Realm of Myths and Legends

The battle cry being released by the two ancient warriors came to a sudden halt, however, this did not eliminate the fierce pressure that hovered around them. It constantly felt as if there was an invisible force oppressing the environment within the boss room.

"Captain, did combat masters always possess such a fierce-looking skill?" One of the Blue Oasis members, Feint, asked curiously.

"A skill? No... I know the combat master class is one shrouded in mystery due to the lack of players who chose it, but this type of thing should not be a skill. The amount of magic energy being discharged from those two warriors is well beyond that of what any single player can generate. If I had to guess, this should be the work of a magic item. If so, that would explain the vast quantity of magic energy hovering around those two warriors." Vanaheim stated.

She then continued, "The real question is, where did he acquire such a high-grade magic item?"

Vanaheim could not help but sigh when she observed Izroth. He had too many secrets! Blue Oasis had spared not effort digging into Izroth’s background and activities within RML, but most of the information they received was either too vague or just simply unbelievable.

This was the first time that her Blue Oasis had to deal with a complete enigma and it was an uncomfortable situation when one was used to having all the answers. However, Vanaheim felt that no matter how far they dug into Izroth’s secrets, there would always be one more layer to uncover.

Meanwhile, a playful smile formed on Ooudamu’s face. This was the first time since the fight started that she had been forced back!

"These two things are ruining my fun. How can this be allowed?" Ooudamu’s playful and light-hearted expression soon turned into one filled with a distant coldness.

"Nullify." The voice magic exploded outward from Ooudamu as a heavy wave of mana spread out in every direction.

"Not good! Brace yourselves!" Vanaheim hurriedly warned. It may just be one word, however, the magical energy behind it was several times heavier than usual. Also, if the word "Nullify" truly lived up to its name, then it was possible that every active buff and protective skill would disappear. This would weaken their party to a point that it was nearly impossible to recover from! She could only hope that Izroth’s promise of suppressing the voice magic earlier was not a simple bluff.

Vrooooosh!

Just as the word "Nullify" left Ooudamu’s mouth, an object suddenly soared through the air. The power behind this object was so intense that it made the air itself give way, leaving nothing in its path to diminish its speed.

The object came to an abrupt halt mid-air the instant it made contact with the domineering wave of voice magic. At the same time, ancient and mysterious symbols spewed from the mystical object as it unleashed an oppressive aura. This aura devoured the magical energy embedded within the voice magic and stopped it from traveling any further in all directions.

As the energy dimmed around the object, its true appearance could finally be seen by those present. The mystical object was, in fact, an arrow! However, this was not just any normal arrow. It was shot from the mighty bow that was in the hands of the ancient warrior on Izroth’s right side.

Clink! Clink!

A faint rustling sound could be heard as the ancient and mysterious symbols linked together and formed a myriad of chains. These chains looked as if they were capable of suppressing everything under the heavens!

The chains formed a sphere and at its center it contained the magical energy it had just absorbed from the voice magic. After the sphere finished forming, it teleported approximately 20 meters into the air and remained stationary. What then appeared above the sphere was the word "Seal" in grand letters! After the word "Seal" emerged, the mighty arrow crumbled away and vanished.

As the members of Blue Oasis prepared themselves to brace for the impact of the shockwave created by the voice magic, they soon discovered that such a shockwave never came! There was a look of confusion and bewilderment on the faces of those present as their attention was instinctively drawn to the sphere in the sky.

Ooudamu frowned when she noticed that the two ancient warriors did not vanish even though she used the word "Nullify". But, before she could make her next move, a chilling killing intent erupted from behind her!

Wooosh!

A figure emerged from out of nowhere as a streak of darkness flashed towards Ooudamu. This individual was none other than Abstract! Earlier, he activated a higher ranked version of the skill Stealth unique to his Death Stalker class called Stalker’s Hunt.

This skill not only allowed Abstract to enter stealth mode, but it also granted him a massive movement speed boost whenever he moved towards a target with stacks of Blight or who was affected by Expunge.

Since the effects of his Nocturnal Veil and Expunge did not last for a long period of time, he had to make the most of them while they were still active.

"Hehehe, have you learned nothing? Such attacks cannot reach me." Ooudamu declared with a grin. Even though she had just been knocked back by some strange force, she was not worried. After all, it was only a matter of time until the warriors disappeared. Not to mention, she viewed these oversiders as weak. They had to yet to damage her a single time! Therefore, what was she afraid of? As long as she possessed this body of the Trephasia race that wielded powerful voice magic, what was there to fear?

"Halt!" Ooudamu ordered. She did not believe that Izroth could maintain the power of those ancient warriors for long. Nor did she believe that he had the ability to continuously block such domineering voice magic.

Abstract did not retreat, but instead, he readied himself for the potential backlash that usually accompanied the activation of the voice magic.

Slisssh!

In the following moment, there was a strange silence that lingered about in the boss room. Every member of the raid group present had their attention focused on one thing—Ooudamu’s HP bar that was displayed on the system interface.

The change was very subtle and barely noticeable under normal circumstances, however, that small shift was enough to cause the members of Blue Oasis to feel reinvigorated!

[Ooudamu’s HP Remaining: 99.98%]

As promised, with the help of the ancient warriors, Izroth had suppressed the voice magic. However, Abstract was unsure of how long it would stay that way. As such, he exercised caution and quickly retreated after successfully landing his attack on Ooudamu to gauge the whole situation. Besides, both of his main goals had already been accomplished.

