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The Broker of Oz


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"Don't be fooled - I was raised in hell."
"Or maybe, I
raised hell itself."

PWzJLTz.png

   Oz  

"All it takes is a spark to ignite my bad intentions."

NAME: Bellamy Tressler
GENDER: Male       
AGE: Twenty-seven-ish

HEIGHT: 6 foot
WEIGHT: Lol
BIRTHDAY: March 8th

BACKGROUND

Look at you, snooping. Figures you'd come to an info broker's profile for details. You think he'd actually share anything personal here?

Well, you might just be in luck.

Dude's an enigma wrapped in a silly hat wrapped in stubble. You'll learn about as much history from this profile as you will from conversing with the guy. He's got a dozen different tall tales regarding his origins, and they only seem to stretch further and further the more times he tells them. Those unfortunate enough to have gotten "close" with him probably can't tell the difference between what's fact or fiction. At some point, it's possible even he himself started to forget.

You know the drill. Abusive parents, escapism through electronic gaming that extended far too deep into adulthood, with the eventual plunge into full dive VR. You've read it a thousand times, with each variation satiating your curiosity as much as substituting your typical mint ice cream for the ever-so-adventurous Andes Mint variety. You won't find the fix you're looking for here, and you'll definitely never hear Oz admit that his rat bastard of a father beat him and his tramp mother verbally berated him for taking issue with the countless Johns that visited their domicile.

His life in Aincrad has been a quiet one. While he's no coward, there's not a chance in hell that he'll be letting a fucking game snuff him out. He'll reiterate any chance he gets that he, quote, "Knew this damned VR business would turn sour the moment it could, and after this he's done with gaming for good." We'll see.

Spoiler

 BACKSTORY

Spoiler

Unsurprisingly, there are few Aincradians who are familiar with finality imposed by abject poverty. Those who are not only able, but willing, to dump over a grand into a fancy headpiece and a nerdy game aren't typically the sort who have ever needed to choose between putting food on the table or having electricity for another month. And it goes without saying that there are Players within the floating castle, such as Oz, who embody this class of people. But he, and those like him, are the exception, rather than the rule.

His parents tried to "be better" when he was born, but quickly grew weary of the restrictions a "good" life necessitated. Not getting to choose when one gets to wake up, when one gets to start drinking, or what days one works, seem like natural limitations to most of us. But to some, these limitation are an unbearable prison. And so it goes, in the case of Bellamy, that his parents abandoned their station as diligent workers and facilitators of progeny; opting instead for a lackadaisical life of booze, depravity, and whimsy.

His father blamed Bellamy, and his mother, for "trapping" him in a life deprived of the freedoms he sought, and so plunged himself into an alcoholic frenzy, only paying the two any mind in the form of beatings when his bottle ran dry. The mother, in a misguided bid to "make up for" the imposition of ensnaring him with a child and family, sold her own body for the privilege f earning money for the man to drink away. Occasionally, should some spare dollars find their way into the family's lives, they could afford luxuries such as rent, electricity, or (if they were feeling particularly charitable) even food. Though considering the money his mother brought in was barely enough to keep his father's lips wet, these accommodations were went without more often than not.

To find his meals (and avoid his beatings), Bellamy learned early into his childhood that home was the last place he wanted to be. He'd never been particularly good at stealing, and didn't have the muscle to pull off anything more aggressive like robbery. But what he did have was a good set of ears. Knowing when and where to listen was almost as lucrative as anything else on the streets. Where to snag the next score. Who would be where, and when. Who was vulnerable, and who wasn't. Where someone's precious parcel ended up after a heist. People were willing to pay for the answers, and Bellamy was willing to track them down.

And when he wasn't he sought refuge in the comforts of his friends' homes. If he were so lucky, he might get the chance to play some video games to distract himself until the sun went down. He would play and play and play, pushing any intrusive thoughts to the back of his mind and focusing completely on the screen. It wasn't unusual for the parents of his friends to grow weary of his extended stays, pushing into the later hours of the night. But the later he came home, the better a chance he had of arriving after his father had passed out. Those were the good days.

The days where his father was still awake when he made it home, not so much.

Eventually he did earn his emancipation, after dropping out of school and barely acquiring a GED. He intended to enter the workforce and try to make something out of his life. And try he did. Continuously. Perpetually. Only ever towing the line of the next step forward, but finding it slipping further and further back the more he pursued it. With time, he came to understand why his parents were the way that they were. Here he was, barely connecting one check to the next. Always paying bills late, always squaring up rent right before eviction. They'd had to do the same thing, only saddled with a child at the same time. It was no wonder his father had found him to be so loathsome.

