[PP-F4] Shizuka is uncreative with Thread Names <<Avalanche>>

[Zelrius 0]

In the midst of snow and sleet, stood the blonde haired boy. This time around, he did not have his Hydra Skull upon his head, of which he had given to Ssendom previously to fight Calrex with and to use. The boy stood, the frozen water slowly drifting from the sky lightly landing on his shoulders and along his back, occasionally also resting on his dress shoes when they made their journey there. He raised his arms, stretching them out behind them, and pulled them back several times, quickly flapping the cloak and shaking all the white-ice off. On each hip, Zelrius was adorned with blades. One, The Blade of Lucifer, a Sinister looking sheath that was spiked and all black, with the exception of the one red stripe running along the center of it, curved along just as the blade did and coming to a point as the sword did. The other sheath, The Blade of Michael, was a nearly perfectly straight sword, the sheath embossed and golden. The blade itself was a pure white color, almost more so than the snow that fell around him, and along its center, a golden cross, the same color as the sheath and pommel of that blade. Currently, they rested in boy's sheaths, held to his body each by a leather strap. With a final flap of his cloak, the snow was almost entirely shaken off, revealing that the cloak held the Azure Brigade's Golden Bird and Light blue shield: the Insignia of the guild. Reaching up, the boy fiddled with his black bowtie and checked the buttons on his white dress shirt. Brushing off and flattening with both his hands, Zelrius had the intention of getting all snow that had clouded his black colored over-coat and slacks. 

He didn't spend a lot of time in the city of Snowfrost, or on the Fourth Floor at all for that matter. He loathed this floor, for a great deal of reasons. Mainly at how crowded it always seemed. Players at any time could see Ice-Skating, or dancing and playing in the snow. As a general rule, The golden haired boy found most people to simply be stupid and annoying, with a few exceptions here and there. Another lesser reason he hated the floor, was the ever present and winter-increasing cold. Though, despite his ever increasing hate for the Floor, Zelrius always found himself standing up here for one reason or another. Today that reason was to simply do something other than stand around, and hopefully find something to do. That's what the Fourth Floor was good for: Lots of people meant lots of opportunity. 

[Vayrin 0]

"Still really cold..."

Once again Vayrin found herself on the 4th floor. She was one of the many players who actually enjoyed it, despite its cold temperature. Although the last time she was here was not as nice as it usually is. Once again she had been walking through the snowy streets of Snowfrost. Ignoring everyone around her as she had her hood up, trying desperately to cover her face from the unforgiving wind. The reason why she was on this floor today though, was because she had decided the Inns in Snowfrost were the coziest. She never really liked the ones in ToB since they were always jammed up with NPC's and civilian players Think that's what they call them. Vayrin thought to herself.  Shivering from the wind, Vayrin opened her map to find her destination. Shaking her hand, she closed the menu and continued to walk down the snow covered streets. Hoping something exciting would happen at least. It was still kinda early in the evening. she didn't really want to spend the rest of it in her room.

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka shivered. Her eyes flew towards the different snowflakes that were flowing downwards from the dark, blue sky. This was the first time that she's been on this dreary floor. It seems as if life had frozen up along with the land and she didn't like it one bit. As she breathed steam, she hugged herself to make up for her mistake of not wearing a heavy jacket. Don't worry, once I finish this quest, all will become good. She thought with a sigh which she could literally feel freezing as it came out of her mouth. Shizuka had accepted the quest about an hour ago and she really needed assistance but she really didn't want to bother Calrex, Ssendom, and Tristan anymore as they might get tired of her constant need for help. She needed someone new... someone that could possibly one hit this boss and send it away. After a bit of walking through the snow covered town, she soon came across a blonde man. The man reeked of confidence and utmost power along with quite a bit of intimidation. Seems like he's bored. She realized as she didn't really see him doing anything with purpose. Soon, she decided that she would approach the man and see what is up with him. "Good morning, nice weather out here huh?" She asked with humor. "Seems like you are bored... Would you mind company? Because I sure need someone to help me out with a quest and judging from unusual, yet intimidating equipment, I'm sure you could absolutely destroy the boss. So, what do you say? The name is Shizuka."

