Baldur

Baldur pushed his way into Zandra's shop once more, having gotten her message that the rest of his damage potions were ready. "I appreciate you getting to my order so quickly. But then, you're not the best for no reason!" Baldur said with a smile. He had paid in advance for the potions, so all he had to do now was pick them up. "I'll see you at the floor boss meeting." +(4) Tier 1 Perfect Damage Potions

Baldur smiled as Jonathan came at him seriously this time. His words seemed to be reaching the blond, and he was taking them to heart. Perhaps there was something there for Baldur to forge. Some inner tamahagane to be refined into a beautiful blade. Baldur's steel blue eyes took in the rush, a thrust this time, trying to cut through to the heart of Baldur's defense with speed, but the gaijin samurai could be a wiley opponent as well. His left hand grabbed the saya at his side and parried the young man's thrust as the older spun, his blue and white haori whirling behind him and causing the white flames to dance as the samurai wanna-be's bokken suddenly crashed down on Jonathan's back, leading him and his thrust to sail past Baldur with the strike propelling him uncontrollably forward. "Good!" Baldur said with an earnest smile. "I can feel your heart in your attacks. I can you purpose, now let us refine it. I will teach you the flame and the void. Mushin, and Fudoshin." Baldur stood before Jonathan, holding the saya out to one side defensively, and the katana held up in chudan no kamai, ready to fend off the blond man. "What you feel, burning inside of you, your center, your power. Your emotions, your principles, your pain. That is your fire, your flame, your energy. When you gather all of that up, it will drive you forward, but it will be reckless, and wild, like when you were fighting the head of Tanos. Mushin is control. Mushin is the void that surrounds the fire. It is peace. It is emotionless. It doesn't care about what you went through, it lives in the moment. It is here, now." Baldur didn't attack Jonathan, but waited for the young man to make the next move. "You must learn to do both at the same time. Pause. Take a breath. Feel your surroundings. Be one with the moment. One with your sword, with me, with the field we're in. Pay attention to everything around you. Think about what you will do next, visualize what you want to make happen, but do not over-think. Do not lose initiative because you are paralyzed by options. Make your mind a razor's edge, choose an outcome and enact it, and then let the fire inside of you, the flame within the void give you power. Release that power with a kiai." "Now come at me!" ID#134530 CD: 6 (paper) beat Morg's Rock

Baldur nodded at the others and jogged to catch up, just a few steps behind as his energy finally ticked to full again. It was something he had to conserve and keep an eye on, though already his investment in the finesse mod had made a big difference in his energy reserves. The gaijin samurai's blue and white haori fluttered behind him as he jogged to catch up and heard the tail end of the conversation between Mac and Ariel. "Well, we can probably count on Calrex showing up, then we've got Macradon, Zandra, Ariel, and myself which rounds out a good group, but we're only 5. I haven't really heard from Jomei lately, though I heard he took the condition of the last raid pretty personally..." Baldur let it hang, since he had put Jomei up to it and then left the ginger to run the raid on his own. He felt guilty about it, but the way things had ended with Hestia weren't going to lead things in any other direction. "Who else do we think is strong enough, and still active to show up? Morgenstern? Hikoru?" (3/3 Out of Combat posts - full energy) (2/3 Non-scouting posts) Baldur has left the safe zone <Baldur> 1330/1330 HP | 25 DMG (Muramasa) | 22 DMG (Warden) 79 MIT | 126/126 EN | 5(6) ACC | 3 EVA | BH 53 | LD +2 LD (Zandra): 49 LD (Macradon): 38 LD Baldur: 20 LD (Total): 107

"Florenthia." Baldur said to the teleport plaza as he suddenly dissolved into light and was went down to the eighth floor of the tower. It had been a long time since he had been down there last. Still, this was a good quest line, and he was interested to see more from Cordelia. She had been a good teammate when it came to the event, and she was a fellow katana user which was always nice to see as well. He hadn't really thought much about it until he had bumped into her that he had been the only one for a very long time. The blue clad gaijin samurai stepped away from teleport monument once he had his bearings on the new floor and began to look around for the young girl. "Ohayo, Cordelia-chan." Baldur said when he found her and gave her a slight bow in greeting. "Hopefully you've just been bearly waiting for me." his grin was slight, it was weak but as they got going on this quest, the puns would begin to flow. "Do you know where we go from here to find the quest mob?"

