Oscar

It was time for the final blow. Oscar dashed forward, heedless of the pain shooting up his side and swung his blade around in an irregular arc. The steel cut through the stone like butter. The Sword Art - Gen Getsu - depleted the remainder of the Golem's health bar. The creature crumbled to dust and rubble soon after Oscar's attack landed true. As if to add insult to injury, the loot he got after all that trouble was just awful. All he got was some Col and Materials. But, he was ultimately grateful for whatever he obtained. After all, he could have lost his life in that combat encounter. Every time he fought something, it was a very real risk that he would die. He was thankful that he didn't. Oscar sheathed his blade and made it over to Gob-Gob. Turning the corner around the rock, he saw Gob-Gob relaxing in the sun, completely oblivious to the battle on the other side. It could only bring a smile to Oscar's face.

Again, Oscar rushed in. But this time, he didn't jump. Instead, he slashed at the Golem's legs. He performed a heavy half-moon slash, slashing a heavy gash into the creature's legs. The Golem responded by slamming its fist into Oscar's chest. Oscar was sent skidding backwards, but remained on his feet. Despite the pain and damage, he was happy that he'd finally landed a hit. The malefic visions of Tyson's death had finally retreated to the dark recesses of his mind. He looked up at the Golem's health bar. It was in the red. One more clean hit would end the combat and Oscar could go back to focusing on Gob-Gob. Given the way this fight had gone, he definitely knew that he wanted Gob-Gob's Mastery to grant him Accuracy. Four misses in a row was just absolutely ridiculous. It definitely gave him a reason to redouble his efforts and try to train up Gob-Gob as soon as possible.

Gob-Gob was safe. This was good. It meant that Oscar could focus on the enemy without worrying over Gob-Gob's safety. He dashed forward again. And was instantly met with a fist. Oscar flew backwards and landed hard on a flat stone. His head hurt and his ears were ringing from the force of the blow. The rumbling started again as the Golem took step after heavy step. Oscar slowly rose to his feet, the pain almost unbearable, and made ready to continue. It seemed the Golem didn't move forward unless Oscar was incapacitated. He could use this to his advantage. He waited for a few seconds for the pain sensor to abate and then lifted his blade. One good thing about the game was that pain from "injuries" didn't last very long at all. In contrast to the real world, he'd be in pain for months after even one hit from this creature. He cleared the mechanism, focusing on nothing but his sword and the enemy. The visions of Tyson melted away as his focus homed in on the Golem.

Oscar dashed forward, his boots thundering against the ground with every step. When he was close enough, he used his moment to carry him up and forward. He brought his sword back to strike. Then he was instantly punched by the Golem. Oscar was sent sailing backwards where he eventually landed on the hard stone ground. The blow knocked the wind out of him and sent ripples of white-hot pain through his body. Oscar groaned and rolled over onto his back as he waited for the pain to abate just a bit. He felt the rumbling of the earth as the Golem advanced. Realizing what was happening, Oscar shot straight up. His ribs protested as he dipped into a battle stance, which stopped the Golem's forward march.

"Gob-Gob! Back off to a safe distance!" Oscar shouted to his familiar. Grabbing the javelins and discs, Gob-Gob ran a few feet backwards and hid behind a rock. 

Oscar dashed forward again, charging another Ra Setsu. He leaped into the air once more and missed his target by a mile. But again, gravity was on his side and pulled him back down to earth as the Golem swatted at him. He landed and hopped back, looking towards Gob-Gob who was staying safely out of the fight.

"Good," he thought. He turned his attention back to the Golem. He couldn't be forced back yet. Gob-Gob would be put in danger and this whole thing would be for nothing. The poor familiar couldn't defend itself and he doubted that it could take much damage at all. Especially not the numbers the Golem was capable of dishing out. By focusing on Gob-Gob, the visions of Tyson abated a bit. Oscar was thankful for the relief. He was free to focus more on the combat now that Tyson's face at the moment of is death wasn't flashing so incessantly in his head.

