[PP-F10] Rebuilding Blocks, Silent Reconstruction. [2/2 Full]

[Crozeph 0]

It seemed the usual, cold and damped just like always. Crozeph has been staying in the floor where his shop is located for god knows how long, if a god existed inside that game. His black attire of a yukata and a japanese armor which seemed heavier is what he equipped as he ventures out once again in floor 10. He patted the shoulder pads of his armor and secured his katana on his right waist and closed the door of his shop. the residents of yomi where not that enthusiastic and that has always been fine with him. "I'm here to at least keep the shop running, even though it gets boring at times" he told himself. An introvert to some extent, that's how he has always been. Players roam in the floor but a lot doesn't like the cold and damp nature of it. Crozeph however preferred the place because it doesn't give unwanted attention to him. His guild member days are over but he still thinks of the prospect of having one or the much more idea he has entertained, create one.

Minutes pass and he has reached the river, the cursed river where he saw a few players from weeks ago perish as they underestimated what foul creatures would spawn out of it. Crozeph kept a 10 feet distance from the river, it wasn't called Stygian for fun. "Good grief, groups of players approaching again" he muttered as a group of 5 players approached the river without hesitation "I can't even call that a death wish, it's more like a testament of idiocy"  Crozeph placed his hands inside both sleeves of his yukata and watched the players get into formation waiting for something to appear out of the river "Nobody placed a sign that it's not a farming area, oh maybe I should put one."

"Two swordsmen, a girl with a spear, a guy with a shield, and one with a shield... and ax" Crozeph tried to evaluate the situation as they grouped up. It didn't take five minutes for a monster to show up. It was a grotesque figure, a giant man with rotten flesh, and carries an ax. The party quickly got into formation, The shield bearers stood in front and the spear wielder in the middle of the swordsmen. "Dumbest formation I've seen" he muttered as the monster slammed its ax towards the first shield bearer. Crozeph crossed his arms as the player got pushed back quite easily "aaand the formation breaks"  the girl holding a spear got terrified as the defensive line was destroyed in an instant. The swordsmen however showed bravado and attacked on both sides of the monster "you don't attack like that on a mob that's being than you"  Crozeph uttered again in a bored manner. The monster swung its axe in a horizontal motion, the one on the left was sent flying a few feet while the other on the receiving end of the attack died...a direct hit on his face. "Good grief, one died already" he dashed towards the party and yanked the girl so hard she was sent flying back also. He then proceeded to kick the ax and shield holder before his katana to parry what he can of the attack coming for the other shield bearer. "I'm giving you a chance to run, you already have a casualty and that's the sign that you should..." Crozeph raised his sword and blocked the ax with the sheathe. The terrified tank players ran while the swordsman remaining picked up the girl before escaping. Without wasting another second Crozeph leaped backward and ran away from the monster "big and sluggish, I can escape" he thought. Crozeph quickly escaped the area, after all he has been staying there for so long he knew where to go in case danger arises.

"Man just when I thought I wouldn't see another party plucked like a banana and here I just saw someone's face bludgeon in one strike"  Crozeph entered the village and made his way back to his shop but before he could even move another inch away from the village entrance someone grabbed him by his collar "you just watched one of my friends get killed instead of helping right away" the one holding an ax yelled at him. "Not my business to interfere with you at first, I just helped avoid another casualty..."  Crozeph glared back at him "...hands-off or we'll settle this outside of Yomi, I'm not tolerant of fodders like you" he told him. The girl with the spear intervened as soon as she heard Crozpeh "w-we' give our thanks to you for helping us out of a p-pinch right? Hansel?" she asked the swordsman beside her. The ax wielder released Crozeph but scowled as he turned his back "solo player huh?"  Hansel asked. "I had a guild, I just wandered somewhere and returned only to find it closed or disbanded"  Crozeph fixed his yukata "the river is more dangerous than it looks and trust me you're not the first to get slapped like a kid by monsters there, it's no farming area for those who are not well versed with the spawning mobs here,"  he told them. The remaining members of the group walked away after saying their thanks to him. The bitterness and pain in their faces are clearly seen as they disappeared before him. "Not newbies, just naive"  he thought and with that he crossed placed his fingers on his forehead as if his head ached from what just happened.

(ooc: PM to join, just character development and 2 to 3 basic battles)

 

Stats

• Level: 20
• HP: 200 I Energy: 20 I MIT: 26 I EVA: 0 I ACC: 0 I +1 Light Momentum

Skills

• Curved Sword R1
• Katana R4
• Light Armor R2
• Battle Healing R2
• Survival [extra]
• Meditation [extra]

Equips

• Bleeding Dove +3 damage
• Sairento-Ou No Yoroi +2 MIT +1 Light Momentum
• Kuro Yukata +3 Loot Die

 

Edited April 27, 2020 by Crozeph
double posted, copied the second one

[Baldur 0]

"What is it with you and this river." Came a strong, familiar voice carried over the silent, heavy wind of the floor.

Baldur stood just down the road, overlooking Crozeph and the group of players come to test their mettle at the river of death. In the end, they found death. The gaijin samurai's trademark blue and white haori fluttered  against him as the wind rose from behind and carried his voice down to his old friend, making the white flames along the hems of his jacket flicker as if on fire. His armor and kimono the color of sunset, and two brilliant katana resting on his left hip. One black and read, the other white and gold.

"It has been a while, old friend." As Baldur slowly came down the street towards to the other samurai, the steel blue of his eyes could easily be seen, reflecting what little passed for light on this floor. Beside him was a pretty girl, of age with Crozeph, and also wielding a katana. She did not seem quite as naturally at ease with her sword as Baldur was with his, but her armor and bearing spoke that she had struggled to get where she was, and would be no easy opponent for anyone.

