Zayne

Zayne exclaimed gleefully as his Heft found its mark, dealing heavy damage to the goblin. He was going to win! The math supported his Thorns doing the rest of the work while he kept himself healthy with a potion. It was all going to work out.

Then the crit happened...

That damn crit dealt 11 DMG. The exact amount of Zayne's health bar. His weapon fell to the ground and shattered into hundreds of fractal pieces. Zayne watched in abject horror as his health bar slowly fell. His eyes widened in terror as the number ticked down.

3...

2...

1...

"Bahr..."

His entire life flashed before his eyes in that moment. Every memory, good and bad, played like a slideshow in his head. He had such a bright future. And yet, here he was, dying like a dog to cannon fodder. But in that final moment, there was a sense of calm. He closed his eyes and let himself drift away. Despite it all, he had no regrets. Well, except one. He would have liked to see his friend again.

0...

The moment the value reflected zero, cracks formed upon his avatar. Light poured from the fractures as they spider-webbed over his form. Then, suddenly, he shattered. Zayne - no - Dante Varren ceased to be.

Zayne quickly healed up using a Healing Potion. His health was restored to its maximum value. As soon as he did, the Goblin rushed in, slicing wildly. Zayne’s health was knocked down to slightly above half. But the Goblin suffered 9 DMG from thorns, knocking its health down by another significant chunk. Zayne made ready to use his Sword Art: Heft. Hopefully, it would hit and would do enough damage for the Thorns to do its work.

They separated and began circling one another. The tip of Zayne’s spear began to glow as he did. This was his do or die moment. He’d lay it all on the line here. His heartbeat was quickening. His gaze became more focused. There was something about knowingly putting his life at risk that just made everything slow down. This was different than before. It wasn’t a game anymore. To him, this and real life were no different. He was fighting for his life here.
 

Zayne began to return to town when he encountered a Goblin. The monsters on floor 6 might be a touch stronger than he was prepared for, but he was gonna give it a go anyways. Zayne rushed forward and struck with his Assault Spear. Zayne drove his spear into the Goblin's chest. The Goblin then sliced at Zayne for 9 DMG, putting his HP dangerously low. But the Goblin suffered an additional 9 DMG from the attack.

The two of them separated and began circling one another. Zayne reached into his pack. He couldn’t risk another hit like that. Best to get ready to use a potion than to die to the cannon fodder of the MMO world out here. Thankfully, the goblin seemed to have been programmed to be wary after taking heavy damage, so Zayne was able to get some breathing room. Even though he knew one more hit would do him in, clearly the AI did not.

Zayne traveled up to Floor 6 from the warp point in the Town of Beginnings. Then, he looked down at the coordinates on the map and saw that the Gemini spawned on a hill just outside of town. He made a beeline in that direction, and eventually came to a tall willow tree. From behind the trunk of the aged plant stepped the dark-clad figure from before. He regarded Zayne with a nod and then removed his cloak. He could see that the Gemini was a carbon copy of himself gear, appearance, and all. Zayne could only hope that the Gemini didn't have the Enhancements to his armor that Zayne did.

Then, suddenly, he attacked.

The tip of Gemini's spear was true and hit Zayne right in the center of his chestplate. But his Mitigation reduced the damage to a paltry 1 and then returned 9 points of damage to the Gemini. Zayne was surprised when the Gemini's health suddenly plummeted. For a quest boss, he certainly wasn't very strong. Zayne returned fire with a Basic Attack of his own. He dealt 3 damage against the Gemini's one MIT, but the Gemini didn't die right away. Instead he fell to one knee and looked up at Zayne.

"Hah... You're good. If you spare me I'll teach you about a skill to increase your accuracy.

That sounded awesome. Zayne hadn't done much combat but he was already tired of missing. So, he put away his spear and helped the Gemini too his feet. The Gemini nodded and the skill text appeared in Zayne's menu.

Concentration: Gain 1 ACC until the start of your next turn. 3 turn cooldown.

