Shinji

ID: 135521 -- LD: 5 (No Material found)

For a while he was walking along parts of the town, browsing merchants, checking out lodgings and maybe a few players here and there. He thought it was great that the shops sell a lot of equipment and items that players need, but it is the not so great quality that slightly sets him off. Maybe good for newer players, but he imagined that they won't help much in further levels.

The rest of his day was spent on resting, checking the functions of his menu, and wandering around the grasslands outside the walls. It was a refreshing walk, and he remembered himself sitting on the grass to look at a pretty area with a lake and a rainbow, both visible from his distance. He felt a moment of peace, and he smiled to himself brightly. Perhaps this game won't fall into the hellish realms of boring MMORPGs.

No sooner than two seconds after he stands up, he was suddenly teleported into the central square of the Starting City as the sun sets. Aincrad is about to fall into another kind of hellish realm: a permanent death game with permanent consequences.

ID: 135520 -- LD: 16 (Found 3/5 Material!)

Oh, a belladonna. Good good, this is getting a bit better, Shinji thinks to himself as he picks it up and continues to search among the flowerbeds, still thinking of his first day in Aincrad while sometimes become aware of his surroundings in case of an attack.

The first time he enters Aincrad, he was given starting COL and Materials, as well as a weapon and armor of choice. He picked a two handed straight sword as he isn't fond of shields as he used to. If you are heavily armored from head to toe, they are nothing more than dead weight even when the armor doesn't feel cumbersome and its weight spread evenly throughout the body. Plus, a two handed weapon deals greater damage than one handed variants, so that's a plus, especially if you want to finish a fight sooner.

As his armor, Shinji chose a simple iron cuirass. It may only protect his chest, but at least it ensures that his vital organs are safe and sound behind the metal. He was later teleported to the Starting City, and he was filled with awe as he looked at the blue sky, the buildings and the players. He even took a big sniff to see if he was actually breathing Aincrad air.

ID: 135519 -- LD: 13 (Found 2/5 Material!)

As Shinji takes a break from flashbacking, he notices another nettle sticking out among white flowers. Relief washes over him in an awesome wave as he picks it up, inspects it, and puts it into his inventory. Now to look for belladonnas.

Resuming to his nostalgia as he makes the search, he simply asked his parents for a bit of extra money just for the Nerve Gear and a copy of SAO. They sent that to his way. After much patience, the game was officially released at a later date, and Shinji went out of his home just to line up in a game store he used to frequent for said copy. The line was pretty long and for a moment, his optimism was slightly drained as he was worried that all copies of the game in the store might be sold soon. Fortunately, another box of those arrived, and thanks to that, he was able to purchase it and rushed straight home to delve into his new fantasy.

ID: 135518 -- LD: 10 (No Material Found)

He later found that MMOs those days were boring to play, much like his first MMO game. All you do is grind, fetch, level up, craft, repeat. It sounds fun when playing in a group, but even so, he thought that too will become stale and groups will disband as a result. Basically, there wasn't any interesting premise or content to look into. And he wasn't willing to play as such even if he finishes all of the games that he owned.

When he heard of SAO's upcoming release though, he was curious of it being the first Virtual Reality MMORPG, as well as the Nerve Gears. The virtual reality part is enough to convince him that this game might be worth a try. After all, instead of just pressing keyboards and staring at the screen while waiting for his character to finish slaying or gathering, he could actually do this for real. He would be able to see Aincrad in his very eyes, hold an actual sword, and actually make the effort of slaying monsters. Just like reality.

ID: 135517 -- LD: 7 (No Material Found)

While Shinji keeps looking for the herbs, he lets his mind being occupied by his past life. Memories of his teenage self playing an MMO game fills his brain. The dating systems, the equipment, the anime-style graphics, all of those appealed him back then. He would go around and fulfill quests, slay numerous creatures, make his character stronger, and even better, managed to find a player that became his in-game date for a short while. Life was bright that way.

It is at the age of 17 when, combined with the pressures of exams, he found the overall game grindy and boring to play. There was nothing much to do after being strong enough to take down some bosses or so. Even his in-game date left for unknown reasons. Perhaps she too was tired of the monotony. As if that wasn't enough, the playerbase was declining, owing to a fact that the developers weren't very active in the game's recent developments, and they thought that they probably ran off the money and abandoned their project for good. So they reached a dead end and got no choice but to leave.

Sad, but this moment did left Shinji a new impression on MMOs in general.

