Oscar

Oscar found a second boar and began charging up Rage Blow. His sword began to glow a light purple. As he rushed towards the target, the sword left a trail of purple behind him. He brought the sword up above his head and back down, tracing a line the entire way. The Sword Art struck the boar in the flank and dealt a healthy 4 Damage to it. 40 percent of its health bar was shaved off in a single stroke.

The boar turned and headbutted Oscar in the shins for 3 damage. It took just over 10 percent of Oscar’s health. That was a fine trade, in Oscar’s opinion. He adjusted the grip on his blade and made ready to attack once more. His next attack, if it hit, would deal 2 more damage and then the turn after that, he could Rage Blow again for another 4. Victory was in sight, he just had to get there.

He looked around in the overgrowth for any shiny spots. It took a bit of searching. He felt like he was checking under every pebble and blade of grass until he found something usable. But, finally, his luck came through. A shiny spot was there directly in front of him. He reached out his hand and touched it. Then, he watched the gathering bar fill up. Once it was full, a hot pepper was placed into his inventory. This would be perfect for cooking up a spicy dish!

He already had an idea for the type of dish he wanted to make in mind, so he went looking for another boar. Perhaps they would drop some useful materials this time. If not, it was definitely an enjoyable experience merely wandering about, living off the “land.” He’d have to make a point to stay stocked on materials. A chef with an empty larder was no chef at all.

Oscar dealt a swift blow to the Boar’s flank for a second critical hit. The boar disappeared in a shower of fractal shards, leaving behind only its loot. Oscar watched as a rare trinket and 120 Col were dumped into his inventory. He was a little bummed that he didn’t get any materials, but that was okay. There were plenty of boars and plenty of gathering locations. No sense getting bummed out because he wasn’t done yet.

Oscar looked around, trying to see if he could find another boar or a gathering location. While he did so, his energy ticked back up. He’d be able to use Rage Blow again soon. Focusing on a gathering location would be a good idea so he’d have Rage Blow ready for the next boar he came across. His damage output was relatively low, so he definitely wanted to use his one usable sword art liberally.

Oscar found his target fairly quickly. He charged up a Rage Blow and rushed into combat. He brought his sword up above his head and put all his strength into a single strike. A thin, purple line trailed behind the tip of the blade as the deadly edge descended upon the boar’s flank. The Rage Blow connected for a critical hit, dealing 8 damage and leaving the boar barely standing. The enemy turned and tried to hit Oscar with a Headbutt to the shins. Thankfully, it just barely missed and went skidding off behind him.

Oscar wheeled around and stepped forward. The boar’s back was exposed and he should easily be able to finish the boar off next turn. He swapped to his right hand as that was the side closest to the boar and drew his sword arm back. A quick finish would mean a quick quest. The sooner he could unlock his Profession, the better.

Oscar approached the Master Cook NPC for training in the Cooking profession. The profession that provided buffs to a group seemed like the perfect one for Oscar. The NPC rattled off her pre-scripted introduction and then Oscar’s quest tracker updated with “Gather 5 materials.” He groaned audibly. This was the last quest all over again. It seemed as if it was a little different, however. He didn’t have to specifically search for each of the materials. He was able to grind mobs for it as well. That seemed like the perfect thing to do in Oscar's opinion. He could get a ton of loot and a ton of crafting materials. There was always the chance for a perfect piece of gear or some consumables. To top it all off, the monsters around here weren’t that strong. Oscar made his exit from the kitchen and headed straight for the field, looking for the nearest boar to attack.

 

Estate Name: Oscar-Meyer Mansion
Floor Location: Floor 7
Plot Size: Estate {Safe Zone}
Rooms: 4/15 | Yard: 2/3
Main House: Bedroom - Rested  | Living Room  | Basic Workshop - Chef's Kitchen | Dining Room | 
Yard: Slime Farm | Fishing Pond
Total Cost: Free (Donor 25+)

Quest Complete

Net Rewards

4 SP

• +1 from Yui's Grace
• +1 from Thread Completion
• +2 from Quest Rewards

5 Uncommon Tier 1 Health Potion
1 Tier 1 Damage Potion
1 Tier 1 Overhealth Potion
Unidentified Uncommon Consumable #1 ID: 120596
Unidentified Uncommon Consumable #2 ID: 120598 
1 Unidentified Rare Weapon (Katana Acquisition): ID: 120598 
6 T1 Crafting Mats
480 Col

Oscar wandered the town for a while, taking in the sights and just generally enjoying a job well-done. He’d go back for the second quest later, but for right now, he really wanted to go ahead and decompress. He wasn’t one for grinding really hard on one thing. There was plenty to see and enjoy in the world of Aincrad. And, as long as he was stuck here, he might as well make the best of it. The Major wouldn’t have it any other way, either.

