Zulas

"Thank you." he said. Zulas grabbed the sword that was on the ground next to him and used it to help him stand up. He began walking in the direction of the enemy that had woken those memories in him. Those ones that he didn't want to remember, those that made him hate himself more and more. His eyes narrowed as he focused on his pray. The beetle was a couple of yards away not aware of what was waiting for it. Zulas envied how simplistic their life was, not having a care in the world. No problems to deal with, no preoccupations and not even a life to live. Zulas finally decided on his determination to kill this monster before the day was through. He admitted to himself that it was not easy, and if dying here meant dying in real life, all the more reason to be careful. All these thoughts went through his head as he swung his sword with all his might and heart.

Zulas: HP 13/20; Energy 2/2

Beetle: HP 4/4

 ID# 67650 results:

 Battle: 5

 Craft: 3

 Loot: 15

 MOB: 4

((I'll be using both results at the same time from now on in this topic, just to speed things up))

Zulas: HP 13/20; Energy 2/2

Zulas waited a few minutes, resting his head against the trunk of the tree. He touched it and felt it strong, like not even a storm could bring it down. The gentle breeze caressed his hair and he closed his eyes. The voice came again but this time it felt reassuring, "You know what I love about you?", it asked. He whispered out loud, "What? My loneliness, my social awkwardness. I think those are my only good qualities." After a moment of silence a warmth light touched his skin. "No, silly.", the voice chuckled and that brought a smile to his lips. "I love when you look at me, because your eyes say the truth that's in your heart." It paused for a second, "You don't believe me, do you?". He laughed for a second, "The weird thing is that actually, I do." Then there was silence and Zulas opened his eyes.

Zulas: HP 10/20; Energy 2/2

Zulas ran like a madman, like he had all his life, and escaped from the monster. There was no stopping now, he had to recover his HP before coming back again to face off against that monster. He was determined now because he felt he had let the voice down. His thoughts went back to it, the warmth and the feeling of closeness. He couldn't quite place where it was from but only that he had heard it before. Maybe the weeks inside my... no, our apartment has made go crazy. He then laughed at his own thoughts and slumped down against a tree just off the road. "Ah, if only you were here?", he said to no one in particular.

Zulas: HP 7/20; Energy 0/2

Beetle #1: 0/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

Zulas was glad that he moved away at the last minute, the beetle's horn made a thrust just where he was standing. Not thinking about it he began to ran, hoping to put a distance between him and the monster. His heart was racing, and he was gasping breath. He kept being amazed at how good the system would simulate actual human conditions, but adrenaline was one that he had experience once before... On that dark night... Zulas shook his head to perish that thought, and continued to run away from the creature. 

 ID# 67649 results:

 Battle: 7

 Craft: 10

 Loot: 14

 MOB: 2

Zulas: HP 7/20; Energy 0/2

Beetle #1: 0/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

"Stop! Please live!", said the voice again. "You can't live me alone!", this time it said it in a sobbing whisper. It tugged at Zulas's heart and he knew that he had to run away. He hated himself because it was the wrong thing to do. He began to turn around to escape the battle, but the beetle was too fast for him. It caught up with him, and sensing that he was running away decided to attack with one last swing of its horn. Zulas couldn't let the voice down, he needed to escape so he could hear it once more. Those were his last thoughts before the beetle's horn came at him.

 ID# 67648 results:

 Battle: 4

 Craft: 6

 Loot: 4

 MOB: 5

Zulas: HP 7/20; Energy 0/2

Beetle #1: 0/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

"Wake up!" a voice said. Zulas heard it as if from a mile away. The beetle had hit him and he had fallen to the ground from the hit. The health bar was screaming at him from being in the red zone. "Don't you give up!", the voice said again. He slowly opened his eyes but there's was nobody there, only the beetle standing in front of him. The voice was soft, caring and somehow familiar. It gave him the strength he needed to rise from the ground. Zulas gripped the hilt of his sword and, with grim determination given by the mysterious voice, he swung at the foe in front of him.

