Alkor

He had to keep the creature attacking him, even if it's attention were never directly given to any one member of the raid. It seemed to react to the highest accumulated hate, but that number also seemed to fluctuate wildly. As a result, NIGHT, Alkor, and now even Hidden had shared blows from the boss. There were only so many hits that the glassier members of this party could take before they splintered into fragments of data. Alkor grunted with some effort as he hefted his weapon once more, imbuing it with the power of a sword art to whittle away some of this strange new element of

Alkor doesn't know Raidou or Eruda that well, so I won't sign up, but I will say congratulations and I hope you all have a blast!

She was a kind woman, at least from the words she used. Instead of berating him harshly for not staying and fighting, she suggested that he should be respected for his efforts. Alkor lacked the perspective of a Player who never went on to join the fight, but many he'd met had not shared Iris' enthusiasm for what the top echelon of Players took upon themselves. At best, "better you than me" had been the resounding sentiment. He smiled faintly out of regard for that kindness, reminded of the way his grandmother suggested that people ought to be. Do good, and be kind; because there are very

The world that had been sullen was now anything but. Lunacy reigned in Wushen's domain, new and unfamiliar voices piercing through and staggering the Players as they stood in the face of a storm that they hadn't seen coming. Wushen was the eye, and they had been in the calm of it. Everything they'd known coming into this was a lie. He bore the brunt of it. Steel lightning streaked down around them, over them, through them. Wounds that none of them had anticipated taking appeared across all of their bodies in an instant, but the explosive blast of electricity smashed into Alkor's body as t

Her observation wasn't wrong. In fact, since they'd cleared the ninth floor, the only real reason to come here was for quests. There were still Players who did need the progression that the area offered, certainly, but it was far from a tourist destination. Alkor smiled faintly as he offered a congenial wave. "Granted, there was a time when this was the Apex of the Frontline initiative, and all of the Highest level players spent the lion's share of their time here," he responded at last. "I was there for that boss battle, too. It was the last major fight I was involved in." That led

Floor 9 Settlement // Yogan Village >> 14:00 Alkor rarely bothered to come to the Ninth floor, usually. It was a place filled with particularly nasty memories, and in the minds of many, it was where he became a ghost. Some people still looked at him that way. Why are you alive, when so many other Players aren't? The skies of the ninth floor were never day or night, just perpetual ash and flame. It was a ruined world rife with geothermal anomalies. The heat was sweltering in the most comfortable places, dry to the point where one's lips might crack from just standing around

The dismissive flick from the Dragon drilled him. It was like a God's wrath, but the god wasn't even using a fraction of its power. Still, he blow slammed into him, and the First Sword was tossed backward, into the wall. The armor did wonders for preventing damage, he noted. Much of the blow was ablated by the plates, however, the impact was still jarring. His HP, however, told a different tale. The blip of damage that the Dragon had incurred was far less drastic than the resultant animation. His recovery, in fact, made it appear as though it had never occurred at all. I can do this

Alkor looked at his pipe for a long moment, realizing it was empty. He could have reached for another bit of the herb, but he ultimately decided against it. It wasn't like he was getting a buzz off of it, and he'd been drawing long enough to scratch the itch. Instead, he quietly pocketed it and rested his hands in his lap. "No point in dishonesty. It never sticks. People always figure out the truth behind the lies eventually, and it always ends making them more upset than anything else." His Grandmother had taught him all about liars and thieves. They sometimes got what they wanted, but i

NIGHT was taking too many risks. It was valiant for her to willingly stand at the Van, but without the proper equipment and allocated p"oints, there were far too many opportunities for things to go wrong. Too many more hits from the very obviously indifferent dragon and the DPS player would meet with an untimely end. And it was Alkor's job to prevent that from happening. All to eager to get into the boss' face, Alkor had lost sight of the real objective for a moment. Too much time spent doing the wrong thing was time spent throwing the rest of the team under the bus. He had to take actio

This manner of fighting was an entirely different beast. Instead of the tip of the spear, he was supposed to be the shield. What made that even more complex was that all the moves he practiced, all the speed and acrobatic movements no longer served him. His attempts to move with grace and fluidity took him over his own two feet when he practiced in his free time, and having never gone into battle after changing up his skillset, he knew that he had been a fool to take on such a monumental responsibility. And yet, though NIGHT volunteered, she was hardly equipped for the role. There w

Everyone had their own way of mentally preparing for stressful things. For some people, it was relaxation and reflection, meditation, some means of setting themselves at ease. Others were more fond of getting themselves excited, hyped up, ready for the challenge at hand. For Alkor, the anxiety had long since taken root. He'd grappled with several stages of despair already, the critical self-doubt that came with having nearly failed and died in this same situation before. He came to grips with that possibility and took the fear, and he swallowed it whole. It remained sour and bitter, stale, bur

"That is, ultimately, your decision Setsuna," Alkor replied as he watched her take a few mouthfuls of rice. She seemed to be struggling with the concept, reasoning through it like a logic engine. He could commiserate with that just a bit. Sometimes things that seemed completely normal or reasonable to most people felt alien to him. What he did understand, or what he had only recently started to understand, was that in life it was a person's agency that made the experience valid. Being able to make choices was the basic and most fundamental building block for freedom. Until now, he hadn't

