Yuurei

Yuurei scratches the back of her head awkwardly at the question she's been asked. She choked nervously as she spoke. “I-I haven't left the Town of Beginnings yet no. I'm not too good at making friends really. You can see how good my social skills are as I practically just tripped over you.” She seems a bit frantic, like anxiety is welling up inside her. Aoda could probably tell she's not very comfortable with just talking.

“I'm sorry if I've wasted your time Aoda, my name is K- I mean Yuurei.” She had to stop herself from giving out her real name. She wasn't ready to give a random stranger that kind of information. “Yurrei is Japanese for, ‘The Ghost’. It has a bit of contextual meaning at home but I guess it's also pretty ominous to someone who isn't in on the joke.” The silver haired female turns away, feeling a bit awkward. She's not exactly sure to handle these social interactions.

The young girl took Aoda’s hand and lifted herself up with his help. He was apologizing for being tripped over, that was a bit weird. It was her fault, not his.

“Oh no, don't apologize. I'm to blame. I should have stopped to admire the stars instead of walking at the same time.” She explained dusting off her emerald-coloured skirt and fixing her hair. “I'm so sorry for having fallen over you. I'm kind of new to the whole virtual reality thing and I can't help but admire the real-world likeness Aincrad offers. It sort of feels like I'm still home...only without all the beasts and monsters and lingering death you know?”

For someone so anti-social, Yuurei seemed to want to just talk and talk. She was alone in this world and couldn’t help splurging her thoughts at the given chance. Hopefully, the boy didn't mind her short-winded rant.

Aida was wrong. It was late night - Yuurei was anything but a day-dweller you see - and Yuurei was out on a walk. The need to clear one’s mind and think about pleasant things was prevalent in situations like this. The girl found herself passing through the Town of Beginnings, lost in her thoughts and generally zoned out. Her eyes were zoned in on the sky. Even though this world was completely digital, everything felt so real. It was wonderful and devastating all at the same time and believe it or not, she loved that.

Her happy scene was interrupted rather abruptly when she found her foot caught against a stranger. She face planted into the ground, not a very graceful landing. Once her senses had come back to her, she rubbed her head and looked back at the dude she'd tripped over. “Ouch...I’m sorry about that sir.” She said trying to massage the pain from her fall.

Yuurei looked at the sign on the shop, then to the corresponding note she had wrote herself. The matched: The Wanderer’s Forge. People had told her the man who worked this forge gave out weapons for the weaklings in the game. They also told her to bring food, which was weird, but she did nevertheless. Yuurei crumpled up the piece of paper and tossed into the trashcan next to the opening by the tent. Heat waved across her face gently as she stepped food inside, a welcoming change from the snowy atmosphere of the fourth floor. On the other side of the tent, she could see the forge lit and burning.

“Hello? Is anyone in?” She called out before stepping further into the tent. It was the middle of the day, so they should be open, but Yuurei knew basic manners and wasn’t going to walk into a store without the proprietor present, lest she wants to be confused for a robber.

The rest of the basics in the ‘tutorial’ you could call it explained how to acquire SP through methods of killing ‘mobs’, which was game lingo for re-spawnable enemies, and quests which one could perform for rewards. If there was money involved Yuurei would be on it soon enough, but first, she had to figure out how combat would work in this game. She had never played a game like this before; she had definitely never held a weapon of any kind before. With that in mind, she checked through her book again. Combat was explained, the experience would be nice, but she should take it carefully in this world were the price of death is stressed much more boldly than in a normal game.

The explanation includes stats and a lot of numbers. It seems equipment is the best way to gain an advantage against her opponents along with leveling up altogether. Being prepared was something Yuurei found necessary, as should everyone else in this game. Equipment first - Experience second.

Skill Points - The basic necessity of a gamer created to express experience gain. In other words, this [censored] is the tits. Yuurei pulled up the menu with the skills list in. It categorized all the available skills she could work towards. There was the basic ones, lit up a light blue, and then the others that were shaded out with a lock symbol next to it. Simple enough.

Weapon and Armors were all she could invest in right now it seemed. With that in mind, it would be a good idea to put what she had into her current weapons skill. Sliding back to the equipment screen to check the saber’s weapon type, Yuurei found it to be of the Curved Class. She pressed the Curved Weapon Skill five times then the ‘okay’ button. A prompt warned her she could not respec her points once she put them in. She had to look up that word. Once she figured it out, she clicked ‘yes’ to apply them. She now had Level 1 skill in Curved Weapons.

This book happened to be a guide, not even to RPGs in general. This was a well made document from the beta testers that explains the fundamental of the game for new players like herself. She hit the digital jackpot. It explains how to open the menu for her stats - This took forever to figure out - and showed what kind of equipment she had. Her equipment slots were empty, it seems she had to equip them beforehand, lest she wish to go into battle unarmed. Her starting equipment included a standard saber and an iron breastplate, which she promptly switched into the ‘equipped’ state. Her equipment phased onto her body. That was simple enough.

Next it talked about stats, which really caught the noobie off guard. They were much more confusing than equipment, and she wasn’t exactly sure what she was doing. Before she did anything, though, this guide book was her bible.

Yuurei’s first impression on the man was his girth. He was a rather robust for all that extra weight though, full of energy. He quickly stood up and talked in a loud, booming voice with a semi-thick accent whose origin she had trouble pinpointing.

“Aye ther’ Lass! Ya’ be lookin’ like one a dem’ tough one, no? Ya’ seem a tad lost though! Allow me to ‘elp ya’!” Before she could get a word in, he was reaching into his large bag to grab something.

