Tyonis

With a long and loud yawn, Tyonis awoke from his nap. The clock by his minimap said he'd been out for almost an hour, but he felt refreshed and ready to continue. He pried himself off the ground, using his spear as a glorified walking stick then stretched his back out. He didn't hear any reaffirming cracks as he normally wound IRL. 'Guess SAO isn't a perfect replication,' Tyonis mused. 'Then again, I have backpains so this is a welcome change,' he amended with a self-incriminating chuckle. By now all the ores had respawned and it didn't look like anyone had entered the cave while he slept. He was starting to think there was a reason for that. He must not be the only one with abysmal luck when it came to gathering.

"Well, time to get back to work!" Still, Tyonis resolved himself to see this quest through and the Blacksmith Profession was a necessary one to his survival. Weapon and armor maintenance was not something he could just ignore.

With a refreshed mindset, he slammed his foot into the nearest ore mound, kicking dirt and dust high into the air!

Word Count: 194
ID: 102268
LD: 5 (Fail) 2/5 Ore Excavated. 12/20 Posts.

Tyonis decided to prod another ore deposit by the cave entrance before he exited entirely. The southern cave was bordered by the forest's treeline so it wasn't hard to find a cozy spot to kick his feet up for a minute or two while he waited for the cave deposits to respawn. His eyes were suddenly very heavy and he could feel them rolling into the back of his head. With a sigh, he set his spear across his chest and leaned back against a tree. SAO definitely knew how to mimic exhaustion. Sure he could fight it with sheer willpower, but there really wasn't a point to pushing it back now. Moreover he hadn't had a good rest since the GM announcement.

'A nap may improve my mood a bit, too,' he reasoned as he took a deep breath and began to count down from 100. Luckily, there was little discomfort while sleeping in armor. He could still 'feel' the weight, but there was no real heat or sweat to make him want to doff it.

Word Count: 179
ID: 102266
LD: 2 (Fail) 2/5 Ore Excavated. 11/20 Posts.
 

The spearman was starting to finally reapproach the cave entrance. The clumps of bioluminescent fungi were starting to give way to actual sunlight and Tyonis realized that they did not grow while exposed to it. SAO was queer when it came to fine details like that. 'And yet the UI is still a pain in the ass to use.' He opened up his menu, which was so long and large that he had to fully scroll twice over to get all the options. Even accessing the sub-menus was a chore. He'd have to find some way of equipping more Battle-Ready items for quick use otherwise he'd start running into versatility and adaptability issues.

He kicked another mound as he fully embraced the sunlight. He had to squint his eyes out of reflex. He forced them open a moment later and reminded himself it wasn't actual sunlight. It was all an illusion and he couldn't afford to be taken in so easily.

Word Count: 158
ID: 102265
LD: 2 (Fail) 2/5 Ore Excavated. 10/20 Posts.
 

Tyonis practically ignored the excavation failure prompts that flashed across his screen every so often. He wondered how many he could stack up before he finished this quest. He started at six before spamming the Dismiss button on the windows en-mass. Okay, those were more annoying than he expected. He wondered if he could get those prompts to appear in PvP a momentary distraction or a sudden pop-up in the wrong part of your field of vision could spell death. It might be worth considering if a situation ever escalated that far.

He bashed another part of the cave wall with the butt of his spear before continuing down. The cave was starting to look frustratingly familiar and he was starting to recall where each mound was. While it would help in his gathering efficiency, it was still irritating to acknowledge he was still stuck in this damn cave.

Word Count: 150 (NAILED IT)
ID: 102264
LD: 11 (Fail) 2/5 Ore Excavated. 9/20 Posts.

“Want to talk about it?” Tyonis invited with a solemn smile. He learned early on that his friends and fellow Soldiers all had their personal issues and that venting them was important to recovering from them or resolving them. He’d lost one friend to suicide - one friend too many - and there were many times Tyonis had wondered if there was something he could have done or said to prevent that tragedy from happening. It was the first and last time he’d shrug off another person looking to confide in him.

Spencer seemed anxious that he’d push Tyonis away with all his extra baggage. While that might be intimidating for a normal person, Tyonis was definitely not. He never considered himself to be normal and strove to stand above that label, so he did not shrink away when faced with Spencer’s reluctance.

“You can speak your mind, Spence. It’s fine, I’m a big boy, I can take what you’re gonna dish out, trust me.”

