Oscar

The smell of the food reached Oscar even on his perch upon the rooftops. From such a high vantage, he was able to get the lay of the land much better than if he'd allowed himself to get caught up in the festivities. Well, a little better. He still towered over most of the NPCs. Even so, his attention was drawn to the kid dashing through the crowd like a bat out of Hell. It was weird, but maybe he had somewhere to be. Just like Oscar did. He couldn't very well stand on the roof all day. He leaped from his perch, the sudden shock upon the roof sending snow cascading off the edge and onto the heads of the NPCs below. He soared through the air, arcing high above the chaotic festival and landing heavily just to the right of his friend. Though he'd not noticed it, his impact was sudden and jarring enough that another snowmelt would be loosed upon Elora's head. Though quick feet might avoid his unintentional assault.

"Been a while, buddy," Oscar said. The barmaid passed by carrying another laden with bowls of stew. Quick hands stole one away as she passed. Balancing the dish on the palm of his hand, Oscar dug his spoon into the hot blend and took a bite. Having as high a cooking skill as he did, it was difficult to find NPC-made food that competed. He was very happy this was an exception to that rule. He swallowed his first bite but before he went in for the second, he remembered the weird kid from earlier. "Am I the only one who smells a Quest?"

Oscar walked up to the shop, fresh out of his completion of Breaking the Unbreakable. Seemed kinda dumb to pick up a new Weaponskill and not actually use the weapon. He took note of the "Go Away" sign and elected to ignore it. Instead, he began to pound on the door, hoping to get Setsuna's attention if she was inside.

"Ey! Open up! Don't make me call the boss man. I got an order for you," Oscar bellowed through the closed door. If that didn't work, he didn't have much idea what else to do. Maybe kick it in?

“If it’s safety you’re looking for, avoid the Frontlines,” Oscar said. He didn’t mean to curtail Kyo’s enthusiasm. They needed more like her in their ranks. But to say something was safer implied than any activity beyond hunkering down in the city was safe. None of it was and the distinction was important. Crucial, even. To remain “safe” on the Frontlines required, at least for him, a fundamental shift in perspective. “People have died to the Tutorial, after all.”

None in recent memory that he could recall. But it needed to remain in the back of the mind that regardless of what you did outside the safety of a city, death was an ever-present risk. None of it was inherently safe and when you got extremely reductive with it, nothing was more or less safe than anything else at a certain point. But still, Oscar couldn’t find a fault in Kyo’s logic. It would be easier to fight through the tutorial instead of taking on a Field Boss, certainly. And, if he and NIGHT accompanied her on her task, the threat of death would be about as close to zero as feasible. Oscar didn’t have the measure of the fourth person in their little party, but he felt pretty confident that their presence would only have a positive effect on the overall goal. 

Oscar alone would be enough. Oscar and NIGHT would be overkill. Oscar, NIGHT, and rando? Good as done.

“But I can’t find any issue in your reasoning,” Oscar said. “Take it as a bit of wisdom. You’re putting your neck out no matter what you do out there.” The red-haired rando - who had since introduced himself as Sorun - echoed his sentiments quite well. Oscar could only nod in agreement as the man spoke. When a lull in the conversation finally presented itself, he elected to respond to Sorun’s questions.

“I’m high level, NIGHT’s higher. Technically we’re both Frontliners. She’s the badass and I lag out every fight,” Oscar said. “Although, I think it’s pretty badass that I can lag out with boss aggro and still be alive.”

Oscar very deliberately avoided the introductions. He'd helped lot of newbies and a good chunk of them had either disappeared or decided to return to hunkering in the city. At this point, the rule was make it past the Tutorial quests, and he might bother to remember your name.

Very rarely was Oscar in the right place and the right time. Having arrived on Floor 4 just as the festivities began, he had the good sense to leap onto a nearby rooftop so as not to be completely crushed by the swell of the crowd. When you're six-nine and built like the Statue of David, it's hard to move around on a wide sidewalk, much less smack dab in the middle of a celebration. Looking down at the hustle and bustle, something odd caught his eye. Oscar could pick the Whisper in the Shadows out of a crowd pretty easily. Not just because they were buds, but because Player Characters stood out. It was the eyes, really. When the peepers glow like a pair of headlights, it tends turn attention your way. As the surge of people hemmed him in from all directions, the instinct had been to give the poor fella a hand. 

