Greg Baxen

"Got it." Greg said, keeping an eye out for materials that may be in the area. He decided to search a few nearby nooks and crannies to see if he could find some loot. He was looking for mats since they're what Dom wanted, and Dom likely had a better searching skill than he did so Dom would be the better player to search for a Sub-Dungeon.

ID: 51606

LD 9: No loot...

Sadly, Greg couldn't find anything. Dom seemed to be focusing on looking for materials and wouldn't exactly hear Greg say anything so he just kept looking around. He didn't want to be left alone with his thoughts but what choice did he have? In this case he decided to think about thinks that didn't relate to his current emotional dilemma, like what resources could be found here or what the Sub-dungeon might be like, when Dom finds it.

Greg smiled as he earned the Berserker's acknowledgement. "Glad to hear it. In all honesty there's no real right or wrong answer as to the path one should take- both in this world and the real world. It's about your ideals and how far you're willing to go for them." He says, relaxing a bit. Then Dom crushed the Snow Beast and threw him the reward. "Sweet!" Greg cheered, as he received the quest reward. Once he was stronger, he would solo this quest and get another to upgrade his <Anneal Blade> further. He would do this AFTER the grinding was done.

Greg grimaced at Ssendom's words. "What you say may be true..." he started. "But I made a promise. A promise I intended to keep. But I can't do that if the worst-case scenario turns out to be true." Greg said, resolve showing in his eyes. "I can't live the way you do, cutting yourself off from others. That's impossible for me. I have people who will, in the future, count on me to protect them. To fight alongside them. And to me, that means fretting over others is one of the more common things I do." He continued. His resolve wasn't broken at all. "But that's MY strength. The capacity to worry about others. To care about others, regardless of what it costs me. That is what I resolved to do a long time ago, and I don't plan on backing down on that promise any time soon!" Greg argued. The intimdation wasn't affecting him. He didn't care that this guy was a PKer or the Berserker- he was attacking Greg's way of life- the path he had chosen. He was going to defend it even if it costed him his life. "You and me are very different men, and we have different definitions as such. Your strength is not the same as my strength. Where you consider other people to 'hold you back', I cherish the bonds I've built and treat them as the most important things in my life. I refuse to abandon my way of life. I already made my choice long ago! Even if it kills me, this is the path I've chosen, and I'll follow it through to the end without hesitation! I'll stand up for what I believe in! I don't give a damn if you're the Berserker, or an infamous PKer, when someone attacks my ideals, I WILL defend them to the best of my ability, even if that means staring Death itself in the face and flipping it off, and then taking up arms against it! Yes, I have my doubts, but that won't stop me from fighting on until the bitter end!"  Greg announced. If this man wanted to see a real man, Greg would show him one. One who isn't afraid to stand up for what he believes in. One who won't hesitate down the path he walks. One who won't let Death itself get in the way of his ideals. 

"I know." Greg says solemnly. "However, I'd much rather take my time dealing with what's bothering me. That way I can put off the inevitable talk that I'm going to have with the person whom I'm concerned about, and take my mind off of the worst-case scenario. That's another reason I'm power levelling with you- to take my mind off of the inevitable talk that's going to happen, just for a little while." Greg said, coming clean about some details of his plight. Specifically that it involves someone. He would assume that Ssendom would know what he's talking about. "And speaking of taking my mind off of it, I think I see the Snow Beast over there. Is that it?" Greg asked, pointing to what he assumed was the Snow Beast.

Ssendom snapped him out of his thoughts. Greg smiled a bit. "Good advice. Though it's much easier with friends and levelling by oneself is not only incredibly time-consuming but also really, REALLY boring, at least in my opinion, mostly due to it being time-consuming." Greg said. It wasn't much for conversation but it was drawing Greg's mind away from the dilemma he was facing. He really didn't want to think about this right now so ANY distraction was welcome to him. He just hoped he could keep himself distracted for the entire power-levelling session. That way, he could likely retain a good portion of his sanity instead of torturing himself on 'what-ifs' and 'maybes'.