Word Count: 168
ID: 102262
LD: 2 (Fail) 4/5 Herbs Harvested.
 

Luckily, the deposits respawned fairly quickly. Tyonis counted that among the small mercies he should be grateful for. This quest was horrifyingly tedious. He even considered saving some Skill Points to put into Gather. He thought better of it after a few moments. A high Rank of Gather wouldn’t matter if he’d be killed before he could properly utilize it. He needed to beef up his combat abilities first. Making money could come later after he was powerful enough to make use of that Col. His armor granted him the bare minimum of Mitigation. It would nearly double after he got the first Rank of Heavy Armor. That would practically ensure his survivability for the first 3 Floors. 

Tyonis idly kicked another dirt mound as he mulled over his character build. His Damage was too low, though. A quick review of the 2H Assault Spear Sword Skills he unlocked meant his highest multiplier would be x2. It would take him an eternity to kill anything at this rate. He needed to up his DPS somehow...

Word Count: 178
ID: 102260
LD: 8 (Fail) 2/5 Ore Excavated. 8/20 Posts.
 

At this point, Tyonis had pretty much lowered his expectations enough that he was no longer phased when the next dirt mound or wall chipping proved empty. He simply continued to march through the cave, kicking and prodding at whatever suspicious pile he came across. Unfortunately, he did not run into a single monster and he sighed in disappointment. Maybe monsters didn’t spawn in this particular cave? This quest was meant for lower levels after all. Kayaba wasn’t entirely sadistic.

Then again, SAO’s GM seemed to bathe in his megalomania, so there was really no telling what he was capable of.

The end of the cave was marked by a thick shaft of light beaming from a hole at the top of the cave. It was too far to climb and Tyonis doubted he’d fit through the opening anyway. That meant he’d have to trek back to the entrance and wait for the ores to respawn.

Word Count: 159
ID: 102259
LD: 11 (Fail) 2/5 Ore's Excavated. 7/20 Posts.
 

Tyonis stared at the lump of ore in his hand with the deadest deadpan expression he could muster. He looked at another dirt mound at his feet and kicked it, just to see if it would spawn another lump. So far, every single one of his attempts at chipping an ore deposit on the cave wall had ended in abject failure, whereas kicking dirt yielded success. Akihaba Kayaba had to be trolling the absolute [censored] out of him, Tyonis was sure. 

'It’s time for a change of pace,' Tyonis thought with grim determination. He’d continue kicking mounds and prodding at the walls, but now, he’d start actively looking for a fight. Something that looked like it would drop the ore. He twirled his spear in one hand, a feat he’d find very difficult IRL even with his actual wrist and finger strength. 

‘Combat ready,’ Tyonis reaffirmed then marched forward, spear held aloft.

Word Count: 155
ID: 102257
LD: 4 (Fail) 2/5 Ore Excavated. 6/20 Posts.
 

Tyonis shrugged off what appeared to be Spencer’s faux pas. Tyonis had an inkling suspicion that Spencer’s low self-confidence stemmed from more than a lack of social interaction and experience. In the Army, Tyonis would simply flat out ask: ‘You gay, bro? Because I really don’t care either way.’ But he wasn’t sure how a civilian would take that level of forwardness. The last thing he wanted to do was alienate or push Spencer away. The kid wasn’t all that bad company and they could both use a friend, he figured.

“Husbando is what I’ve heard, yeah. Some of my weeb-friends have one or two,” Tyonis hinted, implying that he did not care all that much about sexual orientation. The Army had drilled out that kind of prejudice from his system. All that mattered to him was: maintaining your physical fitness and shooting the enemy in the face. If you could do those two things, then you were golden. If you couldn’t, well you got treated like [censored], regardless if you were gay or not.

“I'm into hookers and blow, remember?” Tyonis waggled his eyebrows in reply when Spencer asked about his love life. “But no, not since I enlisted. There’s an old saying: you marry the military when you join. It sucks a lot of time out of your life and two overseas combat deployments are relationship killers.”

Word Count: 225
ID: 102256
LD: 8 (Fail) 4/5 Herbs Harvested.

