Vesper

Vesper teleported to the ninth floor, and assuming the others followed in kind, turned to face them to continue the conversation - forcing herself, really, for the sake of ensuring her survival. Communication was definitely important, and while she wasn't quite sure how much she could trust her new companions, it was better to clarify now than face disaster later. With her arms crossed, she looked them in the eyes with intent and spoke.

"Truth be told, since I'm only level 1, chances are a ninth floor enemy could kill me in a single blow. You do realize the severity of this, right? And I'd wager that the thief over there isn't much better.", she spoke plainly, realizing she could easily be killed at this level and deciding that there would be no shame in admitting to her own fragile mortality. 

Within the raven's own self she felt heavy anxiety at the mere thought of approaching a challenge like the ninth floor. Many people much higher in level died here, and with the way she's heard damage scales later on, she felt weighed down by the potential for her swift demise. Choosing to avoid showing this openly, she then cocked her head with sharp eyes to hone in on Mordecai and made a gesture with a hand behind her.

"You want to take the lead? You invited us here. Unless you'd like to lead here?", she then turned to Vigilon, a less harsh expression on her face.

"You seem to be the only one here who isn't a complete rookie, right?"

"H-Hey, watch it. Don't compare me to those other idiots out there.", Vesper blurted out at the man's criticism, a slight flush in her cheeks.

She acknowledged her form was poor, however, and decided it would be best to take up this person's advice to a degree. In truth, there wasn't even an iota of real world combat experience for her to draw upon, thus her only real idea of fist fighting was the martial arts movies she cherished so dearly. What was wrong with Jackie Chan, anyway? His movies were funny! And his fights were iconic. Surely it would be something that had even a little substance, right? 

Yet as she observed the man throw a second punch, the raven realized there was truth in what he was saying. I'm not the first to think like this, she realized, and probably not the last.

Seeing his firm stance, she nodded and stepped up to the boulder copying it to the best of her ability. She let out air to calm her nerves, looked dead ahead at the obstacle before her, and punched it with the best jab she could. It barely scratched it, but she felt the game acknowledge the impact of her attack - and as a result, saw the boulder's HP go down the slightest tick to indicate her punch. She let out a small, self-satisfied smirk. 

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Action Taken: Basic Attack [-1 EN] 
Boulder: ID# 118271 BD: 5+3=8 (Hit) ~ 1 DMG

Vesper: 20/20 HP | 1/2 EN | 1 DMG | 1 ACC, 1 DMG

The Boulder: 29/50 HP | -2 EVA 

It seemed situations like this had happened to the man before. It wasn't reassuring for Vesper, to say the least, and she indicated as such with a hand massaging her temple. 

"Whatever gets you going, I guess.", she muttered, "But try not to let it happen again, okay?".

With that, the charcoal-cloaked cynic stopped leaning against the wall and nodded her head once the other two had shook hands. Certainly a polite bunch of folks, but it couldn't be understated the amount of doubt she still felt around the pair. If this was some trap she would be making a grave mistake, but nevertheless greed would overpower Vesper's survival instincts in the moment. 

She raised a finger above her head, flashing her username 'Vesper' above as she looked at the two introducing themselves. Figuring that was enough, she began moving towards the ninth floor at a brisk pace, hoping to get it over with. Like a vaccination, she preferred her work quick and simple, with all the pain quickly washed over.

"C'mon, let's go. We're burning daylight out here."

While Vesper's expression on the outside didn't change, she had to admit that she was nervous on the inside. There was something about the way the man was now conducting himself that made this whole situation feel... wrong. Despite this, she was at the same time grateful that the man had accepted her threat, as much as she didn't want to make it. Thus was the place she now found herself, nodding in response to the man and stepping towards the boulder.

"Alright."

With that, Vesper let loose a powerful jab towards the boulder's body - or rather, what she was hoping would be powerful. In truth she realized that on instinct she had flinched before actually making contact with the rock. If it wasn't evident before, that strike had revealed her true level of competence as a fighter in the game: hesitant to commit to violence. It flashed in her mind that even attempting combat made her think of the last time she fought, and how it ended up. While it was nothing like fighting an inanimate object unable to counterattack, it still felt so real.

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Action Taken: Basic Attack [Miss][-2 EN] 
Boulder: ID# 118263 BD: 2+3=5 (Miss) 

Vesper: 20/20 HP | 1/2 EN | 1 DMG | 1 ACC, 1 DMG

The Boulder: 40/50 HP | -2 EVA 

"Bandits? No offense, but I don't know if either of us are capable of that by ourselves. Ninth floor seems quite high for people like us, don't you think?", Vesper finished by realigning her stance to face the individual more directly, placing a hand on her hip in defiance.