"I think you may be the answer to the riddle that has kept me up at night. I didn't even realize it, until I saw your name light up on my friend's list. Finally out of the shop, eh?" There was something almost predatory in Baldur's eyes. Not threatening. Not malicious. Baldur could never be either. But it was that burning light that said there was a plan at work in the old player's head, and he was going to make it work.

"This." Baldur gestured to the white haired girl, "Is my kohai, Cordelia-chan." Baldur then returned to the gesture towards Crozeph, "And this, Cord-chan, is one of my oldest friends and comrades, Crozeph-san."

Spoiler

» Base Stats

• Base HP: 1390
• Base EN: 136
• Base MIT: 79
• Base ACC: 3 (4 and does not automatically miss on 1s with Warden's Fury)
• Base DMG: 19 (with fighting familiar)
• Muramasa Base DMG: 22 (No bonus from familiar)
• Base EVA: 3
• Battle Heal: 70 HP
• Search: +0

» Items Equipped:

• Warden's Fury - Absolute Accuracy/2 Paralyze
• OR Muramasa - +12 Damage
• Montsuki haori - 54 DMG MIT/+1 EVASION
• Emerald Teardrop - +2 ACC/+1 EVASION
• Hammerspace Backpack (HB) +1 BR item (allows stacks up to 7)

» Battle-Ready Inventory:

• Medium Damage Potion ^x7 | Rare T2 Item | +2 Damage
• Basic Teleportation Crystal ^x1 | Good Item | Teleports player to the Town of Beginnings
• Max Mass HP Recovery Crystal ^x7 | Perfect T2 Item | +30*Target Tier (30/60/90)
• Max T2 HP Recovery Crystal II ^x5 | Perfect T2 Item | +180 HP
• Safeguard Potion ^x3 | Perfect Tier 1 | Safeguard
• HB: Max Vitality Snack ^x2 | Rare Tier 2 | Grants +12 Energy
• EWL: Medium Antidote Potion ^x1 | Rare Tier 2 | Immune to negative status effects for 2 turns
• EWL: Muramasa or Warden's Fury
• EWL:
• SC:
  
   

» Skills:

• Battle Healing | Rank 5/5 | While in combat, recover 1% per rank (45HP) at the beginning of your turn
• Charge | Rank 5/5 | +1 base damage per rank (+5 damage) once per opponent per combat
• One Handed Curved Sword | Rank 1/5 | Novice
• Katana | Rank 5/5 | Grand Master
• Light Armor | Rank 5/5 | +25 Mitigation
• Concentration | No Ranks | Gain +1 BD for a single attack | 5 Turn Cooldown
• Familiar Mastery: Fighter |  3 Ranks | +9 base damage (Does not stack with equipment)
• Survival | Purchased |  Increases out of combat health regen to (15xTier) 45 per post
• Extended Weight Limit | Purchased | Increases Battle Ready Inventory by 3
• Parry | Purchased | 3 Turn Cooldown | 5 Energy | Reduces incoming damage by 50%
• Quick Change | Purchased | Swap Equipment as a free action | 3 Turn Cooldown
• Extended Mod Limit | Rank 1 | Increase Active Mods by 1

» Mods:

• Athletics: +1 DMG +30 HP
• Katana Precision: +1 to Accuracy
• Katana Ferocity: +1 damage on katana sword arts
• Sprint & Acrobatics: +1 Evasion
• Finesse: Rank 3 | -3 Energy cost to sword arts
• EML: Bull Rush | Stuns target on successful charge

» Housing Bonuses:

• Rested: -1 EN on first 2 uses
• Tasty: Turns 2 food into feast for 4
• Advanced Training: +2 SP to a thread 1/month
• Filling: Add 1 extra tier 1 slot to food
• Item Stash: +1 BR item slot
• Relaxed: OOC regen 5*tier, recover EN out of combat after 2 turns in lieu of 3
• Angler: +1 Mat when fishing

 

Edited April 27, 2020 by Baldur

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia tugged on the hems of her charcoal-colored jacket as walked alongside her mentor. Why they were here, she had no idea. She just kind of. . . followed him wherever at this point. Did that sound weird? It probably did. She and weird have grown very close over the past few months, so she supposed she was sort of used to this kind of stuff now? Maybe? 

"What is it with you and this river."

What a bizarre greeting. Though, she guessed Baldur had. . . uh-- always been one for doing some incredibly bizarre things. Cough, cough, nudge, nudge. She wondered if this would be another bizarre encounter. Good Lord, she hoped it wasn't. After that whole. . . thing with Macradon, she wasn't sure what she was going to expect from him anymore. 

The girl peered at Baldur from the corner of her eye. Oh geez, another reunion. She wasn't sure how many of those she had witnessed in the past few months. It was a lot. Quite a lot, really. She just guessed that people who went M.I.A. were suddenly popping out of nowhere. Fun, fun, is it not? She blew a small sigh. Just another person to not piss off, whoopy doo. 

Cordelia tilted her head, her silver hair drooping over her shoulder before she offered the stranger a small wave. "Pleasure to meet you," she exclaimed, lowering her hand before she gave Baldur a curious. "You don't say," she said, both in mild curiosity and sarcasm. The girl intertwined her hands behind her back as she grinned at the other katana-user. "Well! Any comrade of Baldur is a comrade to me! Pleased to make your your acquaintance, Crozeph!"