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius had finished wiping himself down, going over in his own mind how pointless, yet so necessary too. It was pointless, given in a few minutes he was going to be covered again. Yet, had he just left that snow on there, pretty soon he would have just been weighed down by the amount of it. Either way, it was too late now, the boy had already gotten it off of him, despite that fact, it had only been a few moments and there was already some building up again. With a sigh the boy glanced up as a voice pierced the near silence. "Aye, the weather is absolutely fantastic." Zelrius replied, in a sarcastic tone to the figure. "Bored? I suppose that's one word for it,"  Zelrius raised an eyebrow at her offer. "Company? I offer my assistance if you call for it. And it depends on what boss you're talking to there, Lady Shizuka," He stopped, his arrogant grin only growing wider "If you're referring to the abomination that is Avalanche or the Snow beast from the Essence of steel quest, than you would be right. I can absolutely destroy it." His ego seemed to know no bounds, and boasted a strength that most people doubted existed. That's only because they have yet to see it. His fleeting thoughts whispered in his mind. "I accept your offer, Lady Shizuka. Allow me to introduce myself." He gave a slight aristocratic bow and continued in his elegant pattern of speech. "My name is Zelrius, Commandant of the Azure Brigade, Champion of the Clash of Blades Tournament, Dual Wielder." He stood back up straight and began to walk off in the direction of where he knew the boss was.

Crossing his elbows along his stomach area, the boy placed each glove hand on its opposing sheath. His left hand reaching for the Blade of Lucifer on his right hip, and his right hand reaching for the Blade of Michael on the versa. "If you've already accepted the quest, no point in standing around wasting time here. Let us get going." 

[Vayrin 0]

The night time snowflakes drifted past her as she sped walked through Snowfrost. Her breath appearing in front of her mouth in the chill air. Vayrin actually had an ulterior motive for coming to Snowfrost today. She had been accepting various quests on all the floors. Even though she was not strong enough to do most of them, she still put them in her quest log to save time when the chance arose. And for that reason she had been on the 4th Floor. 

Still shaking from the cold, Vayrin managed to walk to the edge of town without realizing it. She lifted her head, revealing her face underneath her hood and took a look around. Part of her hair hung outside it as she peered at the frozen landscape. Not far off from her, she saw two other players doing the same. Just standing there talking. Not thinking much of it Vayrin opened her menu to review her map. Her hand stopped when she heard one of the players say "Avalanche". That was a quest on this floor that she had just recently accepted. If they were planning on going for it, she seemed slightly intrigued in tagging along. Only if they let her of course. From the look of it, there was a blonde boy, and a red-haired girl. Judging by their equipment, Vayrin quickly assessed the boy seemed to be a higher level, due to the amount items he had. The girl looked to be a low level like Vayrin, so if they were planning to go on the Avalanche quest, they probably had a good plan for taking the beast down. Without thinking much of it, Vayrin strode towards the two.

"You guys planning on taking down Avalanche?" Vayrin said suddenly from behind the two.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Vayrin

[Shizuka 0]

"I was referencing the abomination from Avalanche, great," Shizuka said as the boy gladly accepted her ask for assistance. By now, the snowfall had become faster and heavier.... She was feeling rather cold and she was not aware of exactly how the blonde boy in front of her seemed so warm. The boy glared with confidence, some of it coming from his long blade that glowed with its very own power, others came from his attire... the gold that emphasised wealth and power were located all over the boy's choice of fashion. Plus, the black overcoat gave off a mysterious feeling. Perhaps from this, it seemed like he was warm even in the snow or perhaps it was just his sheer power. Well, he is my guild commandant after all.... Even though I've never seen him in combat, I'm sure he is extremely powerful. Nevertheless, she would have to get going in order to finish up the quest and continue on to a warm place. However, just before she was going to leave, she heard a noise from behind her. It was a voice of a girl asking whether she could join the two on their quest for the Avalanche boss. The girl was rather similar to her in many ways... she was the exact same height as Shizuka and she could tell that the girl was in her 16s or 17s judging from looks. The only thing different might be personality and hair colour. Unlike Shizuka, the girl had purple or violet hair and while some people said her hair was rather rebellious, she was sure purple was a lot more rebellious than pink. Also, the female seemed rather fierce compared to her... She seemed like a damage dealer... Surprising enough, one can tell what type of player another player is just from looking at them. Of course, Shizuka, being the nice person that she is, welcomed the girl with a warm smile on her face. "Okay, but don't be bothered if you don't get any action... Zelrius here can one shot the avalanche boss with one shot no question." She said. "I'll send you two the friend request and party now. Accept it and we shall go on our way to murder this snow boss."

