Baldur

It was proving his instincts about Morningstar correct .The man knew what he was about, knew to prepare and look ahead into the future, and started fights off with a charge and a stun. All steps that Baldur himself normally followed. Now that it was stunned, it was wide open to any attack that Baldur would level against it. The option opened up to Baldur how he should proceed. He had recently replaced his combat focus from single target to technical. It meant his whole chain of actions was different now. How he would normally have opened up a fight was completely different now. Unlike what Mor

Baldur drew the sleeve of his haori across his sweaty brow. It did not bring the same relief it would have in the real world, but the effect it had on his mind still managed to give him a moment of relief. Thankfully he had endless amounts of stamina when it came to hiking across impossibly hot blasted landscapes like this one. Slowly they began to transition from the plains into the foothills on the way to the mountain he had pointed them towards. "My thoughts on Callisto?" The samurai seemed to taste the words, as if evaluating the first sip of wine. "It was kind of nice to find so

Buying the following items: Field Rations | [1,000col] Grants +12% to max HP. Cannot be used in combat. Effect lasts for one thread. A player cannot benefit from more than one Field Rations at a time. This effect cannot stack with Over-Health consumables. Filling may be used on this item, increasing its buff from 12% to 16% max HP. Immolation Potion When used, successful non-critical attacks against you deal (10 * Tier) unmitigated damage to the attacking enemy. Must be of the appropriate tier to use. Effect lasts for one thread. Tier 4 | [1200col] Spyglass (x3) | [80

With all the time Baldur was spending on this floor, he would have to turn in his kimono for a yukata. He had forgotten how hot the floor was. It had been a long time since he had taken damage due to heat, but had forgotten that just because damage wasn't ticking down on his HP bar didn't mean that it wasn't uncomfortable. It reminded him of Kyoto in the middle of summer. Still, this was the place he had asked to meet them. He checked the time and then pulled up the message again, he was early but he wanted to make sure that he had given them the right time. It was just about tim

"Ah, you know Wulfrin and Hirru well then? I just met him in my party for this raid, he was the only one I hadn't fought with before... he..." Baldur knew it was perhaps uncouth to bring up near death encounters, "was a very impressive fighter... I am... glad that he is still with us." He wasn't sure how much the other groups saw about what happened, but Baldur had had a front row seat to the near death of Wulfrin, and the death and resurrection of Freyd. "I will have to extend to them my thanks." They made small talk about the phoenix as they walked before Morningstar brought up his

"Cordelia." The old samurai's face split into a smile that could not contain the pure joy expressed there. In fact, there seemed to be something in his eyes that sought her out, an old haunting that lurked there, and Cordelia's presence was an unexpected comfort. Like a life raft thrown to a drowning man. "It is so good to see you." Whenever Baldur had been about his business, his eyes were always a stately steel blue in color. Focused. Measured. Refined. A swirling tempest of ocean was in his eyes, an unease that she had probably never seen from him before. A slight set to his shoul

Baldur gave a slight chuckle at Morningstar's quip about his fishing pole, and gave the man another look. He would have to reappraise the man. In Baldur's eye, he was still the newbie who showed at the Valentines day tournament, but they had just fought in the trenches together, and in Baldur's world view, that made them brothers. There was also something about the man. While he seemed to be new to the frontline, there was something about him that said he was well prepared for the dangers that faced him. There was a certain special kind of respect that Baldur held for people that were truly co

"Hey, Morningstar!" The voice that suddenly interrupted his day was non-other than the blue haori clad gaijin samurai. He had just emerged from the same antique shop Morningstar himself had left only a few minutes ago. However, Baldur had a very strange item on him. It appeared to be a fishing pole, but made out of some heavy duty metal. When he noticed man see what Baldur was holding, he blushed slightly. "Sorry, I've been craving some spicy tuna fish on @Snow's sushi, and the best place to get it is here. Gotta admit, I never would have expected to find out that it come from Lava T

JACOB'S LADDER| 1/11/25 | RANK #0 | TOTAL TOKEN COST: 0 Guild Activity Guild Territory, First Application Guild Territory Expansions Original Guild Base Approval:

Floor 14: Stonewall Sunset BGM Baldur had never returned to this floor for a reason. The 14th floor was an oppressive, monochrome red that only continued to press down on you the more time you spent on this floor. While maybe it felt good to the goths and emo kids, Baldur was not only neither, but this floor had special meaning to the handful of players who were there. This wasn't just a floor, this was a floor where he died. It was the last time someone had died to a floor boss itself. But it wasn't just someone who had died, it was Azide. And how the future of the tower was wov

In response to his question, he heard Lessa's voice pop up. A welcome addition to their merry little party, in this delightfully welcoming floor. Still, he couldn't help but cast a lopsided smile at their very different answers. One embraced, and one abstained. But then Lessa had to make another crack about his age. Her teasing helped cut some of the tension out of the mood of the floor, but he would have to return her teasing with a bit of Star Wars. "When 900 years old you reach, look as good, you will not." While the two ladies moved to investigate the little allies and buildings

A contented smile hung on the weary samurai's face as he let the sentiment of her words linger in the snow covered air. All the years they had been together, this floor constantly brought them back together. It wasn't where they met, and he didn't have his home on this floor, but it was their home. So he leaned against her as they went arm and arm through the snow, and for a moment he let his mind wander. Pictures of a small stone cottage, with a low fence around it. A stable for horses in the back. Warm light leaking out of the windows, and cups of hot chocolate on a table. Just the two

The gaijin samurai nodded as the others came up alongside him and echoed his thoughts. He remembered @Morningstar only barely. He had been at the tournament Baldur hosted a long time ago. He was already on the Frontlines? That was truly an impressive feat. Baldur would need to keep his eyes on this Morningstar. The girl, @Arabelle, who came up and voiced her thoughts next was unknown to Baldur, but she had done well in the raid. So many new faces I need to learn. "any chances this is where the corruption came from? our old friend had his lair right at this floor's gates, after all."

