Rand Al'Thor

Rand spent a good half hour in that cave with Altier, helping his spot where the veins of ore were located. It turns out that it was indeed a player searching function and not just his imagination. It turns out the glow was always the same hue though, whether it was a vein of silver or iron. In that short time Aliter filled his pack with ingots of Iron, Silver and even a small bar of gold. Altier explained to him that gold should never be used to craft a weapon alone as it was a very soft metal. It was mostly used for decorative purposes. 

"I think we have enough here boy" Altier said as they walked from the cave and noticed the sun rapidly setting to the west. "If you don't mind the floor  you should stay at my place tonight. The woods are awfully dangerous at night and town is a good hour or two even at your pace." Rand nodded in agreement. Upon reaching the house, Altier set his pack and was asleep as soon as he hit his bed. NPCs were lucky that way, they did not have to worry about falling asleep they just did.

Rand looked over the ore they had collected and examined them and their status windows. Each metal had a particular trait that could be taken advantage of when forging. Silver claimed it could cause extra damage against undead monsters and gold said it would increase one's luck if used properly. Rand sighed and set the ore down, laying on the floor and staring up out the chimney into the night sky. 

"I will become a blacksmith" Rand muttered to himself and brought his hand up before him. A chunk of Silver ore glinted in his hand. Soon Rand was dreaming, dreams of forging legendary weapons.

"Got it" Rand said and glanced back at the retreating Luminous. Maybe he was right to leave, perhaps this boss was a bit beyond his current level. Rand shook his head and took up a position behind Hasai. Levels were not everything in a game, his own experience was proof enough of that. As long as he did not get too crazy with his attacks, Rand figured he should be okay. Rand checked his status window, his HP was full, his weapon was still in good shape and there were no other enemies to be seen but the giant wolf.

"Lets do this"

Rand sat down and began to eat  bread and water as soon as he saw Hasai taking on the last of the wolves. If only he had some healing potions, then he would be able to heal his HP even in the midst of battle. A popup appeared before him as he chewed indicating the quest progress was now 3/5 for the wolf extermination. Rand's HP bar slowly began to recover when Hasai pointed somewhere off in the distance. It was a wolf... but even from this distance Rand could tell it was huge. This thing was a hulking boss. Rand nodded to Hasai in response. That thing should be worth some good exp.

"Alright, lead the way" Rand said and took up his spear. His used water flask dropped to the ground and shattered into pixels. Rand laughed to himself as he thought about how impossible littering was in this world. His HP was once more in the green now.

Rand heals to 5/5 HP

-1 Bread

-1 Water

ID : 20056 BD=7 Rand hits Wolf 2 for 2 damage.

Rand gave a shout of approval as Luminous finished off the first of the wolves. Focusing himself he knew that he had to do his part too. He may be the lowest level of the party but he was never one to just sit back and leech off other party members hard world. Rand whipped his spear in a short circuit and lashed out with a flurry of short thrusts.

ID : 20057 BD=2 Wolf 2 misses.

Rand had scored a solid hit on the beast but still it came towards him relentlessly. It lunged out more at Rand, but he had seen this attack routine up close not a moment before. Rand slid to the side and used the shaft of his spear to push the beast to the ground. Rand turned to see the third and last wolf was stalking towards Hasai. For some reason she was not reacting to it's advance. Perhaps is was some terrible form of server lag. There was no way Rand could make it to the last wolf in time. Rand dashes with all his speed and hurled his spear at the wolf.

ID: 20060 BD=8 Rand hits Wolf 3 for 2 damage.

The spear stuck deep into the third wolf and threw it to the ground. Rand finally made it there as it was getting up off the ground with a look of pure loathing in it's canine eyes.

ID: 20059 BD=8 Wolf 3 hits Rand for 1 damage.

Rand managed to grab hold of his spear and pull it loose, but the wolf promptly lunged and sank its rabid fangs into Rand's thigh. 