‘Well, I might just stick to kicking the dirt mounds,’ Tyonis thought with a heavy sigh of resignation. He was seriously starting to think there was a hidden luck stat in the game since he’d yet to find another lump of ore. He’d kill to do something a bit more engaging and briefly entertained the idea of looking for ore-related monsters to kill. Maybe he’d have a better chance at finding ore off of a monster drop? He gripped the shaft of his spear, feeling the grains of wood grind against his palms. It was a good feeling, firm and heavy - a reassuring weight. He hadn’t tried to fight yet. Tyonis wanted to build up his character a bit with non-combat related tasks, but his boredom was starting to get the better of him.

‘Might as well go find something to try my luck on while wandering through this cave,’ he decided as he shoved his boot through another mound.

Word Count: 163
ID: 102254
LD: 15 (Success) 2/5 Ore Excavated. 5/20 Posts.

“Huh, this really is a fantasy world. Kicking rocks actually produces results,” he mused with a grin as he picked up a dull-looking lump of ore. It was dirty with impurities, a hallmark of all low-level crafting material. He briefly wondered what higher tiered metal would look like. ‘Would it shine with the radiance of 1,000 suns?’ he asked the empty air. When he didn’t get a reply, Tyonis settled for prodding a similar colored part of the cave wall with the butt of his spear. 

‘At least I haven’t run into any monsters yet. I should count my blessings when I can,’ he grimly thought. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to fight so early. Some Players seemed to be doing fine but others did not fare so well. The sheer look of shock and terror paint their faces as their avatars exploded into countless polygons was something all too familiar to Tyonis.

Word Count: 158
ID: 102248
LD: 9 (Fail) 1/5 Ore Excavated. 4/20 Posts.

Tyonis kicked aside another mound and sighed heavily as it collapsed into shapeless dirt. There were reasons why he disliked gathering and crafting and this was chief among those complaints. Finding resources was always a pain in his ass. Doing this in FullDive VR wasn’t any more appealing than in any regular MMO. Instead of focusing solely on trying to find ore and subsequently dying of boredom, Tyonis drew out a single Col coin from his inventory and began to do finger tricks with it to occupy his mind. He started off with a basic knuckle coin roll - the very same one used by a certain Pirate Captain from one of his favorite movies.

He marveled at the near-perfect sensation of the coin slipping between each of his knuckles. This trick would have been impossible if he could not feel the exact weight and location of the coin against his skin. The discovery was almost enough to distract him from his main objective and he kicked another suspicious looking mound of dirt for good measure.

Word Count: 176
ID: 102247
LD: 19 (Success) 1/5 Ore Excavated. 3/20 Posts.

"I think I really might have a shitty Luck Stat," Tyonis complained out loud as he meandered through the cave with seemingly no destination in mind. He poked and prodded a few promising dirt mounds with the butt of his spear to only come up empty. "I'm actually kicking rocks, huh. Go figure." He mused with a chuckle as he continued. The cave seemed to stretch onward endlessly and he feared for a lack of light until he saw a few clumps of bioluminescent fungi several feet ahead of him. He marveled at them for a moment, having never seen glow-in-the-dark plants before. Soon, he moved past them. Even in this place, he was discovering things. It was one of the highlights of being trapped here. Aincrad was a fantasy world made as real as it could possibly be.

But he'd be a little happier if it didn't match his IRL luck so much.

Word Count: 152
ID: 102246
LD: 13 (Fail) 0/5 Ore Excavated. 2/20 Posts.

Approximately 2 years ago,

‘It is chief among a Soldier’s duty to maintain his arms, equipment, and himself,’ Tyonis’ Drill Sergeants used to scream as he and his fellow recruits were disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling their rifles. He learned how to properly prepare a uniform and how to even stitch. Tyonis was a man of habit, and his habits said he needed to learn how to repair his own gear in SAO if he wanted to survive. Honestly, he hated crafting in games, but this ceased to be a mere game after Kayaba’s grim announcement. 

With a fresh mind, he approached «Cerdic Leighton», the Master Blacksmith NPC of Floor 1. The quest was simple enough: gather five pieces of Tier 1 ore and craft a weapon out if it. Cerdic even provided the location. He figured if he avoided any random encounters, he could get this particular chore done fairly quickly.

And with that, he left the smithy and exited the town. Luckily, his path to the caves was unhindered. Most of the Players had shaken off their initial shock by now and were actively hunting every monster on the Floor. It was this over-saturation that made Tyonis switch gears and try to get a crafting skill in the first place. He drew his Bronze Spear and held it at the high ready as he entered the cave. He tested his range and found there to be enough space for him to swing the spear comfortably. All that was left was to find some ore.

