Greg Baxen

It had been a few days since Greg and Shizuka had had their first date, and now Greg wanted another. He pondered his options as to what to do, and set out searching for a suitable date spot that hadn't already been used (So no Frostbite Lake again). Eventually, he heard of a place called the High Fields of Crossing, which he heard had many different types of flowers and was often chosen as a date spot. Greg, seeing the chance, recorded its location before sending a PM to Shizuka asking her out again. It read:

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Hey there Shizuka. Greg here. I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me to a place on Floor 2 called the High Fields of Crossing. PM me with an answer if you are, then meet me in Urbus by the teleport gate. By the way, (and I know this'll probably get old), I love you.

Once that was done, he thought about what he was going to do on the date if she accepted. On that day he had announced his plans to marry her in the future- today, he was going to take her advice from that day and get to know her better, letting her know about him in return.

"Sorry if that was weird. It's just I couldn't help but make sure." Greg apologized, scratching his head. "As I said, I don't want to totally blow it. Not after I confirmed that she returned my feelings. So I thought it made sense to take precautions so nobody got the wrong idea." Greg said, once again referring to the moment he and Shizuka shared on floor 4. "Anyways, I'm getting off topic." Greg stated, before switching to a much more relevant topic. "What profession are you, anyway?" Greg asked. He was curious.

"Yeah, sure. I was out trying to gather materials too, as I stated earlier. And it's dangerous to go alone, so I'll team up with you." Greg stated, sending a party invite to Vayrin. "Oh, and uh, I don't mean to sound rude when I say this, but don't go getting any funny ideas, okay? I do have a girlfriend and I don't want to mess up my relationship with her. Her name is Shizuka, before you ask." Greg stated. He didn't want to end up finding himself in a love triangle after all. He'd much rather stay loyal to Shizuka. His thoughts drifted to the moment they shared on floor 4, and it brought a smile to his face.

Greg places the Pelt Armor of the Alpha Wolf into the trade menu, then hits accept straight away. "The armor has similar stats to my <Coat of the Azure Wind> which I'm wearing right now," he says, pointing to the blue coat he was wearing. "But the stats are lower. In essence, it'll increase your evasion, making foes less likely to hurt you. In turn, though, you won't get any mitigation from it unless you invest in the Light Armor skill." He explains. 

THREAD COMPLETE!

Greg gains 1 SP and 200 Col.

Shizuka gains 1 SP and 200 Col.

Greg turned to the Violet-haired girl. "It's no problem. I said earlier, didn't I? I absolutely refuse to see another player die needlessly if I can help it." Greg repeated. The girl then introduced herself to Greg. "Nice to meet you, Vayrin. My name's Greg." he said, offering a handshake. He thought for a second. "The Alpha Wolf actually dropped some Armor. Do you want it? I don't really have a use for it as my armor is much better, but I'm pretty sure you could make usage of it." Greg said, while sending a trade offer to Vayrin.

Greg understood Shizuka's answer. Of course it wasn't gonna be right away, Greg never wanted that. He just wanted a confirmation. "Don't worry about it!" he said with a wink. "I never planned for it to be right away anyway." he continued. "I just wanted to be sure if you felt the same way I did on the subject... sorry if I sounded weird then." he replied awkwardly. "And I'm glad to hear that you do in fact like me the same way I like y-" Greg was saying, but he never got to finish as Shizuka had kissed him again. Greg did the only thing he could possibly consider at that point- returning the kiss. Well, that was that, he supposed. 'So she truly does feel the same way... that makes me really happy.' Greg thought as he lay on the snow, Shizuka in his arms, the two sharing a kiss. After the kiss was finished, Greg grinned. "Well, now that that's out of the way, let's head inside. I don't want us to freeze to death so soon after confessing to each other (Though I doubt that'd be physically possible anyway considering how warm I feel, and it was technically you confessing to me- I already confessed to you ages ago)." Greg quipped before getting up (helping Shizuka get up, too).

Crafts: None today, yet.

Loot: 

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Name: Pelt Armor of the Alpha Wolf

Type: Loot Drop.

Roll: 19.

Type: Light Armor.

