Oscar

"I'm fine," Oscar began, his eyes fixed upon the hissing Scarfy. "I... I really don't know how to respond to that one, boss." Aincrad was a trippy place. Oscar genuinely thought Kayaba was high when he made this game. Never would he have imagined that he would be hissed at by a ferret-lizard, but here he was, doing just that. At least it was cute. Otherwise, Oscar might have been offended.

"I really am sorry for my outburst. I live in a big city in the real world so when someone bumps into me, that's the default response." His accent would probably give away where he lived, but he didn't mind. Wasn't like he had to worry about anyone trying to steal his identity if they were stuck in the game as well. Regardless, maybe this meeting was quite fortuitous. This lady appeared quite experienced and, perhaps, she would be able to give him some pointers if she saw him fighting. "I hate to bother you, but Lyle here wants me to go kill some boars. Would you mind watching me fight and give me a few pointers if I need 'em?"

Oscar doubled back to speak with Lyle Tealeaf. He'd done a few quests since he unlocked this one, so he hoped that he would still be able to complete it. Lo and behold, the quest was still available from the NPC in his forge. Oscar accepted the quest and Lyle Tealeaf began to regale him about how he was out of materials and needed someone to go out and find some for him. Oscar sighed, ready to go fight more boars and turned to head out. When he did, he ran smack dab into another player, presumably here to accept the same beginner quest.

"What's the big idea? Watch where you're going," Oscar said in reflex. Living in a big city in the real world had made him adopt some less-than-ideal conversational habits. He collected himself and gave the stranger an apologetic look. "Sorry, force of habit. Are you okay? I didn't hurt you or anything, did I?"

Oscar was quite happy to see that his first customer was, in fact, Bahr. He walked out from behind the counter with a big grin on his face. "Yeah sorry about that. I'm still such a low rank I didn't think it fair to have a pricing guide up yet. Plus, your money's no good here. You get the friends and family discount as my way of thanking you for the armor earlier." Despite his words, Oscar was surprised when Bahr opened up a trade menu regardless. Oscar should have known better. This was the man who turned down 2000 Col that was offered to him. Nevertheless, Oscar hit accept and watched as Bahr dropped in a super-rare Katana for payment.

"Bahr, buddy. You're giving me this for a Hot Dog? It's a little disproportionate, but if you insist." Oscar hit accept on the trade window. He definitely needed a new weapon, but he couldn't help but feel like he was taking advantage of Bahr again.

Thread Summary
+2 SP
- 1 from Thread Complete
- 1 from Yui’s Grace
400 Col for Thread Completion
T1 Gathering Material - ID: 120826
T1 Gathering Material - ID: 120830

Oscar arrived at the inn and sat down at his usual table. Most people were out fighting on the upper floors, so the Inn here in the Town of Beginnings was rather empty. But he liked it that way. It meant prompt service and there were always vacancies in the rooms above the tavern. He ordered a flagon of mead and roast duck from the ordering panel and patiently waited for his food to arrive. When it did, he tucked in and quickly devoured all of the food before him. Then, he chugged the mead and let out a small belch, earning him a sharp stare from the one or two other patrons in the Inn. He then slapped some Col on the counter and headed upstairs for the night. He set his katana by the door and flopped down on the bed. Minutes later, he was out like a light.

Oscar had left the tree behind and started the last leg of his journey. On the way, he made sure not to get into any combat with boars. He really didn’t want to fight anything right now. He just wanted to get back to town, have a meal, and get some rest. It had been an emotionally-stressful day. Just outside the gate, Oscar saw a glowing spot. He placed his hand on it and drummed his fingertips against the wall as the progress bar filled up.

One T1 Crafting Material was deposited into his inventory and Oscar strolled through the gate. He walked the city streets with his vanity Katana on his back, sparking looks of interest from some of the players who had been holed up inside the city. Oscar flashed the ones who looked at the new weapon in awe a smile and headed for the nearest Inn.

He was beginning to get a little too far away from town. So he backtracked, enjoying the scenery he had already seen but for a second time. The entire way back, he was scanning for monsters so that he could give them a wide berth. He was pretty confident that he could deal with any possible threats, but the fight would just take so terribly long he’d probably die of boredom. While he tried to look out for goblins or boars, he also scanned the area for any gathering materials.

