Greg Baxen

"Yeah, let's." Greg said. That scene where he and Shizuka kissed was embedded in his mind fully now, and he figured he would go to an Artisan and try to get it made into a miniature masterpiece so he could keep that moment in his mind forever. "I hope we can have more moments like this in the future, Shizuka. And I'll try my hardest to not let anything change the fact that we're both happy." Greg said, resolve evident in his eyes. Eventually, the two returned to their neighbouring shops on floor 1 and split off, before getting some sleep.

THREAD COMPLETE!

Greg gains 1 SP and 200 Col.

Shizuka gains 1 SP and 200 Col.

(It's okay, don't worry about it)

"Oh, yeah, of course. I never planned to use it in public anyway. It's just when we're alone together." Greg said, smiling and giving her a thumbs up to confirm he got it. He then yawned. "It looks like it's getting late... want to call it a day and head back to our shops?" Greg asked as he got up, before offering his girlfriend a hand. "We do need to get some sleep after all."

Greg chuckled at Shizuka's comment. "My situation was pretty much the exact same as yours, except me staying in was by choice." Greg said in response. "The feelings are mutual, Shizuka (or should I call you by your real name?)." Greg said, as Shizuka said she was grateful for the game bringing them together. "Honestly, I think this is actually the happiest I've been in a long while. Just being able to relax and actually feel special and important to someone. And in turn, making them feel special and important." Greg told his girlfriend. No matter what happened, Greg was going to stick by Shizuka until death claimed one or both of them. Greg would do his greatest to ensure that it did not claim either's life prematurely, and what he didn't know is that his resolve was going to be put to the test in the near future...

"Well, let's get going, then." Greg said as he beckoned for Ebony to follow him into the desert. Immediately he could feel the heat. It was boiling out here! In order to distract himself, he tried to strike up conversation. "What level are you, by the way?" Greg asked. curiously. "I'm level 16." he revealled after he said this. This girl seemed trustworthy enough to not attempt to PK him... he hoped. He wouldn't want to die here and leave Shizuka all alone, after all.

ID: 41006

CD 3: No damage!

Thankfully, there wasn't a wave of sand coming along right now, so Greg could rest relatively easily.

"Generally speaking, it depends on whether you'd rather be freezing cold or boiling hot." Greg responded. "In short, we either search for it now, during the day, when it's host, and rest at night, when it's cold, or the other way around- rest during the day, search during the night." Greg says. "Then there's of course the wind and the sand. We should conserve our health potions until we can't take another wave of sand. That way, we let ourselves regenerate as much as possible." Greg says, relaying the plan to Ebony.

Greg extends his own hand out upon hearing her introduction. "The name's Greg. Guild doesn't really matter to me- I'm also guildless." Greg says. He heard her give details about her skills. "A healer, huh? That's definitely going to be useful for this. I actually bought some potions for this quest but with you here I may not need to use 'em (though I may have to give them to you.) Greg quipped. "As for doing the quest with you, yeah, sure." he said, sending Ebony a party invite.

Greg looked around near the exit of the town. Surely people were going to do <The Traveler> at some point or another, weren't they? At that point, Greg caught sight of a player wandering around near the exit of the city. A black-haired girl who looked kinda familiar... had Greg seen her once before? He couldn't tell. Either way, this was a good opportunity to find a questing partner, he figured, even though it was a girl and thus he'd have to do even more explaining to Shizuka if she found out he'd been out questing with this girl he saw right here. Approaching, he made his presence known. "Hey. You doing <The Traveler> too?" he asked.

Greg threw his hands up defensively as Celes put a glaive to his throat. "Whoa! You're misunderstanding! As Shizuka said, we were merely explaining ourselves!" Greg stated. "Yeesh. If we WERE going to attack them (NOT SAYING THAT WE ARE), we would have a valid reason to do so (which we DON'T here). In THAT situation they'd be as good as dead. But this is NOT that situation. I came here out of curiosity due to the fact that Shizuka was here, and was trying to diffuse tension. But jeez! I'm sorry for phrasing that badly. I'm out. I don't think I want to stay near someone who points their blade at another's throat due to a misunderstanding- let alone someone close to one of their guildmates." Greg rants, before walking away. Well, THAT ruined his mood.

Greg has left the thread.

Suddenly, Greg appeared in the shop. He looked around for a moment, before placing this order. He called out to who he assumed to be Calrex's wife. "Hey, can you craft these for me? I'm a friend of Calrex's!" he said, placing two orders, and paying 1600 Col.

Item: Sky Blue Blossom
Item Type: Lucky Charm
Quality: Perfect
Enhancement: Crafting Die.
Description: A sky blue figurine shaped somewhat like a blooming flower. It symbolizes the bond shared between Greg and Shizuka.