In her thoughts, though, she weighed the pros and cons of the situation. Bandits horded piles of loot, so it was a good opportunity for something to boost her own wealth beyond the average for somebody like her. On that same note, though, it could easily mean death due to it being plural. Multiple bandits. Her brow furrowed considering her response, when she felt somebody bump into her from the side. She turned to glare daggers at the person and saw a spaced-out boy. Her look of frustration subsided once she realized it was an accident, and relaxed her tense body language.

"Hey. Is it every day you walk into people, or am I just the lucky winner?"

Why am I even here?, the leather-clad adventurer thought to herself.

She had wandered aimlessly for days, searching for something worth her time without the risk of death around every corner. In all that time nothing stuck out other than her usual observing of others more gifted. All it had landed her with was an empty stomach, dim eyes and the ramblings of some loud, proud do-gooder. Or at least, he tried to appear as a do-gooder, but when she noticed him approaching her, Vesper could tell it wasn't quite real. She'd met these types before, and more often than not they were the kinds that would stab and loot anybody foolish enough to take them up on their offers.

"Help with what? Are you running a soup kitchen?", Vesper responded in a similarly condescending tone punctuated by a small grin of her own.

She shrugged off the man's demeanor and took a step backwards to lean against a wall and to show what her rules on personal space looked like, before making the gesture of a wrist flick in curiosity and crossing her arms. There wasn't much on her to observe other than her clothing - which in of itself was revealing enough to get the cheers of rowdy men on more than one occasion. Though ashamed to admit it, she did feel a modicum of enjoyment from it; not that she would ever openly show such feelings or respond in kind unless money was involved. Nobody ever seemed willing to pay up though. Cheap, she thought, before returning to reality and finishing her declaration of doubt.

"Gonna need some context before I agree to go anywhere with a smiling stranger."

Vesper's gaze found itself wandering back to the odd player, raising a brow in question. After a moment, she nodded in acknowledgment before skipping through the dialogue of the NPC to obtain the quest of her desire. With that, she moved back towards him and crouched near him while looking at the details of the quest in her menu. With a sigh, she brushed hair out of her face and turned to face him.

"Funny story, I'm also here to punch rocks. Unfortunately, the way it's going it'll take a while..."

Fiddling with the bandages around her hands, she tightened them once more and stood up. Looking out with dull eyes towards the boulder further down, she turned back to him and sent him a party invite.

"If you help me with this quest and break this rock with me I won't tell anybody I saw you. I'm sure that's in your best interest, right? I have nothing personal against orange players, but I'd personally prefer to survive a little longer and this quest would help me do so.", the raven spoke in a very matter-of-fact tone, laying out a proposition and knowing fully well that without help she could be here all day with her lackluster damage.

Scarlet spheres stared towards him, awaiting his response. It could in all likelihood be a gamble that could kill her, but there was very little left for her to care about in the first place. All-or-nothing was the way she preferred to do things now, and this was merely one more roll of the dice.

"I... I'll be honest, this was the part where I was expecting a fight.", she grunted out and ended with a sigh.

In truth there was still suspicion lingering - healthy suspicion, it could be said. Regardless, she lowered her stance and moved a few steps closer, replacing the distance she made from the freezing cold air that was now lacking. Her eyes remained vigilant on the man, and briefly scanned over her surroundings to ensure this wasn't a trap and he had friends waiting. Then again, what would a group of players gain from killing a level one on the second floor? There was nothing much of value to her. For all she was worth in Col it'd very likely buy somebody a hot meal at a tavern; not usually the kind of thing worth killing for. 

Finally, she spoke once more.

"What are you doing up here, huh? This is a pretty obscure location to be relaxing by, unless you have some sort of reason."

The raven crossed her arms and then looked further on towards the NPC who could give her the quest she needed, and then at the ground near the orange player, debating what to do in this situation. 

I'm a little late to make this, but hey. I'm not great with introductions in general. I've already been on Discord for around a day now and my character's already approved so it doesn't even feel appropriate to make this, but hey, here I am. To be honest I have a sour taste in my mouth regarding canon SAO and its plot shortcomings and bland characters, but the setting and mechanics are a real draw. I'm a firm believer that SAO Abridged is the best version of the series that there will ever be. Therefore this RP's perfect for me, because to hell with canon characters! Less Kirito's always a nice thing. Also it feels close to being an actual tabletop system so props for making that happen on a forum RP.

