David_Black

Rolls and stats

David could sense this affair coming to a close. The wolf's movements were slowing, and the HP gauge below it's red cursor was flashing erratically.  David took this moment to pause. He had seen, and heard of many that had died since they started playing SAO yet here he was dressed in a skin of steel weathering every attack this creature could throw at him. Most of them had perished for no good reason. Player killers, zerging through floors too quickly, and yet here he was just playing with his life like they were.

"Real life was dangerous too. what matters is I'm alive, and I shouldn't just hang around the bar anymore doing nothing. It's time to give this world some hell." David said aloud before cocking his hammer back for one final swing. His arm swelled, and he wished (not for the last time mind you) that he had put skill points into Warhammers. The fight would have been over ages ago.

Rolls and Stats

"Swing and a miss!"

Thats what David's father would have kept yelling had he been watching his son's failure at hitting this wolf. It was no matter however as try as the beast might he still could not seem to get his fangs past David's armor. The poor creature had spirit, and since this was not going to end without him dying David decided right then to do something big to honor it.

"Clang!"

David couldn't help but let out a good, deep belly laugh at this point. The poor thing was still struggling. Now it was tugging at the chainmail chauses underneath David's greaves. He was feeling just as ragged as the wolf must have. Nearly half of his health was gone. In human terms half of his blood; his vital essence. The thoughts of failure, or fears of death that filled him before faded in this instant as David prepared to shake off the gnawing mongrel.

Stats after damage

The injured animal was not backing down. It latched on to one of David's greaves, and tried with all it's might to cause even the slightest bit of damage. David had to try incredibly hard himself not to laugh seeing this pathetic creature gnawing on the steel that encircled his leg. Cocking his arm back David took another swing with his wooden hammer.   A bit overzealous with his swing David missed his mark again, and instead struck the ground just by the dog. He needed to focus. 

Dawn was beginning to creep up over the horizon. This battle with the wolf had lasted all night. Little did the beast know this was going to be it's last sunrise, or at least that's what David had in mind. The dwindling nature of his health ever present he steeled himself against the possibility that this might be his own last sunrise on earth. The shame was, it wasn't even real.

Stats after battle damage

"Obviously not"

David sighed as the beast switched ankles, having no better luck with this one than the first. His pity, patience, and the cover of nightfall was beginning to run thin however. Soon these hills would be filled with players, and he would be discovered desperately trying to kill one of the lowest level monsters in the game. There were worse things to be caught doing he mused as he kicked the beast off of his leg.

"Not gonna happen" he said taking another violent swing at the Wolf. It connected, and made a sickening sound as it caved in the creature's ribs. Another blow might be all that David needed to end this nightmare for good. However he might not have the time to land that blow. The wolf was rabidly nibbling away at his health points. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, but there was little that could be done about it.

Stats after battle damage

While his quarry was still reeling from the last blow David approached, and "gently" caressed the fiend about the face with his blunt implement of destruction. The impact must have given the beast a burst of adrenaline as it quickly got up, and shot forward to nip at the warrior's heels. The animal's fangs must have been nearing their breaking point as they clanged against David's left sabaton.

"You're not very bright are you pal, you're never getting through my defenses. Might as well give up." David chuckled as he wound up for another vicious assault. His bravado was false, and he knew it. His life was trickling away before his eyes, and the wolf was a fierce opponent indeed. Whoever had designed their A.I must have wanted them to be the bane of all new players. Fierce, angry, tenacious, and proud. This was a monster worth respecting. David shuddered to think what the full grown versions could do.

Stats after Battle Damage

As David shook off the cobwebs he noticed something rather peculiar by his hand. His hammer was sticking up out of the ground by the haft. Seizing it David regained his footing, and squared off with his charging foe. If running wasn't going to work then he would have to give this one shot everything he had. Foot by foot the Wolf got closer, and David drew the hammer back in a wide arc.

"Slam!"

The head of the hammer collided with the snout of the Wolf, and sent him reeling. Now he had time. Time to look at his health gauge once more. It was sitting at fourteen points out of twenty. Not the worst total in the world to be sure, but still far too low for comfort. He thought of drinking one of the potions that Hiro had lent him, but in the end decided not to. It was better to save them until they were absolutely needed.

Stats after battle damage

Hot on David's heels the Wolf closed in for his strike. Leaping, and lunging forward he planted both fore-paws into the center of the warrior's back. He toppled, and began to roll down the hill he was in the process of descending. Another point of damage was taken away from his meager total. Such a sacrifice he could not afford.