Item: Blue and Pink in the Crossing field.
Item Type: Miniature Masterpiece
Quality: Perfect
Enhancement: Crafting Attempt
Description: A sketch depicting Greg and Shizuka sitting together, kissing, in the High Fields of Crossing.

Greg was surprised when Shizuka kissed him. 'I could get used to this.' He thought. It seemed it was becoming a habit of Greg to do something that caused Shizuka to come closer... only for her to kiss him. He wrapped both his arms around her and kissed back. He wondered what Shizuka was feeling like right now. She was the one who initiated the kiss, so it was only reasonable to assume that she was, at the very least enjoying it. Greg on the other hand was feeling an overload of emotions- they were all over the place. Happy, confused, scared, excited, amazed, all at the same time. One thing was for certain though- Greg wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. She made him feel special. Greg was never one to receive large amounts of praise or affection. He was usually lonely. Shizuka solved both of these issues. She showered him with affection and wanted to be with him. She was smart, kind, beautiful- all these factors made Shizuka irresistable to Greg. Not one factor prevailed above another- better looking women were out as far as Greg was concerned. Shizuka was the only one for him.

Greg found it strange. He knew a lot of people spent a good portion of their life searching for true love. He knew that few actually found it. He figured that of the few who did find it, even fewer found it young, usually being quite old when they eventually found it. Yet, here Greg was. 18 years old, and not even searching for true love, and yet he found it with Shizuka, who, he figured, was actually younger than he was. All due to getting stranded in a death game, leading to a chance meeting in a ramen stall and a kiss in a foggy forest. 'Fate works in strange ways, I suppose, but I'm not complaining, with THIS result.' he thought to himself.

Greg was about to speak, but his girlfriend beat him to the punch. After she finished, Greg spoke. "What my Girlfriend says is the truth- If we wanted you dead, you'd be dead already. I simply saw everyone gathered here and would've ignored the situation had Shizuka not been here." Greg says. "In short, (and I know this is a line used in pretty much any film with aliens in ever), we come in peace." Greg deadpanned. "So can we all just put our weapons away? Please?" Greg asks, annoyance in his voice, as he throws his hands up defensively.

Greg had arrived on Floor 5 after taking the quest <The Traveler> to obtain the <Survival> extra skill. He figured the bonus health regeneration and immunity to environmental damage would be very helpful to have. He had recently bought a potion from the shop of his girlfriend/future wife, Shizuka, as preparation for this quest. He dressed lightly, only in a blue shirt and and blue pants. He knew how deserts got- they were absolutely boiling during the day, and absolutely freezing during the night. In addition, there were sandstorms to worry about. Before leaving the town, Greg took a look around to see if there was anyone else doing the quest that he could talk to so he wasn't bored out of his mind looking for that cargo.

Greg pops up in the Shop again. "Hey there Sa-Shizuka. Gonna buy this Perfect Health Potion here." Greg says as he pays his girlfriend 1000 Col for a potion. He accidentally almost called her by her real name in a public location.

-1000 Col.

+1 Perfect Health Potion.

Taking this with Ebony.

Greg smiled as she accepted. Looking at the time, it seemed to be getting late. "It seems to be getting late. I wouldn't suggest staying out too late, or something nasty might come and kill you, be it a mob or a PKer. I'm off anyway. Gotta get back to my shop, after all." Greg said as he started to walk off. Turning back, he waved to his new friend and spoke again. "If you need help with anything, just send me a PM and I'll be there if possible." He said, before leaving the area.

Greg thought for a moment. 'There's something she's not telling me...' Greg thought, based on the look on her face. 'It seems personal, though, so I won't pry. That would be rude and probably insensitive too.' Greg turned. "That's a noble goal. Wanting to help people always is, unless the people who you want to help don't have good intentions." Greg responded, before dismissing the question. "You mean with my relationship with Shizuka?" he asked as she said she hoped it would work out for him. "Or just my overall goal? Either way, thanks. Anyways, you seem like a nice enough person..." Greg said, smiling, as he sent a friend request to Vayrin.

Greg noticed as Shizuka began to blush, a very large amount, then look away. He realizes that he may have had more of an effect on her than he intended. He wanted her to loosen up a bit and talk, without worry about what he was going to say. She ended up having her face turn red, and being unable to speak. Greg, having somewhat of an idea of what Shizuka was going through, just looked up at the sky and awaited a response. 'Welp, I think I overloaded her brain with that speech. Best let her cool down a bit.' He really enjoyed this, and hoped that he would have more moments with his girlfriend, like this one, in the future. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. Not quite a hug, but just holding her close.

Greg suddenly showed up on the scene. Multiple people were already gathered there... including one Greg knew all too well. Greg walked up behind Shizuka and put his hands over her eyes. "Guess who?" He said in a kinda mischievous voice. After she had guessed Greg would removed his hands from her eyes and introduce himself to the group of players in front of him. "Hello. My name's Greg Baxen." he said. Greg then wrapped an arm around Shizuka and pulled her close when he noticed one of them make a defensive stance. "Whoa, what's with the hostility?" he quipped.