 ID# 67647 results:

 Battle: 4

 Craft: 8

 Loot: 4

 MOB: 8

Zulas: HP 9/20; Energy 0/2

Beetle #1: 0/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

Zulas missed his attack completely, it hit the husk of the beetle and bounced off of it. He cursed himself for not being good enough and knew that the beetle would come back to attack him. Again, he felt his legs freeze when the skill art was used so he had no choice but withstand the attack of the beetle. His mind raced with a million thoughts, will I die here today? Am I going to finally see her? Is it my fate to disappear into a million pieces, just like them? Will you greet me in the other side? Memories of his life flashed before him and Zulas closed his eyes and waited for the moment to come.

 ID# 67646 results:

 Battle: 7

 Craft: 1

 Loot: 20

 MOB: 6

Zulas: HP 9/20; Energy 1/2

Beetle #1: 0/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

The boar hit Zulas over the head with a loud thunk sound. Zulas shook his head after feeling a bit a disoriented, and dropped to one knee. He could tell that his body was exhausted and saw that his health bar had reached the yellow range. He knew that it wouldn't be too long until it passed over to the red range and began the alarm. He got to his feet and decided to make one last stand. He willed himself to put all his effort into this attack and positioned his iron sword over his head. The auto system kicked in and pulled his hand down towards the menacing beetle that stood in front of him.

 ID# 67644 results:

 Battle: 2

 Craft: 8

 Loot: 14

 MOB: 10

Zulas: HP 11/20; Energy 1/2

Beetle #1: 0/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

The beetle gave a last screech before it exploded into a million pieces, and Zulas let out a sigh of relief with that battle over. However, he knew that he had to contend with the other monster, Beetle #2. He turned around to find the other creature in close proximity to him, with its horn aimed at his face ready to strike. He didn't have time to react, and realized that too much time had been wasted fighting the other beetle. Now this other beetle jumped into the air in order to strike him over the head with its horn. Zulas was taken aback, but forced himself to stand his ground against the attack, hit or miss either way.

 ID# 67632 results:

 Battle: 4

 Craft: 4

 Loot: 12

 MOB: 6

Zulas: HP 11/20; Energy 1/2

Beetle #1: 1/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

Zulas sidestepped at the last second, and narrowly avoided the blow. The horn came up to his face and he saw it move to where his eyes were with a loud thrust. That was real close Zulas. He looked back towards Beetle #2 and saw that it was fast approaching so he decided to take one last swing at the beetle. He knew that if he missed the other beetle would catch up and he would have to decide if would run away or not. That's a decision for later, he thought as thrust his sword forward one last time towards the monster in front of him. 

 ID# 67631 results:

 Battle: 7

 Craft: 7

 Loot: 4

 MOB: 8

Zulas: HP 11/20; Energy 1/2

Beetle #1: 1/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

As soon as Zulas made that upward swing, it was evident that he had missed. Zulas was gasping now, clearly tired from this battle. He knew that these were low level monsters, and that he had come unprepared but he was testing out the game... but mostly himself. He looked at this as a test, and one that if he didn't pass then he was not long for this world. The beetle made a screech sound, which made him pay attention to the matter at hand. The screech of the blue beetle was followed by a small charge with its horn pointed at him, only this time it aimed at his face. Zulas looked around to see if there's was anything that he could do, but already the creature was on top of him as its horn closed the gap to his head. 

 ID# 67630 results:

 Battle: 3

 Craft: 5

 Loot: 11

 MOB: 2

Zulas: HP 11/20; Energy 2/2

Beetle #1: 1/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

The exhausted beetle managed to miss by just an inch, grazing a bit of his gray shirt. Zulas let out a sigh he didn't even he was holding, and brought his sword down testing a theory. It was confirmed when the tingling sensation came back and the blue light danced all over his sword. He took one step forward, sweat beating down his forehead and let the computer help the movement fo the sword. Zulas let go of the restraint he had on the sword, and saw it swipe up in a vertical motion. Even if did not hit his mark, he had establish the use of his 'Vertical' sword skill, and he was happy about that.

