Ethereal

Ethereal was having an excellent day, chilling out around the sunny grasslands of Floor One. He'd just been shopping for a few materials he needed for his alchemy business and was taking a much deserved break. Sitting on a blanket on the grass inside of an outcrop of ash trees on the far side of the lake he would be facing an old man. Between them sat a chessboard of mahogany and marble upon which a heated game was taking place.

"Turpentine.. turpentine.." Ethereal would mutter as he browsed the various vendors on Floor 1, looking for a certain material that he needed for his next potion. Finally spotting the item he was seeking, the swordsman smiles and reaches for it. In an instant, a small lad falling out of an alleyway and screaming about a stash.. Right next to his feet. Blinking a few times in surprise, he stares down at the kid. "You uh.. alright there?" His head snaps up at the sound of angry footsteps and suddenly NPCs were swarming the boy. "HEY! What's the problem here?" he bearded man roars, at which the villagers would cease their assault of the boy and look up to the challenger. "He stole candy from a child, sir. A lollipop." the peasant stammers, at which Ethereal would raise an eyebrow. "Say what..?"

"Cerberus, eh? I wonder if there's a quest where your morality is weighed in relation to a feather.." he trails off then looks around at Mack with a grin, "Before this death game I used to enjoy tales like that. Man, I knew Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Norse.." the swordsman seems to be lost in his own thoughts, following the trail that Tartarus was likely to be on. Occasionally he would enquire "Excuse me, ma'am. Do you know the way to Tartarus?" To which the warrior would either get worried looks or the odd general direction. Either way, the person being asked would scurry away. Eventually, the two of them wound up at the front of a large, archaic jail-like building. There were bars on the few windows that were present and the entire structure was midnight black. "Hmph. No point waiting out here.. I suggest that when we find the banshee I stun it while you dish out the heavy DPS. Sound like a plan?"

Ethereal laughs a little, shaking his head, "No worries, you don't need to bow. Not like I've got anything else to do this time of day. Shall we get going on this quest then?" The swordsman takes a few steps to the noticeboard outside the Armorsmiths, pressing a few times he would open up the quest menu. It would read "DO YOU WISH TO ACCEPT THE QUEST: "WORN OUT WELCOME?"" to which the bearded man presses the blue "O" that denoted accept in this death game. A moment after he flicks up the party interface and shoots an invite to the Daydreamer. "Let's get this show on the road then - we've wasted enough time."

Ethereal looks around hastily as he heard the sound of his name being called out. His eyes would catch of a golden haired warrior alongside a crimson armored man. Making his way over in his commoners' clothes, he accepts Lawfer's greeting warmly. "Good to see you my friend. Glad I can help you out." The swordsman then smiles to Icarus - "You're that guy who was asking if I needed help in that field a few days ago? Y'know, the one with the boars? Either way, pleasure to meet you." Clapping his hands together, he looks around the place. "Well then, which way is it to the fabled Hoya? I've heard it's in a pretty obscure location but then again I am a little out of the loop."

Ethereal wanders back into the store, waving in a friendly manner at Oikawa. "You got my order? Cheers man, just in time. I've already payed, right? Nice." he would take the armor and turn it over in his hands. "Damn, that's some fine looking armor. Very intimidating and just as I ordered. I gotta commend you on your work, I'll definitely be back in future." The swordsman would smile as he made his way back out of the shop, happily storing the item in his inventory.

+ Blackwing Plate

Ethereal smiled to the villager, "I'll bear it in mind, thanks." He would wave back to Day as his feet echoed on the cobbled footpath, the sun set silhouetting him as he went.

A day passes, Eth groans as he wakes up on Floor 8, getting out of his bed inside the store and plodding downstairs. Brewing what was the SAO equivalent of coffee on a bunsen burner and scratching his beard, the man gets ready and makes his way to the center of town. Stepping into the portal with a grunt, the swordsman is surrounded by dancing light and after a moment is on Floor 1. Looking around for the street they were at yesterday, he wanders for a couple of hours, waving to people who he recognised until midday came. Tossing a coin in the air, he would be leaning against a red brick wall nearby the Armorsmith sighing as he awaited the arrival of the Daydreamer.

(OOC figures you'd trigger him when he was meeting new people and wanted to get a good impression off.. xD)

Ethereal grew quiet for a moment, looking confused momentarily at the mention of burning alive and death being casually passed off as jokes - then his eyes went stone cold. With a growl he looks directly at the young girl for a moment, then with snaps with venom. "Don't say things like that, child. You don't know when an adult will discipline you." The malice and darkness then fades, giving way to the warm, fuzzy frontliner. Eth would shake his head a few times as if to clear something from it and then, with confusion in his voice. "Wha..? Why did it.. Sorry.."