Spoiler

[STATS:]

LVL: 55 | HP: 1130/1130 | EN: 110/110 | 19 DMG | 25 MIT | 5 ACC | 3 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF] | PHSE | 12 HLY | ABS. ACC

[INVENTORY:]

☆ T3 Katana | Onimaru: PHSE, 6 HLY, 2 [36] BRN
☆ T1 Light Armor | Bastille’s Resistance: +2 EVA, +1 PARA VNM
☆ T2 Jewelry | Empress' Kanzashi: +3 ACC, +1 EVA

[BATTLE READY:]

☆ [5] Standard Healing Potions [Heals 50 HP]

[CONSUMED:]

[SKILLS:]

Non-combat:

Passive:

☆ R3 Fighter Familiar Skill: +9 DMG
☆ R3 Hiding Skills: +3 Stealth Rating
☆ R5 Light Armor Skill: 25 MIT
  > Athletics: +1 Base DMG, +20 HP
☆ Disguise: [Gain +1 EVA until the start of your next turn]
☆ Survival: [Increases out of combat health regeneration to (15 * Tier) per post. Grants immunity to most damage dealing environmental
attacks/effects.]

Combat:

☆ R3 Battle Healing

Weapon Skills:
☆ R1 Curved Sword Skill 
☆ R5 Katana Skill [+7 DMG/+1 BASE]
  > Ferocity: +1 DMG
  > Precision: +1 ACC
  > R3 Finesse: -3 EN to all SAs

[BUFFS:]

☆ RELAXED: Increases HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts
☆ ADVANCED TRAINING: +2 SP to a thread. Limit one use per month.
☆ TASTY: Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast.
☆ HARD-WORKING: +2 EXP per crafting attempt, +1 crafting attempt

 

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph composed himself more after a few seconds and sure enough things are going the interesting way. A familiar voice, and somewhat with a splash of authority which he kinda expected for the person standing before him now. Crozeph gave a faint smile, maybe a few days of fighting off his introvert tendencies could actually yield good results."Yep, it's been ages maybe Baldur, nice to see you and..."  he looked at the other person who was tagging along with his old friend and greeted him "...nice to make your acquaintance too" he replied to her. It seemed that Baldur was doing fine.. too fine. "I remember the old days where we would venture to swamps and villages atop trees, I got the taste of swamp water back then"  he told him. Crozeph then took a step closer to them "we aren't planning to organize a Shinsengumi here right? I mean you're well equipped for war or something"  he asked "as you can see we're lacking an emperor or maybe she could be the empress"  he pointed at Cordelia. The village remained it's gloomy state as he tried to catch up with Baldur. The streetlights dimmed and almost hid Crozeph's body if the armor he had isn't equipped.

"You saw what happened earlier? that wasn't trouble yet" he told them. Crozeph was mindful of what situation he gets mixed up into and the last thing that he wanted was an old friend seeing him in trouble. Floor 10 might not be a new place to Baldur or it's one of those "I-know-the-place-but-I-don't-go-there" type. "Any news on the other floors? I got complacent here and I bet the sunlight can kill me if I tried going up the intermediate floors."

[Baldur 0]

Baldur flashed Crow a self assured, wolfish smile, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"And what if I was trying to assemble a pack of wolves?"

Baldur held the look for a moment, that of overwhelming power, self confidence, and poise, but then it all came crumbling down. The large gaijin clapped a hand on the shoulder of his friend and his grin slipped to it's goofy, lopsided one.

"It really is good to see you again. But you've already glimpsed the riddle I've been trying to solve. We need more adventures like ours. The Frontline is withering without new blood my old friend. Cordelia-chan here is only the first of the next wave, but we need more. I need Wolves of Mibu to pull into the front. We need people who know how to work as a team, and build as a team. Empress-chan here is going to be facing her first floor boss fight soon. But I... I'm opening a dojo. Katsujinken-dojo. I'm going to teach my bushido. Not just how to use the katana, but how be better. How to save lives, our own, and others."

Baldur withdrew his hand and took a half step back so he was with Cordelia again.

"And seeing you again made me realize that. I love helping people. I want to help raise people to the top, and assemble people like me. We need to pull this place back together, but we can't do that dragging people kicking and screaming. You do it one person at a time, and by pulling everyone up, we elevate all of us."

Baldur clenched a fist in front of them, as if trying to grasp for his goal.

"I want you to add your blade to my dojo. Let me earn your trust once again my friend. Let's go once more into the breach."

[Cordelia 0]

"Empress?" She echoed quietly, her head lifting tiredly to give the two a deadpan look before she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. She had honestly had no idea what the hell was going on, but it sounded fun, sort of.

"I mean, there's Oscar. . . and Bahr," she mumbled, holding up three fingers before she added a fourth. "I guess Mari will be coming along as well now that she's back, I suppose, and who knows, maybe a bunch of people will pop out from nowhere again," she sighed, lowering her hand. "I'm probably the weakest of the frontliners at the moment, so please don't compare the rest of the frontliners to me," Cordelia said nervously as she fidgeted with her fingers in front of her.

"Empress-chan?" The girl let out a long sigh. Just roll with it. 

Cordelia's attention shifted over to the gloomy river. Her lips slightly curved. Whatever lurked beneath those waters was the bane of her existence, especially that Lich asshole and his little friends. Of course, it wasn't nearly as bad as the bloody Lightning Horse, it was still bad. Looking at this damned river reminded her of how much she hated that stupid quest line and its stupid mechanics and its stupid bosses.

