Van

Van listened as the hosts bickered upon an answer for Oji, neither content with simply disagreeing on their opinions of the matter. She was glad her seat was as far away as it was, the distance between them made their voices much more reasonable in volume. Hopefully this conference would generate something positive as it currently gave the impression it would be nothing more than a bunch of grown adults throwing insults at one another and their nations. However, another player would soon take stand and suggest a more likely alternative, one that would have a reason to attack all of the nations present. Vanessa nodded in agreement, though such a hunch would require significantly more resources and time to investigate.

Oji redirected the anger boiling at the table, reminding them all of their stature and the people they were representing. Hopefully his constructive message would help them begin forming some coherent discussion on what they each believe happened and perhaps it would bear some evidence that has yet to be presented to the public. Vanessa would keep an eye closest on dwarf to await his input, anticipating something that could be bounced off of for the question that was on the front of her mind. She would wait until the time was right to address her question towards Fudral, the only host to have kept quiet during the bustle so far. The topic was too far off and she didn't want to disrupt the tempo of the discussion, directly accusing any of these people would result in a fruitless response.

Vanessa took her seat at the Ronbaru Roundtable, impressed by the grandeur of the theater. Everything here felt like it should have only been preserved for the elite, well beyond her status both here and in the real world. It really was a beautiful sight, though it was disappointingly rare that such luxuries were appointed for moments of glory. The civil unrest could be felt in the air, members of the audience angrily conversing about the reasons they had all gathered here. Vanessa wasn’t too happy about it either, even if she had yet to be directly involved with any side.

The man began introducing himself and his fellow representatives, stirring up some hushed conversations around her with the audience. Vanessa had learned each of their names prior to the roundtable and doubted that their introduction was anything more than a formality for the rest of the crowd. It didn’t take long for their snark and spiel to end before opening the floor for questions, an opportunity that a player would seize rather quickly.

‘Good questions, Oji… The fires in Srona are what started it all.’ She kept her thoughts to herself for now.

With Tiberius leading the conference, it should be quickly addressed. The mummering in the audience around her had certainly picked up with people placing support in Oji’s question as well. She knew there was a chance for the atmosphere to get heated, but she felt like it was already catching fire. There was a lot to unpack considering the sequence of events that had occurred on floor 27, but Vanessa had yet to remotely connect the dots on her own. Many were still pointing fingers at Braso, though their willing participation here was a clear sign it wasn’t of their own volition. Perhaps a rogue group or maybe something as wild as a conspiracy within multiple nations, could they even whittle down the options?

‘What evil would have sabotaged all of these nations at once?’

Van signing up ☺️

Violet confirmed Vanessa’s earlier realization, this floor was beyond their capabilities. Both her and Senno would have been completely decimated had they ventured out here on their own. Thankfully these two kind souls would help them bridge that gap a bit, “Well, uh, thank you.” She didn’t know how to properly show her gratitude to either of them and didn’t fully know what Violet meant when she said give a head start.

Feeling a little uncertain in her position in her fight, she considered whether or not it was worth even trying to damage the beast. A single point of damage wasn’t even one percent of this monster’s health and that was if she could even hit it to begin with now that it wasn’t stunned. Though doing nothing and watching the two forerunners do all the work would make her feel too ashamed of herself, something was better than nothing.

Running forwards once again, Van would swing, cutting clean into the air in front of her. There was nothing to catch the blade and it ended up causing her to do a half spin from the momentum, “WHY IS IT SO FAST!?” The girl looked exasperated, ‘So much for actually doing something…’

She felt a bit disappointed by her failed assault, but having never encountered such a thing, she didn’t take it to heart. Watching as Mina easily charged forwards and knocked it back with her rapier, she could feel the difference in strength. ‘She hit it so hard it got pushed?’ The woman would address her after asking a mysterious question to Freyd, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just never seen something this fast before.” However, with just as much speed, Freyd would show an even more tremendous gap in their strength.

“WHAT WAS THAT?” He had flipped the whole gosh darn shark over. Vanessa rarely raised her voice, but she was nearly as stunned as Terra Firma was by the move.

Senno seizing the opportunity had also landed her strike, once again utilizing a rock, but it equated out to a singular point of damage. While she didn’t have a genuine weapon, how could a defenseless, stunned creature take so little damage? Maybe Van would have some better luck with her recent purchase on Freyd’s tab. She rushed in with the others, raising her sword well above her head for good measure, then slammed it down on Terra Firma. The sword struck against the beast’s skin, but reverberated in her hands as if she struck a wall, revealing she had dealt a single point of damage as well.

