Freyd

"The Celestial Ascendants? Huh. I wonder if they were around during the same days as The Madrigal. The timing seems about right. Both predate my active days. I spent most of my early time in the game touring the Town of Beginnings - by which I mean the first few years. You must have been active for quite some time." Internally, Freyd was trying to process how Mina could have been around since those days, and yet still be so completely incapable of harming their enemy during the recent fight. "What level are you?" He just blurted it out, rather than being subtle or slaving himself

Freyd's silence was telling, but not in the manner Eruda might first think. "That's not exactly a simple question. But, if I were to distill it to the simplest answer, it would be something like: I was just there when she needed a friend." Memories tore through him like a flood, going as far back as a cluster of rampaging giant bees, Shiina sledding on a compound eye. Battles fought, side by side, slowly rebuilding Freya's confidence. Behind it all, a messed called Tuatha, or Kuriyama, or spoopy-semi-demon-dude. Who also somehow turns out to be Simmone's dead brother from before

"You know Shield? We've run together a few times, mostly dungeons. Both of us were at the last floor boss raid together. Can't say that I know him particularly well, but he seems a decent sort. Good head on his shoulders, and all that. I'll have to let him know that I can out-glare him, next time I see him. He'll probably glare at me, if I do." Mina's choice of words ha caught his attention. "You referred to him as you 'old guildmate.' Does that mean that one or both of you left your guild? I thought he was with Jacob's Ladder." Walking back towards Coral proved to be far l

Evals for items provided by Oscar in shop: https://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/19871-f13-appraiser-freyd-edges-open/?do=findComment&comment=644577 Rank 5 Appraiser (Base: BD 10, CD 8+ for unique, 10 identifications per day) +1 to CD from Hermes’ Scale +2 EXP: Hard Working (also +1 IDs per day) +2 EXP: Lucrative (Firm Anima) (also +2 IDs per day) +1 EXP: Custom Ambition Tool (bought from own shop 2020-07-16) Consuming: Crafting Respite: 173273 Witch's Brew: Provided by Oscar. See link above. Identifications: 26x T4 Perfect Items (@3040 col) = 79040 col +72

One eyebrow arched higher than the other at her assessment of his demeanor, ending with a snort-like exhalation and a wide, wry grin. "You're actually not far off, on both counts. It's an occupational hazard, I suppose. Sorry about the ninja twins, back there. Mari's gemini is not one to be taken lightly, and posed a very real threat. We may not know each other, but it was me who put you in the position in the first place. I'm sorry for that. Playing a trump card seemed prudent and appropriate. I'm glad it paid off." Freyd's bearing softened as they spoke. His edge melting

"Taking pride in killing your opponent, is a recipe for disaster." "I will not give him that satisfaction of killing me in this game." "Who gets to decide what should have and shouldn't have existed?" Freyd listened in silence, motionless as the dial upon which the sun casts shadow to define its concept of time. Their debate held no meaning for him. Being the instrument of the casting set him aside in the equation. Wheels turned within themselves as skies fell to darkness and arose once more with the inevitable dawn. Answers in contrast were illusions and mere distractions -

The two opponents charged at each other, one fueled by rage and the other by mild irritation. The dragon lanced through the air with surprising speed, it's impressive and malicious maw aiming to devour its foe, only to find nothing but shadow and an impending collision with some very, very hard ground. Nemo crashed, face first, too stunned to manage any form of a dodge. Freyd, meanwhile, came plummeting down on top of the reptile's head, braining him so hard that Nemo nearly bit off his own tongue. Unexpectedly, the lizard splayed out its arms and whimpered pleas for mercy. It was rat

"YOU!" The declaration came from upstream. "Momo?" Freyd muttered, confused by the strange gardener's sudden and inexplicable hostility. "NEMO!" Flustered to crimson, the mob practically plowed a furrow as he stormed along the water's edge, making a bee line for the Whisper. "What's the problem?" Something nibbled at his line, forcing Freyd to divide his attention. Not that he was particularly inclined to listen to the man's rant anyway. "You're depleting my fishing stock, that's what's what! I spend years repopulating this area and I won't have you wrecking the plac

