Calrex

The faint sound of metal lightly clinking against metal could be heard just outside of the kitchen, as if on perfect cue, the bluenette appeared in the doorway, casually raising a hand to wave to the people present. His simulated sense of smell picked up on the delicious scents being produced from the cooking within, giving him both an idea that people would be gathered here, and that it might be soon to settle down with the rest of the guild members for a meal, "Seems like this is the place to be, heh. Looks like we've got another bountiful meal tonight. Did you guys need any help with getting things set up?"

stepping into the interior of the kitchen the bluenette shuffled over to the side to make sure he wasn't blocking any walkways for navigating around the work area. From the past, he had seen both Cordelia and Snow turn into blurs of movement when preparing the many tasty delicacies he and the others had come to know. It was a particular sight to watch, but most of the time he decided to remain outside or in a different part of the estate as to not impede their work.

The Day Before

"Well, things really flew by didn't they?"

The Ultramarine Knight couldn't even fully recall the conclusion of the last raid, and now Jacob's Ladder was preparing for scouting the next floor. He wasn't sure if things were moving faster than before, or if maybe he had just grown accustomed to the slower pace that happened in the recent floor progressions. It had certainly bee some time since the frontliners had blazed through the floors at an accelerated pace, but after the events of the past things had slowed significantly, but now it might be a sign they were gaining momentum again.

Ruffling the front part of his hair to get it out of his eyes, Calrex gave a small sigh before getting out of bed, turning back and gazing at the redhead who was still asleep. A slow blink was followed by a warm smile before he placed a hand on Teayre's shoulder, letting her know he was heading out.

Opening the door of the Amethyst Boutique, his eyes took in the blacked out sky of the thirteenth floor before giving a small sigh. Closing the door behind him, the bluenette made his way to the main teleportation circle.

It was not much longer that he arrived at Baldur's estate, seeing the hustle and bustle of the preparations already in progress. Giving a shrug of his shoulder, he made his way over, approaching one of the people carrying supplies, ready to lend his help.

Present Day

"How...uh...thick do I make these slices?"

A bead of sweat formed on the side of the bluenette's head as he held a knife in his main hand, currently resting sideways as he started at the block of SAO's equivalent to tuna in front of him. He couldn't recall how far they had come in their trip, but somehow @Snowhad convinced him to be her assistant for preparing the guild's meal. While he was unsure how wise the request was, it seemed to be the only role that needed someone to fill in the meantime as the others were busy with other tasks around the scouting camp, "...I guess thinner is probably better in this case. It's supposed to almost melt in the mouth right?"

As he heard @Baldurpop in and ask about who was on the menu, Calrex turned slightly so that the western samurai was now in his vision, "Uh...well...there's definitely tuna tataki. I haven't had a chance to look at what else is being made right now, heh."

Stats:

As Yona swiftly recovered from his strike, the bluenette's eyes narrowed in focus, "This last exchange will probably decide it. Got to make my actions count."

A quick flick of the wrist switched his grip from reverse to standard once as as the bluenette followed his foe's approach, his pupils darting right then left in order to keep track of her movements. In some ways, it felt very similar to his own advance previously, feinting to one side in order to approach with an attack from the opposite side. As she rotated into a spin one more breath left Calrex before he brought his own training sword across his body from right to left. Keeping the weapon perpendicular to the ground, he used his shoulder to move the sword around his body, as if he were drawing a circle on the ground with the point of his bokken. Through the whole movement, the tip kept trained pointed towards the ground, acting almost like a barrier to any incoming strikes.

As he felt a hard contact with his sword at his flank, he dropped his body low on his right knee while raising his sword overhead. This guided the incoming attack upwards over his lowering form. As he felt the strike clear and lose contact with his blade, Calrex quickly rotated towards Yona, bringing his sword across her torso. To put himself at a safe distance, immediately afterwards he rolled forward, quickly springing back to his feet afterwards.

However, it seemed the extra measure wasn't necessary. With a third strike, the match was decided in his victory. The blunette gave a small breath, performing the notion of "resheathing" his sword before turning to face his opponent, giving a nod with a calm smile.

"That was a really close match. It was an honor."

As Yona spoke, Calrex felt a bead of sweat form on the side of his head, "Why do I feel like this is becoming a thing now? I swear at least two people have said that to me previously."

"Uh...thanks?"

However, something about the flow of the battle had also shifted as a result. Even though it was a passing interaction, there was a brief bit of hesitation in his opponent's riposte. The thrust came in, but the bluenette was able to deflect the strike, bringing his sword between his form and the tip of Yona's bokken. This gave enough of a clearing for him to step forward, lowering his stance while bringing his blade horizontal, keeping contact with his foe's blade before stepping off the side, drawing across her torso as he moved past to her flank, pivoting before taking a step back, a brief smirk crossing his face "However, you should really keep focused on the weapon in my hands."