"Crash!" "Bang!" "Bong!"

David's armor was truly getting beaten up as he managed to strike every large stone on the way down the hill. Thankfully though none of them had hit his head. Fighting wasn't working. Running wasn't working. The man was starting to run out of ideas. He only hoped that some higher level player saw his predicament and spared him the shameful agony of having to continue this fight any longer. Perhaps this was how it was supposed to end though. Perhaps he was just acting too foolishly.

Stats after battle damage
 

The wolf lunged again for an attack on David_Black, but he was ready this time. David took off to the northwest running as fast as the game's engine would allow him to move. Looking behind him periodically David noticed the beast still hot on his tail. Mobs in SAO didn't generally have boundaries, so once they are aggressive towards you getting out of their threat range is the only option other than defeating them. Since slaying the beast was proving to be more difficult of a task than David had imagined it would be all he could do was keep running, and pray that he didn't trip.

A chorus of "Bad, bad, bad bad bad!" could be heard echoing off the surrounding hills. Oh how David's father would have laughed to see his son running and screaming like a little girl. This would have been the ultimate shame for him. Thankfully in the dead of night no one was around to see his terror.

Stats after battle damage

Using this chance to strike David swung his hammer hard, but without the proper skill to wield it only managed to launch it high into the air.

"What a shame." David panted. He knew that there was no way he was going to win this fight. It was taking far too long, and he had no real idea what he was doing. Not to mention the fact that the Nerve-gear was starting to simulate a great amount of fatigue for him given the time. At this point he made up his mind. As soon as he could catch his breath, the warrior was getting out of there. He wondered if his running speed would be too low to escape the wolf while wearing the armor. Sure he could easily take it off, but no sooner than he did would he make himself vulnerable to the wolf's fangs. It was certain death.

Stats after battle damage

David learned the meaning of fear as the wolf jumped for his throat. With no time to think about his reaction the warrior threw his arm in front of his throat to guard it from the beast's powerful jaws. The wolf's teeth gnashed down on the steel of David's left bracer. With all of the force that the animal was exerting on the armor David thought that it might shatter. After a few moments of wriggling back and forth, and trying to destroy the man's arm the wolf let go.

David's eyes darted again to his health meter. Nearly a quarter of it had drained away by this point, and the faint buzzing sensation meant to symbolize pain was becoming sharper. His stoic nature was great, and all but this was starting to become a truly dangerous encounter for him. For the first time thoughts of running away passed through his mind. 

Stats after battle Damage

"

"Damnit! I thought I had you!" David shouted as the wolf avoided his next strike. It was learning however, and jumped straight at his chest at that moment. The beast used it's powerful paws to push the steel covered behemoth of a man down to the ground once more. While the razor sharp claws of it's front legs did no damage, he certainly wasn't going to be attacking again right away. In either case while he wasn't exactly afraid of the beast David was getting rather annoyed.

Then David remembered how suddenly the sensation of "pain" that the Nerve gear simulated had come on before. Turning his eyes to his HP gauge his worst fear was realized. Even though he had been ignoring it this whole time Health was still falling away quicker than he was comfortable with, and most of the time he was still missing his shots against the wolf.

Stats after battle damage

Thwack!"

Retrieving his hammer David batted away the charging wolf once more. It rolled as it recoiled, and kicked up dust. David figured that the creature had roughly half of it's hit-points left. In it's ragged state there was no way that it was going to come out on top, but this fight was dragging on for quite some time. Other players were able to take out mobs like these with a single sword art at level one, but he had foolishly forgotten to take any of those special skills.

"Give up now while you still can mutt." He said truly wishing that the animal would back off. Sometimes it was hard to remember that the creatures in SAO were just random bits and bytes, and that they had no will of their own. Some of them were even quite cute, and those that had learned to tame them often had fantastically complex bonds with them.

Stats after battle damage

After a few moments the prone warrior was able to get himself back on to his feet. Such an act wearing heavy armor was a chore to be sure, and required a little extra effort on his part. When he had time David would have to remember to explore the skill list to see if there were any modifiers that might help him maneuver better in his steel skin.  The wolf lunged again, but already on his toes David was able to side step it with ease.