"Rasetsu!" Oscar roared as he charged forward.

He leaped into the air, doing a forward somersault to provide more force to his initial blow. He struck like lightning, the first slice carving a deep scar into the Golem's face. Oscar then dealt a stunning punch to the Golem, followed by a second slash. He then kicked off of the Golem's damaged face and performed another feat of acrobatics to gain some distance. He landed on his feet and adjusted so that the now-stunned Golem was firmly in his crosshairs. His hands were shaking from the rage that had built up inside of him. Oscar twisted his wrist, flourishing his blade before bringing it in front of him. No matter what he tried though, he couldn't get the visions of Tyson out of his mind. Rage didn't do it. It just made everything worse. He felt a tightness in his chest; heartache. He missed that kid so much.

Oscar landed lightly on the ground and dashed forward again. He leaped into the air and and sliced at the Golem again. A close miss, but a miss nonetheless. This time, however, he was close enough to the enemy to kick off of its face. He sailed backwards, his body rotating head over heels. The golem launched a mighty punch. Suspended in midair like this, Oscar wouldn't be able to dodge as easily. Fortunately, the Golem misjudged the distance and just barely missed the azure clad man. He landed lightly on his feet and adjusted so that he was facing the Golem. Visions of Tyson's death kept playing in his head. He buried his face in his free hand, as if being unable to see would purge the visions from his mind. Alas, they did not. Like a video on repeat, the visions continued. With each repetition, Oscar's rage grew. He was angry at the world. He would bring it all to bear against this Golem.

The Golem had respawned again. Oscar stood just outside of it's aggro range. He took a steadying breath and drew his sword before stepping forward. The moment he crossed that invisible line, the Golem's attention snapped to him. Oscar dashed forward and jumped high into the air. He misjudged his distance and his first slash missed the target by a mile. Because he wasn't anywhere close to the Golem, he couldn't use its face to kick off and perform another backflip. He fell straight down like a rock. Luckily, this prevented the Golem from hitting him, which in turn activated his Savvy Enhancement. He would be more accurate in the next round. Hopefully, he could land a stun on the Golem and deal some heavy damage. If not, then this fight would drag on for ages. Oscar shuddered at the thought. But his mind kept going to back to Tyson. Flashes of that fateful day kept playing over and over in his mind, throwing his focus off.

Oscar awoke from his nap. He felt rather melancholic. With a sigh, he rose up from the rock and made for the basket containing the discs. When Gob-Gob saw him coming, he grabbed a javelin from the stump and made ready to throw it at the disc. Oscar made sure that Gob-Gob was following the round clay object before tossing it high into the air. Gob-Gob took aim and let the javelin fly, piercing the disc and shattering it into a million tiny fractals. Oscar smiled half-heartedly and gave Gob-Gob a fist-bump.

"Nice job buddy."

This whole experience was reminding him too much of Tyson. But he needed to confront those feelings. The only way to lay Tyson's ghost to rest is to finally let go of all the hate and negativity. This wouldn't just be a growing experience for Gob-Gob. Oscar would grow too. He would evolve and be better tomorrow than he was today.

The bright sun of Aincrad was shining just outside The Town of Beginnings. Oscar and another player were killing boars, having some laughs, and generally enjoying each other's company.

"I tell ya Tyson, this game is pretty fun. I'm glad you got me into it."

Tyson pulled his sword out of a boar. It then shattered into a million pieces. He turned to Oscar and gave him that same prideful smile he'd seen on that very first day.

"See? I told you! I'm glad you decided to play with me."

Oscar smiled and patted the boy's avatar's head. "Of course kiddo. I enjoy spending time with you."

Just then, a boar charged forward. Tyson's health was super low, one more hit would kill him. Oscar reacted too late to move the boy out of the way and the boar's tusks were driven deep into his back. Tyson's eyes widened in surprise as his avatar shattered into a million fractal shards. Oscar sighed and dispatched the boar.

"Guess I'd better meet up with him then."