Greg sighed. When were they going to reach the Snow Beast? He wanted to hurry this up so he could level faster. He was losing his patience but he couldn't do anything but sit back and lean on his own thoughts. He was mostly thinking about what he was going to say when he finally mustered up the courage to apologize to Shizuka for not being there for her. However, some things really started popping up in his mind, upsetting him. He had been wandering around floor 11 at one point, at the time of the Spring Festival and he had seen Shizuka with another man, which led Greg to think about a horrifying thought... what if Shizuka didn't care about, or hell, didn't even REMEMBER Greg at all? The thought of it horrified him, but he quickly pushed it to the back of his mind. He had to focus. Subconsciously, however, he prayed to ANY AND ALL GODS that this terrible thought did not come to pass. He didn't know what he'd do if it did- 

"I haven't a clue." Greg responds. "It's possible that they may be trying to exhaust your stamina so you can't just splatter the others with your sword arts, since AoE Sword Arts cost the most Stamina." Greg explained. "However, it's only a theory and it's a bit shaky as I'm not sure regular mobs like these have an advanced AI like that. I'd understand if it was something like a boss, but regular mobs? Unlikely."  He theorized.  He wasn't sure but that's the best he could come up with.

Greg sweatdropped as Ssendom obliterated every last Snow Golem with a single swing. They weren't bosses, but DAMN! "Well, I see they don't call you 'The Berserker' for nothing." was all Greg could say. Honestly? Greg could've sworn he felt that blow and he wasn't even near the hit! "And I can safely say I'm legitimately both impressed and absolutely scared senseless right now. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why. Considering you absolutely obliterated four mobs that are probably stronger than me individually in a single blow, it would take someone either really brave or really stupid to not get scared." Greg said. He was trying to keep his cool but JEEZ! This guy practically embodied his title! He was definitely reminded of a similar being he saw in an Anime (Although said anime character was more vengeful and less leisurely, due to circumstances) by the raw power this guy put out.

"Alright, sure. That sounds reasonable. I'll continue funneling Mats to you even after this deal is done, since I don't need 'em. Better to send them to someone who'll use them." Greg responded to Dom's terms. "For what made me reach out? I felt tired of being weak, and levelling was going too slow for my liking. My goal is to protect those who can't protect themselves, but how can I do that when I myself am not strong enough to protect anyone?" He explains. "That's why I reached out. I figured that a high-levelled player would be able to help me out. I'd previously done small bouts of power-levelling with a player called Calrex, you may know him, but this is the first large-scale Power-levelling I've done, and I'm resolving to see it all the way through. And I figured the promise of lots of rewards would be tempting enough that they would accept. And lo and behold, a high-levelled player DID come. You. Though with you only needing Mats and Sub-Dungeons, the former of which I don't need, that only improves the situation even more." Greg explained. "Anyways, let's get moving. That Snow Beast isn't gonna slay itself." Greg finishes.

Greg begun to sweat again, but accepted the handshake. 'THE Dom? The Berserker? I'm torn on whether this is a good or bad thing.' Greg thought to himself. 'But given the fact that he complimented me on my courage and steeling my nerves, I'm slightly leaning towards good.' Greg thought to himself, not noticing Dom trying to mess with his hair. "I'm sure you know the deal. I need to level up quickly and I'm willing to pay all my col and mats and any quest rewards I get during the powerlevelling for it." He said. He was still nervous but he was feeling a bit more calm since Dom didn't seem to have an intent to kill yet. Greg still kept an air of caution about himself, though, in case Dom did attack and he needed to make a break for it. Given his terrible luck, it was a huge gamble even greeting this guy in the first place. "I figured I would start on the <Essence of Steel> Quest. I've not done that yet, and, assuming you don't need the quest reward item, it would also allow me to upgrade my weaponry (Which, to be frankly honest, is kinda subpar right now. It's just an <Anneal Blade>. We could probably do a Sub-Dungeon too, for extra SP and Mats- all of the mats will go to you since I have no need for 'em anyway." he explains. With someone as powerful as Dom helping him, he figured a Sub-Dungeon wouldn't be too hard to clear.

Greg noted someone... or something... he couldn't tell- walking towards him. Greg wondered what something like that- likely a high-level boss monster, noting the flaming appearance and lack of notable human features- was doing on this floor when- on closer inspection, he noticed an orange cursor floating above it. 'So, a PKer, huh?' Greg thought to himself. He was still nervous, given that this guy, with that suit of armor, was probably much stronger than he was. On the upside, should this guy actually accept his offer, Greg could get some serious levelling done, assuming his thoughts about this guy's level were right. He approaches the player wearing the flaming armor. He was sweating due to nervousness, and this reflected in his tone of voice. He definitely sounded nervous. "So, I assume you're here for offer on the poster I put out on the first floor?" He asked the player. "I've got to say," he continues, being sure to choose his words carefully "Your armor looks really amazing. Definitely imposing and very probably a sign of great strength." Greg said. "If it weren't for the cursor above your head, I'd have thought you'd have been a high-level flame spirit boss or something." He finishes. "As I'm sure you're already aware, my name is Greg and I need help power-levelling." He says, introducing himself.