This type of "agility" would have been laughable to the DPS type players that wore light armor and stacked on all the evasion that they could. for David however it was a miracle that he was able to even move at a normal rate considering the heft of his protective harness. Quickly though he cleared all thoughts of improving his build from his mind, and prepared for what was to come next.

Stats after battle damage

Once again the wolf charged but this time David took a wild swing at it, and buried the head of his hammer into the dirt. The momentum of the swing sent David off his balance, and he found himself flat on his butt. Looking up however he noticed that the wolf had jumped clear over his head. A stroke of luck that was as he wasn't sure that in his prone position the beast could not get to one of his more vulnerable spots. 

For the first time David started to notice the faint buzzing sensation all over his body, and took a glimpse at his health gauge. Little by little bits of his health had been trickling away. The His armor was keeping him pretty safe, but it wasn't fool proof. He needed to get some sort of advantage on this creature, and fast before it took away all of his hp.

Stats after battle damage

Enraged the wolf charged again. The seething blood lust gripping it's mind was obviously on the brink of boiling over, and yet there was nothing that the beast could seem to do against the tower of rusted out steel that was David. His teeth clashed against that metal as they had before with little effect. David's hammer however was as effective as ever at finding it's target. With any luck the wolf would be dropping soon, and David would have the opportunity to get away. This battle was beginning to get tedious, and David was concerned that he hadn't properly planned out his build correctly. He had thought that piling his skill points into heavy armor was a grand idea, however with such low damage being dealt to even this low level monster he feared that there would be little that he could do against a real threat, and there were some very real threats to be found in Aincrad if the stories were true.

Stats after Battle Damage

The wolf reared back up for another lunge at David, but the heavily armored man was able to sidestep the beast just in time. As it passed him by the man seized his opportunity, and aimed another strike at his foe. "Wham!" The heavy hammer collided with the wolf's right hind leg, and sent it on limping. The beast now whimpered with each step, and tried it's best to maintain composure with weak little growls. David almost felt sorry for it. Almost however was not enough to keep him from squaring off with it again. He had come out in order to prove to himself that he could survive in this game, and so survive he would.

That was an easy enough thing to think of course, but in practice it was proving much harder than he anticipated. Even though he was scoring hits the damage was not rolling in fast enough. Every moment that he spent out in the wild was another moment that an entire gang of these beasts could swarm on him, and end his gaming permanently.

Stats After battle damage
 

"Thwack!"

David aimed another solid blow at the Juvenile wolf with his wooden hammer, and sent the poor creature flying backwards about three feet. The wolf yelped with pain as it came crashing down into the dirt. David smiled at his handiwork, proud to have even landed a single blow on this animal. His prideful moment was over in an instant however as the battered beast rose from the ground, and charged in once more. It lunged this time for his left wrist, and the terrible teeth struck steel with a reverberating "Ping!". This time however the animal's teeth glanced off, and it dropped back down to the ground without taking hold.

Though his attack appeared effective David wondered why he was having such a hard time causing damage. When he had made his avatar in SAO he was given a certain number of skill points to spread around. The guide had recommended he take a weapon skill, but David had decided to take proficiency in heavy armor instead. What a great choice, eh?

Stats at start

Stats after battle damage

As David grew closer the beast in his sights lowered itself to the ground with it's tail pointing straight back. Baring it's teeth the wolf let out a fierce snarl, and ropes of glistening drool slopped away from it's maw. Within an instant the creature rose up from it's perch, and lunged for David's armored right leg. The teeth found their mark, but did not manage to penetrate his stout defenses. However the beast held on for dear life, and the weight of him kept teacher turned hunter quite still.

"Let go you mutt!" David roared as he swung his hammer wildly at the enemy latched on to his greaves. Somehow even with a mouthful of steel the animal managed to sidestep the blow aimed for his skull. It was disheartening to be sure however there was not much that could really damage David's mood at this moment. His armor while less than stellar for most players was more than enough to completely protect him from most beasts here.

Location: Grasslands North west of the Town of Beginnings.
Time: 1:02 AM

The wind whipped through the grassy hills outside of SAO's starting town. The fields were dead quiet of player activity, and this marked the perfect time for David to get in a little bit of hunting on his own. He had not yet tried to fight anything within Aincrad as he had thought it foolish to risk his real life over this game; however boredom was starting to get the best of him. Surely some occasional grinding in the lower level zones would be safe enough, or at least that is what he thought. Mobs dotted the hillsides, wolves, boars, insects, and other creatures with bright red cursors floating above their heads to signify that they were hostile. David knew he had to be careful. Getting too close to a pack of even these lower level creatures could mean certain death.