Word Count: 255
ID: 102245
LD: 1 (Fail) 0/5 Found 1/20 Posts

“Heh, don’t worry about it,” once more, Tyonis waved off Spencer’s concern. “Life’s not worth living if you can’t laugh at yourself every once in awhile. Funny stories and a good sense of humor are the spice of life!” He paused and scowled at the bush as he pulled himself out from it. “In case you are wondering, god is dead because there wasn’t an herb in there.” He declared, as if his method of proving an almighty deity was beyond question. “I have discovered SAO’s true function. I’d like a refund, a metric [censored] ton of money, and one of those mail-order Japanese waifus.” Tyonis held out his arms, as if expecting to showered with praise and reward. When it didn’t happen he shook his head and feigned dejection.

“Confirmed: Kayaba Akihiko has no sense of humor.” He looked around as if expecting the GM of SAO to pop out of nowhere. “I know you can hear me you prick! GIVE ME MY MONEY... AND A WAIFU OF MY CHOOSING!” Tyonis hollered out at the sky then pushed into another bush.

Word Count: 165
ID: 102244
LD: 2 (Fail) 1/5 Found.

“Reading is good. Did a lot of it when I was in the Middle East. Internet there sucks ass, so I had to live off of single player VR games and what and books and TV shows I could download,” Tyonis explained. “Cherish your college years, Spence. Becoming an adult is seriously overrated.” He warned with a chuckle. “Got any good poetry pieces you want to recite? I’ll listen, but I can’t promise I won’t try and thrust this spear in between my ears if it’s too cringe-worthy.”

He grimaced when Spencer showed his next herb. “Ah. I see how it is. You’re RNG carried. Great. I think I need to reroll. My hidden luck stat blows,” he complained, staring up at the sky, holding up his hands in mock frustration. “Oh blessed RNGesus, please listen to my humble, pious supplications and grant me thy favor!”

With dramatic poise, he shoved his head into the nearest bush.

Word Count: 158
ID: 102242
LD: 7 (Fail) 1/5 Found.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Tyonis agreed then pushed the list of IRL army duties he would have to accomplish out of his mind. No use worrying about that now. Future Steven could deal with that. What was his commander going to do? Rip the NerveGear off his head? ‘He might actually do that,’ Steven thought grimly then sighed. At the very least, there’d be a ton of make-up work he’d have to do and many, MANY hours of remedial training. Spencer caught his attention once more as he began to explain his own life. 

“College, eh? I majored in Business Administration. Ended up joining the Army when I couldn’t find a job. Go figure. It was the most expensive piece of toilet paper I’ve ever used!” He laughed. “Ty, eh? Gotta admit, this is my friend’s account and user info, but sure, why not? As for what I do in my free time? Hookers and blow.” He said with as much seriousness as he could muster. After a moment he chuckled. “When I'm not making it rain at the strip clubs, I hike and sightsee. Gotta take in the world while the Army still sending me places, right?”

Word Count: 198
ID: 102240
LD: 9 (Fail) 1/5 Found.

“It’s fine,” Tyonis waved off both Spencer’s compliment and the melancholy atmosphere. “I've got to remind myself that not everyone’s a combat vet IRL, so we all have our own limits about what we can and cannot handle.” He looked back and the «Town of Beginnings». There were finally some people starting to shuffle out of the city. Adapt and overcome was a core tenant for any Soldier. These Players would also have to develop a similar mindset if they wanted to accomplish anything.

“Besides, hunting the good stuff in a bad situation is how I get through the worst of times,” he agreed with a grin. “I never thought about SAO as a vacation, but it damn might as well be one! I could think of worse things to idle my time away on.” He shivered as a number of horrifically boring Army duties came to the forefront of his mind.

“So Spence,” he called out, trying out a nickname in an attempt to dispel any remaining awkwardness between them, “What are you doing with your life? Aside from being trapped in here, I mean.”

Word Count: 189
ID: 102238
LD: 6 (Fail) 1/5 Found

Tyonis exhaled in relief as their luck seemed to turn around when they both found an herb at nearly the same time. He continued to sift through the brush as they conversed. He kept his head on a swivel, however, always alert and on the lookout for danger. 

“You know, at this rate, we're going to have to turn the herbs into something. Wonder how that’ll go? I’m not exactly bees' knees at arts and crafts IRL,” Tyonis joked. “I’d rather gather and harvest. It was always my best way of earning money in other MMOs.” He paused when Spencer commented about his lifestyle.

