Baldur

Baldur paused in his pacing and appraised the husk of the man before him. His words were so sad, and his question showed a depth of pain that Baldur wished he could say was surprising to him. He grave a slight frown weighing the man as Baldur lifted up the tip of his own blade and slapped the side of Alkor's in a way swordsmen often did to signal they were ready. He let Alkor's words settle about him like a weighted blanket. They were comforting to the man, but they were heavy to anyone else. "So, you're willing to be a villain, but not the hero? You reject the existence of one, but not t

Baldur smiled when he felt the strike on his arm from Alkor's blade, the tension of the air released and he took a few steps back. His steel blue eyes considered the man, their situation, and the words he was asking. It wasn't clear what he was asking, but Baldur would do his best to give him answer. "I have found that when people ask for advice, it's usually because they already know the right answer, but don't like it. They want someone to tell them that they're wrong." Alkor had gone for the blow against Baldur, it told him a lot about the man, but he had also sacrificed much to g

There you go, you're getting this. He could see the battle shock in her eyes when he had walked back to them, but Snow was able to pull herself through, focus returning to her eyes even as the Monkey King slowly came out of his stun. As she found herself, she released her howl. It wasn't quite there yet, where it needed to be, and he saw that the hate hadn't transferred from Sewallus to Snow yet, but that could still change. If the Monkey King hit Sewallus again, he may day, or he may not, it was too close to call, however if Snow stopped to heal him, she wouldn't pick up hate. If they bo

Once they had broken into the control room they came face to face with Emperor Razwell, perhaps the true floor boss. How this encounter played would set the stage for how future boss fights were handled. Would they consider the NPcs words, or would they take the more expedient path forward. How would this have been different had they executed Gabrandr and just proceeded to the next floor? Here and now determined if they would ever do this again. Without breaking a stride, Baldur unleashed his <<Iai>> attack, having locked onto Razwell and he zipped forward, faster than th

Before Baldur had a chance to respond to Snow and calm her nerves, the Captain warned them that they were there. The three quickly turned to take cover behind a boulder, but they were not fast enough. Sewallus stepped out to taunt the giant Monkey, but the creature threw at tree at them so large it was impossible to dodge. Tsk. Baldur cursed as he found himself airborne and stunned. I let the mob get the initiative on us, and now we're all stunned. This is not going to do well for Snow's comfort in fighting these things. While still in the air, Baldur noticed some vines hanging arou

Baldur smiled at Snow as she asked if she could sit in on the lesson, "I think it would be beneficial for us all to watch. We'll get the two of them started, and then we'll sit to the side and let Jon and Koga wail on each other for a while. Using Sword arts are different from the fighting you typically saw at the tournament, so it'll be an adjustment. Plus, the system affects us in subtle ways, with the enhancements of our equipment, so I think we'll witness quite the show today." After they had spent a bit preparing for Koga's arrival, Baldur would smile and greet the rakishly handsome

Baldur was impressed as Alkor subtly changed his approach, responding to Baldur's change in tactics with a change of his own. As Baldur became fasters and rained quick, shallow blows on him, Alkor shifted to a firmly rooted defense, not giving rising to the baiting attacks and faints, and instead picking him moments to strike. The man was much more accomplished than even Baldur had credited him. He had seemed far more wild and feral in his fight with Koga, yet he was more contemplative in his fight with Baldur. It seemed either Alkor matched like with like, knowing the counter of each style, o

"It's a bit tricky on the tongue, isn't it?" Baldur mused with wry smile, intentionally saying the name as infrequently as possible. Together, they walked through the small town towards the knotted longhouse that doubled as the city hall and guard post. It was not a large town, but there was something pleasant about the way the sunlight filtered down through the branches and the leaves. He cast a sideway glance at Snow, appraising her and her demeanor. He detected a bit of nervousness in her, but she seemed to be trying to psyche herself up for this as well. "Relax, Snow-san." Baldur trie

Baldur smiled as Jon made a joke about being at a disadvantage when surrounded by Mina and Baldur. Truth be told, he was pretty good natured about being teased. In response to the gaijin's question, however, the man suddenly seemed a little embarrassed, using his common tell of ruffling his own hair. Baldur was going to be quick with a platitude, assuaging his student's confidence and ego, but then a thought occurred to him that he could kill three birds with a single stone. "Asymmetry is definitely a challenge that only improves with exposure and practice. When I was learning to fence, n

Alkor chose to counter attack, crashing towards Baldur like a battering ram at the gates, or like the crashing of a massive wave on the shore. He redirected Baldur's blade to the side and threw himself at the wanna-be samurai, but the gaijin was somehow both light on his feet, yet always stable and well balanced. As he had learned many years ago, when the wave was too strong to fight against, to tall to go over, and too powerful to resist, you dove under. Alkor tried to knock Baldur off balance, but instead the blue haori whirled low, and would have taken a lesser man down and sent him crashin

Upgrading the follow item to Demonic Quality, using one Demonic Shard to add 1 slot of EVA: From: to

"A noble pursuit..." Baldur echoed Alkor's words with a smile that showed he welcomed the fight, "My code, what I teach... it's not something you can achieve, but the striving for it is what makes us better. The most important step a man can take, it's always the next one. Otherwise, your journey is over and you've accepted defeat." With barely so much as a ready stance, Alkor was suddenly upon Baldur. Without having seen the man in action before, he would have been more unprepared for such a maneuver, but it seemed Alkor was not one to squander opportunity. In his casual one handed grip,

One of the shoji panel doors slid open, and Baldur walked in dressed in the same haori he always wore. The first sight he saw was Snow, dressed in her haori, and picking up a handful of weapons to put them away. He was beginning to feel that she played the role of cinderella in their home. He would have to make it up to her. Then his eyes slide over to @Morgenstern, his errant student. He did not come regularly, but his coming and going of the island wasn't uncommon either. "Jon!" Baldur called to the man with a smile, bowing to the kamidana before stepping fully into the dojo. "It i

Baldur approached Alkor, an amused curl to his lip when the man commented about being as flesh and blood as anyone could be in Aincrad. No one had ever given him reason to doubt the system designated marker over their head other than Alkor. The man had been dead. Baldur had helped people grieve for him. He had visited and left flowers for the man at the Monument of Life, yet here the man stood. It was something worth investigating, but he would not interrogate the man who as a guest in his home at their first meeting. His curiosity, at least over this, would have to be sated another day.

