After Halls entered into the Sprite Dwellings, he ended up in a party with Zi Yi and some other members of Blue Oasis. One of the players they were paired up with was Minus, the Captain of Blue Oasis' 6th squad. However, he did not dare cause any trouble considering the other players who were present.
Road Captain of Blue Oasis' 1st squad, Peaceful Chaos Captain of Blue Oasis' 4th squad, and Complex Assault the vice guild-leader of Blue Oasis—these were the players who were paired with Halls, Zi Yi, and Minus.
Once the group overcame some minor difficulties in their new environment, they explored deeper into the Sprite Dwellings. Ultimately, this led them to their current situation where they had finally located the rest of the missing raid group! Though it was mainly thanks to a special skill from Peaceful Chaos' Bestial Champion class called Marked Scent, that they were able to quickly track down the group nearest to their location—this included Izroth's group who was facing off against Ooudamu.
As long as someone was marked by Marked Scent, Peaceful Chaos was able to use the enhanced bestial senses from his class to track down his target to the end of the earth! Though if it were not for Abstract's warning before they entered into the Sprite Dwellings, then Peaceful Chaos would have never used Marked Scent as a safety precaution.
If not for that valuable piece of information gained by Abstract scouting ahead and sending back his Tethered Shadow, then who knew how long it would have taken for them to reunite if they all entered the Sprite Dwellings at the same time? No, even simply surviving for that long would have been an overwhelming challenge! Therefore, it turned out what was initially a curse had turned into a minor blessing.
As for the first group that joined with Halls and the others, it included Guan Yu, Valentine, Niflheim Captain of Blue Oasis' 7th squad, Nidavellir Captain of Blue Oasis' 2nd squad, Plays Two, and Asgard the guild leader of Blue Oasis.
Since both groups contained a tank, a supporter, and damage dealers, needless to say, they had a much easier time staying safe and roaming around the Sprite Dwellings. Unlike Izroth's and Luna's original groups who received the shorter end of the stick.
Halls tried to go back through the way he entered, however, the wall was solid. No matter how much he pushed, he was unable to travel back through the way he came!
"Strange, why can't I go back through?" Halls questioned with a frown. But, he was not the type of person to overthink things that were out of his control.
"Since I can't go back, I should just go forward to help brother Izroth and the others. After all, aren't they lacking a tank? Well, considering that brother Izroth is there, then big sis Luna should be with him. Heh, I don't believe she would let him die. Besides, if the two of them are together, then they should be fine as long as they aren't fighting a raid boss." Halls said the last part of his sentence in a joking manner.
In the end, what were the chances that they would run into a raid boss and start a fight with it?
Without any hesitation, Halls charged forward to join the battle. But, Halls was not prepared for the "enemy" he would soon have to face.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall...
"What is taking him so long to return? It may have been a bad idea to let him go through alone." Zi Yi questioned as she furrowed her brows. A full minute had just passed since Halls stepped through the wall and had not reported back. This made her feel somewhat uneasy.
"Who knows? With his personality, I would not be surprised if he got distracted by something shiny on that side." Valentine responded jokingly.
"Ha! My brother isn't so easily distracted. Maybe the others were in the middle of a fight and he jumped in. After all, my brother is one of the few real men I know." Guan Yu declared.
At the moment, Zi Yi, Valentine, and Guan Yu were with the members of Blue Oasis who had regrouped after initially being separated in the Sprite Dwellings.
After locating the crystal wall, it was decided that Halls would explore the area on the other side. Since he was a tank, the chances of him dying before he could safely retreat were practically non-existent—even if he came across a boss monster. Of course, such a thing occurring was a miniscule chance at best.
Halls was simply supposed to go on the other side, look around the initial area, and then immediately return with his findings. However, he should have returned by now and yet there were no signs of him doing so. Naturally, this caused some of the members of Blue Oasis to grow restless.
"Captain Peaceful Chaos, are you sure the rest of our guild members are on the other side of this crystal wall?" Niflheim asked Peaceful Chaos.
"My Marked Scent has never been wrong. I can still clearly 'smell' them. Even if one wanted to forcibly remove it—unless they possess an S-ranked cleansing skill—would they have the capability?" Peaceful Chaos responded in a confident tone.
He then continued, "Though the scent on one of them is still slightly off—almost as if it had somehow been mixed with foreign scent. But, without a doubt, the remaining members of our raid group are all gathered on the other side of this crystal wall."
Nidavellir sighed as he commented, "This Sprite Dwellings is truly ruthless. If not for Captain Peaceful Chaos, who knows how long it would have taken us to regroup? The longer we stayed alone in this place, the higher the chance of us running into trouble. Our losses may have not been light."
"Indeed, your merits this time around are not small, Captain Peaceful Chaos." Complex Assault chimed in.
As Peaceful Chaos received high praise from his fellow guild members, Nifhelim pondered their next move. Should they take a chance and cross over without any information? Or, should they stay put and wait for Halls to return.
Since Peaceful Chaos guaranteed that Halls' scent was still present, then it should be relatively safe to cross over. However, there was one thing that bothered him—why had Halls not returned immediately after accomplishing his task? Did he run into trouble? Or, was he simply unable to return for some reason?
"We can't just stand here and wait all day. If we are not going to find another in, then we should enter through here. Besides, what is the worse that can happen? At the very least, our raid group will be together again." Nidavellir stated.
"What if this is a trick and we get forcibly separated again? Or, what if it's a trap? Then, won't we just be welcoming our deaths?" Minus scoffed.
Niflheim could not disagree with Nidavellir nor Minus' perspectives. Indeed, they could not stand here all day and wait for an answer since they were in a hurry to complete the raid. But, if it was a trap, or if it was a trick to separate them again, then they could not recklessly go forward without a proper plan.
