Vally

Well, that was an interesting question. Right into the heavy-hitting stuff, huh? Vally tapped her cheek in thought for a few moments before she came up with a response. "Well...play it. SAO is a game, even if we're mortal in it, so I plan to play it. Optimize to the extreme, take all the mechanically best options...y'know, all that stuff. I hate sitting around doing nothing, being a coward, so I'm gonna become as strong as I can, then head to the front lines and put it to use so we can actually clear Aincrad", she responded, one hand on her hip.

After all, this was the only place where Vally could be strong. The powerful pro that everyone would look up to. The hero, always on the front lines, leading the charge to the top of Aincrad. In real life, she was confined to her own mind for everything. Here, though...well, here she could be anything she wanted, for the most part. "...Yeah, that, I guess. I'd say that's my goal. Win", she concluded with another nod.

Vally's name was mostly just a handle she'd picked on a whim for her first MMO. No doubt there were others with more important meaning behind their names, but hers was just one she'd used for a while. Rather like her real name. Mars, though, huh? Vally was pretty sure that was the name of a God of war in some culture or another. A good person to learn from, then! That's what SAO was, for the most part, after all. And if he was close enough level to the frontlines to be able to fight there, all the better.

"Good to know, having someone experienced showing me the ropes will help keep me alive. I'm planning on reaching the front lines eventually, so...y'know, you'll definitely be a great help", she stated with a sage nod and a hand on her hip.

"Yeah, would make sense. Wasn't even sure where to find them, to be honest, but if he's in that direction, then...well, no point wasting time on picking up the quest, huh? If it's a chain, that's just even better. More rewards."

With that said, Vally turned on her heel and headed towards the workshop that Mars had indicated. She entered quietly and offered a wave to the NPC before she started the quest. He wasn't a person, but it was more of an natural response than anything.

"Five materials, huh? Okay, that shouldn't be hard. Unless a really strong mob shows up out of nowhere, we should be pretty safe from anything that wanders by. You ready to go?"

Ooooh, interesting. A liger! And one that was apparently rather firey, to boot. So pets were a thing too, huh? Vally wondered whether they were simply cosmetic or if they were actually capable of helping. On the one hand, this guy with the matching colour scheme had indicated for it to settle down. On the other, it was a pointless thing, because they were in a safe-zone anyway. But hey, whatever. This guy seemed rather aloof, but it wasn't as if Vally herself wasn't like that sometimes. He'd at least be helpful, judging by how his fashion seemed to match those of other high-level players in other MMOs.

"Well, looking to start the tutorial. Only actually got up to things, figured hiding here wasn't going to get things done any faster. I'm Vally, since you asked. How about you and your uh...companion?" Vally decided to go with that.

"You seem pretty experienced, like I said, so someone like you would be a great help with me starting out. Stops me from dying to a tutorial mob, eh? Although admittedly, if I did things right, they shouldn't even be able to hurt me..."

Right, time to get started! Whatever...getting started actually involved, that was. Taiga had heard of a tutorial, and it would make sense for an MMO to actually have one. Admittedly, she had gotten a bit swept up in actually talking to people using her voice for once and trying out the combat, so she'd actually managed to miss that. And well...it wasn't as if Taiga had stepped out of the house enough to find something like that anyway, over the post couple years. Whoops?

But, whatever. Vally was getting started with things in SAO now. Properly. Not hiding away in an inn for two years, being a Hiki-NEET. Although that wasn't really Vally doing that. Anyway! While she did like to play up the tough-girl persona, Vally did kinda need someone to help her out with this for now. Preferably a high-level player, so they could help her out with optimizing and give her a heads up about quests with choices, but actually finding one of those out was hard. Especially since most of those were no doubt on the front lines, rather than in the beginning town, and everybody loved their vanity items to make them look cool. Not that she could really blame them, considering how she looked.

However, what did catch Vally's eye was the player with no weapons. At least, not visibly. He was definitely a player, and he had gear, but no weapons? She hadn't seen that so far. Maybe that meant he unlocked something that meant he didn't need to! Vally had played a few MMOs like that before, where you needed to progress or complete quests to unlock classes or skills. Perhaps this was like that? But, whatever. Standing around thinking to herself was gonna get her nowhere.

"Hey, you look...decently high-level. Or at least kinda experienced. Wanna help someone out? 'Someone' being me, of course", she questioned on approach, a small smirk on her pale face.

Profile
Username: Vally
Real name: Tainaka Taiga
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Height: 5'4"

History: Taiga's life was always pretty normal, as far as home life and school went. Two loving parents and decent enough grades. However, one thing that stood out was her absolutely crippling shyness. She was practically mute, and talking to anybody but her parents was near-enough impossible. It wasn't a case of not liking people or anything like that, she just...wasn't capable. She took up most of her time with reading, exercise through dance, cooking, and videos games, up until a suggestion from her therapist. That suggestion was to try communicating with people through text, rather than through words.