If you’re in Hell, become a demon.

It was time to embrace this situation for what it was: just another obstacle to be overcome. Oscar was good at overcoming obstacles so why would this be any different? But he couldn’t do it alone. He would need friends and allies, people to support and encourage. This would have to be a team effort. No one man could change the world. But one man could affect change with a word.

Oscar strolled through the town on his way to turn in this package to Lyle. He sincerely hoped this was the last step of the quest because he was starting to feel hungry. He knew he was probably being fed through a tube in the real world, but that didn’t change the sensation within the game. Hopefully, some of the Col he earned today would be enough for a hot meal and a night at the Inn.

He smelled the smithy before he saw it. That thick smell of burning metal hung heavy in the air long before he actually walked through the threshold. Inside, there was an NPC named Lyle Tealeaf who was operating the forge. The blacksmith turned and a window popped up, asking if he would like to turn in the package to the NPC. Oscar clicked the checkmark and a small “Quest Complete” window popped up.

“Thank you for this package. I’d been expecting this! Now would you mind helping me with another matter?”

A new quest popped up in his menu. Oscar would leave it there, unaccepted as he turned and left the shop. He needed a quick break before he got into anymore questing.

Oscar tapped the crafting station and scrolled through the window that popped up. Eventually, he found the item he was looking for and tapped it. He noticed that his success rate was only 66%. That seemed to be the magic number for a lot of crafts. Regardless, there was nothing to do but to attempt it. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need to go back out and gather more materials if he failed. He watched the progress bar fill and crossed his fingers, hoping that it wouldn’t fail. He almost jumped for joy when he saw the success message pop up.

“Nice job! Thank you for your help!” The Healing Potion was taken out of his inventory and a package was placed into it. “I just need your help with one last thing. Do you think you could deliver this package to Lyle Tealeaf?”

Oscar’s quest tracker updated again. At this point, Oscar just wanted this quest done so without even a glint of anger, Oscar ran off towards the location marked on his map.
 

The frenzy worked! Oscar found the shiny spot he was looking for and interacted with it. When the bar filled, the final crafting material was placed in his inventory. The quest tracker directed him to return to Zackariah, so he headed back into town and made a beeline for Zackariah’s workshop.

“Oh,” Zackariah began. “You’re back so soon? Do you have the materials I asked for?”

A contextual menu popped up asking Oscar if he wanted to hand over the quest items. He hit accept and the materials spawned in on Zackariah’s table.

“Oh wonderful! Such good condition too! Before you go, would you mind helping me make a Healing Potion?”

Oscar didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. His quest tracker updated with the words “Craft a Healing Potion.” He had to do it before the quest was completed. Just exactly how long was this beginner quest? Some materials were dropped into his inventory and a tutorial menu came up regarding crafting. Oscar read up on the process and then stepped in front of the crafting station.

Try as he might, he just couldn’t find any more sparkling areas. He looked under trees. Next to rocks. Even next to the lake. But he just couldn’t find anything. It bummed him out a bit. Perhaps he could just go inside the city and take a quick nap. Today had been a busy day and he needed the rest. But the Major’s voice rang out in his head.

You can rest when the job’s done. Don’t confuse lazy with tired!

The words reinvigorated his spirit and embolden his resolve. The job wasn’t done yet. He could rest when all was said and done and put to bed. He resumed his search with renewed vigor, searching absolutely every nook and cranny until he found what he was looking for. He looked like a man possessed by a demon. A demon that wanted to find plants, but a demon nonetheless. Oscar would keep going in this frenzy until that last crafting material was his.

Oscar searched high and low for the last material and couldn’t find it. It was a shame because he now had plenty of materials from those two boars, but they didn’t count for the quest. He noticed that he’d gone quite a ways away from town. Not wanting to run into any stronger monsters, Oscar headed back the way he came. While he wasn’t against the idea of fighting more boars, he did his best to avoid them. He really wanted to just get this quest done at this point.

Thankfully, there were no more boars that wanted to tussle. That or he stayed well out of their aggro ranges. He was just outside of town now. Surely there would be a material he could find nearby. It would be very convenient for sure if he found something on his way back to town and, by extension, Zackariah. He’d grown a little mentally fatigued from this outing and could use the break.