“J-just… what is this… thing?”

Between the speed and durability of it, there was no way she was supposed to be here. A chill ran down her spine at the notion that the people on the first floor that recommended she come here had sent her to die. ‘How could somebody be so cruel? To a compete stranger?’ This land was lawless, but a couple of bullies sending people to die was inhumane. Maybe they had sent Senno down here too, though she had taken responsibility when addressing Mina earlier. Remembering the favor Freyd had done for her, Vanessa retreated back a bit to access her inventory when Senno asked for some aide, “I got you, here’s a sword Freyd gave to me not too long ago.” She was a bit unsure of how Freyd would react to someone handing off a recent gift, but the rest of her gear was also from the same source, “It’s a two hander, hope that’s alright with you.”
 

Vanessa let out a sigh of relief as an onlooker gave her a shout and waved her over. 'Ah, finally a kind soul.' Making her way over, she'd raise her hand to both of the girls, "Nice to meet you both, I'm Van." It felt bizarre, she was usually the only in a group with conspicuous hair, but she strangely fit in with these two gals. Accepting the gift, she looked at the details of it from the menu, surprised to have been just given such a valuable lifeline, "Um, thank you, but why-"

A familiar voice would break her off mid-sentence, there weren't many voices she recognized her yet so it had to be another kind soul, "Sir Freyd?" Maybe the sir bit was overkill, but she'd be gearless without his assistance so it felt wrong not to show some kind of respect. He was spot on the money, though Vanessa still had no idea if this the quest she had been advised to try out, “I’d be happy to tag along!” It was certainly a relief knowing she’d have a much better chance at making it out of this floor alive with the party so she quickly accepted.

It wasn’t long before the group had made it out of town and to their destination, led onwards by Freyd himself. Upon seeing the behemoth of a monster ahead of them, she glared at the others in disbelief, “W-we’re going to fight… that?!” She hadn’t done anything other than slay a few tiny passive mobs outside of floor 1’s safe zone, how could she handle this? Though there wasn’t much time for her to deliberate the idea of running away, Freyd was already starting off with something else she hadn’t yet seen before. ‘My shadow…?’ It didn’t make sense to her, but a lot of things in this game didn’t.

The beast seemed absolutely livid by Freyd’s provocation so at least its attention wasn’t focused on Vanessa. Gripping tightly against her sword, she watched as one of the girls tossed a stone towards the monster, completely missing. It seemed safer than charging at it, but Van was only skilled with a straight sword. Charging towards Terra Firma with sword raised, she’d travel a safe line towards the backside of it to avoid catching its eyes that were so focused on Freyd. “Take this!” It was too fast for her, her sword slamming into the sand and pulling her forwards, "Holy moly... How will I even touch that thing?"

This was the first time Vanessa had laid eyes on another floor. Much to her surprise, it felt like a completely different zone with the dry heat and sand in the air. A couple of strangers had recommended for her to come to this floor to level up more efficiently than on the first floor, though she still felt a bit hesitant in their advice. For some reason, they were quite a giddy bunch and it made the conversation easy to remember.

"You can do much better than this floor, girlie." Another would follow up, "Floor 5's where the real grind is."

"I've barely even been out of town here to train, isn't it too early to go up a floor?"

"Nah, not with that gear." The group would nod in agreement, "Ain't a thing gonna scratch you up with that armor. Hell, you might even be able to knock out some of the quests up there." They would all walk off not too soon after, but it seemed like someone had cracked a joke before they made it too far as they were all dying of laughter.

She could've sworn she had goosebumps, maybe they were laughing at her and the fact that she might have believed them. Maybe she still did. 'Ughhhh... Should I be here?' She didn't have a lot of confidence and felt like she should have messaged one of her newly made friends before coming up here. 'Maybe I should just ask someone.'

"Uh, e-excuse me..." A small whisper wasn't enough to grab attention of the first person she addressed, forcing her to try again on another player. "If I could have a mo-" Shrugged off with a flick of the wrist, Vanessa felt like she definitely wasn't meant to be here yet. She'd approach yet another player walking through the central square, hoping in vain, "Um, please help me..."

