Cordelia

"I'm not the inspiring type, you know. That's more of Baldur's shtick," she said with a long sigh as she palmed the hem of her clothes again sheepishly. She was just a girl with a bird and a sword, but she guessed that people will take hope from almost anything nowadays. Even now, with a leader like Baldur as her teacher, her life has never felt more bleak, so she supposes she can sympathize. 

"My drive to fight has been near impenetrable since I first stepped foot in this game, but I guess even the warrior's spirit wanes over time," she would say quietly, a far off look in her eyes before she pulled back again with a smile. "I can't tell if I hate it or relieved, but don't worry, I've still got plenty of fight left in me... just maybe not for occasions such as this." Cordelia would look back towards the direction of the tournament, a somewhat longing gaze on her face. She wasn't ready just yet... but soon. 

"Persi, huh..." the woman echoed, feeling the name on her tongue before inevitably drawing a blank. Yet another name she has no face for. She'll have to ask around later. Turning her attention back to Freyd, she'd give a devious yet knowing smile. "You know, that kind of stuff comes a lot easier than you think; what to do on a date, I mean. Not everyone is a natural at it, but if you think real hard, you'll figure it out. Trust me, I used to be in the same boat." Perhaps she wasn't exactly the best person to be giving love advice of all things, but she could tell the poor man was struggling, and what kind of person would she be just to leave him like that?

Cordelia took his sudden silence as a sign of bashfulness, or perhaps she had been reading this whole conversation wrong? Even with their little one on ones, Cordelia still found herself stumped by Freyd. Not quite unpredictable as he was 

IM NOT DONE BUT IM TOO LAZY TO PUT THIS IN A DOC :]

Her breath hitched at the sudden mention of Mari again, which left her feeling a bit more melancholy than she would've liked. "Maybe Mari rubbed off a little too hard on me then," Cordelia replied lightheartedly, a fond smile on her face as she remembered the fiery spirit of her old friend. "She was a woman of many troubles. I knew that much," she said quietly, not missing the tone behind his words. Briefly, her gaze flickered over to read Freyd's face, eventually huffing in defeat when she realized he was avoiding eye contact. People are weird. 

"I miss her too. We were never close enough for me to know her whole story, but I'd like to think we were still good friends." Cordelia didn't like the words that came out; it was insinuating that she would never see Mari again. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth and an even bitter feeling in her gut. It's no doubt a feeling she figured she'll probably have to get used to, but to begin with Mari of all people felt like a punch to the face. "Though," she began, huffing out a humorless laugh, "I don't think you'll need to worry about that happening to me. Promise. I won't let it happen." Baldur would probably drag me back kicking and screaming even if I did anyway. 

Cordelia pondered around his question for a few seconds before shrugging helplessly. "I have no reason to," she said simply. "The reward means little to me, and I'd hate to be the one who ended up with it. It'd be much better in the hands of someone who would know what to do with it." Her gaze drifted over towards the room where the tournament was being held, an unreadable expression on her face before the corners of her mouth tugged up into a sheepish smile. "People can get awfully competitive in events like these, and I don't think my poor heart could handle that at the moment," Cordelia sighed dramatically, knuckles pressed against her cheek as she leaned her elbow against the table. She looked back at Freyd, and her smile only grew wider. "So what about you? Are you in the same boat?"

Cordelia pondered a little bit at that. "I s'pose that's true," she'd say out loud with a far off look on her face as she reminisced about the night. She guessed she really didn't know Freyd all that well, because as hard as she was trying to remember, she was still drawing blanks whenever she tried to pin point anything about him. "I'm glad we're able to meet under better circumstances this time then. We all have our moments like that, but it's nice to see you're doing better." 

Her voice hitched into a bashful laugh at the compliment, cheeks slightly flushing in amusement. "That's actually really nice to hear. I have to admit, I remember feeling that way whenever I would catch a few frontliners doing their magic back then, so I get where you're coming from," she mused, stretching her arms above her head as she barked out another laugh. "It's not too much different from being a newbie you know, being a frontliner and all. We still have no idea what we're doing half of the time." At least for her it was. Cordelia hoped she didn't sound like a total idiot from saying that because they were unfortunately true in her case. 

"I'm honestly surprised that his principles have held up, and not gotten him killed." 

Her eyes widened just a fraction. This man had either the biggest balls in Aincrad to be dissing Baldur to her face or he was just... extremely oblivious to his own words. She was just going to assume it was the latter because so far, he's seemed like a pretty decent guy who would hold no grudge against her mentor. He probably wasn't that stupid either. 

