Baldur

Time: Dawn
After Floor 26 boss fight
Before the Tournament

The sun was barely peaking over the low horizon of the 24th floor. Water stretched out ot the edge of the floor here, and with his island rising into the sky like a heron perched on one slender leg, he was one of the first to see the sun. It filtered through the trees, almost feeling lazy due to the wam light. It tinted the colors of the trees, backlit, and warmed the normally cool and refreshing water of the ponds. He could see it from where he was perched, the shoji panels of his room spread fully open to the ponds in front of him. The mix of the calm waters, the warm lights, and the zen gardens brought him peace, but also a solemnity of the occasion. Each time they survived another battle with a floor boss, Baldur would take a few days to gather supplies, and then make a pilgrimage down to the <<Monument of Life>> on the first floor, with some sake, flowers, and incense, to remember those he, those they, had all lost. To give thanks for surviving, but also to remember those who had died not just getting them to where they were, but helping him become who he was.

The list was long, perhaps it should be longer, thank the gods it wasn't longer... but it was important to him. The names were personal to him. He also made sure there weren't any new names on the wall. The gaijin samurai wasn't always the best at staying in touch with his friends and companions, but he did always make sure they were alive. That she was alive, even if they hadn't spoken in tens of floors.

The wind picked up slowly, blowing a gentle breeze through the wanna-be samurai's hair, fluttering the leaves, causing the furin to chime softly. He idly played with the ryuteki in his hand, he wanted to play it, but something inside of him was still afraid at the failure. Odd for him to still be afraid of something after the battles he had fought, but the flute had been something he had wanted since he was young, and he had never been good at it. Music was not something he had a talent for. The system could handle that for him, but there was something cheap about doing it that way. So he held the flute up to his lips and tried to just get some of the calming notes that he so loved the instrument for. It wasn't a song, but the warbling sounded intentional on this instrument, and he loved it for it.

A few moments later, he heard another shoji panel slide, and then just around the corner standing on the engawa was @Snow, standing there with his jug of sake, the incense, and the orchids Baldur had set out. He raised a surprised eyebrow at her. She had never come with him before, no one ever really went with him. He went first thing in the morning, while everyone was still asleep, and was usually back before most of the players rose. If anything, he was more likely to pass people returning than leaving at this hour.

He slowly stored the flute back into his inventory and stood up, bowing slightly to the young woman. He offered her a warm smile.

"Good morning, Snow-chan."

He began to walk towards the dock, and she followed along at his side. He was, surprisingly, glad for the company. It was a somber, and slightly embarrassing affair for him. He was not ashamed, others knew of the ritual, but it was a time of reflection and emotion for Baldur, and he still had a bit of hesitation at letting others see his own... moments of weakness.

As they walked together out of the gates, Baldur offered Snow a hand loading the stuff onto the boat and then helping her step on. It was at that point he realized that she, like him, had dressed a little more formally for the part. Baldur always wore his haori, it was as much a part of his identity as his wanna-be samurai moniker, but for this, he wore a traditional black montsuki haori, with the heron crest he had chosen. The whole outfit was black and white, though the hakama were vertically striped, and instead of the traditional corded haori-himo, Baldur wore a decorated one of metal and beads.

Once they were settled on the boat, he began to pole them out to the Torri in the water. It was the portal that would take them below to the settlement of the floor and then down the gate to the first floor.

"Thank you." He said after a few moment, right before the sun burst over the edge of the island and filled their vision. He chuckled slightly and sat down. The water would carry them the rest of the way through the portal.

"I appreciate you coming along."

"Alright team, let's join the fray." Baldur gestured to the lollygaggers around him, seeing as how Hirru had already run forward to deal with the action that was going.

They followed behind the others, while Hirru had run ahead and was speaking with some kid and then with Freyd.

He would look back to Freyd, Baldur, Shield, and Calrex.

"We should hurry!  What do you think we should do?  I don't know anything about these things."

Baldur looked around at what was going on, and started to make the big problem smaller. They were a target here, so the peasantry and combatants alike were boarding airships in order to try and get anywhere else. Gabby had prevented whatever had destroyed his kingdom from happening here, but it had taken him out of the fight. The capital ship was their primary objective. They had to prevent the Death Star from getting another shot.

Everyone else was making for a fine distraction, crashing their ships into others and forming boarding parties.

"Alright everyone, you're gonna have to trust me on this, but I was an accomplished hot drop galaxy pilot in another MMO. I'll take the pilot seat, you guys get in and hang on for dear life. I'm going to fly us through the city under cover, and get underneath that capital ship Death Star thing. Once we're directly under it, we'll go straight up. Most people have a hard time looking straight down, especially if we can make it over there without being noticed."

With that, Baldur gestured towards one of the transport vehicles and broke into a run, heading for it. He had no idea what the pilot seat would look like, but he did fancy himself a driver, mostly because he tended to enjoy the transport roles in the games he played.

He looked back over his shoulder and counted all the people loading in behind him. @Hirru @Shield @Calrex

"It looks like we've got seats for 2 more, but we're not waiting. If anyone jumps in, help them strap down."

Baldur began playing with the controls, pushing buttons and testing them as the vehicle lurched around the loading area. He didn't really hit the gas until he felt like he at least knew the basic controls.

"Alright, here we gooooo!" Baldur punched the throttle and they shot off into the city sprawl. He kept the transport high enough that he wouldn't need to worry about pedestrians or carts, but low enough that the shop was hidden among the rooftops of the building. It meant he had to zig and zag through the streets instead of going straight there, but they needed to get there quietly.

"SOMEONE KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKIES FOR ANY INCOMING, AND HELP ME MAKE SURE WE'RE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!" He called out over the roar of the wind.

Baldur sat and watched as... whatever round 2 had become. While several of those gathered here were having friendly duels, the bookends of the tournament seemed to be fighting a bigger fight. Nari and Night on one side, Lessa and Alkor on the other. The fight between Nari and Night seemed to draw his attention first, there was an anger and ferocity in the fight that almost made Baldur get up to intervene several times, but he stopped himself. They couldn't hurt each other. He shouldn't interfere. This could perhaps be the only way they could work through a catharsis. Should either of them switch to something more lethal, instead of the weapons he had provided, then he would intervene... but then the match was over.