“Well, the Army’ll send you where they need you. I’ve really only been to the Middle East and Japan, obviously. It’s been fun. And it’s been real, But it’s never been ‘real fun’ if you catch what I’m throwing.” He chuckled then shrugged off Spencer’s self-incrimination. “Sign language is an important and high-demand skill,” he countered. “Don’t sell yourself short without actually trying to sell yourself first.”

Word Count: 173
ID: 102236
Loot Die: 2 (Fail) 1/5 Found.

“I’m just like more reach with my weapons," Tyonis explained after sparing a glance at Spencer's mace. "I wish there were bows and arrows in SAO. I’d have picked that up in a heartbeat,” Tyonis admitted with a shrug. Fighting at range was what he was trained most in, after all. Sure, he was a capable melee combatant, but hand-to-hand combat was mostly irrelevant IRL when you could just blow someone’s head off at 300 meters. Plus, he had gone bowhunting once or twice, so he reasoned it wouldn’t be that difficult to use in SAO.

“...Oh found one. Any luck on your side? I have a feeling we are going nowhere slowly. Might need to go deeper into the woods…” Tyonis looked beyond the clearing and into the woodline. If he closed his eyes and listened, he could pick out the sounds of insects and animals. He licked his lips at the idea of fighting - of flexing his virtual muscles, so to speak.
 

Word Count: 150 (Ha, right on the money).

ID: 102234
Loot Die: 19 (Success!) 1/5 Found.

“Oh, I was overseas for a bit. I’m actually enlisted in the US Army,” he answered with a shrug. There was no harm in telling Spencer about his real life occupation, and he doubted the blonde was some kind of homegrown terrorist. “I met some British servicemen and women when I was getting shot at over in the Middle East. You Brits aren’t half bad and you have better MREs. Meal, Ready to Eat, by the way,” he clarified fondly. “I remember we were out and about and a Brit offered me a hot [censored] cup of coffee in the middle of an early morning firefight. I still wonder how he pulled that out of his ass…”

Tyonis listened intently when Spencer began to outline his character build on the way to the quest location. It was good food-for-thought. Honestly, Tyonis hadn’t really given much time to think about his own path. “I didn’t think there were classes in SAO.” He prodded playfully when Spencer spoke about becoming a Paladin then shrugged when prompted for his own character build. “I’m… er leaning on practicality. Spears were the go-to-weapon up until firearms were developed. Swords may look cool, but IRL they were nothing more than sidearms - something to use if you lost your spear. And I’ve had some… experience with a mounted bayonet, so it seemed like a good fit. I guess I’d fit best as MT or OT.”

There was honestly not much in the way to get lost and the quest text was pretty straight forward. Soon the pair were outside the Town of Beginnings. Despite the heavy atmosphere, it really felt like he had entered a world where a single blade could take you anywhere. It was… liberating compared to the many restraints of normal human society, the army even more so.

“Let’s start searching for the herbs. We’re looking for the ones with red leaves and orange flower petals. They should stand out since most of the brush is so green.”

Word Count: 336

ID: 102232

Loot Die: 3 (Fail) 0/5 Found.

Tyonis recognized Spencer’s social aversion after a few exchanges. He had his fair share of experiences - being transferred from place to place meant you had to learn to make friends and adjust quickly. And no matter how many times the army moved him, it was always a chore to break the ice. Tyonis smiled a bit broader when Spencer began to speak more freely, although it was easy to see he was still reclusive. Tyonis figured the young man would grow out of that one day. 

After all, Steven was just like he was - antisocial, lacking in confidence, and shy. Two deployment into active combat zones changed Steven’s personality, though. One simply stopped caring about stomach butterflies after surviving harrowing life-or-death experiences. Little did Tyonis know that Spencer would also learn to come out of his shell in the coming years.

Tyonis sent Spencer a «Party Invite». Sure, Tyonis could probably do these quests faster solo, but he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t want the company. And two pairs of eyes were always better than one when on the lookout for danger.

“Yeah. Let’s head on out. I want to get a headstart on this before the rest of the crowd comes out of their shock.”

