Helios

Helios sat calmly in the middle of the Nimean Plains. The noirette was fully aware that it was dangerous for someone of his level to be alone out there in the open, however he didn't care much. He twirled his curved sword around like it was a toy and sighed. Frankly, he was bored. There weren't any good quests that he could take on alone and a majority of the people he knew were preparing for the long awaited boss fight. While the rest of the players climbed to the top, the boy was trapped at the bottom. Part of him wanted to fight one of the lions that roamed the plains, however he knew better. Suddenly, Helios noticed the Nimean Lionesses in the distance. "I'm not strong enough to take on a single lioness, so there's no point in me staying and fighting more than that." Turning away from the scene, Helios looked in the direction of Spartaia and slid his blade back into it's sheath.

(@Emblem)

Helios leaned back on a bench across from the bulletin board, which looked like it was cluttered with requests. He couldn't help but notice the aggravated blonde-haired woman who was leaning up against the wall, next to the board. Part of him wanted to walk towards the girl, however the other part knew it wasn't his business to do so. I need to find a quest. Yeah, that's a good excuse. he decided. Standing up, Helios began to step towards the player request board and examine the various different quests which he was able to accept. The dark-haired man noticed one that seemed interesting enough and pulled it off of the board. Reading it over, he quickly changed his mind. "Not this quest again..." he sighed, remembering his last encounter with the large boulder.

A date. Everyone seems to think it's a date. First Oikawa, now this girl. He sighed. Calmly, the boy replied. "No, the two of us aren't on a date. We've only just met." A grin formed on his face. "Alright, Jazmyne, you want to talk about something interesting? What things do you find interesting? The girl seemed to talk a lot. Maybe it was possible she was interested in something... well, reasonably normal.

What am I thinking? That's not possible. It never ends up that way. Give her a minute, she'll be talking about the time she tripped a McDonald's employee after they gave her one too many fries or ice cubes in her drink. Helios leaned back in his chair, awaiting an answer.

Helios hurried through the bustling crowd, his familiar, Lucifer, following behind him. Around him, players swarmed the roads of the Town of Beginnings. It felt like he had spent years attempting to get through the mobs of people, however it had only taken a few minutes. As he exited the massive city, the noirette dropped to his knees. "We made it out alive..." he sighed, falling over. His jaguar friend next to him climbed on top of his back and got comfortable there. "I suppose I'm not making it out alive in the end." he muttered, turning his head as far as possible to glare at the familar. "Someone better host a big funeral for me. I never would have imagined virtual jaguars would be this heavy."

"I'm Heli-" The noirette had been around people for what, around nineteen years? In all that time he still hadn't managed to learn the correct way to deal with people who interrupted you mid sentence. "I'm Helios. Nice to meet you both." The boy finished. Instead of causing a scene, he decided to just include the woman into their conversation. He tried to process what the girl, Jazmyne, had said earlier, but that proved to be more challenging than he had anticipated. Something about pushing people off of benches and pouring water on players head's? One conclusion did come to the young male's mind, however.

This girl is insane. Perhaps one day I'll learn how to confront people like this properly.

Helios awoke to the voice of another player. "Relax... relax... relax..." the voice muttered. For a moment, the dark-haired male had no idea where he was. It took him a minute, but when he stood up, yawned, and examined his surroundings, he remembered everything. He had come down to the first floor so he could take a break from grinding and eat at the Starlight Cafe. He had been eating there often since his blonde-haired friend, Oikawa, had told him about the place. Actually, sometimes it felt like he was in the cafe more than he was outside of the safezones. Usually, it was the other way around.

As he stood up, Helios noticed realized that there was a man sitting on the bench next to him. "Oh. Uh, hello." the boy chuckled awkwardly.

"Alright then. I suppose I'll take a look at the menu when we arrive at the cafe." he chuckled, following the blonde male. Helios didn't have a clue where the Starlight Cafe was, other than the floor it was located on. Floor 1. The young man had become tired of travelling back and forth from that floor, since he had spent most of his time living there. However, he had never had the chance to eat at the cafe mentioned previously, so he decided it would be fun. The noirette was always a fan of sweets. "So, how often do you two go to the cafe?" he inquired, assuming they only went once in a while. This was probably assumed because Helios was like that. He rarely went to cafe's and restaurants. I believe trying the food there will change that completely, however.

Hunie's expression quickly changed as the Starlight Cafe was mentioned. Suddenly, she seemed quite excited. Helios was a bit sad that Oikawa wasn't able to come across any dungeons hidden around them, but he didn't mind too much. "So, since I've never been to the cafe, what on the menu would you to recommend trying?" he asked, curiously. He was always fond of the virtual food found in Sword Art Online. The pastries, cakes, pies. He loved them all! The only part about it he disliked was deciding what he should eat. Usually, he'd roll a dice to figure it out, however, today he thought he'd allow his friends to give their favorite choices.