Alkor and Lessa's fight he had expected to be more along the lines of how Lessa had started the fight. He was still confused about how Alkor was alive. Baldur had spent a lot of time helping Lessa work through the issues of his death. But it seemed they hadn't worked through that either. He would need to investigate how the dead man had come back to life, or how Lessa could have been so mistaken that she hadn't checked on him in years. Either way, the two of them seemed to collapse. He couldn't decided which end of the fight needed him as they both happened at the same time.

Then Night and Nari left the floor, Night fleeing burdened with uncontrollable emotion in her eyes. He saw Koga watching intently, and they met eyes for a moment. Baldur could see the concern in his eyes, and with a nod to Koga, Baldur put the weight back onto his heels and did not get up. Koga would handle it. I hope. The Gaijin samurai wanted to trust and believe in @Koga, but it seemed he had some issues with his decision making processes. His heart was in the right place, Baldur could feel the good man in him, but he responded without thinking too often.

Instead, Baldur looked over at @Snow a bit of concern lingering in his face, but he took a deep breath and drank the new cup of tea she had brought him.

Lessa and Alkor had more words and seemed to wander off. He hoped everything would be okay. He returned his eyes to the matches, where the judges at each corner would raise a colored flag whenever a point was scored, and he kept indicating the strikes on his notes. Hopefully the feast afterwards would help everyone cool down a bit more.

The dead were rising here, it seemed. He saw it coming of course. Winter. Dead body with a sword sticking out. No tracks. There was going to be an ambush of some kind when they got here if this was going to be a combat quest. Then the boy charged forward, Lessa was screaming, Freyd hot on their heals and almost eradicating the monster in a single blow. He didn't have a good feel for Freyd's damage, so he had no idea what was left of the monster based on its remaining health gauge. He would need to go all out on it to prevent it from getting back up.

Freyd's familiar landed a stun attack on the mob and that was everything Baldur needed. In his mind, he felt everything slow down. He pushed snow aside as he slid his boot forward into the pre-motion stance for his Iai attack. Snow whirled around him as power raged up from the ground, but to Baldur the snow seemed to stop for a moment. Wind blew the falling snow away from everyone in the camp, and then Baldur sheathed his sword, the black clicking back into its saya.

The Soldier looked up from where Freyd had toppled him, unable to move before his time was up. He lets out a hoarse chuckle. "I am but the herald. The prophecy still stands. The king. My king... YOUR, KING. Shall return." Instead of shattering into crystals like the usual death effect, the man's body begins to crack and shatter into ice, before crumbling further into snow and blowing off into the wind. 

A cold win grew off of the lake to fill in the vacuum left behind. Baldur had spent a lot of time on this floor, but he had never felt something so cold.

"Well... that was... ominous." The combat that had happened didn't seem to affect Baldur's mood, he was implacable as always in a fight, but the strange way this monster died... not giving a line, if this was a quest or an event it could be considered if not common at least expected, but it died a different way, and that put the thoughts in Baldur's mind whirling.

"Now I'm really curious about what we've stumbled upon." He glanced around the campsite looking for clues.

"I remember there being a quest before with the Night King, but..." Baldur opened up his inventory and summoned a small notebook. It had been a long time since he had referenced it. "This isn't how that quest started. Perhaps something new, because of the floor 25 clearing? I've heard quests had changed... but this is... too different than just a rewrite."

He looked up at the other two players, "Thoughts?"

Quote

Post Action | ST-I (x15, 11 EN): Charge (CD 0/3, +8 EN)
ID #203843| BD: 4+5-1+1=11 to hit (Charge +5).  DMG (23+5*15=420-100MT = 320 DMG).

Lessa |  HP: 820/820 | EN: 114/114 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 122 | ACC: 2 | BH: 41 | H.M.: 8 | HLY: 8 | REC: 8 | THRNS: 72
Freyd | HP: 940/940 | EN: 108/128 (-12-8) | DMG: 24 | MIT: 78 | ACC: 6 | BH: 51 | LD: 5 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | PARA IMMUNE | REC: 8
Baldur | HP: 880/880 | EN: 103/122 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 78 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 2 | BH: 44 | KEEN: 1 | REC: 4

[H:0*,2,0] King's Soldier | HP: 290/1000 | DMG: 200 | MIT: 100 | G.STUN IMM 0/3 | BATTLE FURY (DMG/MIT) | STUNNED

Abilities:

• *Soldier's Insight | Howl does not produce hate against the King's Scout. Instead it focuses his attack on the howler for one post. Afterwards he continues to attack those with the highest hate. If players hate values are equal, he targets the player with the least mitigation and lowest total health, in that order.
• Battle Fury | When his health reaches 500 or lower, every other post, his attacks deal 50 additional damage. On the turns he does not receive this bonus damage, he holds his shield up to mitigate 50 additional damage against him until his next turn.
• Frozen Soldier | If the freeze enhancement is activated on him, he will not receive the frozen affect, but instead receive -1 EVA and -1 ACC for one post.

Round 2 Bracket

Baldur Stats:

Rules: (Nothing Different from Previous Thread)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Round 2 Observation Thread: https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/21291-op-f24-valentines-tournament-arc-round-2-observer-thread/

Once the participants had all come over to gather around Baldur having partaken in any snacks or refreshments they had chosen, the Gaijin Samurai informed them of how round 2 would be slightly different. Due to the odd number of players, some drop outs and corrections the tournament needed to make, Baldur was pulling in a pinch hitter to even up the round in the form of one of his students, Takumi. The boy they had all met whom ferried them over, came forward with only the briefest moment of shy hesitation, but he held himself tall and confident as one of Baldur's pupils.

The boy... young man... had changed from his more simple attire he had worn ferrying the guests to the island into something a bit more personal. Still in the equipment of the tournament, but more appropriate. 

Baldur gave Takumi a fatherly pat on the shoulder and then turned to face the rest of the participants, explaining the special rules, and role, that Takumi would be involved in this round.

"I appreciate you all being willing to work with me as we make this adjustment. As I said before, if Takumi wins, that pair will both drop out, but if Bismuth wins, he will advance to the next round - a round robin format."

Baldur proceeded to give each of them directions to their respective match rings and the schedule of how they would be fought, with several going on at the same time as in the previous round.

