I think I'm ready," I declared, without much enthusiasm.

Yav looked at me with a faintly superior air. "If I had to gauge your shadow stats, I would say you've too much points in luck and not enough in survival," he pronounced.

"What does that mean?" I inquired.

"You were incredibly fortunate to find me, but you're incapable of making sound decisions for your own survival," he explained.

"Alright... So you're agreeing that allowing you to haunt me was a mistake on my part?" I retorted.

"That was your only good decision, and it was me who forced your hand," he retorted.

I began to move toward the room where I had found the armors. I had noticed an adjoining room I wanted to explore.

"In your shadow stats, you've got too many points in hypocrisy and selfishness," I told the ghost as I continued to walk and talk.

"Selfish? When I'm doing everything to save you?" he protested.

"You mean, saving yourself! I'm just your ride towards your goal," I shot back, raising my voice.

He didn't respond, he was good at lying, but not when it was too transparent.

"This... 'relationship' that we have, is beneficial for both of us," he asserted, his tone calm.

Of course, he wasn't wrong. Without him, I would have died multiple times in the dungeon. But I had no intention of admitting he was right.

"You didn't deny being a hypocrite," I pointed out, attempting to steer the conversation. He chuckled.

"That's a virtue in Hell," he declared, devoid of any sign of being offended.

I rummaged through various rooms at the tunnel entrance, finding nothing new.

"Come on... don't be a hypocrite yourself. Admit that you've had to hide your true thoughts and intentions to survive," he suggested. It sounded like he was trying to make peace with me by finding common ground.

"If I admit that, it would mean that I'm not as bad at surviving as you say," I replied, a faint smile on my lips.

He rolled his eyes, then extended his hand. "Deal." I reached out my hand and pretended to shake his, careful not to pass through him.

I had scoured all the rooms and collected anything that could be of use. There was nothing else I could do to delay the inevitable.

"So, which way to the tunnel?" I asked.

"There's another hatch in the back room, under a rug. We'll need to descend further," he informed, his tone more somber than usual.

I already felt slightly claustrophobic in this underground room, but the thought of going even deeper sent chills down my spine. I sighed and asked Yav to show me where the infamous hatch was.

Once there, I lifted the rug and spotted a small square metal door on the floor. The grey metal was partly rusted due to the humidity.

"You said you didn't know who built this place?" I asked.

"I only know that almost nobody knows about these tunnels, and those who do, dare not venture in," he clarified.

"Don't you think there's a good reason they don't come here?" I whispered. The torch in my hand illuminated my face but barely lit Yav's spectral body. I could barely see him, he looked like a silhouette.

"Do you want us to stay in this makeshift base for several years? Because I can assure you, the grudge of a guy like the Merchant King, it lasts a very, very, very long time," Yav insisted.

"Alright, alright..." I mumbled. I then grabbed the handle of the hatch and lifted it.

It was light but slightly stuck, which made it difficult to open.

Upon opening it, a cold breeze, mixed with a damp, earthy smell, it was not necessarily unpleasant, escaped from the hole that had just appeared under my feet.

I grabbed a rock that was lying nearby and dropped it into the hole. It took a few seconds to hit the ground with a soft thud.

I then turned my head towards Yav. He looked at me impassively.

"If I die, you die," I warned, looking him in the eyes.

"That means you will finally have killed someone. I consider that a victory," he retorted.

I snorted, placed the torch between my teeth, and began to descend the dilapidated ladder leading into the depths of the tunnel.

I had my chains and enough PP to level up several times. Whatever awaited me in there, I was ready to face it.