"He is a stubborn one," she'd huff eventually, bringing her cup of tea in for another sip before she chuckled. "Scarily so sometimes, but he knows what he's doing," Cordelia would say with the utmost confidence... which was quickly extinguished with the next question. "Me?" Her words seemed to fall short as she wracked through her brain for a feasible answer. "Frankly, I'm not quite sure." Her shoulders rose up into a shrug as she gave him a sheepish smile. "Though if you think Baldur is reckless, you have no idea what I used to be like on the field," Cordelia snorted, rolling her eyes playfully as if she still wouldn't be as stupid as she once was. 

Cordelia raised a brow at his accusation. Maybe she had really underestimated this guy after all. "I'm impressed, you'd be quite right-" she paused, leaning slightly closer before she winked, "- if it were only couple months ago." She leaned back, relaxing into her seat again before smiling to herself. "To put it simply Freyd, I'm tired. Very tired. So am I to blame for just wanting to simply ground myself for a little while, even if I have to endure Baldur's oh-so-dreadful rules?" Cordelia murmured with a teasing lilt in her voice, gaze straying away from the boy before settling on her lap. "I do miss it though; the thrill of battle is quite addicting," she'd say in a much smaller voice, a longing one. "I just need some time, that's all."

"A fitting name," she'd comment, staring quizzically at the malformed animal(?) before giggling. "Familiars tend to bring out a side of us we didn't know we had," Cordelia replied fondly. "Believe me, I know."

"Is that so surprising?" Cordelia asked, brows arching up in amusement. She hummed, nodding along almost bashfully as he went on to explain why he was so surprised in the first place. "As much as I'm flattered, it's not like I was strong from the get go," she huffed, lips tugging up into a crooked smile. "We all start from somewhere, yes? I met him long before I was even close to frontline level, and I undoubtedly owe a lot of my skill to him. Even then, I never once thought I was in his shadow. I am my own person and I can say the same about Baldur," she explained, much to her own surprise. Since when did she get all sappy and wise? Surely this was all of Baldur's doing! The old man was rubbing off on her a little too much. 

The corners of her eyes crinkled at the positive comments about her sensei, even if she'd like to butt in with a few embarrassing facts about him. She had plenty of those, but alas, she'd save them for now, because who knows when Baldur is going to pop out of nowhere? "His determination to rally up people under one unifying force surely is admirable, I agree. It makes me happy knowing he's changing lives for the better." The thought itself was a little bittersweet the more Cordelia thought about it. Her mentor was out there doing his best to ensure the safety of the players while she had been stuck sulking in his estate. Perhaps she should ask to tag along on his next venture out...

"Quite a lot, indeed," she'd murmur, graciously taking a cup of tea with a nod before bringing it to her lips. Firm Anima, yes, she's heard of that name from somewhere before. If she recalled correctly, it was the guild that butt-sniffer Raidou started. Cordelia sighed, shaking her head. Of course he would be working his members to the bone. "Take your time, Freyd," Cordelia said with an all too knowing look as she lowered her cup. "I'm sure a guild like that won't burn down if you just take a few days off. If you keep it up like that, you'll end up like me in no time." Her scolding fell under the guise of a joke, but even the duncest of dunces could tell what she really meant.

Her words came to a pause, the sight of Freyd's familiar nearly causing her to unsheathe her katana from its scabbard before she hesitated. "Interesting familiar you got there," she would say unevenly once she relaxed back into her seat. It wasn't the weirdest familiar she had ever seen by far, but the eerie foggy essence of it reminded her a little too much of an unwelcomed face. 

Cordelia, the poor girl, nearly jumped out of her pants when a familiar-unfamiliar voice called out her name, surprising her since it was hard to even hear her own thoughts in the cheering crowd. 

"Ah..." Cordelia nervously trailed off nervously eyes, darting around in a panic before landing on Freyd again, lingering for a few seconds before lighting up in recognition. "Right! Freyd, was it?" she asked, praying to whatever higher being above that she was thinking of the right person. Nothing would embarrass her more than screwing up someone's name right in front of them. Still, even with her hesitance, a lingering voice in her head told her she was right, for how could she forget the night of Tanabata and the strange boy she met on the very same night? The event in general was hard for her to recall, but it would be hard to forget the grand battle she had shared with this boy and Mari below the canopy of towering tree giants. 

Once the had shuffled to the outskirts of the crowd, she finally found an opportunity to speak. "Likewise, it's good seeing you again," she said with a smile, happy to see a face she recognized amongst all of the strangers. "Where I've been hiding?" Cordelia echoed, dropping a sweat as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Well uh, here I guess." She gestured around the room with a shrug. "Baldur is a dear friend and mentor of mine, so when I needed a place to stay, he offered his estate. Since then, I haven't actively gone out to do combat or anything, so that probably explains why you haven't seen me out and about," the girl bit out with a sigh, along with a disgruntled look. With the update and her life blowing up, it all seemed overwhelming and too soon to get back in the swing of things. Now, however, she could only attribute this behavior to negligence. Leeching off of Baldur for the rest of her time was an idea she did not want to entertain, and the sooner she could get back on her feet the better.

