Cordelia

Cordelia gave the nearly dead Orgoth a sad and pitied gaze as she watched him demand for the players to end him. Part of her felt guilty that they couldn't somehow find a way to rescue him from The Shadow, but perhaps it was just never meant to be. She didn't bother raising her sword for his demise, she knew someone else would take the deed happily. Consider it as an act of respect. 

A relieved sigh left her as she watched someone finally strike down the minotaur, knowing that his ones and zeroes will rest in peace now. In Aincrad heaven or whatever. She was thankful for a chance to finally have a breather, but it was obvious that the moment will be short lived. "... Are you guys okay?" she suddenly asked, cocking her head towards the people in her group. Yuki definitely took a few hard blows, but Morgernstern and Crow seemed to be taking care of her.

"Er- sorry about earlier. I think I spaced out or something," she muttered quietly, shrugging her shoulders almost nonchalantly as she remarked about how she didn't managed to get an attack the last round. She honestly had no idea the reason why she was out of it then and there, but really, she couldn't bother coming up with a solid answer or excuse for it. 

+2 EN regained

H:7] Zajcica | HP: 1432/1630 +(326) | EN: 131/136 -(5) | DMG: 1 | ACC: 2 | MIT: 335 | TAUNT | THRNS: 30 | FRAURA: 30 | FLAURA:  30 | HB: 24 | LM: 1 | LD: 3 | DoT: -50%, 1 HIT, -25% AFTER | Dote 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | BH: 81 | RESTED: 2/3 | [Parry - V. Riposte]
[H:5] Morgenstern | HP: 1645/1645 | EN: 73/142 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 141 | Fireproof | Bloodclot | Paralytic Immune | DoT -25% | VO: 160 | BH: 82
[H:1] Bahr | HP: 1730/1730 | EN: 153/167 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | MIT: 79 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | TXV: 24 | HB: 24 | PHASE | DoT: - 27 | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -30% | LD: 8 | BH: 86
[H:3] Crozeph | HP: 1330/1330 | EN: 47/112 | DMG: 21 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 97 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | REC: 3 | FRZ: 36 | BRN: 36 | BH: 66 | [Field Medic: 0/2]
[H:3] Cordelia | HP: 1390/1390 | EN: 98/118 | DMG: 25 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 5 | MIT: 130 | HLY: 12 | FRAURA: 15 | ABS ACC | PHASE | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | BH: 69
[H:3] Beat | HP: 1505/1505 | EN: 106/128 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 8 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 63 | HLY: 6 | BLD: 36 | PARAIMMUNE | ENVENOM: 18 | BLI: 36 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | RESTED: 1/3 | DoT: -25%, 1 HIT | BH: 75 | ABS ACC

The corner of Cordelia's eyes twitched as Orgoth began throwing 'insult' after insult at the frontliners. Did this guy seriously have nothing better to do than to diss them in the middle of a fight? Frankly, she wasn't even sure if the words he threw at her was an insult or a compliment. It may was well be both. Well, whatever it was, it was seriously beginning to piss her off and they've barely been in this fight for more than a few handful of minutes. The last thing she wanted to do was to be driven by her emotions, though. No, she needed to think rationally, as much as this stupid shadow was pulling at her strings. 

From her point of view, the parties have been doing better than she expected. They had managed to get a health bar and a half down in the few minutes they've been here, which if you hadn't noticed, was ridiculously bonkers? She was certain there would be more to this after they had taken the possessed Orgoth, but what exactly, she was unsure. Her thoughts trailed back to the boss meeting they had all those days ago. Possession. That was The Shadow's whole shtick, righ? Her eyes narrowed into slits as she recalled the idea of The Shadow possibly possessing a player. Why she was thinking of that now, she had no idea, but the thought itself placed an icy rock in the pit of her stomach. 

She exhaled hotly. There wasn't time to think about that now. She was in a boss battle for Pete's sake! Just when she finally snapped out of it, she got an attack to the face. Great. Just great! It definitely caught her by surprise, managing to knock her back a few feet, but she was able to sturdy herself before she had made a fool of herself. Her eyes glazed over her healthbar. Orgoth's attack did quite a bit, but her battle healing was quick to refill about half of it. She guessed it was a good idea to max out that skill after all.

Finally back down to Earth, Cordelia was quick to get back into things. Her eyes locked on to the minotaur just briefly before she made a dash for him. The click of her boots drowned over her pounding heartbeat as she approached Orgoth for a second time, katana flying wildly beside her as she readied herself from another San Ge attack. It was in no way as powerful as her last attack had done, but damage was damage, so she took it. 