Pretty baller.

Zayne felt compelled to thank the Gemini, but by the time he looked up from his skill list, the NPC was gone.

Zayne watched the tip of his Assault Spear sail harmlessly past the boar and got a little dejected. But, then the boar smacked him for a Critical Hit that still only did 1 damage. He watched as the boar took 9 Thorns damage for an overkill. It shattered into a shower of fractal shards and a screen popped up for him to accept his loot. Zayne couldn't believe his luck. Not only had he gotten more Col than usual, but he also got some Rare Armor and some materials out of this encounter!

Zayne happily accepted the loot into his inventory. He was satisified with himself thus far. He headed back into town so he could warp up to the location on Floor 6. It was time to fight the Gemini. He could only hope his armor held up against the Gemini as well as it held up against the boars. He’d heard the quest was pretty safe but he still needed to approach it with some degree of caution.
 

It would seem that Zayne’s fears of being stuck in combat for the next two years were completely unfounded. Although his own attack missed, the boar hit him for a tiny amount of damage. But Zayne’s Thorn’s reflected back 9 damage. This left the boar sitting on one HP, its tiny red health flashing in warning. If this was a player, they might think twice about continuing. But this was an NPC and it was programmed to continue fighting until it or its target died.

Which Zayne was thankful for. He would hate to have gone through all of this for nothing. The biggest drawback, other than needing monsters to hit him, to his build was that it just took so much time to kill anything. But then again, he was level 1. That was probably more par for the course than anything else. He could always adjust his build later if he needed to. But he’d wait to see how this worked out when he got to a higher level first.
 

Zayne wheeled around and attempted to jab his spear into the boar's hide. But he fumbled his attack and missed the boar by a mile. Thankfully, the boar was about as smart as Zayne and completely missed his counterattack as well. Zayne turned to keep his eyes on the boar with a slight frown on his face. His gear didn't do him any good if he didn't get hit. He wondered if he was in for a long, drawn-out fight with random level 1 starter area mob.

If that be the case, how long would the Gemini take then? Regardless, Zayne had resolved to actually finish his first quest in 2 years. It wasn't as if he had anywhere else to be. He had all the time in the world to let this boar Headbutt itself to death. Of course, it was rather boring to sit here and watch something slowly tick away at its own health bar. He wondered if you could die of boredom in this game.

Nah. If you could, I'd have died a long time ago.

Zayne had to head up to Floor Six. Before he did so, he wanted to make sure that his gear was up to par. So he headed for the exit of the Town of Beginnings. As he left town, a pair of rampaging Boars crossed his path. On their own, they were weak enough. But with two, the fight could be a little bit tricky. But Zayne came equipped for situations like this. His Armor had been built for Mitigation and Thorns damage. Meaning he could tank most every low-level mob on the lower floors without putting himself into much danger.

He lashed out with his spear and struck the first boar for Critical Damage. He saw the boar's health bar reduce to half from his attack. Then the boar returned fire with a critical strike of its own. Thanks to Zayne's MIT, he was able to come out suffering only one point of damage. The Thorns Enhancement on his armor reflect 9 DMG back to the boar, which resulted in its defeat. The second boar made a wild charge to try and headbutt Zayne but just narrowly missed. It turned around and scraped its hooves against the dirt, getting ready for Round 2.

Like so many days before, Zayne came to that predetermined spot. Only this time, it was at sunset instead of sunrise. He never gave up hope that one day, he would see Bahr and his other friend again. But today he was feeling less hopeful. After all, he was almost an entire day late. Nevertheless, he sat down on the same bench and he waited.

And he waited.

An hour passed and the sun had almost completely disappeared over the horizon. There was still no sign of Bahr.

Figured about as much…

He rose from his seat and kicked a nearby stone, watching it bounce across the street. He reflected on his loneliness. Two years with no real companionship took its toll. Perhaps it was time to give up and move on. They were probably dead anyway. A smirk crossed his features.