((This thread is open to all participating members of the floor 28 Raid, and takes place immediately following the defeat of Callisto)) ((Official Floor Music)) Typically, when you emerged from the floor boss lair, you were greeted by the blinding light of a new day, or perhaps a bright moon in the sky. Even nights in Aincrad, unpolluted by modern city lights, were brighter than a floor boss dungeon. The floor that always hovered above them in the sky did little block out the beautiful sky box, stars glittering in uncounted multitudes, showing off a sky that rivaled any he had seen

Baldur watched Freyd go. He appeared to be a man haunted, but Baldur had watched him die and then get better. It was beyond suspicious. He had seen too many people die not to wonder why Freyd got a second chance when so many others didn't. That's not entirely fair, some of them did get a second chance. That fight, at least, seemed to have a context that made sense. The one and only thing Baldur could count on for Kayaba Akihiko was that he made rules for his game and stuck with them. They were fair in the same ways that gravity was fair. He wasn't capricious with his death game more

Thorny vines erupted form the ground and tried to grab Baldur and the party. He saw the icon showing the bleed effect appear and then disappear as his antidote worked its purpose. He struck at the vines holding him down to regain his freedom of movement, and then he felt the rainbow glow of Zandra's power fill him. She was right, it was time to end this. Baldur spun with his blade, and the arc of the sword art left him and sailed a short distance across the field of battle to strike the boss, but Baldur didn't turn back to look at it. Facing the rest of his party, he began to sheath

Skill(s) Being Dropped: Kataa, Battle Healing, Curved Sword, Light Armor, Charge, Quick Change, Extended Weight Limit, Energist, Searching Mod(s)/Addon(s)/Shift(s) Being Dropped: Meticulous, Emergency Recovery, Bull Rush, Parry, Combat Mastery: Damage, ST Shift, SP Refunded: 123 (should be everything) Cost: Utilizing Paragon Level 25's Free Skill Respec

Somehow, Freyd was back again. This was the second time the tank had faked him out, but last time he saw the man's HP bar go down to zero. What was going on? Was this like last time? Like Alkor? Was something changing and death was no longer on the table? Maybe there was some trick and no one had really died. Or maybe Freyd was in on it. How else could people die and come back? It should be impossible, but there wasn't any explanation. Speculation could wait though. "A little heads up next time you need to go AFK to change your avatar." Turning to face Callisto, Baldur watc

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ The boss roared a mighty roar, so powerful that it seemed to be searing the very pixels of the game, breaking away the ground to view the mesh lines beneath them as Freyd called for them all to take cover. They moved quickly, sheltering behind the tank. Everyone except for Wulfrin. They all seemed to realize it at the same moment. Everyone looking at the man Freyd had helped train to be here, left out in the full brunt of the oncoming attack. Kuso he swore. Each of them twitched as if to move and help the man who was stuck in the post sword art freeze, though it was

Fire erupted from Freyd and seemed to burn away the fines that were trying to drain life from anything it could. The gaijin samurai looked towards Freyd and gave him a quick nod as a salute for his quick thinking and action taking care of the strange new lair action that they had seen. Turning quickly back to the bear, the health bars nearly depleted, Baldur charged once again. The bear was occupied with the tanks and the myriad of abilities being used against it, but Baldur took a measured breath, his energy ticking up for a moment as he waited for the moment to strike. As Callisto turne

Several things suddenly happened a once. Callisto seemed to almost implode in upon herself, decaying as if it were a speed run competition. Then vines suddenly erupted from the ground attacking the raid and seeming to draw energy from the members and back into the boss. At the same time, she picked up Freyd and other tanks, seeming to draw him into her. Kuso! "Freyd!" Baldur rushed forward as the tank was engulfed. Baldur tried dodging the lash of the vines, but he needed to do something about their tank before who knows what would happen to him. He put his hand on the sheathed

I was informed that my build no longer meets the item rules, and staff offered to let me re-evaluate one of my items. I would like to change this: into this: Thank you

The display of the numbers showed that Freyd had been critically hit again. It seemed like every attack was critting their tank, but he was able to keep it going. He had been trying to stun the boss, or trip it up, but the attacks didn't seem to be having an effect on the boss. He needed to switch it up and the sword he wielded, Teayre's sword, thirsted for blood. He saw his abilities were coming off of cooldown and he needed to do something with them. He would start his rotation once more. Rushing forward, he aimed to position himself where he could unleash a more powerful attack. H

The boss seemed to be building up to something, but as yet hadn't done anything beyond the expected. It seemed like even though they had run through many of its health bars, they had seen all of its tricks so far. It was a curious choice of game design. Usually the bosses had a trick up their sleeve, but if this was just a tank and spank for their group, then they should consider themselves lucky. He gave a quick scan over the raid, noting a few players health go back and forth like ping pong balls between red and green, but at least the groups were prepared to heal. The bear leapt forwar

Ghosts whispered past them in the decaying trees. Echos of the death and corruption that over-consumption brought upon the natural world. The gaijin samurai, however, was good friends with ghosts. Within the circle of his blade's range, his... zettai ryoiki... concentration was absolute. The bear roared and lashed out at the raid, and he saw a few players drop into the red, as well as other like Mina be brought back up to healthy again. It was a dangerous dance they were performing. "Remember, a hero of the front line is the one who lives to fight in the next fight! Don't think you're a h