[2/3 Out of Combat] [1/3 Non-scouting] Baldur let the words of conversation wash over him as he looked around the dragon lake they had suddenly come across. What a bizarre floor this was turning out ot be. Was this a hint of things to come, or was this floor something special because it was the 25th floor? The entire thing was a labyrinth, and yet here was a safe space. Were there more of them? Did they have something special to do with the floor, or was it simply here because this was a marathon floor. "I'm glad we were able to catch up with you. I'm almost ready myself, though it looks like Zandra could use a minute as well to catch up her energy." Baldur was always impressed by Mac's energy management. He could seemingly go almost endlessly. Perhaps Baldur should pick up some recovery armor as well for fights that weren't particularly dangerous.

Baldur smiled and sheathed his katana now that they had a moment to rest and catch their breath. He glanced around, and saw that even here no corridor looked any different than any other. "Quite the place this floor is." He smirked and walked over to one of the intersections where Mac had drawn his penguin. "I have to admit I was curious who was drawing the penguins on the wall. My guess would not have been you old friend." Baldur noticed that Zandra seemed to have picked out the way forward, and Baldur rested his hands on his katana before following after her. More corridors matching the ones they had already cone through. "It is good to have more friendly faces in a place like this." Baldur ran his hands along the wall. "Let's try this way." As Baldur turned the corner he saw it open up into a massive natural space. A giant lake stretched out before them and markings on the wall they passed suddenly marked it as a safe zone. "Well this is handy." ID:133384 CD4 no mobs ID:133385 LD18+2=20 elder dragon smaug found <Baldur> 1330/1330 HP | 25 DMG (Muramasa) | 22 DMG (Warden) 79 MIT | 105/126 EN | 5(6) ACC | 3 EVA | BH 53 | LD +2 (+1) LD (Zandra): 49 LD (Macradon): 32 LD Baldur: 20 LD (Total): 101

"I got this one!" Baldur called out as he whirled on the ball of his foot to face the undead dog and slid seamlessly into another San Ge attack, feeling the satisfying crunch of a critical hit as the crimson arcs of light from Baldur's Katana tore into the monster. The blood red bands bisected the four legged creature 5 times as the system carried Baldur in a circle around it faster than any normal man could move without it. "Tsk" Baldur said in annoyance when he saw that he left it in the read instead of one-shotting it. He was used to killing things in a single shot with the <<Muramasa>> but these trash mobs they were encountering were tremendously powerful. What was going on with this floor? But it did make sense as to why progress was taking so long on this floor. "I don't have much to help searching other than my map and some chalk and a pair of eyes, so why don't you leave the one off mobs to me. If we start to get overwhelmed as a group, then you guys can use your AoE to help me thin it down." ID#133729 CD 4 (no mob) ID#133730 BD: 9 (crit) Charge+San Ge 25+5+1=31x15=465 DMG dealt - Health List - [0]<Ariel> 1246/1410 HP | 22 DMG | 45 MIT | 127/136 EN | 2 ACC | 1 EVA | 8 FALLEN | 24 HB | BH 14 | +11/14 LD [0]<Macradon> 1665/1665 HP | 23 DMG | 122 MIT | 108/175 EN | 4 ACC | 0 EVA | 36(21) FRZTHN [1]<Baldur> 1330/1330 HP | 25 DMG (Muramasa) | 22 DMG (Warden) 79 MIT | 104/126 EN | 5(6) ACC | 3 EVA | BH 53 | LD +2 (-12)(+1) [0]<Zandra> 1805/1805 HP | 22 DMG | 143 MIT | 60/164 EN | 3 ACC | 0 EVA | 36(2) BURN | 12 FALLEN | 30 THN <Undead Dog> 225/690 HP | 207 DMG

Baldur smiled when he heard the chime of a private message, and saw the small icon appear in the upper corner of his HuD. With a quick tap of the menu button, he pulled it up and saw that it was from Cordelia. The girl he had just met seemed to becoming a regular companion of his now. Perhaps it was after they had held hands so much, they had broken through some wall and become friends now. Quickly, he pulled up the menu to send her a text back. Closing his interface, the samurai stood up and headed to the teleport plaze to head down and meet the girl. "Hopefully she can bear my puns." The gaijin samurai smiled. Baldur Stats @Cordelia

Baldur walked into his shop for the first time in a long time. He had closed it down to the public, as had Tyger a long time ago, but there was a new delivery of materials sitting in his warehouse space. The merchant stock list had grown as they had unveiled new floors and the system had updated to reflect that. He had what he was here for, to purchase from himself before heading back out into the frontier. The progress forward had stopped, and if they didn't do something about it, then that would be the end of things. His friend list said that Macradon and Zandra were also on the 25th floor, and hopefully he could meet up with them as well. "Alright, let's see what we have here." He then locked up the shop behind him and headed out to the front line.