Van
Level 1
HP: 20 | EN: 20 | DMG: 7 | MIT: 18
LD: 3

Morningstar seemed like a pretty fitting name, but she couldn't bear how cute Star sounded for a boy, though she made sure not to accidentally reveal that thought. She watched as Star and the mystery girl would introduce themselves to each other, thinking it was neat that they both happened to share the same first letter for their names. A brief second later, she nearly choked on her thoughts as Valk proposed a question insinuating that the two were together, "No no no no no, we only just met a few moments before you came up to us... I-I happened to be here and he happened to show up..." She always hated blunt questions like these that could catch her so off-guard, 'Why would it matter anyways?'

She let out a sigh, hoping to start fresh, "I'm Van... and I'm not little, you're just really tall." The odd one out in the group, Vanessa didn't feel quite confident in her statement. She would continue to lead the way for the group, heading towards the outskirts of the city so that they could collect their materials. Their conversation would carry them out of the city in no time, leaving the new player completely uncertain of what kind of materials they were looking for in the first place. "Star... When Zackariah asked us to collect materials, what exactly did he mean by that? Are we gathering flowers, mushrooms, wood or something else entirely?" It felt like an incredibly dumb question, but she had never gone material collecting on her own, much less left the city.

Vanessa entered into the shop, full of vivid and strange scents. It was her first time entering an alchemist's store, but she had heard good things about Exellance Elexirium. From the gossip, even the frontliners were coming here for their supplies for the push to Floor 27. Clearly, they had to be a quality place to support such customers. Making her way to the counter, Vanessa would patiently wait for a member of staff to approach her, "Hi there, I was hoping that you might have a certain potion in stock? I need something that will help me with the familiar hunting quest."

Payment of 1 material for the following potion:

Vanessa ran towards the entrance, hoping that this shop would have one in-stock. When she opened the door, she was completely thrown off to find a recording studio in front of her. She hadn't been to a shop like this before, least not one that wasn't just decorated in items for sale. Hesitant on how to handle this information, she would look around for someone that knew what they were doing, "Uhm, excuse me. I was looking to purchase a certain song for my travels. Am I in the right place for that? It's my first time here..."

Item Purchased, -1 Materials:

Vanessa had been looking into a quest for a few days now, preparing to capture an ally of her own. It had been advised to her to search for an artisan shop to increase one’s chances at success so she stood before The Evening Star. Opening the door and making her way inside, her presence would be alerted to those inside as the bell tinkled. She made her way down the path towards the store’s counter, keeping her eyes peeled for any good deals in the display cases. Luckily for her, one of them caught her eye – a small crystal trinket with exactly the enhancements she needed for her quest. Looking around for the staff, she would eventually spot a cute black cat with a bell next to it. Approaching, she would gently pet it, “Sorry kitty, hopefully the noise doesn’t bother you.” With her other hand, she run the bell, hoping to grab somebody’s attention. Whenever the staff would arrive, she would eagerly point towards the crystal in the display case, “I would like to purchase this trinket, please!”

-500 Col for the following item:

Vanessa was too engaged in her own mind space to notice the man approaching her, giving her an absolute startle when he spoke up. She instinctively clutched her chest as she backed away from the window, "Ahh... Uh... Sorry about that, you gave me quite the scare..." Breathing in and out for a bit to calm herself a bit, she responded to his ask, "Yes, this is actually my first quest. I was just checking out the shop to see what it might be about before heading in." She felt a bit flustered that she was caught off guard, knowing that if this was out there in the wild, she could've been attacked while she wasn't paying attention. "Ah, mister..." He hadn't introduced himself so he wasn't sure what to refer to him as, "I'm Van, by the way. Would you be interested in accompanying me on the quest?" She could certainly use the assistance, especially if there were any dangers she had to face. She could probably take a beating with her new armor and shield, but she wasn't sure how effective her offensive capability was.

Shortly after, another figure would approach them, but this time it seemed to be a tall woman. Yet another player that happened to be working on the mayor's quest. "Oh, uh, sure!" She hesitated a second before looking over at the man that had approached first, "That is... If you're okay with that?" Vanessa didn't want to pressure the man in any way, especially if he was willing to assist her. Waiting to see what he would say before continuing, she would rock back and forth from heal to toe, "Alright, that's settled then. How about we get started?" She was eager to complete her first quest and make some new friends in this world so she would open the door and make her way inside, approaching Zackariah.