Quickly leaning his body forward, Calrex quickly flipped his sword into reverse again before entering into a dash, quickly closing the distance. This time, rather than trying to approach from an angle, he was focused on utilizing speed to quickly move past his opponent's defenses. As he got into striking range, his training sword cut across in a rising arc.

Results:

As the group of frontliners pushed all the way to the control room, Calrex continued alongside the, making sure to keep somewhat in front in order to help create openings in the guard formations. However, it seemed as they entered where Razwell was residing, a wall was put up before them. Not a literal one, but a wind barrier that seemed to want to push they away. Caught by surprise for a moment, the best the deep blue armored player could do from getting forced off his feet was to hurl his upper body forward, planting the Grand Blade IV into the floor to serve as a post to hold up against the gust.

However, he didn't have to resist for long as Krysta's Barrier enveloped him, and two other players barrier encased Razwell's device, seemingly the source of the winds. With that the combat resumed, as the frontliners clashed against the Elite Guardsmen doing all they could to keep their Grand Imperator safe. 

Flipping his sword into hammer grip the Ultramarine Knight gave a breath before his body became enveloped in bright blue energy for a moment. With a slight tilt forward <<Charge>> activated as he rocketed across the area, targeting a cluster of guardsmen. 

"Right now focus on thinning their numbers. That'll force them to spread out or concentrate. Either way will expose openings in their formation."

Sparks erupted where metal scraped against metal as his sword continued to glow with a ghastly blue aura before Calrex became a blur of motion, numerous horizontal circular slashes barraging against the shields of the guardsmen that forced up like a fan against his assault. "Swallow's Departure..."

However, this initial Sword Art was a prelude, meant to put them on the defensive. Immediately after the spinning strikes finish, the Ultramarine Knight was already lowered into another stance, blade still blazing bright blue as three near simultaneous strikes came from his form: Two rising diagonal strikes followed by a wide horizontal slash. The first two knocked the guards shields upwards, exposing their torsos for the third strike to cleave through in tandem wth his roar, "Swallow's Return!"

As the guards he sliced through fell, another group took their place, weapons raised towards him. "That's it, keep focused on me..."

Thinking back on his recent attack, the bluenette now judged it to have been too risky a move to make. He definitely paid the price for it as he felt Yona's practice weapon impact into his torso, forcing him to take a step back from the force. Calrex's eyes locked forward, aiming to keep track of her movements again. Quickly regaining lock on his opponent once again, his vision kept her centered as she stepped to his left.

Unfortunately, while his eyes were able to keep tabs on Yona's movements, his body was not able to follow. The timing of the previous strike had caught him at a moment where the impact forced his arms to extend forward, far enough that he wasn't able to pull them back in time to defend against the followup attack. The blow landed against his back moments before his own bokken was able to sweep across to deflect the blow.

"Heh, this is going very much like the previous bout. Today really just isn't my day, is it?"

He turned calmly in order to center his vision on his opponent for a brief moment before initiating his counterattack. Flipping his blade the weapon traveled from right to left hand in a reverse grip as he stepped diagonally to his right, tip of his sword trained forward. However, right as his left foot hit the ground he quickly spin his body clockwise, springing off of the same foot so that his next move moved him to the left. As he rotated, his left hand came up to meet his right, switching hand and grip once again as his horizontal slash came in from the left side.

"Definitely not one to be extreely agile, but I do know my way around some fancy foot patterns."

As his team's carrier flew into the hangar, Calrex was well prepared for a particular rough landing, at the least due to how the previous parts of the trip went. However, surprisingly, like his previous comparison to a roller coaster, the landing was surprisingly deprived of ricketiness. He weakly gripped onto the outside of the transport before pulling himself upright, "Guys...next time...let's not let Baldur drive..."

Hopping out onto the floor of the massive aircraft, the Ultramarine Knight only had a brief moment to get his bearings before Baldur and Hirru were already going to work calling out tactical orders. Following Hirru's command, he locked onto the elite guards that served as points on the end of the formation. Quickly resheathing the Grand Blade IV, the fully armored frontliner gave a nod "On It!"

Letting the power of <<Charge>> surge through his body he rocketed forward, eyes locked onto his target like a hawk. Within three strides he had swiftly come into striking range, planting his front foot before grounding his stance. His sword drew from his hip sheath in a reverse grip, blazing alight with bright blue energy. Heaving the entirety of his upper body in the opposite direction, Calrex brought his sword wide.

The three soldiers in front of him responded as expected, bringing their blades forward to intercept his strike. This move was the ideal response he had wanted. His objective was to start applying pressure to this end of their formation. The momentum-empowered opening slash impacted hard against their weapons, the force blowing their forms back.

Quickly flipping his sword around, he took advantage of the brief opening, bringing his sword back across in another horizontal slash from the opposite side. With their torso's exposed from the first attack, there wasn't enough time for them to recompose their stance as the deep blue blade cleaved through the three.