For about 2.2 seconds.

Watching the man get battered by the crowd like a newborn sea turtle in stormy seas was the funniest goddamn thing he'd seen in months. To his credit, Freyd went with the flow. He looked like he was having fun. Which was weird. If he hadn't just seen it with his own eyes, he would have called bullshit. Freyd getting down at a random NPC festival? No fuckin' way. And yet, here he was allowing himself to get carried away by the festivities. As much as he wanted to talk smack in this moment, it did Oscar's heart some good to see his friend cutting loose once in a while. He could talk shit later. For now, he'd lean against the chimney of the house he was perched upon and enjoy the scene from afar. He didn't want to take up too much off the already demanded real estate.

But oh boy, would he not let Freyd hear the end of this one.

Oscar consumes: 
1 Portion - Gugnir’s Shard (Untradeable/Unique/Reusable Consumable): Crème Brûlée Tray | ACC 2 | Feast (5/6) -> (4/6)
Liquor of Light - +3 DMG
Evasion Dog - +2 EVA

Mega Slime Farm Used +10% EXP to thread, next use on 12/22/2023

CS Eval

► Veteran
Cost: 10 SP
Passive
Requirements: Any Rank 5 Weapon Skill, Quick Change Skill
Effect: Choose two Weapon types. Declare one as Primary and one as Secondary. The Secondary Weapon now shares all Weapon Skill Ranks, Mods, and Shifts as the Primary Weapon. If Quick Change is used to switch between the two weapons types, Quick Change's effective Cooldown is reduced by one turn.
Description: Adaptability is a crucial skill in combat. Those experienced in battle understand that sometimes, a single weapon doesn't cut it.

Oscar made his way back to town. Stowing his weapon up his sleeve, he strode calmly toward the Teleport Platform. If he committed to this, there wasn’t any going back. He would land himself firmly back upon Tyson’s radar. The boy would stop at nothing to see him destroyed. He stopped just short of the platform, his eyes tracing the spaces between the bricks as he struggled with the decision. He considered the danger, but he’d also considered how much he’d given up in the name of his silent war with his former ward. Was Tyson not winning by forcing Oscar’s back to a wall? What would his self-sacrifice actually accomplish? It certainly wasn’t getting him any closer to putting this vendetta to bed.

He took a step forward, his feet clacking against the stone. Oscar took a deep breath. If this unleashed Hell, so be it. Hellfire didn’t burn nearly as hot as his rage.

“Deepedge!”

Enveloped in a shroud of light, Oscar was flung through space as he descended down to Aincrad’s lower floors. Scenery shifted and twisted. Sounds bled into silence as he screamed through space. All at once, his senses were assaulted by the familiar sights and sounds of the main hub of his home Floor. Though he looked different than he usually did, there was no hiding his name plate as he walked down the main path to the gate. He kept his eyes peeled, watching from his periphery for anyone a little too interested in his sudden reappearance.

His feet carried him along the path he’d walked for every quest and every outing he’d ever done or made. How deeply had it been ingrained in him. Relying almost entirely upon his muscle memory, Oscar almost danced up the path as he dodge every errant stone or root. Before long, the white marble walls of his home peeked over the top of the hill. Passing through the gate, he approached the door. Trembling hands reached for the knob. Why was he so nervous? This was his home. Turning it, the door swung inward. Oscar stepped over the threshold.

As if it too yearned for the return of its master, every light flicked on as he entered the main foyer. Everything was precisely as he had left it. Not a speck of dust or a single item was out of place. Out of habit, he turned to the left down the left hallway. Opening the first door on the right, he stepped into the room. Some fraction of him hoped that Cordelia would be there, waiting to scream at him for leaving for so long. But she wasn’t. He couldn’t blame her. He couldn’t blame anyone. When you push people away, you can’t be surprised when they get the hint. Just like the rest of his home, the small apartment he’d crafted for her and him looked frozen in time.