He didn’t find anything, but he didn’t let it get him down. Oscar stopped for a moment when he reached the tree on the hill again, taking a beat to relive the quest in his head. It had been such an emotional rollercoaster. The storyline had been enjoyable to play and the integration with game mechanics was spot-on. Oscar almost wished it could do it again.

Oscar’s stroll continued! The rain was beginning to dry, but it didn’t help much on his quest for materials. This scenery reminded him of the ranch. Except for all the boars grazing across the landscape, he dealt mostly with cows. At times, he would have preferred swine to cattle. They’re less high maintenance. Just feed em scraps and give em some mud and they’re good to go. But Cattle required grooming, tagging. Lots of open space for them to graze. Then, when it was breeding time, you had to… Yeah cows were pretty gross.

But now that he thought about it, pigs were even more gross. And more dangerous. Once a cow was at ease around you, it would relax and wasn’t much of a threat most of the time. But if you fall into a pig pen you better get out quick or else you’ll get eaten. After some thought, Oscar decided that he definitely wouldn’t trade cows for pigs. He stopped and tried to look around for materials, but couldn’t find anything. So he continued on.

The storm had cleared up and the sun was shining again. The gathering nodes should be easier to spot in the sunlight. But where everything was coated with dew, it was hard for him to tell the difference between bloom lighting and an actual gathering spot. He was, however, quite impressed by the attention to detail. The freshly-rained-upon grass looked almost exactly as it would in the real world. Oscar would have been fooled if it wasn’t so perfect. He searched high and low, but despite his best effort, he was just having too much trouble differentiating between wet grass and a gathering spot.

He didn’t let that get him down though. At the very least, he was having a nice walk. He couldn’t ask for too much more than that. Indeed, the crafting materials would simply be a bonus. Oscar really just required some time to walk and clear his head. That quest had been rather heavy.

Oscar decided that he wanted to gather some materials before heading back. The monsters in this area were stronger, so he wasn’t about to fight them with his pitiful 2 DMG. Instead, he elected to find materials out in the field. He searched high and low, looking for materials and he finally found a glowing spot on the ground. He pressed his hand to it, his fingers dancing across the panel as the gathering progress bar slowly ticked up.

It was basic gathering, but it excited him every time he did it. He could turn this into just about anything. Or help other players out. The possibilities were endless. The progress bar filled and a material was placed in his pack. Oscar whistled a tune and continued onwards. It was nice to get out and walk sometimes. Indeed, all you really needed was brisk jaunt through the wilderness to truly settle the nerves.

“I have now set you upon the path of the Katana. Know that where you travel, so does justice and mercy for the weak. And if you should encounter God on your journey, God will be cut.”

With that, the man expired. He burst into a storm of fractal polygons that scattered upon the wind. Oscar looked up at the tree and took in all that he had experienced from the ordeal. Kayaba might have been an absolute madman, but he knew how to write quest dialogue, Oscar would give him that. He thought back to the Old Man’s last words with a smile. That smile then turned to one of confusion. He clicked his tongue and looked back to where the old man had lay.

“Did he just quote Kill Bill?”

Oscar took that back. Kayaba was a madman who knew how to write quest dialogue AND had good taste in movies.

“Place this seed on the stump of the old one. Quickly now, before I expire. I want to see your tree before I go.”

Oscar took the <<Bloodstained Seed>> from the old man and placed it in a small indentation in the stump. The half of the tree at the bottom of the hill shattered. The polygonal fractals danced in the air for a moment before surging back up the hill. They each moved into place, the mirror-like shards forming the shape of a tree. With a flash of light, they all connected at once and reconstituted a new tree. It was a carbon copy tree from the old one, pink blossoms and all. The old man had a smile on his face and beckoned Oscar to his side again. Oscar rushed over and listened to the man coughing as fluid filled his lungs. He gazed up in awe at the tree before turning his gaze to Oscar again.

Oscar stepped forward, his blade glowing pink again. His blade dipped low and he brought it up, slicing with the full length of his blade. Then, he brought it back down, again dealing a full-length slice to the old man. He sliced him from hip to neck and then neck to hip on the opposite side, carving an X into his chest. His initial strike was punctuated by a bolt of lightning, the second by a clap of thunder. The old man fell backwards and groaned.