Word Count: 211

Tyonis spun on his heel after he accepted the quest. The young man didn’t seem overtly hostile. On the contrary, he had an expression Tyonis had seen countless times before: a civilian with a cloud of fear hanging over him. He considered leaving the blonde to his own devices: Tyonis was on a mission, a civilian would only slow him down. He was about to step past him when he remembered a Soldier was only as good as his squad. And he sorely lacked one here. Moreover, the blonde was speaking ENGLISH. Tyonis was acutely aware he’d be unable to communicate with 99% of SAO’s playerbase since they all spoke Japanese. It didn’t seem like an issue at first, but that was when he didn’t know he’d be trapped in a death-game. While he could speak some Japanese, clear and concise communication was important on the battlefield. Any language barrier was practically asking for a death sentence.

In what appeared to be a slow and agonizing fashion, Tyonis straightened his back and nodded.

“Name’s Steven - Tyonis,” he corrected with a small, reserved smile. “I was about to start the beginner quest chains. But it’s a goddamn relief to hear someone else speak English! We can party up if you want, so you’re British?” Tyonis observed, trying to find some middle ground. He’d served with some NATO coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, so he could pick out his accent.

Word Count: 201

Approximately 2 years ago, in the «Town of Beginnings»,

Steven Barnett - Tyonis - pushed through the panicked crowds after the frightening announcement. He shoved his own fear and concerns to the far back of his mind and slipped into his 'combat' mindset. His mission was clear: survive, beat all 100 floors, and escape from Sword Art Online. By now, his friend would be off his 24-hour guard duty shift and he'd soon discover what happened. Tyonis had keep faith that his fellow Soldiers would take proper care of his body while he was trapped in here. There was no use worrying about it - he had to do what he could from his side of the conflict.

As with every war, his first order of business was to equip himself properly and gather intel. He quickly donned a basic heavy armor set and a two-handed spear after selecting them from the «Basic Starter Package» giftbox. Of all the weapons SAO lauded, Tyonis felt an affinity for «2H Assault Spears» because he was used to fighting and training with a rifle and bayonet. He figured his IRL combat skills would translate well into SAO. He honestly wasn’t sure, but weapons familiarity did wonders for his morale.

Next came the starter quests. They offered easy gains to strengthen his character and much needed information about how to manipulate the game world and the system. A Soldier needed to be familiar with his equipment - to the point where he could reliably use it in pitch-black darkness and under heavy enemy pressure. This was just the first step in that process.

He made his way to «Zackariah», a local NPC he’d read about in the informational booklet written by the beta testers...

Word Count: 287

Profile:
Username: Tyonis
Real name: Sergeant Steven Barnett
Age: 25>27
Gender: Male
Height: 5’10”

History:

Steven Barnett enlisted as a 68W, a Combat Field Medic, for the US Military right out of college. He was deployed twice to Afghanistan and then to Iraq. While deployed, Specialist Barnett, like many US service members, spent much of his free time either drinking, smoking, working out, or playing first-generation, FullDive VR games on their standard issue training VR headsets. He and his fellow Soldiers called it one of the best ways to escape the blistering heat of the desert, if only for a few minutes. After Barnett returned Stateside, he decided to reenlist, going for a full 20 year service record and selected Camp Zama, Japan for his station of choice once news of the impending release Sword Art Online in Japan reached his ears.

A few days before SAO's release date, Barnett's requested a full month of leave so he could play.  To his chagrin, it was approved but he still unable to secure a copy of SAO. Fortunately, another Soldier did manage to purchase it and pitied him Barnett enough to lend him the game his Nervegear for a day or two. They reasoned his friend would be stuck on 24 hour guard duty on the release day, anyway. After Barnett was inevitably locked into the game, his friend found his incapacitated body and he was safely transported to the hospital which cared for most of the SAO victims post-game-launch.

Ironically, he earned enough promotion points prior to SAO's release date that he attained the rank of Sergeant two months after being stuck in the game. His squad celebrated by having a small office party in his hospital room.
 

Traits:

• Disciplined
• Sociable
• Loyal

Virtues:

• Personal Courage: As a designated combat field medic of two military deployments, Steven's bravery stands head and shoulders above most. He has been shot at and he has shot back. He has held the lives of his brothers and sisters in his hands. He handles pressure extraordinarily well and the idea of dying in Sword Art Online, while frightening, does not paralyze him into submission. He views it as another battlefield - one he must overcome for himself and his friends.

  • "I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade."

• Hunt the Good Stuff: Steven has learned that the secret to happiness is learning to find the good in everything. There is something positive to be had in even the worst of experiences. On the battlefield, he may have been shot at and lost a few good people, but he forged friendships that were stronger than most familial bonds. It is that mentality that preserves him and his sanity and allows him to work well under pressure.