Quest: Baldur: After the events of the Floor 26 Boss Fight/Event, post Sunshine, post Fishing "The most important step a man can take. It's not the first one, is it? It's the next one. Always the next step," "All I know is no matter how far or fast we ran, it was never enough. There are now craters instead of trees where we were attacked, and rivers instead of forest where it moved." Remington pantomimed moving like a giant gorilla. It was something straight out of what Baldur imagined an old black and white silent film movie would try to do. The laughter of human, e

The dojo was dark at this hour, though the sun was still setting, it was obscured by trees and the buildings of Baldur's home. It was meant to greet the rising sun, not the setting. A subtle symbol that there was always a dawn to another day. Practice was for the morning, and rest for the evening. When first light hit, it came through the open panels and met the small Kamidana, and below it, the rows of wooden nafuda, showing the names of all those who were recognized members of Baldur's dojo, along with the name of the dojo: Musha Shugyo - Training in Warriorship. The eastern equivalent of a

Thread Closed: Word count: 13,155 (I did not count anything in a quote box if it was in a previous post) 13,155/30 = 438.5 Snow level 23 = Tier 3 *5 = 15 Baldur level Level 32 Paragon 58 = Tier 9 *5 = 45 @Snow EXP Gain = 15*438.5 = 6,577.5 + 300 Quest EXP = 6,877.5 @Baldur EXP Gain = 45*438.5 = 19,732.5 + 300 Quest EXP = 20,032.5 Both Baldur and Snow gain the <<Fisher>> Profession Both Baldur and Snow gain 1 <<Gleaming Scale>> from Quest reward Snow Gains 400 Col + 2 Material Baldur gains 3,004.875 Col from Laurel Wreath

I don't think you could have botched this more if you had tried. Baldur almost laughed at himself. He watched as Snow moved throughout the store, looking at different options and fabrics, pulling out a few and holding them up to her. She had almost seemed saddened that he seemed to reject her choosing the previous one. If that were true, he was even more of a fool than he realized. But he wanted Snow to know that she didn't need to try and appease him, or do what he wanted. He had wanted her to want that haori, but his, Baldur's, goals with Snow were more important. He wanted to help her find

Snow had come back with one of the Shinsengumi haori, it was as close to a match of his as you could find without making something custom. The gesture of it was touching. It was, in fact, exactly what he had secretly hoped she would come back with, but it drug up some deep guilt inside of him, and the words she had given him. You can't make it through Aincrad alone. His face was a genuine smile, the joy of her choice, which she already knew of, reflected on him. He took it in hand and held it up for her to try on. She hesitated a moment, and then let him help her, before she once again dazzled

Baldur smiled at the first player to come up to the buffet table. "Thanks again, @Hirru for helping catch so much of the fish we used for tonight. I really appreciate your help." He placed a piece of the yakitori on its skewer on his place. The next face he saw surprised him, and his face lit up with warmth and joy at the sight of @Zajcica. "Yuki! You're back! It's always so wonderful to see you! Yes, I'd love to catch up once I've given out the food. I assume you've already seen Crow, right? He's been eating me out of house and home while you've been busy." In spite of it all,

Through some sheer force of will, the occupants of his transport helped defend them from the handful of cannon balls that found their mark, both by calling out their positions, and apparently by punching or chopping them. Baldur was mostly glad that his reckless and breakneck speeds trying to get them through the most dangerous arc of their flight hadn't dislodged anyone. He didn't know Plini, but he hoped everyone had their teleport crystals. It was far enough down that anyone who dropped could teleport away before hitting the ground. "HANG ON WE'RE GOING IN FOR A LANDING!!" Abruptl

Baldur could hardly suppress his laugher and a smile when she grabbed the spear and told the merchant she wanted it, sticking her tongue out at him. Suddenly, this was all Jason could want to see. Alyssa jumping into the ponds in the morning with her spear in hand, harpooning fish. It would be quite the sight to wake up to, he could only imagine the surprise on Hirru and Calrex's faces when they saw the new Lady of the Lake. His laughed rung out loud and true, coming from somewhere deep in the gut as only earnest laughter could. After their transaction was complete, Baldur h

Buying the following items: (2) Ambition Fishing Poles Total: (800 * 2) = 1,600col

The moments he had left her inside seemed to stretch on forever. Why had he brought her here? The condition of the shop was embarrassing. He hadn't even used it himself in a long time, and it had been a dozen floors or more since he had last been open to the public, let alone busy. He really should just sell the location. It was a great location for shop, not a mausoleum of his failures. "Pull yourself together, Baldur. You've shared a moment together that was special to you both, but you're making a terrible second impression." It wasn't really the 'second' impression. Baldur and Sn

She had blushed when he put the haori on her. Had he been inappropriate? It was certainly not something someone in Asia would do so blithely, but she was of European descent, and her voice didn't have the accent of someone who had grown up in Japan. He assumed she was a transplant, like he was. The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable, but it struck Jason that it was something he did too often, by overestimating comfort levels and familiarity. Just because he had let her in so much, didn't mean she had let him in as much. Connection wasn't symmetrical. But she asked how s