The sheets on their bed were just as twisted as the last time it had been slept in. Looking around, each item within was another memory that turned the dagger in his chest. He hadn’t regretted his choices. It was the best play at the time. But it was still selfish. He had all but destroyed everything that he’d fought so hard to earn. He stepped out of the room. There was no undoing what he’d done. Time marches on and so would he. Turning back to face the door, he opened his menu. A few quick presses and a confirmation screen appeared. 

Delete Room? 

He froze. It seemed so final to abandon hope like that. His face contorted as he wrestled with the decision. Finally, his finger tapped the green button and the doorway began to fade away. She was gone, it seemed only fitting the room followed suit. Try as he might, he couldn’t delete the memories. While it might have all been easier if he could, they were about all he had left. A brief moment of happiness before all Hell broke loose.

He would move on. More importantly, Tyson would not take anything else from him. He would not take anyone else. His thoughts flicked back to the young father whose life had been claimed in their feud. For his sake - for the sake of everyone he cared for - it was time to end this.

Oscar heard a familiar bark behind him. Wiping his eyes, the man turned. His familiar sat in the entrance to the hallway. Wagging his two tails, the two-headed Cerberus sat on his haunches, absolutely delighted to see his prodigal master return. Oscar knew the creature did only what Cardinal programmed, but at this point he didn’t care. How long had the hound kept up his vigil? He walked over and took a knee in front of Leeroy & Jenkins. With a smile, Oscar scratched both heads behind their ears.

“I’m back guys, did you miss me?”
 

One more wave and he could go home. It gave him pause. How long had it been since he’d actually been home? He wondered what state of disrepair the old manor was in nowadays. Was it time to end his self-imposed exile? He’d kept his distance from everything and everyone for their own safety. But a part of him still yearned for some sense of normalcy. Was he truly willing to put things at risk for his own comfort? No. But he was willing to take a more active role in reclaiming it. He’d bided his time, sat and waited, for long enough. His sudden reappearance would be enough to give his enemies pause - even for a bit. Perhaps he’d learned something from the quest after all. Nothing would get done if he remained passive. Sometimes when there’s something in your way, the best course of action is to break right on through.

Was all of this an exercise in futility? How exactly was he meant to come up with the SP to master an entirely new weapon with any sort of expediency? While actively mastering the weapon type hadn’t been his immediate goal - it had been the sweet, sweet AoE Stun TECH - the fact that it would sit in his skill list, not maxed would fundamentally bother him. Were there even enough quests to push him over that hump? He really doubted it. He had already been struggling to scrape by at like level 50. Now that he was almost 40 levels higher, he didn’t imagine that the situation would have improved overmuch. He supposed that he would simply need to buckle down and get it done. There wasn’t much else to be done about it. He had made his choice, after all. While he probably should have foreseen this issue, there wasn’t much use in crying about it after the fact.

It was the screaming that did it, really.

It had been quite some time since Oscar had graced the humble streets of the Town of Beginnings. It felt like an eternity, really. Since he'd gone to ground over that whole clusterfuck a while back, it simply hadn't been safe for him around all the newbies. But, things change. More specifically, his feelings on the matter. Far as he was concerned, let them come. They didn't want this smoke, even if they were sure they did.

But the screaming.

Oscar had scarcely taken a step off of the Teleport Platform when his ears were assaulted by the clarion call of a noob on the hunt. He turned quickly, emerald eyes hunting for the source of the sound. And there it was a green-haired woman accompanied by NIGHT of all people. Things had certainly become interesting. He'd not caught up with his old Guildmate in quite some time. He'd heard she'd become quite the fearsome Player since his days in The Tarot.

Shoving both hands into his pockets, he approached the pair. His coming was preceded by a fiery-haired individual. Oscar didn't know them and getting to know them wasn't really at the top of his to-do list. Standing on the fringes, Oscar cleared his throat.

