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[F1-PP] Beauty and Brutality


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Zandra sat on a rock outside town of beginning, look over the wide field ibfront of her. There was a small group players figthing a boar. probably some low leveled players training to be potential frontliners, or maybe they just wanted to try tye mecanics of sword art online. Either way, Zandra kept one eye on the group just in case something would happen. She had decided to take the day off, but in this world, you could never relax totally. The death was always watching you, ready to strike as soon as you are not on your guard.

Though it felt good to leave her armor and other gear in her inventory. She sat on the stone with her simple town clothes. High brown leather boots. A red skirt with suspenders. An almost black t-shirt. Her outfit finished off with a red hood and an attached scarf in matching colors. She had been using this outfit for so many years it gave her a safe feeling almost higher then with armor. Beside her laid a simple beginner axe and high above Zita, her kibgs eagle, circled on her migthy wings, keeping an eye on the surrondings with her sharp eyes that can spot a rabbit on the ground from a kilometers way.

She had also sent a mail to a special man. A man that is one of her oldest friends, both in age and time of their friendship. If there still was a friendship between them. She hadnt met him except for boss fights in like, forever it felt. It would feel good to have a chill chat with him. The mail jad invited to meet her here on floor one tomorrow at midday. It was sent yesterday. She had no idea how he looked at her after the whole Ariel thing. And she wanted to know if he was the same man that she remembered.

The blackhaired woman switched her eyes upwards and stared at the sun. The sun that showed now its midday. Well, it wasnt even certain he would show up in the first place 

@Baldur

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Baldur slowly walked out the main entrance from the teleport plaza of the <<Town of Beginnings>> and watched life happen around him. It never ceased to amaze him that every day, a handful more players decided to try their hand at stepping out the front door, even after all the time that had passed. Very few, if any, who came out now would catch up to the frontline, but the ones who managed to do so were special. Baldur had started his assent with Tyger back when they were trying to unlock floor 9. It already seemed like a lifetime ago, where all he could remember day to day was life in Aincrad. But he still remembered the faces of those he fought for back home, both his family and Tyger's, as well as many others. This may be his world now, but he would make sure that everyone got back to theirs.

The samurai was, as always, dressed in his normal gear. The blue and white haori was always around his shoulders, though he did not equip the <<Muramasa>> as a standard piece of equipment. Instead, he carried around his <<Shukketsu>> and <<Raijinto>>. The second was a new sword he had gotten from Zandra and Anise. The absolute accuracy of the weapon actually made it extremely useful for whenever he had to help out newbies. It eliminated the worry that his sword art might miss. It wasn't at that point for a boss fight yet, but it would be.

"I didn't expect to find you on this floor, Zandra-san." He called out to her, once he saw her casually sitting and watching over the field in front of them, newbies rushing around chasing boars.

"That is to say, I got your message, but was surprised you chose the first floor."

He gave her a respectful bow. He didn't do this for everyone. Many of the frontline, including those more powerful than him or higher level than  him, were actually considered his kouhai. Zandra was not one of them. If Baldur had been pressed, he would consider his kouhai as equals when it came down to it, but to them, he gave only a respectful bow. Zandra was a respected peer, a sometimes benefactor, and had earned his respect over the years of pushing the frontline forward.

"I want to say it again. Thank you for your help with the supplies the other day. I feel less exposed now." He gave her a friendly smile, "How have you been?"

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She herd steps beside her. When she turned her eyes towards the source her mind, but not her body, released a sigh of relief. He came. She smiled to the samurai, a true smile. Not like most of the other players got, a fake smile to hide something else. But she was happy to see him. There was not many of the players that have been around when she first reached the front as a little noob. She would maybe be able to count all of them on one hand.

She threw a glance on the field before she pushed herself up. ‘’Hello there Baldur. Im happy you decided to come.’’ She said happily in reply as she got a bow from Baldur. She took a step closer and answered with a quick hug. There wasn’t many players she choose to greet with a hug and this was her way to show she saw someone more then just a companion.

‘’I picked this floor because of several reasons. I like it here, big open fields, comfortable weather and beautiful landscape. I decided to take the day off and relax a bit, and it is the least likely to run into any frontliners down here. I just need to take a break from them for a day or two sometimes. And with these clothes no one suspect I am one of those so they talk with me like their equal. If you show you are a frontliner, the players down here getting uncomfortable and stuff.’’ She explained with a somewhat subdued and smooth voice, looking at the blue eyes. Then she sat down on the rock again with her sight forward.

