Alpheus

Turning towards the source of the voice, Alpheus trained his eyes on the bold-faced man and smiled in reflex. He looked to be a more experienced player, carrying with him an adorable  boar familiar and a thick suit of armor. Alpheus wondered to himself what he would be doing on Floor 1, as he looked like he could easily be working towards the higher floors. Regardless, it was rude not to greet back. “Hey, man,” he responded with a smile, giving a small nod in Lee’s direction. “So far, yea. ‘Bout to head out of town.”   He held up his javelin and pointed it down the road, where one of the exit gates would be located. “Figured I couldn’t waste a day like this sittin’ around.” The cadence of his voice only further mimicked the relaxed, casual tone that he wanted to keep in place. If he acted calm, then eventually, he would be calm. That was just how things worked.

Turning his head back to the other player, he allowed himself to inspect the small boar again, chuckling as it squirmed in the other’s arms. As terrifying as the game was meant to be, it hadn’t stopped people from designing some really heartwarming creatures. “Taking him for a walk, I see?” Alpheus asked, “Or, her?” It was hard to tell. At the end of the day, that was all it was: an it, a simulation of an animal. At the same time though, it made life much more bearable to ignore the fact that they were trapped, and focus on the here and now.

The lovely day was marred by one last visit to the Monument of Life. His visits were becoming steadily infrequent as he weened himself off of his mourning, the positions on that stone that carried the names Tarou, Kaede, Takuya, and Rin all too familiar by this point. He was done feeling sorry and miserable. He needed to start making an effort to get back to the real world.

Retrieving his spear from his inventory, Alpheus stood up and rolled his shoulders, twisted his back, and did other such stretches as various cracks and pops were heard, before making his way down the crowded streets towards a town exit, greeting those he knew as he went. The weight he carried with him wouldn't prevent him from being there when they took on that final floor, nor would he let it affect him as he focused on keeping a straight face.

He'd stop by a couple of shops on his way out before trying his hand at his first bout of combat. Hopefully he would find some people to join up with, but what was the worst that could happen, right?

Profile
Username: Alpheus

Real Name: Katsurou Shimizu

Age: 24

Gender: Male

Height: 5’10”

Image: http://i.imgur.com/w9tNMKD.jpg

About

Katsurou Shimizu loved to play all sorts of games with his friends. They would constantly find new and more exciting adventures to have in various worlds, often living within the game and acting in character to further enrich the experience. Even when they split up to pursue different forms of higher education (or lack thereof), they would spend hours at a time online in their free time and were good friends.

When SAO locked its doors on players and prevented people from escaping, the life they lived inside the game became all too real. They went mad at the thought of being trapped in the game with the risk of death, and turned on one another like angry dogs fighting for each others’ loot. Alpheus ended up as the only survivor of his former friends, reluctant to fight back and only acting in self-defense, and has been wallowing in misery ever since.

With renewed efforts made on escaping the prison that is SAO, Katsurou has been gaining hope and plans on escaping the game in order to apologize for his actions to each of his friends’ families, and to own up to his mistakes.

Katsurou still loves to act in character. As Alpheus, he tries to act nonchalant, casual, or easy-going. He loves telling jokes and making people laugh, and wants everyone to get along. He tends to get jealous very easily, but hides this envy behind a scathing sarcasm with good intentions. He believes it is in everyone's best interest to always be working towards escape, and though he tends to slack off from time to time himself, he’ll always push people to do their very best at anything they do.

Virtues

Confidence: Alpheus is very confident in his abilities to tackle any challenge. Regardless of his actual ability to perform well, he will always be ready to give something a shot. When nobody is willing to take on a difficult quest or strike up conversation with a shady character, there Alpheus will be, trying his best. This confidence transfers easily over to his friends and allies. He isn't quick to doubt others when they step up, even if he may show concern at any risks involved.

Joker: Alpheus doesn’t like to take everything so seriously. There’s a time and a place for serious matters, but he doesn’t like to cry over spilt milk, let alone get anxious about death. He tries his best to poke fun at people or make a fool out of himself if it’ll bring a smile to other peoples’ faces.

Justice: Alpheus understands that for everything they do in the world of SAO, there will be consequences, whether they are in the free world or within the confines of the game. He makes a point to try and ensure everyone has an equal chance at making their way out of the game. At the same time, he scorns and works against those who would readily attack other members of the game if he is certain that he has the upper hand.

Flaws

Control: Alpheus always believes that he is able to control the situation. He very readily gives instruction and orders to those who may very well disagree with him. He tends to get easily irritated when people don’t listen to what he has to say.

Selfishness: Alpheus easily envies others in favor of himself. He does his best to hide it, but he hates when good things happen to others while bad things happen to him. He does his best to avoid situations where this happens if at all possible.

Judgement: Alpheus is very quick to label others. It makes it easier and more comfortable for him to simply assign easy descriptors to people he has barely talked to. Sometimes he doesn’t even have any bad intentions behind it, but he can very easily offend or even endanger someone by his quick judgement.

Character

Profession: N/A

Skills: (5/5 SP allocated)
» One-Handed Assault Spear (Rank 1 : 5 SP)
The effectiveness with which a player can use one-handed piercing Spear type weapons. (+1 damage)

Inventory:
Weapons/Tools:
» Starter’s Iron Javelin (One-Handed Spear)
» Starter’s Cloth Armor (Light Armor)

Roleplays (in order):
» [F1-OP] Clairvoyance (in progress)

»

Relationships:

Tarou - Close Friend
One of Alpheus’s original party members. Best friends since high school. Decreased.

Kaede - Friend
One of Alpheus’s original party members. Met at a college party while drunk. deceased.

Takuya - Friend
One of Alpheus’s original party members. Bought the game for Katsurou. Deceased.

Rin - Acquaintance
One of Alpheus’s original party members. Originally introduced SAO to Alphaeus. Decreased.

Story Thus Far

Katsurou first heard of the game from one of his friend’s friends, Rin. He was there on the game’s midnight release with the rest of his group, and they planned to be the first ones to beat the game. After only a few hours of playing, they discovered that the game was created to trap them and make them the maker’s playthings. Going mad, they turned on one another in a desperate move to take each other’s loot and survive. Alpheus was the only survivor, and managed to preserve his position as a green-player by acting in self-defense. After mourning the loss of his friends, he’s decided to return to the real world in a desperate attempt to reconcile with the families of his former friends.

To be continued.