"Best of luck to everyone. I hope you all have very satisfying match ups, fight to your best ability, and forge new bonds of respect for one another. May the honor, strength, and determination displayed here be carried with us out there."

Baldur gave a bow to the group, and then walked back to his little table setup where he could watch and count points for all the matches.

Thread Complete

Please continue your shenanigans here:

OOC:

With a swish of his quill, Baldur marked out the last results of round one into his book. He flipped through, writing down the names of all the winners in a nice easy list so that he could make his announcement. Suddenly, he noted @Snow was next to him, handing him another cup of tea and he gave her a bewildered, exhausted smile as he raised it to his lips and took a sip.

"Thank you, Snow-chan, I don't know what I'd do without you."

Slowly, Baldur pushed himself up from the small table and shook his legs out to get the imaginary blood flow moving again. Sitting like that didn't actually restrict the arteries in his legs, since he had none, but it was so ingrained in his mind from real life, that even the phantom pains of his mind were real in some situations. He had not grown up with it quite like someone truly Japanese would have, but he was also a much larger man, and put more weight on his legs... in the real world.

The gaijin samurai clapped his hands loudly three times for attention, before addressing the fighters and the guests.

"Thank you all for your patience while I organized everything. First off, I would like to thank everyone for participating, win, lose, or observe. As I said in the beginning, this is about forging bonds and shared memories. All of the fighters should be proud of themselves. This is an odd format, particularly for those of us who are so reliant on AI opponents and fighting with the enhancements of the system. Not only is it an entirely different combat style, but it effects us in subtle ways we don't even consider until we have to do without them. No one should feel ashamed at their performance, but instead it is my home that these friendly matches instead have introduced you to someone who has a different set of experiences, strengths, and styles. I hope you all take the chance to get to know your opponents if you didn't already."

He leaned down and picked up the cluster of pages, holding them up for him to read.

"Without further ado, I would like to announce our winners:

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In Match 1: Nari vs Jomei - Nari came out victorious!
In Match 2: Koga vs Alkor -  wait... is that right? It must be a different Alkor... - Alkor won!
In Match 3: Night vs Macradon - Night was victorious!
In Match 4: Lessa vs Yona - Lessa emerged with the win!
In Match 5: Astreya vs Freyd - Astreya took the win!
In Match 6: Morningstar vs Hirru - Morningstar won the round!
In Match 7: Calrex vs Astralin - Astralin beat my kohai!
In Match 8: Morgenstern vs Arabella - Jon took the match!
In Match 9: Bismuth vs Zandra - Bismuth came out on top!

"I will give everyone a few minutes break for refreshments, but then if the winners would please come to me for the next rounds assignments. As a reminder, after today's tournament matches, we'll have a social hour with more food and drinks. I hope people stay around as sunset on the island is truely special. The Final two matches of the tournament will take place tomorrow, and then allow for clean-up and set-up for the most romantic dinner in the history of Aincrad... I hope." He gave a friendly, almost nervous smile to those who could see him.

With his announcement made, Baldur set the papers down and begin to figure out how he could fit an odd number of people into the new round, as he idly sipped on his cup of tea. He had a few thoughts, but he would have to speak with the winners to figure it out.

Baldur Stats

Baldur winced as they came out of the sewers and back into the bounding light of day. At least they were out... Baldur hated being underground. Dungeons didn't bother him much because they tended to be short and to the point.  Instead the underground floors,  or this boss fight,  seemed to drag on forever. 

"Keep together everyone." Baldur told the raid in general but it was mostly for his team. 

"Until we have a better idea of what to expect,  be on your guard and watch each other's backs."

He felt more tired then he was.  There was a certain amount of performance to fatigue in SAO, but the tiresness he felt wasn't because of physical exertion but mental and emotional.

"Alright." This time it was mostly for himself, "time to see how far down the rabbit hole goes."

Round 1 Bracket

Baldur Info:

Dojo Pictures:

Rules:
 

The shoji panel walls of the dojo were flung open wide, letting fresh air and sunlight stream into the room. Just beyond the shoji panel walls, was the engawa which ran all the way around the dojo. It was sprinkled with cushions for people to sit on while they watched the matches taking place inside. Just across the water were other rooms Baldur had opened up for sitting, so that people could sit in separate areas if they wished for more or less privacy. Not everyone enjoyed a crowd.

He had the brackets for the tournament posted in several different places throughout the grounds, but the official one was here in the dojo near the rack of wooden practice weapons. He had a variety of swords, from what he knew about many of the contestants, but also had axes, spears, and a few wraps for hand-to-hand. People were welcome to fight however they wished, the rules would be the same.

Once the participants had gathered, Baldur would smile and welcome them all.

"Welcome everyone, to my home and to the Musha Shugyo Dojo.

I chose this name because it represents the sacred journey, the mission of martial arts, that of self improvement. You are not my students, however, well not all of you. However, I still wish for this spirit to be the core of what we accomplish today. Good sportsmanship can build bonds between one another just as a tournament can help us refine and improve our skills. We all share a common tragedy in Aincrad, but it is my hope that this tournament, starting today on Valentines day, and ending tomorrow on White Day, will bring us all together. To give us a chance to learn more about one another, to build bonds of friendship and shared experience. Together, we shall succeed."

He smiled and gestured to the rack of wooden weapons, bokken, axes, spears, hammers, and wraps.

"Please make sure you are using one of the official tournament weapons for everyone's safety. Round one will be first to 3 hits. We will have multiple fights going on at the same time, but there will be a minute to rest between rounds so that you can get food and drink. Ramen is provided by my lovely student @Cordelia, and the ever graceful @Snow is making sure that tea and water are available for everyone. If you need anything specific, feel free to ask any member of my guild, <<Jacob's Ladder>> and they can help you."

He scanned the eyes of everyone around, they seemed excited, and that brought joy to Baldur's heart.

"Remember that this is a competition in the spirit of friendship and conduct yourselves honorably while inside my home and dojo. And remember, first place gets one of the few remaining <<Safeguard>> potions, a valuable prize I am sure all will recognize. I have also prepared a feast for two in one of my most beautiful rooms, surrounded by one of my most beautiful gardens, with a lovely view of the sunset over the edge of the island. It is one of my favorite spots in the entire grounds. I hope whomever wins, and whomever they chose to share it with, love it as much as I do."