"I'll get up and running in no time though, I can assure you that. I think all of this is just because of a big burn out," is what she ended up saying. She paused for a few seconds to let him to respond before firing the good ol' ice breaker question at him: "So, what about you? How have you been?"

dem stats:

Cordelia had honestly started to feel more like a caterer than Baldur's beloved pupil with all of this cooking, but she'd much rather tough out the pain than let him and Calrex prepare food for all these people alone. Kitchens may not be combustible in Aincrad but she was certain that those two would find a way. She wouldn't even trust those two with a toaster. If toasters existed here anyway. They'd probably find a way to get a toaster, too. 

Fortunately, cooking was easier done than said nowadays, so it wasn't a huuuge deal, and it left Cordelia tons of time to be able to focus on more pressing matters... if pressing matters included helping lead people into the estate. It wasn't the most fulfilling task, but she found herself enjoying seeing both new and old faces of Aincrad's playerbase. She was able to pick out a few faces passing by that she knew right off the bat like NIGHT, Jomei, and Alkor, but that was all she could get before she got occupied again. "Man," she muttered, clicking her tongue as she watched even more unfamiliar faces pile up, "I really need to get out." Cordelia used to pride herself on knowing almost everyone, but now she could barely recognize more than a handful of people. Maybe this event was her second chance at having a social life. Yes, yes, she won't let this opportunity slip by so easily!

Mustering up a smile despite feeling like a fish caught out of water, she gestured across one of the many bridges and towards a large, central building. "For this unfamiliar with the estate, please make your way towards the dojo where the tournament is happening and enjoy the complimentary food and drinks!" 

Right. Tournament. A Valentine's Day Tournament, Cordelia mused. It was a strange mash of words, indeed. She had no idea what rock hit Baldur's head when he was planning this, but she wasn't against it at all. There was nothing more entertaining than watching people duke it out for a free date. 

Dem sTatS:

The familiar silhouette of Cordelia came into view; her figure sat silently on a tatami mat placed on the floor next to an open window. 

Her once platinum hair had been dyed back to a soft blonde, reminiscent to the shade she had entered the game with all those years ago. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, really, perhaps caused by her life turning upside down once again, but not even Cordelia herself had a sure answer as to why. That seemed to be a recurring dilemma the girl was having lately; her always being at a loss for simple answers to seemingly simple questions. Part of her seemed to have just accepted the fact that she was never going to know why, but another part of her refused to accept defeat so easily, constantly pushing her to do what seemed impossible. Her mind certainly was a funny one, wasn't it?

Unfortunately, her mind seemed to be the only company she had nowadays. Despite now residing with Baldur and his kohai in his more than large estate, she found herself to be quite lonely on most days. They were often out and about, exploring the now much different world of Aincrad, going against foes that had yet to have been ever seen, and really, just living their life in general. Cordelia had tried to take a page out of their books... multiple times in fact, but she could never find herself going too far from the estate. She was scared, that's for sure, though she couldn't quite place her finger on exactly what. Was it change? Was it fear that she would be thrown into a world completely unknown to her again? Or was it fear of familiarity? Somehow, just somehow, the thought of meeting her friends terrified her more than the idea of going against a boss she knew nothing about. 

It was pitiful. 

Cordelia couldn't help but let out a long, bittersweet sigh, burying her face into her hands exhaustedly... There she went again; she had lost herself to her thoughts for the upteenth time. Perhaps it was time she should start concerning herself with a hobby to lure her mind elsewhere. Launching herself into a camp of mobs was out of the question, and she wasn't sure how much more ramen she could make before she went crazy, but she was certainly nearing that point.

Another sigh escaped her. Maybe she was just... hopeless. Completely and utterly hopeless. 

@Baldur

Cordelia gave the nearly dead Orgoth a sad and pitied gaze as she watched him demand for the players to end him. Part of her felt guilty that they couldn't somehow find a way to rescue him from The Shadow, but perhaps it was just never meant to be. She didn't bother raising her sword for his demise, she knew someone else would take the deed happily. Consider it as an act of respect. 

A relieved sigh left her as she watched someone finally strike down the minotaur, knowing that his ones and zeroes will rest in peace now. In Aincrad heaven or whatever. She was thankful for a chance to finally have a breather, but it was obvious that the moment will be short lived. "... Are you guys okay?" she suddenly asked, cocking her head towards the people in her group. Yuki definitely took a few hard blows, but Morgernstern and Crow seemed to be taking care of her.