Baldur knocked on the door and then pushed his way into the shop, calling out to Zandra as he came in. The shop had grown more and more familiar to him over time, and now, though their relationship had been strained at the boss to enter the labyrinth, he and Zandra had fought together enough that he knew and trusted her. Baldur felt that you could really get to know someone when your lives were on the line, and while Zandra had an unpredictable flare, and sometimes her berzerker nature got in the way of plans, Baldur knew she would continue to be there pushing forward and helping people. He knew her heart was in the right place. "Konichiwa, Zandra! I need to put in an order for a few perfect damage potions, but if you have one available right now, I'll take it off your hands. I'm just about to head back out into the field." Baldur walked up to Zandra and opened up a trade menu. Baldur purchased the 1 she had ready, and ordered 4 more, for a total of 10,000 Col.

Baldur uses (1) Tier 3 Dungeon Map to allow Ariel and himself to join the search. Baldur Stats Baldur and Ariel had been following the penguin markings for a while that had been sketched onto the intersections of the labyrinth. He wasn't sure whose it was, but he probably knew them, so he followed to see how far along they had gone. It still felt like he was lost, and his sense of direction told him he had gone in more than one circle, but for now, Baldur used the chalk and the map he had to try and make sense of what they were doing. Thinking back to when they had first gotten to the floor, he remembered the old man offering him some chalk. It was obviously something important to the floor, but Baldur had assumed with his game map he could make sense of where they were going... but that was not the case. This place was a maze in the true sense of the work, and while a game map helped, because of how 3d it was, and how large it was, this was far more challenging than the others had been. "Hey, do you hear that?" Baldur asked Ariel as he heard the sounds of combat. They had already buffed themselves when they entered the dungeon a while ago, but combat meant PCs, and hopefully that meant frontliners. "I'll go in first, you watch my back to make sure we don't get ambushed or sucked into a train of mobs as someone is retreating." As Baldur and Ariel came around the corner, the gaijin samurai realized that it was an intersection. Mac and Zandra were fighting a Skeleton warrior and it was almost dead, but Z and Mac were starting to get considerably through their energy pool. It was then that he also saw another Skeleton charging around the corner from Zandra and Macradon's blind spot. The full health one, or the almost dead one? Baldur wasn't sure how tough these things were, so he chose to focus on the almost dead one. "On your left!" Baldur shouted, trying to get their attention, as well as Ariel's, that there was another skeleton incoming as Baldur's hands instinctively reached for the <<Muramasa>> and the first opening cleave of the sword attack destroyed the skeleton. "One more to go!" He held up his katana in a guard position, "Hey guys, sorry I took so long." ID#133706 BD: 5+5+1-1=10 (hit) San Ge + Charge = 25 (muramasa) +5 (charge) = 27x15=450 DMG dealt -12 Energy +1 energy regen - Health List - [0]<Macradon> 1665/1665 HP | 23 DMG | 122 MIT | 117/175 EN | 4 ACC | 0 EVA | 36(21) FRZTHN (-10)(+7) [0]<Zandra> 1805/1805 HP | 22 DMG | 143 MIT | 60/164 EN | 3 ACC | 0 EVA | 36(2) BURN | 12 FALLEN | 30 THN [0]<Baldur> 1330/1330 HP | 25 DMG (Muramasa) | 22 DMG (Warden) 79 MIT | 115/126 EN | 5(6) ACC | 3 EVA | BH 53 | SD +2 <Skeleton Axeman> Dead/820 HP | 246 DMG | 0 MIT | -STUNNED- -36 BURN (1/2) <Skeleton Daggerman> 620/620 HP | 189 DMG | 0 MIT Loot Roll: ID#133708 LD: 14+2=16 CD 8 = (1) Rare Consumable, (1) Rare Armor/Shield, 2,460 Col Roll to Spawn ID# 133707 CD1 (mob spawns) @Macradon @Zandra @Ariel - The Crowned Lion