ID: 135516 -- LD: 1 (No Material found)

As the search for nettles and belladonnas are growing in vain, Shinji starts to resent this stupid quest, wondering what the hell he is doing here in the first place searching for something that might not be common in an area like this. Is Zakariah even correct about the two flowerbeds inhabited by said herbs? Maybe some kind of dementia he is suffering and he gave Shinji the wrong location, or worse, hoped on the wrong person who is barely starting in Aincrad?

Shinji shakes his head to shake off any negative thoughts he harbors towards the NPC, seeing that he sounds kind hearted and just want a little help to complete his own work. His stomach rumbling isn't helping much either, as he hadn't had breakfast or last night's supper yet. He wasn't in the mood for food before, his starvation replaced with depression. He wasn't sure if the wet pillow he laid on was the result of his sobbing last night, or maybe he is just imagining things.

ID: 135515 -- LD: 5 (No Material found)

It doesn't take long for Shinji to realize that it'll take some time to find the herbs he needs. A lot which he found don't look like nettles or belladonnas as depicted in the book shown by Zakariah. This is the part he hates. Having to waste a lot of time trying to find something in vain in a goddamn fetch quest. Sometimes Shinji takes a break and sits by the flowerbeds, staring at the distance, thinking of his former life. But no sooner than five minutes later, he gets back to his work, confident that he'll make it at best before noon, or hell, evening.

Sometimes Shinji catches glimpses of a boar or two approaching his vicinity, but as he isn't in the mood to attack them for the time being, they mind their own business, grazing and wandering around all day while snorting randomly like the pigs they are.

The walk to the flowerbeds is short if uneventful. Today's breeze cool Shinji's head, relieving him from the heat of the morning sun. At one point he comes across an area scattered with boars grazing the grass or sleeping, but he provokes none of them as he wants to get this done as quick as possible. As he keeps referring to his map and its quest marker, he finds that he is close to the flowerbeds and exits the display.

Shinji looks ahead at his destination as he finally arrives, the flowerbeds are riddled with beautiful flowers and herbs, a lot of them ripe and ready to be picked for future use. He kneels down and brushes his hand along the flowers in an attempt to search for nettles and belladonnas. He wonders what kind of potion would require both of those, as well as its effects.

ID: 135514 -- LD: 15 (Found 1/5 Material!)

First nettle found! That was easy, he thinks to himself. Putting it into his inventory, he keeps brushing his hands along the different areas of the beds to find the next herb.

"Here to buy my potions, young man? Or do you perhaps...want to run an errand for me in return for free potions? They will be very helpful in your early adventures, I assure you," says Zakariah while he retains his small smile. 

Free potions? Not bad. Shinji could get plenty of those to survive. He nods slowly to the man and speaks in a soft voice, "What is it that you need, sir?"

Zakariah stands up and offers his hand to Shinji, who shakes it firmly in return. He sits back down as he explains that he just needs five herbs that are found in a couple of flowerbeds at the grasslands outside the walls. Two nettles and four belladonnas. As a reference, he shows Shinji pictures of said herbs from a book about alchemic ingredients.

"There are boars and wolves that you must watch out for, son, but with that sword of yours, I am sure you can dispatch them easily. Don't rush, just be careful and take care of yourself."

Shinji bows respectfully to the old man as thanks for his advice, then steps out of the door and walks all the way to the Starting City's gates. Maybe this quest will be a breeze for him.

Tired of being idle in his room in a local inn, Shinji dons his iron cuirass and straps his greatsword to his back, then heads out of the building. The first thing he wants to do is to level up early, so reluctantly, he follows a marker leading to the first quest. A fetch quest. A boring kind of quest. Why can't NPCs fetch s**t for themselves? Aren't there combat NPCs they could hire to fend beasts off them? Is this really the video game of the future?

Shinji lets out a deep sigh. Unless he wants to die early from more powerful monsters in other quests, it's probably best if he starts slowly. Soon he is close to an alchemy lab, a sign depicting a flask with smoke trailing from it hangs above a wooden door. Shinji slowly pushes it open and steps in, looking around to see dozens of bottles, lab equipment, potions, furniture, and an NPC in the form of an old man called Zakariah.

Here's the quest giver I suppose, he thinks to himself as he approaches the man, who turns around and look at him with a smile.

What am I supposed to do now that I am trapped here for God knows how long? Where do I even begin?