That suggestion spurred her to join an MMO in attempt to communicate with others. It went wonderfully, for the most part. There were a few times she shrunk down from it due to toxicity, but Taiga did truly want to find a way to communicate properly with others, so she persevered. She'd always enjoyed getting to play other roles in video games, to be someone she wasn't in real life, but her first MMO took that to a different level. She got to have her own specific, unique role within a group, and she got to communicate with that group to boot! Taiga had certainly found a place for her to be, but in the process, she'd completely sheltered herself within that place.

While Taiga still made the effort to keep herself attractive - after all, it would be hard to make friends while being unattractive and unable to communicate without a notepad - she retreated further and further into the worlds of various MMOs. She joined up with groups in nearly all of the popular MMOs at the time, overjoyed to find a place she felt she belonged. However, relying on communicating like that still left her unable to really talk properly, still only able to communicate through text. Despite that, she was still fairly popular, and she did manage to even get a job, even if it was merely to fund her subscriptions.

Of course, when SAO was announced, Taiga had followed every step of its development fervently. While she was unable to get into the beta, much to her disappointment, she was able to procure a Nervegear and a copy of the game, with the assistance of her therapist, who was eager to see if such a thing would help. After all, while there was no true text-only function, she would still get to hide behind her avatar. For those first few hours before the announcement of SAO's true nature, she was enjoying herself beyond anything she had before.

However, after the intent of SAO's creator was made clear, Taiga returned to her usual shyness. With the very real threat of mortality, she was unable to throw herself into things with the confidence she had always displayed before. For the first two years, Taiga had secluded herself within the Town of Beginnings, barely unable to step outside her room due to being paranoid that something would kill her despite being in the safe zone.

Eventually, Taiga discovered that one of her guildmates from one of the other MMOs she'd played had also managed to get into SAO. and had stumbled across her. Over the course of a few weeks, he managed to convince her to at least try to fight something, that even if they were mortal, that it was still a game and that meant that they could still win. With that in mind, Taiga put on her mask again, and decided to treat SAO exactly like what it was: A game.

Virtues

Always Push Forward: Vally, the mask Taiga puts on to be able to interact with SAO at large, brims with confidence and certainty, sure that whatever she is doing is the correct choice. Nothing can hold her back or keep her down, and she always marches forward with the goal of completing SAO. She'll stop at nothing to beat the 100th floor, and to be what she can't in real life.

Min-Maxed and Mighty: Vally treats SAO like a game, and because of that, she's willing to do whatever it takes to 'win'. While she falls short of PKing, that doesn't stop her from doing whatever she thinks would get the best results to NPCs. After all, they're not people. Whether it's an 'unethical' choice in a quest or something else, she'll simply take whatever gives the best reward. She also optimizes herself to the Nth-degree, taking advice from other places on how to distribute her skills and what to do with her equipment.

Grace Under Fire: Vally is particularly level-headed when it comes to bad situations. Reverting to Taiga and panicking would only make things worse, so she always makes sure to keep herself calm and sure. It's the only way to get anywhere in this game, she figures.

Flaws

Only A Mask: While Vally is the picture of confidence and perseverance, Taiga is shy, awkward and panicky. She's practically the opposite of Vally in every way. While Vally always makes sure to keep herself calm under pressure, underneath that she's utterly terrified and ready to bolt, and if something were to break her mask, recovering would be difficult.

Contradictory Care: While Vally keeps up her friendliness and 'cool big sis' persona, she internally tries to avoid making too many attachments. She figures it would only hold her back if that person were to ever turn on her, or if she ever needed to make a hard decision to defeat an enemy and stay alive. Sometimes, this does come through in surprisingly harsh comments, and her ruthlesness to NPCs can be somewhat off-putting to others. However, Taiga is once again the opposite, and develops attachments to other easily. Due to this, Vally often ends up caring for people despite not wanting to.

Fashion Art Online: Everybody knows the true endgame of any MMO is fashion, and that's been somewhat engrained into both Taiga and Vally. Due to this, while they know the importance of getting good gear, they won't wear something they consider ugly. If they're going to beat SAO, then they're going to look good doing it, too.

I Don't Get It: Due to Taiga's general social issues, she sometimes has great issues understanding others. When it comes to feelings, motivations, whatever, she doesn't always get quite what the person means even if they spell it out. This can often lead to her having difficulties relating to others, or managing to get close if they're a person she's decided she wants to get to know.
 

Profession: N/A

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