He brought his hands together and clapped three times in a strange sort of ritual, and then bowed to everyone present.

"Good luck to all the competitors, and may the games begin!"

Sign up Thread:

Baldur Stats:

Ambiance Music:

Location Deets:
 

Baldur woke early the morning of the Tournament. People would show up in a chaotic mess he was certain, so he made sure everything was ready the night before. He had helped @Cordelia, his student and Uchi Deshi who had almost become like family to him, a younger sister or a daughter, prepare the food. They had made enough ramen for all of the hungry participants and any observers who wished to watch the fighting as well. All the while, Cordelia had cackled about pairing people up during the Valentines day tournament, and who would make the most awkward match ups. Baldur had been a bit lost at the thought to begin with, to him it was a martial arts tournament to build camaraderie and excellence, but to his chagrin, it seemed to become more of a way to awkwardly ask someone out for their first date. The romantic dinner had been more of a last ditch attempt on Baldur's part to provide something meaningful. He was not particularly wealthy, but he had hoped the beauty of the island some pleasant memories would be a worthwhile reward.

The peace Baldur found as he got ready in the dim morning light, coming in sideways between the two levels of the tower was almost spiritual. He had a beautiful home in Japan to be sure, but there was a magical nature to his new home that was impossible in the other world. Here, he had tamed an entire floating island. Or a teardrop island. Whatever it was called. It defied gravity and was impossible in any setting other than a video game.

But after days of preparation, they were finally ready. The food stores were prepped, the dojo floors had been polished until they gleamed gold in the sunlight. He had racks of bogu and wooden swords for the competitors to use. He had custom equipment made so that the competitors couldn't deal damage to one another and would keep everything safe. The bokken were classified as training weapons, and when used would not hurt anyone, nor would it change their cursor color status.

@Snow seemed to be the first one awake, bringing the gaijin samurai some tea. He was surprised to see her almost reading his mind, but gave her a warm smile and a nod. Neither of them spoke, lest it shatter the perfect silence of the dawn.

"Oji-saaaaaaan" came Cordelia's call to him, her hair a mess as she finally appeared to be dragged out of bed. Bird chirped and flew off of the rocks and branches around him and he set his cup of tea down.

"And sleeping beauty arises." His smile was wry. "Are you ready for the day?"

Takumi yawned and tried to cover it with a hand over his mouth as he stood at the end of the dock, his brown hair a mess on his head and a small chokkibune boat under his feet as he waited at the dock for the first people to come. It wouldn't be his first time paddling someone back and forth from the docks to the portal up to the island, and it probably would not be his last. Still, once everyone was settled, he would be able to watch some of the best of what Aincrad had to offer at the dojo, and Cordelia-san had made lots of her famous ramen. It was much better than when Baldur-shisho or @Calrex-san tried their hand at cooking.

As the first person approached, Takumi would wave his hand enthusiastically and say "Welcome! Are you headed to the Valentines Day tournament? I am Takumi, and I'll take you to the island." There were seats for more than one person on the boat, but it was a relatively short trip by boat, unlike swimming, so he could drop someone off and be back before he was likely to be missed.

"Baldur-shisho extends his warmest welcome to you, and hope you enjoy the days' events. If you are competing, please head to the dojo and get your equipment from him, otherwise, please help yourself to food and drink while the tournament is made ready. The dojo is in the middle of one of the islands ponds, so please be seated on the outside walkway, but not inside the walls of the dojo. All the shoji panels have been opened up to let light in and the spectacle out."

Takumi would then paddle his guest to the island.

Once on the island and through the gates of Baldur's home, a bridge would take them into the estate. Only one building was more than a story tall in truth, but each set of rooms occupied their own little island in the lake, which was really more of a network of ponds, or a wetlands. Bridges linked the disparate islands with one another, but the largest structures were the temple of Jacob's Ladder, and the Dojo building, which dominated the main pond.

Baldur could be seen there, along with racks of weapons and a few others helping him get the dojo set up for the competition. Meanwhile, Cordelia and others helped direct people to one of the many rooms which had the shoji panels thrown wide to allow sitting areas with a few of the match. All around the outside of the dojo walls was a walkway with cushions for people to sit on as well. The living room of the main house was also thrown wide open, filled with tables of food and tea, allowing the scents to be carried on the wind.

A flyer is found posted on the message board near by each of the teleport plazas.

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Baldur - The Hashira of Jacob's Ladder - formally invites you to attend:

The 1st White Day Valentines Tournament

Equipment and 0 Damage weapons will be provided to facilitate a safe and fun tournament for all

Format will be finalized based on turnout.

Please RSVP to @Baldur no later than February 10th

Location: Floor 24 - Transportation from the main island provided to Baldur's floating Island

Tournament to be held in the Musha Shugyo Dojo

Reward:

1st Place to receive a <<Safeguard>> potion and 1 evening feast for 2 in Baldur's stunning and romantic lakeside zen guard bungalow

All skill levels welcome

 

"It's good to see you both," The gaijin samurai said as he flashed them both a friendly smile, "I way getting a bit lazy and hermitty laying out on my deck. I'm glad you said something Jomei, otherwise I might have had to change my aesthetic and grow a beard." He laughed at the absurdity of the idea, and also of the possibility of growing a beard.

"And thanks for indulging me on this. I've been wanting to try this place out for a while."

Baldur turned and gestured to the expanse of the floor, but then pointed.

"If you guys look that way..." He squinted a little, and then moved his hand some, "See that mountain that looks like it's moving slowly? That's where we're going."

Several of the NPCs seemed to jump with surprise at Baldur's words, and shied away from the trio, making gestures to ward off the evil of Baldur's words. His eyes flickered towards their sudden movement, but paid them no heed. Baldur lead them over to an NPC and rented three horses for them to ride.

"It's a bit of a trek out there to <<The Ancient>> but I have it on good authority that by defeating him, the entrance to the gardens and onsen will reveal itself."

Baldur turned the horse, not with grace or practised ease, but with a basic familiarity. He did not often ride horses in SAO, but he had ridden them in the real world.