Quality: Uncommon.

Enhancements: Evasion.

Description: A piece of pelt armor made from the fur of the Alpha Wolf. It seems to enhance the user's agility, making them harder to hit.

Thread obtained: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/10068-pp-f2-small-world-greg-baxen/

Greg readied another <Vertical Arc>, knowing that it would kill said Wolf. He had to finish this quickly or there would likely be blood spilt. He rushed towards the Wolf, before once again bringing his blade down.

ID: 40591

BD 10: Super Critical! +2 Damage! (2*2*6=24 damage)

To say Greg's blade tore through the wolf like a hot knife through butter would be an understatement. It went clean through without slowing down at all, before Greg shifted his grip and slashed again, creating the shape of a V in the air, sending the Wolf flying before it disappeared into pixels. Greg knew the Wolf was rather strong, so he checked if any loot was dropped.

LD 19: Uncommon Item!

Greg noted that the Wolf had dropped an uncommon piece of equipment. He looked at it- it was a piece of light armor. Much to Greg's dismay, it was much inferior to his own armor. He sheathed his sword, smiling at a job well done, though.

Greg: 56/56 HP, 6/14 EN.

Vayrin: 24/32 HP, 2/8 EN.

Alpha Wolf: DEAD.

Greg noted that the girl was outmatched and out of energy. The Alpha Wolf would kill her at this rate. grimacing, Greg decided that he'd seen enough, and jumped into the fray himself. Coming up behind the Alpha Wolf, he readied his strongest known Sword Art, <Vertical Arc>. He brought his sword down at an angle, preparing to tear into the wolf.

ID: 40490

BD 6+1=7: Hit! (2x2x4=16 damage).

The wolf, despite not expecting the blow, didn't seem to take too much damage from the attack. It did lose about 1/3 of its HP, but It growled at Greg for attacking it in the back, interrupting its hunt. Greg turned his attention to the girl. "And this is what I was talking about earlier." he quipped. "And before you ask, no, I wasn't following you." he lied. "I was gathering materials around here, heard, then subsequently saw this thing trying to murder you and jumped into the fray myself, because I refuse to see another player die unjustly if I can help it." Greg said. The first part was a lie (he was following her, not that he'd let her know that) but the latter part was true.

Greg: 56/56 HP, 10/14 EN.

Vayrin: 32/32 HP, 3/8 EN.

Alpha Wolf: 19/40 HP.

"Glad you liked it." Greg replied to Shizuka. He knew she'd been working really hard trying to get out of Aincrad and honestly deserved a break. She jokingly asked if he wanted to join her in lying in the snow for stargazing, knowing that in actuality she didn't need to ask. As she marvelled at the sight, Greg couldn't help but agree. "I'd heard that it got really beautiful at night here, but damn. THIS is something else entirely." he quipped. The sight of it was jaw-dropping, to say the least. Greg's heart was beating very quickly, nervousness rising to an all-time high, because he just knew that he wasn't going to be able to help asking THAT question, despite Calrex's advice earlier. He had confirmed that both he and Shizuka loved each other very much, but it still didn't bring him any relief from the nervousness. He then steeled his nerves, gulped, and then asked the question. What was that question, you may ask? "Shizuka, I know this is kinda sudden and very possibly way too soon, but..." he delayed for a moment before finishing his question. Four words. One very important question.

"Will you marry me?" Greg asked. He had done it- against Calrex's advice, he proposed. He didn't have a ring or anything, but he asked the question. His face was a very deep red at this point.

Greg was surprised at what Shizuka did next... she shuffled up so her face was in front of his... and then kissed him. Almost as if sensing Shizuka's thoughts, Greg wrapped his arms around her and kissed back. 'I won't leave you, ever. The only thing I ask of you in return is that you do the same. That's fair, right?' were Greg's thoughts. If Greg had any doubts that Shizuka had loved him back when she first accepted to be his girlfriend, they were now gone. Seeing the tear drop from Shizuka's eyes, Greg wiped it away, before slowly pulling away from the kiss. He looked into Shizuka's eyes. "We're both going to make it out of Aincrad. Together!" he declared with resolve. Greg had a duty- to protect Shizuka at almost any cost- excluding his own death. He had to be alive to protect her, of course, and he knew that if he were to perish, Shizuka would be crushed. Greg couldn't- no, WOULDN'T allow that to happen.