Thread Summary: Dungeon Wave 1: 44 Materials (each) Dungeon Wave 2: 28000 col (each) Dungeon Wave 3: 100000 (split), [ID#200088 | LD: 8]: 2x T4 Perfect Weapons (each), 2x T4 Perfect Armors 5858 words / 30 = 195*5= 975*Tier 5858 / 300 = 19 seeds Mina receives: Freyd receives: Kasumi receives: Setsuna receives:

Flipping open the lid on his latest catch, Freyd barely noticed as the contents spilled into his inventory. "Vayl. My name is Vayl. And, uh... Mari's kind of wandered off. I'm not really sure how I ended up here. Some Captain Nemo person invited me in, and I guess I sorta figured that he might have offered the same to Mari, so I followed." Freyd looked completely unimpressed. "Let me get this straight. You have no idea where Mari is, so you just decided to wander Aincrad randomly on the off chance that you might bump into her?" If Montjoy could speak, Freyd expected th

"Holy shit!" 'Sir Flabbergast' seemed a bit too agog to have much combat experience, or maybe he was just easily impressed. Returning to his seat and plopping himself down onto the same spot, Freyd couldn't help but wonder if the game would eventually imprint his butt-cheeks into the stone if he stayed here long enough. Probably not, but the thought was amusing. A casual shrug was all he offered to the stranger. "What's your name, anyway? Please don't say Lancelot." "Uh... what? No. I'm...err... Vayl. My name is Vayl!" "You anxious about something, Vayl?" A single r

A quick spin and lateral strike sent the Hand spiraling sideways and left a deep rut in Eden's previously pristine lawn. Nemo wouldn't be happy, but that was a problem for later. Lunging forward and holding his staff like a spear, Freyd stuck the mob mid-knuckle, where the middle finger met the hand. It seemed like some sort of equivalent to its solar plexus, but the damned thing's anatomy was so weird that there was no true comparison. It could just be like a hand. Freyd scowled at his shadow, whose mocking sarcasm was not appreciated. These things were like the nuisance weeds o

"Oh, we met at the Tanabata event last year. It's a bit of a weird story. You should ask her, if you get the chance. My name's Freyd. She'll probably curse when you mention it, but we both know that's her most obvious sign of affection." He delivered the entire spiel with a pleasant smile on his face and without missing a beat. Their was far more complicated, though there was a sufficient kernel of truth to his words that it suffused the rest and passed muster. Freyd and Mari has a tenuous past, mainly due to the strange notion he had that she was a hero in waiting - deep, deep waiting

'Lancelot' blinked, as if Freyd had just slapped him across the face with a wet fish. His eyes mirrored the internal struggle between his brain, perceptions and expectation. A complete stranger who knew Mari by vague description was not at all what he'd expected. "I....er...umm... yes?!" The man had a naive, knightly air about him that made Freyd think he was just a kid, despite his considerable stature. It was likely some manner of overcompensation, or romantic infatuation with noble ideals. 'Poppycock', he thought to himself while maintaining a distinctly neutral expression. "How.

"Are those things as ridiculous as they look?" A stranger's voice came at him from the left, and not without warning. The man's heavy armor clanked so loudly that Freyd wondered if it was meant to be some new form of hate mechanic. "So far? Yes, actually." For a quiet, out of the way spot, he seemed to be attracting a fair share of visitors. "Are you looking for someone?" "Erm... yeah. Kinda." The new arrival' whose garb was slightly reminiscent of a knight's templar, save without the red cross, reached up and ran a heavy gauntlet through his hair. He was a stout one, f

"Did it just wonk at me?" Freyd wasn't sure what the sound was meant for, and even less sure of who he was supposed to be asking. The Gilded Hand was stuck, for lack of a better description, pinned beneath his staff and a large rock. "Please tell me that wasn't a whimper. Do mobs whimper now?!" He tried shaking it off, to no avail. Bracing a foot against on of the backs of its fingers, it occurred to him that the most dangerous part of the mob was likely behind it, in the direction towards which all of its joints bent. Short of surprising flexibility, the things simply weren't const