@Crozeph @Shield @Plini @Baldur @Hirru

"So, she's a nimble combatant as well..."

Right when he had made his counterattack, it seemed his opponent quickly deflected the strike, immediately followed with some swift footwork, seemingly to try and position themselves in a more advantageous spot. It seemed that dueling agile fighters was the theme today. While he had only faced two people to this point, the Ultramarine Knight was curious if there were any other participants who had adopted a more grounded fighting style focused on guards than evasive movements. However, that didn't matter in the moment.

 The bluenette merely gave a small smirk as Yona maneuvered her way behind him, aiming to strike at him from his flank. Quickly dropping his body low, Calrex made his profile as small as he could. At this moment he was relying on his other senses to determine the path of the incoming strike, and it seemed his guess was correct. As a loud whoosh resounded where his midsection had been moments ago, the blunette swiftly turned around.

"Missing a strike is different from being parried. When you completely whiff, your body is stuck trying to divert the momentum of the attack. So, if an attack were to come from the same direction as where the missed attack started..."

Turning 180 while still crouched, Calrex switched his grip from reverse to standard, reinforcing it with his offhand as the bokken was positioned parallel to the ground, "blade" directed skywards. Pushing into the ground he launched himself directly upwards, holding his weapon steady as he intended to strike Yona with a rising guillotine-like movement.

Results:

Faint sounds effects of menu scrolling could be faintly heard coming from the dojo as Calrex changed from his normal outerwear to the training gear he had decided to don for his regular training sessions. It was still foreign to him to some level. He had receiving the garbs from a brief period of isolation where he had trained with a supposed hermit, the very man who inspired him to take up a multi-weapons form of combat. Now, that seemed like a faint memory. A small sigh escaped his lips as the white cloak draped over his shoulders for a brief moment before he pulled it off, taking care to fold it as he set it aside to one corner. As he stepped to the center of the training area, the bluenette let his mind calm, mainly focusing on his breath as he kept it long and slow.

Instead of staying in the room set aside at the estate, he had instead spent it back on the thirteenth floor in the Amethyst Boutique, still surprisingly standing just on the outskirts of the main safe zone. He always appreciated the gesture that Baldur had done, giving him and his in-game wife Teayre a place to stay here. Unfortunately, it seemed the Crimson Maiden was unwilling to budge. While she moved about from time to time within the confines of the workspace/living quarters of the artisan's shop, to some degree the Ultramarine Knight understood what was in her heart. With the loss of Battojutsu, it seemed all of the fire in her had burned out. While still bearing an orange cursor, she had resigned from fighting in general. The more he thought on it, the more Calrex felt his heart torn in two. To one end, at the least Teayre was not at risk of falling on the frontlines, or to the roaming mobs. As long as she stayed in the boutique, no supposed harm would befall her. 

But, at the same time, to see the fiery passion seemingly be completely burned out of his wife was not something he could rest easy with. It was why, in spite of everything that has happened, he continued to press forward. After all this time, he still remembered the original promise the two had made, "You protect our bodies, and I'll protect our minds...that was what she said..."

"...yet here I am, trying my hardest to protect both our bodies...and our minds..."

The storm of emotions continued to rage inside him as he continued to breathe, remembering the concept of mushin he had learned. Not to shut out emotions, but to let them flow, and to let them go. To let them release effortlessly into the void of his mind. That was necessary more than ever for the Ultramarine Knight, with all that had transpired.

While he himself was not a prominent person amongst the player base anymore with the seemed patched deletion of the controversial unique skills, that didn't make the weight that he carried any lighter. He could still remember all of the people, alive, dead, missing, or retired that he encountered along the way. Many of them were close friends of his, one specifically that came to mind as he made a single swipe on his menu to produce a sword in front of him.

The weapon's overall shape was still indicative of the original Grand Blade's design, however its main difference was in its blade. Where normally a deep blue would be, almost a reflection of the vast ocean's surface, instead there lay an entanglement of red and yellow, the twists and curves of the finishing seemingly giving the appearance of a field of spiderlilies. This weapon was a representation of the original Spectrum Coalition, the original unofficial group he, Teayre, and their dear friend Oikawa formed back in their early days, before the discovery of unique skills, before the unleashing of Sword Arts, before the frontlines, before their new player innocence was forever cast into the forge of combat.

Calrex had reached out to Oikawa in the past. In fact, the young man was one of the original founders of Jacob's Ladder. Yet, all of a sudden he disappeared for the umpteenth time. The bluenette had tried to visit the Grand Forge, the blacksmith's home, but there was no answer. No matter what he tried, it seemed that both of the closest people he knew had forever departed from the struggle. Now here he was, the Ultramarine Knight, the only one of the three that remained, still pushing onwards.