ID: 178148
BD: 6, HIt | 25x15= 375-100= 275 DMG to Orgoth

+69 HP [BH]

[H:5] @Zajcica | HP: 957/1630 | EN: 131/136 | DMG: 1 | ACC: 2 | MIT: 335 | TAUNT | THRNS: 30 | FRAURA: 30 | FLAURA:  30 | HB: 24 | LM: 1 | LD: 3 | DoT: -50%, 1 HIT, -25% AFTER | Dote 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | BH: 81 | RESTED: 2/3
[H:2] @Morgenstern | HP: 1487/1645 | EN : 142/142 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 141 | Fireproof | Bloodclot | Paralytic Immune | DoT -25% [1/1] | VO: 160 | BH: 82
[H:0] @Bahr | HP: 1651/1730 | EN: 162/167 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | MIT: 79 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | TXV: 24 | HB: 24 | PHASE | DoT: - 27 | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -30% | RESTED: 2/3 | LD: 8 | BH: 86 | [Parry: 0/2]
[H:1] @Crozeph | HP: 1172/1330 | EN: 100 /112 | DMG: 21 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 97 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | REC: 3 | FRZ: 36 | BRN: 36 | BH: 66
[H:2] @Cordelia | HP: 1301/1390 | EN: 96/118 | DMG: 25 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 5 | MIT: 130 | HLY: 12 | FRAURA: 15 | ABS ACC | PHASE | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | BH: 69
[H:2] @Beat | HP: 1347/1505 | EN: 117/128 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 8 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 63 | HLY: 6 | BLD: 36 | PARAIMMUNE | ENVENOM: 18 | BLI: 36 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | RESTED: 2/3 | DoT: -25%, 1 HIT | BH: 75 | ABS ACC

A solemn quietness fell over the shop as a familiar face appeared from behind the drapes. A busy Cordelia stood behind the counter, her hair tied neatly behind her as she worked quietly on the cutting board in front of her. 

"Welcome," she replied back softly, her eyes not leaving her workspace. "You can take a seat at one of the stools and I'll..." her already quiet voice trailed off into silence as her breath hitched in realization. A friend's voice turned stranger, she found it unbelievable that she still recognized it, but how could she not? Was it even possible to forget such a voice? She found it hard to believe so, yet despite that, she couldn't will herself to even look at the voice's owner in the eyes without feeling the need to burst into hysterical sobbing. Gross hysterical sobbing.

"Take a seat," she repeated, her voice now barely above a whisper. She took a second to regain her composure, but even that wasn't enough to stop her from visibly shaking like a magnitude nine earthquake. What she was feeling was anxiety, frustration, and not to mention fury all squished together into one big ugly ball of chaos, she knew that much. What she was going to do with that metaphorical ball of utter destruction was completely beyond her but it was there! It was definitely fucking there!

The fight was finally here. The fight she had been preparing for since the day she left the Town of Beginnings. The thought sparked an indescribable feeling in her chest. Hope? Triumph? Determination? Or was fear? Distress or anxiety? Her heart was pumping full of adrenaline, but because of what? Was it because she finally had a chance to help everyone, or was it the sheer terror she felt emit from that thing. 

Soft lavender eyes gazed up at the towering beast. This was not going to be no easy fight, no, that was for sure. She wasn't even sure she would make it out of here alive. There always was that chance, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from doing her best to take down.

The first two parties moved quickly, chipping away at Orgoth's health in just a few seconds. They got a good bit of damage in before it was the last two parties' turn. Focusing back to her own group,  Cordelia watched as Bahr sped off to land his blow to Orgoth, only to somehow miss and retreat back to safety. "Alright, I suppose I should get going now then," she muttered quietly, shooting a small smile at both Crow and Yuki before she unsheathed Onimaru from its scabbard. Before she prepared to attack, she placed a reassuring hand on Bahr's shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. She's been down that road many, many, many times, and she knew exactly how it felt. She just hoped he wasn't too disheartened considering that it was a boss fight. 

She took a sharp breath. "Alright, Pacco," she breathed, her eyes locking on to the behemoth in front of her. "Let's go."

As Orgoth was busy handling the fighters in front of him, Cordelia decided to go for the good ol' flank attack - with blinding speed, Cordelia rounded behind the minotaur, her sword strained black glinting in the pale light that illuminated the room. Just as her boots skid to a halt, she forced herself into the air with her katana beside her. Her sword glowed a dim blue as she activated San Ge, though to her surprise, she had coincidentally procced her holy, (for the first time in forever) which left the sword emitting an almost blinding white light. 

Her blade pierced through the back of the beast, the light still being released from the blade whilst it impaled Orgoth. However, she didn't allow herself to stay on his back for too long. Any longer and she'd be probably dead. Detaching Onimaru from his body, Cordelia jumped back down on to the ground and cautiously made her way back to the party.