Abstract’s first goal was to see if Ooudamu’s voice magic had been nullified as promised. As for his second goal, it was to show that the battle before them was not one without hope. To be truthful, even he was starting to feel somewhat discouraged after not landing a single hit on Ooudamu.

Naturally, this feeling of frustration was present in all of the Blue Oasis members. But, as a captain of Blue Oasis, Abstract understood that it was his duty to ensure that he led the way forward—even if the situation seemed bleak.

"As always, Niflheim has good eyes." Abstract said as he briefly glanced over towards Izroth and the warriors at his side.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Out of nowhere, the sound of violent explosions could be heard coming from Vanaheim’s location. Above her head was a ball of wild dancing flames that resembled the sun as it constantly collapsed and created miniature contained explosions. Right now, she was casting a high-rank fire spell called Hellfire Burst.

"What are all of you staring at?! Are you not the core members of my Blue Oasis?!" Vanaheim stated as the ball of dancing flames rushed outward on a path to Ooudamu’s location.

BOOOOOOM!

The Hellfire Burst exploded on contact. The impact made the entire boss room slightly tremor from the sheer power of the blast. The spell generated a sphere of flames that contained the explosions to a well-confined space.

Normally, casting such a high-ranked spell would take at least 5 to 10 seconds depending on the skill’s level, however, Vanaheim had only done it in less than 3 seconds! This demonstrated just how fast her spell casting was when compared to the vast majority of other magic casters. But, such an impressive feat at this point could not be accomplished with items alone.

That is why the more he observed her actions during the battle, the more Izroth believed that Vanaheim possessed a skill similar to his Magic Fundamental Mastery passive.

The damage caused by Vanaheim’s Hellfire Burst was not small. In addition, in a great turn of fortune, she also activated one of the passive skills attached to her staff. This made it so that her spells had a small chance to deal an extra 100% damage based on the skills’ original magic damage. Not only that, but this damage also ignored all enemy defenses!

-19,603

-26,138

With a single spell, Vanaheim had dealt over 40,000 damage! In terms of raw damage output, without a doubt, mage-type classes were at the top. Though this did not come without some drawbacks. Long cast times and a lack of defensive capabilities made it so that they were left with huge vulnerabilities during combat. Of course, experienced magic casters had ways to make up for this weakness, however, it could never be completely eradicated.

After witnessing Abstract’s attack succeed and then viewing Vanaheim’s huge damage output that was accompanied by her strong words, how could the members of Blue Oasis bear to sit still any longer?

In the blink of an eye, the entire flow of the battle shifted to their favor. While Ooudamu was still able to avoid some attacks, it was no longer effortless without the presence of the voice magic. To begin with, her agility was not very high for a raid boss, and so, without the voice magic to make up for it, even if she knew the attacks were going to land, there was nothing Ooudamu could do about it.

However, given her status as a hardcore raid boss, even with the voice magic sealed away, Ooudamu was not to be underestimated. Superior Holy Smite was a skill that could be instantly cast which made it nearly impossible to avoid. Not to mention, the targets were always randomized which put the only supporter, Emberheart, under a great deal of pressure. But it was not without its rewards. Ooudamu’s HP was finally falling at a steady rate!

99.75%...

99.50%...

99.00%...

In just a few moments, the raid group was able to shave off 1% of Ooudamu’s HP—more than 233,000 damage! This damage did not even include Izroth who had yet to join in! As for the overall damage output, it was only getting higher with every second that passed. For a group that totaled 11 players fighting against a raid boss, it was an impressive display of power.

’That single shot consumed 30% of the energy output on the Twin Lasting Epoch Sentinels. Unfortunately, I still do not possess the proper material to recharge it. Until I locate it, I can only use the magic item another two times.’

Izroth required a special kind of magic crystal to recharge the Twin Lasting Epoch Sentinels. Although the power behind the skills contained within was great, the energy consumption and long activation time made it impractical in solo battles if it was not activated beforehand.

As for what his actions earlier, Izroth commanded the warrior to use his weapon referred to as the True Word Bow. The True Word Bow contained six True Words in total and the True Word Izroth had just chosen was "Seal".

Just as its name implied, it allowed Izroth to seal skills, abilities, or even enemies upon its activation!

’It is a shame that this magic item is incomplete, otherwise, it may have been possible to directly seal Ooudamu. Though I suppose this is the reason its price was so cheap on the Netherworld Exchange despite its potential strength. If I can find a way to restore its full power, then...’

Izroth set this thought into the back of his mind for the time being as he placed the two ancient warriors on standby mode. With this, he could conserve the energy of the magic item.

’Now, it is time you return that which does not belong to you.’

Izroth locked his gaze onto Ooudamu who had forcibly taken possession of Luna’s body. This Ooudamu had dared to lay a hand on one of the people under his protection? The consequences of such an action were not something she could bear!

Just as Izroth was about to personally take action, Vanaheim had arrived next to him. Even as she made her way over to him, Vanaheim did not halt her attacks against Ooudamu as she temporarily swapped to weaker skills that could be cast instantly.

"How long are you able to keep the voice magic suppressed?" Vanaheim asked. At the moment, this was the most important question on her mind. She had to know the time limit so that she could start preparing for their next course of action. However, what she did not expect to hear was the next word that left Izroth’s mouth.

"Indefinitely." Izroth responded nonchalantly. Then, without hesitation, he dashed forward to join the battle.

Indefinitely? The look of disbelief could not be hidden on Vanaheim’s face. It even almost caused her to mess up one of her spells! This... Was such a thing even possible against a raid boss?