Helios

I'd be interested. Sounds fun.

I'd be down to RP if you'd be alright starting it.

Or all 3 of us could do one together. It's your choice though.

My nominations go to Calrex and Takao.

The male watched as his friend slid down the hill to greet the brunette at the bottom. "Oikawa's a real sweet talker." Helios chuckled as he watched the blonde change the other man's mind with ease. "So, I don't think calling you 'brood' forever is the nicest thing to do. What's your name?" he asked with a slight grin. Never before had he seen the player and Helios often traveled to the first floor. "You look like a Ryan. If you don't want to tell us, I'm calling you that."

(short post ripriprip)

Turning away from the beautiful scenery outside of Urbus, Helios stepped back into the town. The boy had started to get a bit hungry and was aware of a few alright restaurants in the area. After deciding on which to go to, he made his way into the medieval-style city. The young man wore his black and green "Archangel's Suit", and like usual, he left his cape and hat off. Normally, he only used them in battle, since they got in the way in bustling places like Urbus. Upon arrival, the noirette opened the door of the restaurant and entered. The building wasn't filled with as many people as he'd expected, which he was thankful for. He didn't have much  of a taste for loud noises, so he often avoided places like this. Helios stood at the entrance for a moment silently, deciding where he was going to sit. It wasn't a huge restaurant, so although there weren't too many people inside, there unfortunately weren't a huge amount of choices for him to make.

"Haven't seen her in a while." Helios thought as he scrolled through his inventory. His gaze dropped to Shizuka's name and he smiled lightly, beginning to write up a message. In the message, he asked the woman if she wanted to come up to the sixth floor and hang out. He hadn't spoken to the pink haired girl since before he went "MIA" or whatever people were saying. "I wonder how she's been doing since I last saw her. Hopefully she's cheered up a bit." the boy whispered to himself. He recalled her attitude being quite gloomy every time he saw her. It bothered him quite a bit, simply because he always felt responsible for cheering her up, even though he definitely wasn't. The two of them rarely spoke so there was no reason for him to do anything to make her feel better. Leaning back in the large tree he sat in, Helios yawned and waited for the girl to arrive.

ID: 55437 CD: 2 (+1 EXP)

ID: 55439 CD: 10 (+3 EXP)

ID: 55441 CD: 9 (+3 EXP)

ID: 55440 CD: 5 LD: 13 (+1 EXP)

(-4 Materials, +8 EXP)

The young man could tell Rae was nervous. In an attempt to make her feel a bit more comfortable being around them, he smiled. "Nice to meet you, Rae. I'm Helios. And I've been alright, thanks Oikawa. What about you?" Helios asked. It had been a long time since they'd last spoken and, from what the player could tell, he had gotten stronger. Watching the blonde gift the armor to the red haired woman, he laughed. "Giving out armor for free now? I'll take six perfects then!" the noirette joked.

The brunette, who had left his spot underneath the tree, seemed annoyed by the trio. If he wanted to leave, Helios didn't plan on stopping him. It's not like he new the guy or anything. "You guys know who he is? I've never seen him before."

At first, Helios thought the voice he'd heard was calling to another player. But when he turned in the direction of the person, he realized they were speaking to him. He was a bit surprised, since he didn't have a clue who the woman was, but he smiled and waved back at her. She's definitely not a PKer. She looks like she's level 5, maybe even lower than that. he decided, although he was aware that looks weren't everything.

Suddenly, he heard another voice, however this one was familiar. A blonde man whom Helios had not seen in quite some stood at the bottom of the hill. It took a minute for it to click in the dark haired player's mind what Oikawa was saying. A chuckle left his mouth as he waved at the player. "It's been a while, Oikawa!" he shouted back to the man. Although it didn't bother Helios, he noticed another person nearby. A brunette, who was unknown to the young man, sat at the trunk of a tree. For a moment, Helios watched the man, but his attention was quickly brought back to the others.

