Oscar

Oscar, stood before the goblin as a cold wind blew. The breeze kicked up the dust between the two of them, creating a small cloud upon the firmament. He adopted a fighting stance, bringing his blade across his chest and firmly grasping it with both hands. He was focused, the mechanism was cleared. It was as if everything in the world faded away save for Oscar and his enemy. He would bring to bear all he had to dispatch this threat. 

He stepped forward with his right foot, his boot making a dull, yet powerful, thud as he advanced. The sound of grass crunching underfoot could be heard. Oscar took a moment to applaud Kayaba's attention to detail. He brought his sword back, preparing for his attack.

Then he struck.

Rose-colored energy wrapped around his blade, travelling from hilt to tip. He took a second step and brought his blade down upon the Goblin. Two swift strikes, each using the full length of the blade to cut, rained down. The Goblin's health bar was hammered, half of its remaining health gone.

Oscar pitched forward, pushing off of his back leg and somersaulted over the impish creature. The goblin counterattacked, but struck where Oscar was, not where he ended up. He turned and faced his blade at the goblin, preparing for the final round.

Oscar took a step forward and raised his sword up. He put his back into a downward blow, the entire length of his blade slicing through the goblin's shoulder. A pink trail followed the tip of the blade downward. Pink cherry blossoms burst from the point of contact and scattered in all directions. Once he followed through on the first slash, Oscar switched directions and followed the same trail up in reverse. Han'ei dealt heavy damage to the Goblin, to the tune of 20 percent of its maximum health value. The goblin attempted to counterattack but missed. Both Oscar's successful attack and evasion activated the Keen and Savvy enhancements attached to his gear. He would be significantly more accurate on his next turn. Hopefully, in two more rounds, the goblin would be defeated, Oscar could collect his well-deserved loot, and then return back to town with his familiar, Gob-Gob.

Oscar's blade cut deep into the goblin. Han'ei, his strongest single-target sword skill, had proven to be his bread and butter while undertaking this quest. The monsters up on Floor 6 were nothing more than damage sponges, taking a long time to kill but not really posing a significant threat. The most damage he had taken was 1. He imagined, at most, he would take three damage from a crit. Against his 120 HP health pool, the monsters could wail on him all day and not be any closer to killing him. Because of this fact, Oscar was quite relaxed. He was able to take on the goblin so effectively precisely because he knew it posed little threat to him. No longer did he tremble when going into combat. He strode into battle confidently now, knowing that his skill and his equipment would take care of him. If he were being honest though, it was at least 90% thanks to his equipment. He'd have to make a point to find a way to thank Bahr properly at some point.

Before he headed back to town, Oscar wanted to take down just one more goblin. He found a target and advanced quickly, drawing Najarala and using Han'ei to deal heavy damage to the Goblin. Two slices, each with the entire edge of the sword, bit deep into the goblin's flesh. The Keen enhancement on his weapon activated, increasing his accuracy on the next turn. The Goblin counterattacked with a slice that whiffed Oscar by a mile. This missed attack activated Oscar's Savvy enhancement, which in turn boosted his accuracy even further for the next turn. Oscar backed off and waited a moment to take aim at the Goblin. He wanted to end this fight quickly so that he could go ahead and head home for the evening. There were people who needed hot dogs and he was the only one who could give them to the masses. His hot dogs could change the world.

Finally, Gob-Gob took interest in the feed. After one taste of the grain from the sack in Oscar's hand the little goblin was over the moon with delight. A text box popped up that asked Oscar if he truly wanted to tame this Familiar. Oscar pressed the green circle and another text box popped up, this time for a name. Oscar punched in "Gob-Gob, Slayer of Immortals." The same words appeared over his familiar's head and under it were the words <<Oscar's Familiar>>. Oscar was elated to have a familiar after so long. Companionship was something that was truly lacking nowadays. Everyone was either waiting on the lower floors or out on the Frontlines. Those on the lower floors didn't really make for good company either. The only one he had really hit it off with had been Bahr. Indeed, it would be good to have something to vent to that wouldn't judge or condescend him.

Oscar's first attempt to tame Gob-Gob - his name for the familiar - ended in abject failure. The Goblin was less interested in the feed and more interested in showing off his glistening biceps. Oscar couldn't blame him. Anything this god-like deserved more than this gruel Oscar was offering. But it was all Oscar had so he had to make it work. He merely watched in awe as the sun shone off of the radiant bald head of Gob-Gob. The scent of Old Spice was thick in the air and it was... intoxicating. Oscar wouldn't let himself get frustrated, however. The Terry Crews Goblin would be his familiar.

Oscar was so enraptured by the familiar's luscious pectoral muscles that he almost dropped the feed. That would be bad. He spent so long trying to find a familiar that accidentally losing his feed right at the eleventh hour would probably make him retreat into his shop, never to be seen in the field again.