It was at this point a boy eating a lollipop waltzes up, "Candy? I ain't got that sweet a tooth. Need any help lookin' for it?" It seemed as if Eth had no recollection of what had just said and now smiles at Lessa and Baldur, "We can always go to lunch after." 

Inside of a humble shop on Floor 8, an alchemist had just finished brewing the highest level of Overhealth one could make in the game at this point. Gazing at the swirling mixture for a second, he would smile and decant the substance into a bottle. Placing it high on a shelf in his store, he would label it with "For the boss fight" and step back. A moment later, a small notification appears on the man's HUD. "Who would that be..?" he thinks to himself as he opens his inbox. It would read:

‘Hey Ethereal, it’s Lawfer. Was wondering if you could head down to Delilah Village and help e out with a quest. I want to drop both of the minotaurs but with my current DPS, it will be a tad difficult. Mind helping me out?’

"Lawfer, eh? Hmm. Right - he's one of the Blades. Sounds like he needs a little assistance." The swordsman would glance around, noting that his work was pretty much done for the day. Clearing everything up, he would grab and shrug on his Strike Force cloak and make his way to the center of town in commoner's gear. A few minutes later he steps into the transportation portal and disappears in bright, piercing light.

Quote

Name: Woah, man.
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 4
ID: 49381
Roll: 6+1=7
Item Type: Potion
Tier: 1
Quality: Good
Enhancements: Makes the drinker feel extremely relaxed and blow smoke whenever they breathe. 
Description: It looks like a bottle of smoke with green particles settling on the bottom.

Quote

Name: Le HP Potto
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 4
ID: 49253
Roll: 5+1=6
Item Type: Potion
Tier: 1
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancements: +10 HP (T1 HP Recovery)
Description: A yellowish mixture of watery liquids, it smells like licorice. 

Quote

Name: Agoo Potion
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 4
ID: 49384
Roll: 5+1=6
Item Type: Potion
Tier: 1
Quality: Good
Enhancements: Colours the drinkers' eyes bright pink for ten turns
Description: A bright floral pink colour, with several small sparkles inside that look like glitter.

49381

Craft: 6 (+1 = 7)

Quote

Name: Woah, man.
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 4
ID: 49381
Roll: 6+1=7
Item Type: Potion
Tier: 1
Quality: Good
Enhancements: Makes the drinker feel extremely relaxed and blow smoke whenever they breathe. 
Description: It looks like a bottle of smoke with green particles settling on the bottom.

49382

Craft: 9 (+1 = 10)

Quote

Name: Le HP Potto
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 4
ID: 49253
Roll: 5+1=6
Item Type: Potion
Tier: 1
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancements: +10 HP (T1 HP Recovery)
Description: A yellowish mixture of watery liquids, it smells like licorice. 

49383

Craft: 1 (+1 = 2)

Fail

49384

Craft: 5 (+1 = 6)

Quote

Name: Agoo Potion
Your Profession: Alchemist
Your Rank: 4
ID: 49384
Roll: 5+1=6
Item Type: Potion
Tier: 1
Quality: Good
Enhancements: Colours the drinkers' eyes bright pink for ten turns
Description: A bright floral pink colour, with several small sparkles inside that look like glitter.

Ethereal attempts to swing his sword at the mobs as they came closer, waving his massive stalagmite of a weapon at them while trying to get up off the ground. The vipers for their part were ready and waiting, attempting to strike while he was down. He would activate his strongest AoE once again, attempting to ward them off.

Fight Blade - 6x1 - AoE - (12 Energy) - A mid-tier sword art that utilizes a mixture of over, under, and middle-cuts across multiple targets.

Energy = 14 + 2 - 12 = 4

49379 

Battle: 9 (+3 = 10)

MOB: 2

Damage: [1(Base) + 6(Sword) + 5(Skills)] x 6 = 74(-11 = 63) AOE

Loot: 3 (+1 = 4) --> 4 Mats

With almost all his energy spent, Ethereal would lay in the field looking up at the darkening sky as time wore on, the pixels of his vanquished foes disappearing around him.

Several more of the snake-things crawl from the ground behind Ethereal, attempting to strike at his legs while he was off-balance from fighting their brethren.

49375

Battle: 1 (+3 = 4) 

MOB: 3

Hidop Viper (63 Health, 33 Damage), 11 Mit

Ethereal appears to be caught out but suddenly sidesteps at the last second by half-stumbling and falling onto the ground. God knows what can happen now.

Ethereal smiles to Opal politely, "That's me, folks tend to call me Eth. It's good to meet you too finally." The bearded man would then grow fairly quiet as he listened to the plan of attack, listening closely to every detail. Mack tosses him a potion, which he instantly downs before pulling out his own homebrewed potion and slugs that down as well. AoE sounded right up his alley, stuns were always helpful and with his new sword he'd be sure to deal some good damage.