 ID# 67589 results:

 Battle: 4

 Craft: 3

 Loot: 13

 MOB: 10

Zulas: HP 11/20

Beetle #1: 1/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

Zulas gained way too much momentum when he performed that jump so when he thrust his sword forward, he noticed that he had turned a bit too quick. This made him miss his mark by a couple of inches, something that Beetle #1 took opportunity of. The beetle again, struck with his horn towards Zulas's torso which made him wince in anticipation of the strike. He noticed that the beetle was panting, or maybe it was him that was panting because of his health. It did not matter at that point because his mind was focused in that task at hand, and this time it was hoping that the beetle would miss him.

 ID# 67588 results:

 Battle: 5

 Craft: 5

 Loot: 4

 MOB: 2

Zulas: HP 11/20

Beetle #1: 1/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

Zulas felt the impact of the hit and it hurt but only for a second. He looked at his health bar and said that it was almost at the half mark, but steadied himself. Now, that he could move he looked at his surroundings looking for things that he could use. He noticed that there were trees, some bushes, flowers and a few boulders standing on the side. The boulders gave him an idea, and he headed towards them with both beetles in tow. He reached one of the boulders and looked over his shoulder to where the beetles were. The one he had wounded was in the back trailing a bit behind that had just attacked him. Zulas waited for them to get close, and then put one foot on the boulder and jumped back landing between both beetles. Zulas then turned towards the wounded beetle and performed a thrust aimed at the wounded beetle's head. He hoped that his attack would ring true and hit its mark because if not, he would have to find another solution to his situation.

 ID# 67556 results:

 Battle: 4

 Craft: 3

 Loot: 8

 MOB: 8

Zulas: HP 13/20

Beetle #1: 1/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

The attack struck Zulas square in the chest and made stagger back a couple of steps. He massaged his chest but the pain had immediately subsided. Beetle #2 decided that it was its turn now and moved towards Zulas with its horn pointed at his chest again. He knew that it was coming so he knew what to expect, but he still couldn't move from performing his Sword skill and braced again for the hit. 

 ID# 67555 results:

 Battle: 9

 Craft: 4

 Loot: 12

 MOB: 8

Zulas: HP 15/20

Beetle #1: 1/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

The sword sliced through the beetle and it let out a screech of pain. Zulas immediately noticed the bar drop into the red area, meaning that it was almost out of health. Both of the beetles turned towards their attacker, and whatever differences they had, if any, were put aside to deal with the intruder. Beetle #1 was the first one that decided to retaliate against Zulas, and turned towards him. The beetle rushed and decided to use its horn as its weapon, and made a thrust attack towards Zulas's torso. He noticed that he couldn't move after performing his sword skill so he braced for the hit that was surely coming.

 ID# 67554 results:

 Battle: 2

 Craft: 7

 Loot: 19

 MOB: 8

Zulas wiped those tears away, and thought to himself. Come on, man. You promised yourself and you promised her. This is a new beginning and she would be mad if she saw you right now. He laughed at the idea of her giving him a scolding. "You don't need to cry. There are more great things in the world that should make you happy instead of cry", is what she would've said isn't it. 

Zulas shook his head and decided to keep walking forward until he found two beetles going at it with each other. He didn't know if they were fighting themselves, but he didn't care. Zulas moved forward towards one of them and raised his sword. Again, he felt the tingling sensation of the sword moving itself and he knew that he had activated his 'Vertical' sword skill. With that he brought down towards the closes beetle hoping to have the beetle cut in half again. 

Zulas: HP 15/20

Beetle #1: 4/4

Beetle #2: 4/4

 ID# 67553 results:

 Battle: 9

 Craft: 11

 Loot: 6

 MOB: 3

Zulas: HP 15/20

Dire wolf: HP 0/5

Zulas swung his sword in a vertical slash, and the blue light followed. It seemed like his arm moved on his own but it felt natural at the same time, like he had done it a lot of times before in his life. He saw the wolf being cut in half, and the explode into a dozens of electronic bits and pieces. All the time he hadn't noticed that his heart was beating fast, I guess that they simulate adrenaline also,  he thought as he waited for it to pass. 