After chatting lightly on the ride out, they found themselves at the edge of some mountains and the scrub lands. A stone structure rose off of the mountains like an abandoned ancient fortress. They had been able to see <<The Ancient>> for a while now. Baldur lept from the horse and hit the ground running, slowly jogging to a stop.

"Oops, wrong button." He laughed with a bit of the fun he felt he was having.

"So the thing about this boss is that we'll get a debuff since we're all too high level. It shouldn't be an issue though. I don't think it'll last very long against the three of us. It also won't attack until we're ready." Baldur pulls out a potion (Rare T2 Damage Potion) and drinks it down, before offering one to each of them.

(We're not in combat yet)

The Ancient | HP: 1980/1980 | MIT 130 | DMG 225 | ACC 2 | EVA 2
Baldur | HP: 880/880 | EN 122/122 | MIT 66 | ACC 5 | DMG 25 | EVA 2 | BH 44 | Keen 1 | Rec 3
Jomei |
Macradon |

The steel blue eyes of the gaijin samurai softened to the calm blue of an ocean at rest. A sad, empathetic smile slowly spread on his face as he watched Hirru and Koga's actions. His heart broke for Hirru. What was the odds that his trauma would come to bear at his first return, but this wasn't his fault. Not unless Kayaba was sitting back somewhere with a sick, sadistic bag of popcorn.

"Just put your blade away, Koga. You too, Night. It isn't necessary. Drawing your blades escalates, and is counter productive. Put them away." His voice was soft, pleading.

"However this vote goes." Baldur said, raising his voice, "No one should ever draw a blade against another Frontliner." His blue eyes finally left Kogas, turned to Hirru's where he gave his old friend a compassionate smile.

"We've been here before, though thankfully better this time than last." He specifically didn't look at Hidden, in spite of Simmone's sentiment, that had happened in the past. "But the Frontline lives and dies by our unity." He was legitimately surprised to see Freyd and Raidou change their votes. They were, perhaps, the last two he would have expected that from.

"Not by our unity of motives, but by our unity of sacrifice. We are all here to clear the tower, but we're also all here risking our lives. We must have trust and faith in one another to defend each other's lives, and to have our backs, or we will never make it forward." He turned back to Night and Koga, "So please put the blades away, because the first step of faith is always the most difficult."

Baldur whirled on @Koga, and to a lesser extent @NIGHT as the man draw his sword against the raid. He walked right up to the blade, and made Koga's sword tip threaten to stab the gaijin samurai. Fury was in his voice, and rage was in the normally placid blue eyes. The controlled steel blue was gone.

"PUT. YOUR. BLADES. DOWN. NOW!" He roared. A normally gentle man turned to wrath.

He did not know Night well, but he had been beginning to feel a kinship with Koga, and was considering inviting him to join their guild as well. That kinship made the betrayal hurt more. But then, Baldur knew he had a habit of assuming he spoke for others more often than he did.

"THIS IS NOT YOUR CHOICE TO MAKE. NEITHER OF YOU." He included Night in his glare this time.

"You do not get to choose how others risk their lives, or choose to walk them. You do not get to use violence to mandate your will if things don't GO YOUR WAY."

He took a breath, bringing some of the heat out of his voice, and the steel returns to his eyes.

"If you raise your blade against the frontline, then the first person you will have to strike is me."

"Why am I in the fight, eh?" Baldur gave Freyd a lopsided smile. "Because it's the right thing to do."

Baldur rubbed his hands together over the fire, fending off imaginary chill with imaginary heat.

"I spent the first" he gestured vaguely, unable to remember the unit of time "several months of the game leveling up by killing boars in a group, to maintain as close to a zero risk factor as I could. I saw how many players died from boars, and I had people to take care of, both here in Aincrad, and outside. I recognized the danger, and that throwing my life away with meaningless risks wasn't going to help anyone."

His eyes became transfixed on the fire.

"Would me have gaining a level faster or slower change the course of the frontlines? Probably not. Hell, me joining the frontlines sooner, or less prepared, may have cost someone their life."

Azide, falling from the sky, and turning into pixels.

"I became a merchant, because when the frontline went out to the floor 8 or 9 boss fight, there were no alchemists. There was no way to get healing potions and field rations and teleport crystals into the hands of the frontliners otherwise. So I became a merchant and supplied the raid. I made no profit, because it wasn't right to cash in on people risking their life for mine."

He still remembered the parade of people coming into his little shop on their way to the boss fight that would eventually claim the life of a player.

"I fight because I have people I love, outside of this game, and inside of this game, and I want to reunite them. I want to do what I can to alleviate their suffering. And I am here, because the frontlines suffer as well. I have seen people broken by it. I have seen people broken by the game. I've seen people lose track of what is real and what is not. I've seen people think their choices were reduced to some kind of binary, even when it is not. I am here to help everyone I can because seeing their suffering breaks my heart."

He finally broke his gaze away from the fire, and smiled almost sheepishly, as if he realized he was lost in his own world.

"I am here to fight, because asking children to fight in my place doesn't sit well with me. I am here to fight, and hope that perhaps my example can help people realize there is another way. But I don't just fight here. I've fought to make sure the raid is supplied, and people actually show up to these damn things prepared. Both with knowledge of what is to come, but also the consumables and healing crystals that keep them alive. I am here to forge bonds, not just to keep the machine that is the frontline moving forward, but to keep the people that make it up together."

"Too many people have died, to bosses, to boars, to players. I will never ask someone to do something for me, that I'm not willing to put my neck on the line and do myself. And I'm here because I want to use my sword to save lives."

Baldur mostly ignored the others debating one way or another. He heard their arguments, but only passively absorbed them. Instead, he stared at Schrödinger's Box. This prompt was new, the recent surge of humanoid enemies they bantered with was a rising trend, rather than an intermittent distraction. The previous floor had been unprecedented. Something was different.

"You know Cal," @Calrex He responded to his kouhai who had said he would leave the decision up to his guild leaders. "There was an old game I played. Knights of the Old Republic. One of the great oldie classics made forever ago. I beat the game playing as a pure Light Side Jedi, but I loved the game so much I decided to see what the other path was." He smiled at the memory in spite of himself.