He adjusted his grip on the sword, feeling the weight of the weapon in his hand as he let out another calming breath before spreading his stance. His left hand closed, his three center fingers extended as his arm extended forward, as if directing at an imaginary target. With that, his routine began.

Air slices faintly echoes through the hall as the bluenette continued to strike at opponents in his mind's eye, swiftly transitioning from one movement to the next as his mind continue contemplate his past, as if he was waiting a movie reel. From his beginnings, all the way to becoming a regular frontliner, to the numerous deaths at the hands of Rohk, including one of his compatriots, Azide. To the numerous guild he became a part of, to reaching levels that far surpassed any other known adventurer, to becoming the successor of Achilles when Tristan exited upon witnessing Zelrius and Ssendom's deaths, to Opal's revealing of being a Laughing Coffin member. All of it still lingered in his thoughts.

So many paths that could have been avoided. So many lives lost that shouldn't have. As his blade sang through his movements, Calrex continued. Somewhere deep down, he felt maybe he was searching for answers, something in his long career trapped in Aincrad that hinted towards some sort of solution. But, no matter that he could see, no matter that he could find, everything still continued to point back to one truth. One simple answer that was in front of him from even when he first left the safety of the Starting City.

With one last flourishing strike, he ended, the Crimson Citrine Spiderlilies now in a reverse grip as he guided the lade back into its sheath affixed to the back of his hip, one last calm breath being released, "The only thing to do...is keep moving forward...to this death game's end..."

Another series of swipes followed as he made his way back to the edge of the training area, giving a respectful bow as he stepped away. Now donned back in his regular attire, Calrex put his hands in his jacket pockets, the Crimson Citrine Spiderlilies now traded out for the Grand Blade IV.

"I'll stick around here for a while longer, but afterwards...I think it's time I get back to catching up on these quests. A lot has changed, and in order to be somewhat at full strength again...I'm going to need all of the combat ability that I can muster. That means I'll need to get this supposed TECH Sword Art specialization fully unlocked."

Stats:

Back in the real world, roller coasters were a thing of enjoyment. Something to give a thrill to the patrons of such amusements. Baldur's control of the aircraft was something that made the Ultramarine Knight almost want to consider avoiding those should he eventually escape the prison of Aincrad. Were it not for the fitted helm of the Grand Chariot IV, his mouth would have likely been blown back, fully exposing his teeth from the sheer force of the wind.

As their trajectory shifted from maneuvering through the streets to a straight up ascent towards the capital ship, Calrex could see some actions being taken. Hirru had put up a barrier, seemingly to try and protect them from passing debris at best. Crozeph...somehow managed to temporarily defy physics and destroy a cannonball, although his landing was not as graceful as the defense itself. "I'm...not gonna bother with trying to figure out how the hell that just happe-WATCH IT BARRAGE COMING FROM THE RIGHT!"

The Grand Blade IV flew from its sheath as the blue armored player quickly drew it in a reverse grip. There was a swarm of cannonballs on the way. Upon his orders he felt the ship swerve to the side, the cannonballs flying clear, the sounds of them cutting through the air booming by. However, one more was on the way, just close enough for it to pose a threat. There was no way he was going to attempt slicing it like something out of a high fantasy video game. In fact, it wasn't necessary. All  he needed to do was deflect it enough to throw it off course.

With a quick breath he shot his arm forward, slamming into the approaching cannonball with a handguard-reinforced punch, gritting his teeth at the pressure from the impact. Sparks flew left and right as the cannonball continued to spin, trying to remain on course. However, with one last heave Calrex was able to drive his strike through, eough that the ball was redirected just enough to avoid sliding across the top of the ship.

The effort over the wind force quickly slammed him back into the deck, his free hand gripping on for dear life, "Please tell me we're almost there..."

As Yona took the opportunity to make her first strike, the bluenette watched with calm eyes, sliding his left foot back in tandem with a long exhale. After much time fighting both players and monster alike, Calrex had grown accustomed to the shift in perspective required, although he did struggle from time to time. Instead of watching the path of the opponent's weapon, one had to watch the entirety of their form. That allowed you to pick up on things like subtle muscle movements indicative of things which gave away the opponent's true intentions.

Things like a feinting slash. As the strike stopped short, his eyes followed Yona's training blade's path as the point came in first with a thrust aimed for his midsection. With a quick breath the Ultramarine Knight's weapon raised up in a reverse grip, parrying the strike to the side. His virtual senses tracked the sensation of the two swords as the momentum of the stab carried forward, until the right moment for him to launch a counterattack.

With a quick twist the bluenette separated the blades before taking a swift step forward. By this point the thrust should have carried his opponent into close enough striking range for a horizontal slash to the torso.

@Baldur

"Alright, well better due my due diligence first."