Helios sighed. The bright sun shot it's rays straight down upon the raven haired boy, who was lying on his back on top of a small hill. Next to him was his familiar, Lucifer. The jaguar purred as it slept, the large orb in the sky heating the two of them. The player's eyes were closed and he wasn't paying attention to anything around him. For once, he was just happy to relax. Recently, he hadn't gotten the time to stop grinding. The noirette had been busy working to gain levels and eventually reach the frontlines. It doesn't seem like that'll be happening any time soon. I'll get back to it later, I need a break. he thought, another sigh exiting his lips as he sat up. His eyes opened but he was unable to see much, due to being blinded by the sun. Then, Helios spun himself around, attempting to free himself of blindness. It worked, just as he'd thought. He was now able to see every little detail of the first floor's plains. It was magnificent, although not new to him. It wasn't too special, compared to other higher floors. Of course, that didn't stop Helios from travelling to the lower floors.

The noirette jumped to the left as the large creature burst through the sand. It was a close call, but the boy was able to get out of the way fairly well. "At least give me a chance to hit you..." he groaned, watching the shark sink back into the sandy depths below. Helios tried to kick some sand from under him to see how deep it was, but he couldn't tell. Before he could react, the shark jumped out once more.

ID: 55233 BD: 1 MD: 3

Party:

Helios: 59/60 | D: 6 | M: 39 |  Energy: 12/15

Enemies:

Sand Shark: 125/125 | D: 30

Nothing pierced the sand, not even a shark fin. Helios continued to wait patiently, unsure of where the shark was. He couldn't tell how deep the sand below him was, but it was at least deep enough to fit a shark under. He couldn't see the slightest shift of sand around him. "Maybe it left or something. I doubt that, it's not going to just leave me alone after it's aggro is on me." he told himself, lifting his sword and turning his head to check behind him.

ID: 55232 BD: 3 MD: 4

Party:

Helios: 59/60 | D: 6 | M: 39 |  Energy: 12/15

Enemies:

Sand Shark: 125/125 | D: 30

Once again, the shark leaped out from the side. The only differences from the last time were the direction Helios' opponent attacked from and the fact that the player took damage. It was unfortunate, but unavoidable. The shark was simply to fast for him to escape and he was slashed by the fin on it's side. Upon impact, he fell straight on his back. Picking himself up, he dusted the sand off of his outfit and waited for another leap.

ID: 55047 BD: 2 MD: 8

Party:

Helios: 59/60 | D: 6 | M: 39 |  Energy: 14/15

Enemies:

Sand Shark: 125/125 | D: 30

The shark was faster than Helios had hoped. It leaped out of the sand once more, attempting to bite the player. Fortunately, Helios reacted almost immediately after the monster attacked and was able to evade. However, it wasn't possible to counter his opponent's attack in that moment. "Looks like I'll need to wait for an opening then."

ID: 55044 BD: 3 MD: 4

Party:

Helios: 60/60 | D: 6 | M: 39 |  Energy: 14/15

Enemies:

Sand Shark: 125/125 | D: 30

Helios was ready for the attack the shark was planning. Quickly, the monster jumped out of the sand, flying over the noirette. It landed behind him and was buried once again in the sand. A frown appeared on the boy's face. "This might be harder than I had anticipated. I knew it wouldn't stay on top of the sand, but I didn't think it would be this hard to spot underneath." he muttered, thinking of a new strategy. I'll need to wait until it jumps out of the sand. I'm going to have to be fast though, otherwise it'll hit me. After I dodge the mob's attack, I'll slash it with Kanshou.

Party:

Helios: 60/60 | D: 6 | M: 39 |  Energy: 15/15

Enemies:

Sand Shark: 125/125 | D: 30

ID: 55037 CD: 10 (+3 EXP)

ID: 55038 CD: 4 LD: 18 (+1 EXP)

ID: 55039 CD: 4 LD: 13 (+1 EXP)

ID: 55040 CD: 7 (+2 EXP)

(-3 Materials, +7 EXP)

Although Helios was beginning to become less and less fond of the beginner floors, he still found himself exploring them. Maybe it was the fact that he was a big fan of fantasy games and the medieval style that Urbus was based off of. He couldn't think of another reason to stay on the second floor. The monsters were too weak for him to fight and he could never manage to find any loot. Once again, his familiar refused to leave the shop. They hadn't had customers in a while and Lucifer was starting to enjoy the quietness of the building. The raven haired player looked out at the mountainous area outside of Urbus. Everything he saw made him feel a bit nostalgic. Floor 2 was the place he had first met a good amount of his friends and acquaintances, such as Manta and Teselmar. "There was also that other kid, Rusty. I wonder what he's been up to, if he's still around." he sighed.