[Zelrius 0]

"Aye, I have no issue with going with another person. Three's a crowd, but today I am feeling more generous than usual." If his arrogant grind could grow any wider, it would. "Shall we get going then?" His voice ever-so filled with the confidence that was almost contagious. The boy walked off through the snow, headed north toward the Slopes and hills he recognized where Avalanche would spawn. The area to the north of Snowfrost town was the only place on his map on the Fourth Floor that was so extremely detailed. He had ventured here and there throughout the floor, but didn't take too much time collecting Map data. There was the Hotsprings area that the Crimson Blades held their Pre-Boss Raid relaxation periods, but other than that, Floor 4 was just aimless wandering around in the snow and ice with Kiru looking for Keith. His thoughts for a moment were traced back to his conversation with Kiru moments before the Forsaken Crusader fight. He had felt terribly for reacting like that, and to this day Zelrius still could not get over the fact that he probably just shattered Kiru's hopes and dreams in that one moment. For a single second, the golden haired commandant considered rifling through his menu to send her a message, but realized that now was not the time, not to mention it was probably far too late for that. He walked up a slope, the hill for Avalanche not being very far ahead, and turned to see if the two lower levels were following him. 

Realizing he was being just a bit rude, the boy bowed down lightly and then stood straight back up toward the newer member of their party. "Excuse my manners, I don't think I caught your name, Lady?" The boy's arrogant facade faded for a second, then quickly re-appeared. "As I told Lady Shizuka here, and as she said just a moment ago I am Zelrius, Commandant of the Azure Brigade, Champion of the Clash of Blades, and Dual Wielder." Twice now he had given that introduction, and it came out mechanically, quite honestly annoying the golden haired Commandant himself how often he said it.

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin quickly shot the red head a glance after the Blond haired boy walked off. Her attention was then fixed on a notification in front of her. A friend request from the girl. Her name was apparently Shizuka. Vayrin looked up at Shizuka with a slightly worried look over her face. She rarely got these. Over the entire course of the time, she spent in SAO, she only had one person on her friends list. It would be okay to become temporary friends for this quest Vayrin thought. She had only just met the girl, so she was not counting on any long term friendships at this moment. Vayrin lifted her hand, and hesitated for a moment before pressing the circle icon, accepting the request. After that, Vayrin gave a quick sigh, indicating that action had been difficult. She then looked back up at Shizuka. "Well, let's get going."  She said, her regular serious look masking her face.

During the time they spent walking, Vayrin could not help but feel like this boy was familiar. Something about him made him stand out to her. It was probably nothing, Vayrin thought. Maybe the blonde hair. She had seen many people with blonde hair. After she quickly shook the thought as the three walked along the frozen landscape. As they trudged along, Vayrin thought she'd better break the silence. If they were going to fight together, then she may as well get to know these people better. She looked up at Shizuka about to say something when the blonde boy beat her to it. He introduced himself. He had a rather long title, and her earlier assumption about him being a high leveled player seemed to be correct based off of his title. Vayrin's eyes widened a bit when she realized he was talking to her.  "Oh, I'm uhh." She hesitated, trying to come up with her own title but then soon remembered she had none. "Vayrin."  She said quietly. 