The darkness at the end of eternity stretched out before them. Moments after the raid group entered the blinding light, they could see the way that the monolithic being soaked it all in, a black morass that gorged itself on light refracted from all sides. Wushen was an enigma, a force of nature that acted against life itself. And yet, paradoxically, it was alive. Creatures eternally tormented by their own existence are the most wretched of all. They were kindred spirits in that regard. How long had Alkor felt like existence was a chore? The sight of an immortal spirit that looked no

Alkor had known going into the raid that the community suffered from a severe lack of people willing to take on the risks involved with frontline tanking. The people who stood in front of the people standing at the front were the most hearty of adventurers, but also, the ones who kept the rest of them alive. He didn't think he was quite ready to be the guy, but he was definitely coming to terms with the fact that he needed to be a guy. ...did that even make sense? It did in his head, so he went with it. He watched quietly as the others began to filter into the room, exchanging greetings,

The armor he'd donned for the event was bulkier than he imagined. It was every bit as protective in feeling as it was purported to be in statistic, but it felt foreign to him. Heavier. Sluggish. He was used to nearly dancing across a Battlefield, rather than sitting in harm's way and taking the brunt of enemy aggression. It was to be a new sensation for him, after nearly dying to the ire of a boss many Moons before, to face one down in earnest. But he had not come unprepared. Alkor took one look at the spread that had been prepared for the raid and went through to make sure all the

Alkor hurried back into the shop where he'd bought potions before, displaying nothing short of tried and true blue American learned brand loyalty. He perused the wares for a few minutes, all categorized by their function and potency, until he arrived at the ones that he needed. Mitigation potions, suited for helping to offset the immense damage that the system thew at them during boss encounters. This way, he could stand between the others and imminent danger and not feel too terrible about it. Or at least, it was a step toward staying alive. Col/Mats sent.

Alkor walked into the shop and glanced around briefly. He hadn't truly discussed his plans with anyone, so his understanding of how heavier armor worked or the Enhancements that it could benefit from functioned was severely limited. He had to hope for the good nature of the store's proprietor, and while he wasn't really sure who the man was, when he put the word out that he was looking for armor, the Blacksmith had reached out in response. So, Alkor raised a hand in greeting and exchanged words with the man to complete the agreed upon dealings.

Skill(s) Being Dropped: One Handed Straight Sword (r5), Battle Healing (r5), Light Armor (r5), Survival Mod(s)/Addon(s)/Shift(s) Being Dropped: Precision, Stamina, Energist, Vengeful Riposte, Combat Mastery: Damage, ST Shift, Emergency Recovery, Meticulous, Resolve SP Incurred Towards Limit: ~ SP Refunded: 158 (total SP after refund = 195) Cost: Free Skill Respec Ticket (Paragon Reward)

He didn't take her for the type to indulge in gossip or rumors, but then, Alkor was nothing if not a terrible judge of character. He lacked the social skills to make passing judgments of any real worth, and couldn't pick up on any other cues besides. "Huh," he remarked aloud, giving his small amount of surprise more voice than a dismissive grunt. "Suits me," he added after a moment. "If I'm being honest, I'd hate to have come all the way here for nothing." So he was a bit blunt, perhaps even rough around the edges. Honesty had always been Alkor's preferred poison, and he not only drank it

For Evaluations!

"In the end, the burden falls on the individual to determine the path they will walk." Alkor replied evenly, still making no attempt to pressure her to agree with him or change. "There is no such thing as a sword that can give life," he said. "Those who believe in the benevolence of steel are either idealists or delusional, or perhaps both. A weapon is a tool for taking life, there are no exceptions. Who a blade is turned on, or what, is ultimately a question that the swordsman alone can answer." The sudden and paradoxical statement came as bluntly as it was sharp. "To take lif

He pondered for a moment over the conversation. The way she saw the world, right down to her admission that murder was such a casual topic of thought. Alkor's sunset gaze remained stoic, locked on the moonrise and undaunted by the prospect of his own mortality. He had faced death before. He had taken life. He had all but slept the corpse's sleep. The chill that followed Setsuna was a familiar cold. A frightening cold, at least to those who were not used to it. The ashen taste in his mouth and the heat that still smoldered in his lungs offered no comfort. Alkor withstood it in other ways.

What happens when I do? A million or more questions across a million more lifetimes in a single sentence fell from her lips. The future was something people sought solace about even in reality. They paid psychics to divine it, pouring out fortunes. Even in ancient times, civilization looked to the skies, gazed into flame, and cast bones simply to glimpse the unknowable. Anxiety was this small girl, wondering what all of them had always wondered, and simply because no one had ever given her peace about it. Anxiety was Alkor, who knew her pain all too well. "Hesitation and fear ar

As @irisconcluded her appraisal, Alkor carefully withdrew his blade and stowed it at his hip. Her smile was bright, small though it was. Positively radiant. And her words matched the brilliance with no small amount of magnanimity. She wasn't like Alkor- beyond being reserved and quiet, perhaps. He respected and appreciated the way she treated him. Like he was a person. "It's because of what you and others do that this sword can help protect people. I'd be glad to speak with you more later." Alkor gave a bow as they were quickly swept back up in the tide of the meeting, and he was abl

"Reality is often disappointing," he said from a place of vast experience, watching the woman as she approached. He said little else as she espoused her thoughts of self-worthlessness and even hate, all but affirming the demonization of her entire persona. She fumbled with her weapon in the way of a murderer for a moment, but relented. The blade settled on the ground, and she relieved him of his pipe. Alkor studied Setsuna as she took an unprepared hit from the pipe and her eyes watered from the burn. She said that she wanted it to stop. She said that she didn't know how, but she wanted i