Wolf 1: <dead>

Wolf 2: 3/5 <1 hate on Rand>

Wolf 3: 3/5 <1 hate on Rand>

Luminous: 11/11

Hasai: 21/21

Rand: 3/5

Rand slipped his lance into the sheath on his back and took another quick look around the area. It seemed those two were the only monsters in this cave, Rand gave the all clear for Altier to come in. The old man hobbled inside to join Rand and produced a torch from his pack. A quick brush with a flint and it roared to life, bathing the area in a much more visible light. Altier stuffed the torch into Rand's hands and moved over to a particular wall excitedly. He pulled out a small hammer and began tapping on the wall with his ear up against the stone.

"Ye got to listen for the right echo" Altier explained as he went about his work, tapping the hammer at different spots as he moved along the wall. Rand noticed a faint glow coming from one particular section of the wall. Nothing that would have been obvious unless he had been looking closely, as if it were coated in a shining mist. 

"What about there master?" Rand said, indicating the wall. Aliter took a look and shrugged, moving over to tap his hammer against the wall. Maybe it was a player feature that NPC's could not access? Rand was not too sure but was not terribly surprised then Altier pulled a pickaxe out of his pack and began hacking away at the wall. As the rough stone gave way, a thin stream maybe no more than an inch or two wide showed through the rock.

"Silver" Altier said and gave a low whistle, glancing at Rand with a questioning look. "I don't know how you did that boy, but remember that instinct. That is how you will find the materials you need to excel in blacksmithing."

Rand glanced around the edge of the stone cave opened and peered into the dimly lit space. Rand looked back to Altier and motioned with his hand for him to remain outside. Trying to make as little noise as possible, Rand slowly crept into the cave and made his way deeper underground. A shuffling noise caught his attention and Rand froze in place. Two large creatures entered his field of view. They resembled preying mantises but they were almost four feet tall. Their carapaces glittered in the darkness... they looked pretty hard.

<Mantis 1 2/2 Hps>

<Mantis 2 2/2 Hps>

With a deep breath, Rand suddenly came around the corner. He spun his spear in a quick circuit, bringing it down over his head in a vicious chop.

ID: 19903 BD=6 Rand scores a hit on Mantis 1 for 2 Damage <Mantis 1 is now dead>

The attack his the Mantis dead on, slicing clean through a mandible and causing the creature to hiss in pain. Rand spun his spear and adjusted his hands further up the shaft to stab behind him and into the head of the wounded Mantis, finishing it off for good. The second Mantis clicked furiously and came at Rand in a fury

ID: 19905 BD=10 Mantis 2 scores crit hit on Rand for 3 dmg <Rand is now 2/5 hps>

The mantis's scythe-like appendages flashed in front of Rand's chest, each carving deep gashes in his torso. Rand cried out more from shock that pain. He recovered enough to plant the blunt end of his speak on the ground and vault himself over this opponent and coming up in a flurry of stabs.

ID: 19906 BD=7 Rand scores a hit on Mantis 2 for 2 damage <Mantis 2 is now dead>

The final thrust went straight through the mantis's heart. Rand could feel the last beat tremble along the shaft and he thrust his spear into the ground a took a moment to breath as the last mantis burst into another explosion of pixels.

Rand crept about the grassy plains surrounding the town. It may have been because there were so many new players, but there was not a single mob for the first few minutes. He had been told monster respawns were very slow to keep someone from staying in a single spot and grinding out levels. A bush twitched to his right and Rand spun and readied his spear to defend himself, when a small white rabbit jumped out onto the field. Rand relaxed and let out a bit of a laugh and turned to his party feeling a little foolish. Rand hear the bush rustle again behind him and turned to see a large wolf springing out of the same bush towards him.

ID : 19865 BD: 7 Wolf Hits Rand for 1 HPs. Rand is now <4/5>

The wolf lashed out at the surprised Rand, it's teeth sinking into his arm before he should shake the beast off. The wolf jumped back after his first attack and another 2 wolves joined the first to growl hungrily at the party.

<Wolf 1> 5/5 hp 1 atk

<Wolf 2> 5/5 hp 1 atk

<Wolf 3> 5/5 hp 1 atk

With a spin of his spear, Rand thrust forward hoping to score a hit on the first wolf that had appeared.

ID : 19866 BD=8. Rand hits Wolf 1 for 1 damaged. <Wolf 1> Hp = 4/5.

