Upon entering the instance, Elric found herself submerged in a steaming hot spring.
The pool was populated by a dozen other guests. Around the edges, vibrant drinks and exquisite snacks were laid out, and the bathers lounged in the warmth, chatting and laughing, indulging themselves so thoroughly that they forgot the outside world.
Steam billowed thickly around the pool, blurring Elric's vision and relaxing every muscle and bone in her body. Even her thoughts began to drift in the comforting heat. Yet she didn't linger. With no intention of wasting a single second, she promptly climbed out of the water. Realizing she was clad in nothing but a bathrobe, she headed straight to the changing room.
Uncertain where the system had stored the outfit designated for her character, she picked a stall at random, retrieved a change of clothes from the supermarket section, and dressed swiftly.
As she changed, Elric wondered whether this instance was a standard or a supernatural one.
She got her answer almost immediately.
After stepping out fully dressed, she began walking along the wooden corridor. From behind a row of partitioned hot spring pools to her left, separated by screens and shrubbery, she heard startled cries.
"Ah!"
"What happened?"
"It's so hot!"
"Goddamn it, I'm boiling alive!"
From the men's bath on the other side of the wall came similar screams. The air grew denser with scalding steam, obscuring Elric's sight, yet strangely clearing the haze from her mind.
This was, without doubt, a standard instance.
And it was almost certainly centered around a hot spring disaster.
With that realization, Elric wasted no time. She broke into a run down the long, winding corridor. Screams erupted from both sides, and in her peripheral vision, she saw bathers scrambling out of the pools, wailing in pain from burns.
"Where's the staff?!"
"Someone's fainted—we need a doctor!"
"Run! The water's boiling!!"
The area had descended into chaos. Elric caught the acrid scent of sulfur in the air, mingled with the sickening aroma of seared flesh.
The steam was so thick it nearly blinded her.
The sound of boiling water roared in her ears, and the smell of roasting meat grew so intense it made her nauseous. She pushed herself to run faster.
Just as she was about to exit the hot spring facility, a torrent of scalding water erupted behind her, spraying in all directions and provoking another chorus of screams.
The hot mist surged after her, the blistering heat licking at her back. Without hesitation, Elric dove forward.
She rolled twice on the ground and sprang back to her feet. Under the blazing sun, geysers of hot spring water shot into the sky from the resort, cloaking the building in a veil of steam. The once-lush greenery now wilted and sagged under the onslaught of heat.
This wasn't the only hot spring resort—similar calamities were unfolding elsewhere. Elric stood up and scanned her surroundings until her eyes landed on a signboard. She sprinted toward it.
As she suspected, it was a map. Based on the markings, her entry point had been in the west-central region of the hot spring resort.
"Hot Spring Resort…" Elric quickly scanned the map twice, pinpointed her location and the exits, then set off at a dead run.
She had to hurry. The map clearly indicated the resort spanned a vast area, from the volcano's base to halfway up the mountainside. Her current position—mid-slope—was meant to offer the best views but had now become the most perilous place to be.
The volcano that fed the resort was malfunctioning. For now, the pool temperatures had spiked abnormally, but a full-blown eruption might not be far off.
Other players who had escaped their own pools soon found the map as well. The once-tranquil resort echoed with panicked footsteps and desperate cries for help.
Elric wasn't about to rely solely on her own legs. In a hidden corner, she retrieved a motorcycle from the supermarket.
Twisting the throttle, the engine roared to life.
The heavy stench of sulfur assaulted her nostrils. She wrapped a towel tightly around her head and face, eyes sharp as she tore through the narrow hot spring street.
"Shit!" A red-faced NPC stumbled out, nearly getting hit. "You in a damn rush to die?!" he shouted furiously, then turned his wrath on the spa. "I'm reporting this place! What kind of spa is this? A goddamn slaughterhouse?!"
His tirade was cut off by another violent eruption from the hot spring. Scalding water blasted high into the air and rained down like boiling rain.
"Ahhh!"
Terrified tourists scattered in all directions. The hot spring street was now a scene of total pandemonium. Elric, with expert maneuvering honed through countless chase sequences, zipped ahead on her bike—carving a path out before the flood of escaping tourists could clog the way.
But the situation rapidly deteriorated.
Elric sensed a change beneath her tires. The ground gave a sudden jolt beneath her wheels.
A voice shouted nearby, "It's burning!"
She turned in time to see a group of NPCs hopping in agony, clutching their feet like shrimp tossed into boiling oil.
Her heart sank. She accelerated again.
The pavement was warping fast. Elric swerved sharply, leaving deep skid marks. In an instant, the very ground she had crossed buckled and swallowed the grooves.