"Good morning, sir." The man behind the counter was aged, adorned with silver hair. He asked if the party was there to purchase any goods to which Vanessa would shake her head, "No, we're actually he-" She would be cut off by the man as he leaned forwards, asking them to gather some material goods to fill his supply. 'Is this part of the quest?' Unsure of why Zackariah didn't mention anything about the mayor, she would accept the request. She would turn to the party of two with her and ask, "Is this normal? I thought this was about the mayor's... ya know." Vanessa wasn't sure if she could speak about the exact details of the quest in front of Zackariah since the mayor asked to keep it on the down low, but she kept it hushed enough to not have him overhear.

Vanessa received the notification from Rencesval and would swing by later that afternoon, eager to pick up her new equipment. Upon arriving, she would quickly make her way to the counter to pick up her fresh gear, showing her tremendous gratitude to the shopkeep, "Thank you so much again, I can't wait to finally go into the wild and try these out. I'll be sure to come back as soon as I can upgrade to a higher tier of gear!" She gleefully fitted herself in the armor and equipped the sword and shield, everything felt perfect. She bowed deeply then made her way outside, 'I'll have to make this up to him and Freyd someday...'

Items Received:

<<The First Lesson>>
Party: Van, Morningstar, Valk

Vanessa had finally gotten herself all geared up and prepared for her first journey into the wild. Even with the piece of mind of having proper equipment, she was still certainly nervous about the concept of player killers roaming out there. From her research, she should be able to handle any mobs she encountered at least. She wasn't quite sure what she would even do out there to be quite frank, beyond some mindless mob slaying, but any progress would be progress for a measly level one player. She shifted the sword around in her hand, still getting used to the idea of the lack of weight in it. She thought for certain that her armor, sword and shield would put quite a burden on her mobility, but it felt almost weightless. It was difficult to remember that this was a game sometimes.

Making way to the outskirts of the city, she would be rapidly approached by an NPC. The older man caught Vanessa off guard as he beckoned for her to halt, "Who me?" The NPC introduced himself as Dorian, mayor of the town. He had some sort of debt he needed assistance with so Vanessa politely took the request, hoping that this could give her a much needed purpose with rewards in tow. "Oh, uh, yes! I'd be more than happy to help." She gave him a small wave of the hand before heading off in the direction of the alchemist's shop, 'Hopefully it's nothing too crazy.' It wouldn't be long before she arrived at the storefront, but she wouldn't immediately enter. Instead, she took a peek through the window trying to observe the layout and building confidence before enter. Letting out a sigh and mentally closing out the world around her, she would whisper under her own breath, "You've got this."

Van
Level 1
HP: 20 | EN: 20 | DMG: 7 | MIT: 16
THORNS: 2 | TAUNT: 1

Vanessa confirmed that she had finally made it to her destination with the sign in front of her and peeped through the blinds of the shop. Is this really going to happen or am I having my leg pulled? There was no reason for the kind soul at Freyd Edges to pull one over her, especially after giving her such a head start. She calmly took a breath, preparing herself before she would enter. Maybe I can get some equipment that better fits my needs... It was a long shot, but there was no way on Aincrad that she could turn this opportunity down.

Opening the door, she quietly observed the surroundings. This shop felt quite cozy, but she felt as if she was being singed by the smell in the air somehow. She made her way up to the counter, but not before being distracted by a couple of the pieces showcased on display. They were well above her tier, equipment that she could not even bear to wield yet even if she wanted to. It certainly made her feel behind the curve, but everyone had to start from somewhere. She pipped up and politely asked for her ideal gear, "Excuse me, are you Ren? I was sent here by a gentleman named Freyd. He said I could put some stuff on his tab, I'm assuming the two of you are good friends...? I was looking for some bulky armor, something to make sure I can survive no matter what challenges I come across. I'm also in need of a sharp one-handed straight sword and a strong shield." She let out a small sigh, hoping that this wouldn't put too much on Freyd's bill with all he's done for her so far. "I've never really been out in the wild so I want to be prepared."

***

Order Request:

She was a bit disappointed in the truth he presented, but nobody could reasonably carry a five foot blade and wield a shield without being a hazard to their own team. She would have to find something more suitable to match the shield, but she could certainly use the sword on its own in the meantime if it was necessary. When the shop owner offered her the equipment for free, she slammed both hands on the counter in uncontained excitement, "Really!? I mean, thank you and I'm sorry I hit your counter." She quickly removed her hands, clasping them in front of her to keep them to herself.