After dropping off the tea tray he was carrying prior, Calrex scanned the guests, making out his mentor from the crowd, weaving his way through, "Hey Baldur, it looks like there's some more room opening up on the sparring floor. If it's alright with you, it appears someone has decided to challenge me to an unofficial duel. We'll still follow the same guidelines, no real weapons or Sword Arts or all that."

After receiving approval, the bluenette made his way through towards the outer area of the sparring section of the dojo. He had a sneaking suspicion that the young woman who had challenged him was in the crowd, keeping an eye out for his actions post-issuing of the duel. As his eyes looked across he was able to pick out the person's form.

@Yona

He would give a brief wave to the brunette, directing her towards the vacant section of the large mat before turning and making his way over to a good spot for holding the unofficial duel

Parent Threads:

NOTE: This thread takes place in tandem with the events of the official Valentine's Day tournament threads. This is a space for conducting duels that are not a part of the officiated tournament, and as such no rewards will be handed out to victors in these duels. All rules for conducting the duels will be the same as for the official threads, as copied below:

Quote

OOC: I will update this as it becomes required.
This is essentially a rock-paper-scissors format for the duel. You as a player are free to describe the round however you wish, but the RPS will determine who "hits" and gets a point for that round. In the interest of moving things along, other than the first (and perhaps the last) attack, you will make 2 RPS "throws" per round. It will look something like this
Round 1: Player A chooses Rock/Paper/Scissors and PMs it to Baldur*. Player A then writes there post describing the start of the fight and their first attack (success unknown)
Round 2: Player B chooses Rock/Paper/Scissors and PMs it to Baldur. Baldur lets Player B know if they were successful or not. Player B then chooses Rock/Paper/Scissors again and PMs it to Baldur (success unknown). Playbe B then writes the post, resolving Player A's attack and the results of that clash, narrating the scoring (or tie) of the first point, as well as their counter attack.
Round 3: Player A chooses Rock/Paper/Scissors and PMs it to Baldur. Baldur lets PLayer A know if they were successful or not. Player A then chooses Rock/Paper/Scissors again and PMs it to Baldur (success unknown). Player A then writes the post, resolving Player B's attack and the results of that clash, narring the scoring (or tie) of the second point, as well as their counter attack.
Round 4: Player B chooses Rock/Paper/Scissors and PMs it to Baldur. Baldur lets Player B know if they were successful or not. This may be the final (3rd point) or it may not. If it is, player B writes the resolution of the fight based on the final point. If it is NOT the final point, then the above continues until one player has scored 3 points.

First player to score 3 points wins round 2. Later rounds may raise the point requirement based on feedback from round 1 & 2.

Upon scoring 3 points, please let Baldur or Jomei know so that they can update the bracket. At this point, until the round is complete for everyone, you may RP in the observation thread. Even if this is the post match "good game, well played" please use the observation thread, just to help with the orderliness of the combat thread.

Once round 1 is complete, Baldur will update the bracket and assign everyone round 3 duels.

*Baldur, IC, is the tournament organizer, but has others helping to judge the duels, as multiple duels will be going on simultaneously. Each duel, IC, is judged by 2 people. These can be faceless NPC players from the Jacob's Ladder guild. OOC you can DM Baldur in the discord with your RPS, Jomei is also available for duels. If both players agree on the judge, another judge may be used for the players to DM their rock/paper/scissors results to. Said judge should reach out to Baldur and make sure they understand how this should be run before agreeing.

IC, all players are wearing equipment provided by Baldur. This equipment makes the duel safe, and prevents anyone from using system enhanced abilities to deal damage. The use of a <<Training Weapon>> means that your crystal color does not change. It does not activate reflective damage, etc. All damage dealt is 0. No one will take IC damage from the duels.  Shenanigans that happen outside of the official tournament duels should take place in the observation thread, or another thread of your choice. Baldur's home is not within a safe zone. That said, he is wandering around keeping an eye on the matches, and may intervene if something irregular happens. Please DM Baldur on discord if you feel something happens which he would notice and intervene.

The number 1 rule of this tournament is to have fun. Please be a good custodian of your partner's 

@Yona

"Alright, well here it goes."

The bluenette took care to walk along the outside of the current "official duel" section of the dojo as he made his way over to the training weapons rack. After his first duel, Calrex already had the chosen bokken in mind. While it took a moment to get an idea of where he had placed it, after that moment was over he was ready. Giving a swing shrug of his shoulder to loosen the virtual muscles, he gave a small sigh. "Uh...ok...now for a place to actually do this..."

Luckily enough, there was a significant section of the dojo that had opened up as the round continued. With less combatants sparring as each round went on, the total area got larger and larger. Heading over to a spot he figured would have enough area for another pair to duel, his eyes directed over to the person who challenged him. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, the Ultramarine Knight took in a long breath before exhaling, letting his virtual eyelids open, relaxed and prepared to fight once again. "I'm ready when you are..."