"NIGHT. It's been a while. Been busy helping newbies?"

No sooner than Oscar's hunt had reached its crescendo did he receive the call. His old haunts on the first floor harkened back to a simpler time - before Oscar decided to get involved in things earnestly. From the square all, the sights and sounds of the Town of Beginnings pulled memories of the before times to the front of his mind. 

He had been gone for some time. Things had mostly shaken out in the aftermath of his war. He thought it best to lay low and keep his distance lest history repeat itself. Some disgruntled former Guildmate of his ward could always very easily cause more than a few issues for Oscar and those he cared for. Still, chief among his duties was to answer the call.

The end goal never changes, after all.

So did the Beast enter the shop. He small smile crept over his features as his eyes settled upon a familiar face. His time in Tarot was enjoyable. But like his memories of himself before he found his spine here, such joyful thoughts were enough to make a man sick.

He picked up one of the flyers and gave it a once over. "You know. I got my information from a random guy on Floor 4. How am I the first one here?"

//stats and formatting when home <3

It was a classic Catch-22. He didn’t want to become overly-reliant on the System, but it would be infinitely more efficient to allow Cardinal to do most of the heavy lifting for him. How else was he meant to gather the veritable mountain of required resources to make a pair of Handwraps that would compete with his Katana? Manually? Like a monster? He didn’t think so. While he had done his fair share of grinding his face against the cheese grater, he simply didn’t want it badly enough to justify giving it his full attention. Still, it would be a while yet before he had the SP necessary to master Martial Arts and purchase all of the required Mods. Maybe he’d be done with the weapon in its entirety by then. It dawned on him just what kind of mountain he’d had in front of him. SP wasn’t as easy to come by at his level, after all.
 

With no time to waste, Oscar slammed into another group. Actually aiming was a foregone conclusion. It was literally impossible for him to miss his targets. It was perhaps a good thing that he was taking the time to learn a new type of weapon. He felt like he’d become a little bit too reliant on Absolute Accuracy. It was great for situations like this, but in more serious engagements, he would much rather rely on his own time-tested abilities. He’d never been one to let the System aim for him. While it was good to be able to turn his brain off against enemies that couldn’t possibly kill him if he went afk for two years, he didn’t want that to dull his edge. He’d need to make a point to tackle some of Aincrad’s more difficult pieces of content to keep his skills up. To do that, however, he needed to work on a new weapon.

Heading out of town, Oscar set upon the nearest group of mobs in close proximity to one another. Water Elementals were a nice change of pace from the spiders. He was sure that, at this point, he had absolutely devastated the ecosystem of Floor 21. So much the better. No one liked spiders. He was surprised though. Despite the creatures being native to a Floor six higher than his previous haunt, they died just as easily. Had Cardinal enacted some sort of cap? If so, it would certainly make things all the easier. He noticed, however, that he was a bit rusty. Or, perhaps, unfamiliar with the weapon. While it was true he’d once wielded a katana, he’d been using an axe for so long the muscle memory was still there. Maybe a nice, solid grinding session was just what the doctor ordered to get his old forgotten mojo back

Despite being part of the Raid that ultimately unlocked the Floor, Oscar as of yet had not been to Floor 27. After teleporting to the new town, Oscar’s eyes needed time to adjust to the darkness. Once they had, Oscar realized that the floor was much like Floor 21. It was dark. There was a ton of ore. And it was a pretty bustling hub. That being said, it seemed more in tune with nature than the industrial mining operation that was going on on Floor 21. Still, it would make for some interesting - if not samey - grinding. Oscar had somehow run out of money. While he was out doing a quest, it seemed like a good idea to start filling his wallet back up in the meantime. Shlorping down a <<Golden Dog>>, Oscar re-equipped his weapon. Once that was done, it was time to head out to start halberding hellspawn.

Without breaking his gaze from the NPC, Oscar shot his fist out to the side and slammed his fist into the stone. The Boulder’s HP hit zero and the entire thing shattered like glass. It barely had enough time to scatter on the wind before a second boulder manifested itself in its place for the next person to undertake the quest. The NPC, however, hadn’t noticed this.

