Oscar

And so it began. As they approached the Monkey King’s lair, Sewallus twisted out of Oscar’s grip. His scripting set him into combat mode. Steel was bared and the man surged on ahead. Oscar was keen to let him do it, instead letting out a heavy sigh and drawing his weapon. He walked slowly, watching as Sewallus quickly put distance between them. And then he saw it. The Monkey King. A hulking brute of black fur and thick, sinewy muscle. There was a time when Oscar feared such a thing. A time when one blow from those powerful arms would have left him reeling, unable to take another hit. Those day

Oscar’s prior experience with the quest made Sewallus’ attempts at automated exposition a bit of a moot point. He knew exactly where to find the boss, knew exactly what the boss could do. And if not for the fact that the NPC was instrumental in unlocking a new Sword Art, Oscar would have been perfectly content to leave him behind. This was not a Quest Oscar took seriously. But, then again, there was nothing about the game other than the ultimate consequence that Oscar took seriously. It was all distraction. Fluff. Meaningless drivel meant to obfuscate the fact that everyone was well and truly

It was difficult not to feel nostalgic as he walked through Florenthia. So much had changed, but so much had also remained the same. The songbirds fluttering through the canopy, their chirps filling the air with a delightful melody. The sounds of the wind rustling through the leaves, the feeling of the wood beneath his boots. Oscar had to admit, when he really took a notion to stop and smell the roses, Aincrad was a beautiful place. Even if that beauty was marred by the fact that so many people were trapped in their own personal Hell. Walking smoothly, hands in his pockets, Oscar encountered S

The Monkey King. As Oscar recalled, it was the first Quest that he had really, truly challenged himself with. The first boss that he’d tackled solo. The first true risk he took within the game. There had been many of those since. It had been necessary to reach the point he was at now. Powerful, useful. A Player worth a damn focused on getting everyone home and protecting them from the monsters on the fringes while they were here. So he found himself amused that things had all come full-circle. Here he was, battle-worn but no less motivated, undertaking the very first challenge he ever gave him

Oscar had gotten distracted and hadn't realized that NIGHT had finished his commission in short order. Finally, though, he was cleaning out his inbox and noticed the message and made a beeline straight for The Evening Star to pick up his new toy. As he plucked the trinket off the counter, he wanted to stop and ask if NIGHT had enjoyed her meal. But after discovering that she was nowhere to be found, he decided it best to move on. He was still on the outs with the Tarot as things stood. And while NIGHT hadn't outright voiced her support to one side of the schism or the other, he thought it best

Oscar didn't want to ruin the mood. Clearly Elora was in her heroine arc and Freyd was working through something. But the boss was so tantalizingly close to death. Health bar firmly in the red, barely a sliver left. Oscar almost started salivating. It was so rare to come across an enemy so firmly within the sweet spot that Oscar liked to call "Bonkin' Range." The warrior surged forward. There were war cries and actual cries. Oscar raised his weapon and brought it down cleanly upon the crown of the boss's head. His blade cut cleanly and then stopped as it encountered resistance. For a mome

Oscar didn't really have any idea on what to do next. The System had made him quite lazy. In the past, there was an objective and an arrow and all he needed to do was follow them to wherever it was he needed to be. Things were different now... somehow. But he was nothing if not prepared. It was rare that he put his Searching skill to use unless he was searching spider pockets for incredible dosh. Without a word to the party, Oscar headed off in the direction the kid had run. It grew colder the further away from the town he got. Which was weird, because the sun didn't work like that. Event

It caught him off guard when the woman whirled around. Oscar had been altogether too used to having to crane his neck down at an awkward angle in order to meet someone’s eyeline. It was interesting to meet another freak of nature. And as she glared up at him, Oscar merely cocked an eyebrow. The silent exchange barely lasted a moment before she turned her efforts back towards bullying the poor, impotent man. It was quite endearing, but it put him off his game. Too many bleeding hearts and all. Together, the trio left the chaos of the bar. Oscar didn’t make an effort to join them on the ben

Gungnir's Shard - Crafter's Respite used

Oh it had been a while. Oscar was always gobsmacked to discover the changes he missed between Raids. It seemed as if every time he blinked, there was something new to be discovered with his friends and associates. NIGHT was perhaps the epitome of this phenomenon. He'd watched - albeit tangentially - her grow from a newbie in Tarot to the exceptional Player - and Crafter - she'd become. And it was for the latter that he darkened her doorstep. He knew of no better (or other, if he were being honest) Artisans and her work had proven to be indispensable to him in the past. So there was simply no o

"Didn't take long for them to spring one on us. Here I thought the festival might last a day before something significant turned up. Guess I should have known better..." Oscar merely shrugged. "You know how it is. Something weird happens, Players show up, and then Cardinal sends it," he said. The game was rife with distractions. Perhaps an effort by the System to keep the Players from completely coming undone once the realization set in. Oscar had fallen victim to that too, once or twice. In the dark of the night with nothing to occupy oneself but their thoughts. It hadn't happened in a w

It was that time again. A Labyrinth was cleared and the way to the next Floor Boss lay open. It was time for Oscar to take a break from his usual extracurriculars and get back to work. The Frontlines seemed more focused since he'd last seen them. More organized. Farming groups had appeared and old associates reached out to one another, searching high and low for aid in the endeavor. Perhaps Oscar had judged them too harshly after that debacle with Gabrandr. Regardless, he was all too happy to assist where he was able. He kept to himself in between Raids, but even he was aware of the sudden tan

8-1 Crafts Gungnir's Shard - Crafter's Respite used

Rowdy bars were not Oscar’s usual climate, but he went where the card games were. On the higher floors, the players were better. But the struggle was still the same. Losing a few thousand Col on a game of Hold ‘Em was a bit of charity he could get behind. Problem was, he was staring down pocket Aces with the Ace of Hearts on the river. His constant losses up til this point had made the Players at the table bolder, throwing in on ballsy bets to take more of his money. His hand rested on his cards, occasionally lifting the corners to double check. He looked nervous and unlike the other times he

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 hea

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 ou

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 ou

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-sa

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 pau