"I got maybe 5 minutes into the game when it came time to shake down an NPC. The game gave you multiple chances to correct your action and do the 'right' thing. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I stopped playing the game, because I already knew how the lightside choices would go. In pretty much every game I play, I pick the light side, I pick the way of the Paladin, I pick the paragon option."

He turned to face the rest of party one, speaking to them and not to the entire raid, though they could hear him if they wished.

"But that's because I was role-playing. I was in it for the story, but there were also mechanical reasons to pick one option and stick with it. To not go back and forth. While we are in a game, role-playing at a time like this, with these stakes, are dangerous."

The gaijin samurai, aware of his hypocrisy, looked over his shoulder at the arguments and frowned softly. It seems many were still having issues separating fantasy from reality. From separating role-playing from real lives.

Baldur walked over and put a hand on @Hirru's shoulder, knowing that his old friend would be struggling with this more than most, particularly due to the baggage he carried.

"Raidou, Freyd, Oscar and Shield are right." He spoke louder now, to everyone gathered, "the floor boss here does not have intent. He doesn't have morality. He doesn't have will. He is a program. A script. Unlike us, with some keystrokes, he can be brought back to life even if we kill him. We don't know what will happen regardless of what button we press. The path before us is known only to Kayaba."

Baldur turned to look, his mind still wasn't made up, but @Shield stirred something within him. A point he was trying to make. He squeezed Hirru's shoulder firmly, but comfortingly.

"I'm not going to tell people how to vote. I'm not going to demean anyone for getting caught up in the narrative and voting with their heart. We will move forward to the next floor regardless of how the sword falls. I will say one thing though...

"Something is changing. The last several floors, this floor, they're different. And if we do not adapt, if we do not recognize that the system may be evolving and adjust to keep up with it, then we may be left behind, or the cost may hit us too late..." Baldur let the word hang in the air.

"If we're going to make it out of this death trap, and save as many lives as we can, then there are certain calculated risks we need to take, but we also need to understand the game we're playing. We need to understand what the rules are going forward."

Baldur's hand hovered over the kill button. It was an academic choice at this point in time. Should he chose kill, simply to balance Shield's voice and maintain some sort of neutrality to the guild? Several people seemed to be waiting on him to make his choice, but he saw the look in Hirru's eyes, the faith his guild had in him. They already knew what Baldur's choice would be, even when he didn't. But the votes were cast, neither Baldur's words, nor his vote would alter the course forward.

He looked down at the two options, and voted.

"We need to look at the bigger picture. This isn't about this boss. It's about this tower. And in order to navigate it, we need knowledge. We are all putting our lives on the line, regardless of motivation or belief. So please, everyone, vote however you decide to vote, but remember this.

He looked at Hirru, at Night, and at all the members of his party, as well as meeting the eyes of Raidou, Freyd, and Oscar.

"We voted as a group. And we proceed, as a group. And we will respect the verdict of the group. Everyone put their life on the line, everyone deserves a vote."

Baldur was sitting at his home, his toes dangling into the water that surrounded one of the many buildings. Koi fish swam about in the several ponds and streams that littered the island. The jingle of a message registered, but Baldur left it alone as he just enjoyed the warmth and peace radiating around him. The sounds of Calex and Cro practicing in the dojo echoed faintly over the water. Occasionally the clink of Shield counting his piles of money from over in the guild hall echoed like wind chimes. A second chime came, and Baldur fully opened his eyes, reaching over to check the messages.

Jomei was reaching out about another meeting of the noodle club, and Mac was in. It brought a smile to Baldur's face, especially when they didn't really have an idea of where to go.

Quote

To: @Jomei @Macradon
From: Baldur

RE: Noodle Club Meeting #2 ? 

Sure, we could go to a traditional Onsen on the 4th floor. That sounds fantastic. Or we could go to this legendary spring on the 19th floor, guarded by an Ancient giant earth elemental. I've caught sight of the spring before, but wasn't able to get to it on my own.

So what'll it be gentlemen, R&R or a bit of adventure with R&R for dessert?

I'll see you at the 19th floor teleport plaza!

Baldur withdrew his feet from the water with a bit of a smile, and then headed out to leave his home and head down a few floors. They would be nerfed down to tier 3, but between the three of them, it shouldn't be an issue. Baldur passed by his rooms, grabbing his swords, and then headed into town to teleport out.

The floor 19 teleport plaza was very different from the floor 24. He forgot how oppressive parts of this floor could be, but all the more reason to not linger in the settlement.

Stats:

Baldur gave Lessa and Freyd and incredulous smirk, then slowly took Lessa's offered arm with one hand and put the other on his lower back, miming a pained expression, though no such thing existed in sword art online. His acting was right out of some low tier b movie.

"I don't know what you're talking about young lass, I don't move as well as I used to. Why, when I was your age, we were still on on the 10th floor! We had to walk up the tower both ways, in the snow AND lava. We didn't even have sword arts, we had to invent them ourselves!" He hobbled slowly forward as they began to follow Levi.

The kid looked uncertainly at the three of them, as if he wasn't really sure how much he could trust them, but he knew that adventurers were an odd type, and did these kinds of tasks regularly.

The direction that Levi took them wasn't unfamiliar to Baldur. He had often walked this very path with Lessa down to the lake, but as they got closer, he broke off into a different direction, taking them towards a gulley that he normally avoided. He came out here for an enjoyable walk, not a tromp through wet mud and snow and a climb.

ID: 202882 LD: 5+1 (camp not found)

They had to choose their footing carefully, and Baldur gave up the act of elder grandfather in order to make sure no one slipped and fell. While the cold and exposure here wasn't like what it would be in real life, the cold sensation was accurate and unpleasant in the extreme.

"How much further, Levi?"

"Shouldn't be too much past here. He's got a couple of sites he rotates between, but they're all hidden from site and from the wind."

Baldur nodded, as that made sense. Most camps hidden from the wind, on a snowy floor, would quickly end up hidden from site unless it was a full structure like player housing.

As Baldur took small jumps down the rill as it turned into the gulley, his boots sunk further and further into the snow. "I probably should have come better prepared for this." He said with a laugh, suddenly wishing he had snow shoes. "Snow in the boots is a terrible sensation."