“Good, good,” it said. “You have proven you have the strength of will and wit to undertake the long and arduous journey to become a Martial Artist. Mastering this skill will take lifetimes, but I shall induct you on the basics.”

What the NPC said and what Oscar heard were two entirely different things. He walked out of the monastery the second that the completion screen popped up in front of him. Somewhere around “good” and “proven.” He was on his way to other, better places.
 

In his haste, Oscar didn’t give his hand the requisite time to stop throbbing. He threw yet another punch, but immediately thought better of it. He stopped his fist a hairsbreadth from the surface of the stone. The NPC used this moment to chime in.

“You must draw upon what you’ve learned to destroy the stone. It is a matter of strength and wit. You won’t be able to use simple brute force.”

At that, Oscar rose to his full height. He turned to the NPC and blinked slowly. It was as if what was going on in front of the NPC didn’t at all factor into whatever lines it spouted out. He’d all but crushed the stone in two blows. It would have been three if he hadn’t just stopped himself.

“Starting to miss Sundered Spire,” Oscar said. “This one has one brain cell bouncing around in his skull like a screensaver.”
 

He took another breath, waiting for the throbbing to subside before even thinking about winding up for a second strike. While he was cognitively aware that he wouldn’t do any real damage, the pain inhibitors being pushed to their limits gave him pause. He was striking with a fair amount of force, after all. Sure, he wouldn’t shatter his hand. But, he certainly didn’t want to feel as if he had. Once the throbbing had subsided and he was content the pain inhibitors had “caught up,” he rocked the stone with yet another heavy blow. The rafters of the monastery shudder, cascading dust down towards the floor. He wouldn’t be surprised if people back in town would be able to hear the commotion. The idea of people coming to investigate gave him a certain sense of urgency and he was of the mind to finish as quickly as possible lest any prying eyes see him.

Oscar squared up with the rock. As he stepped in front of it, a health bar appeared above it. <<The Boulder>>, it was called. Taking a closer look at the health values, Oscar realized that this wouldn’t be a problem. Even without his weapon, between his base damage and the bonus damage from the first two tasks in the quest, it would only take three or so hits to drop it HP to zero. He took a breath and cocked back his arm. Pulling his hand back across his chest as if he were drawing a bow, he paused for a moment. Then, like a bolt of lightning, his closed fist shot forward. Upon colliding with the stone, the wind displaced by the force of the blow kicked sent the thin layer of snow flying out in all directions. He took a beat before preparing for his second blow. The pain inhibitors built into the system seemed to have been overwhelmed to the point where his hand felt as if it were throbbing. 

“The final trial is to break this boulder with your bare hands. You may not use any weapons or skills. Only your fists. Show me the fruits of your labors in the last two tasks,” the NPC said.

All of that only for the climax of the quest to be a bar brawl with a buxom boulder. Oscar couldn’t hide his disappointment. Every other part of the quest had been vastly more difficult than this one. Oscar could hit things all day. It wasn’t anything new to him. Yet, here he was, stuck fighting an inanimate object. He’d heard bad things about this quest and Cardinal’s recent patch had probably improved it, but Oscar couldn’t have possibly imagined that everything that he’d done thus far would have coalesced like this. The quest was called <<Breaking the Unbreakable>> so maybe he should have expected something dumb like this. After all, he’d just had the thought that the System couldn’t pit you up against something threatening if it assumed you didn’t even have a weaponskill unlocked.

“Next, you must meditate under this waterfall until you discover where you draw your strength,” the NPC said.

Paint-by-numbers kung-fu flick. Still, Oscar didn’t protest when the NPC guided him to a waterfall just outside of the monastery. Oscar hopped across the stones at the bottom of the cascade and planted himself under the icy spray. Sitting cross-legged over upon a stone directly under the falls, Oscar closed his eyes and folded his hands in his lap. Then, two seconds later, he hopped up, skipped back across the stones, and rejoined the NPC. 