ID: 177501
BD: 9, Crit +1 DMG [HOLY PROC +12 DMG] [PHASE PROC]
25+1+12=38x15=570-50= 520 DMG to Orgoth -11 EN

[H: 5] @Zajcica | HP: 1630/1630 | EN: 136/136 | DMG: 1 | ACC: 2 | MIT: 335 | TAUNT | THRNS: 30 | FRAURA: 30 | FLAURA:  30 | HB: 24 | LM: 1 | LD: 3 | DoT: -50%, 1 HIT, -25% AFTER | Dote 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | BH: 81
[H: 0] @Morgenstern | HP: 1645/1645 | EN : 142/142 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 1 | MIT: 141 | Fireproof | Bloodclot | Paralytic Immune | DoT -25% [1/1] | VO: 160 | BH: 82
[H: 0] @Crozeph | HP: 1330/1330 | EN: 100/112 | DMG: 21 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 4 | MIT: 97 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | REC: 3 | FRZ: 36 | BRN: 36 | BH: 66
[H: 0] @Bahr | HP: 1730/1730 | EN: 162/167 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 5 | EVA: 6 | MIT: 79 | FLN: 12 | HLY: 6 | TXV: 24 | HB: 24 | PHASE | DoT: - 27 | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -30% | RESTED: 2/3 | LD: 8 | PARRY | BH: 86
[H: 2] @Cordelia | HP: 1390/1390 | EN: 107/118 | DMG: 25 | ACC: 6 | EVA: 5 | MIT: 130 | HLY: 12 | FRAURA: 15 | ABS ACC | PHASE | Oxidant | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | LD: 3 | BH: 69
[H: 0] @Beat | HP: 1505/1505 | EN: 128/128 | DMG: 26 | ACC: 8 | EVA: 2 | MIT: 63 | HLY: 6 | BLD: 36 | PARAIMMUNE | ENVENOM: 18 | BLI: 36 | Dote: 3 | DoT: -27 | Oxidant | RESTED: 3/3 | DoT: -25%, 1 HIT | BH: 75 | ABS ACC

As expected, the consumables were bountiful. It was a boss raid after all. Raidou had distributed the consumables she had forgotten- or rather, ignorantly ignored- to take. It was hard to believe that the newbie she had found absolutely annoying all those months ago was now head of one of the biggest trading guilds in SAO. Kind of crazy but she didn't bother to pay much more thought to it.

After chugging through the last of the consumables, her attention turned to the players littered in the room. She wondered who else had joined the frontlines while she was gone. There were certainly a few unfamiliar faces here she had never had the pleasure to meet, but she still found herself knowing majority of the players. That was good, at least. She wouldn't have to waste much time with sudden introductions, and she was sure she knew most of them enough to know how they function in battle. That was always a plus. 

Edits will be made in my first post

Consumed from @Raidou:

+180 O.H thingie majigie 
+3 LD Food
+3 Antidote 
Probiotic
Antioxidant 

Received:

[x5] Mass Heals: Heals Tierx30 HP

Used x1 Essence of Steel for one more slot of MIT

Out of all the things Cordelia thought she would be ready for, the Floor Twenty-five boss raid was probably the highest one on the list, but here she was, completely unprepared with nothing but spare buffs she had in her inventory. Months prior to this, she was grinding through quests and levels like crazy, but it seemed like good things weren't meant to last. It seemed that she had reached her peak in those months, and the time after was just a slow descent into what she had experienced when the game first began. 

It just seemed like everything she had worked and cared for had just started to crumble in front of her very eyes, and she won't deny that most of it was her doing. The Tarot's activity had been reduced to almost nothing. She couldn't even remember the last time she had interacted with any of her friends. Heck, even her relationship with Oscar was on the rocks. 

"God, what the fuck am I doing," she murmured, her chin tilting up as she dragged a tired hand down her face. "I don't have time to worry about this crap, especially not right before a boss battle," Cordelia muttered to herself, giving herself a mental slap to the face before she went to look for a couple of familiar faces. 

"A pseudo shapeshifter, huh?" she echoed, humming in though before she let out a short laugh. "Perhaps. I frankly have no idea what the heck he is," she admitted, scratching the back of her neck with a sheepish smile.

At the mention of the pastry in her hand, Cordelia looked in her hand and blinked, completely zoning out for a fraction of a second before she shook her head. "Oh no, I didn't get them from a bakery. I kind of made them myself," she said, a bashful smile on her face. "I'm a cook. Probably not the best one in real life but I do what I can here in SAO," she chuckled, taking the last bite of the roll before she dusted off her hands. "I don't usually make desserts like this, but I figured I'd try it out, y'know?" She shrugged her shoulders before pondering for a second. "I can offer you some if you want. I made a couple this morning for the fun of it," she exclaimed, her hand swiping down the open her menu before clicking on her inventory. 