Rand smiled as he felt the spear sink into wolf-flesh. Maybe what he felt was satisfaction at getting revenge for that surprise attack the wolf had launched on him, but Rand was really getting into the battle now.

Rand spent the new few hours tending to his wounded hp and spending time to get to know Altier a little better. Turns out Altier had been living in this forest for the past couple of decades. He used to live in the town of beginnings but a rival company had ruined his shop's reputation and driven him out of town. He had been upset at first, but then he had found this little nook in the forest that was usually very peaceful. It turns out the boar was a pretty unusual event so near Altier's house. This place was abundant with various caves and within them were many different types of ore. Most of the cave that were unoccupied only had lower grade ores but Altier claimed to be certain that some the caves guarded by monsters had to contain much more precious materials.

"What if I were to sneak in and get some for you?" Rand asked through a mouthful of bread Altier had been gracious enough to offer.

"Hah!" Altier laughed and slapped his knee before waggling his finger in Rand's face. "Even if you could get past the beastie, you would have no idea what to look for boy". Rand sighed shook his head slowly. It was indeed true that he did not have the experience to tell good from bad. Rand considered his run in with the boar for a moment.

"What if I could get rid of the monsters for you? then we could check out the cave together right? You could even show me the differences between the ore" Rand begged. Altier considered a moment, scratching his chin like he did whenever he thought hard about something.

"I know of a few places that we could try, but it will be dangerous to clear them out" he finally admitted.

Rand stood and readied his equipment. "Lets go old man!"

Rand glanced at Luminous and saw no objection to Hasai's claim and shrugged his shoulders. Rand brought up his map and zoomed out on the map to view the outskirts of the city where the quest had said the enemies would be located.

"It would appear that out target is not in a particular spot on the map" Rand told the party as he viewed the map. "They are more or less all over the grasslands surrounding this town." Rand looked at his quest marker and noticed the number of enemies still stayed the same, though a new notification had appeared underneath the "Optional Tab"

<?????? Will now randomly appear in the field>

"Umm do any of you have any idea what that quest notification means?" Rand asked his new companions. One way or another they were bound to find out during their hunt. The fact that an unknown enemy could be waiting for them out there was unsettling to say the least. "If not... we should probably get the show on the road"

Rand contemplated what he had done wrong as the new ore began to shift from the dull red to white hot once more. He had swung too hard last time and compromised the integrity of the metal. He would have to adjust his strength this time. As he shifted the ore to the anvil, Rand swung his hammer down again.

ID: 19850 CD:1 Critical Fail

As soon as the hammer hit the ore he knew his strike had been too light, he had felt the metal push back against his attempt to hammer it flat. It was as if the ore was alive and resisting his attempts to craft it into something he desired! A thought struck Rand as the white glow faded to reveal a charred piece of metal not even worth scrapping. What if his determination and will really did effect his crafting skill? Rand looked up at Altier to find him not looking at his terrible result, but straight into his eyes.

"Did you feel it boy?" He questioned and flashed his toothy smile when Rand nodded. "Then... Again!"

Rand took a deep breath and cleared his mind. He would not lose to a lump of metal. Once again the white hot enemy was on the anvil before him. He was the stronger! The hammer came down again.

ID: 19851 CD:12 Perfect item!

A feeling of warmth not inspired by the heat spread through his body as the hammer hit the ore. He knew he had done it right this time and the results would speak for themselves. The ore slowly took the form of a dagger as Rand had desired and as the last of the light faded away a wide smile spread across his face. The dagger was perfect. It's edge gleamed sharply in the dancing firelight and intricate runes crossed it's surface. It was as fine as Altier's example from before but.... it had an aura of power to it.. one Rand had not felt in Altier's weapon.

The old smithy's eyes grew wide as he examined the blade, picking it up and testing it's balance. "By the creator... I had never believed in beginners luck until now boy!" His eyes drifted past the blade over to Rand. "This is a weapon of great power. That you could make such a thing from that ore is mind-boggling". He set the dagger down on a table and studied Rand further. "You may grow to be one the best smith's this world as ever seen Rand Al'Thor. I would ask that for now you leave this blade in my possession. Items of great power have a way of attracting unwanted attention.