“I don’t need to meditate under a waterfall to understand myself. I know me better than anyone. Let’s just get one with the quest. I’m done with letting this game get me all introspective and trying to make me doubt myself,” Oscar said.

The NPC nodded and led Oscar away from the falls back to the garden proper. With the first two tasks done, it was time for the final trial.
 

How exactly was this meant to be difficult? It wasn’t as if Oscar was actually feeling any fatigue from this. Not that it would be much more than a warm-up for him in the real world. He was in very good physical condition before he got stuck in the game. Perhaps in his current state, he would have trouble with the task, but certainly not on day one of the game. He ground out the push-ups in short order, then the sit ups. The laps took time. Still, a nice jog was a good way to clear his mind, even if the endorphins weren’t actually physically pumping. After he finished, he stopped in front of the NPC. To Oscar’s surprise, the monk seemed astonished that Oscar had finished so quickly.

“That was meant to be more difficult. Could it be that your body is already honed from battle?”

“Well I’ve suplexed a pirate ship, so,” Oscar said in response.

As he crossed the threshold into the monastery, he was greeted by an NPC. He’d seen enough kung-fu flicks in the past to know where this was going. The NPC spoke as Oscar approached as Oscar shook off the snow from his jacket.

“Why have you come he-”

“Skip,” Oscar said.

An awkward pause passed between the two as the NPC made no motions about getting on with the quest. With an annoyed sigh, Oscar realized that he would need to play along with the quest if he wanted to get anywhere.

“I’ve come from far away to learn martial arts from a master,” Oscar said flatly.

“I will only train those who can prove to me that they are ready,” the NPC said. “Three tasks are ahead of you. You must hone your body and mind before I will train you. Come.”

The NPC led Oscar to a large garden with a massive boulder in the middle of it. “First is the Trial of the Body. 100 Push-Ups, 100 Sit-Ups, 500 Laps around the garden. Go."

Now, one would expect Oscar to simply lift himself up to the ledge he was hanging from. But no, that wasn’t Oscar’s style. Even at the worst of times, he needed to have some sort of eccentric flair going on. The flair here being that Oscar flung himself up several dozen meters to a hand-hold far above him. Flying through the air like a rocket, he would skip massive portions. Much like when one goes up steps two or three at a time, Oscar would skip fifty feet or more each time he launched himself off of a handhold. Climbing like that was not only faster than his previous method - or even the intended method - but it was a hell of a lot more fun. In short order, Oscar found himself at the monastery where the quest proper was meant to take place. He thought that he own home was in a precarious location, but a monastery literally built into the side of a mountain showed him he had much to learn about placement,.

Funny as it was to watch a man penguin walk up the side of a mountain with no concern with petty trivialities such as collision or physics or caring about the proper path the game provided, it was even funnier to watch him skid back down to the ground with a sour expression on his face. As his feet touched down back on the surface, he clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Welp, there’s more than one way to skin a cat,” Oscar said. He was absolutely determined not to do this quest the way Cardinal told him to do it. He strode over to the first ledge. Instead of hoisting himself up and starting his climb from the bottom, he gripped the ledge with both hands and hung there for a moment. His massive frame didn’t do him any favors as he could almost reach the ledge flat-footed. With his feet only a couple inches off the ground, Oscar pushed down with both hands.

The issue with Oscar’s preferred method of travel was that, eventually, you’re going to run into a bit of game geometry that didn’t work like you thought it would. Even with poor balance, wedging yourself in between two inclines would give you some small amount of height which, if you shuffled your feet, you could build upon to force yourself up even higher. This was standard, even if unintended by the developers. But, there were some such formations that worked properly. Which is real life gravity and physics - or a rough approximation thereof - would suddenly kick in and all of a sudden you find yourself slowly sliding back down to first “proper” footing your feet could find. And when it just so happens the first “proper” footing is the base of the mountain you’re currently halfway up, you can really do nothing but sit and twiddle your thumbs while doing whatever you can to keep yourself from flying off the surface into a freefall.