Greg merely watched in silence as the girl effortlessly cleaved through the three wolves, but she wasn't out of trouble yet- he noticed that an Alpha Wolf had appeared. He was still in a stance primed for combat in case she needed the help. He would continue to observe until he was absolutely certain she needed help. In the meantime, he searched for mats with half of his focus (the other being on the battle.)

ID: 40455

LD 1: Failure.

Greg didn't find anything, and returned to his hiding spot to observe the battle.

Greg was worried that Shizuka had hurt herself- having twisted her own leg, while trying to get off. She then fell onto his chest area. Greg, in a strange twist of irony, was thinking the exact same thoughts as Shizuka. 'This is so awkward!' Was Greg's first thought after making sure the situation wasn't all too severe. And he didn't miss that blush from her. "I saw the blush, but I'm not gonna tease you about it- I mean, I'm in no position to- I'm blushing too." Greg stated. Oddly enough, despite lying on the ice with Shizuka and being in a rather... strange position, Greg actually felt somewhat comfortable. 'Oh man. I'm not turning into a pervert, am I?' he thought as he realized this, with his blush deepening.

Shizuka had burst ahead of him and Greg was preparing to catch up when he realized Shizuka had forgotten to turn... and was falling right towards him. Skidding to a stop (He mastered that, at least), he caught Shizuka before she hit something, but the unfortunate situation is Shizuka falling was unexpected and Greg didn't have time to regain his balance- so while he did manage to catch Shizuka- he then fell a moment later, causing Greg to hit the ground and Shizuka to land on top of him. "Woah- Oof!" Greg yelled out as this happened. Greg was disoriented for a second and wasn't quite sure what was going on... until he realized that he was on the ground... with Shizuka laying on top of him. Once he realized that the two were in an awkward position, he blushed, making a nervous quip "Y-you, uh... forget to turn there...?" Greg quipped nervously. He wasn't feeling his usual snarky self because his girlfriend had just landed right on top of him, placing them in a very... compromising position.

Greg knew Shizuka had the experience advantage but he wasn't going to let that stop him from at least putting in a large amount of effort. Greg begun skating again, keeping an eye on Shizuka's position every now and again. He was maintaining a lead, but just what was Shizuka planning...? She seemed to be pacing herself- was she planning on waiting until Greg tired out, then overtaking him? In that case, Greg thought it was best to pace himself too- not going fast enough to tire himself out quickly, but not going slow enough to allow Shizuka to overtake him. He had to get the perfect pace... something which he was struggling to do. He was constantly adjusting his speed, unsure of what was the right pace. 'Focus, Greg, focus! You've got to pace yourself!' he thought to himself.

Greg's childhood was a rather average one, though he was known throughout his schools as a nerd mostly interested in computer games. He was bullied a few times as a result, mostly in the younger years of school, which led to his shyness, causing him to struggle to make friends. He wasn't gonna tell Shizuka this, though, unless the two shared their backgrounds with each other. However, he'd seen plenty of Ice Skating from programs his parents put on TV when he was younger- before he was an avid gamer like he was now, so he did know somewhat how Ice Skating worked.

Shizuka had challenged Greg to a race. "Alright, bring it!" Greg said with enthusiasm. While this was his girlfriend he was speaking to, Greg did like to compete with others and, although he may not be extremely skilled at Ice Skating, but he was gonna give it his all. But first they needed to establish some rules. "We're gonna need a starting line, and I'd assume there's a number of laps we'd need to go to decide the winner." Greg stopped and waited for Shizuka to do the same. "Okay, so here are the rules. Here is the start point, and the first to complete three laps around the rink wins. That okay with you?" he asked.

Greg noted that the girl had been ambushed by some wolves. He waited for a second to gauge how powerful the wolves were, and if the girl needed his help. She was outnumbered, that was for certain, but were the wolves powerful enough to kill her? He most certainly hoped not, but it was unlikely they weren't. He unsheated his <Anneal Blade> and prepared to jump out and save the girl from certain death if the situation called for it. His gut feeling that something was off turned out to be right after all.