After a few minutes passed he decided to do it again. Zulas knew that he had to become better in order to... his shoulders slumped and he looked down at his feet. "To do what, exactly?", Zulas said to no one in particular. He then felt something running down his cheek. He touched it and realized that his eyes were letting tears go, he even guessed they were coming out even while he was fighting the wolf. 

Zulas: HP 15/20

Dire wolf: HP 1/5

The bite came and it was painful. Zulas felt the wolf rip out a part of his clothes and a bit of his skin. He let out a small cry in pain and looked down at his ribs, the sight was peculiar to him. He knew that it was a game and the pain was there, but it did not feel as bad as he expected. He looked at the wolf straight in its eyes as he stood it stood in front of him and then at his health bar. He had received some damage but knew that it wasn't enough to take him out.

With that thought out of his mind, he readied his sword but this time he positioned it above his head. A glimmer of light caught his attention, and he noticed that it came from his weapon. Even though he didn't purposefully moved it, his weapon came down at the wolf as if to cut him in half.

 ID# 67552 results:

 Battle: 10

 Craft: 3

 Loot: 4

 MOB: 5

Zulas: HP 20/20

Dire wolf: HP 1/5

Zulas felt his sword hit something and then a painful howling sound reached his ears. He opened his eyes to see that the wolf staggered back, and a quick look at the creature's health bar showed that it was on the red spectrum of it. Zulas turned back to the wolf and saw that it was panting, but then it's mouth then turned into a growl. Not even a second afterwards, the wolf ran towards Zulas with it's mouth open and then pounced towards him. His jaw came straight for Zulas's and again, he knew that the attack was coming and closed his eyes. 

 ID# 67551 results:

 Battle: 1

 Craft: 6

 Loot: 18

 MOB: 10

Zulas readied his sword and pulled it back. Zulas movements seemed fluid as if the sword did not weigh anything, actually it seemed like he knew what he was doing even though he had never used a sword in his entire life. Once he was in range of the wolf he thrust it forward towards the wolf's torso, he even closed his eyes due to not knowing if what he did was right or not. He hoped that his experience playing regular RPG's would help in this new strange world.

Zulas: HP 20/20

Dire wolf: HP 5/5

 ID# 67550 results:

 Battle: 10

 Craft: 1

 Loot: 4

 MOB: 4

After days of thinking it over, Zulas finally decided and took his first step outside Starting City, and his first step into Aincrad. With only his starting equipment, he set out to experience this world. He was still amazed at the level of detail the world portrayed, it was a breathtaking scene. The way the wind touched his skin, the smell of grass, the sound of the animals and even the feel of the sun on his face. Zulas couldn't help but admire it and couldn't believe that it was just a game. 

As he walked down the path, he could see other people running around the fields. Some were fighting what looked like animals and insects, others were gathering flowers and other types of things. Zulas looked over to a group of wolves in the field a bit away from where he was and decided to try his luck against a wolf that seemed to be away from the pack. "Well, let's see how this goes." He moved in the direction of the wolf and readied his weapon. 

Profile
Username: Zulas
Real name: Aster Zuldigan
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Height: 5’10”

About: History/Personality

History:

Aster Zuldigan was once a popular guy. He used to play sports, had many friends… oh who am I kidding? Aster’s life has always been inside a virtual screen. He’s always loved video games, specially RPG’s, which made having friends a little difficult. Growing up in a small town didn’t made it easier, everyone knew each other… and everyone knew him. He never was very popular so he went to school and kept his head down. As life went on, he grew up and went to college to experience life for the first time. College treated him well, a bit overwhelming at first but he dropped his barriers and decided to enjoy the time he had.