Edited November 7, 2015 by Vayrin

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka blinked as she saw a bit of hesitation coming from the girl. Of course, for someone as friendly as her, she could not understand why she would not accept the request. Or why she would even hesitate to accept a request from someone as nice as Shizuka. Nevertheless, she decided to let it go as she knew that some people were more cautious than others. Perhaps someday, her lack of caution might even be the death of her. As Shizuka followed Zelrius who had started walking away without accepting her party request even though the pop-up was right in front of him, also, even though Varyin decided to accept her friend request, she still hasn't accepted her party request which was also in front of the girl's face. "Oh, I think I haven't told you of my name yet. My name is Shizuka, female healer and support, here to serve." Honestly, she'd just made her introduction off right there on the spot but she could care less, she liked it very much. Shizuka looked around before giving a sneeze. She wanted to finish this quest with haste so she can obtain the skill points and possibly level up once more if not multiple levels at once as currently, she would not be surprised if that happens. She knew generally what the system tries to do in order to allow the lower leveled players to level up faster. From what she could tell, the higher leveled folks need more skill points to level up while the lower leveled folks needed less. She hadn't thought that Kayaba would take into consideration the lower leveled players. Well done creator. She thought, half meaning it, half not. Well, he did trap us all here just for entertainment and to satisfy his crazy needs. Also, she didn't know if both of the people besides her were either clueless or just not very good at observing because they still haven't accepted her party request even though she sent them quite a while ago and she could see that the pop-up box was right there, right in front of them. "Oh yeah, you two should accept my party request... That way, we can get rewards when Zel decides to one-shot the boss when he feels like it." She said, worried that perhaps something was wrong with the two players.

 

[Zelrius 0]

The conversation taking place between the two girls behind him completely went over the boy's head. It seemed neither of them were spefically addressing him, and if they were, his own ego didn't allow himself to hear it at that moment. Thinking there was only a party invite, Zelrius unknowingly accepted the Friend Request as well, without even realizing. He did however look up at the top left of his vision to see the HP bars appear of the other players. The boy really tried to stop himself from laughing but couldn't keep it in. Despite not wanting to be rude, the HP difference between himself and the other players was huge.  "I apologize for the unnecessary laughter, I just found it humorous. It's okay though, Soon enough, you two will be high levels, hopefully." He then acknowledged Vayrin introducing herself. "Well, then you both have my official Greetings and Well-Wishes, Lady Vayrin and Lady Shizuka." He gave a moment of thought to Shizuka mentioning her own build, and decided it would be polite to give his full information. "A Support? Holy hell there is a scarce amount of those. And even less that are 'here to serve' as you claim you are. Zelrius, Male Commander of the Frontliners, Maximum Damage Output. If it is not rude of me to ask, what is your planned build, Lady Vayrin?" He was actually interested to see what this one had in mind, and was truly amazed by the fact that he had met another Support, given just how uncommon they were. 

Walking a few more meters from where they were, the party came upon a small valley in between two hills. The entrance to the signaled area having been marked with two stones sticking out of each side of the hill. The hole itself was rather large, and led down a slope. "Alright here we are. As soon as we make our in between those two stones, Avalanche will spawn. So, I am ready when you two are." He spoke, his voice more serious now, thought for no real reason.

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin looked over at Shizuka's comment about the party invite. She looked down and noticed it for the first time.  "Oh, sorry. I had thought you only sent me a friend request, didn't notice the party invite..." Vayrin said again, as she tapped the accept button. Feeling like an idiot.

"Me?" Vayrin was surprised by the Zelrius's question. What type of build did she want? She hadn't really thought about it, seeing as she was not 100% sure on what builds there were. "I guess I never really thought about it before. I'm not entirely sure what different builds there are. All I know is that I am aiming to be fast and nimble, but still able to do decent hits on my enemies." She thought about it for another moment. That is what she wanted to be. A super fast player who didn't need to rely on heavy armor to protect her. She didn't know if there was a build for that, but that was the best explanation she could give.