Rand considered the implications for a moment and reluctantly agreed that Altier was right. The last thing he wanted was to be PK'ed, a level one with a powerful dagger was still a level one.

Rand took the hammer in his hand and felt it's weight. It was a very heavy hammer, meant to pound a lump of metal into something useful. Rand swallowed and used the tongs to grab a lump of ore about the same size as what Altier had used before and placed it into the fire. He watched carefully as it heated up in the flames, changing from a dull red to a whitish glow. Rand pulled out the ore and placed it upon the anvil.

"Just picture in your mind what you are making as you swing the hammer boy!" Altier instructed him and Rand nodded in reply. A dagger, a sharp-edged dagger like what Altier had just produced! Rand swung down the hammer with all his might.

ID: 19849 CD=7 Bad Item resulted.

The ore sparkled and slowly reshaped into the form of a dagger. As the glow faded Rand's heart sank, it was flawed. The blade was not quite straight and there was a crack along the handle. It would not be of any use in combat. Altier learned forward and inspected his work, slowly shaking his head.

"You used too much force" He said to Rand. "It was not bad for a first try, but no one would pay a single Col for this." Altier picked up the dagger and tossed it into a barrel containing scrap to be melted  down for resources at another time. "Try again!"

After a short trip  they arrived at Altier's cabin. It was not too much to look at, it resembled an old hunting cabin one would see in the real world. It was kept well repaired though, and the walls were solid and sturdy. Altier opened the door and beckoned Rand step inside. The first thing that hit him was a wave of heat like a blast to the face. Rand's eyes watered immediately, not expecting such fierce warmth. In the center of the hut was a huge forge. The bright red coals were no doubt the main source of heat in this household. There was a cleverly designed chimney in the center of the roof that let out most of the heat, but the place still retained enough to make him feel like he should be sweating. Altier bent over and tended to the coals, he grabbed at the bellows and gave a few swift pumps, inspiring the coals to burn even hotter.

"This is was a smithy's forge should look like son" Altier said with a toothy grin, he was clearly proud of his setup. "A true man never lets the fire cool, the hotter the flame, the better the ore, the better the weapon". Altier placed his pack on a table and pulled out a lump of ore about the size of a softball and tossed it into the flame. "The most important part is patience, and timing boy. If you try to shape the ore when its not hot enough, it will be too brittle to work with," as Altier spoke, the ore began to glow with heat. It was a dull red and Altier shifted the ore with a pair of blackened tongs. "Let it heat too long and the metal will be too soft to hold the desired shape". The dull red glow slowly turned to a bright white and suddenly Altier pulled the ore from the fire and placed it on the anvil. A swift swing of his hammer game down on the ore. The ore flashed and began to change shape. The ore flattened out and took the form of a small blade and as the glow faded a shining dagger had taken its place.

"Wow" Rand breathed through the process. As long as he got the timing down, he wondered if he could do just as well. 

"Would you like to give it a try sonny?" Altier asked, holding out his smithy hammer. "Mind, I do not expect you to get it on the first go. I have had years of experience after all."

"I am still just a level 1" Rand replied while bringing up his party window and punching the "accept" button. As soon as he pressed the button a second health bar joined his in the upper right hand corner. "Hasai" was followed by a green health bar. It was good to know he would be able to monitor the parties health while they were adventuring in the field, though it was not like he had any healing items to support anyone with. At least Rand would know when they were in trouble, though from Hasai was saying, it was far more likely he would be the one to weight down the party if anything.

"Are you in the mood to join us Luminous?" Rand asked, somewhat eager to begin the quest and learn more about this world.

Rand noticed the NPC hovering next to him and sighed as he curled his body under him, snapping up like a spring. At least there was little to no pain when he took so much damage. What pain there may have been never lingered. Rand figured it was probably more mental than anything.

"Are you okay young man?" The old man ask him. For being an NPC they really made him sound worried. The programming of such AI must have been difficult.

