Astra

As she rested her head on his chest, Astra could feel his heartbeat more than he ever could before. Its pace began to slow down with time, but the beats were still rhythmic and intense. Even just looking down and seeing their hands interlocked was enough to make him blush, and fill him with a sort of light that he had been lacking for a long time. For years he had spent so much time masking his pain, his experiences, hiding behind a smile and polite platitudes. Here in Bliss' company, he felt safe. He felt like he could really be his true self around her, and she wouldn't cast him away for jud

Amidst the chaos, Astra found rhythm in his movement and maneuvers as he leapt and slashed around the battlefield. As more combatants took their stand against the charging mobs, Astra was able to find some time to breathe and take a step back, before jumping into the fray once more. "I'm not surprised that you were able to build that thing," Astra said to Bliss, gesturing at the newly finished trebuchet that her and others had built. "If there's anyone who could, it's definitely you." He had already known that she was a mechanic, and great with projects, but building a trebuchet on the b

"The fiercest of beasts with unmatched strength..." Astra murmured under his breath as his eyes continued to scan the slab. If he was able to piece together the bear image for Kumatetsu, surely he could figure something else out. Furrowing his brow while he traced his finger along the images, he tried his hardest to decipher the next part. If he could at least get the gist of it, Wulfrin could recite more of the epitaph, as it seemed as if he had it committed to memory. "This one...Looks kind of like a worm? Or maybe a leech? It looks like it's sucking the life out of something." Astra's

"Ah, sorry to make you stand up again!" Astra apologized as he shook Theo's hand. In his head, Astra was giving a huge sigh of relief that Theo was so friendly. This would be one of the first times where Astra would be accompanying a lower-level player on a quest. Recently when he'd be questing it would be under the tutelage of his friend and mentor, Wulfrin. Now, Astra was going to be in a similar role, offering support to the best of his ability. Having good company, like Theo, would just make it easier. "Thank you for being so willing to jump in and assist me! I haven't really done...

"An adventure? Sounds good to me!" Astra said with a smile and a thumbs up. Following his companions back to Floor 1, Astra began to ready himself for what was to come. Ciela laid out the gameplan, and Astra nodded along listening intently. It seemed like their day was going to consist of slaughtering mobs and gathering materials, which Astra had no qualms with. If he was ever going to risk his life on the frontlines, he'd need to continue to gather more combat experience, and more loot never hurt either. When they arrived at their first destination, Astra equipped his combat attire. His

Getting increasingly frustrated at his inability to hit the oversized wave monster, Astra decided to take a step back and asses the situation. With time, it had seemed as though more players had began to attack the water elemental. Upon further glance, players had managed to take down the land elemental as well. Scanning the beach it didn't take long for Astra to notice that Bliss was squaring up against three boars on her own. Wasting little time, Astra had turned his attention from the water elemental to the group of boars. If the other players fighting the water elemental could take it down

Following Wulfrin's lead as he stumbled through the dark, Astra did his best to keep up. As they traversed winding cavern paths, he couldn't help but think about when he would acquire the Night Vision skill. At this point it seemed like something everyone should have. However, they eventually entered a chamber surrounded by roots, and light was a bit more plentiful. Lo and behold, a stump in the center of the room was holding a slab. As Wulfrin gestured towards it, Astra was a little perturbed that it was perfectly placed in this room, after he'd been searching the caverns in the dark. "Well,

The sound of distant pop music, unfettered chaos, and a violent struggle grew closer as he neared Miremoor. As he exited the treeline of the forest, visuals began to match the cacophony of noise. Explosions going off at a rhythmic interval, flashes from sword arts being used against beasts, and an entire battlefield in struggle. The situation was more dire than he previously thought, but Astra wasn't going to let that slow him down. It was time to put his life on the line in the same way others were doing. A message notification from Bliss had appeared in his vision, and the message he r