Helios listened to his blonde friend for a moment. "I have heard of the Starlight Cafe, although I've never been there myself. I've heard it's got some incredible food." He grinned. "Personally, I don't mind what we do, whether we head down to the First Floor or find ourselves a dungeon to clear. I do need to get some training done, however some food would be nice. The dark-haired man had almost completely forgot that the blonde woman beside them had only been there for a little while. "Sorry about putting you on the spot like this, Hunie, but what would you like to do?" To be honest, Helios was just happy to be around friends. It didn't really matter what they were going to do. He hadn't seen Oikawa in a while and Hunie seemed like a fairly nice person to be around.

A chuckle escaped Helios' mouth. "I see. I apologize for assuming such things. It's good too meet you too Hunie." he smiled. As he listened to Oikawa speak, the dark-haired young man realized he didn't really have any plans for the day, other than to meet with the blonde. "I suppose I should probably get some training done at some point today. But other than that, I don't really know what I'll be doing today. I need to start grinding again, because of the lack of frontliners." His hands slipped into his pockets. For a while now, Helios hadn't been focusing on leveling or making his way to the frontlines. He had always assumed there wouldn't be room for him up there. However, now people were dropping like flies and it seemed like they were in need of more players. Unfortunately, the noirette still had a long way to go before he was strong enough.

"Well, personally, I the technique we use to kill it isn't really important to me, as long as we end up defeating it in the end," Helios chuckled, "But I also think it would be pretty entertaining to watch you pull a shark out of the sand with a fishing rod."

The young man was a bit surprised that the red-haired man was a fisherman. He'd never met one, since their weren't a lot of them out there. It definitely wasn't the most common profession in Sword Art Online. "If you plan on distracting him, I'll see if I can hopefully do enough damage to quickly kill it. Just to make it go a bit faster, I'll drink this." He stated, taking a damage potion out of his inventory and put it to his lips, drinking the entirety of it.

As they entered the hot, wasteland of a desert, Helios wiped the sweat off of his head. "Well, let's get going then."

(-1 Small Damage Potion)

If he was any further away, He probably wouldn't have been able to tell which of the two blondes were Oikawa, since the pair were now standing next to each other. Not that they looked alike in any other way, of course. Helios approached the two players and grinned. "Hey there, Oikawa. How have you been. It's been a little while since we last talked." Taking a look at the player beside him. "I didn't realize you would be out here with a woman. Why didn't you introduce me sooner?" the noirette joked, saying something similar to what the blonde had said to him the last time they'd spoken. Looking at the girl next to the man, Helios smiled. "I'm Helios, a friend of Oikawa's."

"So, what have you been up to as of late?"

Helios looked down at the player and proceeded to step off the bench. "Nice to meet you Kalesh. I'm Helios." he replied with a grin, opening his menu to send the man a party invitation. He was grateful that the red-haired player decided to go along with him, since he didn't feel like soloing the entire quest. "I've already got all of my equipment ready, so we can head out whenever you feel like it." he told Kalesh. From what Helios could tell, the player standing in front of him was quite a bit stronger than him and probably more experienced in the field as well.

"I take it you've completed this quest before?" he asked, waiting for the player to gather any items he might need to use while they fought the sand shark.

Despite not being able to figure out where he was, Helios was still fairly calm. He'd been walking for a while now and he thought he was in the correct area, but he couldn't see his friend anywhere. Suddenly, he glanced over at a shape that was moving in the distance. He was able to make out blonde hair, but that was all. Is that Oikawa? He inquired, climbing down a small ledge. Speeding up, Helios began to jog a bit before he noticed a second player in the distance. Another blonde. "Which one of them is Oikawa..." he sighed, progressing closer towards the players, trying to figure out who was who.

A grin formed on Helios' face as he accepted the <<Blood in the Sands>> quest and equipped his blade and armor. He gazed up at the starry night sky. The fifth floor was a lot cooler at night than it was in the day, even if it was still fairly warm. Sitting down on an uncomfortable wooden bench, the noirette opened up his inventory. He needed to see how many potions he was carrying on him, just in case he ran into trouble while fighting the Sand Shark.

A mitigation potion, which would definitely come in handy, sat in his inventory, waiting to be used. However, he wasn't sure if it was necessary to waste it on a monster like this. Helios had some weaker damage mitigation items that had been crafted in his shop, as well as a damage boosting potion. The damage potion was definitely a good choice, seeing as he'd be able to end the fight even quicker than he had hoped.

Despite the fact that Helios could definitely take on the shark in a one versus one duel, the dark-haired player did enjoy the company of others. It would also make the quest go a lot faster. However, it was late, nearly midnight. Who was going to be willing to assist him on a quest at that hour? Scrolling down his "Friends List", he found a few people that he believed could have been interested. Calrex had helped him grind many times in the past and he hadn't spoken to Oikawa in a while. "I don't want to trouble them. They're probably busy. Maybe there's someone else on this floor wanting to do the quest." he muttered, standing up and looking around the area.

