My two chains were making a metallic noise with each step. They were attached to each other and coiled around my left shoulder.

I had lost one chain during the explosion of the orb in the dungeon of the Merchant King.

I still thought about that chain. I replayed the moment, wondering if there had been another way to detonate the orb, but the conclusion was that sacrificing the chain had been the only solution.

The light from my torch illuminated the dust-coated walls of the tunnel in which I was advancing with Yav.

We had walked for about ten minutes without seeing a single intersection or trap.

Yav had been particularly silent.

Was this a sign of anxiety on his part? Or was he setting up a new plan?

I decided to check, not out of concern, but boredom.

"Yav, what are you thinking about?" I asked.

He turned his head towards me, his usual vacant expression on his face. "Why, do you miss me?" he asked.

I didn't respond and kept my focus on the corridor in front of me.

"I'm bored, don't you have a story to tell?" I asked.

"Mmmh… Do you like jokes?" he responded with a question.

"Not sure, but go ahead." I accepted.

"What's the ultimate irony for a Dweller?" he began.

I pretended to ponder, but didn't try to find the answer.

"I don't know." I said.

"To X-out their DP." he answered with a smile.

I blinked at him. "Ok?" I said.

"An X…" he said, mimicking with his index finger.

"Over the D…" he continued.

"It makes XP…." he finally said.

"Oooooh… now I get it." I responded, forcing a smile. "Yeah, that's pretty good." I said next.

"Sure, ok… Your turn." he said.

A joke? I didn't know any. But I tried anyway.

"What's the difference between a Dweller and a Drifter?" I asked, improvising.

"Ooooh, this is going to be dark," he replied, rubbing his hands together.

Then he thought for a moment and tried. "Dwellers eat better?"

"What? How so?" I asked, not seeing the connection.

"Drifters eat players, whereas Dwellers always eat stuff that looks disgusting." he explained.

"First of all, eating players is just as disgusting, and besides, when I ask you're not supposed to provide an answer. It was a rhetorical question." I retorted.

"Don't ask questions if you don't want answers." he said then.

"Alright, anyway. The answer was that Dwellers kill you for DP, while Drifters kill you to dip it." I said, mimicking a piece of meat being dipped in sauce before eating. I felt a bit embarrassed for investing so much into my joke.

Yav said nothing.

"I preferred my version." he simply said after a few moments where he seemed to ponder.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

He didn't even bother to laugh.

"Plus, you make a joke about eating players after telling me that it's disgusting?" he said next, in a lecturing tone.

"That's called hypocrisy, I'm trying to be a bit more like you to improve our relationship." I shot back.

He sighed.

Then he looked at me for a long time, I could see it from my peripheral vision.

I then turned my head to see what he wanted.

He put his index finger to his nose, then spoke. "What's that there?"

I touched my nose, then around my nostrils and felt something wet.

I then looked at my fingers. It was blood.

"I don't understand, what's happening?" I said, disoriented.

I wasn't injured, I was sure of it.

I quickly opened my profile and saw my health bar in purple.

"I’m… I'm poisoned?" I said, I felt a heaviness in my stomach. Anxiety hit me all at once.

But how? I didn't have any cuts.

"The Archer!" I muttered, bringing my hand to my ribs where he had shot me.

But I didn't feel anything, that wasn't it.

Yav watched me flail, then he spoke: "Gas! The air in these tunnels is poisoned!" he said.

The air? If that's the case, there's no escape.

"Do you have any antidote berries?" asked Yav.

I shook my head. I had lost them in the dungeon fire.

Yav sighed. "It seems your HP is decreasing quite slowly, we can make it, we have to keep moving!" he said next.

He's right, there's no turning back... I think?

A doubt haunted me nevertheless.

Yav was cautious, unless he had a plan. Why was he asking me to advance in a tunnel that could stretch for many more miles? Plus, we risked encountering traps or enemies.

Something was off.

I continued to bleed profusely from my nose. I kept moving, but I was trying to gather my thoughts.

His interest is in me surviving... No, his interest is in him surviving, that's different... What did he tell me? That the poison was attacking my HP?

I decided to closely observe my profile for any hints.

After a short minute, I understood.

The poison was not only attacking my HP, but also my EP. And the latter would hit zero before my HP.

He would be able to take control of my body then.

I turned my head to look at him, his face was impassive.

He was really good at hiding his emotions.

"Don't worry about me, Yav. I'll level up before my EP hits zero," I said with a forced smile and a sarcastic tone.

I stared at him and despite all his efforts to hide his thoughts, I saw his eyebrows twitch slightly.

He had hoped I wouldn't check my profile. And it could have worked, I'd been at 0 EP before and didn't even notice. Especially now that I was poisoned, my senses weren't reliable.

I had 14 EP and 25HP left. This poison was attacking the EP far more aggressively.

I couldn't see the end of the tunnel, despite the passing minutes. I was unsure of my next move.

I had enough PP to level up, potentially saving me from this poison, maybe four or five times. But given its aggression, and the unknown length of the tunnel, the best course of action might be to turn back.

But turning back would mean exchanging one danger for another.

The question was: which challenge did I have a chance of surviving?

The Merchant King, a powerful player ready to do anything to capture me.

Or this invisible enemy slowly killing me?

I had dealt with the Merchant before, and I had dealt with poison.

Neither of these challenges was new.

But there was one certainty: I hated backtracking.

If I had to die, I might as well do it moving forward.

"Yav, I won't let you have my body," I said simply as I continued forward.

"I figured," he replied.

I kept my gaze forward as I walked, my vision blurring.

My eyes were rapidly switching between my screen and the tunnel.

I waited until the last possible moment to level up, I couldn't afford to waste a single EP.

It took me 10 minutes to be forced to reach level 13.

I used my PP and once again saw a faint glow under my skin, then my profile displayed my full health and stamina bars.

I was no longer poisoned, but had I left the toxic zone?

No, a few breaths were enough to see my health bar turn purple again.

I had just used 580PP and now had 1945 left.

Level 14 required 650DP. That was a larger increase than expected.

A quick calculation told me that I only had enough PP to reach level 15 if the increase remained this large.

That meant only two more levels. So, I had the chance to heal only twice.

Yav was also watching my screen.

"It's looking bad, Oko. Not good at all," he said. Obviously, his voice didn't sound worried.

"I think you're going to have to get used to the idea, you're going to lend me your body," he added.

Of course, the only thing that mattered to him was to feel alive, even for a moment.

It seemed the idea of dying shortly after didn't worry him.

A few hours ago, I found him reliable, and now I felt like he had changed his face.

No, that wasn't it.

He had never hidden his true intentions, I had just chosen to ignore them.

Despite the fierce competition in Hell, I remained my own worst enemy.