‘’No worries for the crystals. I have been slacking off when it comes to crafting. Getting that order gave me at least a little kick in the butt.’’ She said. Then turned silent after his question how she had been. She gulped. ‘’How I have been? Im tired Baldur. Im trying not to show it, but Im feeling so, so tired.’’ She pulled her hand thru her hair, making her hood fall down and long hair flowing out. ‘’How about you Baldur, how have you been?’’

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Baldur blushed slightly when Zandra mentioned she was down here in vanity gear because it was safe, and she didn't want to stand out as a frontliner, and yet here was Baldur, wandering around the first floor in his frontline gear. Well, except for the legendary blade which he did not carry around. But when Zandra revealed how tired she was, Baldur felt a cold chill run through his spine. Hopefully she wasn't planning to retire from the frontline as Macradon had done.

"You're not going to retire too, are you?" Baldur framed it as a teasing barb, a bit of a smile playing across his face, but deep down he was desperate to hear that would stay with them. They couldn't afford to lose Zandra as well.

"As for me... I am... remarkably the same as always. I am always just a little bit tired, but just a little bit more determined. I'm trying to get down here to the first floor more, to try and scout some potential new participants for the frontline. With the turnover we've had from the last boss fight... we need new blood, and they need mentorship." Baldur gestured out over the field.

"Who knows which of these players could one day pick up my blade if I should fall, but we need to get people to that point, so that warriors like Macradon have the ability to take a breather from time to time without risking everyone dying. That's too much stress for anyone to bear."

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Zandra listened to the man. She looked up on Baldur with a smile and happier voice then before. ‘’Retire you say? I don’t know, haven’t relly thought about that being an option. If I do that, I can just jump over the edge. Like, what is there to do? And Im always messing things up anyway. Retire maybe is the right thing to do after all.’’

As he continued a small sigh escaped over andras lips. ‘’Wanna know a trick Ive learnt?’’ She moved a bit to the side, giving enough room for Baldur to sit on the big rock too. ‘’You start with change into common clothing. Then you sit down on this rock.’’ She patted on the grey surface. ‘’You close your eyes and take some deep breaths. Stop thinking about scouting for players to join the frontlines. Don’t care about stacking up your storage of healing crystals. Just take a second look on the scenery here. The everlasting wind blowing across the field, making grasswaves. Feel the warmth from the sunbeams hitting your face.’’ She looked ahead and closed her eyes, feeling the wind on her face.

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Baldur jerked forward suddenly when Zandra began to speak about retiring. He didn't think she was serious about jumping off the tower, but they couldn't afford to lose her.

"Oh no! Please don't retire! I think the whole place would fall apart without you!"

When it finally sank in that she was teasing him about all of it, a bit of color creeped up into his face and he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Slowly, a sheepish grin crept up onto his face.

When Zandra began describing the 'trick' she learned, Baldur was a bit skeptical at first, but once he understand where she was going, he acquiesced. Swapping his normally robust tier 3 armor out for his vanity clothing that he normally reserved for safezone special events, Baldur settled onto the stone and began to follow along with Zandra's words... after adjusting the katana he still held at his side. It was -always- at his side.

Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths and relaxed, letting his senses be fooled by the nerve gear. It was easier than he realized. Slowly he opened his eyes again, the steel gone from the steel blue eyes, and he just enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the first floor. He didn't often do that, and he felt like he did it more often than the other frontliners.

Baldur smiled as the breeze slowly swept through his long hair. It was a very pleasant, relaxing feeling under the bright sun.

"Good trick."

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Zandra raised an eyebrow as she looked on the samuraj. She couldn’t believe what he just said. She couldn’t totally stop a laugh from escaping out of her. ‘’Haha. Really?’’ another giggle left her lips. ‘’The place would fall apart without me? I think I would make more stuff fall apart then preventing stuff from falling apart.’’

She felt good that he tried out her ‘trick’. She wasn’t really sure if he would try it or just laugh at her about it. But he changed his armor and enjoyed the wind and sun with her. She let out a deep sigh. ‘’But yeah. You…’’ she used you instead of we. ‘’…are kinda in need of more support players. It isnt anything that is very popular. I guess it is because you don’t getting anything for yourself. A tank increase his own survivability. A dps getting that sweet damage. While a support is a s squishy as a dps and deal as much damage as a tank. Not really the most attractive way to choose your skills.’’ She moved her hand thru her hair again. ‘’So yeah, I guess it is my responsibility to join the floor boss fights. At least until other players with support builds reach you on the front.’’ She rose up, turned towards Baldur, placed her knit fist on her chest in a salute. ‘’With great power, comes great responsibility.’’ She said with a jokingly tone in her voice. ‘’I will be there, at least for next floor boss. After that, only the future know. Though to retire is really tempting. And I said to Shield I would join your little group. But didn’t kept that word so who knows, I may or may not show up.’’