No. They’re just doing a quest. I’ll see them tomorrow.

Zayne was setting up his equipment, ensuring everything was ready to go for his first quest. He'd managed to save up enough Col for a Rare chest piece and a vanity Two-Handed Assault Spear from the shop. The Gemini was the name of the quest. He opened up his menu as he stepped out of the shop and hit "accept" on the quest icon. No sooner than he did that did a man clad in a black hood appear.

"You look pretty strong," the figure said.

"I don't know who told you tha-"

"I'm looking to test my skills. If you beat me, I'll teach you a hidden skill. What do you say?"

Oh.

This was the Gemini, the titular NPC of the quest. Zayne nodded to the affirmative and was handed a strip of paper.

"I will be waiting there. See you soon."

Zayne watched the figure walk away. It even moved like a person playing the game. These NPCs were really something. If it weren't for the fact he could literally die the moment he left town, he would have been impressed with Kayaba's work. In any case, he had one more thing to do before he got started on the quest. 

INVENTORY

TOOLS

VANITY ITEMS

BATTLE READY ITEMS
>>  3 HEALING POTIONS

QUEST-SPECIFIC ITEMS

ITEMS/JUNK
>> 10 T1 CRAFTING MATS
>> 5 Yui's Grace

ROLEPLAYS

STATS

LEVEL - 1
HP - 20
EN - 2
DMG - 3
ACC - 0
MIT - 9
EVA - 0

SKILLS

NON-COMBAT
»

PASSIVE
»

COMBAT SKILLS
» 

EXTRA SKILLS
»

WEAPON SKILLS
» TWO-HANDED ASSAULT SPEAR R1
     ➥ +3 DMG WHEN TWO-HANDED WEAPON IS EQUIPPED

ARMOR SKILLS
» 

EQUIPMENT

WEAPONS
» [EQUIPPED] "SPEAR" - TWO-HANDED ASSAULT SPEAR (T1- Vanity)
     

ARMOR
» [EQUIPPED] GILDED ARMOR (T1 - RARE)
     ➥ +9 MIT
     ➥ +9 THORNS

FAMILIAR
» n/a

Username: Zayne
Real name: Dante Varren
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Height: 5'10''
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Red
Blood Type: Pixels
Speech Characteristic: Southern drawl from the Southern East Coast of the United States
Profession: N/A

Personality
Zayne is something of an aloof character. He doesn't get too close to people too quickly. But when he does, he's a loyal, albeit taciturn ally. A natural planner, Zayne can see the myriad ways a situation can go down. He makes plans on the fly, considering all the variables he can fathom. Given the reality he finds himself in, Zayne fits right in with all the gloomy players trapped in the game. His demons are many, some gained as a result of his time here. He doesn't like to talk about them. Instead, he elects to wallow in his own depression and self-pity. Despite it all, there's a small, burning desire in him to become better than what he is and was. His progress has been slow. But it's been progress nonetheless. Zayne is a little adverse to combat within the game. His close brush with death had soured him on the idea of risking his life to try and clear it. Recently though, he's begun to take steps to work around this and get more active. He just wants to go home and he will do anything to do it.

Virtues

Kind
Despite his aloof nature, Zayne is inherently kind-hearted. He goes above and beyond for his friends and even for complete strangers. He doesn't seek new friends easily but he will do friendly things for people.

Level-Headed
Zayne is able to keep a level head in even the most mentally grueling of situations. When other people would become slaves to their emotions, Zayne is able to keep his in check and see a situation for what it actually is. This can sometimes cause conflict with people who think he should be emotional. 

Pragmatic
Zayne is able to form practical plans on the fly by analyzing the situation in front of him. He's especially skilled at playing to his companions' strengths in a given situation. In past MMOs, he was considered the de facto "raid leader" because of this.