"We had four teams for the 25th floor." Baldur chimed in after losing his thoughts to the dancing flames. He didn't partake of the marshmallows, but he did raise his hands to the fire to warm them from a cold he felt that was no present in the room. Image of the boss fight, of the PK attempts, the fallout and the meetings thereafter. He had lost people he thought were friends, betrayed by those close to his heart. They had managed to patch things up with Hirru, and his explanation made complete sense to Baldur. Had he been in Hirru's shoes, he may have made the same choice. The fallout had been devastating. The Frontlines were still being rebuilt because of the fallout of that floor. However, Baldur was hopeful that elements that had been cut off from the Front as it is now would help it grow into something better and healthier. So far, the Frontlines were finally shaping up into what he had always wanted them to be.

"Freyd is right Hirru. You know the people it is worth talking it out with, the others don't need justification. She will probably continue to bring it up every boss meeting, but there's nothing we can do about it. Best to just ignore her, she doesn't contribute anything to the meetings anyways."

Baldur suddenly gave a smirk and turned to look at Koga, "Why is it your fighting style seems to remind me of Cro." A little bit of mirth returned to the gaijin samurai's blue eyes. He reached into his inventory and pulled out one of the buffing foods he'd need for the boss fight and began to nibble on them.

"We had to stretch for four parties this time, but we had just a few more than 3 parties with those that showed up ready. I'll be curious to see how many return for the next round. We always seem to get a few new people each raid, and lose a few old ones and pick up some new ones for the next. If we can keep a good core group of consistent teams, it'll make planning and progression move much faster going forward. I'm a little worried about how blind we are going into this boss fight, but hopefully with a refreshed frontline, we can do some more scouting of the next floor and be solidly prepared."

Hey hadn't even started this floor boss fight, but already Baldur was planning for the next floor. They would see what the info brokers would turn up, and spend a little more time digging into them.

The time had come for them to pull out all the stops. Hirru used his new support powers to buff their damage and Baldur saw the icon appear in his HUD. It was his first time with it, and since they had basically full strength, it was their time to press the advantage and do as much damage as possible.

He sheathed his sword and took up his power stance, prepared to unleash his most devastating sword art upon the boss, his eyes narrowed and waiting for the right moment. Koga launched out at Gabrandr, a massive critical hit staggering the boss and blighting him, giving Baldur even more of an opening, and so he released the system to take over his moves, light exploding from the saya has he drew his blade... right as Gabrandr noticed him.

Kuso.

Too late, the system sailed Baldur at the boss as he raised one of his armaments to block him, the flare of the <<Muramasa>> clashing against the blue white light of the boss, energy exploding from the contact. There was nothing he could do, the system took over his movements. Strike damn you. Baldur pushed, not just against the blade with his body, but against the system with his will. <<Muramasa>> roared with power, black and red fire burning along the length of the blade, mingling with the blue and white until finally the armament gave way and the strike surged forward, tearing through part of Gabrandr and dealing a chunk of damage. Not what Baldur had hoped for, but it pushed them forward one step at a time.

Energy Regen: 4, ST-B Energy Use: -22
ID#202808 BD: 1 +8 -2 = 7 (hit)
ID#202809 CD: 1 (No Recovery Proc)
28+4 = 32*23 = 736 RAW - 80 MIT = 656 DMG Dealt

The boss struck out, a massive AoE attack striking everyone in parties 3 and 4, before turning his eyes to them.

"Be careful, he may try that AoE attack on us!" Baldur quickly glanced at their HP bars. This would have been a good time to use Parry or Counter, but his HP ticked to full as was the rest of his party. This was the time to be risky and press the attack. He leapt back from the boss a short distance, sheathing the <<Ethereal Tether - Zanshin>> the blade that Raidou had gifted him with. Instead, he moved his hand to the other sword at his side. The blade given to him by Teayre. The <<Muramasa>>. The cursed blade.

He set his feet, power charging through him as he prepared for the system to take over. He waited for just the right moment, when the boss turned away from him to deal with one of the others, and he released the attack.

He shot forward, clearing the distance in a single leap in spite of the great distance, a blur of blue and orange until he drew the blade mid flight, Black fire and a blood red arc of light flew from his form and penetrated the blue fire surrounding the boss and leaving Baldur a dozen paces on the other side of the boss, skidding to a stop. He pivoted with practiced motions, keep the boss in front of him and holding his katana, prepared for whatever came next.

"Our health is good, and Shield's hate lead is strong. Press the attack, but remember to keep an eye on HP and use your group heal crystals." He called out to the rest of his party.

Baldur uses Quick Change to Swap <<Ethereal Tether - Zanshin>> for <<Muramasa>>
ID#202762 BD: 6 +8 Acc +1 Keen +1 Conc -1 Charge -2 Eva -2 Debuff = 11 (Hit)  CD: 11 (ST-B Unlocked)
ID#202763 CD: 4 (No recovery)
ST-2 (x18) -15 EN -3ST Shift +2 Stamina +1 Rested +4 Regen = -11 EN
28 +8 Fallen +5 Charge = 41x18= 738 RAW - 60 MIT = 678 DMG Dealt
+43 Battle Healing

(2)Baldur | HP: 860/860 | EN: 98/120 | DMG: 28 | MIT: 98 | LD: 0 (+1 Loot) | EVA: 4 | ACC: 8 (inc AA) (-2, 1/2, +1 Keen) | KEEN 1 | BH: 43 | FREEZE: 64 | BRN: 56 | Charge (0/3) | Quick Change (0/3) | Concentration (0/5)
   (STM, Rested (2/2), ST Shift, REC 4)

Baldur Has 1 Tag: He gets Halloween Candy!

Baldur has 90 Seeds: He gets:

Gungnir's Shard [-70]
Demonic Shard x2 [-20]

Fluff will come soon! 

As the gaijin samurai warmed his hands on the fire, Koga wandered up and sat down. The youth seemed anxious. Not necessarily nervous, but he had a lot of energy without a place to put yet. The waiting was something that took time to get used to. People were either under-prepared and rushing around, or came prepared, and then had to wait for everyone to be... it was unfocused time some found rough. Especially in the early days. But then Freyd addressed them both.

"I've heard many good things about you as well.  You spoke well at Ariel's meeting.  It seems that we share a common perspective on the coming battle - which is to say that none of us really know what to expect."

Freyd apparently also had some experience with Koga as they exchanged a few words about a waterfall. Interesting.