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Baldur tried to keep his eyes closed as he let Zandra say her piece. She was giving him a lot to reflect on. The state of support players in the Frontlines. The difficulty of teams. Responsibility. Their aspiring guild. There was a lot of stuff to consider, and the fact that she seemed to making subtle efforts to divorce herself from the group that was the frontlines was a cautionary tale all on its own.

"You're absolutely right about support players. Shield feels similarly about tanks. It's a job where you don't get drops, but as you point out, at least it makes you more survivable." He let out a soft sigh, "It's something that would easily be fixed if we had more team and guild cohesion. We need players to feel a reason to invest in one another. When I used to raid, I was the tank. I had my healer. And I was protective of her. She was always my healer if we were ever both in raid. It made me invest in her, and her gear, and she in me. We would sometimes rotate DPS, but we tried to stick with teams. There's a synergy and a trust that builds that way. That was why I had told Shield that if he wanted me to join his guild, he needed to recruit you to be our healer... I admit... I was sad to find out you decided against joining us."

Baldur's eyes had opened somewhere during his speech, but his blue eyes still looked out over the horizon, though with a bit of sadness now.

"I feel like if we had a more cooperative spirit, it would make it easier for support players to feel vulnerable...at the same time, if you don't feel comfortable going 100% into support or tank, you can still do decent damage with a moderate skill investment.. I think you have the best build that more people should focus on. Damage and healing would be great to have more of. Tank and healing... is less optimal."

He then turned his blue eyes on her and met them.

"I hope you do come to the next boss fight. We need you. Not just for your heals or your damage, but your... berzerkness... does have a sense of... momentum that takes some of the fear and unease out of a fight. You are a powerhouse on the field."

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  • 2 weeks later...

Zandra listened to what Baldur had to say about what she just mentioned. Since Zandra wasn’t herself a tank, she hadn’t thought much about how their situation was on that front. Since they have always had Calrex. And Tristan back in the day. It wasn’t until now that more and more people joined the front that they may need more players with tanky builds. She let out a small sigh when he mentioned the guild. She looked down on her open hands as he finished. She sat silent for like a minute or more, thinking of how she would answer. She had been going thru this subject again and again before their meeting so she was prepared. But everything was gone.

She took a deep breathe before she turned her focus to him. ‘’Bal. Just because Im not in your guild dosent mean I wont fight by your side. I wouldn’t argue against it for a second to be your healer. But I feel like I will be more useful by having ATP. Though I guess you are going to have Shield and Beat in your team, and Im not sure I will be able to fight by their side and still try hundred percent.’’

She paused before she continued. ‘’The thing with support though is that at the moment the skills are very few. The only skills is first aid and energise. And as you said, you don’t have to go get all off them. First aid even on rank three without mods is great to have. Just in case something would go terribly wrong.’’

Her eyes went to her axe as he mentioned berzerkness. She lt out a small sigh and mumbled. ‘’This may sound stupid but, am I scary?’’ Her eyes went to Baldurs. Waiting for his reply.

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Baldur closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of a breeze, leaning backwards on his hands and listening to what Zandra had to say. When she brought up Shield and Beat, Baldur was taken out of his reverie for a moment, and glanced over to her. He could feel the bit of tension there. What had happened at the Field Boss fight was... unfortunate. It had definitely caused a schism, but healing those had become the most important aspect that could happen on the frontlines, even more important than killing floor bosses. The wanna-be samurai wasn't quite sure how to address it though. Not yet anyways.

"I am glad you still feel that way about me. I know not everyone gets along well with each other, that's why at the last boss meeting I had argued against you being forced into a team with people you didn't want to be in. I think it's important to have teams with chemistry and trust, because that's where people are going to pull out all the stops and fight together."

Baldur's mind went to the event boss they had recently fought. Baldur had done everything in his power to keep Hestia alive. He had failed in the end when the final attack almost wiped them all out, but he fought harder for Hestia because of how close they had become.

Then Zandra asked him a curious question. Did he find her scary?

Baldur's brows furrowed in thought as he looked up into the sky.

"Scary? No, not really. I've never been on the other side of your axe though. I think that would be scary, but I have never felt the need to be scared of you.... Why do you ask?"

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