Anyway, enough of me ranting. I'll be around on here under this account, or on Discord as Speedwagon. Hit me up if you want to do some topics, I don't bite. C'ya around.

That's..

Vesper jumped into a defensive stance, gritting her teeth and sharpening her ruby gaze. She looked the man over, noting the various inventory that was openly displayed. It was at that moment as she motioned closer that the air grew to a chill and eventually to freezing temperature. Realizing this, she stepped backwards by a pace while maintaining her stance. Her 'weapon', if it could be called that, was now in clear view: bandages tightly bound around her hands and up her wrists. The stance she took was definitely clumsy to a trained eye, as if she had very little expertise in martial arts outside of movies. Despite this she faked toughness to the best of her ability and spoke up in her usual voice, surprisingly gravel in tone for a woman her age. She'd heard tales on the first floor of orange players doing despicable things all across Aincrad. Some were even so cruel as to crush low level players for amusement, and for others it was alleged 'misunderstandings' or poorly timed emotional outbursts that resulted in their status. Regardless, the raven-haired amateur would not take any chances, knowing that it was certain to result in a loss if she fought anybody at all. If this person had killed any player at all, he was more than capable of taking her level one self out. Her best bet was to appear to be a threat of some sort.

"Oi. Orange. You here for any reason in particular, or just on your weekly run from the next batch of people you've pissed off?", she would blurt out plainly as if it were as simple as breathing.

She placed a hand on her hip, her eyes shifting between the man's own face and the weapon that he could likely spring into action with at a moment's notice. Or at least, Vesper's own paranoia led her to believe orange players were capable of all kinds of insanity to survive as they have. 

Vesper had been in the Town of Beginnings for as long as she had played SAO. The world was such a small and enclosed place to her with how little she's seen and done, and how few things she's accomplished in the time since the players' days in this new world began. If anything was to be done about her current sleeping problems, however, she would need to advance further into the game. Disappointingly, she has always been level 1 from the word go, and while other heroes have grinded to fame and fortune, she has remained stagnant. 

"If only there was another way...", she thought to herself, hovering an inquisitive hand near her chin.

Her eyes widened upon a stunning realization - that was it! The tutorial. She had never actually completed the beginning quests. In the past she always thought they sounded so mundane and stupid - and by all rights they are! But that didn't mean they were pointless. Going through the motions, perhaps. 

Despite newbie status, Vesper knew the Town of Beginnings like the back of her hand. With confidence and a calm aura she strode towards the edge of town alone. As she progressed further towards the outskirts of her makeshift prison, past which was where the materials could be found, she briefly thought back to the last time she was out in the field without being prepared. The death of her closest friend. It pushed her backwards a number of steps - mere meters from leaving the town. Uneasiness in her heart, she stood there blankly staring ahead, wondering if it might be better to stay away.

@Roulette

The ragged steps of a charcoal-cloaked traveler could be heard echoing and traversing across the mountain's steps as she wandered into sight of a humble hut. Smoke from a chimney was the sign that finally gave it away, and as she approached the hut, the reluctant player known as Vesper had underestimated the physical labor involved with merely finding the quest's location. She had been inactive for a long time; she didn't even know how many days - and unless one were to count the occasional brief bar argument or verbal lashing as exercise, her physical state was down and out. There was something to be said about the technology required to make a virtual avatar feel tired or hungry. Something seeded deeply in sadism and cruelty, perhaps, rather than innovation. She would have no choice but to allow herself to become somewhat more cruel in kind, and this quest would be the first big step to securing her survival in this world. As these thoughts buzzed around her, Vesper finally let out a lengthy sigh and made the last few steps to be on even ground with the hut. 

Before engaging with the NPC to take up the quest, Vesper took a seat on a nearby rock and admired the view. She took it all in to relax herself, knowing according to the rumors she heard that what the quest entails would be grueling to say the least. As new to the exploration gig as she was, she even forgot to stock up on any buffs or food. The situation was feeling more and more hopeless by the second for her, but she wouldn't allow it to show on the exterior. And so there she was, gazing ahead, knowing that she would need to get up and push herself eventually...