As the three reached the place where the supposed beast spawned, Vayrin continued to slowly drag out her weapon from its sheath on her back. Not thinking it would really help, but just in case. Her hand had actually been ready to pull it out the entire time. Even though she highly doubted these two would try and harm her, they were still outside of a safe zone. PKers or hostile mobs could attack anytime. Vayrin stared at the cavern entrance, the air from her mouth could be seen blowing out. "Let's do it."

Edited November 7, 2015 by Vayrin

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka shivered while the two players had their own conversation going, even though there was no point to shiver as it was getting warmer and warmer from excitement caused by her own mindset. Of course, there was not even a point of being nervous as the blonde boy in front of her was a powerful figure, well respected throughout Aincrad for his power and possession of different unique weapons and items. She sighed before trying to calm herself. "Alright Zelrius, Vayrin and I will just chill in the back while you one-shot this boss mob... I'm sure you have the power to do that with that good looking blade... I wonder how much damage you can inflict upon the mob using that." Indeed, she was curious. She had heard about many different rumours of the very blade that Zelrius had. Many cowardly drops in fear of that blade while others are rather salty and jealous of him having it. Not only that, Shizuka had also heard a bit about his unique skill, a skill that increases his damage by multiple levels. In summary, Zelrius is a powerful man, so powerful that he could probably strike down this mob with complete ease and without breaking a sweat. Shizuka looked at the spot in which the Avalanche boss would soon appear. "I'm ready," Shizuka said with a smile, "Even though it would be completely unnecessary for Vayrin and me to be ready as you, mister, would no doubt not need our help." Shizuka rubbed her hands together, trying to get some friction going in order to warm up her hands. She would need to stay warm if she was not going to be involved in combat. "Let's go then," She said, waiting for Zelrius to make his first move and enter the area in which the boss would be slain with ease. That should be a good 3 Skill Points from this quest. And an easy three points, all thanks to Zelrius. Shizuka said, quite glad that she was able to get this quest finished in short time and confident that she would be able to get this quest finished with the help of the high leveled player.

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius didn't say anything, Only nodded as they gave their respective responses. He crept on through between the crevice of the rocks and within moments of doing so, the ground shook a bit and a mound of snow rose up, revealing the boss. His health bar appeared quickly and was followed by a roar that signaled the Boss fight had begun. Quickly drawing his two blades, Zelrius ran forth, not a sound made as his increased speed in game allowed the golden haired boy to effortlessly glide up and over the snow, with only small cracks and footprints in the snow giving off any signal that he had even touched the ground during this sprint. In a moment, he was upon the ice boss and quickly swung at it in a flurry of attacks moving too fast to count just how many swings he had done exactly. Shortly after he was done attack, Avalanche fizzled and disappeared, the Congratulations window appearing in front of all three players, telling them the party had defeated the boss, and notifying the other two that the quest was complete.

Sheathing his two blades, Zelrius turned around and walked back to the two girls. "Will that be all for today? I am going to head back to town and enjoy the warmth of a Campfire for a bit, you two are free to accompany me if you wish." With that, Zelrius began to trudge off back through the snow toward Snowfrost town. 

BD: 3+4 Acc = 7 Hit. MD 3-3 Evasion = 0 Miss

7+4 Fallen = 11+5 Charge = 16*27 = 432

Zelrius 172/172

Avalanche Dead

Edited November 7, 2015 by Zelrius

[Vayrin 0]

As she predicted, her blade would not need to be used after all. As Vayrin watched Zelrius completely destroy the boss, she said nothing. Staring at the scene with her normal serious expression. Only a few moments later the boss popped from existence, and the quest had been completed. His duel wielding skill sure seemed to be helpful. As Zelrius turned around and began walking towards the two, Vayrin slowly sheathed her blade. Feeling a little embarrassed that she pulled it out in the first place.

At Zelrius's next comment, Vayrin shot a look over to Shizuka. Then she looked back over to the boy who had already begun walking off. May as well. To town at least  Vayrin thought to herself. At that moment, she simply nodded at Shizuka and began to follow Zelrius. To break the silence, Vayrin decided the only polite thing to do was to thank the boy for completing the quest. "Thanks for that."  She said simply, still staring in front as she walked beside him. "It's my goal to become a high level, so this really helps me out."  She said again, giving off a slight smile. 