For the first time in a long time, Astra found himself with some free time to spare. Lately he'd been dividing his time between consistent training with his mentor, Wulfrin, or entertaining the children at the orphanage. Today however, his schedule was completely free - and for once he was pretty lost as to what he wanted to do. Eventually, after some time pacing around and eating the assorted food scattered around the house, Astra decided that he wanted to get out and be proactive. Pulling up his menu interface, he navigated his way to the community bulletin board. Most of the requests that h

Edict had sputtered awake, Sable had pulled himself to his feet, and Elora was in good standing too. Astra let out a small sigh of relief that nobody had drowned or taken any major injuries. Wasting little time, the party started to try and figure out where to go from here. There weren't many options left - they could either try to cut through the forest ahead, or continue to follow the water. At this point, without a boat and the waters being as dangerous as they were, it seemed like their only option was through the thick trees. "Glad everyone's okay, but yeah, we should get moving. I'

"Er, uh..." Astra hesitated to deliver the bad news at first, but not long after it was hard to miss the raging waterfall ahead. "Sorry Elora! Waterfall!" As panic became to set in, Astra tried to jam his paddle into the water in an attempt to slow the boat down. Unfortunately, the attempt was a futile one. The waters had quickly become more like rapids, and the admittedly shitty paddle couldn't withstand the pressure, snapping in an instant. Astra looked at the two broken pieces in his hands in disbelief, racking his brain for a way out of this. Time was running out, and it looked like

"For sure." Bliss had hit the nail on the head, and Astra couldn't help but smile and nod along. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked, even doing simple tasks such as foraging for ingredients. His gaze lingered on her for a moment, as he nearly lost himself in thought - in awe at how radiant she was. Astra was lucky to have met her. In a way she had saved him. Before they met he felt like he was losing himself, losing hope, wandering around helplessly with nothing to offer. Meeting her that day on the beach had marked a turn in his fortunes in Aincrad. "Forever," he said

With the situation looking a bit dire, Astra and the others had no choice but to take the piece of shit dingy. There was some hesitance floating around Astra's head at first; as he was certainly more comfortable on land. With the weather getting worse and dangers lurking around every corner, there wasn't much choice. Wasting no time, he hopped into the boat with the rest of the group and began making their way through the water. Edict's right, I'm not sure how long we can keep this thing afloat. Still, he kept his thoughts to himself and began to get the work. Grasping the one paddle that didn

Right, sticking together is the best bet. Astra nodded at Sable's recommendation, and he began to move forward with his new companions towards a river and some gargantuan pines. Thankfully nobody seemed hurt or too worn down just yet. Astra wasn't quite sure where this sword was supposed to go at the current moment, but he did feel some strong sense of duty to return it with these players. When they came upon the edge of the river, Astra heard some shouting from up ahead. Searching through the pines ahead, he made out the figure of an elven player, motioning the players to make their way

It seemed that since arriving in Floor 29, Astra couldn't stop shivering from the everlasting chill that permeated the dark. At some point on this floor, the sky opened up and started pouring rain. Maybe as a way to start over, to water seeds, renew the land. If that were the case here, it was all for nought. Nothing would seemingly grow. This place was oppressive, and from the moment you would step off a teleport gate its tendrils of dark would wrap around your throat. Still, even in this foreign oblivion, Astra trudged along. The young man stuck out like a sore thumb on this floo

Wulfrin and Astra had found themselves in a hidden cave, pushing on through the dark to an unknown destination. Though Wulfrin was well equipped with his night vision, Astra had no such mod. He followed the sound of Wulfrin's steps, and by tracing the walls with his hands. "I'm not sure how great I'll be at finding anything right now but...I'll try!" Sure enough; Try he did. With any shred of light that would appear in the caverns, Astra would get as close as he could and try to find a slab of stone with inscriptions. "Return the slab," he whispered under his breath as he continued to se

As if they were in sync, when Bliss would blush, Astra's face would light up red shortly after. As he laid there and looked at her, he could hardly believe how this day was turning out. Is someone as truly lovely as Bliss really into me? All of these moments so far had felt instinctual. They felt right, they felt pure. He felt more at ease with Bliss right now than he ever had in the last two years. Still, even though Astra was able to acknowledge that, there were still some voices of doubt talking in his head. His smile was genuine, but even underneath that he was lacerating himself. Convinci