"Er- sorry about earlier. I think I spaced out or something," she muttered quietly, shrugging her shoulders almost nonchalantly as she remarked about how she didn't managed to get an attack the last round. She honestly had no idea the reason why she was out of it then and there, but really, she couldn't bother coming up with a solid answer or excuse for it. 

+2 EN regained

H:7] Zajcica | HP: 1432/1630 +(326) | EN: 131/136 -(5) | DMG: 1 | ACC: 2 | MIT: 335 | TAUNT | THRNS: 30 | FRAURA: 30 | FLAURA:  30 | HB: 24 | LM: 1 | LD: 3 | DoT: -50%, 1 HIT, -25% AFTER | Dote 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | BH: 81 | RESTED: 2/3 | [Parry - V. Riposte]
[H:5] Morgenstern | HP: 1645/1645 | EN: 73/142 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 141 | Fireproof | Bloodclot | Paralytic Immune | DoT -25% | VO: 160 | BH: 82
[H:1] Bahr | HP: 1730/1730 | EN: 153/167 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | MIT: 79 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | TXV: 24 | HB: 24 | PHASE | DoT: - 27 | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -30% | LD: 8 | BH: 86
[H:3] Crozeph | HP: 1330/1330 | EN: 47/112 | DMG: 21 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 97 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | REC: 3 | FRZ: 36 | BRN: 36 | BH: 66 | [Field Medic: 0/2]
[H:3] Cordelia | HP: 1390/1390 | EN: 98/118 | DMG: 25 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 5 | MIT: 130 | HLY: 12 | FRAURA: 15 | ABS ACC | PHASE | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | BH: 69
[H:3] Beat | HP: 1505/1505 | EN: 106/128 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 8 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 63 | HLY: 6 | BLD: 36 | PARAIMMUNE | ENVENOM: 18 | BLI: 36 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | RESTED: 1/3 | DoT: -25%, 1 HIT | BH: 75 | ABS ACC

The corner of Cordelia's eyes twitched as Orgoth began throwing 'insult' after insult at the frontliners. Did this guy seriously have nothing better to do than to diss them in the middle of a fight? Frankly, she wasn't even sure if the words he threw at her was an insult or a compliment. It may was well be both. Well, whatever it was, it was seriously beginning to piss her off and they've barely been in this fight for more than a few handful of minutes. The last thing she wanted to do was to be driven by her emotions, though. No, she needed to think rationally, as much as this stupid shadow was pulling at her strings. 

From her point of view, the parties have been doing better than she expected. They had managed to get a health bar and a half down in the few minutes they've been here, which if you hadn't noticed, was ridiculously bonkers? She was certain there would be more to this after they had taken the possessed Orgoth, but what exactly, she was unsure. Her thoughts trailed back to the boss meeting they had all those days ago. Possession. That was The Shadow's whole shtick, righ? Her eyes narrowed into slits as she recalled the idea of The Shadow possibly possessing a player. Why she was thinking of that now, she had no idea, but the thought itself placed an icy rock in the pit of her stomach. 

She exhaled hotly. There wasn't time to think about that now. She was in a boss battle for Pete's sake! Just when she finally snapped out of it, she got an attack to the face. Great. Just great! It definitely caught her by surprise, managing to knock her back a few feet, but she was able to sturdy herself before she had made a fool of herself. Her eyes glazed over her healthbar. Orgoth's attack did quite a bit, but her battle healing was quick to refill about half of it. She guessed it was a good idea to max out that skill after all.

Finally back down to Earth, Cordelia was quick to get back into things. Her eyes locked on to the minotaur just briefly before she made a dash for him. The click of her boots drowned over her pounding heartbeat as she approached Orgoth for a second time, katana flying wildly beside her as she readied herself from another San Ge attack. It was in no way as powerful as her last attack had done, but damage was damage, so she took it. 

ID: 178148
BD: 6, HIt | 25x15= 375-100= 275 DMG to Orgoth

+69 HP [BH]

[H:5] @Zajcica | HP: 957/1630 | EN: 131/136 | DMG: 1 | ACC: 2 | MIT: 335 | TAUNT | THRNS: 30 | FRAURA: 30 | FLAURA:  30 | HB: 24 | LM: 1 | LD: 3 | DoT: -50%, 1 HIT, -25% AFTER | Dote 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | BH: 81 | RESTED: 2/3
[H:2] @Morgenstern | HP: 1487/1645 | EN : 142/142 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 141 | Fireproof | Bloodclot | Paralytic Immune | DoT -25% [1/1] | VO: 160 | BH: 82
[H:0] @Bahr | HP: 1651/1730 | EN: 162/167 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | MIT: 79 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | TXV: 24 | HB: 24 | PHASE | DoT: - 27 | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -30% | RESTED: 2/3 | LD: 8 | BH: 86 | [Parry: 0/2]
[H:1] @Crozeph | HP: 1172/1330 | EN: 100 /112 | DMG: 21 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 97 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | REC: 3 | FRZ: 36 | BRN: 36 | BH: 66
[H:2] @Cordelia | HP: 1301/1390 | EN: 96/118 | DMG: 25 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 5 | MIT: 130 | HLY: 12 | FRAURA: 15 | ABS ACC | PHASE | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | BH: 69
[H:2] @Beat | HP: 1347/1505 | EN: 117/128 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 8 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 63 | HLY: 6 | BLD: 36 | PARAIMMUNE | ENVENOM: 18 | BLI: 36 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | RESTED: 2/3 | DoT: -25%, 1 HIT | BH: 75 | ABS ACC