These are the thoughts running along Shinji's mind as he looks out the window, the morning sun risen since three hours ago. He found a new purpose to live when he heard the dreadful announcement from Aincrad's creator and god that all players here will be trapped for life until they are able to beat the 100th floor. Some took their own lives in response, thus prompting their Nerve Gears to fry their brains in reality. Some sank into emotional misery. Others formed their own armies and wasted no time in advancing to higher floors. Overall, the situation was initially painful to endure.

Not so for Shinji, as he found that life in his Earthly home gets a bit boring from cycling the same routine over and over for one year. Plus, with loneliness still in his heart, he found something that might be able to distract himself from that. Purging evil, witness magic, see the unexplainable, et cetera. However, the burning question is, where does he still start?

 

Real Name: Shinji Tanimura

Display Name: Shinji

Age: 23

Gender: Male

HP: 140/140

Energy: 14/14

Level: 7

SP: 15

DMG: 6

MIT: 17

ACC: 1

 

History

You were not very fond of school even though you somehow managed to graduate with decent grades just to get by. But you love video games, they are the beacons of your life! You like playing fantasy games and adore medieval too, as well as any anime games worth playing. And let's not forget MMORPGs. You used to religiously play one such MMO in anime style as a young otaku, but gradually you stop playing as you realize how grindy and boring it is as time passed, the declining player base reinforced your eventual boredom towards it. Soon you also realized that there aren't many great MMO games to play since they all look the same and again, dull to play.

Up to your age you had completed your diploma, and even though you had the chance to start a degree, you ended up living like a NEET. You don't deny that you were grown spoiled as your rich parents gave you money and a place to live to ensure that you live as a so called independent man. You wasted your days away playing games, staying in your home, walking around parts of Tokyo, especially Akihabara, and sometimes sank into loneliness and depression thanks to a lack of companionship and self-esteem. This went on for a year until one day, SAO was finally released to the world. The ultimate MMORPG you are looking for was finally in your hands at the first day of its launch, and you rushed home and to your bed and lie down like a mummy after putting on your own Nerve Gear.

Little did you know, you would eventually be trapped in a fantasy with, admittedly, you don't mind staying...things may get better or worse there, but hey, at least you can finally purge evil for real.

 

Virtues First, Flaws Last

Brave: Some may call you reckless, but it doesn't deter you much since you are willing to face danger head on. You do not care if monsters look scary to others, more so if your strength is equal to said beings. In your principle of monster slaying, if it bleeds, you can kill it.

Tolerant: You don't easily get taken down by mean words, whether they come from a guy or a girl. To you, these words don't really mean anything if ignored, thus rendered useless. You also think that you don't have much of a reputation to defend to begin with, so whatever nonsense they spout about you, you just let them be and move on. You have better things to do.

Heroic: Now this may sound a bit broad, but to put it simple, you do care if you see or hear anyone that needs help, so long as said help is within your level. Saving somebody, receive a cure, help that player trying to find a way back into town, you name it. But in your mind, you don't do these things just to be a hero and receive praises and swag like free food, lodgings and ladies. You do this to ensure the safety of that person, or at least release whatever burdens they face. However, you don't just help everybody as you leave them alone if you see that they still can solve their own problems.

And now, flaws.

Lack of self-esteem: You don't feel attractive or even worthy of being helped, even in your NEET days. You always think that somebody will be a better friend or lover to that person, and you make no effort in making any more advances beyond acquaintance or even friendship. You fear rejection and being hurt of losing somebody, thus you don't try to think of any possibility that they may like you more than what you think. You think that this is for the benefit of your mental health.

Loneliness: There are times when you feel down, like having a kind of sleep that is really hard to wake up to. Though you are happy that you are in a new world with fantasies made real, you still feel lonely and try your best to fight against this personal monster through adventuring. Sometimes it made you cry, but in spite of this, you still feel the need to pick up your sword, stand up and keep pushing on, even if this flaw may last for a long time. This is okay, you think to yourself, as long as your friends are happy and safe...and you still have a reason to live in this world.

Shyful: You hate to admit that you are a shyful person and don't want to take the role of a leader or a speaker in front of people. You prefer to stay behind the lines and just be the foot soldier, caring only about yourself while listening to your superiors. As for the ladies, if you hear them speaking flirtatiously to you, probably enough to make you blush, you either look away as if distracted by something, or try to rebuff their advances through indifference.

 

Skills

Sword Art: Two Handed Straight Sword (Rank 2)

Two Handed Weapons (Rank 2) (+4 DMG)

Heavy Armor (Rank 1) (+8 MIT)

 

Equipment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shinji's Adventures

Tedious Quest

Buzz Buzz

Minos' Labyrinth

 

SP Tracker

2/15