“Come closer, my pupil,” he said so softly that Oscar could barely hear him over the wind and rain. Oscar sheathed his blade and rushed to his teacher’s side.

“You have defeated me, my pupil. You’ve proven yourself worthy to take up my torch. I can pass on with no regrets. Your final test, young one, is to plant a new tree. When you grow old like I have, you must present this same trial to your successor.”

There was a flash of lightning. The light glinted off of the edge of Oscar’s blade. The rain soaked the ground beneath his feet, turning it into an earthy slurry of dirt and water. Something not quite mud, but definitely not dirt anymore. A loud thunderclap reverberated through the air. At that moment, Oscar advanced. His blade glowed a bright pink, casting a rose-colored light over the darkened ground as he dipped the blade down low and brought it back up with great speed and strength. The Old Man smiled as he was knocked skyward by the blow.

He remained relaxed as he ascended and reached his apex. Then, he crashed back down to the ground rather unceremoniously. <<Ukifune>> had done its job and stunned the old man, leaving him absolutely defenseless. His next move was obvious and the old man had a look of resigned acceptance on his face.

Despite his old age, the man was fast. It was almost like he was fighting multiple enemies at once. Trying to block from all angles was making his health bar tank like a lead weight in water. But then, he remembered something. The First Art. <<Tsumuji Gurama>> was a spinning slice that hit in a circle around him. The perfect maneuver for this situation. Oscar spun in place, slicing in a wide area around him. He felt his blade bite something and the Old Man hopped back.

“Good! Remember your training, pupil.”

Remember my training.

Using the Katana Sword Arts appeared to be the trick to defeating the NPC. He seemed programmed to defend against basic attacks, but not Sword Arts. That gave Oscar an idea. Rain began to fall as their battle continued. Lightning lit up the sky as the two of them circled one another. On the next clap of thunder, Oscar would move.

The tree was sliced through about five feet up from the dirt. At Oscar’s tap, the entirety of the tree began to slide down the slope. It started slowly, but then picked up speed until, a moment later, the tree was crashing down to the base of the hill below. Oscar wiped the sap from his blade with his coat and slid the blade back into its scabbard. The Old Man clapped as a tear rolled down his cheek.

“Thank you young one. The years had grown heavy upon my shoulders. But now, for your final test.”

The old man charged forward and sliced at Oscar, who just barely managed to dance out of the way. He drew his blade and parried the next blow. It was all he could to do keep up with the man’s onslaught. They locked blades and, owing to his youth, Oscar was able to overpower him in the clash. The two leaped back from one another.

“Your next test is to defeat me!”

Oscar drew his blade and held it stock straight. He looked at the mighty tree and back to his sword. By cutting this tree, he relieved the old man of his duty and also made a pact to take up the blade for the sake of others. Dark clouds began to stretch across the sky. The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance. Oscar closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was a covenant that wasn’t to be taken lightly. But Oscar had long-since pledged his life to others. Why should the virtual world be any different?

He stepped forward and used Han’ei. The length of his blade bit deep into the trunk of the tree - that wasn’t actually an immortal object after all. He pulled the blade free and used a second slice. Then, he turned his back to the tree and tapped it with the pommel of his blade.

The Strange Old Man continued.

"My time is coming to an end. Thus, I must pass my art to a new generation. The new generation must fell my tree and take up where I will leave off. Understand the importance of the path you walk, young one. Now, for the final Art."

Oscar and the man stood up, picking their blades up as they did. The man looked at the tree with a mournful expression and then turned back to Oscar. He drew his blade and leveled it with Oscar. "This is Han'ei. Let them feel the bite of your blade with two swift slices!" Faster than Oscar could track, the Old Man sliced the air twice. The wind generated from the blade buffeted him and blew his hair backwards. When the wind subsided, the old man sheathed is blade and pointed to the tree.

"Fell my tree, young one. Prove you have what it takes to take up the Katana."

“Good, good! Now have a seat while I regale you with a story.”

Oscar did as he was told. This was truly an immersive experience. He wanted to fully immerse himself in all the minutiae of this “quest.” He sheathed his katana and pulled the scabbard from his belt as he sat cross-legged on the ground. Between both of them lay their weapons, parallel to one another. A light breeze began to blow as the icy blue gaze of the man met Oscar’s. He cleared his throat as the wind died down.

