Rimelion: The Exploiter

Lisa leaned against an old pine tree in the forest's heart, her red robe with golden accents fluttering in the breeze. Designed with a little too much attention to aesthetic detail, her robe showcased her slender figure—a "gift" from the developers to male players, no doubt. She didn't mind the design itself, but sighed for an entirely different reason. Rob was late again. Rob was always late.

"Should we just move on?" asked her cousin, Peter, his tone mildly impatient. A supportive priest, Peter was here to help her reach the pinnacle of the game. "Natasha's gonna get in trouble at school if we keep staying out this late."

Natasha's cheeks flushed red, and she ducked her head further into the folds of her oversized cloak. Just as Lisa was about to call it a day, a large summoning circle formed nearby. She clenched her fists. Finally.

Rob—a fifteen-year-old warrior who never seemed to know the meaning of punctuality—emerged from the glowing circle. He didn't even have a chance to blink before Lisa's fist connected with his face, sending him sprawling backward.

"You're late again! Next time we're going without you!" she snapped, adding a well-placed kick for emphasis.

"Jeez, Lis, it was only half an hour."

"Only half an hour? The Fire Tamer title is at stake here! I will be the Fire Goddess—do you get how big this is?"

Peter stepped in gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Lis, try not to get all worked up again. Dmitry beat you in every other game..."

Her fiery glare cut him off mid-sentence, making him backpedal. That only added fuel to her resolve, and her eyes practically burned with determination. "Let's go!" She led the group toward the dungeon entrance.

As they reached the edge of the forest, the scenery shifted into an ominous, dying land. Gray ash blanketed the ground, and fire elementals roamed across the barren landscape, casting flickering shadows that danced across the scorched earth.

The elementals' bodies were made of pure flame, and their semi-transparent forms left them unfazed by physical attacks. Varying in size and shape, they each had distinct, almost humanoid features, yet each was as unique as any player character.

"Isn't the forest line shorter than last time?" Rob mumbled, casting wary glances back at Lisa.

"Yeah, some old NPC said that until we clear the Scorching Dungeon, it'll keep spreading," Lisa said with unshakable confidence. Her steps were full of purpose as they marched onward, the fiery elementals becoming part of their routine.

Rob braced himself, charging into the fray, tanking the elementals' flames with his shield and sizable health pool. Peter and Natasha worked in tandem, casting healing spells that kept him topped off.

Their progress was steady, and after an hour of fighting, they reached the dungeon's entrance—a jagged rift in the mountainside that exhaled waves of oppressive heat. The air was thick with the stench of sulfur.

"I don't want to die again," Rob muttered, though his words echoed what they all felt.

"Chin up!" Lisa said, giving him a reassuring hug and flashing a grin. "There's no penalty for dying here!" The heat and sulfur gave her goosebumps, but she brushed it off and laughed to rally the others.

"Natasha, you're up," she ordered. The quiet redhead nodded, stepping forward and activating her Thief's skill, [Detect Trap].

With closed eyes, she scanned the entrance corridor, her movements cautious and deliberate. The red glow from molten stones along the walls illuminated a maze of deadly traps. Though she couldn't see them directly, an instinctive dread seemed to guide her steps as she inched forward, setting a path for the others. They followed, tiptoeing after her and mirroring each careful movement.