A solemn quietness fell over the shop as a familiar face appeared from behind the drapes. A busy Cordelia stood behind the counter, her hair tied neatly behind her as she worked quietly on the cutting board in front of her. 

"Welcome," she replied back softly, her eyes not leaving her workspace. "You can take a seat at one of the stools and I'll..." her already quiet voice trailed off into silence as her breath hitched in realization. A friend's voice turned stranger, she found it unbelievable that she still recognized it, but how could she not? Was it even possible to forget such a voice? She found it hard to believe so, yet despite that, she couldn't will herself to even look at the voice's owner in the eyes without feeling the need to burst into hysterical sobbing. Gross hysterical sobbing.

"Take a seat," she repeated, her voice now barely above a whisper. She took a second to regain her composure, but even that wasn't enough to stop her from visibly shaking like a magnitude nine earthquake. What she was feeling was anxiety, frustration, and not to mention fury all squished together into one big ugly ball of chaos, she knew that much. What she was going to do with that metaphorical ball of utter destruction was completely beyond her but it was there! It was definitely fucking there!

The fight was finally here. The fight she had been preparing for since the day she left the Town of Beginnings. The thought sparked an indescribable feeling in her chest. Hope? Triumph? Determination? Or was fear? Distress or anxiety? Her heart was pumping full of adrenaline, but because of what? Was it because she finally had a chance to help everyone, or was it the sheer terror she felt emit from that thing. 

Soft lavender eyes gazed up at the towering beast. This was not going to be no easy fight, no, that was for sure. She wasn't even sure she would make it out of here alive. There always was that chance, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from doing her best to take down.

The first two parties moved quickly, chipping away at Orgoth's health in just a few seconds. They got a good bit of damage in before it was the last two parties' turn. Focusing back to her own group,  Cordelia watched as Bahr sped off to land his blow to Orgoth, only to somehow miss and retreat back to safety. "Alright, I suppose I should get going now then," she muttered quietly, shooting a small smile at both Crow and Yuki before she unsheathed Onimaru from its scabbard. Before she prepared to attack, she placed a reassuring hand on Bahr's shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. She's been down that road many, many, many times, and she knew exactly how it felt. She just hoped he wasn't too disheartened considering that it was a boss fight. 

She took a sharp breath. "Alright, Pacco," she breathed, her eyes locking on to the behemoth in front of her. "Let's go."

As Orgoth was busy handling the fighters in front of him, Cordelia decided to go for the good ol' flank attack - with blinding speed, Cordelia rounded behind the minotaur, her sword strained black glinting in the pale light that illuminated the room. Just as her boots skid to a halt, she forced herself into the air with her katana beside her. Her sword glowed a dim blue as she activated San Ge, though to her surprise, she had coincidentally procced her holy, (for the first time in forever) which left the sword emitting an almost blinding white light. 

Her blade pierced through the back of the beast, the light still being released from the blade whilst it impaled Orgoth. However, she didn't allow herself to stay on his back for too long. Any longer and she'd be probably dead. Detaching Onimaru from his body, Cordelia jumped back down on to the ground and cautiously made her way back to the party.

ID: 177501
BD: 9, Crit +1 DMG [HOLY PROC +12 DMG] [PHASE PROC]
25+1+12=38x15=570-50= 520 DMG to Orgoth -11 EN

