The last two days had been strange and interesting for Reever. After helping his partner grind for hours, he ditched him the moment the teammate finally reached the Veteran rank. Reever had no interest in staying any longer than needed. For him, the rest of the climb was slow and annoying, and he had to enter camouflage every now and then just to avoid running into players who would force him into pointless fights.
He also got the unusual pleasure of exploring new places, especially in the battle royale mode. Everything felt fresh in its own way, almost like he was touring a world he already knew but had never really looked at closely.
This was his a hundred and twentieth match, and because of his armor skill, he still had not met a single player face to face. Of course he did not stay quiet the whole time. He preferred to haunt people from the shadows. He stole weapons from players while they hunted others, watched them panic, then slipped away. Sometimes he drove vehicles while invisible, just to make players think some ghost NPC had come to life.
It was childish fun, the kind of fun he had not enjoyed in a long time. The system had even given him a new gift. He could hear every player clearly, both enemies and teammates, even though he had none. Their confusion, their fear, their shouting made the whole map feel alive.
He even killed a few players for entertainment, and it was hilarious listening to them cry out that a ghost had started hunting them down.
Because of that, for the last two days the whole game had been on edge. Everyone searched for the ghost, even though none of them had a chance of seeing him.
B had taunted him several times, but Reever ignored him. For two full days he chose silence, wanting to enjoy the last of his time in this timeline.
"You know, B, it would be interesting if I was experiencing this with someone," Reever said one afternoon as he sat on the ground, watching the battlefield below like a bored god. Players were busy fighting, looting and shouting. "A girlfriend or a wife would have made it fun. But with this curse of being alone, it is just me."
"I know," B replied. "It is almost time for you to leave this place anyway. You will soon have the chance to become a master and escape this game. But have you ever asked yourself what comes after that. You are still a bot with human consciousness. Or a human with a bot body. It does not matter. When you go back, are you sure the system will hold its promise. You have read books about systems. You know these things do not like keeping promises.
Have you ever asked yourself why you are the first human bot. Or why the system saved you when you were about to die. Maybe it kept you alive because it wanted to use you for its own fun. Or maybe there is something you have that it wants. Or maybe you are nothing more than a lab rat inside one of its experiments."
"I have asked myself that many times," Reever said quietly. "But what is the point. I am weak. I was reborn as a bot. I cannot grow strong when I am trapped inside a game I used to love. How can I do anything when I do not even have a real body. Unless I am as strong as the system itself, I cannot fight it. I can only bow. But that does not mean I will give up. It gave me a way out. I do not know if it will keep its promise, but I have no other choice.
The fate of bots is death and destruction when they lose. If I quit, I will be thrown into that fate. I want to live, even if I have nothing left to live for. My wife died when I was eighty. My son is sixty and will die soon because of cancer. My granddaughter will be sad, but we have not been close ever since Tash died. So even if I go back, I do not have anyone waiting for me. I am alive because the system kept me alive. I am living on borrowed time. So before this borrowed time ends, I need to repay the karma I owe it. Until I reach Master rank, I will listen."
His voice carried a sadness he had held inside for many years.
"And when you reach Master rank, and the system gives you that second life, what will you do," B asked.
"To be honest, I have no idea," Reever said. "But the first thing I will do is quit this game forever. I want to enjoy life for once. I want to walk around the world. I missed the chance to do that. I want to watch my granddaughter get married. I want to see my great granddaughters and tell them stories until they fall asleep. I want to start a small hotel with the money I have and do nothing but sit and relax. You know I am lazy."
He gave a small laugh, then his voice softened.
"But above everything, I want to visit my wife's tomb. After that, I want to rest beside her. I have lived long enough. She left gaming when we had our first child and she enjoyed the real world. I was the one who stayed behind the screen, grinding camos and collecting weapons while life passed me by."
"Alright. Enough sad stories," B said. "We have a few minutes before the system pulls us back to our timeline. Let us haunt these players one last time. Let us give them a memory they will never forget. Who knows, maybe in one of your new adventures you will meet your old teammates. Maybe even your wife."
Reever slowly stood up. He activated his camouflage and slipped into the chaos below, ready to haunt the players who were busy looting and fighting, unaware that the ghost was returning for one final round.