Results:

Stats:

Attire:

Time slipped by as things really hit the fan. Gabrandr seemingly utilized most of his remaining power to protect the refugees, immediately followed by everyone piling into the ships to try and launch a counterattack. Calrex found his body moving alongside his fellow raid team members before his mind even caught up. By the time he had the chance to take a moment, he was holding on to one of the handholds inside of the vehicle @Baldur had taken command of, "Wait...so what's the actual-WHOAH!"

As the Western samurai slammed on the throttle, hurling the ship into a full speed advance, the Ultramarine Knight barely was able to wrap his arms fully around the handhold, lest he be thrown into one of the surrounding interior walls or out of the transport entirely. Adjusting his positioning so that he was on a more stable stance, he glanced outside at their surroundings as the buildings flew dangerously close by. Going from the directional blur, he was situated on the right side.

"Got it! I'll watch right!"

 Carefully the deep blue armored player moved his head closer and closer towards the opening so that he could adjust his viewing angle to see what was coming ahead.

"So far so go-WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT TOO FAR RIGHT!"

He had a split second to pull his head back into the interior of the ship before sparks flew from the opening as the transport barely missed scraping along one of the buildings which was sticking out a decent amount from the others.

"I swear I'm more concerned about us surviving this trip than any floor raid..."

As some of the people he approached accepted or denied the offering, Calrex merely gave a calm smile and a nod. However, the moment was soon quickly interrupted as he heard someone address him, "Hm?"

It was another one of the people who had participated in the tournament, and seemingly had lost in the first round as well. There were words flung seemingly towards him, ones that might have been considered pokes at his ego or some sort. However it merely resulted in a slight bit of confusion on his side, "Is what she saying for me...or for herself? Either case I wasn't expecting to have someone challenge me so soon."

@Yonawalked off before the bluenette had a chance to respond, but at the same time he couldn't find any harm in giving another match a go. It at least would also give him an idea of how the up and coming players are adapting to the difficulties that come with venturing out of the Starting City.

@Astreyaseemingly chimed in afterwards, breaking the strange tension that was building in his mind, introducing herself with a pair of names he could address her by. Reaching one arm back to rub the back of his head, the Ultramarine Knight gave a shrug, "Sure, I don't mind another match. It's another opportunity to put my skills to the test and see where it ends up. However, I guess I should be making my way back to the sparring area again. It was nice to meet all of you, and best of luck in your next matches."

With that he gave a quick bow/nod before stepping away, making a quick stop at the kitchen to drop off his tray. Rolling his shoulders to warm them up, he gave a small sigh, "Well, time to go at this again I suppose. Wonder how that young woman fights. I was too busy with my duel to keep track of how hers went. Guess we'll have to see."

"Oh right sure thing."

Following the blonde into the guild's kitchen area, greeted with the smell of ramen broth. If he was being honest, just the scent alone was enough to whet his virtual appetite, "Really glad @Cordeliawas able to put all of this together. If there's any left over I might have to help myself to some as a late night snack, heh."

A bead of sweat formed on the side of Calrex's head for a moment as @Snow immediately took to assembling a tray and handing it to him, the bluenette giving a nod, "Roger that, I'll see about making the rounds."

He gave a calm smile before making his way back out into the gathering area, giving a small sigh to re-center himself, "Okay...so...go and see if people needed more tea...the question is where to start..."

His eyes scanned across the groups. Some people seemed to excuse themselves, excluding them from potential people to approach, "Well, guess that really makes things simple then?"

Walking over to a group ( @Astralin @Koga @Nari-Lanreth @Astreya) He gave a small nod, "Hope you guys are enjoying the festivities so far. Were any of you in need of some refreshments? I've got some tea here if you'd like, still nice and hot."

@Snow

His eyes continued to scan the participants and their combat movements. There was most certainly a cast array of differing arts on display, some proving to make interesting matchups. It seemed like there was much he could gleam from the bouts. He gave a calm laugh at Snow's comment, referring to the first time they ever interacted "Heh, if only that were the case. Everyone is on the same playing field with these duels, so in the end I was merely lacking the skill. If anything, it probably just goes to show my in-game abilities have been serving somewhat like a crutch. Probably once this little event is over, I'll start working on getting myself back up to snuff again."

The bluenette's focus paused for a moment as the young woman addressed him, suggesting he take a seat while also offering tea as a refreshment, "Oh, that would be nice. Did you need a hand? I know everyone's been busy with keeping people entertained and satiated, so since I'm out of the running I can lend my assistance if it would help."

@Baldur @Snow @Astralin

With his bout completed, Calrex made his way off of the sparring area, making sure to place the bokken he hade utilized back into the rack beforehand. With a small stretch he gave a sigh of relief, "Might not have been a successful duel, but it certainly came close. I definitely learned a lot from it, and the areas where I'm still lacking. Granted, I'm still more accustomed to fighting enemies with mostly predictable AIs, heh."