Greg decided that he'd had enough of being too weak and he was fed up of levelling being really slow. He decided he needed to power level with the assistance of another, higher levelled player. To that end, he put up a poster on Floor 1 stating that he required assistance with power levelling and was willing to pay all his col and any rewards he obtained from the quests, be they items, materials or Col, in return for levelling him up to a decently high level, at least level 30, ideally somewhere in the high 30s. He was never going to get anywhere at his current pace and needed to speed up quickly.

Doing this with Ssendom.

Until the deal expires (i.e. I reach about level 30, though if you want to help me level further I can help you get more mats, up to a reasonable limit of about level 43), sure. How many threads per week is that, anyway, assuming we do a quest and a sub-dungeon each thread?

Although with that being said, I don't really have any need for mats anyway (My shop has long since closed down) so if I get any mats after the deal's off I'll still funnel 'em to you.

Sure, take 'em. All I need is to reach at least level 30 as quickly as possible.

After recently receiving a threat of my character being murdered on the skype chat, Alarm bells started ringing in my mind. I need to power level. With that said, that's why I'm making this post. I'm willing to pay all my col and any col I receive from any threads involved for power-levelling. My goal for the power-levelling is somewhere in the thirties, around the level of the person who made said death threat. Can anyone respond? I would level by myself but I suck at writing solo threads.

"Well, as I said earlier, once you're used to performing Sword Arts, even ones you just learned by raising your weapon skill will be easy to pull off instinctively." Greg explained. "This is because each weapon has a sort of... 'stance' if you will. While it has a bit of flexibility, most Sword Arts have the same starting stance (though with practice you can do it while moving, too)." Greg continued. It was kind of hard to explain. "It's a bit tough for me to explain, and the best way to learn is by doing." He concluded. "As for what to do next? Find some party members and do some quests. I recommend <Earning a Living> and <Secret Medicine of the Forest> for low-level characters." Greg said, before turning away and heading off in a different direction. "I've got to get going. See ya." He says, as he walks off.

-Greg has exited the thread-

He had taken notice of Barryt's progress. "That's it!" Greg told him. He then decided to take his turn again and this time, just struck at the boar with a simple <Vertical> Sword Art, seeing as he had  enough damage to one-hit the boar, even with a regular attack. He swung his blade down, aiming to flat-out slice the boar in two. His sword glowed once again, and he was ready to finish this thing off.  His blade came down...!

ID: 51475

BD 7: Hit! 5-1=4 Damage!

The blade goes clean through the boar, which squeals as it is promptly torn in two by Greg's blade and disintegrates into pixels. Smiling, Greg sheaths his sword. "And that concludes my demonstration. Any questions?"

I need to be re-added to the Skype Chat considering something I only meant as a joke (Which I made clear with an xD before hand, so there was no room for misunderstanding) apparently was extremely offensive to Zero, enough so for him to kick me from the group. He didn't even tell me in no unclear terms that it was annoying him that much.

Neosonic97 is skype name, again.

(Oh, and uh, sorry for the Necro. if Zero hadn't forced my hand I wouldn't have done it).

Greg saw the player bow. "So you just need a tutorial on how combat works, then?" Greg asked. "If that's what you're asking, then sure, I can oblige." Greg continued with a nod. He then looked around and noticed a Boar appear. "In fact, here's an enemy now." Greg said, before approaching and drawing his <Anneal Blade>. "Basically, what you've got to do is, if you're just attacking, hit the foe with your weapon. In my case an OHSS (One-Handed Straight Sword) is meant for light, swift strikes. However, in order to trigger the best tool a Player has- the Sword Arts, you've got to perform certain motions." As he said this, his blade lit up, shining a cyan colour as he readied the <Horizontal Square> Sword Art. "Like so!" He said, charging towards the Boar and releasing his art.

ID: 51322

BD 2: Miss!

(My bad luck returns. Good thing this is only a level 1 boar meant for training.)