Before long, a single cinnamon roll materialized in her hands, to which she held in front of Haine. "I really don't mind sharing. You're probably doing me a favor by helping me clean out my inventory anyways." Usually the food she would cook would have buffs, since that was pretty much the whole reason why she became a cook in the first, but after taking some time away from levelling and grinding, she figured that there was no harm in trying something new. 

"No, no, it's really fine," she exclaimed, watching as the girl scooped up the bear with her arms before pressing her hand against his forehead in a noogie. "I don't get to see many cute familiars anymore. It was somewhat of a fresh breath if you get what I mean," she mused, taking note of how close the two seemed. As the girl explained the reason why her familiar suddenly charged at Cordelia, she made an ah of realization, taking a moment to glance at the buffed food she was holding. "Oh, I see. I guess that's something that both me and him share then, huh?" she joked, a lighthearted laugh escaping her. 

Cordelia raised a brow at the bluenette's sudden fascination with her feathered friend, as if she wasn't used to having them be complimented. "I suppose you can call them that," she said, her tone whimsical but dry. "He's kind of one entity. A hive-mind sort of deal going on. I really don't know how it works myself, but that's the least that I know," she sighed, placing a gingerly hand on the back of her neck. "There only used to be one, but after I started training him to be a fighting familiar, the other one just kind of... magically appeared?" Cordelia stated slowly, unsure if she sounded like she was going bananas or not. "I have a bunch of crazy theories going on with him but those are tales for another day," she huffed, flashing Pacco a playful glance, and of course, like the grumpy demon thing he was, there was little response other than a silent, almost deadpan stare from those beady little eyes. 

"Anyway, the name's Cordelia, and you can just call these two Pacco. Pleasure to meet you."

"Alright! That's great. I really hate doing quests solo. Takes all the fun out of it, you know?" she asked, a wide smile on her face as she did so. A light laugh left her as Crow shooed off Pacco, leaving fluttering almost annoyingly to the grass. Didn't blame him though. It's hard to talk to someone when they have two large birds on their shoulders. 

Cordelia tilted her head. "I guess so. Believe it or not, I probably don't spend as much time with Baldur as you think I do," she chuckled, tucking a strand of ivory hair behind her ear before she leaned back. "We do train and do quests a lot, yeah, but he's been more occupied with Jacob's Ladder recently, and being in separate guilds makes it a bit hard to catch a good time to work on training and stuff," she giggled, emphasizing the statement a bit more by making a tiny finger gesture. Again, she couldn't blame the man. If she had just started a guild, she would've taken most of her time trying to develop more of it as well. 

"Getting stabbed by a holy dagger?" she echoed, giving him a mix of a concerned and weirded out look. She laughed, shaking her head at the boy's silliness before brushing off her lap. " agree, let's start heading out. I'm not sure if I find a land-walking fish appealing to eat, but you can go ham on it," she joked, pushing herself off of the ground to stand before gesturing her head for the boy to follow her. "There's a bit we have to do before we have to fight the big bad boss, so let's hurry up and get that done, yeah?"

"You don't have to worry about that," she uttered, not being able to help her lip curling into a sneer as he passed by, intentionally brushing his elbow against her and Pacco. Her bird friends didn't seem too happy about the whole ordeal, both fluttering atop her shoulders rather chaotically, as if tempted to rush after the man and peck him to death, and honestly, she couldn't blame them. If she were a bird with a short temper, she would do the exact same thing. 

With a heavy sigh, Cordelia pressed the pads of her fingers down on her temples, as if she was chaperoning a bus full of loud, annoying, kindergarteners. This interaction was bound to leave her with a headache at the end of the day, but she couldn't bring herself to just leave a supposedly innocent low level in the middle of nowhere. "They're trying to teach you how to use the system," she replied back flatly. "It may seem stupid but this questline teaches a lot of players the basics of SAO," Cordelia stated, the corners of her mouth twitching in irritation before she took another deep sigh. 

"We're here." The walk to the forest wasn't too far away from the Town of Beginnings, fortunately, but their journey was far from over. "You can look for anything that you think would go well in a potion. Zackariah didn't ask for anything specific, thankfully, so gather to your heart's content."

"Perhaps we should just schedule a raincheck-"

Cordelia's words cut off in surprise as a giant white ball of fluffiness came bounding towards her. At first, it seemed like it was just a slightly larger than average puppy, but the more she looked at it, the more she thought otherwise. The shorter snout, the smaller ears. Oh yeesh, that was definitely a bear cub. It kind of reminded her of Alec's familiar, except y'know, white... but it was just as cute! So cute in fact that she couldn't help but let out an awe when she saw it. 

Smiling softly at the cub, she looked up, presumably trying to figure out who was the owner of this familiar. The town was definitely jam packed with both players and NPCs alike, but she was pretty sure she was able to pinpoint who by the direction of which the bear came, a pretty bluenette who wasn't too far away. "Er, I'm assuming this little one is yours?" she bit out awkwardly, a wry smile on her face as she gestured her hand towards her presumed familiar. 