"Yeah... It's the start of my journey, you could say." She was still incredibly nervous about taking a step outside of the safe zones. She had heard of the many permanent deaths of players, though she had hopes that she nor her sister would ever wind up being one of them. His tip was even more generous than the gifts he gave her, not only offering her the opportunity of meeting someone new, but to cover the expenses of her first order. "I very much appreciate that, er... Thank you." She wasn't sure of his name and she realized she forgot to introduce herself, "Um, I'm Vanessa, by the way. I'll be sure to head over to Ren's and let him know such a kind soul sent me." She smiled, gave a polite bow, then left with the fresh gear in her inventory and a skip in her step.

***

Items Obtained:

Vanessa opened the door slowly, this being an important first step to her journey. She had planned to browse available merchandise and shop around other stores. Knowing that 2,000 Col would barely be enough to get the cheapest weapons without any imbuement, she still needed something to help her begin leveling up and being able to produce coin for investing in better gear. She felt a bit stiff as she peeked in to have two attendants eyeing her peacefully, not expecting more than one soul to be monitoring the shop. She politely raised her hand near her shoulder to wave, then scurried over to look at some of the available wares. Mentally clutching her pearls, she started panicking a bit, ‘I can’t afford any of this!’ There were some items in the tens of thousands of Col.

Luckily it didn’t take long for her eyes to fall upon the bargain bin, ‘Please be some good deals…’ Peering at the product, she was pleasantly surprised to find ridiculously cheap gear that actually had imbuements… and good ones! This was more than she could have ever hoped for and she couldn’t dare leave this shop to check others in fear these would sell out before she returned. She had her eye on two, a large sword and a shield, both only costing her half off everything she owned. Looking towards the shop keeps with eyes on fire, she pipped up and ask “Excuse me, are these the only equipment in this price range?” She liked both, but the sword was too big for her to handle with the shield and she was hoping there was a slim chance they might have some sort of armor.

Reserving this post for future use.

Otherwise, this character is ready for approval.

^_<<Straight Swords^_>>
Rank | 1 of 5
Cost | 5 SP
Passive
Effect | At Rank 1, gain +3 DMG. At Ranks 2-5, +1 per rank (max of +7 DMG for R5 Weapon Skill). At Rank 5, unlock the ability to specialize in a Combat Shift.
Sword Arts

[x4] ST-I (4 EN) | A single-target sword art.
[x3] AOE-I (1 + [2 * targets] EN) | AOE | A sword art that strikes multiple targets at once.
[x4] TECH-A (5 EN) | STUN | A single-target sword art that stuns an enemy.

Standard Equipment

Malignant Blade | T1 Perfect Weapon (1HSS)
A fairly simple sword mounted on a black hit with guard, containing an amethyst within the pommel.
Enhancement: Damage [3 Slots] | Effect: +(1 * Tier) base damage per slot.

Unyielding Bastion | T1 Perfect Heavy Armor
A shining set of silver knight's armor, thick and durable. It bears some ornate, curved etchings for flair, but does not have any particular theme. The full helm has large slits for visibility, but can be latched upwards for a better view.
Enhancement: Mitigation [3 Slots] | Effect: Prevent (6 per slot * Tier) damage from successful attacks against you.

Barbed Rose | T1 Perfect Shield | Thorns 2, Taunt
A medium-sized metal shield bearing a red rose crest on an eggplant background with a wine colored metallic edging.
Enhancement: Thorns [2 Slots] | Effect: Successful non-critical attacks against you deal (9 per slot * Tier) unmitigated damage to the attacking enemy. Only activates on damage dealing, melee attacks.
Enhancement: Taunt [1 Slot] | Effect: +1 Hate generated from Howl, Focused Howl, and successful attacks.

Battle Ready Inventory

Starter Healing Potions (3) | Effect: Heals 50 HP

Quote

Transaction History:

-1 Mat to Zandra for purchase of potion.

An Mhaighdean Mhara | T1 Perfect Song
Enhancement: Familiar Sight [3 Slots] | Effect: When played during the <<Feeding your Enemy>> quest, gain +2 LD (per slot) when attempting to find a familiar. Effect lasts for one thread.
Source: Purchased from Morríghan's Descants.

-1 Mat to Mari-Larenth for purchase of song.

Crystal | T1 Perfect Trinket
A blue crystal. scraps of a larger crafting component.
Enhancement: Loot Die [3 Slots] | Effect: Gain +(1 per slot) to the LD.
Source: Purchased from The Evening Star.

-500 Col to NIGHT for purchase of trinket.

Malignant Blade | T1 Perfect Weapon (1HSS)
A fairly simple sword mounted on a black hit with guard, containing an amethyst within the pommel.
Enhancement: Damage [3 Slots] | Effect: +(1 * Tier) base damage per slot.
Source: Given by Rencesvals.