[Shizuka 0]

Indeed, Shizuka decided that she might as well warm up. She didn't know if frostbite was a thing but if it was, she might be in deep trouble. The snow had already made her hair wet and messy, no longer completely pink but mixed in with white. But, she, of course, had other things to do as well such as material gathering or gaining some fighting experience. However, when the purple/violet haired girl nodded at her before following Zelrius, she decided that it would be best to follow them as well. She sighed before rubbing her hands together to create friction and perhaps warm her hands up. As she followed behind Zelrius, she looked around, trying to watch for anything that could perk her interest. She decided that the fourth floor was perhaps one of the best floors to be on in terms of scenery. Snow piled up everywhere and it was truly great. A white wonderland, if it wasn't so cold, she would definitely think about living here for a while until more floors are cleared. However, for now, she would have to make due with what she has. Shizuka sighed as they made their footprints, a mark, on the snow which could be traced easily, not that anyone would consider tracing their footsteps as what would be the point of that? Indeed, she knew that there were many player killers here in Aincrad but for someone like Zelrius, a high leveled player, no one would dare to approach him. Soon, they have arrived at the town and immediately, she felt her heart light up as the lights in the city blared with rhythm. She has always been astonished by the view of Aincrad but nothing compares with the beauty of this floor. How the snow mixes in and creates such harmony with the man-made features of the world. 

[Zelrius 0]

As they neared town, Zelrius began to contemplate the great deal of events over the last few days. Thinking for a moment, Zelrius went through his inventory with ease to find the potion that Avalanche dropped everytime it was killed. "Decide between the two of you who gets this." The golden haired boy spoke, tossing it out behind him and in their direction. He didn't take a second to stop to throw it, or turn around to see if either of the two even cared enough to pick it up it catch the item. His thoughts drifted on what Vayrin had said just moments earlier. "What is it exactly that you are thanking me for?" His voice being more testy than it would as if actually asking a question. "Are you thanking me for defeating a weakling like Avalanche for you? Or prehaps for me just simply being as strong as I am so low levels like you can mooch off of me?" Zelrius reached a sudden change in demeanor. In the last few days, the golden haired boy had thought strongly about the sudden increase in quests he was doing with low levels, and being the heavy-minded, eternally lost in thought, and paranoid person he was, the Commandant was slowly losing trust in everyone. In his mind, Zelrius rationalized one way or another that everyone by this point just wanted to use him for their own ends, and he quite frankly done with it. This distrust did not go to just Low-level led players, but had in fact sown itself between Zelrius and the other Commandants of the Azure Brigade. Except Kiru, right? His mind tried to reassure him that no matter how much everyone else hated or tried to use him, Kiru would be the one person he could rely on. Hopefully she isn't with the rest. Zelrius replied to his own thoughts

[Vayrin 0]

Vayrin quickly caught the potion with one hand. She looked at it for a moment and then tossed it to Shizuka.  "You can have it if you want."  She said quickly, then she sped walk to catch up with Zelrius.

Vayrin's tone got more serious after his last comment. "You sound like that's a bad thing." She said, her eyes facing him as they continued to walk. She honestly didn't understand why some high leveled players thought that doing quests for lower leveled players was annoying. "Do you even realize how much this helps us? What you did just helped me level up some more." She said again, her voice had become quieter now. "I know you're not in it for yourself, seeing as your in a guild and all."  Vayrin said as she shot a quick look to the Azure Brigade logo on his jacket. "So why do you view helping others as a bad thing?" She said again. "We all want out of this game. And I think it would be easier to break out with more skilled people fighting. Don't you?" She said again, looking forward.  "The faster we level up, the more of a chance we have of surviving this. That's why I wanted to accompany you two on this quest. I'm not in it for myself, I'm in it so I can become powerful faster, so I can help others...The same way you helped us." She stayed quiet for a moment to let that sink in. She was not using Zelrius for her own uses. She was using him to help her do the same for others when the need arises.