"Lions kidnapping a bunch of beautiful women, huh..?" Cordelia mumbled, scratching her chin as she left Queen Delia's palace. "Hynes said that this quest isn't too awfully hard, but it'd be difficult to solo it," she muttered, opening her menu to take a quick inventory before sighing. Everyone was busy today. Oscar was out doing his own quests, and she was sure the others were doing the same. She probably should've planned this ahead of time so she could have a party, darnit. 

"What do you say, Pacco? Do you think we can solo this?" she asked, tilting her head to the two birds perched on her shoulders. Not even her familiar seemed content with the idea, and honestly she couldn't blame them. She could postpone this quest for another day, but it'd be a waste, especially since the floor boss raid was so close. She had to get her levels in now or she wasn't going to be ready in time for the raid. 

Perhaps she could ask around the city? Floor seven was bound to have some high levels player roaming around in it, right? 

@Haine

"Hey Bistro!" Cordelia exclaimed, yet again poking her head into another shop. "I ran out of damage potions a bit ago so I've come to stock up on some more," she admitted, giving the girl a sheepish smile before she went to inspect the wares. As always, Bistro seemed to have stocked up a lot on the potions. "Is it okay if I take a bit more than I usually do? I don't want to have to keep coming back to bother you," Cordelia chuckled, her hand raising to scratch the back of her neck awkwardly before she selected about ten Liquors of Light. 

"This definitely won't be the last time I'll be seeing you though," she explained, swiping open her menu before sending the Col to the girl. "Until then though, see you!"

Buying: x10 Liquor of Light
[167818] | [167826] | [167840] | [167844] | [168134] | [168137] | [168140] | [168144] | [168152] | [168169] 
━━━━━━━━━━━━
5,000 Col sent to @Bistro

"Hello, Yuki," Cordelia beamed, poking her head into Yuki's shop. Considering that she wasn't cooking as much as she used to, she figured that she would pay a visit to the other chefs of Aincrad. Of course, Oscar was always an option but she's been there loads of times. Yuki did always mention she had a shop so Cordelia figured why the heck not?! 

"I was low on supplies so I figured I'd stop by," she chirped, giving the girl a friendly smile before turning to look at her wares. "I'll just take a few Accuracy and Evasion buffs if that's okay with you. Planning on going on a quest soon so I need to stock up!" After selecting a few bowls of Udon and Ramen, Cordelia opened her menu, swiping her fingers across the frame a few times before she sent the desired money to her friend. 

"I might be stopping by later, until then, see you!"

Buying: x2 Udon Bowl, x2 Ramen Bowl
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
1,400 Col sent to @Zajcica

"Likewise. You can call me Cordelia," she replied, blinking in slight surprise when he forcefully took her hand and started shaking it, and to top it all off, he pushed her right on back into the shop like she was some sort of ragdoll. Already, she could tell that she wouldn't like this guy. Obviously, his words were sweet but they didn't quite match his actions. The platinum-haired player let out a low sigh before running a hand down her face. She'll most definitely regret this later, but not everything will be a loss. This Felis guy definitely seemed suspicious and while he was certainly on the lower end of the spectrum when it came to levels, she's seen how fast people can rise the ranks, including herself. Who knows? Maybe today he's a newbie doing the tutorial questline and tomorrow he'd be the next leader of a wannabe Laughing Coffin. In a world of virtual reality and death, she wouldn't doubt the idea. 

Cordelia gave Zackariah an almost apologetic smile before turning back to Felis. "Of course," she bit back, an almost sickly sweet smile on her face before she whistled towards a corner of the shop. "C'mon Pacco." The sound of fluttering wings quickly filled the air as two large blackbirds flew over to her, each one landing on separate shoulders. "I hope you don't mind if my familiar tags along, Felis," she added, gesturing over to the two crows on her shoulders. "Meet Pacco, and yes, they're the same entity hence why they only have one name. Somewhat of a hivemind kind of thing," she shrugged, not even sure if she was completely in the right or not. Glancing at him from the corners of her eyes, she gave a stiff nod over to the door before she proceeded out of it. 

"I suppose that we should head to the forest instead of the plains. There lays a certain risk with all the terrain in there but it'll prove more high-yielding than the grasslands," she said along the way. "I don't think you'll have to worry about the mobs. As long as I'm around and you're not being stupid, everything should be alright," Cordelia stated bluntly, her hand resting reassuringly on the hilt of her katana.

"Hey Crozeph!" 

From behind a few trees, a familiar girl and her two birds appeared, signature smile and all. The boy looked a little bit lost in thought when she had arrived, as if he was recalling some past trauma or something. She hoped she didn't scare him too terribly with her loud greeting. 