Greg's body went through with the motions but the boar got out of the way and attempted to gore Greg!

MD 5-3=2: Miss!

Greg sidestepped the Boar with ease. "While Sword Arts are powerful, they drain your stamina, which should be visible just under your HP. Normally, <Horizontal Square>, which I just performed, would drain 7 Stamina, but since the attack missed, it only drained 2." He explains. "It's a bit weird when starting off with it, but once you get the hang of it, performing even Sword Arts you've just learned becomes a piece of cake." He concludes, before continuing to face off against the Boar. Even low-levelled mobs were a danger to new players, after all.

Greg: 64/64 HP, 14/16 EN, 5 ATK, 7 MIT.

Boar: 4/4 HP, 3 ATK, 1 MIT.

Greg takes notice of the woman that approached him, who quickly introduced herself as Opal, Vice Commander of the KoB. "Yes, Greg's my name." he says, nodding. She asked a few questions, first of which is whether or not he was intimidated by her or if these kind of events just weren't what he liked. "A bit of those two (But who wouldn't be at least somewhat intimidated by such a high-ranking member of the KoB?), and the fact that I MAY have just made a fool of myself by tripping up as soon as I entered the tavern. (Although for the second point it's more I'm unfamiliar with such events, I haven't gone out much ever.)" He responds. Greg opts to order a glass of water, and he figured some food would be nice, too. He listens to Opal's explanation about what the guild means to her. "That... pretty much synchronizes with what I want to do for people. To bring hope and happiness to those who need it. To defend those who can't defend themselves. To put an end to this death game with as few deaths as possible." Greg says. "However, I do have two questions. One: Are any weapons provided? I'm going to need something better than my <Anneal Blade> if I'm going to be able to fight. The second question (And it's not a very serious question) is this: Who's paying for the food and drink here anyway?" Greg asked.

(I was invited here by Opal so... yeah)

Greg decided to head to the Tavern. He'd hoped to break the cycle of inactivity that had been plaguing him recently, and he heard there was a KoB Social event there. He had been considering joining the guild ever since he stopped his inactivity, and was currently running towards the tavern. As he reached the entrance of the tavern, though, he accidentally tripped over something. "Whoa- GAH!" He cried out in the short time between him tripping and promptly faceplanting the ground. "Aw, man, I'll bet that looked great" he sarcastically muttered to himself before getting up and brushing any dirt off.

He observed the scene at hand, and took a look at the colourful crowd around him- plus one familiar face. He wasn't blind and he did in fact see Shizuka in there, but he decided to act as if he didn't. He didn't hate her, in fact, quite the opposite, he just... wasn't ready to talk yet. He'd need time to prepare himself for that, and time that he wasn't planning to take yet. He took a seat. He just couldn't weather the taste of alcoholic drinks (In fact, he HATED the taste) and had vowed to himself not to get drunk (Greg was a bit paranoid about doing things he'd regret while drunk, you see.) so he didn't get any drinks. he just opted to look around and see what the other players are doing. 'These are the people I'm probably going to be working with, so it's probably best that I find out what they're like.'

Greg hesitated as they asked for help. "It depends. What do you need help with?" he asked. "If it's power-levelling, I'm not the guy to go to." he continues. "I'm not a high enough level to try something like that." He told the player, before awaiting his response. There was also the fear that the player would die on his watch, and he seriously DIDN'T want that. He couldn't just refuse, though, seeing as he was going to try and protect those who needed it. That's why he was going to try to fight on the Front Lines.

One of the players approached Greg and introduced himself as Barryt, and he promptly called the others crazy. "I don't think I'm crazy, no." he responds. "I was just passing by while exploring, since I'm currently trying to level up." He explains, before preparing to go about on his way. "I should probably get going. Considering I heard the word "blood" over there, I'm gonna guess those two people laughing psychotically are not people you want to associate with." He said, before heading on his way while exploring Aincrad.

Taking a look around, Greg had noticed a blonde-haired boy sitting on a bench, as if he was waiting for someone. Greg figured it couldn't hurt to approach, and ask him. "Waiting for someone, I assume?" he said, making his presence known. He was always equipped in his signature <Coat of the Azure Wind>, a long blue coat which blew in the wind. It made him look, and feel, like a wanderer- come to think of it, wasn't wandering around aimlessly exactly what Greg was doing right now? He thought about this while he waited for the other boy to answer.