[Shizuka 0]

Shizuka gulped as Varyin simply tossed her the potion. "Well, if neither of you wants it, I guess I will take it then... Thank you very much." Shizuka said with gratitude when Zelrius seemed to have suddenly become frustrated and doubtful of the fact that lower leveled players were using him to get stronger and when Vayrin expressed her point, Shizuka did indeed agree with her. Everyone is working hard to get stronger and stronger to escape this virtual jail that Kayaba had put them in for absolutely no reason and honestly, she didn't hate it, but it was still a jail. The lower leveled players are all trying to get stronger and they need higher leveled players to help them in order to beat tougher bosses and tougher mobs. Also, it wasn't as if the higher leveled players aren't gaining any skill points from this either. Shizuka sighed at Zelrius's attitude and his doubt. However, sensing the frustration of this man, Shizuka decided not to anger him much but knew that she should say something.  "Indeed, I agree with Vayrin. The whole point of this is to beat the game so we are freed from its doom, and we must all work together in order to do that... There should be no doubt or selfishness among the players. Also, it's not like you aren't getting anything out of these quests." Shizuka said. Indeed, it had turned out to be longer than what she wanted to say and the man would probably not even listen to him, being that he clearly thinks he is superior to both of the lower lady players. Shizuka sighed once more as it seemed like a friendly conversation was not going to occur. Oh well, it's becoming rather late and we should go home soon anyway. She thought, He's the guild leader... He can think what he wants.

[Zelrius 0]

Zelrius only frowned, his brows creasing in at anger. "I do realize, how much this helped you two. Trust me, it's why I agreed to do it at all. This was never about me, and I've never tried to make it so. I want to help, my frustration lies with that I have seen people all levels and strengths come and go without a word said. I've helped more Low levels than you can probably count, only a few of which have I ever seen appear on the Frontlines. I am at the point where I feel like Low-Levels simply become strong enough that they can grind col and disappear without ever being seen again. And though I agree with you, Lady Shizuka, on the point that we are a team and should act like one, There's a reason I don't trust the other Frontliners. Even some of my Fellow Commandants and your fellow Brigadiers are some of the most selfish people to ever walk Aincrad. If I had-" He stopped himself mid sentence, realizing that what he had said was probably too much already. As the team entered back into Snowfrost town, rather than heading to the nearest Inn, Zelrius simply turned toward the Teleportation Podium. Before splitting off from the other two, he spoke a final comment. "My apologies for going off like that. I am glad I could meet the two of you and help in the way that I did. I am afraid I am off to go find some time alone. Feel free to message me should you ever request my help again. Vale." Zelrius had bid them farewell in Latin, his voice speaking the words of apology, though it was not any less abrasive. Just like that, Zelrius announced to the teleportation gate the location he wanted to go, Floor 7, the Fortress city of Nimbus, and just like that, he was gone.

Zelrius leaves the Thread.

[Vayrin 0]

After listening to Zelrius's speech, Vayrin had a little more understanding of his view. He was not wrong to feel like he did, well Vayrin couldn't hope to know anyways. She was not a high level yet, but she still felt like she understood his feelings. As they got back to Snowfrost, Vayrin took little notice to its splendor. She said nothing after Zelrius spoke, only thinking. She looked up when he had begun walking towards the platform. She only nodded at him as he teleported off. After he disappeared into a blue flash, Vayrin turned her attention over to Shizuka.  "I promise he'll see me on the front lines. I'll be damned if I'm not before this game is over." Vayrin said, a slight anger in her tone as she gazed at the ground, her hand clenching into a fist. Vayrin then looked up at the red haired girl, expecting a similar response. Vayrin then gave a small sigh. "I'll be heading over to the inn."  She said as she walked off, giving a small hand gesture waving at Shizuka.  "Accompany me if you want. I don't mind." She stated, her eyes hazily looking at the snow-covered street in front of them.