"Are you here to do that lake quest involving the fish?" she asked, plopping herself down on the grass right next to him, the two crows on her shoulders fluttering in annoyance just slightly as she did so. "I mean, that's kind of the only noteworthy quest on this floor, so I apologize if I'm wrong," Cordelia added quickly, hoping that she didn't completely embarrass herself in front of another one of Baldur's students. Other than that witch quest, (which wasn't really that fun to do) this was kind of the only quest on this floor, and considering that he was sitting pretty close to the lake itself, she thought it was a pretty reasonable prediction! 

"I just thought I'd ask since I was planning on doing it solo," she said, popping open the lid to the vial she had before chugging it down in one fell swoop. She gave him a silly smile before the bottle dematerialized in her hand. "This is pretty much just a party offer, so yay or nay?"

"It's been good seeing you, Zackiriah. Keep up the good work with the newer players!" Cordelia exclaimed, drumming her slender fingers against the wooden frame of the old NPC's desk a few times before giving him a pleasant wave goodbye. She never thought in a million years she would get so chummy with the NPCs here, but she's grown a bit fond of them over the past few months. It was hard to keep believing that they were just ones and zeroes, especially if they were programmed with such compelling lore and personalities. Zackiriah was a jolly old man she'd like to visit from time to time if she was on town though, especially after how much he helped her when she first started out. 

"Oh, sorry-" 

The girl took a quick step back, nearly bumping into a stranger who just so happened to be in the store as well. While that in it of itself wasn't such a huge surprise, it was the skull-like mask and sharp teeth that caught her attention. Usually a mask isn't very peculiar but this one gave her some... vibes. Edgy vibes. 'I'm secretly plotting your death in my head' vibes. This certainly wasn't her first rodeo but she really wondered, how many of these are there out there? It was kind of crazy how many people just kind of... walked around like they just came out of some kind of horror movie. 

"It's not problem, really, but uh..." she trailed off, her gaze shifting over to the small window where a small trickle of sunlight shone through. It was still pretty early, so time shouldn't really be much of an issue. Cordelia turned back to the guy, not sure if she was making eye contact with the guy or not because two giant black holes had replaced the spot where his eyes should be. 

"Of course, I'd be happy to help."

Cordelia gave Mari a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, I get it. Don't worry, but least I didn't get skewered like Baldur did back during Forgotten Time King though, right?" she chuckled, heaving a deep sigh as she remembered how unnerving it was to watch her teacher get treated like meat to a stick. Yeah... that wasn't really pretty watch. 

"Mmm... it's a pretty small and tight-knit guild. Mostly just made up of friends and stuff," she added, giving Mari a nod before she turned to Freyd. "Ah, right. That whole dream thing. I'm not really sure what to say about that," she mumbled, chuckling wrly as she rubbed her arm up and down. She never knew dreams could... do that? It seemed almost unreal, really. It felt more like something else was at play than an actual dream, but she'll leave it at that.

The girl's brows scrunched up, even more confused than before. "Ah... right," she muttered, averting her gaze to the ground. None of that really made sense to her (and a lot of things don't, to be honest). She was sure the closest people to Oscar were within The Tarot, so why would he go ahead and tell other players first, especially when they had capable players like NIGHT and Bahr amongst their ranks? Cordelia sighed. Some things were just beyond her understanding, apparently, but she couldn't bring herself to dwell on it any more.

"Oh, you're associated with Raidou?" she asked, her face going blank for a second before she shrugged. "He's quite the guild leader now from what I've heard. Our personalities didn't really... click when we first met each other though," she whispered hotly, her had dragging down her face in almost an exhaustive manner.

Cordelia's eyes narrowed at the Sundered Vanguards' sudden shift of motion, quickly bracing herself for impact, but that never seem to came. She looked to her sides and sighed, two tiny craters planted right beside her. Cordelia lowered her weapon and gave Mari a crooked smile. "I'm fine. You shouldn't worry so much, Mari. Even if I'm just a DPS, I can take a few hits," she chuckled, sheathing her katana before placing a hand on the girl's shoulder reassuringly. 

She gave Freyd a thumbs-up after he had dispatched the rest of the behemoths. "Yeah, that's fine. Don't push yourself," she replied back, stretching her back in the process. "The last thing we want is to run out of energy mid-battle. So take all the time you need," she yawned.

"Ah, right. I suppose we never really did proper introductions, did we?" she murmured, tapping her chin before nodding her head. "Alright. I'm Cordelia, The Wheel of Fortune in a leveling guild called The Tarot. Pleasure to meet you... and as for who we should tell this to..." she trailed off, her head tilting as she thought for a few seconds. "I'm sure the rest of Tarot would want information like this..." she looked over to Mari, "and I'm not sure how things are going in Jacob's Ladder, but people like Baldur and Shield would probably want to know if something like this was going on too, yeah?" she asked. She wasn't too sure how Shield would feel about something like this but a kind-hearted man like Baldur would drop even the Tanabata festival if it meant the safety of innocent players. 