Unyielding Bastion | T1 Perfect Heavy Armor
A shining set of silver knight's armor, thick and durable. It bears some ornate, curved etchings for flair, but does not have any particular theme. The full helm has large slits for visibility, but can be latched upwards for a better view.
Enhancement: Mitigation [3 Slots] | Effect: Prevent (6 per slot * Tier) damage from successful attacks against you.
Source: Given by Rencesvals.

Barbed Rose | T1 Perfect Shield | Thorns 2, Taunt
A medium-sized metal shield bearing a red rose crest on an eggplant background with a wine colored metallic edging.
Enhancement: Thorns [2 Slots] | Effect: Successful non-critical attacks against you deal (9 per slot * Tier) unmitigated damage to the attacking enemy. Only activates on damage dealing, melee attacks.
Enhancement: Taunt [1 Slot] | Effect: +1 Hate generated from Howl, Focused Howl, and successful attacks.
Source: Given by Rencesvals.

Grand Respite | T1 Rare Weapon (2HSS)
A single-edged iron blade, nearly five feet long, that gives a slight tingle to the touch, but charges with motion. The hilt is heavily insulated to protect the wielder.
Enhancement: Accuracy [1 Slot] | Effect: Gain +(1 per slot) to the BD when attacking. Cannot be used to cause a critical hit.
Enhancement: Paralyze [1 Slot] | Effect: Natural critical attack rolls of 9-10 (1 slot) or natural successful attack rolls of 8-10 (2 slots) remove the enemy’s action on their next turn. Paralyzed opponents lose any evasion properties.
Source: Given by Freyd.
Update: Given to Senno.

Flashy Distraction | T1 Rare Shield; TAUNT, THORNS 1) 
An ornate silvered buckler conveniently sized to also amuse its owner as a throwing disc during moments of relaxation.
Enhancement: Thorns [1 Slot] | Effect: Successful non-critical attacks against you deal (9 per slot * Tier) unmitigated damage to the attacking enemy. Only activates on damage dealing, melee attacks.
Enhancement: Taunt [1 Slot] | Effect: +1 Hate generated from Howl, Focused Howl, and successful attacks.
Source: Given by Freyd.

Set D | Support Package
+ 2,000 Col
+ 25 Materials
+ 3 Starter Healing Potions (Heals 50 HP)

Vanessa is the younger of two sisters, her older being considered the "prodigy child" of the family. Valerie, the sister, was 6 years older and the center focus of her parents throughout all of her childhood. Vanessa was expected to follow in her shoes from a young age and whenever she struggled, her parents punished her with miserable loads of work for self-improvement and cast looks of disappointment for her failures. She constantly felt she was being pressured to be multiple grades ahead and eventually grew a disdain for Valerie due to the overwhelming complications that she caused in her life. Valerie and Vanessa never really spent much time together, usually over the family dinners. They were always in different stages in education due to the age gap and the interests that they would share with each other didn't often overlap.

Graduation from high school felt very liberating for her. It wouldn't be long before she moved out of her parent's house and into her college dormitory to start her freshman year, but with that she began to feel some resentment for her parents. What she was forced so hard into learning didn't make her any more successful in her current schooling and she felt she lost a lot of her valuable time growing up not getting to just be a kid. She would eventually reach out to her sister to try to make amends so that she could have someone to speak to about their family, realizing that Valerie shouldn't have been the target of her spite all these years. It had simply been that Vanessa never saw the same struggles that her sister had been going through, that the praises she had received were after arduous years of intense studying and attempts to please their parents.

Unlike Vanessa, Valerie moved out the moment she graduated high school at 18 and never made an effort to visit. Valerie did not pursue post-secondary education and instead tried to live a life free of burden. She only did what she wanted or had to do, particularly if it was for money to fund her experiences. That was until Sword Art Online came out and her sister dove in. Vanessa lost her closest family, what she would consider to be her only family at times. She knew she couldn't bear the thoughts of losing her to whatever horrors might be within the game and would eventually dive in herself, against everything that said not to, in hopes that she and her sister could reconnect within the virtual world and make it out alive.

Freyd Overview | Owner of Freyd Edges, provided Vanessa with some starting gear and tips. Status | Acquaintance           Nickname | N/A Likeability | 7 out of 10          Interest | 1 out of 10 [Freyd's Journal] | [Freyd Edges] | [First Meeting]