Greg still wasn't sure if it was safe for the violet-haired Girl to be out hunting here alone without any armor, so he would opt to follow her just outside of her field of vision, knowing that his presence was unwanted. In that sense, he could still keep an eye on the girl, who he figured, based on her choice of hunting location, was about level 8, giving her enough HP to take five hits from the mobs around here without dying. He would, however, leave her to her own devices unless she needed help, though. In the meantime, Greg hunted for Materials of his own accord. 

ID: 40390

LD 4: Nothing.

There was nothing of note around him, so Greg muttered under his breath, trying not to let the girl hear him. 

Stealth Rating: 10. 

"Good to hear." Greg said as the girl affirmed she was fine. She then explained she was looking for Materials. "I see. You might want to get some mitigation or evasion if you're going to fight mobs a lot, though. I mean, taking a closer look, you don't seem to be wearing any armor in particular." He explained. "While I have no doubts you had it under control, I didn't want to risk something going wrong (like having insanely bad luck- believe me, it's happened to me more than once) and you getting killed. I refuse to see another player die in front of me if I can help it." Greg said, resolve evident in his eyes.

"I actually loaned two pairs earlier. It's back in the town." he responded, before handing Shizuka her pair (which were a vivid pink coloured pair, given the colour he associated with Shizuka) and putting his own pair, (which had a deep blue colour) on, and stepping out onto the ice. It took him a bit of time to get the hang of skating, but he got it down quickly enough for him to have composed himself before Shizuka finished putting her skates on. (after slipping and falling on his butt twice or so). As he waited for Shizuka to join him on the ice, he skated around a bit.

Greg was exploring Floor 2 in an attempt to gather more materials to get more crafting for his profession as a Blacksmith when he came across another player being attacked by an Ox. The player he saw was a violet-haired girl, wielding a blade somewhat like his own. While the violet-haired girl seemed to hold the advantage, Greg decided to get involved himself, not wanting to risk seeing another player die, which could possibly happen seeing as she didn't seem to be wearing any notable armor. Approaching from behind while unsheathing his <Anneal Blade>, Greg stabbed at the Ox using <Sonic Leap>! He charged forwards, his blade glowing yellow as he thrust it in the Ox's direction.

ID: 40389

BD 6+1=7: Hit! (3x1x4=12 damage.).

LD 12: No Mats.

As Greg's blade penetrated the Ox's skin, it roared out in pain before dissolving into pixels. Smiling at a job well done, Greg sheathed his <Anneal Blade>, before turning to the girl. "You okay?" he asked.

Greg: 56/56 HP, 11/14 EN.

Vayrin: 32/32 HP, 7/8 EN.

Ox: DEAD.

Greg smiled as Shizuka came running up to him and took his hand, before asking where they were going. "Patience, Shizuka, It's best if I show you." He responds with a smile, and begins leading Shizuka towards Frostbite Lake. "We should be able to get there soon, and it's quite a nice place. It's also pretty beautiful at night." he continues, not referring to it by name. After a short while of walking, the couple arrived at the location Greg wished to show her. "And we're here. Behold, Frostbite Lake!" Greg said as he showed her the lake in question. "I searched for a while to find a suitably romantic place and eventually chose here, for a couple of reasons, the first of which is what we're about to do next- Ice Skating!" Greg announces to Shizuka.

I'm up for it.

Greg wanted to take Shizuka out on a date like the two had agreed a while ago, and had spent a lot of time searching for a suitable location. Eventually, he decided that, despite the fact that he didn't like the floor, he'd take Shizuka to Floor 4, where he had heard of an area called Frostbite Lake which was free of monsters and could be used for Ice Skating. He also heard that it was really beautiful at night. He figured that would be romantic enough. Remembering his past mistake, Greg dressed in his <Coat of the Azure Wind> from the start this time, knowing just how cold the floor was. He then went to Floor 4 and sent Shizuka a PM asking her if she wanted to go out on a date with him on said floor.