With the team's combined efforts, it seemed as though Avalanche was nearing its last legs. Astra, Ciela, and Wulfrin, kept the pace with their attacks, cleaving into Avalanche with any chance they had. Even when Avalanche did have a turn after a flurry of blows, it wasn't as if he was making it too much trouble for the group. Ciela (though, yes, a tank) managed to take a hit and barely flinched. This gave Astra the extra confidence boost he needed, to deliver another fatal blow. After dodging a swing from Avalanche, Astra skid along the icy ground, catching himself from slipping eventual

Astra watched as Wulfrin's flaming blade struck Avalanche, but left no remnants of severe burn damage. Immediately, Astra was puzzled. Shouldn't this thing be melting? Alas, Aincrad could work in mysterious ways. Just like Wulfrin had called out after his attack, it appeared that Avalanche was immune to status effects. Alright, no problem. Damage only. Astra leapt into action, running at the oversized popsicle with much haste. With his sword trailing behind him, he dashed forward at Avalanche, activating a sword art in between actions. His sword began to illuminate as power was sto

Astra glanced over at Wulfrin with a slight look of horror, as Wulfrin described the horrors of Floor 29. "The NPCs are turning into monsters?" He could only manage to get his question out, before looking down at the ground with a despondent look. After being in Aincrad for two years, Astra learned to treat NPCs the same way he would treat players. Sure, they were virtual beings, but they had routines and schedules like everyone else. To think that there was a floor so twisted that NPCs were being corrupted didn't sit right with Astra at all. "They deserve better." When the group had mad

"Sounds like a plan. What kind of bosses will we be fighting?" Astra walked alongside Wulfrin as they started to make their way through the town of beginnings. Much like Wulfrin, Astra had also been searching the town for supplies for the frontlines, but was having little luck in the Town of Beginnings. It appeared like a lot of others had the same idea, and NPCs inventories were running low as a result. As long as the supplies were making their way to the frontlines, though, that would be fine. "I haven't had much luck with supplies here either, to be honest. It seems like its a bit pic

Wulfrin's tone seemed to darken when he began to offer information on Floor 29, and from what Astra had heard about the floor, he could understand why. The floor itself was its own Eldritch horror, and the battles the frontliners have faced thus far were already shared in stories around the rest of Aincrad. Astra hadn't been to the floor yet himself, but he knew that if he did make the trip he'd have to be prepared. As they travelled, Astra found himself thinking about Lovecraftian monstrosities that he used to read about. He wondered if the raid boss for Floor 29 would end up being some

Astra's eyes gleamed when Ciela pulled out the meals she had put together for the party. As he opened the tin and eyed the food in front of him, he could feel his mouth watering, and his stomach starting to feel empty. "Thanks! I don't think I could ever say no to your food," he promptly replied before tearing into the meal. It was amazing he stayed so lean in SAO, with all of the food that Ciela had been feeding him. Admittedly, Astra also never considered physical weight mechanics, so who knew. After they had rested for a bit and ate their packed meals, the party made their way t

Astra had already found himself on Floor 1 in the Town of Beginnings, as he had just finished up reading with the children at the orphanage, when he received a new message from Wulfrin. Boss raid training? Sounds like it'd be a good idea to get that in. I'll bring my combat equipment just in case. He said his goodbyes to the children and workers of the orphanage, and set off to the teleport plaza where he could find Wulfrin waiting. Just in case there was going to be combat, even though Wulfrin said there wouldn't be much, Astra went into his inventory and equipped his combat gear.

Astra accepts Seeker's Attire and Seeker's Blade from @Wulfrin "Thanks for everything! I'll put them to good use." Astra receives: Seeker's Attire | T2 Perfect Light Armor | ID 244193 | MIT 2 | REC 1 Desc. A lightly armored checkered coat over a white turtleneck and some slim black pants. Seeker's Blade | T2 Perfect Straight Sword | ID 244194 | DMG 2 | BLD 1 Desc. A light and elegant one-handed sword. It's blade is silvered for felling dangerous beasts.