[Crozeph 0]

"The Frontlines can get harsh but it's not that scary as long as no formation breaks" he told the girl. Crozeph only got involved on one floor boss battle and his performance wasn't that impressive. He was a good damage dealer but just like hard-hitting players, his mobility is on the weak side while giving a decent compensation on his armor.  "Ah where are my manners, why don't we continue the talk on my shop? I plan to at least explore another cave in here but since you are here also might as well talk for a bit longer"  he told them.

As he tried to guide them Crozeph thought about what Baldur had mentioned. "My blade huh?" he thought "a guild is what you plan to organize while calling it a dojo? or is it the other way around? adventures are always fun and I  can always lend a hand to you old friend, however I don't have plans to join a guild. I plan to join the frontlines as soon as I get back to tasting the sunlight as comrades I will join you but as a guild member I can't... for now, that is if your dojo is a guild or your guild is a dojo."  Crozeph then shifted his attention to Cordelia "Oscar and Bahr, never heard of them I mean yeah I shut myself inside this floor but I never heard some feats from them"  he told her. The third name however was familiar with Crozeph "Mari... oh yeah I recall than one"  he uttered to them "she killed my brother, well half-brother to be exact assuming we're talking about the same Mari. Such a good kid but his life was cut short because he got himself involved where he shouldn't be"  he told her as if it was a common routine of his life. Whether it was that he became numb or he's just not planning to lose his cool when it come to past events of his life. Crozeph scratched his head "pink-haired, uses knives, has an orange mark? high tendencies to go cold-hearted at people she encounters, does that fit the description?" he asked Baldur and Cordelia.

[Baldur 0]

Baldur gestured for Crow to lead the way to his shop and followed along as his old friend continued his thoughts about what Baldur had said. He wasn't up for joining a guild, but he was up for joining with Baldur. The gaijin samurai would need to work on his sales pitch, but he couldn't expect to come out of nowhere and recruit his friend into a guild he had only just come up with on the spot. He didn't even have a name for it.

"I don't plan for someone to need to join my guild. Even if they join my dojo. Empress-chan is my kohai, but she's in her own guild as well. The purpose is to bring people together and help them. A frontline guild has certain buffs that are useful, but are certainly not necessary."

When Crozeph made mention of not having heard of Bahr or Oscar, Baldur made a dismissive gesture. "There are probably few frontliners you have heard of at this point. Calrex still hadn't come out of the starting city when you and I were running around, but now he's gone on to become the highest level player in Aincrad, and has more Boss Battles under his belt than anyone. Macradon and Zandra are probably a close second. The frontlines have changed a lot, but we could use someone with your cool, level head. That's why I came here. I want you to join my dojo, let me help you get caught up, and you can help me teach others. No guild required." Baldur said, holding up his hands in a dismissive gesture. "But I'm going to need more hands."

Then, Crow brought up Mari, and Baldur's eyebrows raised. He didn't realize her connection with him was so personal.

"Yes, that's the Mari we're talking about, but she's changed. Things caught up with her, and she basically locked herself up in a cage for the last year or so. She's only recently come out, and she's started trying to figure out how she can begin to use to her life to pay reparations for what she has done. She wants to seek redemption, even though she feels she doesn't deserve it. There seem to be a lot of those lately. It's my plan to teach them my way, and that if they want to earn redemption, then they need to risk their lives on the front to save more lives than they took."

Baldur looked over his shoulder to Cordelia, "You didn't know her before, but you know her now. What are your thoughts on her character?"

[Cordelia 0]

"i can assure you I'd be the one to break that formation," Cordelia mumbled, shaking her head as she released a sigh. 

Cordelia followed after the stranger, tilting her head. If Baldur was planning to organize a guild, she would have be ready to give him a straight up no. She was perfectly fine being in The Tarot with her friends, not saying that Baldur wasn't her friend or anything, but she was sure she wasn't even familiar with some of the people he wanted to recruit-- that saying if he did want to create a guild, of course. 

She looked up at Baldur, sighing in relief. She guessed that he already knew she was in a guild. . ? She wondered if someone else had told him that. Perhaps Lessa? Did he even know Lessa?

As her mentor listed off some of the names of the already existing frontliners, Cordelia couldn't help but ponder. She knew some of the people he had named. Calrex was vaguely familiar and so was Zandra. She knew Macradon almost too well, unfortunately. Her head had returned from the clouds as she caught a bit of Baldur's proposition. "I think that's a great idea. It'd be nice to learn from someone else for a change," she added, giving Crozeph a small smile. "I'm sure it would be an honor as well."

Cordelia nearly tripped over her foot, "I-- what?" She paused, shaking her head before resuming her pace. She shouldn't have been surprised. Mari had an orange crystal after all, so it wasn't a big surprise to know that she had murdered someone. . . It was often someone she had constantly overlooked but hearing how she had taken somebody from someone else just made it. . . different. The girl pursed her lips. She had remembered seeing all of those names crossed out on the tablet, a handful of them were murdered by the girl Cordelia had come to know as a sort of older-sister figure. Her pale eyes darkened. The Monument of Life. It had been quite a while since she gone there. Not since. . . that very vivid day with Oscar and Bahr. 

Her thoughts came to an abrupt stop. Pinball. Her teeth gritted together under her impassive mask at the mere thought of that bastard's name. She swore, the next time she saw that boy she was going to wring his neck dry--

"I-- huh?" She asked, lifting her head to meet Baldur's gaze before she straightened up. "Oh. Err--" Cordelia murmured, scratching the side of her cheek as she averted her eyes. "She's very. . . erm. . . vivacious, I suppose. She has a very witty personality and she has a lot of fire to her, but she has a soft side, too. Sort of like an older sibling or something," she mumbled, her voice trailing off.