[H: 5] @Zajcica | HP: 1630/1630 | EN: 136/136 | DMG: 1 | ACC: 2 | MIT: 335 | TAUNT | THRNS: 30 | FRAURA: 30 | FLAURA:  30 | HB: 24 | LM: 1 | LD: 3 | DoT: -50%, 1 HIT, -25% AFTER | Dote 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | BH: 81
[H: 0] @Morgenstern | HP: 1645/1645 | EN : 142/142 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 141 | Fireproof | Bloodclot | Paralytic Immune | DoT -25% [1/1] | VO: 160 | BH: 82
[H: 0] @Crozeph | HP: 1330/1330 | EN: 100/112 | DMG: 21 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 97 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | REC: 3 | FRZ: 36 | BRN: 36 | BH: 66
[H: 0] @Bahr | HP: 1730/1730 | EN: 162/167 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | MIT: 79 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | TXV: 24 | HB: 24 | PHASE | DoT: - 27 | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -30% | RESTED: 2/3 | LD: 8 | PARRY | BH: 86
[H: 2] @Cordelia | HP: 1390/1390 | EN: 107/118 | DMG: 25 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 5 | MIT: 130 | HLY: 12 | FRAURA: 15 | ABS ACC | PHASE | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | BH: 69
[H: 0] @Beat | HP: 1505/1505 | EN: 128/128 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 8 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 63 | HLY: 6 | BLD: 36 | PARAIMMUNE | ENVENOM: 18 | BLI: 36 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | RESTED: 3/3 | DoT: -25%, 1 HIT | BH: 75 | ABS ACC

As expected, the consumables were bountiful. It was a boss raid after all. Raidou had distributed the consumables she had forgotten- or rather, ignorantly ignored- to take. It was hard to believe that the newbie she had found absolutely annoying all those months ago was now head of one of the biggest trading guilds in SAO. Kind of crazy but she didn't bother to pay much more thought to it.

After chugging through the last of the consumables, her attention turned to the players littered in the room. She wondered who else had joined the frontlines while she was gone. There were certainly a few unfamiliar faces here she had never had the pleasure to meet, but she still found herself knowing majority of the players. That was good, at least. She wouldn't have to waste much time with sudden introductions, and she was sure she knew most of them enough to know how they function in battle. That was always a plus. 

Edits will be made in my first post

Consumed from @Raidou:

+180 O.H thingie majigie 
+3 LD Food
+3 Antidote 
Probiotic
Antioxidant 

Received:

[x5] Mass Heals: Heals Tierx30 HP

Used x1 Essence of Steel for one more slot of MIT

Out of all the things Cordelia thought she would be ready for, the Floor Twenty-five boss raid was probably the highest one on the list, but here she was, completely unprepared with nothing but spare buffs she had in her inventory. Months prior to this, she was grinding through quests and levels like crazy, but it seemed like good things weren't meant to last. It seemed that she had reached her peak in those months, and the time after was just a slow descent into what she had experienced when the game first began. 

It just seemed like everything she had worked and cared for had just started to crumble in front of her very eyes, and she won't deny that most of it was her doing. The Tarot's activity had been reduced to almost nothing. She couldn't even remember the last time she had interacted with any of her friends. Heck, even her relationship with Oscar was on the rocks. 

"God, what the fuck am I doing," she murmured, her chin tilting up as she dragged a tired hand down her face. "I don't have time to worry about this crap, especially not right before a boss battle," Cordelia muttered to herself, giving herself a mental slap to the face before she went to look for a couple of familiar faces. 

"A pseudo shapeshifter, huh?" she echoed, humming in though before she let out a short laugh. "Perhaps. I frankly have no idea what the heck he is," she admitted, scratching the back of her neck with a sheepish smile.

At the mention of the pastry in her hand, Cordelia looked in her hand and blinked, completely zoning out for a fraction of a second before she shook her head. "Oh no, I didn't get them from a bakery. I kind of made them myself," she said, a bashful smile on her face. "I'm a cook. Probably not the best one in real life but I do what I can here in SAO," she chuckled, taking the last bite of the roll before she dusted off her hands. "I don't usually make desserts like this, but I figured I'd try it out, y'know?" She shrugged her shoulders before pondering for a second. "I can offer you some if you want. I made a couple this morning for the fun of it," she exclaimed, her hand swiping down the open her menu before clicking on her inventory. 

Before long, a single cinnamon roll materialized in her hands, to which she held in front of Haine. "I really don't mind sharing. You're probably doing me a favor by helping me clean out my inventory anyways." Usually the food she would cook would have buffs, since that was pretty much the whole reason why she became a cook in the first, but after taking some time away from levelling and grinding, she figured that there was no harm in trying something new. 

"No, no, it's really fine," she exclaimed, watching as the girl scooped up the bear with her arms before pressing her hand against his forehead in a noogie. "I don't get to see many cute familiars anymore. It was somewhat of a fresh breath if you get what I mean," she mused, taking note of how close the two seemed. As the girl explained the reason why her familiar suddenly charged at Cordelia, she made an ah of realization, taking a moment to glance at the buffed food she was holding. "Oh, I see. I guess that's something that both me and him share then, huh?" she joked, a lighthearted laugh escaping her. 