"I will be fine after I get myself patched up" Rand reassured him. "Are you alright? that boar was chasing you down pretty well"

"It was because I was trying to harvest the ore in it's cave" He said with a toothy smile. He slid a pack off his shoulder and showed some shiny chunks of ore that he must have gotten from the cave. "It is some good quality stuff and I am certain I can forge something wonderful with it"

"Would that make you a blacksmith mr... ummm I never did ask your name" Rand questioned him.

"Altier" the old man said and thumped a hand to his chest. "Altier the smithy will do nicely".

Rand was struck by a sudden thought. In many of the mmos he had played there was always a skill trainer for crafting professions. Maybe this was a system also implemented in this game? 

"Sir. Would you teach me how to become a blacksmith?" Rand asked his a small bow, hoping his hunch would prove correct.

"I suppose I could teach you the basics" Altier said, scratching his chin as he considered the request. "I do owe you for saving my life after all. But you should know that if you choose to commit yourself to smithing, other paths will be closed off to you forever."

Rand nodded eagerly. He had been torn between trying to brew potions and smithing. This event had made up his mind for certain.

"Very well young man. Come with me to by hut, it is not far and I can go over the basics with you as you patch yourself up!" Altier exlaimed and lead Rand through the woods towards his cabin.

Rand looked up from his contemplation to see a man approaching him. This was probably one of the people he had been waiting for. The man introduced himself as Luminous and Rand extended his hand to introduce him when, A Wild Hasai Appeared!... or rather a young woman vaulted over Luminous's shoulders to land in front of him, introducing herself as Hasai. These two seemed to know each other from beforehand, though Rand's initial impression of these two seemed to mark them as good people.

"Greetings. I am called Rand" He said as he finally found his voice after the acrobatic display. Rand fiddled with his display panel and pulled up the hunting quest that he had retrieved from the bounty board and showed his new companions. "It seems like a pretty basic quest, but since it is my first time here I am a little nervous about soloing it.". Rand looked over their gear as he spoke, both of them seemed to be one handed sword users. Though Hasai used a rapier while Luminous used a more traditional sword. That was good, there would be some variation in their fighting styles.

"If you guys want to party up with me for this it would be appreciated. The quest says it scales with the party so I am sure it could get pretty interesting" Rand said, hoping they would come with him.

I would be up for it as well... but tbh... idk if i am up for combat. If you look at my recent adventures I got my ass kicked by a 3 hps boar -.- That thing was the devil man. it crit hit me twice in a row while i kept missing.

It did not take Rand long to realize that the only way to pursue a career in crafting was to farm for materials first. After asking the Town of Beginnings he was told a good place to find novice Materials was in the forest to the Northwest. It was said a variety of ores, herbs and wildlife made their home in the forest and was a perfect place to start out. Rand made it a priority to avoid monsters while he explored the forest and soon came upon a promising looking area. There was a small spring-fed creek weaving its way in between the trees of the forest. Plants were growing wildly all about the bank, and various rocks glinted with veins of metal. Rand honest had no idea where to even begin. He did not have any tools to harvest the metal, and he could not tell which plants would be useful... knowing his luck he would pick a poisonous one. Rand sighed and was about to turn back when he noticed an older man wearing a wide brimmed hat emerge from a small cave in a hurry. A wild boar snorted and headbutted the old man to the ground. Judging by his HP Bar, Rand saw he was an NPC.. but even then there was no way he was just going to let this old man die right in front of him! 

<Enemy Encountered - Cave Pig(Boar) HP 3/3. Base Atk:1>

<Rand HP 5/5. Base Atk:2>

Rand readied his spear and dashed toward's the boar's flank, swinging his spear in a wide arc at the startled pig.

ID: 19760 BD : 2 Failed attack by Rand.

Unfortunately the boar sensed him coming and jumped back from Rand's attack. With a squeal of rage, it lunged back into the fray to gore Rand with it's sharp tusks.

ID: 19761 BD: 3 Failed attack by Boar.

Rand managed to slip to the side and deflect the boar to the side with the shaft of his spear. He thanked whatever powers ruled over SAO for learning how to move his body as fluidly as he could. As the boar slipped by Rand lashed out at it with his spear with a quick flurry of stabs.

