The party once more built a tight formation, crossing the dangerous vent quickly.

  A moment ter piles of bones dropped form the ceiling, the fmes burning high.

  Silver Bde didn’t wait for the eo front them. Waving at the party she ordered without hesitation.

  “Turn around, we go back!”

  The party members braced themselves as they dived into the wall of fmes.

  “Keep an eye on your status! Use your Tacaria quickly!”

  Liam ighe heat invading his skin. He had dealt with simir situations too often, allowing him to focus on his status.

  Suddenly a symbol of fmes appeared, signifying the ge in his status. His HP began to reduce.

  [-30!]

  The sed his health bar moved, Liam reacted, crushing the red herb in his hand. The burn status vanished immediately.

  “So hot…”

  The others felt the pressure, their as slightly deyed. Most of Liam’s friends ewo ticks of burn befetting rid of it.

  The rotatioed itself two more times before the party jumped out of the fmes oher side.

  “Everyone alright?”

  “I’m a bit low on HP!”, announced Balm.

  “You use a [Heal].”

  The redhead nodded, waving her wand, trading mana for HP.

  “Quick, let us gather at the statue!”, suggested Radiant Shield.

  “Great idea!”

  Everyone’s eyes lit up as they distahemselves from the fming wall.

  At this moment the fire moved, revealing skeleton soldiers. Small fmes g to their bony bodies, tinuously scorg them.

  Silver Bde squinted her eyes, iing the oppos.

  [Skeleton soldierRank: on

  Level: 8

  HP: 550/850

  Status: Burn x4]

  [-120!]

  [-120!]

  “It worked! They are losing so much HP!”

  Cye couldn’t help but ugh, taunting the skeletons:

  “Haha, catch me, catch me! You won’t even make it here!”

  “Your strategy worked, Acacia!”

  And ihe skeletons chased after the group, one by one succumbing to the damage.

  Only the elite arrived, half of its HP left. It couldn’t pose any danger, quickly taken out by the group like a pile of trash.

  “Ha! We’ve do!”

  “We broke our personal record.”

  “What a joyous feeling, my friends!”

  Fortune smiled, letting her invisible cam – a feature of the game – circle around the party.

  “Brains before brawns! Dear audiehis is how our party overcame our difficulties, bravely advang through the dungeon!”

  Liam was ied by the mood as well, plimenting his friends with a smile:

  “Well done everyohat’s how a dungeon should be quered. With strategy!”

  The party reveled in this feeling for a brief minute before they got ready to move on.

  Silver Bde looked at the hallway, finding the first two walls of fmes dying down, revealing another patch of stone.

  “Let’s try the same strategy again!”

  “Yes!”

  Everyone refocused, eyes on the price. They repeated their as. As soon as they reached the area of solid ground, they didn’t wait for the skeletons falling from the ceiling to stand up, diving into the fmes behind them.

  However, although the pn worked just as well as st time, now two elites were mixed among the skeletons.

  With their HP reduced by the bck fire those were still easily dispatched, but Silver Bde felt a foreboding feeling.

  Meanwhile Cye didn’t think too much, pouting because the elite didn’t drop anything signifit.

  The same spiel repeated again, this time with four elites.

  After another short fight, the party stood in front of another wall of fire, their faces stern.

  “There might be eight elites behind this one.”

  “Right. It’s getting tricky.”

  “Do we need a ge in strategy?”

  “I suggest not engaging in a fight until the burn status is over.”

  “I agree.”

  The party quickly came to a decision while the flickering fme died down.

  As soon as the pyers made it to the other side, skeletons fell from the ceiling again. No one had time to take a closer look yet, repeating the same old strategy of returning to the statue.

  A few seds ter everyone’s chest tightened.

  “Unfair!”

  “I think the devs failed at math!”

  Grim ents were made, as but tee skeletons walked out of the fmes, their bony faces looking ferocious with bd blue fire burning on them.

  “Draw back, let them burn first!”

  Silver Bde felt the mounting pressure as she directed the party. She didn’t dare to ehe elites, drawing out the fight, letting the fmes do the work for her.

  But the burn status didn’t st forever. Eventually the fmes ging to the skeleton guards died out, leaving them with about five hundred HP each.