"People can have multiple answers to what drives them in Aincrad. Not just getting out of the game." Greg responded. "I don't mean what drives you to get out of the game- I mean what drives you to continue fighting onwards in Aincrad, even though there are other players who will likely do it ahead of you. For me, the drive comes from not wanting other players to needlessly suffer, for starters, and then there's my love for Shizuka- obviously." Greg continued.

Greg seemed a bit surprised that she was rich and famous for a moment, before shaking it off. "Well. I can't say I saw that coming. And I honestly haven't heard of you- but then again, I don't pay attention to politics or popular music all that much. That being said, I'm not gonna judge you- I don't care about material things like money and fame- well, I do to an extent- but I love you for, well, you. You're one of the sweetest people I've met and you also have a good head on your shoulders- Why would your background change my opinion on you? The only backstory that's gonna change my opinion on someone is a dark or tragic backstory (Like killing someone in the past, or being an orphan), and I would only judge the former if I deemed their actions unjust." Greg responded. "As for me? I was known as the big nerd back in my childhood. I was bullied a lot and struggled to make friends with people. I suppose I'm what people would call an... 'otaku'? Is that the right terminology for someone who loves Video games, anime and manga lots? Anyway, I try my hardest to not upset the people I'm close to (like you) for fear of losing them and being alone again." Greg revealed. He stopped for a moment before talking about his plans after getting out of Aincrad. "Once we get out of Aincrad, I'm going to continue pursuing my dream of being a Video Games Programmer. I've always loved computer games since I was... what, four, five years old? That's what drives me on the route I'm taking through life."  Greg told his beloved. "You don't need to hide anything from me, Samantha." he said, using her real name. "I can promise that I'll at the very least try to understand you." He told his girlfriend, looking her in the eyes as he said this, trying to convey that he meant every word.

Greg sighed in content, before starting his questions to Shizuka. "Okay, so, since we're going to get each other better (We can't get married without doing so after all, that would just be weird), I suppose we should start with something simple- our real names." Greg said. "This goes double since I do actually plan on, at the very least, getting in contact with you after this whole mess is over, if not flat-out meeting you in person." Greg continued. "I'll start... well, you already know my real first name- It's actually the very same name I use here- Greg. Yes, I know it's poor conduct for online play, but let's be honest here, Greg is an incredibly average/generic name, so... yeah. As for my last name, it's an extended version of the one I use here. My full name is Greg Baxendale. What's yours?" He begins, telling her his real life name.

"A tailor, huh?" Greg says. Shrugging for a moment, he opts to disclose his own profession. "As for me, I'm a Blacksmith." Greg stated. "Although I've not made anything of the 'perfect' quality yet..." he mutters after that. "Personally I'm more of a fighter than a crafter, but I do need to improve at my profession, so I can help people in more ways than one." Greg says, resolve evident in his eyes. Closing his eyes for a second, Greg opens them again. "I have to ask you something- what actually drives you here, in Aincrad? What keeps you going?" He asks.

"Well, now I see why this place is used as a date spot- It's absolutely gorgeous- to the point of downright absurdity! Seriously- if this were an anime or something, my jaw would've dropped!" Greg quipped. "I definitely agree on us coming here again sometime Shizuka- and I already explained why." Greg continued, repyling to Shizuka's comment about coming here more often. He looked at Shizuka, who was enjoying herself a lot. Smiling, Greg decided to pick a flower and hand it to her. "For you." he said as he did this. He was blushing once again. _{"Man, I'm still not used to being romantic and all that. I hope I'm doing things right."} he muttered under his breath so that Shizuka wouldn't hear. After this, he searched for a spot where the two could sit down without damaging the flowers. Eventually, he found a spot. "Let's sit over there." he said, taking Shizuka's hand once again and pulling her over to the spot before sitting down himself.

Greg noted Shizuka was getting excited, and started jumping up and down. Grinning, he spoke. "Yeah, Let's do it!" Greg said as he begun to run with Shizuka behind him, going up the mountain as fast as possible. They soon reached the top, and the sight was more spectacular than Greg had thought it would be. It was a massive flower garden, with flowers of all different colours blooming. Greg's jaw almost dropped. "Woah... I was expecting beautiful, but this, this is something else." Greg said. It had seriously blown past his expectations with flying colours.

Greg smiled as Shizuka came walking up to him. "Hey." he responded with the exact same phrase she said. He then pulled the girl into a short hug. As that point, he took Shizuka's hand and begun leading her towards the field. "Well, let's get going." he said with a smile on his face, as he did this. As the he led her towards the place he had picked out, Greg begun to speak again. "What you said during our last date got me thinking. We don't really know much about each other outside of SAO, do we? When I got that thought, I immediately figured that I would remedy it during the following date- this one, to be precise." Greg explained.