As he approached Baldur and Snow, he gave a wave, "Gave it the best I could, but unfortunately couldn't quite pull through. It was still a fun fight though. It looks like the newer adventurers are certainly putting on quite the show compared to us veterans, heh. Maybe we've been getting a bit too comfy."

Turning to face the people still finishing their matches, he calmly crossed his arms, letting his eyes relax and take in what was happening in front of him. Even though he was out of the tournament, that didn't mean he couldn't learn from observation. Each people brought their own unique form of fighting to this, and to some degree the Ultramarine Knight was curious how each person had adapted to the pressures of the game.

@Astralin

As his strike landed true, Calrex kept focused, as this was only one point up from before. He still had to two more if he were to try and claim victory in this duel. This was no point to be getting comfortable. Astralin had already proven herself to be a formidable opponent within the first few exchanges. "Levels and equipment mean nothing in this battle. Right now it's purely our training and experience."

His opponent righted herself from the high force blow he had landed, taking a moment as he held his stance for a moment, giving a calm smile and nod. With herself now prepared once again, Astralin came forward as the Ultramarine Knight readied his bokken. His eyes tracked her movements, getting closer and closer before leaping to the side to come at him from off his centerline with another chop aimed at his collarbone.

With a quick breath his sword dropped low, angled as he quickly rotated, bringing it upwards as he prepared to intercept the strike with an upwards diagonal cut, intending to decide the match with this attack.

However, this was where his opponent's speed pulled through. Before the "edge" of his wooden sword could connect with her torso, the bluenette felt Astralin's strike connect with his upper torso. A quick tensing of his arm stopped his weapon in its path, mere inches away from landing. Taking a step back he transferred the training blade into his offhand and gave a bow.

With the match over he a small sigh of relief, followed by a relaxed smile, "That was an excellent match, I'm glad to have had you as an opponent. I'm Calrex by the way, it's nice to meet you."

Taking a moment to look around the area, he made note of the other matches still in progress, "I guess with our duel complete, it'd be best to clear the sparring area for now."

As Calrex watched the second strike fly forward, aiming where Astralin was originally, the bluenette watched her move in a direction he normally wouldn't expect. From previous experience, normally someone would either avoid the blow by stepping around, or intercept it to stop the attack from occurring. Instead, his opponent seemingly leapt over the strike, "Heh, I guess nimble wouldn't have been giving enough credit."

He felt the blow connect with him from behind, the impact forcing him forward. In order to quickly regain vision on his opponent, instead of stumbling the Ultramarine Knight let the momentum carry him into a front flip motion. As his feet left purchase with the ground he threw his shoulders sideways while planting his free hand against the ground, serving as a rotational point. Turning 180 as his leg came around, he landed, letting his knees bend in order to prime them.

Fully landed he immediately launched himself forward, rotating his wooden sword into a reverse grip once again. Bringing it across his body, the bokken's point trained forward towards Astralin's center of mass. HIs left hand came up, palm against the end of the handle to reinforce the strike.

"This could be the determining blow. Now we'll have to see what happens next."

"Whelp, where one problem ends, another begins. Guess that's kind of been the ever constant flow of our time here in SAO, isn't it?"

Walking alongside his fellow frontliners, and in some irony, the very raid boss they were fighting previously, Calrex gave a small sigh that echoed faintly through his helm. After the battle had concluded, the entire group started making their way out towards the surface once again, preparing for what seemed to be another battle that was about to be underway. 

He took a moment to adjust his equipment, making sure all of the individual pieces were secured in place, including his helmet. He had previously removed it, but after the decision was cast, placed it back on. Following that, he checked that the Grand Blade IV ad its sheath were still secured to the back of his hip. Unfortunately, all of the temporary enhancements that he had utilized for the raid had worn off, including the Safeguard Potion he had consumed as a safety measure, "Well, at least it did it's job I guess."

Walking in lockstep with the others, as to avoid accidentally stepping on the slums inhabitants, the deep blue armored player looked ahead, "So, we got any ideas on what to do once we find it? I'm guessing we can't exactly treat this Scather like we did the others and expect it to shut down."

@Astralin

"Wow, she's really nimble on her feet. Must've really gotten the hang of utilizing Martial Arts to some degree, or she might even have real world experience."

As his opponent intentionally fell backwards to avoid his strike, Calrex's eyes tracked Astralin as he quickly recovered. It felt like there was a brief pause in the rhythm of the battle, one that might have been exploitable, but there wasn't time to be thinking retroactively about what could have occurred. The bluenette engaged the virtual muscles needed to rotate his body back to center, however it appeared the momentum of his missed swing was more than enough of an opening.