Before he could take another step, he was teleported away.

Oscar put away his weapon and then found a flat rock to lie down on. His energy needed to regenerate and he needed a bit of a nap. Those golems had been the hardest enemies he'd fought to date and they were quite tough. He was in a good spot though. He could rest or train Gob-Gob and then be ready when the golem's respawn timer was up. In this way, he could collect plenty of loot and also help Gob-Gob learn his Familiar Mastery skill. His eyes slowly closed and his breathing slowed. A nap would be just what the doctor ordered. While he rested, Gob-Gob kept throwing javelins at a tree trunk, practicing for the next time Oscar threw a disc into the air. The dull thumping was just rhythmic enough to be relaxing. Darkness slowly covered his vision and he began to slumber. Though his rest would not be peaceful.

Oscar rushed in. The black blade of Bloody Howl was juxtaposed by a shining pink aura. Even though he was going to make an unnecessary attack, it didn't mean that he had to blow a ton of energy to do it. Han'ei would be more than sufficient to finishing off the Golem. He stopped in front of the creature and planted his feet. He brought his blade above his head and down again, tracing a rose-colored line in the air as he did. The first blow just barely missed the creature's stony hide. The follow-up slash also missed. Oscar would have been upset had the Golem not begun to crumble into rubble from the Bleed tick. Oscar looked down and collected his loot. When he saw that he'd lucked into an Unidentified Perfect Weapon, his jaw dropped. He'd have to make sure to get that identified posthaste. Maybe he'd have another sword to add to his collection! At least until he reached Tier 2.

Since the last stun went over so well, Oscar attempted the same maneuver. He leaped off of the ground, slashing at the golem's face. He delivered a second stunning punch and a follow-up slash before kicking off of the Golem again. Only this time, the stun didn't go off. The Golem's fist sailed harmlessly by Oscar as he pushed off of the creature with a acrobatic back-flip. He landed lightly on the ground and corrected his posture, facing the enemy with this sword held out in front of him. Apparently, you couldn't chain-stun enemies in this game. It was all good, though. The Golem's health was so low that bleed would take care of it. He would attack again anyway. It was guaranteed that the fight would be over next round, but he didn't have anything better to do. He had some leeway in how to use his sword arts or make his basic attacks. A little more practice never hurt anybody.

Just as Oscar expected, the Golem respawned. Oscar rushed in quickly, drawing Bloody Howl from its scabbard. He brought his blade down low, twisting the edge to face the stone golem. Then, he leaped into the air, right into the Golem's face. He delivered a horizontal slash to the head of the golem, then followed it up with a punch from his free hand. As gravity began to take hold again, Oscar delivered another slash and then kicked off of the Golem. He performed a beautiful backflip and landed nimbly on his feet. Oscar rolled his wrist, spinning his blade a few times. Then, he placed both hands on the blade and held it straight up in front of him. The Golem was dazed and couldn't act this turn. On top of that, Oscar had successfully got a Critical Hit on the creature. Bloody Howl's Bleed enhancement had it losing additional health every turn. The fight was looking good so far.

A sharp tug on his pants pulled him out of his reverie. Oscar looked down and saw Gob-Gob holding a tiny javelin and pointing to the basket of clay discs. Oscar smiled and grabbed on of the discs. He moved it up and down, side to side, making sure that Gob-Gob was following it. Then, he threw it into the air. Gob-Gob took aim, leading the target. Then he let the javelin fly. There was the sound of clay being shattered. The clay disc had been completely destroyed and chunks of clay rained down from the sky. Gob-Gob beamed with pride. He wore the same expression that Tyson had that first day, when they went to the shooting range. Ultimately, that that day was what led Oscar to being here, stuck in Aincrad. Even so, he only had one regret.

Oscar surmised that it was about time for the Golem to respawn. So, he swapped out Najarala for Bloody Howl and got ready for another fight.