[Crozeph 0]

The three of them made their way to Crozeph's shop, The NIght's Watch. the japanese inspired village never let his shop escape from the culture. The oak wood foundations and fences are clearly a sign that he doesn't clean the place much outside. As they went inside Crozeph saw the blank dungeon map he had prepared for special purposes and arranged the table and cushion for three people. a huge lantern with intricate designs of waves drawn by ink ung above them giving a nice, warm feeling of quietness. Crozeph picked up the maps and placed in on a vacant shelf behind him. He then picked up a tray with a teapot and three glasses with drawings of crows in a rather weird manner.

"Well a good formation in my own definition is even if one breaks it, the others are there to fix it" Crozeph poured a cup of tea for Cordelia, he had been practicing pouring it in a graceful manner instead of dunking the whole contents of the pot drinking like a drunkard "I joined one boss raid way back and I hit hard but I rarely get a successful hit, shifting from scimitars to a katana is no easy feat especially when you have to keep your form really nice so you won't throw yourself off balance and I'm sure you two know that as well." Crozeph poured another for Baldur and placed it in front of him "hearing those motives and goals of your reminded me of someone, nice guild leader but just like my brother he was gone before I could even spend more time as comrades with him" his thought took a peek of a guild he cherished, Square One. "I'd be more than willing to join you and Cordelia in this group with no banners to help teach others and..."  he took of his armor and revealed his dark yukata "it's rare to hear people see me as level headed as I mostly come off as a prick or a nuisance especially when I am quiet." 

The mention of Mari and her road to redemption seem to mean little to Crozeph or rather the part where Baldur says she thinks she doesn't deserve it "well yeah repentance or redemption is no easy thing obviously but unless you start somewhere you'll never get anywhere" he uttered. "The only thing she needs to look out for is when someone else uses that redemption road as an escape route, chances are high that she'll get derailed." He then heard Cordelia's impression of Mari and gave an amused laugh "well looks like she's making good progress, I hear another player who seem to see her as a normal one. Back then I would watch my HP just in case I get stabbed by her when she's ticked off or we crossed paths and she's not in the mood, I bet she barely remembers me and my choice of color doesn't help too" Crozeph then motioned his right hand up and down " enough of her, that's a long road for her we're talking about. I see that Calrex is doing good though I rarely encounter him. I'm more curious as to how you and Cordelia are like duo on a trip to round up capable warriors for your cause"  he asked them.  He wanted to know more about them as he rarely get the chance to talk to people longer than 3 minutes.

"Before that I'll fill in Cordelia with the second basic facts about me" Crozeph raised his index finger "I usually get called Crow by others who know me, you might not believe it I'm a quiet person but since I get to talk with an old friend and a new friend, there can be exceptions. Baldur and I go way back where I get to drink swamp water or eat sweet looking bitter tasting fruits from treetop villages" he grabbed a fan under the table "now he's really looking like a proper leader, I'm not much of a team player but I do like to come up with tactics or strategies and work on the sidelines"  Crozeph then patted Baldur "this guy however can amass players with his words but you don't have to believe everything I say."  Crozeph then asked them again " how about you two?"

Edited April 5, 2020 by Crozeph

[Baldur 0]

"You know." Baldur said as he picked up one of the small cups and took a sip of the tea, sighing in contentment at the warm, rich flavor.

"One of my biggest regrets is that Tyger and I didn't join you guys in Square One. Instead, we wanted to push the front and join the Azure Brigade. Boy was that a mistake."

Baldur cast his eyes down at the tea pot between them all on the table, and the steel blue of his eyes gave way to the calm of an ocean, with that faraway look on his face, as if he were somewhere else.

"I never got to spend much time with Azide." Unconsciously, Baldur's hand tightened slightly on the cup, "But I always felt a kindred spirit with him, and maybe I was always just slightly in awe of his wit. There are few people a feel a true... deep sense of camaraderie with. Down to my bones, as if we truly understand each other."

Baldur nursed another small sip of his tea, and exuded a different sort of energy. Somber, rich with emotion, but that emotion now was forlorn and sad.

"I was there when he died." The words came out only barely loud enough to hear. "I watched it happen." Tears should have come unbidden, but they wouldn't come to him now.

"For a long time, I felt like it was my fault. I hadn't come prepared for the fight. I should have waited for the next one. If only had I had done something different. The healers should have healed me, instead of him. I played it over a thousand times in my head. There was nothing I could do. Nothing anyone could have done... except for maybe Zelrius. He wanted all the glory, he only cared about getting his one shot. Thought he could take the boss out by himself, so he hoarded all the healers, and left nothing for the rest of us. And when his little power play didn't work out." Baldur spit the words out almost like they were venom. "He died." Baldur had watched Azide's body fall from the talon's of the great bird. It had thrown AoE after AoE against the entire raid. Everyone was injured, but there were no healers to be had, except for Zel's little party of Ace's.

"So much of what I do now, is because of Azide." The steel sharply returned to Baldur's eyes, and a sharpness to his features. The energy around him snapped into place, no longer a serene ocean, but now prickly and sharp. "I never go into a boss fight unprepared. I don't just make sure I have every single buff there is, I bring the best healing items available for myself and for my entire party. Until they ran out, I made sure everyone had a <<safeguard>>. I carry a full stack of <<teleport crystals>> with me everywhere... " He gave a light chuckle and finally raised his eyes back to his old friend. "Just like the ones I gave you guys, back when we first met. Oikawa, Ariel, Raylef, and you. I don't seem to remember anyone being prepared, but I wanted to make sure everyone would be safe." He finally gave another laugh, this one rich with life. "We all drank a lot of swamp water that day." A smile, slowly crept back into his features.