Oscar got lost in his reminiscing. He thought about all the kids that he left behind because he was stuck in this game. He wondered how they were doing. If he’d had enough time to really help them before getting stuck. How would his being trapped impact them? Would they grow emboldened? Backslide? He truly hoped they were all doing well and had taken his lessons to heart. Every single one of them had great potential and he would hate to be part of the reason why they didn’t achieve it.

He snapped out of his reverie and noticed a gleaming spot by his hand. He lifted his hand up and interacted with it, pensively watching the progress bar fill to completion. The fourth T1 Crafting Material was added to his inventory. One more to go and then he could go report to Zackariah. It was time to get to back to work.

The Rage Blow found its mark, dealing critical damage to the boar for a killing blow. Oscar quickly looted the boar and found an unidentified rare weapon and another consumable, along with a bunch of other goodies. They were added to his inventory and Oscar walked off, whistling a tune. This experience was quite eye-opening. Any reservations he had about actually playing the game were gone. How else was he going to get revenge for his charge unless he did so?

He sat down under a tree and waited for his hit points and energy to tick back up. While he did, his thoughts drifted back to the real world. He wondered how the Major was doing. Was he worried? Was he cussing Oscar like a sailor for doing something dumb like getting stuck in a game? Probably. That would be just like him. But that’s how Oscar knew he cared.

Oscar advanced quickly on the boar and dealt a swift blow for 2 DMG. The boar attempted to counterattack, but just barely missed. The two stepped past each other and then wheeled around at the same time to face one another. Oscar was getting pumped. This battle was going swimmingly. He was earning some major insight into the way combat worked. He was also having lots of fun. He’d let go of his inhibitions and was making the best out of the poor situation he found himself in.

Oscar’s energy was full. He tapped the pool and began to ready a Rage Blow. If it connected, then this battle would be over and he could collect his loot. He was trembling, but this time with excitement. He couldn’t wait to see what he found when he beat this Boar. If the last thing was anything to go by, it would be pretty good.

Oscar, unfortunately missed his mark and due to the beast’s squirming and drove his blade deep into the ground by mistake. This provided the boar with an opening to punish. And punish it did. It managed to land a critical hit to Oscar, dealing a hearty 4 DMG. Oscar ripped his sword from the group and hopped back, taking a moment to gather his composure. Perhaps it was a bit too soon to attempt any fancy maneuvers. But then again…

If you don’t try, you’ve already failed.

Another Major-ism came to mind. Emboldened by the words of his foster father, Oscar swapped back to his right hand and leveled his blade with the boar. 6 HP left. Three hits. Or one plus a Rage Blow. That’s all it would take. And the boar would need significantly more than that to take him down. Plus, he had the benefit of health potions. There was no risk in him trying to have a little fun with it.

Oscar closed the gap quickly and brought his sword up above his head. Putting his weight into it, he arced the blade down into the Boar’s back. A thin purple trail followed the blade as it traveled downward and struck the boar in the back with great force. The mob’s HP bar had a healthy chunk taken out of it. The boar attempted to counterattack, but completely whiffed Oscar’s shins. Oscar pressed his advantage.

He stepped forward, forcing the boar backward and switched hands. He was ambidextrous in real life, so it was easy for him to do in SAO as well. Now in his left hand, held the blade in a reverse grip and attempted to thrust it down into the Boar’s back, near where the Rage Blow had hit. It wouldn’t do any extra damage or anything, but practicing finesse against a Boar was a relatively safe way to get better at the game.

It had to slow down at some point. Oscar searched high and low, but he just couldn’t find the materials he was looking for. He decided that perhaps it was time to do battle with another boar. Luckily, a boar thought the same thing. A random swine came charging out from behind a tree. Despite having the jump on Oscar, he was able to dance out of the way. This caused the boar to miss him by a mile. Readying his weapon, Oscar prepared to activate Rage Blow on his next turn. His sword began to glow a light purple as he tapped into his EN pool.

The Boar wheeled around and began stamping at the ground, getting ready to attack again. Oscar placed both hands on his sword and tightened his grip. His nerves weren’t so much of an issue now that he’d gotten a fight under his belt. Plus, if things went south, he had healing potions to fall back on.

Oscar was on a roll. He quickly found the third material that he needed for Zackariah’s quest. If he kept this up, he’d be done really soon. Maybe he’d get a level up out of it! But he definitely knew what he was going to do as soon as he finished this quest. He wanted to get that weapon identified. His starter sword was pretty good, but it definitely wasn’t Perfect quality. A nice upgrade would be useful this early on and would definitely help him get stronger.