“Oh, that’s good and all, Sir, but you see, I’m not necessarily ripe with affluence.” Yuurei replied disconcertingly.

“No worries, young Lass! This is on ‘te house!” With that last, and loud, statement he slapped a page-weighty book into her arms. “Off ya’ go now! I hope ya’ survive!”

She shoved off quickly. Kindness was a virtue, but she sucked when it came to social interaction and did her best to avoid it entirely. Yuurei found a quiet place to read, a fountain running with calming water, and opened the book.

An hour passes by in the Town of Beginning Yuurei learned it was called. People were still panicking, the thought of death consumed them rapidly it seemed, even though every second they live they're getting closer to it, here or in the real world. Others, including her, that were much more composed seemed to have either begun on their way outside the town, or were scrounging for information like she. If they had all played this game before, one would think they would have at least some bravado under their belts.

Her luck paid off in the long run. She was beginning to think there was no ‘first timers help kiosk’ here, but then a man with a large backpack next to him and what seemed to a disorganized store set up on a blanket called her over. Perhaps he had something she could benefit from. It wouldn't hurt to investigate.

Sweat dribbled into the girl’s palms and down her forehead. She tuned everything around her out - the panicked screams of her fellow captives. Fear was not ailing her, but she would never let it show that she was actually nervous. Although the debate of suicide was fresh in her mind, she was not going to throw her life down the drain because someone forced her too. No, she would collect herself and work down the path. If it was kill or be killed, so be it. 

She patted down her body, noticing her previous, what they all called, avatar had disappeared. A quick look in a window showed she was of her own appearance. Most here seemed disconcerted about this(Perhaps because most of the cute girls had become odd men of various ages) but Yuurei was hardly bothered. No one here knew her, and she would likely avoid most people anyways. Right now, her goal was to learn how this ‘RPG’ thing worked. She set off to find a place that might have some helpful information.

General Information

Username: Yūrei
Real name: Kaylee Veritz
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Height: 5’ 4”
Weight: 130lbs

SP acquired: 45

SP Used: 0

SP Available: 0

Appearance

History

Kaylee grew up in a disturbing corner of her home town and has lived there practically all her life. The area is poverty-stricken and rampant with petty crime. If you asked the teenager how many times she had been mugged for a crumpled up 5$ bill, she’d have to take a minute to count.

Beyond the neighborhood’s lack of decency, Kaylee has had deal with being a single child of a widowed mother all her life. Her father was died in a car accident not long after her birth. The assailant who collided with him died as well, it was later found out that the man had been taking drugs.

With no father and a busy mother, Kaylee didn't get to see her family much. She often missed school from sickness and lack of motivation, causing her to fall in a deep depression. Debating whether she could take her life, she was then invited by some worried classmates to learn to play musical instruments together. Kaylee hesitantly accepted the offer, and now believed she had a reason to continue living.

After that revelation, Kaylee grew much more spirited and actually became a well-known face at school. They nicknamed her ‘The Ghost’, reason being that she seemed to appear out of nowhere, even though she's been present the entire time.

Upon graduation though, life happens. Many of Kaylee’s newly acquired friends branched away, starting their own lives as parents and structured adults. Kaylee did not. Unable to find herself a job, she again fell into a depressing state. Her band members, the classmates from before, were worried about her so they chipped in some money and bought her a gift. Some video game she'd never even heard of. She gracefully accepted it, but didn't touch it.

A year later, she decided to take her life, still unable to gain a hold on her life. Just before she did though, the memory of her band mates’ gift floated in her brain. She remembered her friends telling her it was an ‘Online Roleplaying Game’ whatever that meant. Perhaps she could take one last chance at life, on a digital plane.

Virtues

Analytical
If there’s one thing Kaylee is capable of, it surveying a situation. She gathers details and makes sure all the facts are in order before taking action. Without a calm mind, a person will make rash decisions and Kaylee does her best to avoid those mistakes.

Level-Headed
Kaylee can bolster her ability to keep her emotions in check. Whether that be holding back joyful glee or repressed anger, she is quite adept. This allows her, again, to make logical decisions without including her own feelings. This could be looked at as a vice as well, but she flaunts her emotionlessness as a virtue.

Confident
There isn't very many things that Kaylee can boast about, but when she finds those somethings, she will let you know exactly how amazing she is. This may have to do with the displeasure of being ignored and apply to her want to be noticed as an admirable person. She will never brag about something she is incapable of doing, though, and will likely back down from a challenge if someone expresses greater skill than her.

Flaws

Gullible
Having no relation with most people, good or bad, has made Kaylee a rather gullible girl. She can easily be tricked by others and would never realize it if she was not told so. This makes her easy to manipulate and prone to grudges.

Greedy
Kaylee doesn't necessarily love money, but she isn't afraid to do something for the sole purpose of monetary gain. This could even mean robbing fellow gamers, after all, it is a video game. As much as she enjoys the payout, however, she would never take a life for it.

N00B
Kaylee is not a gamer, and never has been. The system of Online-RPG’s easily confuse her and she isn't exactly the most talented button-masher ever spawned. It's a very crippling disadvantage to be in a completely new scene where under normal circumstances one respawns, when the respawn is completely null. Kaylee is likely careful with every decision she makes, but will have to lean on more experienced gamers to aid her in the long run.

Profession
Unemployed, damn it's even hard to get a job in the digital world.