Flaws

Aloof
Running counter to his kind-hearted nature, Zayne doesn't take to other people too easily. You'll often find him standing slightly away from a group unless he knows people within it. Coupled with his pragmatic nature, he can be easily confused with being cold. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Rigid
It's Zayne's way or the highway. Because of his ability to plan ahead, he always thinks he has the perfect answer to every situation. And heaven help you if you think he's wrong.

Abrasive
Zayne is blunt to a fault. He isn't afraid to say what he thinks or to call out something dumb as such. This causes him to butt heads with a lot of people, perhaps even burning bridges due to a poor first impression.

Backstory

Zayne grew up in a rather affluent family. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a surgeon. He had three sisters, of which he was the oldest sibling. He followed in his father's footsteps and went to law school, with the goal of becoming a judge later in life. But there was one passion that he could never quite shake. One that was near as consuming as his love for the law.

MMORPGs.

He had played them for years with his friend Bahr and another. When traditional MMOs began getting fazed out for Full Dive technology, Zayne followed the innovations of his passion. VRMMORPGs were in their infancy but offered a sense of immersion otherwise unattainable from the traditional form. The first thing he did when he heard of Sword Art Online's release was to call Bahr and tell him all about the trailer he had seen. Both of them gushed for hours in excitement and anticipation. The months leading up to the game's release felt like years, but it finally happened. Zayne was one of the first in line to get his copy and his NerveGear. The drive home was excruciating as all he wanted to do was get home and play. He'd taken a week's vacation and stocked up on snacks. He was ready for his nerd-out.

Zayne donned his NerveGear and dove into the world of SAO for the first time.

Once there, he immediately met up with his friend Bahr.

After chuckling a bit at the situation they had put themselves in, they decided their first day in the server would be well spent hunting some boars just outside the Town of Beginnings. They sliced, chopped, and stabbed their way through dozens of boars before night drew upon them. As it was nearing the time for their rendezvous, the two decided to sit down in the field an take a short break before returning to town. While discussing their experiences thus far, the discussion of in-game death came up and general speculation about what it might feel like. With a grin, Zayne stood and slashed at him, the blade knicking Bahr's cheek before he could react.

"What the hell, Zayne!?" Bahr shouted, clutching his cheek and jumping to his feet.

Zayne shrugged. "What's the big deal? This way we can figure out what the death sequence in this game is like. Bonus is one of us gets a shortcut back to town!"

"But your cursor..." The two stared up at Zayne's cursor, taking note of its new orange coloration. Again, Zayne shrugged.

"I don't really mind it. Might be interesting to play through the game as an Orange Player, anyways. I've heard it's like hard mode!"
 
Bahr laughed before brandishing his weapon, staring down his rival with a confident grin on his face. "Alright, you're on!" he said, "But whoever loses gets to kill the other later on, yeah? That way we can play through the game as Orange Players together."

So they fought, and Zayne wasn't looking too hot. He was at 1 HP, barely clinging to his health bar. Bahr was good. Really good. Then, he was mysteriously teleported away, back to the Town of Beginnings. He saw the GM and knew what that meant. Probably emergency maintenance or something. He swiped his hand and attempted to log out but there was no button. Hearing the GM's words, he panicked and... accidentally deleted Bahr from his friend's list. Even though there were confirmations, Zayne fumbled the button presses. His hands were shaking too much. He'd almost died just moments before. 

Before he could look around to find Bahr, Zayne's eyes were assaulted by a blinding flash of light. When it faded, everyone's avatar had changed to their real-life appearances. He had never met Bahr in real life so he couldn't pick him out of the crowd. Before he could start rifling through the screen names above everyone's head, the Guard NPCs started attacking him. He was still orange, after all. Zayne dashed out of town and into the wilds. He had to wander for weeks before he could get back to town. Then he waited every day at sunrise for his friends. He would go there every day and wait until the sun was highest in the sky. When his friends didn't appear, he would go on and wander about the town, ingratiating himself with the people. He was too afraid to venture outside for fear of being killed so he just... hung around for two years. Recently though, he decided it was time to go out and try to find a way out of this game.