The cobbled road—paved with smooth river stones—heaved as the earth surged. A searing stone grazed past her, scalding her skin.
It burned!
And it was only the beginning.
The ground continued to bulge and quake. River stones, now superheated, shot out like bullets. Beneath them, the underlying soil burst forth in scorching clumps, pelting Elric from every direction. There was no cover. She felt like a roast duck in a kiln, heat attacking from all sides.
It was unmistakable: the volcano was awakening.
Elric knew this was bad. She'd encountered volcanic instances before, but this one had been upgraded, with more complex mechanics.
Fortunately, she had her cheat module. Without it, acquiring transportation and breaking locks would have eaten up precious time—and in a crisis like this, every second counted.
Her intuition had been correct.
Barely five minutes after she left, the area she'd escaped from was reduced to rubble—submerged in boiling spring water. A few scorched bodies floated among the debris. The ground continued to split, pulsing as though something beneath was breathing.
The higher up the slope, the worse the tremors. Survivors were fleeing in terror. A fall was near-fatal: any exposed skin against the ground sizzled, and even when they managed to get back up, the burns were so deep they didn't even blister—just seared flesh.
Some guests had fled barefoot, too panicked to grab shoes. The soles of their feet lost all sensation after a short run. If they stumbled, they were immediately trampled by the stampede behind them.
"Ahh!"
"Help me!!"
Agonized screams echoed without end.
From the mountaintop came an ominous rumble, more terrifying than anything before. Elric couldn't help glancing back—the sky had darkened, heavy with clouds that pressed downward, unleashing a dread that chilled the soul.
She had to move faster.
Near the volcano's base, her motorcycle gave out—the tires utterly destroyed. Elric braked just in time and abandoned it, immediately hunting for another vehicle.
Unlike the narrow street up the slope, the road at the mountain's base was much wider. A few makeshift parking lots dotted the area, and now, informed tourists were scrambling to escape. Elric spotted a sedan just beginning to pull away and leapt onto it.
"Someone's on the car!" a voice inside yelled.
"Forget it—just drive!!"
The car surged forward. Elric balanced herself on the roof, stealing a glance back amidst the jolts.
BOOM.
The long-dormant volcano finally erupted, its fury unrestrained. Ash billowed into the sky, and molten lava spilled forth like blood from a wound. Within seconds, the mountaintop was engulfed in black, the darkness spreading outward like a storm.
Fiery lava surged down the slopes, devouring everything in its path. Cracks tore through the earth, magma oozing from within. The hot spring resort disintegrated, consumed by smoke, steam, and ruin.
Volcanic ash rained down upon Elric. She turned away from the devastation, adjusting the towel over her head and face once more.
The searing wind stung her sweat-slicked skin. She dared not relax. Every second, she had to be ready to run again.
Eventually, the road ahead was blocked by a massive car crash. Her impromptu ride could go no farther.
As car horns blared incessantly, Elric leapt down, nimbly weaving through the jam, occasionally vaulting onto car roofs and leaping between them.
She even had time to recall the last time—or the time before that—she had run through a gridlocked street this same way.
This had become her new normal.
After clearing that stretch, she summoned another motorcycle and followed the road signs, distancing herself from the wrathful volcano.
The sky grew ever darker. Ash fell thick, dimming the world. Windshield wipers could do nothing against it. Accidents increased.
One car struck Elric's motorcycle with such force that she was flung through the air. In the mere two seconds of flight, she twisted her body and landed hard on another car's roof, then rolled down with the momentum.
At this rate, she'd be crushed in traffic.
She grabbed for anything—first the wiper, then the side mirror. With her arms and core straining, she kicked the door, leveraging her weight to somersault back onto the roof.
BANG.
She landed flat on her back. Pain lanced through her waist, and her arm felt dislocated.
Her towel had fallen off. She inhaled a mouthful of foul, ash-choked air and coughed violently. She yanked her jacket collar up to cover her nose and mouth, flattened herself against the roof, and braced against the burning pain in her chest—silently praying that this ride would take her just a bit farther.
Luck was on her side.
The car sped on and eventually merged onto a bridge spanning the river. After crossing safely, Elric spotted a glowing circle at the traffic light near the bridge's end.
The circle radiated with piercing brilliance, slicing through the volcanic gloom and stabbing into Elric's eyes.
Relieved, she leaned toward the driver's side window and tapped on the glass.
The driver stared at her, wide-eyed. At her gesture, he cracked the window slightly.
"Thank you for the ride. Would you kindly let me off here?" Elric asked politely.
**\[Player Elric has cleared Standard Instance: Hot Spring Resort. Points Awarded: 4]**