ID: 19762 BD: 7 Attack hits by Rand. Boar takes 2 damage. Boar HP Now <1/3> 

Blood blossomed from multiple wounds on the boar as it passed by and jagged red wounds showed pixels flaking away from it's body. Rand could tell it had been badly wounded, but his last strike was not deep enough. The boar bellowed in rage and charged at Rand again, Rand braced himself for the incoming attack.

ID: 19763 BD: 9 Critical attack hit by Boar. Rand takes 2 damage. Rand HP Now <3/5>

Rand tried as best as he could to dodge the attack the same as he did last time, but the boar was smarter than he thought. It turned it's charge to face Rand and it's sharp tusks dug keep into his chest and knocked him to the ground. Rand struggled to get free as he felt the boar beginning to thrash it's head back and forth to deal more damage.

ID: 19764 BD : 5 Failed attack by Rand. 

ID: 19765 BD: 9 Critical Attack hit by Boar. Rand Takes 2 damage. Rand HP Now <1/5>

Rand tried to break the hold the boar had on him and nearly had the horns out of his chest when the boar grunted and threw its weight into another attack, the burrowing tusks digging deeper into him. Rand could see his HP bar draining swift and panic begun to set in, he reached for the short haft of his spear and flipped it in his hand, stabbing down at the demonic boar's head.

ID:19766 BD: 7 attack hits by Rand. Boar takes 2 damage <DEAD>

The spear plunged straight through the boar's eye and it let out one final squeal before bursting into a cloud of pixels. Rand lay on his back trying to catch his breath. He had come close to dying in this game.... all to a simple boar. His eyes wandered to his HP gauge clearly in the red. If he had taken just one more points of damage... it would have all been over for him. Rand closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts before he would speak to the NPC.

It took Rand a fair amount of time to find any NPC's that had quests he felt capable of doing. It was not like other MMO's he had played in the past where there was a bright mark above their heads to indicate quests. He actually had to talk with the townsfolk and ask around for anyone who was looking for work. Rand hit the bonus when he entered a tavern and found a board filled with bounties, many of which looked way to tough for a single person.

"Ah!" Rand exclaimed and tapped his finger on one particular posting. 

Our live stock has recently been ravaged by wild beasts, mostly wolves, in the grasslands surrounding the city. 

We need adventurers like you to save us from this menace!

<Quest Type : Extermination>

<Goal : Kill 5 Wolves>

<Additional Rewards for Killing 5 Boars>

<NOTE : Difficulty will increase if undertaken by a Party!>

Would you like to accept this quest? <Yes> <No>

"If it's just in the grasslands, it should be easy enough to solo right?" Rand thought to himself. With a swipe of his hand he brought up his inventory and took stock of his gear. He was a level 1 and had been given a starting pack upon entering the game. The pack consisted of a Basic starting lance, basic cloth clothing and provisions for staying alive AKA food and water. It sucked he did not have any real armor, but then again starting with more than what Rand had could unbalance the game. He checked his skills and status windows. He had 5 HP.. not very much for starting... and had the light armor proficiency as well as training to make his attacks with a spear stronger.

"I could play it safe and try to start with a crafting job.. but.." Rand thought to himself for a moment and remembered the feeling he had when he was selecting his avatar. He truly wanted to test out the combat in this game. Rand hit the yes button and saw the quest added to his Journal. Rand took another look at his hp gauge of 5 and had a bad feeling about it. Maybe he had better see if anyone else was willing to undertake this quest with him. Resigned, Rand took a seat in a stool by the board and told himself he would wait a few minutes to see if any other players had similar aspirations

«Name» Rand Al'Thor.