  “ we… win this?”, asked Balm carefully.

  Silver Bde nodded reassuringly.

  “Don’t panic guys. We will fight them calmly one by one. Don’t let them encircle us!”

  But at this moment Liam interjected.

  “Let ed csses attack. I will make the first move.”

  “Sure.”

  The party readied themselves, staring at the ining skeletons with steady eyes.

  Quickly, the oppos came inte, a rain of attacks weling them.

  [-70!]

  [-79!]

  [-62!]

  Liam watched as one of the elites lost another half of its remaining HP. He fell into a quick jog, a grin on his face. His feet were agile like a cat’s as he approached the skeletons.

  The veteran focused his mind, his eyes on the enemies’ chests.

  A moment ter he was in attack distance. Suddenly all the skeletons cackled eerily. The blue fmes in their eyes danced as if searg for souls to burn.

  Dark energy gathered, engulfing the skeleton’s bodies.

  Instantly multiple spears fshed through the air like vicious snakes.

  Liam felt his chest tighten, an invisible pressure pelling him to stay in pd just take the attacks obediently.

  Shaking his body, the veteran moved to the side with a [Sidestep], a spear missing him by a hair’s breadth.

  Immediately after, Liam put strength in his legs, jumping backwards as far as possible.

  Spears thundered down on his former position, leaving cracks in the floor.

  Liam felt weak on his legs. The game ted his a just now as disengaging the fight, costing him almost all of his stance.

  Silver Bde watched the entire sequence, feeling a drop of sweat run down her neck. She imagined herself in Liam’s position just now, knowing that the elites might have killed her on the spot.

  She hadn’t thought that the skeletons, triggered by their low health, would all use their skills at the same time.

  “Don’t just stand there! End them!”

  Liam turned around, waking up the party with a shout.

  Radiant Shield and Silver Bde heir heads, ready to do their jobs. The two tanks quickly cshed with the elites, engaging from the side.

  “Try not to fight all of them at the same time! Elimihem one by one!”

  Silver Bde quickly gave orders as spears cshed against her shield.

  Attacks fell on her oppo, quickly taking its st bit of HP.

  “One down!”

  The oppos eyed the party greedily, slowly trying to encircle them. A spear stabbed out, almost unseen, aiming for Quickstep’s side.

  “What?”

  Even the pro was slow to react, taking a direct hit.

  [135!]

  “Damn! That damage!”

  “My bad.”

  Radiant Shield apologized as he positioned himself further to the side, ready to bloing attacks.

  “Stupid bones!”

  Quickstep growled angrily. She flourished her sword, perf a [Double Ssh]. Over the st few days she had observed Liam, attempting to replicate his feat of hitting two e once.

  But the female warrior didn’t have the same trol over her movements, which Liam honed in real life. Her sword fshed, hitting oe but missing the sed.

  The others didn’t stop attag as well, soon downing awo skeletons.

  “Seven to go! We got this!”

  “I’m out of stance!”

  Both the tanks reported, their faces still calm. But a moment ter Radiant Shield frowned as the elite before him gathered dark energy again.

  “I won’t let you!”

  With a shout the burly man used [Brutal Strike] to try and interrupt the skill.

  “F*ck, my stun failed!”

  Quickstep noticed Radiant Shield’s predit, wanting to help him. But it was already too te.

  The spear engulfed in darkness swirled, hitting Radiant Shield squarely in the chest, even pushing him away. A pulse of dark magic shot through his body.

  [-84!]

  [-10!]

  Even as a tank Radiant Shield nearly lost 100HP. But this wasn’t the worst, as the way towards the bae ened up.

  The elite in its skill rampaged blindly, ign the aggro system. It set its sight on Quickstep nearby, the tip of its spear aiming for her heart.

  The valiant womahe hairs on her neck rise. She stabilized her legs, leaning her upper body to the side.

  A spear tip barely passed her chest, Quickstep’s eyes frozen on its cold end.

  “Oh no!”

  “Watch out!”

  Distressed shouts came from nearby. One of the elites mao reach the mages, its face almost grinning as it swung its spear at Fortune.

  The tent creator was flustered. Although she was an experienced gamer, this was the first time that the party allopoo get close to her.

  A spear tip enrged in her eyes.