As he continued into the town, he found an area that had a fairly large amount of players in it. "Perfect." he smiled, stepping into the crowd and looking for something high to climb onto. Another wooden bench sat in the distance, offering up a spot to sit down on. After walking towards it, Helios climbed onto it and cleared his throat. "Attention everyone!" he called, "I'm taking on the <<Blood in the Sands>> quest and I'm looking to form a party. Is there anyone willing to join me on the quest?"

Most people ignored him. Others noticed, but clearly didn't care. I guess I'll be doing this by myself then.

"What brings you out here so late at night?"

Swiftly, Helios turned his head to see where the voice was coming from. He spotted a woman who looked quite a bit younger than he was. Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to let her age deceive him. Just because she was a kid and had a green cursor didn't mean there weren't other players around waiting for a good time to attack. "I'm just farming some XP and col. What about you?" he replied casually.

From what he could tell, there wasn't anybody else around. I'm confident that I can survive if a low leveled player like her does end up attacking me. Helios thought, slipping his hands into his pockets.

A message from Oikawa was all it took for Helios to head up to the seventeenth floor. Actually, the furthest he'd ever been was the thirteenth floor, seeing as he was a fairly low level. Quickly, the noirette equipped all of the items he needed and headed out to the teleport pad. Upon arrival, he examined the Greek-inspired area and grinned. All his life, Helios had been a huge fan of Greek history and mythology, as you could probably tell from his name, so the thought the design of the town was breathtakingly beautiful.

Suddenly, he realized why he was there. "Right. Oikawa's probably waiting for me. I don't want to be late again." he chuckled, stepping out of the safezone of Athenaia and into the rugged mountain range, in search of his blonde friend. While he walked, the young man decided to send a message to the rapier-wielding swordsman. It said "I'll be there soon, hopefully. Unless I get lost. In that case I'll be there in the next couple of days."

I'll be taking this with Kalesh

ID: 61427 BD: 9

From somewhere behind him, Helios heard a man muttering odd things. Turning around, he realized that a low leveled player was attacking him... Inside of a safezone. The one place he couldn't be injured. He then noticed it was the same player who had been staring straight at him moments earlier. Swiftly, Helios bolted out of the way and punched the player in the gut, stopping his attack. "What's with people these days..." the noirette muttered, scratching the back of his head. With a sigh, the young lad stepped away from the scene and left the building, completely forgetting about the drink he had just ordered.

-Helios has left the thread-

Sitting in the tavern, somewhere deep in the Town of Beginnings, was Helios. The dark-haired swordsman wasn't usually one for taverns and bars, seeing as they were usually noisy, but today he was feeling different. "One drink won't kill me." he muttered, ordering a single mug of beer as the NPC collected his order. For a moment, he sat there, waiting patiently for his drink. But then, the player noticed something. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another man, who seemed to be staring at him. Of course, he couldn't be certain, so he didn't pay any attention to it. However, he made his best effort to examine the player as well as possible from his angle. Helios could tell he carried some sort of blade, although he wasn't sure what type. The man also wore a jacket, but that's all he see without drawing attention to himself. Instead of turning around, the noirette simply sat still and waited for his drink.

Name: ? Cookie
Your Profession: Cook
Your Rank: 3
ID: 61086
Roll: 9
Item Type: Snack
Tier: 2
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancements: +1 Fiber
Description: A fair-sized cookie with an interesting taste. The ingredients used in this are completely unknown, but it does seem to give out a mitigation buff.

Name: ? Cookie
Your Profession: Cook
Your Rank: 3
ID: 61088
Roll: 10
Item Type: Snack
Tier: 2
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancements: +1 Fiber
Description: A fair-sized cookie with an interesting taste. The ingredients used in this are completely unknown, but it does seem to give out a mitigation buff.

Helios turned his head and listened carefully to the Irish-sounding player's words. It seemed he was planning on taking on The Traveler quest as well. "I'm in luck." he chuckled, standing up straight and stepping towards the man, who looked to be quite a bit older than the dark-haired player was, although he was a bit shorter as well. "Yo. I've been planning on finishing this quest, so I'd be happy to join you and your party, if you'd allow me to." he told the blonde player. Helios examined the other player, who also wanted to help with the quest. He had dark hair, although not as his own, and from what he could tell, the man was a lower level than Helios was. He came just in time to hear the dark-haired player introduce himself. "Well, nice to meet you guys. My name's Helios." he grinned.

Helios' eyes fell back down from the dark sky and suddenly, they were closed. It was about time for him to take a nap. From what he knew, there wasn't anyone around, other than his familiar, and he was fast asleep anyway. At this point, he hadn't noticed the young woman standing in the distance. Slowly, the noirette attempted to drift off into sleep, although he was aware it wasn't a safe place to do it. If he wasn't feeling so lazy, he probably would have walked back to Urbus instead and found a comfy inn to sleep on.

For some reason, the male wasn't able to fall asleep. No matter how hard he tried, no position felt comfy enough for him. Helios opened his eyes and sighed before standing up. His familiar, Lucifer had moved over and was now awake laying on the grass. Yawning, the dark-haired player examined the field in front of him, to make sure he wasn't in any sudden danger.