Profile
» Username: Rand Al'Thor
» Real name: Simon Stenson
» Age: 19
» Gender: Male
» Height: 6'2"

» About(History):

     Simon was like a lot of other gamers. He was never really popular in school and only had a few friends he considered close. He spent a lot of his time and money feeding his gaming hobby until it was a borderline addiction. With his grades being somewhat average, Simon had no real goals in life and once he had graduated highschool he went to a middle-grade university just to get a degree under his belt. Now financially independent, Simon did part time jobs and IT work for several online franchises. He was not exactly raking in a ton of money but it was enough to pay the rent for his tiny little apartment. Simon lost contact with almost all of his friends from Highschool. They all had dream to work towards, many of them putting all of their effort towards school. He kept in touch with just once, Rachel. She was one of the few female gamers he had ever met and they got along pretty well... very well in fact. Fearing to ruin their friendship, it took Simon many years (all the way through highschool in fact) to work up the courage to ask her out on a date. That day, he entered her apartment for their usual Friday LAN party and found Rachel hanging from the rafters. The image burned it's self into Simon's mind and collapsed to his knees, his world broken.

  It was this incident that sparked his interest in the VRMMO franchise. The advertisements were displaying this as a perfect escape from reality... something Simon needed desperately. Within a month, Simon procured one of these machines and a game titled <SAO>. Back in his small apartment, Simon went through the calibration process. A touch here, an adjustment there, Simon had no notion of why this was required when the information for the game was going to be transmitted directly to the brain... but it needed to be done. 

Laying on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling... to a picture of a small cat suspended from a rope saying "hang in there"... something his psychiatrist said would 'help him get through this terrible ordeal. Simon closed his eyes and chanted softly "Link Start"

» Virtues:
Loyal : Ever since childhood Simon has always been loyal to a fault. If someone is patient enough to ignore all of his quirks, they will find him to be a great friend who was willing to do almost anything to help. He will protect his friends in any way he can and will never doubt them until given a reason to. Because of his condition, it may be a bit harder for women to befriend him but do not doubt Simon is a friend worth having. The only exception is that Simon will not compromise his morals to help his friends.

Quick Learner : Simon always did have a knack for picking up most things after only seeing them a few times. The only reason he did not really succeed in life is that he had zero ambition. Once someone shows him how to do something he will learn it and adapt it to best suit him. This is particularly helpful when memorizing 'Boss Fight' strategies and other tactics that would help him succeed in the harder content lurking in the shadows of SAO.

Honorable : Simon has always been a decent sort of fellow. "Lawful good" would probably be how Simon identifies himself. He had always followed the rules both in-game and in the real world. He has a moral compass that always points true north and when he sees an injustice being done he always tries to stop it, even if that action would make life harder for himself. So PK'ing anyone (unless given no other choice) is completely out of the question.

» Flaws:
Hesitant : Simon has never been very good with making decisions. He is not a coward by any means, but whenever he comes to an important crossroad he always overthinks the problem. Sometimes his hesitation can have dire consequences. It is often up to his companions to drag him along the path when he has moments like these. Often he seeks reassurance from his companions that he has made the right decision when he is even the least bit unsure. 

Awkward :Simon is not the best people person. He has spent more time with NPC's than actual people and since he graduated his interaction with the real world has dropped significantly. When people first meet Simon he will not talk very much beyond the basic needs of the quest/situation. They may think he is a bit slow, but honestly he just does not know what he should say. He is a very quiet person until he gets to know someone. After a few quests when Simon can get the 'feel' of an individual he will open up and they will find him to be a good companion.

Emotionally Unstable : Even a month later, Rachel's death still effects Simon's attitude towards people - particularly women. Every time he sees a woman even slightly resembling Rachel he flashes back to when she hung herself. This crippling effect is triggered by beauties with long black hair. Simon himself does not fully understand why he has these attacks. At best he is just distracted, at his worst it severely effects his fighting ability. Simon figured that 'social interaction' in SAO would help improve this condition, though that remains to be seen.

Profession:

Skills
Non-combat:
»

Passive:
»

Light Armor <Rank 0>

Combat:
»

Weapon skills:
»Two-Handed Spears <Rank 0>

Inventory
Weapons/Tools:
Two Handed Assault Spear

9 Bread (Beginner Pack)

14 Water (Beginner Pack)

Cloth Clothing (Beginner Pack)

Col : 

New Character


Roleplays:

None
(no "in progress" means its complete; "incomplete" can mean one or the other person stopped replying for a long time)


Relationships (optional)
» None


Story Thus Far (optional)
» None