He took another break, taking the time to soak in the sights. The world of Aincrad was beautiful. If not for that nagging thought in the back of his brain about this being a Death Game, he might have let his guard down enough to get lost in it. But Oscar couldn’t truly enjoy something that was out to kill him. At least, he didn’t think he could. He was having fun right now, in the moment. Perhaps laying his inhibitions aside would help him in more ways than one.

"Don't overthink. Just do."

Oscar decided to take a minute to rest up before continuing. As exhilarating as it was, he definitely did NOT want to get jumped by a mob again without being at full health and energy. So he sat down upon a rock and waited for his health to start ticking back up. It didn’t take long before he was back at full health. He hopped up and started scanning the area. Once he found a shiny spot, he began to interact with it. When the bar filled up, a single T1 Crafting Material was placed in his inventory. The Quest Tracker updated to show that he had found 2/5 materials.

“Alright, makin’ progress.”

Oscar spied another boar and wondered for a moment whether he should engage. After a moment of thought, he decided against it and gave the boar a wide berth so it wouldn’t aggro him. He still needed to find more materials and turn them in.

Oscar rushed in and activated Rage Blow. He brought his sword up above his head and then brought it back down for a heavy hit to the boar. 4 damage was enough to defeat the boar and small victory screen appeared in front of him. Upon tapping it, several items were placed into his inventory as the boar was looted. He swiped his hand to bring up the menu and saw that he’d found an unidentifed Uncommon Consumable. He was overjoyed at the loot he received and leaped into the air, cheering.

“Awesome! That was so worth it!”

He forgot for a moment that had the fight gone the other way, he would have died in real life. But he didn’t care right now. He had shiny goodies to distract him. It was time to let his regeneration do its work and heal up while he looked for the rest of the items for Zackariah.

With his nerves steadied, Oscar rushed in and sliced at the boar. He saw a hefty chunk come out of the boar’s HP bar, even though he only did 2 damage. The boar retaliated but missed him by a mile. Oscar exclaimed happily and hopped back, flourishing his sword a bit. He was started to get a little full of himself. So he reined that in. As the Major said, cockiness gets you killed.

His energy bar had refilled, so Oscar began to charge up another Rage Blow. If this connected, the Boar would be defeated and Oscar would have won his first combat encounter in the game. He kept his nerves steadied, calming himself to keep his hands from shaking.

You got this. And if anyone tells you otherwise, prove em wrong.

Oscar grinned at that particular Major-ism. It fit perfectly in this setting. Deep down, Oscar didn’t actually know if he had this. He needed to prove himself to himself.

Oscar rushed in and sliced at the boar for. His aim was off so he watched his sword sail harmlessly past the boar. As he tried to correct himself, the boar drove its head into his shin, dealing 3 damage to him. Oscar backed off and looked at his health bar. Then he looked at the boar’s. They were about even now. Oscar would need to focus if he was going to beat this thing. He blamed his nerves for that miss, truthfully. He took a steadying breath and did his best to calm himself down.

He tightened his grip on his sword and looked at his energy bar. It would be time for another Rage Blow after the next turn. He could possibly finish it off in two turns then if he could get it together. The Major’s word’s echoed in his head.

If they tell you they’re not scared, they’re lying.

Oscar was terrified of dying. He wanted to make it to the end and go home. There was no sense trying to hide that fact. He began to tremble and let his emotions run free for a bit. Thankfully, the boar stayed put while his meltdown occurred. Then, right as the storm of emotions rose to a fever pitch, he quelled it with another Major-ism.

“I control myself.”

Oscar activated Rage Blow and rushed in, holding his blade above his head. Once in striking range, he brought the blade down hard on the boar. He heard the sound of his blow finding its mark and saw his enemy’s HP bar take heavy damage from the attack. The boar swung its head upward and caught Oscar in the knee for a Critical Hit. Oscar saw his HP bar drop by about a fifth and backed off.

These early encounters weren’t designed to be deadly, so the boar didn’t chase. It merely scraped its hoof against the ground and waited for Oscar to come to it. Which he appreciated. The looming threat of death really hit the nerves hard. His hands were shaking, causing the minor decorations on the hilt of his blade to rattle. Oscar adjusted his grip and got ready for the second round. It was just a boar. It couldn’t be an actual threat, right?