"I'm sure there's a few other frontliners that we could inform that aren't in our guilds too. Macradon would most likely want to be involved and maybe even Yuki?" Cordelia shrugged her shoulders. "There's really too many people to list."

Cordelia nearly choked on her spit at the title Mari had so delicately bestowed upon Oscar. "R-right, the... m-muppet," she wheezed, slapping a hand over her mouth to contain her laughter. "I-I remember you talking about that in my ramen shop not too long ago," she giggled, wiping a stray tear away from her eyes before giving Mari a warm smile. 

"Mmm, I understand your sentiment. You're probably right," she said, letting out a silent sigh before nodding her head. "I suppose he would be the type of person to do that, huh?"

She turned to Freyd and tilted her head. "Really? I kind of thought everyone knew him since he's one of the most notable chefs in Aincrad at the moment. He owns a little hotdog shop down on Floor One, so I just assumed everyone stopped by once or twice at least." She shrugged her shoulders. Maybe Freyd had a different supplier when it came to those types of buffs.

"Perhaps I can discuss this alongside my guild with Oscar later. I'm sure The Tarot can be of help-" 

The sound of roots snapping caught her off guard, and before long, a huge log of wood came tumbling down right in front of the group. Cordelia held her arms out in front of her to block out the debris before cursing under her breath. "Damn, I should've seen that coming," she exclaimed almost inaudibly, her eyes refocusing on another group of Sundered Vanguards. "These guys don't know when to give up, huh?" Cordelia muttered hotly, drawing Onimaru from its sheath as she weaved her way towards their feet. 

At blurring speeds, she bolted from behemoth to behemoth, delivering slash after slash, all while evading their massive steps and footfalls. By the time she had finished with her attack, red cuts had been littered across the group's limbs, effectively getting all of their HP bars into the red. 

She craned her neck over to Mari and grinned victoriously. "Alright Mari. A single AoE from you should be able to finish all of them off!"

ID: 165761 (meant #5 instead of #1)
BD: 1+5=6, Hit | 25x8=200 344-200=144

ID: 165762
BD: 5+5=10, Hit | 25x8=200 344-200=144

ID: 165763
BD: 2+5=7, Hit | 25x8=200 344-200=144

ID: 165764
BD: 2+5=7, Hit | 25x8=200 294-=94

Freyd | HP:820/820 | EN:36/80 | DMG:20 | MIT:43 | EVA:3 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12
Cordelia | HP: 1200/1200 | EN: 84/118 | 25 DMG | 25 MIT | 5 ACC | 3 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF] | PHSE | 12 HLY | ABS. ACC -13
Mari |  HP 1312/ 1490  | EN: 119/146 | DMG: 19 | MIT: 43 | EVA:3 | ACC: 4  | BH: 72 | BRN: 24 |BLEED: 24 | FLAME AURA: 15

(1,1,0) Sundered Vanguard #5 | HP:144/584 | DMG:219 -200
(1,1,0) Sundered Vanguard #6 | HP:144/584 | DMG:219 -200
(1,1,0) Sundered Vanguard #7 | HP:144/584 | DMG:219 -200
(2,1,0) Sundered Vanguard #8 | HP:94/584 | DMG:219  (12 Bleed, 1/2) -200

Cordelia heaved Mari up, sighing as she made another quip about... heads. "You never cease to amaze me with those puns of yours, Mari. It's like you have a whole library of them in your head," she mused, shaking her head jokingly. 

She looked over to Freyd and deadpanned. "Great, now I have to add recurring mobs that hate me under my list of worries," she mumbled in slight irritation, walking over to pick up her katana before sheathing it in its scabbard. "So it seems like these creatures can traverse through any floor," she duly noted, crossing her arms over each other. "That's no doubt concerning. I hope that the ones we just fought were limited to higher floors. Less experienced players have no chance against what we just went up with."

Her ears perked at the name of her fiance. "Oscar?" She ran a hand through her hair and giggled. "He refuses to wear anything else but that suit sometimes," she chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck as she remembered how he refused to wear a kimono during the boss meeting and at the festival. He was a picky one that's for sure. Or did he just have a thing against kimonos? "... but he's never mentioned anything about this to me before," she murmured, her voice trailing off. Shouldn't this be sometime he should've told her? Or at least, with The Tarot? Bahr, Lessa and NIGHT surely would've helped with this whole situation if they knew what was going on, surely?

"A copy of their battle plans?" she echoed, part of it sounding a little too far fetched for her. Her eyebrows shot up at his statement before scrunching up in confusion. "Hundreds? You should've handed these plans to the frontliners the moment you knew an attack this big was coming up," she scolded. It made no sense for him not to hand these plans over to higher, more experienced players. Even if it was a holiday, she was sure they would've dropped everything to help with this. 