After mulling over it for a few moments, Niflheim had made his decision.
"We will all enter together. On the off chance that this is a trick and we end up separated, then we will simply have to track each other down again. Captain Peaceful Chaos, I will leave this part in your capable hands." Niflheim stated.
He then continued, "I will enter first. Captain Minus, Vice guild leader Complex Assault, you two will follow right after me. Guild leader Asgard, Captain Road, and Plays Two—I will have to trouble you three to be the last to enter in case anything unexpected happens. Everyone else will fall in in-between."
Although some were uneasy about Niflheim's plan, they agreed that standing here would do them no good. Also, since his decision had already been made, only the guild leader or vice guild leader could reject his plan. Of course, this would be publicly slapping Niflheim's face since he was the commander of the raid group. Not to mention, both the guild leader and vice guild leader trusted Niflheim, therefore, they had no issue with his orders.
"Then, if everyone's clear on their orders, let's move out! Remember what's at stake for our Blue Oasis! We will clear this raid no matter what obstacles it throws at us!" Niflheim roared.
The members of Blue Oasis exploded in a powerful battle cry as Niflheim's words had ignited their fighting spirit!
Niflheim led the way forward with his shield out and ready for combat as he stepped through the wall of crystal.
...
Bang! Bang! Ding! Ding!
"What the heck is this water made out of?!" There was a hint of frustration present in Feint's voice as he retreated after his attack was unable to penetrate Ooudamu's defenses.
A few seconds ago, Ooudamu had encased herself in a sphere of water that was approximately four meters in diameter. Whenever an attack came into contact with the sphere of water, it was bounced off! Although Ooudamu still received some damage, it was greatly reduced.
Though it was not all bad news lately. Not too long ago, to the surprise of everyone present, a member of their raid group had joined the battle. Not just any raid member, but a tank! This tank was, of course, Halls. With his presence, Ooudamu's aggro was no longer unstable and she could not simply attack whoever at any given time.
But, just as they were surprised to see Halls, Halls was shocked when he discovered their opponent. It was a raid boss! An actual hardcore raid boss! However, this was not the most shocking piece of information he took in.
When he first arrived on the scene of the battle, the situation had briefly turned intense? Why? It was because Halls immediately recognized that it was no monster they were fighting, but rather Luna! Even though she had a couple of new features, in the end, it was undoubtedly Luna. When he saw everyone targeting her, he did not hesitate to jump into the battle and block their attacks!
Although Halls did not doubt Izroth and Luna's skills, it was still a top guild they were facing. Therefore, even his brother Izroth should have some trouble dealing with their numbers.
Naturally, Halls' interference angered the members of Blue Oasis. For a moment, he had become public enemy number one. But, Izroth swiftly interfered and explained the situation to Halls.
After hearing the words of his brother and closely inspecting Luna's system information that now displayed the main name as "Ooudamu", he understood her circumstances and could not hide his embarrassment. Unfortunately, before they could discuss other matters, things become somewhat hectic as Ooudamu had once again altered her attack pattern.
Izroth, however, did not fault Halls. In fact, he was secretly impressed by Halls' actions. He was willing to throw aside all rewards and offend a top guild to assist his comrades. This showed Izroth that he was not wrong about Halls' character.
Once the confusion was cleared up, Halls instantly became a huge source of relief for the group. Now that they had a tank to absorb the bulk of Ooudamu's aggro, it had become much easier to maneuver and create opportunities. As a result, their offensive assault had improved by leaps and bounds.
[Ooudamu's HP Remaining: 92.08%]
The current group had almost shaved a total of 8% off Ooudamu's HP! Considering the fact that almost half of their damage dealers were missing and they were fighting without a tank for most of the battle, such a damage amount was impressive, to say the least.
"Do not grow arrogant, Oversiders! Since you have decided to visit this place, then let it become your grave!" Ooudamu cried out as the sphere of water around her expanded. Now, it resembled a bubble that was about to burst!
Roooooooar! Wooosh!
Just as the sphere of water expanded around Ooudamu, the roar of massive beast echoed throughout the boss room. The mouth of a vicious beast formed from pure energy opened its mighty maws and chomped down on Ooudamu.
CHOMP!
The sphere of water that was expanding had come to a sudden halt as it fell to the ground becoming nothing more than a puddle of water.
"This skill is...!" Vanaheim immediately recognized the owner of that skill! If he was here, then that could only mean one thing.
"Assimilate!" A powerful voice sounded out just as the mouth of the beast dissipated.
"It's Captain Niflheim!" Feint announced in an excited tone when he noticed Niflheim charging over.
"Look, the others are here as well! Hahaha, our raid group is finally together again!" I Do Zero Quests cheered.
Niflheim was followed by Minus, Complex Assault, and soon the rest of the members of the raid group. It was the first time everyone had been together since their time outside of the Sprite Dwellings. There was a feeling of relief when Niflheim saw with his own eyes that everyone was alive and well.
When he arrived within range to manually view Ooudamu's information through the system interface, Niflheim quickly got a rough grasp of the situation.
"It is a miracle that no one has died. It seems my Blue Oasis has not yet been forsaken." Niflheim said.
He then shouted, "I'm going ahead!" Niflheim activated the skill Unimpeded Rush as he gained a huge boost of movement speed and sped forward in Ooudamu's direction.
The shield in Niflheim's hands had transformed and become nearly transparent, light, and thin like a cicada's wing. It looked as if one could snap it in half with little to no effort. However, there was a mystical energy wrapped around the shield that emitted a strong pressure.
Now that raid group had been reunited, it was time for the true battle to commence!