Karen glowered at him. He had her beat and she knew it. But, of course, that wouldn't stop her from levying some sort of punishment on him as her means of keeping him in line. Karen wasn't the smartest cookie. She enjoyed power and grinding others beneath her heel. Most people rolled over and let her have her way. But not Oscar. He loved his job too much to let anyone mess it up for him. Kids' lives were at stake here. Infinite futures existed for those children. Some good, some bad. It was equally likely to be one or the other. Oscar's job was to tip the scales towards the positive, by any means necessary. To teach those children that there's light at the end of the tunnel, relief from all the struggle. Karen didn't see that. She was just an overpaid bureaucrat with nothing else better to do than lord her position over all her subordinates. Oscar just didn't have time to deal with her. He rose from his seat and got up to leave.

"You did WHAT?!"

Oscar sat across from his boss. She was a pumpkin-shaped woman with a short fuse. Her hair was cut into that I'd-like-to-speak-with-your-manager haircut. Oscar never knew just how much you could tell about someone from their haircut until he met her. To top it all off, her name was actually Karen.

"Let me make sure I understand you. You took a ten year old boy to a shooting range, let him fire a rifle for hours, and thought it was a good idea."

"That pretty much sums it up, yeah."

"I SHOULD HAVE YOUR JOB FOR THAT! IT WAS COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE!" The color of her face matched that of her blouse at this point. Bright beet red.

"Clearly you've never been around guns. The most responsible thing is taking a child with an unhealthy obsession and teaching him how to handle one safely. This is Boston, Karen. You can find a gun on practically any street corner. The kid's constantly running away. What happens when he finds one and doesn't know how to handle it? Someone could be hurt."

There was the sound of clay being shattered. The neon orange disc had been completely destroyed in midair. Bits of clay rained down from the sky. Oscar smiled and turned back to Tyson.

"See? I told you that you'd get it next time!"

Tyson beamed with pride. They had been at this for well over an hour and this was the first time that Tyson had hit his target. Oscar surmised that the boy would have a nasty bruise on his shoulder in the morning. The way the boy winced in pain every time he pulled the trigger. But the expression on his face told Oscar that the pain was all worth it. It also told Oscar that he'd turned an unhealthy obsession into a healthy interest. After all, it's hard to keep up the illusion that guns are the best thing ever when your shoulder is black and blue from shooting one.

"It's alright buddy! You'll get it next time!"

"No I won't," came the frustrated reply of a young boy. He was holding a rifle almost too big for him and wearing bright orange earmuffs. He wore a black hoodie and torn blue jeans that looked as if they hadn't been washed in weeks. His sandy brown hair was matted and the dirt on his face hid the freckles that dotted the bridge of his nose. He took off his earmuffs and gave Oscar an annoyed face.

Oscar merely shook his head and made ready to throw another disc into the air. "You gotta lead the target, Tyson. Don't shoot where it is, shoot where it's going to be. You ready?"

Tyson put his ear protection back on and shouldered his rifle. "Ready, I guess." Oscar threw the disc high into the air. The boy tracked it with his rifle. When he felt confident that he had the timing right, Tyson applied pressure to the trigger and...

BANG!

Oscar couldn't stop himself from being yanked back. He wheeled around and stared daggers back at Bahr as he listened to him speak. Oscar balled up his fist and delivered a solid punch to Bahr's cheek. "In case you haven't noticed Mr Bloodedge, he doesn't care about me. You're the one in his book. I'm not gonna sit by and let you fight someone alone. I'm willing to put my life on the line for my friends. Get over yourself."

Truth be told, Oscar was terrified. This guy could probably complete his health bar in a single blow. Nevertheless, Oscar was fiercely loyal and would go to hell and back to help his friends. Or at least try. Oscar had yet to score a hit, which was probably why the guy didn't care about him too much. Without another word, Oscar rushed forward, bringing his blade down low and tapping his energy to activate a Sword Art.

"Han'ei," fell from his lips. His sword erupted in rose-colored light as he stopped in front of the prone Pinball and reared his sword back to strike. Like lightning, his blade traveled in a downward arc and just barely missed Pinball's shoulder. The second strike of Han'ei missed as well. Oscar sighed and shook his head as he hopped back.