As the mobs shifted along their AI driven paths David chose his quarry for the evening; a level one Juvenile Wolf. It was close, and far enough away from other mobs as to not aggro them. With a few deft movements of his fingers David cycled through his menus, and equipped his Iron shod Oaken Maul. Gripping the war-hammer tightly David began to close the distance between himself and the Wolf. Bringing the beast into aggro range.

"You know, I hadn't really given it much thought." David said scratching the dirty blonde whiskers on his chin. "You're right though, I guess. I mean I haven't really done much since we got this joint up and running eh? Well I don't really have any interest in finding monsters to fight, or dungeons to explore. I'll leave all that to those crazies on the front lines. Perhaps I could be more help to you though. Maybe I could go and see that old man that taught you how to brew up these interesting concoctions." David offered before swiping his thick tree trunk sized arm over the bar, and sending all of his spent glasses headed straight for the floor behind it. Just as they reached the point that they would have shattered in the real world, each of the glasses in turn burst into a brilliant display of harmless rainbow colored crystalline shards before vanishing altogether. "Well what do ya say Hiro gonna tell me this guy's name or what?"

David waited for a response for a few moments, but realized that Hiro's attention had been stolen away from him. The young man was staring mouth agape at the now open door to his run down little bar. A young lady had just walked in. David scanned her for a moment taking in her features; Blonde, young, nice blue eyes. It wasn't often a girl that looks like that was found playing a VRMMORPG, and even rarer that one might accidentally stumble into Hiro's Tavern. It was in that moment David realized that he would have to break the ice, as Hiro looked absolutely dumbstruck by the new arrival.

David casually waived her over towards the bar, and called out.

"Welcome to Hiro's tavern! I'm Dave, and that drooling mess over there is Hiro. Why don't you come take a load off, and let me buy you a drink. Sure is a hot one today, eh?"

Location: Town of beginnings, Hiro's Tavern.

"Another round!" 

A metal clad behemoth roared as he pounded a single fist against the bar. The place was empty, as it often was on Fridays. For some reason despite the fact that the residents of Aincrad were trapped in this hostile virtual world they had for the most part kept to their old real world gaming habits. Many of them were out completing quests, or grinding out levels on the higher floors. David_Black, the behemoth in question however was not such a person and found comfort remaining on the first level of their virtual prison. Twelve suds (and nothing else) filled glasses littered the area of bar adjacent to his stool. David's face was still wet with the remnants of his last beverage. He knew the virtual spirits that his trusted friend, and former student Hiro was serving him would not get him drunk. He knew that their perceived benefits were all in his head. Still the familiar sensation of ale passing through his lips was nice, and whatever the herbs that the talented brewer had come up with to make the stuff were the fact remained that it tasted delicious. David longed for the stress relieving buzz of real alcohol however, and given the horrors that Sword Art Online players had witnessed since launch day who could blame him?

The Tavern itself was nothing all that impressive. A basic timber and stone construction with a meager dining area, and a small raised platform that served as a stage on the nights they were lucky enough to have an entertainer to perform. The bar and the casks, kegs, bottles, and shelves that filled the space behind it took up nearly a third of the total space leaving only room for about a dozen stools, and half as many tables each with four rickety wooden chairs surrounding it. It was sparsely decorated with only a single trophy on the wall above the fireplace: A stuffed boar's head in commemoration of Hiro's first kill in the game. In the far left corner of the room surrounded by a few crates was a trapdoor set into the floor. The door was swung open wide revealing a ladder leading into the basement of the establishment. From the bottom of that ladder David heard a familiar voice.

"You must be joking! With all you drink it's no wonder I'm barely scraping by in this place. Sensei, you must see reason. Sitting here drowning your problems in booze all day solves nothing. You should get out. Stretch your legs. Meet some new people. Surely there must be something that Aincrad has to offer that would get your blood pumping." Hiro called out with authority. He had clearly had enough of his teacher taking advantage of his kindness.