A hook punch slammed into his side as the Ultramarine Knight gave a quick grunt upon receiving the blow. Riding the impact of the blow he took a few steps to the side in order to place a bit of distance between the two of them. If he remained in striking range and tried to attack, he would have been already at a disadvantage due to the extremely close proximity.

It was a race to three, and he was now one behind. However, that didn't mean he was on track to lose. "Duels are just as much about learning your opponent's techniques and strategies on the fly as they are about honing your techniques. There's still an opportunity to turn the tide if I play my cards right."

A calm breath escaped his lips before he brought his sword across to his left side, tip pointed skywards. Rushing forward again he quickly performed a cut designed to take advantage of both sides of a double-edged sword: The first would be a cut with the false edge using the back of his wrist, quickly followed by a circular second downward diagonal slash from the same side using his entire arm.

@Astralin

As his strike met air Calrex gave a friendly smirk, his eyes quickly scanning his current field of vision to get locked on Astralin's mobile form before he could get blindsided. His opponent had deftly tumbled to the same side his bokken was approaching from. It was a good move, as the path his weapon traveled left the back of his right arm exposed for a counter attack. His eyes watched as her form drew closer, hand bladed in preparation for a chop to come down at him.

The attack was met with a quick transitional guard. Bringing his left arm low and close to his right hip, the bluenette rotated his right hand upwards, the "blade" end of the bokken pointing towards the floor. Bracing with both arms he felt the impact slam into his sword, but made sure to continue his momentum in order for the remaining energy from the strike to be redirected away. His right hand continued to rotate clockwise, gently opening his fingers while his left hand pushed the tip of his bokken in the same circular motion.

The movement allowed the Ultramarine Knight to swiftly deflect Astralin's attack while transitioning from a reverse grip on the blade to a standard one. With the deflecting motion complete, all it took was a simple rotation of his hips to the left for him to send a horizontal slash outwards, directed at his opponent's torso.

Results:

@Astralin

Stepping out into the area set aside for the duels, Calrex gave a calming breath, raising up an arm to rub the back of his neck, "Heh, this is supposed to be a fun match, but dang with all these people watching it almost feels like I'm putting on some kind of performance. Although I'm fairly sure Baldur would have a heck of a time commenting on my swordsmanship regardless, heh. Let's see...I am fighting a player named...Astralin. Alright then."

Approaching the training weapons rack his eyes scanned each bokken as he picked them up, determining their size and center of balance. There was a considerable variety that was available, however after a little bit, the bluenette selected one. While it was still the same traditional shape, the less distinguishable features made it feel closer to the Grand Blade he was accustomed to fighting with. Stepping to the side he gave a few swings at the air, getting an idea of its momentum before giving a small nod with a calm smile, "Yep, should be just about right."

Now ready for the duel, the Ultramarine Knight turned to face his opponent, giving a ceremonial bow, "It's nice to meet you. If it's alright with you, let's save the formalities for after this duel is over. Regardless of the result though, let's have a good match."

Completing his bow, Calrex held the bokken in his left hand, reversed with the "edge" side facing down towards his fingers. As he straightened his stance, his left hand trailed back behind his body, the training weapon's handle now behind his waist horizontally, as if his left hand was acting as a sheath for the sword. His right hand reached back, wrapping around the grip of the wooden sword, also in reverse.

"Hold nothing back."

In an instant he rushed forward in a deep sprinter's lunge, pulling his hands apart as if he were drawing his weapon from his scabbard, the bokken now in his right hand ready to strike. Getting closer and closer until he was just out of striking distance, the Ultramarine Knight took a wide step to his right. Landing to the side with his right foot, he quickly stepped diagonally forward, moving towards Astralin's flank. Finally landing where he aimed to attack, the bluenette forcefully rotated clockwise to face towards his opponent, bringing his right arm from below aiming to cut from his bottom right to top left in a reverse grip uppercut slash.

Results:

 Stats:

Attire:

"Hm? Are you sure? I could at least help with handing out the refreshments or something."

As @Snow told him there was no need to help, the bluenette gave a resigned nod. It was true, the guild did have more than enough people to assist with moving things around. If there was anything specific they needed his help with, they would have likely come to him in the first place. Adjusting the protective sleeve on his arm, he gave a few more stretches to his shoulders, pulling his arms across his chest to loose the muscles on the back, "Oh nice kimono by the way. Dressed up for the occasion, heh."

He gave a cheerful smile before looking at the various people starting to move to the practicing area of the dojo, "As a matter of fact, I am participating. It's for the entertainment and practice for the most part. Gotta give the lovebirds that are partaking some kind of a challenge...oh...speaking of which I think my match might be starting soon. I should probably go get ready. I'll catch you guys after it's done!"

With that he gave a wave to Baldur, Snow, and Hirru as he made his way over towards the weapons rack, "Already know what I'm gonna use, but might as well take the due diligence and select the one that feels right in the sword arm."