It was at this point that Opal stepped into the light and reflected it around like it was falling upon crystal. Eth appears genuinely surprised, eyes widening before opening his mouth to speak. What came out, however, was a squeak. "What type o- WHAT DID YOU GIVE ME I SOUND LIKE MICKEY MOUSE!" he roar-squeaks, coughing several times due to the strain on his vocal chords. Frowning, he opens and flicks through his inventory and taps a few keys, extracting what looks like a regular bottle of water from it. He leans in to Opal, "Hold him down, this should be good."

- Splitter I, +2 DMG

- "Carbonated" Water

--EDIT--

Ethereal yelps with surprise as a stranger dropped from the heavens and onto him, falling to the ground under the weight. Laying there spread-eagled as the man scrambled up and looked at him like /he/ was the one that did something wrong, Eth couldn't help but chuckle. He'd had enough darkness in his life to be mad at something as comical as this.

"Ah s-sorry, bad habit, I was daydreaming and, well, I didn't expect to find people here... are you okay?" the worried voice would query as Eth pushed himself up into a seating position; "And I thought I'd seen it all.. Now we have people getting the drop on players by hiding in trees, heh?" The swordsman would smile to show there was no sort of anger from what had happened. "Don't worry i- Wait, you're a new pl- Uh oh.." the bearded one glances around at the numerous mobs forming a tight circle around the two of them, enough to easily overwhelm a low-level player.

Grimacing, the man equips and draws his huge jagged greatsword of red and black, stepping in front of the new arrival as the mobs made their way menacingly towards them. He would ignore the young girl shouting over to them from relative safety - right now it was about clearing a pass for this guy or getting him back into the tree.

The man would nod, "My name is Ethereal but people call me Eth or Ether." Checking his menu once more, he notes how he could probably use the time before the next noon to prepare for the upcoming boss battle. He'd need all the prep time he could get.. "Sure, midday tomorrow. Sounds good." Taking one last look at the store, the frontliner turns and begins making his way down the street, rubbing the back of his neck absentmindedly. Turning his head to the side, he asks over his shoulder, "Oh right, what's yours?"

As Ether approached, the old woman would notice him and stare deep into his eyes as the warrior approached. "Please help me.. My husband.." she would begin, crooning. Ethereal sighs, nodding tiredly; "Alright, what do you want me and my comrade here to do exactly?" The witch pushes some greasy black hair from her eyes and replies with saddened eyes, "Kill the banshee! I'll give you all this Col!" She holds out a large bag brimming with the currency and continues "She kille-" before being interrupted, "Where is it?" After a second, she skips to the next line of programmed dialogue, "East of here, inside of a place the call Tartarus." Ethereal would nod once and then make his way back to Mack. "You catch that? East, apparently." The swordsman begins making his way through the streets of undead NPCs and the rare player or two. "Tartarus rings a bell.. It had something to do with containing a dragons nest?" he ponders as they walk.

Ethereal chuckles as he notices the stranger dash over to him, instantly recognising him from the day before. As the apology came tumbling out, the bearded man would raise two hands and move them in a dismissive gesture. "Don't worry about it. I was as hopeless in my first few days trying to get out there." As the new arrival mentioned a lack of food, Eth raises an eyebrow, surprised. "Well, I've got to help you out now - I can't exactly let you starve now can I?"

With a friendly smile he tilts his head casually towards the Armorsmiths, hair swaying slightly to one side. "See that place over there? That's one of the best places to start out and earn some supplies. You actually get an Uncommon item made to order and some Col - that should get you sorted out." Tapping two of his gauntlet-covered fingers together on his right hand he adds after a couple of seconds; "Truth be told I feel like redoing this quest. Sorta for nostalgia's sake y'know?" With a deft swipe of the hand, Ethereal would open his menu and check the time, then nods. "Let's do it together - I'll make sure you learn the mechanics and all. Been a while since I mentored anyone."

Thanks for the info, it'd be great if you could help me out :)

Seems the other alchemists are taking a lot of my business, so I need to rush up my xp to get back in the game

Ethereal nods as he steps over to walk beside Nixon back towards the town. "I know the feeling, I'm usually up in my shop making potions and such." He grins at the blonde, "I'd say we're friends - you got up when I was half dead!" The remaining pixels of their vanquished foes finally disappeared as they started on their way. "You're sure to see me down at your bakery with the upcoming boss, gotta get all the help I can get, eh?" It had been a good, productive day and the front-liner had even managed to bag a comrade.