@Pinball

Profile

Username: Vesper
Real name: Valerie Rivers
Age: 20
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 135 lbs
Sexuality: Bisexual
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

History/Personality

Valerie was born to a regular suburban family in America. She lived the white picket life under her mother and father, plugging away diligently as a student. She never stood out one way or the other as a class clown or a prodigy, simply getting by with B's and the occasional A in fields she was stronger at. Despite this, she was often picked on and tormented by her peers during her schooling years for her unremarkable self. If the standout kids with high grades were respected and the underachievers trailing behind were laughed at, she was seen as worse than all of them for simply being bland and uninteresting. She would undergo every form of abuse and humiliation that a youth could experience in school, and only resisted through it all to spend time with one of her few friends - Dale Lanner. Dale was an overachiever with less in the way of good looks but nevertheless was the kind of soul that realized bullying when he saw it and stepped in when he could. The two met during one such occasion, and were inseparable from then on.

They discovered they shared many interests over the years, from video games to martial arts movies and comics. Valerie wasn't particularly a bookish girl, but she did enjoy stories from popular authors as they released and superhero comics when they concerned her favorite characters. She found herself most immersed in the cool, brooding assassin type women for their stoic mannerisms and effortless sex appeal and charm. For somebody as plain as she was often considered to be, it was the sort of thing she dreamed of to be that confident and mysterious. As she grew older and graduated high school, she maintained her friendship with Dale and persisted through the bullying with her head held relatively high - she wasn't proud of the bullying she received, but felt happy that it was over. 

It was at that point as she worked to save up for college that she found herself also delving deeper into the world of online gaming in her spare time. She would relieve her stresses at work and in real life by playing games at home alongside Dale, working her way up steadily and building a small internet community. She felt fulfilled with the life she lived in the online spaces she frequented. It was around this time spending many more hours online with Dale that she realized she had developed something of a crush on him - not that she would ever admit it, of course. She didn't want to risk ruining a great friendship, so she kept it her own personal secret.

When the announcement for Sword Art Online came out, Dale was already spamming texts at her before she could even ask him if he was interested. Thus they decided they would camp in line for a copy of the game; there was no way they were going to miss out on such a hotly discussed game on new hardware. Despite this, they were quite far back in the line and thus rarely left for any reason except for bathroom breaks - and even then, it was in turns so they wouldn't lose their spot in the line. They got quite a few hollers for this, but none of it mattered in comparison to the glory of a fully-realized virtual reality adventure to lose hours upon hours in. They almost didn't manage, likely being well into the 7000's of players that got their copy, but they did. They rushed home to Valerie's house to play, locking themselves away in her bedroom to set up the game. The anxiety of allowing a boy into her room didn't even bother Valerie at that point. Her heart was racing for a different reason - the ultimate experience in RPGs. The best thing that would ever happen to her was being put on her head in that moment, and when the NerveGear finally booted up, she felt fulfilled.

Getting into the game, she was blown away by the graphics and attention to detail. It was so lifelike that she recognized Dale quite quickly in the same starting town as her among the thousands of others nearby. They quickly followed the masses out into the starting fields, killing the various wildlife and starter enemies to gain a handle on the controls and movement. It didn't feel like the game had much of a tutorial for whatever reason, so with Valerie - or as she was known in-game, Vesper - being more of a casual player she had to rely on Dale as a pseudo tutorial. His character's name was Lanner, which while not creative had its own kind of charm to it that Valerie found adorable. Though at that point she would probably find most things he did adorable anyway.

The game was fun, up until the game's true purpose was revealed. Valerie and Dale were among the many players teleported forcibly. They were forced to sit there and listen to the ramblings of a madman explaining the rules of a death game, despairing and unable to do anything as panic spread. Their only instinct was to run and escape the crowd of people, now more closely resembling their real selves. They settled down after making a camp in the beginner fields, distancing themselves from the screams and cries of emotionally traumatized people. Agreeing that it would be better to fight than to lay down and die or wait for somebody else to step up and save them, the pair resolved to fight. They ventured forth, with Valerie more reluctant to engage in fights due to the new knowledge that 0 HP meant real death. As they progressed further into the wilderness, they found themselves trapped by a party of players who had gone delusional from trauma and had decided to make their profit by looting players. In the heat of the moment, with both Valerie and Dale injured heavily, Dale allowed himself to act as a shield for Valerie's retreat. Being a higher level than Valerie or the party ambushing them, he stayed behind while she fled. As Valerie sprinted with all her strength, she was forced to watch her best friend's health deplete slowly. They had stayed behind to take him down alone, but she had no bravery to turn back to the battle. Her survival instincts were fully realized, and even shame was not a concern for her. 