While there would always be some sort of appeal to jumping into that same craterous pit of alcoholism that his father had, Bellamy had learned a different sort of escape; video games. Every now and then he would scrounge up enough scratch to buy that console that came out five years ago, or that not-so-new game that dropped the previous year. He didn't need to be on the bleeding edge to enjoy himself - he just needed something to stitch together his times at work or sleeping. Something to plunge into that almost made him forget the degeneracy of his financial situation.

It was when he saw a post online advertising a raffle for the upcoming NerveGear and its launch title at five bucks a ticket that he threw his hail mary. Seventeen dollars in his account was enough for two tickets and a pack of smokes. And when a month had passed and he'd all but forgotten about those tickets, one of them bore fruit. A singular moment of luck amid an entire existence of misfortune - or so he thought.

And when he found himself trapped within on launch day, he couldn't help but laugh. Of course it had all been a rouse. Nothing free ever turned out to be good. And with no job, no responsibility, and nothing to look forward to other than what he could only imagine would be an insurmountable medical bill once he was released from the game, he went back to what he did best; finding the answers to the questions nobody had even thought to ask yet.

VIRTUES&FLAWS

Spoiler

+ INDUSTRIOUSNESS
It isn't a matter of laziness that keeps Oz shackled by poverty. Quite the opposite, in fact. It is largely due to his incredible work ethic that he can afford to have a place to call home at all. While he may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, nor the most durable, his is a skillset which is not easily replicated. And he works like hell to put it through the paces and extrapolate every last drop of value out of it.

+ MEMORIOUS
If Oz ever tells you he can't remember something, or doesn't recall a previous conversation or agreement, he is more than likely lying. Dude's mind is a tungsten trap in a steel cage. While not quite photographic in nature, Oz can commit to memory even the most excruciatingly small details. Whether or not he can actually put these details to good use is what is often up for debate.

+ SMOOTH-TONGUED
Being the sort who could never meaningfully muscle his way into victory, Oz has always taken a more linguistic approach to problem-solving. Dubbed the "King of Tact" during his more active years on the streets, he earned a reputation early on in his life as a man who could talk his way out of any situation. It is not merely through perseverance or dumb luck that he's managed to survive this long - his mouth carries its weight in gold when relating to the longevity of his lifespan.

- - - 

- UNEDUCATED
If you think that education was at the forefront of Oz's concerns growing up, you haven't been paying attention. To those of you who can start off poor and wriggle your way into success through sheer willpower and the strength of big-brain, good for you. Oz is not one of these people, and has known as such for a long time. It's true that he possesses a certain flavor of wit and charisma, but those who can see through his facade can often outsmart him easily.

- FEEBLE
As he was in the real world, Oz's theme of being physically weak persists in this one. While anyone can be strong in Aincrad, Oz recognizes this trap for what it truly is; a taste of power that can't actually last. As such, he has poured his resources into exploring other values in the game's expansive skill tree. He can always find someone else to fight his battles for him, but not everyone can find someone like him to sniff out the secrets and pick the locks.

- PERFIDIOUS
Do not believe the lie that Oz in on your side. Putting anyone but yourself first on the streets is a good way to wind up with a bullet between the eyes. Any alliances with Oz can only be described as gossamer at best, and a complete farce at worst. He sincerely believes that opening himself up to anything deeper than surface-level camaraderie will lead to his death. And seeing how he hasn't yet, and he's still alive, it's unlikely that attitude will be changing any time soon.

NOTES

Spoiler

"Stop snooping."

Edited by Oz
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  • 6 months later...
Spoiler

crop.png.076ab66f67ee0696cf9702e13eecfb51.pngOz | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20


Equipped

  • Mirror Coat [T1 Heavy Armor]
    • Thorns 2
       
  • Full-Tang Short Sword [T1 Vanity Sword]

 

Battle-Ready Inventory

  • (3) Starter Healing Potion
    • Heals 50 HP
       

 

Skills

Spoiler

 

Buffs

Spoiler

 

 

 

Spoiler

Standard Quests
- [F01] «The First Lesson»
- [F01] «The Second Lesson»
- [F01] «The Third Lesson»
- [F01] «Earning a Living»
- [F01] «Redemption»
- [F01] «Black Iron Dungeon»
- [F01] «Secret Medicine of the Forest»
- [F02] «Breaking the Unbreakable»
- [F02] «Let There Be Light»
- [F03] «Captured»
- [F03]«Search for the Hoya»
- [F04] «Absolute Zero»
- [F05] «Butcher in the Sands»
- [F05] «Bloodstained Land»
- [F05] «The Traveler»
- [F06] «Calming the Soul»
- [F06] «The Gemini»
- [F07] «Case of Wurms»
- [F08] «Monkey King»
- [F09] «Bandit Camp»
- [F09] «The Iron Guardian»
- [F12] «Just for the Halibut»
- [F13] «Cleansing the Corruption»
- [F14] «Cull of the Dead»
- [F16] «The Swashbuckling Buccaneer»
- [F17] «Challenge of Olympus»
- [F18] «The Poisonous Warg»
- [F19] «Keep Calm and Ki'Raion»
- [F21] «Betrayal of the King»
- [F21] «The Hidden Village»
- [F21] «Trouble in the Mines»
- [F22] «King of Lakes»
- [F22] «What We Fight For»
- [F22] «Witch of the West»
- [F??] «Nature's Treasure»
- [F??] «Feeding your Enemy»
- [F??] «Training your Friend»