Summary

Col: 400+315+315+315+450=1396 ---> 697 Col each

SP: +1 to Nixon and Ethereal

@Hydra

Ethereal would be making his way around the rabbit warren of streets that was Floor One. It had been so long since he'd been down here that everything seemed as overwhelming as it did when he first joined this death game. Admiring the artwork on the stores' signs as he passed by, the warrior's gaze lands upon a small but prominent blacksmiths right on the main street. He would literally laugh in shock, passers by looking at him like he was mad. Regaining control of himself, Eth wipes a tear from his eye. There is was - Griswold's Armorsmith - complete with the clusters of aspiring front liners gathered around it like ducks surrounding bread.

"I never thought I'd see this again.." the front-liner mutters as he stands before it in his top-end armor and takes a second. "Hey! You're from the Knights of Blood! And that cloak.. you're part of the Strike Force!" one excited kid would babble in front of him. The bearded man would ruffle the kid's hair with a kind smile and look over for anyone who seemed like they needed some help.

woop woop

Ethereal looks over to his comrade as the whip landed, "Bleed and Paralyse? I like your style!" Taking a few steps towards the prone figure of the golem, he executes a series of several more strikes and jabs. This thing had some strong mitigation so it was better to be safe and use a strong skill than not kill it.

49272

Battle: 6 (+2 = 8)

Loot: 15 (+1 = 16) 

Damage: [1(Base) + 5(Skills) + 6(Weapon) +1(Mods)]*7 = 91

Astral Hell - 7x1 - (7 Energy) - A multi-hit sword art that chains three sweeping strokes with four deft thrusts at varying points.

It immediately bursts into pixels, dissipating by the second. "Man, that shook the cobwebs out. Good work with the paralyse, might have got messy otherwise." The swordsman smirks, then starts laughing. "We made short work of them, eh? Wombo combo!"

Ethereal 125/125 HP | 12/30 Energy | 20 MIT | 12 DMG | +2BD | +1LD | +2 HM | 

Nixon 32/32 HP | 8/8 Energy | 35 MIT | 18 Thrns | 3DMG | 

--------------------------------------------------------------

King Golem 0/90 HP | 30 MIT | 40 DMG (Bleeding, Paralyzed) --> 450 Col

Golem (1) 0/63 HP | 16 MIT | 36 DMG ---> 315 Col

Golem (2) 0/63 HP | 16 MIT | 36 DMG ---> 315 Col

Golem (3) 0/63 HP | 16 MIT | 36 DMG ---> 315 Col

(OOC you said I could go all out :P I'll reign in now, I just had to see how much I could do reasonably in one turn.)

Ethereal looks over to Nixon, giving a huge smile. "GUNS BLAZING!" he shouts overenthusiastically, Drawing his blade from its sheathe upon his back he dashes towards the nearest enemy with glee in his eyes. He brigs the huge serrated greatsword around in a twisting arc right at its chest. Where it seemed like Eth was acting rash, it actually centered the monsters' focus on him and not his companion.

49264

Battle: 6 (+2 = 8)

Loot: 17 (+1 = 18)

Damage: [2(Base) + 5(Skills) + 6(Weapon) +1(Mods)]*6 = 84 AOE

► Charge:

1 Ranks

Post Action

Effect: Attack action. +1 DMG.

Description: Charge towards an opponent that is not currently in melee range. Deal bonus DMG of +1 per rank of charge on this attack. You may only use charge once per opponent and only if it is possible via roleplay. You cannot disengage from a melee to perform a charge. This is considered an attack maneuver and is subject to success or failure based on the BD's results.

The extra attack is added on before the sword art onto the base.

Fight Blade - 6x1 - AoE - (12 Energy) - A mid-tier sword art that utilizes a mixture of over, under, and middle-cuts across multiple targets.

The sword seems to almost extend outwards as it is coated in crimson light, Ethereal would spin once before sweeping the blade across all the enemies within reach indiscriminately. Three of the golems would instantly burst into pixels, with the king golem looking bewildered.

Ethereal 125/125 HP | 18/30 Energy | 20 MIT | 12 DMG | +2BD | +1LD | +2 HM | 

Nixon 32/32 HP | 8/8 Energy | 35 MIT | 18 Thrns | 3DMG | 

--------------------------------------------------------------

King Golem 36/90 HP | 30 MIT | 40 DMG

Golem (1) 0/63 HP | 16 MIT | 36 DMG ---> 315 Col

Golem (2) 0/63 HP | 16 MIT | 36 DMG ---> 315 Col

Golem (3) 0/63 HP | 16 MIT | 36 DMG ---> 315 Col

(OOC When we reach our cash-in post count Phillia isn't gonna get a share of the dividends btw, she hasn't posted for days)

Ethereal slaps Nixon on the back, "Heh, I guess you'll be tanking them yeah? Sure we can fight Nixon! I mean, there's a good mob spawn nearby and we're already dirty from that escapade so sure - why not?" He wipes himself down the best he can as they talk, uncovering some more of the red parts of his angular armor under the grime. The veteran would take a step away on a path diagonal to the town, waiting for his fellow fighter to join him,