Oscar decided the best thing to do after a dream like that was to search for his Familiar. He looked through his spyglass and was shocked by what he saw. There before him was the most absolute unit of a goblin he had ever seen. It's normally-lanky arms were swole beyond compare. Its axe looked like it was too small for the huge stature of the goblin that carried it. The tone of its luscious pectoral muscles were to die for. Truly this was a body to make even the gods jealous. Oscar had to have it.

And its face. Oh its face. It looked like someone had carved pure beauty into marble and brought it to life. He felt as if he were looking at the love child of the Mona Lisa and David. It even had a goatee, for some reason. The goatee brought Oscar back to reality. This goblin looked like Terry Crews!

Oscar let out a resigned sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "You just said you'd rather die than accept help. That's the very definition of someone in need." All this indignation was merely a defense mechanism. A rather sturdy one, at that. All of his poking and prodding had barely scratched it. He knew when the throw in the towel, at least temporarily. He cycled through his menu and sent the woman a friend request. "When you realize what I, as someone who used to get paid good money to know these things, know. Come find me. When you're ready to start living, I'll help you get back to shore. But just keep this in mind, Kirbs. Sometimes, we can be our own worst enemy."

And then he began to walk away. He still had a boar tusk to find and he wasn't getting anywhere with Kirbs. Best to call it quits for now and hope she realizes she needs help before something horrible happens. A healthy amount of distance was necessary in his line of work.

Oscar was in agreement with the facsimile up until he brought the Major into it. Oscar wasn't the one who needed a reality check. This malevolent entity was. Oscar drew his sword. He wouldn't do much to defend his own honor, but when it came to those around him, he absolutely would. Especially the Major.

"The Major was the only person who ever gave a single crap whether we lived or died. To say he pitied us is what's pathetic. Pity didn't keep that man up nights when we were sick. Pity didn't make that man put us through college. Love did. That man loved us and YOU WILL ACCEPT IT!"

Oscar stepped forward and activated Han'ei. The pink dual-slice maneuver cleaved through not just the facsimile, but the darkness as well. The bright light of the sun shone down on Oscar as the facsimile - his Inadequacy - shattered into a million tiny pieces. Oscar's eyes fluttered open and he felt the wind on his face.

"And if he could love us that much, we should too."

"Then there's a cliff. If you're so certain you want to die, walk off of it." Oscar didn't usually take this tactic with patients but this was an exigent circumstance. Now was time to go in for the kill. He knew good and well she didn't want to die. But she didn't want to live either. He would do his utmost to fix that last one. "But if there's anything you have to live for, live for it. If you've lost anyone, you owe it to them to live. Not just go through the motions, but actually live your life. Realize that we're not going to be stuck in here forever and there's something waiting for you on the other side. This is a bad part of the story, but it's not the whole story. You're more than the hardships you've endured. All the people who have been sacrificed to try and save everyone else from this game are worth more than the honor you're giving them. You and they deserve more than what you're putting yourself through. And make no mistake about it, you have to be the one to defeat your demons. The first step is asking for help when you so very clearly need it."

"You very clearly do kid," Oscar began, planting his feet on the ground. His words cut through the air, sharper than any blade. He saw straight through her. Because he was her. She was so caught up in despair and anger that she was just wallowing in it. It was slowly, but surely, suffocating her. "People who indignantly say that they don't need any help are generally the ones who need it the most. You can stay caught up in your anger and your grief. And you'll die. If you don't approach this game with a level head, you. Will. Die. And when - not if - that happens, are you gonna go silently into that good night with no regrets? No. You're going to look back at this very moment, when someone threw you a life vest and you were too stubborn to take it. And you're gonna wish you'd taken the time to try and help yourself. So make your choice. Life or death. You decide at right now which you want."

Oscar had quite a particular knack for getting through to stubborn patients. Confronting them on their nonsense was a sure-fire way to get them to lash out. And when they did, he would get a thread to pull on. And then another. Until eventually they've had a full-on psychotherapy session, but they were too angry to realize it.

Cracks began to spiderweb through the scene. Darkness seeped through the cracks, bleeding into the picture like ink on fabric. Soon enough, Oscar was surrounded by darkness. And then he heard the words again.

"You bought into the lofty words in that quest, but deep down you know how much of a crock it all is."

Oscar turned and saw himself. Or, at least, some facsimile of himself. The mirror image sneered at him, as if it were looking at something so pathetic it had to struggle not to laugh.

"You've forgotten what you are. A gutter rat. The child no one wanted. You lived so long on the Major's pity that you forgot what you really were."

The facsimile drew his blade, a dark version of the vanity weapon that he'd gotten on the Katana quest.