More years passed, he graduated from college… and he even got himself a nice girlfriend named Kono! The work life beckoned him, to which he obliged but… one day it all stopped. One Saturday evening his life changed forever… The rain poured down incessantly as he had just left the restaurant, Kono’s arm locked inside of his. They had gone to their favorite restaurant as they always do on date night. They held each other, covering from the rain under a small umbrella they had bought earlier that same day. They had had a stupid fight over the color of the umbrella, but Aster conceded with Kono’s choice because it made her beautiful gray eyes stand out. He looked into her eyes as they walked and watched the rain drops reflect inside the pupil of her eyes. They looked like shooting stars to him so he couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t know that it would be the last time he would look into her eyes like that…

All of a sudden, he heard a screech and looked up from Kono’s eyes. A white light engulfed his vision and he put up his arms to cover his eyes… and then everything went black went he felt something hit him in the stomach. Next time he woke up a hospital ceiling greeted him, with a sobbing woman at the side of his bed. Aster’s mother sat next to him and delivered to him the terrible news that Kono had passed away in the accident. It was a drunk driver that had lost control of his car and veered into their sidewalk. The doctors had done all they could, but ultimately she had lost too much blood too quickly.

As time passed Aster became more of a recluse, more so than how he was in high school. He stopped going to work, stopped talking to his friends and family and only played video games. It was a distraction which into and obsession. It was through this that he found SAO, his first attempt at socializing. He thought that what better to do this than through a game where people didn’t need to go anywhere in order to interact.

Personality:
 

Aster has become a very silent person, although he’s trying his best to be social. He’s not a strong silent type of player, but he admires those that are. He prefers to be alone most of the time, but he knows that he can’t be like that forever. His girlfriend, Kono, helped come out of his shell and for her he became a better person. He’s caring, will fight for what’s right and most of all, he hates bullies.

Virtues:

Caring – Zulas knows that there’s people that have it worse than he does. He helps those that he can without expecting something in return. He learned as he grew up, that there’s a little bit of peace in giving.

Outside-the-box – Zulas thinks outside the box when a problem presents itself. Knowing what to say is not his strong suit, but knowing what to do is. His quick thinking has gotten him out of sticky situations before… even some that his tongue has gotten him in in the first place.

Determined/focused – He does not know when to quit. Whenever a problem presents itself, he doesn’t deter from it until it is completed or when he knows it can’t be completed. This was considered one of the aspects that his friends used to like, but he never understood why. To Zulas, it seemed like a natural way to be.

Flaws:

Naïve – Zulas has not experience much in the way of the world. Yes, he has experienced love and loss but not anything else. Still, the intricacies of the world and the ones that live in it elude him. He hopes that one he will understand them and be able to experience them.

Withdrawn – After his girlfriend’s death he became a recluse. He began to stop having interactions with the outsider world more and more. He prefers to be by himself, and will be hard for him to initiate any type of conversation.

Tact-less – Due to him not having a lot of social experience, his mannerism lacks a bit of polishing. He says whatever’s on his mind at the moment if chooses to. Doing so, sometimes has gotten him in trouble with those around him, friends or family.

Profession: N/A

Stats:

Level 8

HP: 160/160

Energy: 16/16

Skills
 

Total Skill Points: 17

Spent Skill Points: 10

Available Skill Points: 7

Skill Lot used/available: 2/3

Non-combat:
»

Passive:
»

Combat:
Battle Healing R1

Weapon skills:
1H Straight Sword R1

Sword Arts: 

Rank 1:

Vertical - 1x1 - (1 Energy) - A simple sword art slashing vertically.
Rage Spike - 1x2 - AoE - (4 Energy) - A basic, weak skill that leaps at the enemy and follows with an upward strike.
Snake Bite - 3x1 - (3 Energy) - A triad of brisk angular slashes chained in succession.

Inventory

Money:  1250Col

Materials: 2

Weapons/Tools:
•    Eternal Penance 

•    Cloth Armor
•    9 bread
•    15 water

Roleplays

Relationships (optional)

Raze - Companion

Story Thus Far (optional)

Zulas, having been entered the world of SAO not knowing that he would be stuck inside the game for real. He took the death game rules for real, but did not enter a state of panic as others did. He instead began to explore the Town of Beginnings, its places and its people. Days had passed since he had already been inside of the game but he hadn't done anything yet, he hadn't even gone outside the gates of the city. He thought it over for days and finally made the decision to venture outside the city's safe zone. His ideas brought him face to face with his first monster, a dire wolf, which he had no problems dispatching. Zulas then, confident in his abilities decided to tackle on two monster beetles at the same time. (Need to add more)