Valerie found herself trudging into the safety of town with dull eyes upon seeing after the commotion that "Lanner" was no longer in her party. Dead. She found an inn to funnel into and cried herself to sleep there. That was the point at which her time as a player ended, and her soul was crushed. For all the physical pain she felt while fighting, the emotional weight of losing those close to her, and the things never said once they'd met their end - it was too much. Sword Art Online was no longer a game to be played, it was purgatory. Everybody there was waiting for salvation in one form or another. As time passed, heroes would rise and fall. Morale would skyrocket and then plummet just as fast. Progress was made, but never solid enough to permanently reinforce the idea that not all was lost. Among all this, she became known as the 'Gazing Girl' for the hours she would spend not engaging with the game and simply sitting outside around town giving others cold looks. She felt she had nothing left to live for in the wretched curse of a 'game' that Sword Art Online was. Valerie had disappeared, replaced by Vesper - a cynical, nihilistic husk whose only discernible motive was to wait for the inevitable to occur. 

Most recently however, she's been having nightmares about her first day in the game. Of the death of her best friend, and the horrible pained expressions he must have had during his last fight. It's been weeks since she's had a restful sleep, and thought for the first time in years that it could be a sign of... something. Of what, she hadn't even a guess. She was never very emotionally intelligent. Whatever reason she had to receive these nightmares now of all times, she picked herself up and resolved to venture in search of the answer. 

Virtues

Observant: In her years as a judgmental watcher within SAO, she's eavesdropped on many conversations and has had plenty of time to notice the subtleties of interaction. From body language and potential intent, to gauging people's worth in Col based off of their gear combined with demeanor, she has become talented at reading situations whether they be social or combat. Her paranoia sees to it that she will observe multiple angles to a situation before coming to a decision. Over a period of time with this mentality she's grown faster at observing these details and making these decisions quickly. Due to this observant behavior she has also learned ways to mimic people's movements in more minor ways in an attempt to gain some semblance of combat expertise without having to go outside of town.

Flexible: In every way, Vesper could be considered flexible. Physically she is decently flexible, allowing for movements that some others could not attempt. Mentally, however, is where the danger lies. Vesper finds herself able to fit in with people from many walks of life and can be convinced towards many different morals. Due to her relatively unbiased nature, she could likely find a lot of work in various fields if she felt like it. She prefers to speak in money rather than honeyed words, and as such has very few taboos for things that would earn her Col.

Calm: Vesper can find herself remaining calm in situations of high pressure. Whether due to her years of cynicism and thoughts to herself or something within her that she never knew she had, she finds herself able to remain cool under pressure. This also lends well to a reliable exterior personality, in which she can put up a front even in situations where she's afraid. While she has no interest in being a leader, it can sometimes help to show others that even when it's fake to not panic. 

Flaws

Paranoid: On the flip-side of her observant behavior, Vesper doesn't trust many people. Simply sitting by and watching she's seen and heard of many people betray others over her time spent in the game. She would even consider her own abandoning of Lanner to be betrayal on her part, thus she has no moral compass to aspire to or believe in. In her mind, everybody has ulterior motives that cannot be proven until it's already too late. As a result of this she isn't very receptive to offers of friendship, feeling like the other person is simply waiting for their chance to stab her in the back.

Slow Learner: Vesper has always been painfully average. Going with this, she has little in the way of natural talent. More than that, when she does wish to become talented in something, it tends to take her more effort and determination than just about anybody else with the tiniest sliver of talent. She's very stuck in her ways, and due to that it takes a great deal of comprehension to learn new things and develop more as a person.

Vulgar: Having heard time and time again the annoying prickles of charming words within conversations, she's taken a more blunt and straightforward stance on speaking. She'll speak her mind even when it doesn't concern her, or if she doesn't have much knowledge on the subject. She truthfully believes her own opinion to often be more correct than that of others, and going with that has misplaced confidence in herself. Her style of speech can get her into trouble more often than land her in a place of benefit; yet despite this, Vesper herself sees nothing wrong with her actions towards others.

False Confidence: Her outward confidence is a complete lie, only driven forward by her degrading emotions. In truth she's scared more often than not, and still shakes quietly when engaging in battle. The persona of the stoic and powerful comic characters she's looked up to is all she knows in times of crisis, and with SAO itself being a crisis, has had a lot of time to refine it. Regardless it is an overall fragile confidence that can be easily broken in times of powerlessness to reveal the scared child she still believes herself to be. 

Skills

Earned SP: 5
Used SP: 0
Remaining SP: 5

Non-Combat

Passive

Combat

Weapon Skills

Inventory

Col: 2500
Materials: x10 T1

Weapons

Armor

Accessories/Trinkets

Consumables

Unidentified

Roleplay

• Punching a Rock - In Progress
• Fetch! - In Progress
• Gone Camping - In Progress