[Series] «Until Death Do Us Part»
- [F01] «Making Vows»
- [F??] «Saying Vows»

[Series] «The Night King's Trilogy»
- [F04] «Harbinger of the Night»
- [F04] «The Night's Shadow»
- [F04] «The Night's King»

[Series] «Elvish Conflict»
- [F08] «Elvish Rivalries»
- [F08] «Elvish Treaties»

[Series] «Treant Conflict»
- [F08] «Treant Rivalries»
- [F08] «Treant Treaties»

[Series] «Into the Fire»
- [F09] «Guardian of Fire»
- [F09] «The Gatekeeper of Fire»

[Series] «Fonsa's Sacrifice»
- [F23] «Search & Rescue»
- [F23] «Escaping the Underdark»

[Series] «Incognito Antics»
- [F24] «Incognito Analysis»
- [F24] «Incognito Assassination»

[Multi-Floor] «Arabian Nights»
- [F05] «The First of Many»
- [F07] «Unfinished Business»
- [F13] «Libel»

[Multi-Floor] «All For One»
- [F05] «The First of Many»
- [F07] «Unfinished Business»
- [F13] «Libel»

[Multi-Floor] «Dragon Hunter Anthology»
- [F01] «DHA 1: Diary of The Dragon Huntsman»
- [F02] «DHA 2: The Demon of the Mountains»
- [F03] «DHA 3: Lost Blessings and Ancient Evils»
- [F04] «DHA 4: True Family»
- [F05] «DHA 5: Of Greed and Avarice»
- [F06] «DHA 6: Plagues and Decay»
- [F07] «DHA 7: The King and the Conqueror»
- [F08] «DHA 8: Keeper of Life & Death»
- [F09] «DHA 9: Cavity of Ruin»
- [F10] «The Dragon Age Crusade»

[Multi-Floor] «Scents of the Wild»
- [F01] «Keepers of Nature»
- [F08] «Ferocious Foe»
- [F10] «Leeching Nightmare»
- [F16] «Fighting Fish»
- [F19] «The Colossal Shadow»
- [F20] «Pouncing Puma»
- [F22] «Shocking Stallion»
- [F01] «Mother Nature»

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[F10 Raid] «The Dragon Age Crusade»

 

Edited by Oz
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On 4/21/2021 at 5:46 AM, Oz said:
"Don't be fooled - I was raised in hell."
"Or maybe, I
raised hell itself."

PWzJLTz.png

   Oz  

"All it takes is a spark to ignite my bad intentions."

NAME: Bellamy Tressler
GENDER: Male       
AGE: Twenty-seven-ish

HEIGHT: 6 foot
WEIGHT: Lol
BIRTHDAY: March 8th

BACKGROUND

Look at you, snooping. Figures you'd come to an info broker's profile for details. You think he'd actually share anything personal here?

Well, you might just be in luck.

Dude's an enigma wrapped in a silly hat wrapped in stubble. You'll learn about as much history from this profile as you will from conversing with the guy. He's got a dozen different tall tales regarding his origins, and they only seem to stretch further and further the more times he tells them. Those unfortunate enough to have gotten "close" with him probably can't tell the difference between what's fact or fiction. At some point, it's possible even he himself started to forget.

You know the drill. Abusive parents, escapism through electronic gaming that extended far too deep into adulthood, with the eventual plunge into full dive VR. You've read it a thousand times, with each variation satiating your curiosity as much as substituting your typical mint ice cream for the ever-so-adventurous Andes Mint variety. You won't find the fix you're looking for here, and you'll definitely never hear Oz admit that his rat bastard of a father beat him and his tramp mother verbally berated him for taking issue with the countless Johns that visited their domicile.

His life in Aincrad has been a quiet one. While he's no coward, there's not a chance in hell that he'll be letting a fucking game snuff him out. He'll reiterate any chance he gets that he, quote, "Knew this damned VR business would turn sour the moment it could, and after this he's done with gaming for good." We'll see.

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