"Empress-chan here." He clapped her shoulder like an old acquaintance, or perhaps like a proud senpai. "She mostly hangs around cause I have such a great sense of humor, and always the most witty puns." He gave her a wink, though there was still something sad about his smile.

"She's green, but when the moment comes, I can tell she's hungry. She wants to push herself. She's grown by leaps and bounds in the short time that I've known her. Soon, she may be my equal in battle. Then, all I'll have left to teach her is The Way. But we all have to be ready for those answers. There's no shortcuts in life."

Suddenly, it was like a lightbulb came on. The recollection was so obvious on his face, it was amazing that the game didn't actually make a light appear above his head.

"Did you know, her boyfriend has a taco wagon. Oh man..." Baldur leaned back in his chair. "It's been so long since I've had a taco."

[Cordelia 0]

"Thank you," she murmured, shaking off her clouded thoughts as she picked up the cup of tea. She looked between Baldur and Crozeph quietly as she brought the cup to her lips. They must've went a long way back, maybe to when the cleared floors were still only in their teens. They must've been, right? She would've heard of Crozeph before if he had only been a frontliner a few floors back. 

She nodded her head along the conversation absentmindedly. As much as she loved hearing people reminisce about the past, it was difficult to keep up when it involved people she didn't know and events she wasn't particularly familiar with. Though, she supposed the topic of death in battle would've come sooner or later in a conversation like this. It was just something she came to see a lot when people suddenly see their old friends after long amounts of time. She felt herself slightly shiver. Those topics weren't something she was quite used to just yet. It was honestly a rare occurrence-- at least, for her-- to be in such a serious conversation nowadays. The last few months were mainly just. . . happy moments. That was a lie, there were a lot if bad moments, but never as serious as death, which she found incredibly odd considering she lived in a world where you could just step outside a safezone and immediately get ganked by someone twice your level. Not that she wanted death or anything, no, no. She was just. . . surprised. 

Cordelia returned from her dazed state just as Baldur seemed to have the life brought back to him. She smiled unconsciously into her cup at his suddenly chipper attitude. Thank God, she was not used to him being like that at all. Most of the time he was just. . . him. She wasn't exactly sure how to explain it. He was just usually. . . Baldur-y. Did that make sense? It probably didn't. Baldur was just special, let's just say that. 

Her humored expression suddenly turned into a deadpan, but her face softened before she let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, sure. Let's go with that," she mused, shaking her head. 

Her hands clasped around the cup tightly as she nodded to Crozeph. "I do admit, we did not exactly. . . click when we first met, that was partially my fault, I admit that, but we've both come a long way from where we both started," she said quietly, smiling to herself. 

"Ah, I see. That sounds very. . . fun." And unsanitary. "Me? Well. . ." She trailed off, letting out a nervous laugh as she scratched the side of her cheek sheepishly. "I'm not a very inspirational leader like Baldur here. I mainly just follow whoever gives the orders," she shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't think I trust myself enough to be the person giving orders. Trust me, a lot more people are safer that way."

"Is that what he's going to be recognized for now?" She mused, cracking a small grin. "'The man with the taco wagon'. I do suppose that sounds better than 'the guy that makes hotdogs'. Just a bit."

[Crozeph 0]

"A taco wagon? wait does he have wheels or something?"  Crozeph's logical thinking glitched for a second. He wasn't familiar with the term and as much as it would make him seem lame or old he had to ask "he has a taco wagon right? there's no way a player will look like a taco shaped wagon..."  Crozeph then gathered his thought "he has ...a taco wagon, I misheard it" he told them. Crozeph stared at his cup, confused and probably running somethoughts he had in his database "that was a hard blow for my mind"  he thought. As Baldur told him of who and where Cordelia came from and how they are together in this travel he was reminded by how Cordelia was like him when he first meet his battle buddy, the cocky brat Arekkusu. " We all start from following orders and from then on it branches out into two, either you be Baldur who can give out nice orders or inspirational words or be me.." Crozeph pointed at himself with his thumb "deceive your leader that you're following orders when it truth you're just wandering around."  Crozeph has already told Baldur of his decision to follow him or lend hand when needed and with that Crozeph had to know the basics of the plan. "So where do you start with your plan? is it ongoing? recruitment or training?" he asked. 

Recently, Crozeph has taken interest on mapping out secret dungeons on the floor and he plans to do so in the future. "I can assure you two a thing about equipments, lately I've been trying to map the place with secret dungeons. Of course it's not successful as you think because the last time i went exploring on a floor somewhere i got myself in danger. Luckily a tank was with me but i can't seem to remember if we retreated or cleared it and add that I lost the map"  he told them. "The thing is i can try to obtain as much unidentified item as i can and hopefully give some to players you get on the group and also to you..." he pointed at Cordelia "...and you too" then he pointed at Baldur. He has been unsuccessful lately but soon enough once he gets the hang of it he'll be gathering enough to at least strengthen the group that Baldur is organizing.  "well you're a merchant Baldur so you can already identify high tier loot" he looked at Cordelia "with your look I think your an artisan? or a cook? i sense grace in some of your movements and mannerism"  he told Cordelia. Crozeph sucked at understanding people's thought but he understood some behavior and intents of people he meets. "I won't ask for a price when it comes to you and your group Baldur but I ask that these equipments if ever I get to accumulate enough will be put to proper use"  he told him "the last thing I want to hear is someone going on a friday the 13th killing spree with equipments from us" he added.