“This is a story of how I came to learn the Katana. I was about as old as you were. My master found me in the crowd, just as I did with you. And he brought me here to teach me the Art. These Arts have been passed down for generations. I felled my tree. To learn the Katana is to put your life into the blade. To symbolize this, I planted a new tree. The one we’re sitting under, in fact. Just as these tree branches shelter us, so too does the Katana shelter the weak.”

Oscar entered the shop and perused the stock for a bit. There were a couple items he was looking for. Luckily, both were in stock here. The first item was a Custom Ambition Tool. He needed all the help he could get with crafting. This tool would definitely speed things up for him. The second item was a spyglass. He intended to start looking for a familiar soon and this was the perfect item to help him with it. The total cost for both of the items was 1680 Col. It was about half of what he had but it was very much worth it. Oscar paid for his items and left, whistling a tune as he walked.

Buying
Custom Ambition Tool - 840 Col
Spyglass - 840 Col
Total Cost: 1680 Col

Day 1

His shop was finally open! It was hard work getting his Profession unlocked. But now that he had, he could start cooking up some amazing dishes for the people of AIncrad. Or, at least try to. His level was still pretty low. There wasn't much he could make right now. But, with a little luck and a lot of determination, he would be a great cook soon enough! He was set up next to the Crusty Bahr-nacle and even though Bahr was a Tailor, maybe he'd be able to offer some advice.

But the best way to start is at the start. Oscar walked into the kitchen and set about practicing his Garlic Toast skills. Clearly, he still needed more work at the basics. He toiled and struggled, but just couldn't make anything edible. At the very least, however, he managed to save the bread.

"Oh well. There's always tomorrow."

<<Oscar's Hot Dog Stand>> is not actually, as the name would suggest, an actual Hot Dog Stand. The shop is built in a seedier part of the Town of Beginnings, right next to the Tailoring Shop, << The Crusty Bahr-nacle>>. The exterior of the building is aged and dirty, but inside is an immaculate eatery. The floors are made of white-and-black checkerprint tiles and the seats and tables are made from a shiny chrome. Everything is polished within an inch of its life. Above the door to the kitchen is a sign that reads: You can eat off of any surface in this restaurant. It's THAT clean.

Request Form

STOCK AND PRICES

Players are limited to one of each buff per order. If more items are required, they should be placed in an order form to be filled.
Players below level 15 may select any five items from shop stock for free.

Thread Summary
3 SP
- 1 SP from Thread Completion
- 1 SP from Yui’s Grace
- 1 SP from first completion
610 Col
Rare Trinket ID: 120670
Rare Trinket ID: 120708
Rare Armor ID: 120814
2 T1 Crafting Materials
<< Cook >> Profession
5 Additional T1 Materials
Standard << Cook >> Shop
Lucky Garlic Toast

Speaking of collapsing into bed without eating, Oscar slowly began to nod off into his plate of chicken and mashed potatoes. He bolted upright and looked around, blinking rapidly in an effort to stave off sleep for just a few more minutes. He really needed to eat before sleeping. Otherwise he would have no energy tomorrow morning. Like a zombie, he slowly made his way through his food, not even really savoring the taste. Once his plate was finished, he headed upstairs to his room and flopped down on the bed. Moments later, the room was filled with the sounds of his snores. He had fallen asleep in nothing flat.

His dreams, despite being stuck in this game for so long, were always of the real world. He dreamed about the kid who had gotten him into the game. How his life was cut short on the very first day. Oscar wished he could take the child’s place, truth be told. His life for a life so full of potential was a no-brainer. But wishing for such a thing would only get him stuck in a rut. There was no undoing the past.

Oscar’s food came soon enough. Exhausted, he mindlessly gnawed on a chicken leg as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He hadn’t been this drained since he first started working on the Major’s ranch. His tired mind flashed back to that day. He was a young boy, hardened by the streets. The Major had found him sleeping in a ditch and brought him home to get cleaned up. Thinking he was a runaway, the Major cleaned him up and called around to try and find his parents.

Once he found out that Oscar was an orphan and had run away from his foster parents, he decided to take him in himself. After all, no one runs away from foster parents that are completely above-board. And so, he gave Oscar a job, food, and a roof over his head on the condition that he earned his keep. Those first few months were brutal. He’d collapse in his bed without even eating most days. By the end of it, though, Oscar was eternally grateful for the Major.