He entered the area which his opponent called home and inspected it. The shark was no where to be seen. Above? Of course not. Not to the left or right either. What about behind me? Nope. he thought, unsure of where the mob was hiding. It was possible that Helios was just in the wrong place, but he believed it was unlikely. He wasn't stupid. "What about... below me?" he mumbled, looking at the ground around him. Suddenly, he spun around. He saw the shark's fin just barely piercing the sand in front of him. "Found you." he smirked. Swiftly, Helios leaped backwards, unsheathing his curved sword.

The vast desert was Helios' least favorite place to be. Actually, he was beginning to question his reason for choosing that quest in the first place. "It was either this or some quest on the Fourth Floor. I'm not even sure which is worse..." he muttered, continuing to march through the sand. Although he wasn't completely sure where the shark lived, he had an idea. The player had asked a few people about the shark and they were happy to give him information. Now I'll be able to think of a strategy. I've got my new armor, so that's helpful. the boy thought, arriving at the position that he believed to be the home of the Sand Shark.

ID: 55015
LD: 8

After searching through nearly every bush he could see around the Town of Beginnings, Helios sighed. "Still nothing. Maybe we should check somewhere else." he said to the kid, who was looking around nearby. Waiting for Comet's opinion on the matter, the raven haired player continued to check in other bushes, although some were repeated multiple times.

Total Materials: 0

"Sure thing, I'll tell you if I see her." Helios chuckled. His description of the girl obviously wasn't helpful, but he was a kid so it couldn't be helped. At least he's not alone in this game. Hopefully his friend is alright. The raven haired boy yawned, a bit bored of sitting at the table. Nothing exciting seemed to be happening in that area and he had finished eating the meal that was ordered earlier. Suddenly, Comet was standing up on the table looking at Helios with a grin. A small laugh exited the player's mouth as he witnessed a couple of NPCs looking at their table. Well, I didn't expect that. he thought, unsure of what to say. To be honest, he had no idea what the brown haired kid was planning on doing. Actually, he wasn't sure if Comet even knew. The NPCs and a player or two, who seemed to be laughing a bit, simply watched the child, unsure of what was going on. Hopefully we don't get kicked out.

The noirette thought back to his first day in Aincrad. "Hmm. Well, I don't remember it being too exciting. At least, not until Kayaba announced we'd be stuck in here until we clear all 100 floors. I simply made a game plan so I knew what I was doing and I began to grind.", he explained, "What about you? Did anything interesting happen?" Helios asked, curious to know what had happened to the man after hearing Kayaba's news.

The player nodded. Jomei seemed to have the same plans as Helios.. "Fair enough." he chuckled, standing from his spot on the branch. "Yeah, sure. Let's go!" the boy grinned as they began to head back to the town, leaving the branch and the water behind them. As they arrived, Helios turned his head to the ginger haired man. "I guess I'll see you around sometime, Jomei." he said, waving as he wandered back to the teleport pad.

-Complete-
1 SP, 200 Col for everyone.

Helios listened to the child cheerfully, happy to hear everything he had to say. "Ah, it is quite nice, although I'd much prefer a nice house to live in. It's not the biggest shop out there, so I don't have a lot of space to sleep in. But that's alright, I suppose." he chuckled. When he was asked about how many customers he got, he let out a small sigh and smiled. "Unfortunately, not very many. Occasionally I get a customer or two, but it doesn't happen as often as I'd like. I can't complain though, I only recently opened up the shop." he replied, still smiling. Comet seemed quite happy for a kid who was trapped inside a game that could easily mean the death of him. Seeing players like him only made Helios want to help end SAO even more. Trying to keep the conversation going, the player thought of some other question to ask. "Did anybody enter the game with you?"

Helios stopped to think for a moment. The boy hadn't decided what he wanted to do. He had no plan whatsoever and was unsure of where to start. "I guess my only concern right now has been grinding and catching up with the rest of you. I haven't put much thought into anything else." he replied. Part of him just wanted to play like it was any other MMORPG. However, it wasn't the same as the others. The other part of him wanted to live a regular life in SAO, at least, until the final boss was defeated and he was able to escape. "What about you? Any plans for the future?" he chuckled.