Profile
Username: David_Black
Real name: David Alexander Schwartz 
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Height: 6'3"

About:

History/personality

New to Japan, David hails from the United states. He is at first glance a soft spoken giant of a man. His short dirty blonde hair is neatly combed, and his goatee is well policed for overlong or kinky bits. Having no real prospects in the states and a bachelor's degree in English Literature David bit at the first opportunity to move abroad, and took a teaching position for a Japanese school. Introduced to the largely unknown phenomenon in the states of VRMMO gaming by one of his new students (Hiro) David quickly became enraptured by the intense full sensory experience. Alienated by his peers at work, and being a foreigner in a rather hostile place David found himself slowly drifting away from attempting real world social interactions instead favoring the constant and friendly communities he had become a part of through use of his Nerve gear.

A few months down the road Hiro surprised David after class with a gift. A early access copy of the much hyped title "Sword art Online". David had been following the news releases regarding the world, but sadly had not been fortunate enough to be selected for the beta. This was perfect timing in his mind as his regular games were beginning to grow a bit stale for him. In preparation for this new adventure David took a leave of absence from work for a week, and installed the software onto his Nerve gear. Donning the helmet and linking up to the server on the day of it's launch the young man had no idea that this would be the last time he saw the real world for quite a long time....if at all.

Virtues:

    Inspired: David doesn't talk about his interests much, but when he does it is with great passion. He has the uncanny ability to make even the dullest subjects seem quite enthralling indeed. This trait has helped him keep many dozing students wide awake during his lectures. When speaking of his passions is not appropriate he has been known to draft a poem or essay depicting the source of his inspiration.

    Stoic: Not much rattles David. He has never allowed the taunting of others, or misfortune to bring down his naturally cheerful mood. This trait is more than just mental however as he discovered during his brief stint boxing as a teenager. A round or two of being pummeled didn't have much effect on his smile, however it has been debated that a brain cell or two was killed off during the experience.

    School of life: David is an intelligent man today, but that was not always the case. While he has always had a great capacity to learn economic, and familial issues while growing up prevented him from easily obtaining his education. While most of his fellow graduates have little more than their transcripts to put on their resumes David has the benefit of nearly ten years of work experience in all manner of fields. He has been a carpenter, a plumber's assistant, an electrician's assistant, a cook, a janitor, and one desperate summer a medical test subject.

Flaws:

    Overly generous: David will quite literally give someone the shirt off of his back if he determines they need it. This has the tendency to leave him without many things that he needs, and has more than once left his stomach growling at the end of the day. While some might consider this a Virtue the truth is far less glamorous. Without thinking about such things logically David will probably end up leaving this world quite poor indeed.

    Reckless: David often rushes head first into danger when good sense would dictate that he would flee. He cannot let someone in need go without help, and to that end is willing to sacrifice life and limb to be of help. More often than not however when this trait rears it's head David is often left nursing injuries for weeks.

    Claustrophobia: David has never exactly been a small guy, and after a traumatic experience of being trapped inside a packed broken down elevator as a child he has never much cared for the idea of cramming his mammoth frame into tight places. While normally he would rush into danger without thinking small spaces do give him pause, and he would find it quite hard indeed to place himself into any tight spot without a clearly marked way to escape.
    

Profession:

Beginner Artisan (2/19 EXP)
Able to craft Tier 1 equipment. 2 crafts per day.
►Rank 1
    [1] = Critical Fail (Lose materials)
    [2-5] = Fail (Lose materials)
    [6-9] = Salvage (Keep materials on LD 11+)
    [10] = Uncommon item (1 slot)
    [11] = Rare item (2 slots)
    [12] = Perfect item (3 slots)
 

Skills (4/9 SP)
Non-combat:
» None

Passive:
»Heavy Armor-Rank 1
Effect: Gain mitigation based on your rank in the Heavy Armor skill. May only benefit from one armor skill at a time.

Rank 1: 8 MIT

Combat:
» 

Weapon skills:
»

Inventory

Weapons/Tools:
» *Set A "Basic Package"*

>>Iron Capped Oaken Maul ((T1 Uncommon Warhammer) )<<Damage +1>>

Armor:

>>Harbinger of Edges
Item Type: Heavy Armor
Tier: 1
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: 1 x Damage Mitigation, 2 x Thorns
Description: A black full-plate armor that has sharp edges going outwards, spikes one the shoulderpads, vambraces and poleyn for the max Edginess.

Consumables:

>>(5) Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP), (2) T1 uncommon HP Recovery Potions

Currency/ Materials:

>>2,610 Col

>>17x Tier 1 materials

[Friends list]

Hestia - Knowledgeable player with a sweet familiar named Kuro that David met while in [F1] Tolbana.