"You're pathetic. The sooner you accept it, the sooner we can move on."

As dangerous as it was, Oscar couldn't help but fall asleep under that tree. The good news was that it seemed like the mobs here didn't aggro you unless you attacked first. So although he was resting in a sea of enemies, they wouldn't be a threat unless he established himself as one first. His peaceful nap quickly turned south as his dreams brought him back to the time where he had first logged in with his charge, Tyson. They had great fun playing the game, slaying boars, and generally enjoying the time with one another. He'd worked with Tyson for months, trying to establish his own self-worth and instilling good habits in the child. It was beginning to work too. His grades were on the upswing and he was having an easier time with his peers at school. And all of that progress had been cut short by a boar's tusk. Oscar tossed and turned under that tree as the scene played itself out again. It felt like every time he closed his eyes, he saw his charge die over and over again.

"A sword that protects," said a disembodied voice. "Ridiculous. You couldn't even protect Tyson. How are you going to protect anyone else?"

Name: Lucky Garlic Bread
Your Profession: Cook
Your Rank: 1
ID: 120937
Roll: CD: 10, LD:14
Item Type: Snack
Tier: 1
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancements: Loot Die
Description: This Garlic Bread is extremely lucky! So lucky it didn't get splashed with any blood, sweat or tears!
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/17990-f01/?do=findComment&amp;comment=578556

Day 2

As Bahr left, Oscar returned to the kitchen and his Garlic Bread training. He managed to invoke the same fury he displayed that very first day in the Trainer's kitchen and, like a whirlwind of Garlic and grain, he managed to successfully create some Garlic Toast. He decided on another Loot Die enhancement, making another Lucky Garlic Bread. He wasn't so lucky with the second craft, but he was able to salvage the ingredients, at least. He noticed that he ranked up and jumped for joy. It was progress! Oscar was so happy with himself that he almost gulped down the Garlic Bread right then and there. Instead, he caught himself and added it to his inventory to use at a later date. It would probably take him a bit before he could fill Bahr's order. But Bahr was more experienced and probably expected that.
 

Oscar's Han'ei found it's mark. The Goblin exploded into a shower of fractal polygonal shapes that shattered when they hit the ground. Upon looting the Goblin, Oscar decided to rest a bit and look for his familiar. His energy needed to regenerate before he got into another fight, at the very least. He sheathed Najarala and collected his loot from the window. 400 Col, crafting materials, and an Unidentified Uncommon Consumable wasn't a bad haul, all things considered. Oscar decided to take out his spyglass and sit down under a tree. He scanned the area for his familiar and didn't even see a sign of a candidate. Oscar sighed and leaned back, instead electing to feel the wind on his face and listen to the sounds of nature. Sometimes, a man just needed to decompress. This was one of those times. He had been quite busy over the past few days. He just needed some time to himself.

Oscar successfully managed to slay the final Boar Pup. Unfortunately, it didn't drop any materials. He saw that his new friend, who had finally introduced herself as Kirbs, was sitting with her knees to her chest in the grass. Clearly, something was bothering her. And it was a good thing that Oscar was a licensed Therapist. He sheathed Najarala and sat down next to the girl. She could probably use someone to vent to, at the very least. This game did very serious psychological damage to people. No one had really had any therapy available in this trying time. Oscar was beginning to feel the effects himself.

"So, wanna talk about what's bothering you? I may not look like it but back in the real world I was a social worker with a degree is psychology. Might be able to help you out of this funk you find yourself in."

Han'ei found its mark and dealt heavy damage to the Goblin. One more hit would do it in. The Goblin swiped at Oscar, but he was able to evade the attack. The Evasion and the hit activated Savvy and Keen respectively, providing him an accuracy boost going into next turn. Paralytic Venom activated and paralyzed the Goblin again, leaving it frozen and at Oscar's mercy. Oscar took this opportunity back to off and call his shot. He would aim center mass, where he had the greatest likelihood to hit, and let yet another Han'ei fly. Unless he missed, this combat was finished next turn. At the very least, he didn't need to worry about the enemy counterattacking thanks to the Paralytic Venom effect of Najarala. This was an amazing katana and it was not at all proportionate to what he gave for it. Bahr had to have known that though. If he didn't mind, Oscar didn't either.

Oscar completely whiffed on his next attack. He whiffed so profoundly that he tripped over the stunned Goblin and faceplanted into the dirt. Oscar sighed and stood up, spitting out a mouthful of sediment as he rose to his feet. He then turned around and leveled his katana with the Goblin who had just broken free of the Paralytic Venom and started laughing at him. Oscar growled and tightened his grip on his sword. This goblin was about to get the business. The "business" here being a major butt-kicking followed by death by Najarala. Oscar planted his feet and remained laser-focused on his target. He didn't want to miss again. That would just be embarrassing. Or Embahrassing as Bahr would say. He wheezed at his own joke and wiped a tear from his eye. God that man's name was good for puns. Oscar focused up and made ready to attack the laughing goblin again.