His staff's impact nearly split the hand in two, just from the force of blunt trauma inflicted. The damage to the creature's mesh was brutal and extensive, reminding him of a scene in one of the classic terminator movies, where this liquid metal dude had been completely blasted apart by a grenade, but was still walking around. Except, in this case, it was walking on fingers. So weird. Addled by the blow, the hand just stood, staggered, in its current place. Its eyes had ended up at different ends of its sundered shell and we staring off in opposite directions, which was no doubt s

The rod gave jiggle and judder that had already become familiar in the Whisper's gaze and memory. A golden hand, nearly six feet tall, spawned a few feet away within seconds. "How are newbies ever going to benefit from fishing if you lot keep showing up all the time? Don't you know that it's rude to interrupt someone's vacation, regardless of whether its official?!" The hand just blinked, which was weird to even consider. "Alright. Looks like I'm just going to have to get used to this. At least the rewards were good, even if not particularly needed, thanks to past efforts. More nev

"More goodies," he added, smiling to himself. Freyd was never truly jubilant. It just wasn't in his nature. Dour? Sure. Distant? Just about always. Considerate? More often than you would think, assuming he could actually process the mood. Sometimes, it just didn't register. Lack of frame of reference could be a problem. He might even laugh at a given circumstance or situation, but often only for its paradoxical nature or as a result of some exercise in wit. He had a penchant for intellectual humour, and no appreciation for foolish impulses or poor choices. People ought to know bet

It turned out to be Nemo, wandering by again as part of his regular gardening duties. "How are you enjoying things? I hope that the clouds haven't dampened your experience?" Freyd smiled at the play on words, while politely acknowledging his host. "I've had no complaints. Though I had been meaning to ask: what's with all these Gilded Hand things that keep cropping up?" Nemo tilted his head like a lot puppy, somehow failing to recognize the name, or Freyd's meaning. "They are a part of this place, as is everything else. Has there been a problem?" "Well... n

Another quick tap yielded more loot to be added to the tally. How many of these things would he find? Between the Hands and the chests - the eerie possibility of other body parts adding to the mix drifted through his mind - it seemed rather difficult to actually focus on catching actual fish. Not that the fish turned out to be 'fish', per se. The game just interpreted it as an anonymous widget of 'stuff' that could be converted into other stuff by applying some process to it. It was typical video-game logic, really, and not at all jarring to someone with extensive gaming experience, unti

Clouds passed overhead, casting a pattern of shadows upon the ground that came and went with regularity over Freyd's rock. This place could actually be quite serene, if you let yourself enjoy it. A pair of six-foot tall metallic, bat-like things swooped down nearby and decimated some poor critter. Freyd took note to avoid those, and let the illusion of bliss slip back over him again. Even Eden had its problems, it seemed, but he wasn't here to solve them. All he wanted was a little peace and quiet for a change, and the opportunity to still his mind when he needed it. Persi purred. M

*WHOMP* *CRASH* *POP* One hit was all it took. Well-targeted and effective, he snared the mob between two digits, lifting it off the ground and slamming it into a nearby tree. It exploded like a child's water balloon. As nice as it was to receive the loot, none of it was ever going to be of any use to him. "Still, it might be nice if I could make some of this useful for a few friends." Persi flit her tail around, twice, as if in agreement. "We could probably put together a half-decent kit for a lot of low-tiered players if this drop rate keeps up." Sparing a mome

Watching his friend slowly wander down the same meandering trail that brought them together in the first place, Freyd was glad to have met him. There was something wise and forthright about Quaestor, like a solemn sincerity that told you he could be relied upon, even in the very darkest of hours. Fate had certainly been unkind to the man, but his spirit seemed to finally be on the mend. There was life in his face and his step, that had previously come across as a shadow of itself. Now, it shone. Turning his gaze back to the pond and creek before him, Freyd lazily reeled in his line, al

"Don't let it get you down, Quaestor. Admittedly, it sucks that you're likely to have to start leveling back up from scratch, but you have friends and allies to help you with that." Freyd nodded, confirming his intent to help in any manner possible, even as he cast his line once more into the trickly, bubbling water before them. "Thanks again, my friend." Quaestor stood and summoned his weapon once more, staring towards the unknown lingering on every horizon. "If this little scene is any indication, fishing might not be practical or healthy for me." "Heh. Yeah. I get that, an