"Ah... yes, Shoji and Masaki," she whispered quietly, intertwining her hands in front of her with a solemn look. "I wasn't apart of last year's Tanabata event... but what I've collected is that there was a huge invasion involving... fish people or something like that. It was a huge fight apparently," she sighed, stretching her hands out in front of her. 

She glanced at Freyd from the corners of her eye before nodding. "Count me in."

"Good God, Mari!" she exclaimed, watching as the massive creature threw a punch right to Mari's head. She skidded to a halt beside her orange-haired friend and sighed in relief at the minimal damage done. Barely a chunk was spliced off of her health but the way that Vanguard punched her made it seem like her head should've been blown right off her body. "Are you okay?" she asked, offering a hand to help her up. "That punch looked nasty. I hope your head is feeling alright after that... aside from the wibbly wobbly part," she fretted, though offering her an amused smile shortly after.

"It's no problem- wait, there's more?" she asked, flabbergasted. Her eyes trailed over to the split trees and large footprints left behind of the group.

"... well shit."

Cordelia grunted as she caught the token. Her fingers rolled it around a few times before she sighed. "This seems like a big deal. Why haven't I heard of this before today?" she muttered in confusion, looking up at Freyd for an answer. Certainly this should be something that the frontlines should be concerned with, right? 

A shadow soon quickly casted over them. "Oh, yeesh. That's creepy," she said, her nose slightly wrinkling at the sight of the headless Sundered Vanguard. Yeah, it wasn't pretty at all.

"Well-" she piped up, raising her katana once more before yeeting it at the mob's leg. "It shouldn't have much health left!" Much to her surprise, the sword landed, imbedding itself in the giant's leg before the creature bursts into dozens and dozens of polygons, leaving her katana falling to the ground with a loud thud. 

"I didn't expect that to work."

ID: 165748
BD: 8. Hit

Freyd | HP:820/820 | EN:52/80 | DMG:20 | MIT:43 | EVA:3 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12
Cordelia | HP: 1200/1200 | EN: 96/118 | 25 DMG | 25 MIT | 5 ACC | 3 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF] | PHSE | 12 HLY | ABS. ACC 
Mari |  HP 1312/ 1490  | EN: 119/146 | DMG: 19 | MIT: 43 | EVA:3 | ACC: 4  | BH: 72 | BRN: 24 |BLEED: 24 | FLAME AURA: 15

(1,1,1) Sundered Vanguard #1 | HP:0/584 | DMG:219
(1,0,1) Sundered Vanguard #2 | HP:0/584 | DMG:219  
(3,0,2) Sundered Vanguard #3 | HP: 0/584 | DMG:219  
(1,0,2) Sundered Vanguard #4 | HP:0/584 | DMG:219  -25

ID: 165749
LD: 11
CD: 4

2,920 Col
2 T3 Materials
T3 Rare Trinket
11 Gold Stars

... wait a minute, a dream? I... should I even be surprised by that? What's there to even be surprised at in this world anymore? 

"I'll hold you to that!" she exclaimed back at Freyd, hopping backwards to avoid the massive foot. What even kind of creatures were these? She had certainly never came across one during her years here, that's for sure. 

"Alright, I'm going to try to knock out the second one in a single attack. If I don't, follow up with an AoE!" she called towards both Freyd and Mari before dashing towards a Sundered Vanguard. Like out of a movie scene, she scaled straight up its long legs, dragging her katana alongside her until she had reached its head. She sucked in a sharp breath, hopping a foot away from the being before slamming her katana down on its head, hard. While it may not have been as flashy as her last attack, it certainly chopped off a good amount of points on the thing, sadly not enough to kill it, but she respected that. 

ID: 164537
BD: 5+5=10, Hit | 15x15=375 413-275= 38

Freyd | HP:820/820 | EN:68/80 | DMG:20 | MIT:43 | EVA:3 | ACC:4 | KEEN:1 | HLY:2 | BLD:12
Cordelia | HP: 1200/1200 | EN: 96/118 | 25 DMG | 25 MIT | 5 ACC | 3 EVA | 1 PARA VNM [DF] | PHSE | 12 HLY | ABS. ACC -11
Mari |  HP 1490/1490  | EN: 146/146 | DMG: 19 | MIT: 43 | EVA:3 | ACC: 4  | BH: 72 | BRN: 24 |BLEED: 24 | FLAME AURA: 15 

(1,1,1) Sundered Vanguard #1 | HP:0/584 | DMG:219
(1,0,1) Sundered Vanguard #2 | HP:38/584 | DMG:219 -275
(1,0,1) Sundered Vanguard #3 | HP:253/584 | DMG:219
(0,0,1) Sundered Vanguard #4 | HP:413/584 | DMG:219