Oscar used a third Han'ei on the Goblin. Another Critical Hit! Paralytic Venom and Keen reactivated, but the boost from Savvy fell off because the Goblin was unable to swipe at him to activate it. Oscar hopped back, watching the paralyzed Goblin and making ready to activate Han'ei again. As the pink aura bloomed around his blade, Oscar thought back to the quest and all he had to endure just to be able to wield this weapon. All of it had been very much worth it. His damage and his utility were through the roof now by comparison. Indeed, he don't know how he would have managed on this floor with just a Curved Sword at his hip. He shuddered to think about it as he took aim at the Goblin once more. Just a little more and the goblin would be dispatched and Oscar could collect his loot. He wondered what he would find when the Goblin was defeated.

Oscar activated another Han'ei, dealing another two powerful strikes to the goblin. Critical Hit! He watch as 12 DMG knocked the Goblin's health to a little bit above half. The extra bonus was that Keen reactivated from the hit. The Goblin moved to slice Oscar again, but he was able to nimbly dance out of the way. The successful evasion activated his armor's Savvy enhancement, making Oscar that much more accurate on his next turn. He stepped back and counted down on his fingers.

Three...

Two...

One...

Thanks to the Critical Hit, the Goblin had fallen under the effects of Najarala's Paralytic Venom. It wouldn't be able to move next turn thanks to the powerful Paralyze effect it was now suffering from. It also took away any bonuses to Evasion, as if the Goblin had any. It was truly a sitting duck, just waiting for Oscar's blade to bite into it.

Stepping out of town, Oscar quickly encountered a Goblin. It was a much higher level than the boars he'd been fighting, but he still felt confident that he would be able to emerge victorious. He drew Najarala and activated Han'ei, a pink Aura enveloping his sword as he stepped forward. Oscar dealt two swift slashes, cutting with the entire length of his blade on both swipes. He dealt a hefty 12 DMG, a far cry from what he'd been doing with his Curved Sword. The Goblin counterattacked and sliced Oscar with its tiny axe. It caught Oscar in the shins, where he was the most protected. He got away with only taking one damage from the attack. Oscar swapped hands and got ready to counter with another Han'ei. He saw an icon appear on his buff bar to indicated that Keen had activated, making him much more accurate on his next attack.

It appeared that the woman was having a moment. Oscar decided to back off and give her some space. He'd dealt with enough people in his career as a social worker to know what when people started randomly spouting out of context phrases to give them plenty of space until their little meltdown was over. It was a good thing too. Because three more boars showed up. Oscar quickly used another <<Tsumuji Gurama>> and dispatched all but one of them. The survivor tried to gore Oscar with his tusks, but missed thanks to Oscar's insane evasion bonuses. Evading an attack activated Savvy, which would make it easier for Oscar to hit his target next turn.

He brought his sword down in front of him and it bloomed with a surge of pink energy. Oscar charged up Han'ei to dispatch this boar quickly and easily. That is, unless the woman snapped out of it and decided to help him out. Either way, he was good.

Oscar was quite happy to be wandering about with someone who could give him some feedback on his gameplay. He led the way as they walked out of the Town of Beginnings and into the field. Soon enough, they came across the Quest Targets. A group of Boar Pups quickly surrounded Oscar as he drew Najarala. The golden blade of the katana took on a pink glow as he activated <<Tsumuji Gurama>> to dispatch them all at once. He spun on his heels, Najarala's deadly edge carving through the boars one after the other. They exploded into a shower of fractals as Oscar sliced through them. Two of the boars even dropped some loot. Upon collecting it, Oscar was quite happy to see that he had obtained two of the quest items. He turned to the woman with a smile.

"I know they were weak enemies but how was my form? And it just hit me, I didn't ask your name. I'm Oscar!"

It was about time he did the quest for his Familiar. Free stats were free stats and Oscar wouldn't be caught with his pants down. Indeed, the familiar was one of the best ways to grow more powerful in the world of Aincrad. Oscar had heard about a Gypsy giving out feed to players to aid them in finding their familiars. So, Oscar went up Floor 6 and tracked down the Gypsy. He found the weathered crone inside the town, handing out bags of feed to passersby. Oscar approached and began the dialogue.

"Ohoho- So you want a Familiar do you? Here you are sonny, go out and find yourself a powerful companion!"

The feed was dropped into Oscar's inventory and he headed out to the field. The monsters here were stronger than they were on the lower floors, but so was Oscar. He strode through without fear, trusting in his blade and the armor Bahr had given him.