"I doesn't help that I'm bad at this game."

Oscar approached Gob-Gob and handed him one of the javelins. Then, he plucked a clay plate from the basket and held it up for Gob-Gob to see. "Alright buddy, I'm gonna throw this into the air. I want you to hit it with that javelin before it hits the ground okay?" Oscar made sure Gob-Gob understood the instructions. Once he was sure he slowly moved the disc up and down. Gob-Gob followed the disc with its eyes and made ready to fling the javelin. Oscar through it straight into the air. Gob-Gob launched the javelin. Too much force, not enough aim. The javelin blazed past the disc as it made its descent, disappearing over the horizon. The disc fell back down to earth, shattering on the stone into a shimmering prismatic dust. Gob-Gob looked disappointed, but Oscar encouraged him with a smile and a pat on the head.

"It's alright buddy! You'll get it next time!"

Oscar cleared the mechanism, blocking out everything but his enemy. He felt nothing. Not the wind on his face, not the throbbing in his stomach from the previous blow. Everything was blocked out, everything was clear. He stepped forward, a pale blue light enveloping his blade. There was a bright flash of light as Oscar cleaved the golem in twain. The stone monstrosity staggered for a bit before its top half slid away from its bottom half. Then, the stones crumbled, leaving nothing but rubble where the golem had been. A loot window popped up. Oscar looted the corpse of the golem, obtaining a Rare Trinket, 840 Col, and 2 Crafting Materials. Not a bad haul. He heard the sound of clapping behind him. Oscar sheathed his blade and turned to see Gob-Gob cheering for its master's victory. Oscar smiled and headed back to where he placed the parcels. It was time to get to work.

Oscar remain laser focused on the Golem. He charged forward, his blade glowing with a light blue energy as he made ready to activate another Gen Getsu. If it connected, it would do enough damage to end this fight. But just as he made ready to swing, his concentration was broken by a loud crash. He turned his head and saw that Gob-Gob was had accidentally dropped one of the clay plates. He realized his error too late as his weapon just barely missed the massive golem. He was able to collect himself in time to dodge away from the oncoming fist. This activated the Savvy enhancement on his armor, which would boost his accuracy up when his next turn came around. This would help deliver the fatal blow to the golem. Oscar could collect his loot and go back to focusing on Gob-Gob's training. Hopefully. It all depended on whether or not Oscar got distracted again.

Oscar rushed forward again, drawing his blade back and throwing it forward in a half-moon arc. His weapon found its mark this time, dealing heavy damage off of a critical hit. Dirt and stone exploded out of the Golem's body, carving a deep gash in the creature's side. Najarala's Paralytic Venom activated, leaving the Golem frozen and unable to act. Oscar took this opportunity to reaffirm his footing and grip. With a flourish, he backed off a bit. His attention turned to Gob-Gob. Instead of flexing, he was watching the battle intently. Enraptured, the goblin followed Oscar's every move. They hadn't even begun training and Gob-Gob was already learning. Oscar was quite happy with this development and turned his attention back to the enemy. The Golem's health was low. One more hit would decide the bout. Then Oscar could begin training his familiar in earnest.

Oscar brought his sword back to strike with a flourish. A pale blue aura winked to life around the golden edge of his sword. He stepped into the blow and swung his arm around in a wide arc, leaving a thin trail of blue in its wake. Oscar's blow just barely missed the Golem. Thrown off by this, Oscar didn't have time to bring his sword up to defend himself before the Golem slammed its mighty fist into Oscar's midsection. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of Oscar and sent him flying backwards. He landed on his back, the hard ground sending reverberations through his body. Oscar winced and sat up. Once he caught his breath, he maneuvered his legs under him and stood up, pointing his blade at the Golem. The damage felt worse than it actually had been on his health bar. He steadied his grip on his weapon and made ready to re-engage. He definitely didn't want to take another hit like that.