Edited April 6, 2020 by Crozeph

[Baldur 0]

Baldur chuckled softly as Crow's brain seemed to get stuck on the taco wagon. Baldur understood why as well. It had blown his mind when he saw it.

"I'll have to hire Oscar to cater my house warming party whenever I get around to having it. Also, if you don't have a proper house yourself, you're welcome to have a room at my place. It won't be much, but having a room at a player's house can convey benefits and buffs. I'm working on right now expanding some land I have in order to have several guest quarters. If you're planning to stick with being a merchant and identifying items, I strongly suggest you pick up fishing. I just recently did myself. You can fish up chests pretty regularly, you'll get lots of materials you can sell for funding, and there's an event going on right now for some pretty rare and impressive upgrades, as well as secret dungeon maps. As far as unidentified items go, the quest <<Essence of Steel>> lets you upgrade items. This means that identifying uncommon and rare items can be better than getting perfects. If you discover an uncommon or rare item, the client will then use the <<Essence of steel>> to upgrade it with the enhancements they want. As for anything of my dojo, I'll put a bounty on any katanas you identify with the <<Absolute Accuracy>> enhancement. I have a plan for them."

Baldur finished off the tea in his cup, and then leaned forward onto the table, steepling his fingers.

"The idea hasn't fully formed yet. It came to me when I saw you, actually. The dojo has been something running around in my mind for a while, but the intent of the dojo is to help people who are lost find their way again, and to help those who are trying to find purpose. To offer guidance and training. The purpose of the guild would be similar, but with the aim of helping people get to the frontline, and helping coordinate the frontline. I want to make sure people are showing up with access to everything they need to stay alive, and to be as effective as possible when they show up to the frontlines. But I don't just mean resources like Col and materials. We need people."

Baldur let out a soft sigh. This had been something that had challenged them for a while.

"Currently we can rely on Calrex to fullfill the role of a tank, but that's secondary. He can do it because he as the unique skill <<Achilles>>, and he's the highest level player in Aincrad, but his build is that of a brawler. The only pure tank we have, is Shield, and I don't know that we even have him. Hestia has been running tank for a while, but both she and Shield have access to healing and buffing abilities. Hestia, while often tanking and healing, is a jack of all trades build. Zandra is our own healer that can be swapped from party party without taking the tank along with it, and she's one of out best damage dealers. Then there's Macradon, I would consider a bruiser as well. He's capable of tanking because of his level, but he's not a tank. Those are also the highest leveled people currently in Aincrad. Ideally, I'd like to see a tank, an off tank, a healer, and 3 DPS in every raid party, but right now, we don't even have enough tanks or healers to go around."

Suddenly Baldur waved his hand, dismissing everything he just said.

"Sorry, I'm getting too in the weeds. But yes, recruiting is where my main interests lie. I need to find a tank, and one or more healers. The best way to get either of those, and get them up in level, is to help build a support group around them. If they feel like they can invest in those abilities without being driven crazy trying to level up as a tank or healer, then they're more likely to fill those rolls. That was why Tyger went tank when we started. I could fill the damage dealer role, and she tanked. We had a team."

He leaned back in towards Crozeph, "So we need to build some teams."

[Crozeph 0]

Crozeph has been receiving quite the information from Baldur and he needed them all. The fishing mechanism was a bit different for him but he might try it soon. Essence Of Steel has been familiar with him and considers it a benefit. "Now that can be really helpful' he thought. He crossed his arms about the thought of the katanas "I'll be staying with Bleeding Dove until I can get qualified for higher tier equipment so I guess I'll be working extra hard and extra far for the next few weeks, the shop will be down for a while. Though I'd still be there to identify everything i could gather"  he told Baldur. Cordelia hasn't spoken for a while, it may seem that she doesn't prefer the strategizing and planning that sunddely happenedas he and Baldur met, after all she did say she only follows orders. "A room in a house would be nice, This place isn't  that bad but should consider the buffs that comes with it"  Crozeph then shifted his thought on the players that Baldur has been mentioning "I've heard of Shield, it seems he's living up to his name" he said "I've been with Hestia on some expeditions, remember when I told you I've been to dungeons? she's the one who helped me out there and quite an impressive tank. Our stats worked well even when I'm behind a few level from her."

The notion of team was what made Crozeph think hard, he wasn't good at it if his info about stats and build are lacking, plus he's only knowledgeable on parts when efficiency is needed. "Based on my experience, the basics would be a damage dealer, a tank, and someone nimble enough to deal debuffs to enemies"  he told Baldur "from there we formulate how big that group can be, I'm not good on that part as I would prefer stalling and that put a rather weird strain on my way of coming up with strategies" he said. His thinking has always been how to survive and not how to speedrun to their death and the most logical way of doing it is by stalling, it requires great strength and defense but that's the offensive that he could only come up.  "It's kind of ironic how a damage dealer like me likes to stall the opponent, though most of my solo travels I just use everything efficiently, skills and that"  Crozeph then ask Cordelia "how about you? any inputs? just a little bit is enough" he said "i assume that  she's with you most of the time so i wanted  to see if she already picked up a thing or two when it comes to these things, minus the pun and wit because that's Baldur's field of expertise"

Edited April 8, 2020 by Crozeph

[Cordelia 0]

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he did make a taco shaped wagon, though," she commented, laughing to herself. It seriously was something he would do, though. Cordelia sipped on her tea again, nodding her head as she listened to Crozpeh continue talking. Mapping dungeons seemed fun. . . kind of. She wasn't sure if she could ever go into dungeons willingly again. After the bull[doo-doo] she experienced with both Macradon and Baldur, she was sure that she was permanently scarred. 