Cordelia raised a brow at the bluenette's sudden fascination with her feathered friend, as if she wasn't used to having them be complimented. "I suppose you can call them that," she said, her tone whimsical but dry. "He's kind of one entity. A hive-mind sort of deal going on. I really don't know how it works myself, but that's the least that I know," she sighed, placing a gingerly hand on the back of her neck. "There only used to be one, but after I started training him to be a fighting familiar, the other one just kind of... magically appeared?" Cordelia stated slowly, unsure if she sounded like she was going bananas or not. "I have a bunch of crazy theories going on with him but those are tales for another day," she huffed, flashing Pacco a playful glance, and of course, like the grumpy demon thing he was, there was little response other than a silent, almost deadpan stare from those beady little eyes. 

"Anyway, the name's Cordelia, and you can just call these two Pacco. Pleasure to meet you."

"Alright! That's great. I really hate doing quests solo. Takes all the fun out of it, you know?" she asked, a wide smile on her face as she did so. A light laugh left her as Crow shooed off Pacco, leaving fluttering almost annoyingly to the grass. Didn't blame him though. It's hard to talk to someone when they have two large birds on their shoulders. 

Cordelia tilted her head. "I guess so. Believe it or not, I probably don't spend as much time with Baldur as you think I do," she chuckled, tucking a strand of ivory hair behind her ear before she leaned back. "We do train and do quests a lot, yeah, but he's been more occupied with Jacob's Ladder recently, and being in separate guilds makes it a bit hard to catch a good time to work on training and stuff," she giggled, emphasizing the statement a bit more by making a tiny finger gesture. Again, she couldn't blame the man. If she had just started a guild, she would've taken most of her time trying to develop more of it as well. 

"Getting stabbed by a holy dagger?" she echoed, giving him a mix of a concerned and weirded out look. She laughed, shaking her head at the boy's silliness before brushing off her lap. " agree, let's start heading out. I'm not sure if I find a land-walking fish appealing to eat, but you can go ham on it," she joked, pushing herself off of the ground to stand before gesturing her head for the boy to follow her. "There's a bit we have to do before we have to fight the big bad boss, so let's hurry up and get that done, yeah?"

"You don't have to worry about that," she uttered, not being able to help her lip curling into a sneer as he passed by, intentionally brushing his elbow against her and Pacco. Her bird friends didn't seem too happy about the whole ordeal, both fluttering atop her shoulders rather chaotically, as if tempted to rush after the man and peck him to death, and honestly, she couldn't blame them. If she were a bird with a short temper, she would do the exact same thing. 

With a heavy sigh, Cordelia pressed the pads of her fingers down on her temples, as if she was chaperoning a bus full of loud, annoying, kindergarteners. This interaction was bound to leave her with a headache at the end of the day, but she couldn't bring herself to just leave a supposedly innocent low level in the middle of nowhere. "They're trying to teach you how to use the system," she replied back flatly. "It may seem stupid but this questline teaches a lot of players the basics of SAO," Cordelia stated, the corners of her mouth twitching in irritation before she took another deep sigh. 

"We're here." The walk to the forest wasn't too far away from the Town of Beginnings, fortunately, but their journey was far from over. "You can look for anything that you think would go well in a potion. Zackariah didn't ask for anything specific, thankfully, so gather to your heart's content."

"Perhaps we should just schedule a raincheck-"

Cordelia's words cut off in surprise as a giant white ball of fluffiness came bounding towards her. At first, it seemed like it was just a slightly larger than average puppy, but the more she looked at it, the more she thought otherwise. The shorter snout, the smaller ears. Oh yeesh, that was definitely a bear cub. It kind of reminded her of Alec's familiar, except y'know, white... but it was just as cute! So cute in fact that she couldn't help but let out an awe when she saw it. 

Smiling softly at the cub, she looked up, presumably trying to figure out who was the owner of this familiar. The town was definitely jam packed with both players and NPCs alike, but she was pretty sure she was able to pinpoint who by the direction of which the bear came, a pretty bluenette who wasn't too far away. "Er, I'm assuming this little one is yours?" she bit out awkwardly, a wry smile on her face as she gestured her hand towards her presumed familiar. 

"Lions kidnapping a bunch of beautiful women, huh..?" Cordelia mumbled, scratching her chin as she left Queen Delia's palace. "Hynes said that this quest isn't too awfully hard, but it'd be difficult to solo it," she muttered, opening her menu to take a quick inventory before sighing. Everyone was busy today. Oscar was out doing his own quests, and she was sure the others were doing the same. She probably should've planned this ahead of time so she could have a party, darnit. 

"What do you say, Pacco? Do you think we can solo this?" she asked, tilting her head to the two birds perched on her shoulders. Not even her familiar seemed content with the idea, and honestly she couldn't blame them. She could postpone this quest for another day, but it'd be a waste, especially since the floor boss raid was so close. She had to get her levels in now or she wasn't going to be ready in time for the raid. 