Objective: Close Portal ID: BD: Group Members: @Cordelia @Calrex @Azhoda Cumulative BD: 10+10+7 Baldur closed portals (3/3)(this is third portal) Baldur held back a grin to a slight quirk of his lips in a smile at the discomfort Cordelia was feeling. He didn't know why he enjoyed it so much, perhaps he really did enjoy pushing people further than they thought they could go. He did enjoy training up and coming players, and the bond of mentorship that he had built with Calrex, Teayre, Morgenstern, and others. He even remembered Itzal alongside Jonathan when they were still in the single digits on the side of a volcano. "This has been quite the crazy event, but if we can pull this off, then hopefully we should be getting some pretty good rewards out of this. At the very least, I'll enjoy the memory of time with friends." The flashed everyone a cheeky smile, and then took Cordelia and Azhoda's hands. His grip was firm without being overbearing or crushing. Perhaps gentler than one might expect from a man his size. He had often had to do the 'manly grip' when meeting other professionals outside of the game, like handshakes themselves were some sort of game of dominance. He had enjoyed moving to Japan and getting away from that kind of toxic masculinity, and moving into a culture that was more about showing respect. But Jason had never been the kind of guy to try and assert dominance with a handshake, but at the same time he wanted to make sure it was firm and acknowledged respect in the same way a bow would. His hands may have been a bit odd for those in game. Your avatar did not slowly build up calluses in Aincrad as you would in the real world... because this wasn't the real world. But as part of the calibration system when you first set up your nerve gear, you ran your fingers over your body so it had a tactile measurement of how tall you were, how long your limbs were, and what your general shape was. His hands had the calluses of swordsmanship. While age had not been kind to him even though he was active in the real world, a lifetime of fencing and kendo and Iaido in the real world had given him the frame of a swordsman. He had also enjoyed the hobby of woodworking, and so his hands were much rougher than the smooth-as-a-baby like quality that Calrex had, but they were worn, hardworking hands, that reflected his half a lifetime of experience. In contrast, he held the hands of two much smaller girls. Well, Azhoda seemed to be a woman in her own right, but Cordelia still had the budding beauty of a girl becoming a woman. Their hands seemed tiny and fragile to him, which he knew with Cordelia at least, belied the internal determination that she carried. It was a sense of dissonance between the small, tentative, hesitance she held his hands with, and the passion with which she had fought against ki'raion. Shion was a bit harder to read, but there was something inside of her that said that the fire in her hair was a reflection of that which burned inside of her, yet there also seemed a bit of tenderness in her as well. As he took both of their hands, he gave them a slight squeeze and said, "Alright, let's close the portal."

Objective: Close Portal ID: 133416 BD: 3 Group Members: @Cordelia @Calrex @Azhoda Cumulative BD: 8+6+3=17 Baldur closed portals (1/3) Baldur followed the others over to the next portal that Calrex-kun had found, and the whole holding hands thing seemed to wearing on Cordelia. He could see how this was more mortifying for a younger girl, especially after they had just been in a battle. It was a pretty severe shift in gears. "It's okay Cordelia-chan, you can admit that after holding hands with the famous Calrex and Baldur, you never want to wash your hands again." He gave her another playful smile, hoping that making light of the situation would help her relax at the inherant awkwardness. "By the way, Shion-chan, have you met Cordelia-chan before? We did a quest together not a day or two ago. She's handy with a katana. I dunno if you guys are about the same level, but since we're getting to know each other so intimately now, maybe you could help each other." Baldur threw Cal a knowing smirk.

Objective: Close Portal ID: 133408 BD: 8 Group Members: @Calrex @Azhoda @Cordelia Cumulative BD:10+6+8=24 Baldur smirked at Cordelia throwing shade at the event design forcing them to hold hands. He could see that bothering some people, holding hands was very intimate in asian cultures, akin to something like PDA. "Would it help if we went boy, girl, boy, girl, Cordelia?" The chastisement had no heat behind it, and a hint of amusement dancing in Baldur's eyes. He took one of Cordelia's hands and held the other out for Azhoda, so she could take Calrex's other hand. "Everyone, this is my kohai Calrex-kun. The highest level player in SAO. Cal-kun, these are two girls I just met, though Cord and I did a quest together." He laughed and grinned at the strangeness of it all. "Alright, lets focus on closing this portal to... the underworld? Whatever... the portal fo floor 16!" He hoped that once Az took their hands, whatever would happen would happen. "Here goes nothing"

Baldur frowned at his screen that was showing only one group of NPCs had made it out safely, and none of the portals had been closed yet. He looked around the field, and spotted one of the lower levels that was out fighting the archers with the big guns. She would be fine, he was sure, but she'd also be perfect to help him out. "Hey! Cordelia! Come with me! We need to start tackling some of these other objectives!" He tried waving his arms to get her attention, and then gestured for her to follow him through the front gates, trying to be seen and heard over the battlefield was tough. "We've gotta split up between objectives better!" Without waiting too much longer, Baldur ran through the gates and into the castle where he happened upon his kohai standing around some sort of portal. "Hey Cal, what can we do to help?"