"Yeah, I'm a cook," she sniffed, "I own a little shop outside of Snowfrost on the fourth floor. . . and thanks, I guess."

Cordelia sipped on her tea again as she listened to Baldur. She wondered how long he had been holding this idea in, because her had certainly never talked about this to her-- at least to what she remembered. Honestly, her memory was failing her nowadays, so it wouldn't be completely crazy to forget something as important as this. She sniffed. She wondered if she knew any actual healers other than Zandra. . . She guessed that she could count Solei, but she doubted that he would be on the frontlines anytime soon due to his hectic schedule. Perhaps she could invite him to level with her one day. 

"Me?" She echoed, scratching her chin as she let out a nervous laugh. "I-I don't really know. I'm not very good with this kind of stuff," she mumbled, her hand travelling to the back of her neck as she averted her gaze. 

What were they even talking about. 

[Baldur 0]

Baldur chuckled as Cord averted her gaze from Crow's questions about builds. Humble as she might be, she did a good job of instinctively coming up with what she wanted and then going for it. She constantly undersold herself a tremendous amount, but that probably came with her from outside of SAO.

"Have you thought about going with a psudo tank build? I think Cal calls it a bruisier, but I would call it an off-tank.You could maybe go with heavy armor, or do what I do, and go with light armor and evasion. All you'd really need to do it pick up <<Fighting Spirit>> to control hate, and then build with defense in mind. Half of my equipment slots are defensive. I'm not as flashy with damage as quite a few others are, but I deal solid, consistent blows with my katana. I think you have a good disposition for it, and it would match your style of delay. Seriously, give it some thought."

Baldur held out his cup to to Crozeph indicating he would like a refill of the tea.

"I've got some people I'd like to introduce you to eventually, but honestly, just trying to meet people who aren't already frontliners while you're trying to level up is the biggest challenge. We need to get them caught up to the frontline, and trained up. That might be something I can help with, and your proclivity for dungeon finding. That'll help us train group formations and coordination in a team. A healer right now though it worth an entire raid team's weight in gold."

[Crozeph 0]

"Hah, I guess I still got it" Crozeph uttered as Cordelia told him that she is a cook "I'd be dropping some time then, stocking up supplies can handy when exploring" he told her. Crozeph's build has been consistent for a while, he only plans to raise mitigation and damage and it seemed similar to what Baldur was telling him "a bruiser huh, sounds like someone who would mug you on the way after jumping out of the bushes" he told them as he pours another cup for Baldur. "For now I noticed that crystals and foods provide the needs i have for evasive and accurate attacks, it would be costly though with the way I'm purchasing those every time I need to venture out, good thing I met Cordelia. Discounts are bound to appear if I visit her shop often" he said in a rather villainous manner. Crozeph finished his cup and clasped both his hands "so your goal is to get everyone in the frontlines as fast as we can?"  he said. "We could you know, go swamp hunting or venturing out again. I mean with Cordelia here and one more who can be a tank we can take on places that are perilous and at the same time raise our level with the others" he then looked at Baldur and Cordelia "considering your level, I think I can adjust to the stats with enough supplies"  he added. Crozeph wanted to at least gain another perspective from the two and hopefully catch up in terms of level and maybe sometime get back to the Frontlines and not die in the process.

[Baldur 0]

"There are definitely some quests that we could take you on to help you get back on your feet. And with a bruiser build, that makes it a little be easier. For something like that, I would still recommend going with a mix of mitigation and evasion. An accuracy trinket, and if you go light armor, 2 slots of mitigation, and 1 of evasion. You can't hold hate if you can't hit, but generally speaking 3 to 4 accuracy is enough. Some people go with less, but I'm frustrated if I miss." Baldur said with a chuckle as he took a sip of his newly poured tea.

"Then if you pick up a fighting familiar, you could put some Taunt on your weapon to help with gate generation, or you could move accuracy to you weapon and get recovery on your trinket so that you can recover energy. Lots of different way to go, but you definitely need to get your familiar trained up."

He looked over at Cordelia, "She just retrained her familiar, so if anyone is an expert at that, it's Empress-chan." A playful grin split Baldur's face.

"But the swamp adventures are exactly the kinds of things I want to do. We can get a couple of blank maps, find some dungeons on relatively low level floors, and then adventure with a group of players, building bonds of trust and camaraderie and helping fill the ranks of the frontline. Not everyone is cut out for it, but even now the memories of our trip, the bonds we forged, carry through. I think its a formula worth repeating."

 

[Cordelia 0]

Cordelia fell out of the conversation again, only nodding to the few things that just barely concerned her. She wondered if she would ever reconnect with someone like this. Though, she was sure none of her friendships were as strong as Baldur's was to Crozeph, no matter how much she thought differently. They had years under their belt, and she had barely just started making friends a year ago. 

She let out a groan. "Retraining it was a huge pain," she sighed, squinting before she shook her head. "I'm just glad Mari was there to help me pass time, but really, just train it however you want. No two familiars are the same, so I'm afraid that I won't be able to help you out too much."

Her fingers drummed against the cup again as she listened on to their conversation. Dungeons. Bleh. Every dungeon she had ever done had ended off on a terrible note, especially the last one. Lord, she and Macradon must've spent an hour trying to kill that damned queen. . . bee? Ant? She couldn't even remember what it was right now, but all she knew is that it was terrible.