  • "The secret to happiness is learning to pan gold out from mud."

• Strength and Honor: Steven prides himself on maintaining a high level of integrity amidst adversity. When other people may fall prey to their baser instincts and desires, Steven persists, leaning on his strong moral code and convictions. He refuses to betray his friends, especially those he fights alongside - that trust is what saves lives.

  • "Honor. Integrity. Respect. Perseverance. Discipline. Indomitable Spirit."

Flaws:

• Contact 9'oclock:  As a Soldier, Steven is perhaps too conditioned to taking orders and respecting authority. When commanded by a superior, he will often execute the order without much thought as to the consequence or the reasoning. It is a mindset drilled into him after his time overseas: a single moment's hesitation and someone may die.

  • "Shoot, move, communicate, KILL!"

• Harsh and Unrelenting: Years of service have changed Steven's way of thinking and he stands apart from the many civilians who have been locked into the game. He often fails to understand why so many of them are weak-willed. He is easily capable of ignoring the threat of death in favor of accomplishing a mission or goal and it makes him difficult to work with since he asks for more than his party members are willing to give.

  • "These injuries aren't even real! Just keep fighting! The only HP that matters is the 1 before 0!"

• Cardinal Sins: Every man and woman has their favorite vice. Steven is no exception and almost every other day, he questions why he can't find get drunk or have a smoke. More for stress relief then dependency, Steven loved to drink and smoke after a long day of army training. The fact he can't get either in SAO irritates him to no end.

  • "Seriously, who do I have to kill to get a decent drink around here?!"

Profession: Rank 3 Blacksmith

SP Gains and Losses:

Level: 10
Total SP: 24
SP Available: 1
SP Spent: 23

Skills:

Weapon/Armor skills:
» [Rank 2] 2H Assault Spear
» [Rank 1] Heavy Armor
Combat:
» 
»

Utility:
» [Rank 1] Searching
»

Extra:
» [Rank 1] Concentration
»

Col Total:  1,450

Inventory:

Equipped:
» [Perfect] Tier 1 2H Assault Spear | Bleed | Accuracy | Accuracy - Magstrom
» [Perfect] Tier 1 Heavy Armor | Thorns | Thorns | Recovery - Ruby Armor
» 
 

Battle Ready:
» (5) Starter Healing Potions (+50HP)
» (8) [Uncommon] Tier 1 Health Potions (+40HP)

Stored:
» (14) Tier 1 Crafting Material
» [Uncommon] Tier 1 2H Assault Spear | Bleed - Bronze Spear
» Standard Blacksmith Shop | Athenaia | The Soldier's Creed
» (1) Tier 1 Damage Potion (+1DMG)
» (1) Tier 1 Over-Health Potion (+50THP)
» [Uncommon] Tier 1 Light Armor | Mitigation
» (1) Potion of Safeguard that can only be used in the Third Lesson is just as Free.
» (1) Spyglass | 3/3 Charges
» (1) Tent
» (1) Teleportation Crystal
» Custom Ambition Tool | Ambitious Anvil (+1EXP per craft)
» (1) [Perfect] Tier 1 Golden Garlic Bread | Cooked by Neopolitan | +3 LD for one thread
» [Uncommon] Tier 1 Heavy Armor | Mitigation - Black Lorica
» (1) Candy Guard (Safeguard)
»
»

Roleplays:
In Progress:

Completed:

Incomplete:

Quest Log:

Friendslist:
» @Spencer - A young man I met when SAO first started. Good guy, a bit shy, but I can tell he'll become someone to rely on. How? Because he dares to dream about surviving this deathgame. The first step to overcoming any adverse situation is to believe you can overcome it. It took me years to learn that.
» @Neopolitan - Tiny and petite, but she's death incarnate with a rapier. She's also mute. But she doesn't let her disability weigh her down. There's something to be said about human perseverance and she's got plenty to spare. Like her name, she's got an ice-cream theme going with her character design. And hey, not many people can pull of PINK HAIR.
» @Asakku - A girl with alot of spunk and an attitude to match. She said for me not to come look for her, but she added me to her friend's list anyway. I get the feeling a bit of persistance will get her to open up a bit. On the plus side, she loves spears and thus, has excellent taste.
»

Story Thus Far:
»