Perhaps she could ask around the city? Floor seven was bound to have some high levels player roaming around in it, right? 

@Haine

"Hey Bistro!" Cordelia exclaimed, yet again poking her head into another shop. "I ran out of damage potions a bit ago so I've come to stock up on some more," she admitted, giving the girl a sheepish smile before she went to inspect the wares. As always, Bistro seemed to have stocked up a lot on the potions. "Is it okay if I take a bit more than I usually do? I don't want to have to keep coming back to bother you," Cordelia chuckled, her hand raising to scratch the back of her neck awkwardly before she selected about ten Liquors of Light. 

"This definitely won't be the last time I'll be seeing you though," she explained, swiping open her menu before sending the Col to the girl. "Until then though, see you!"

Buying: x10 Liquor of Light
[167818] | [167826] | [167840] | [167844] | [168134] | [168137] | [168140] | [168144] | [168152] | [168169] 
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5,000 Col sent to @Bistro

"Hello, Yuki," Cordelia beamed, poking her head into Yuki's shop. Considering that she wasn't cooking as much as she used to, she figured that she would pay a visit to the other chefs of Aincrad. Of course, Oscar was always an option but she's been there loads of times. Yuki did always mention she had a shop so Cordelia figured why the heck not?! 

"I was low on supplies so I figured I'd stop by," she chirped, giving the girl a friendly smile before turning to look at her wares. "I'll just take a few Accuracy and Evasion buffs if that's okay with you. Planning on going on a quest soon so I need to stock up!" After selecting a few bowls of Udon and Ramen, Cordelia opened her menu, swiping her fingers across the frame a few times before she sent the desired money to her friend. 

"I might be stopping by later, until then, see you!"

Buying: x2 Udon Bowl, x2 Ramen Bowl
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1,400 Col sent to @Zajcica

"Likewise. You can call me Cordelia," she replied, blinking in slight surprise when he forcefully took her hand and started shaking it, and to top it all off, he pushed her right on back into the shop like she was some sort of ragdoll. Already, she could tell that she wouldn't like this guy. Obviously, his words were sweet but they didn't quite match his actions. The platinum-haired player let out a low sigh before running a hand down her face. She'll most definitely regret this later, but not everything will be a loss. This Felis guy definitely seemed suspicious and while he was certainly on the lower end of the spectrum when it came to levels, she's seen how fast people can rise the ranks, including herself. Who knows? Maybe today he's a newbie doing the tutorial questline and tomorrow he'd be the next leader of a wannabe Laughing Coffin. In a world of virtual reality and death, she wouldn't doubt the idea. 

Cordelia gave Zackariah an almost apologetic smile before turning back to Felis. "Of course," she bit back, an almost sickly sweet smile on her face before she whistled towards a corner of the shop. "C'mon Pacco." The sound of fluttering wings quickly filled the air as two large blackbirds flew over to her, each one landing on separate shoulders. "I hope you don't mind if my familiar tags along, Felis," she added, gesturing over to the two crows on her shoulders. "Meet Pacco, and yes, they're the same entity hence why they only have one name. Somewhat of a hivemind kind of thing," she shrugged, not even sure if she was completely in the right or not. Glancing at him from the corners of her eyes, she gave a stiff nod over to the door before she proceeded out of it. 

"I suppose that we should head to the forest instead of the plains. There lays a certain risk with all the terrain in there but it'll prove more high-yielding than the grasslands," she said along the way. "I don't think you'll have to worry about the mobs. As long as I'm around and you're not being stupid, everything should be alright," Cordelia stated bluntly, her hand resting reassuringly on the hilt of her katana.

"Hey Crozeph!" 

From behind a few trees, a familiar girl and her two birds appeared, signature smile and all. The boy looked a little bit lost in thought when she had arrived, as if he was recalling some past trauma or something. She hoped she didn't scare him too terribly with her loud greeting. 

"Are you here to do that lake quest involving the fish?" she asked, plopping herself down on the grass right next to him, the two crows on her shoulders fluttering in annoyance just slightly as she did so. "I mean, that's kind of the only noteworthy quest on this floor, so I apologize if I'm wrong," Cordelia added quickly, hoping that she didn't completely embarrass herself in front of another one of Baldur's students. Other than that witch quest, (which wasn't really that fun to do) this was kind of the only quest on this floor, and considering that he was sitting pretty close to the lake itself, she thought it was a pretty reasonable prediction! 

"I just thought I'd ask since I was planning on doing it solo," she said, popping open the lid to the vial she had before chugging it down in one fell swoop. She gave him a silly smile before the bottle dematerialized in her hand. "This is pretty much just a party offer, so yay or nay?"