"You'll both be in the first group, then, I suppose?"

Baldur nodded in response to Freyd's question, then jumped back to something he had said earlier.

"I'm sorry you had to see me out of sorts like that. People always want to get distracted on useless tangents. Sometimes, cynically, it feels like they just want to hear the sound of their own voice, but then not everyone goes to these things enough to realize that we spent so much time arguing about possessions in the last fight and it wasn't even a thing. There's a place for conjecture and brainstorming, but it's after the important details are worked out."

Baldur then opened his mouth to include Koga in the conversation, when Hirru walked up at did just that. The gaijin samurai nodded, wanting to hear more of this story. Baldur gave a soft chuckle at the young man's explanation of his daredevil stunts. It was reassuring that he knew how to operate in a team.

"So, any tips for the new guy? Don't really think any of the field bosses are much of a match for whatever the hell we're about to face."

Baldur shook his head. No, there weren't any Field Bosses who were much of a match for floor bosses. They were a classification unto themselves.

"There's not really much out there to prepare you other than the labyrinth guardians. You're always welcome to come along on a scouting mission in the future as well." Baldur laughed slightly then knocked on Hirru's shoulder pauldron, "Though Hirru here is much more of a scout than I am. I'm usually the dead weight until we find the boss."

He glanced down at his old friend, then briefly over at Freyd, realizing that this wasn't his first boss fight. They had fought together before, but Baldur held the blush of embarrassment in.

"The biggest piece of advice is to stick together. We live or die in this together. Not that we've got to worry about dying to this floor boss, but by working as a party, we almost eliminate that as an option. If Shield ever utters the word run, you get that teleport crystal out and go. Don't wait for one more thing, just go. Barring that, keep your wits about you, hit the boss hard, don't get hit yourself. We win by making his hits hit points hit 0, and ours don't. I know that's an oversimplification, but that's what it boils down to. There will be bullshit that gets thrown in our way to try and obscure that, or make it harder, but that's just the window dressing of the fight. The real challenge comes in remembering to keep an eye on your parties health bars, and getting whatever obstacle is in our way, out of the way, so we can deal more damage to the boss. Sometimes that even means taking damage we could otherwise avoid, because ending the fight sooner is the better plan."

While one scather had gone off, it flooded the first two parties of the vanguard with damage and debuff. It hit harder than he had expected an environmental effect would. If there was ever a chance 3 or 4 of those could go off at the same time, their healing wouldn't keep up and they'd start losing players. 

But then he saw @Hidden make her move. He hadn't expected it to be anyone else either. She went right for the boss. Well, this would throw them down one path that Baldur saw, and it was likely the more difficult of the paths. He never would have asked or expected a pacifist attempt at the floor boss. There was no morality involved in killing a video game character. But he wanted the safest, fastest route forward. What the gaijin samurai had forseen was an easy route, and a hard route.

Hidden now had chosen for everyone the hard route.

The blue fire exploding around the boss, revealing his combat form only confirmed Baldur's suspicions. This was playing out exactly as he suspected it could.

"Now that the boss-" Baldur began calling out, pushing himself back to his feet as the armored king suddenly charge @Lessa.  He froze there, watching as her HP bar dropped. He attacked @Morgenstern as well, but the gaijin was familiar with Morg's ability in a boss fight, and the boss had seemed to use a special maneuver on Lessa. Finally, he HP stopped dropping about 1/3 of the way down. Still plenty safe.

Firm Anima was all over the newly activated scather, and the one he had been next two looked beyond reactivating. Perhaps after two attempts they had finally done enough damage.

"Press the attack now. Hopefully this is the only boss on this floor, and there isn't another phase." People were already attacking, but Baldur wanted to ensure there was no confusion to be had. Some would listen, some wouldn't, but clear direction would help with any that were on the fence. His health raised as Hirru healed the party, and then buffed them. Baldur nodded happily to the Viridian Healer, then gripped his blade, the <<Zanshin - Ethereal Tether>> and launched his attack, following up @Koga's well timed debuff with the first build up hit. As soon as he unlocked his next tier of attacks and got out of this debuff, he's switch to the <<Muramasa>>.

"Here I go!"

ID#201947 BD:5+8 (Acc) -2 (Debuff) +1 (Rally) -2 EVA = 10 (Hit)
28x15=420 RAW - 80 MIT (100 -20 Shatter) = 340 Dmg Dealt

Hirru Heals Baldur for +103HP
Baldur regens 0 ENergy (max energy at start of turn)
Baldur Battle Healing heals for +43
Baldur uses ST-1 on Gabby -11EN (12+2ST-2STAM-1Rested (1/2)
Baldur Recovers 4 Energy ID#201948
Baldur gains +1 Accuracy from Keen
Baldur generates 1 hate

The gaijin samurai wasn't always among the first to show up, but he always tried to be. This time, he and the JL crew came together to make sure everything was organized. While Firm Anima was always a major blessing to the frontlines, having provided a significant amount of the buffs they consumed, Baldur had been pushing his team to always be prepared for several floors now. At the very least, he know that Calrex as well had bought several floors worth of consumables to make sure they were never running around unprepared. Now, seeing two raids in a row come almost completely buffed, brought a smile to his heart. He passed group heal crystals he had requisitioned from Raidou to supply the entire floor 25 raid to his party, Party 1, of the raid. With that done, he had... time on his hands. He walked about, saying hello to old faces, checking to make sure people were ok, and then noticed something odd.

A fire in the entry room safe zone.

He walked over, recognizing the face of Freyd. Someone he didn't know well yet, but had certainly made an impression at the planning meeting.

"Ohayo, Freyd-san. It is good to have you with us. Shield speaks highly of your strength in a fight, and while I know Raidou-san little outside of our negotiations, it seems he surrounds himself with skilled people." Baldur held his hands out to the fire for warmth he didn't need, but enjoyed none-the-less. "I look forward to seeing it first hand."

Normally, Baldur was all business in advance of raid, but he knew that morale was necessary to build. He didn't feel like making a big speech full of platitudes and bravado, they never seemed to work. The same message didn't work for everyone. It required a more soft touch. Something tailored to people based on their motivation. For that, he needed to know who he was fighting along. They needed to forge bonds.