Oscar

“Warlords always justify employing their child soldiers.” “Child soldiers? You dumb?” “You could have left. You could have disappeared. You could have done all you could to remove the target from them.” “Did you forget? I did. I went to ground right after I did all of this. I so badly hoped that they would never need to use the skills they learned. Tyson came after them anyway. Or did you forget that incident was what brought me back from my little sabbatical.” The Other fell silent. Oscar realized that it was simply echoing the same thoughts that he’d had about the situati

“You put children at risk to fight in your war,” The Other said. Oscar could only laugh, then. It was a ludicrous observation. A contortion of reality meant to pluck at his guilt once more. “Oh don’t give me that,” Oscar said with a chuckle. “That’s so weak. You know exactly what I did and why I did it. Those field trips saved lives.” It hadn’t taken long, really. Oscar guiding the children at the orphanage three-by-three through the Tutorial. Grinding mobs on Floor One until they had the levels necessary to invest heavily into stealth and first aid. Employing Crafters on the low to

The fields of Floor One stretched out before them. In the distance, the Town of Beginnings could be seen. The threat had been well and truly established now. Oscar had shaken - killed - the tail Tyson had put on him. Having invested heavily into Searching, it was damn near impossible to keep a stealthed PKer on him. It gave Oscar a small window of opportunity. A chance to turn a weakness into an advantage. Oscar knew, at some point, Tyson would come after the Orphanage in Town. He didn’t think that Tyson would kill children, but he couldn’t put much past him. Thus, a field trip was in order. I

“What if you fail again? What if someone else dies? Can you take all that pain?” It was hard to argue against himself - the literal embodiment of his own guilt and insecurities. It was a constant fear, failing like that again. And having the question posed to him in such a way was almost enough to shake his resolve. Almost. The anger faded and the smile returned to Oscar’s face. “I’m not gonna,” he said. “They caught me by surprise. Took advantage of my hesitation. I was trying to figure out why they were after me. Us. I don’t care about the whys anymore. If they’re a threat, I’ll re

“I’m sure that will be of great comfort to Jason’s widow and fatherless daughter.” Oscar scowled as anger flared in his eyes. “That’s just another reason. They deserve to know what happened. That, even in his final moments, he was a good man. That he stood up for his friends. That it was his sacrifice that made me work so hard to get everyone out of here.” “What do you expect to happen then? Gratitude? Do you think you deserve it after getting them killed?” “Fuck no,” Oscar said. “I don’t deserve anything more than their contempt. I got him killed. But they deserve closure. They

That was the day it all went to shit, Oscar realized. His first time killing another Player. His brutality earned him the moniker “Beast” among the PKers who were suddenly shocked to see one man add five names to the Monument in one day. He became aware of the threat closing in around him. And he had no choice but to play Tyson’s game. “Do you still think you can save them?” “I told you. Of fucking course I do,” Oscar responded quickly. “Even if I fail, I have to believe that. If I don’t move with that intention, I will simply continue to fail. More people will die. I’m not a hero.

Oscar watched from above as Jason stuck a dagger in his back. Five Players stepped out from behind the trees. Seeing them again reignited that hate he felt that day. They deserved worse than what Oscar gave them. Jason and Oscar had a plan, but they couldn’t have expected the PKers demand that Jason do their dirty work for them. But Jason was a good man. He planted his feet and refused. He wouldn’t kill a friend. Of course, their enemies knew that. That, too, was simply pretense. They used his refusal to justify his execution, thinking that Oscar was incapable of reprisal. Two of them die

The scene unfolded beneath them. Tyson’s men began to extort Jason, threatening Oscar’s life to motivate him. Eventually, when the two crossed paths again, Jason had leveled up and become stronger. He decided to help Oscar with a Quest, but it was all a pretense to lure him out of the safe zone at the PKer’s orders. But Jason was a good man. His conscience won out and warned Oscar of the impending danger. They had formulated a plan to strike back at the PKers. Oscar would pretend to be paralyzed while Jason distracted the men. When the time was right, Oscar could drop the act and deal with the

But then again, that was the first bit of motivation Oscar got. The first reason to fight. The unfortunate circumstance of a man he’d just met had lit a fire in his chest. He fought not just for himself, but for the sake of someone else ever since that day. Every step, every attack, every quest had been in the furtherance of his intent to join the Frontlines and actually help people like Jason escape this Hell. And it was a difficult thing to reconcile. In many ways, Jason had given Oscar reason to surpass himself. In life, it was the noble goal of helping everyone escape. And in death, it was

Oscar hated to admit it, but The Other was right. Jason was his first failure. The first of many, he were being honest. The man had been trapped in the game, living his life in peace on Floor 2. His wife back in the real world was almost due to deliver their newborn daughter. In a rare opportunity to blow off some steam, Jason had decided to join the Launch of the game. Only, he was trapped within it. It was already bad enough that he had missed his daughter’s birth. Missed hearing her first cries. Missed being there for his wife at that perfect, beautiful moment. He had given Oscar his hospit

“Do you really think you can save them?” The Other posed the same question. This time, Oscar wasn’t taken aback by the suddenness of it all. He had an answer. Of course he did.. He didn’t come this far and struggle this much not to be able to answer something so simple. “Of course I do,” Oscar replied with a smile. “Why the fuck would I waste my time if I didn’t? You’re Me. You know how I get.” The Other was silent for a moment. His eyes narrowed at Oscar’s response. “What about Jason, then? You didn’t save him.” Oscar’s face twitched. A flash of emotion danced across

“Oh shit,” Oscar said with a laugh. “I’m totally seeing things. Guess I couldn’t hold out forever.” The disparity was jarring. One version of Oscar broken down by the stresses of his ordeal, the other smiling in amusement at the scene unfolding before him. He knew which was the real him. He knew what the other Oscar represented. All of his repressed feelings of inadequacy. His self-doubt and worries. An amalgamation of issues long stuffed down deep, payment deferred to a later date. That date had arrived, it seemed. Oscar was not immortal, neither was he invulnerable. He was self-aware en

It was nice to be able to grind mobs once again. The first group had fallen easily and now he was firmly locked in combat with the second. He could turn his mind off at times like this. Almost act on autopilot, cleaving mobs with wild abandon. At some point, he completely dissociated. His mind left his body, leaving it to carve through the forest as his thoughts wandered. And then he heard it, a voice from behind. “Do you really think you can save them?” Oscar wheeled around. When he did, he found that the forest was gone. He found himself standing upon an endless expanse of shadows.

It was a funny feeling to take his armor off. He’d been a steadfast wall for quite some time. He felt almost naked seeing his mitigation drop to the low double digits. If there was a time when such a thing would make him feel nervous, he couldn’t remember it. He was sure it had happened, but he couldn’t place exactly when he’d made that shift. Oscar wouldn’t say that he didn’t value his life. In fact, it was quite the opposite. But he valued his goals more. They were worth the risk. His task was worth the risk. They were responsibilities he foisted upon himself - no one had asked him to do it.

And if he was going to be introspective, he was going to get a grind done while he was at it. Having wandered through the forest for a while, Oscar stopped and opened his menu. Looking out over his items, his eyes fell upon an old piece of gear. Memories began to flood back. The formative period, when Oscar had no idea what the Hell he was doing. His finger hovered over the entry, hesitating. Remembering the times before it all went to shit. A smile rose to his face as he tapped the entry, donning the <<Gloves of Caerus>> for the first time in recent memory. His inventory was a mes

Sewallus kept the Monkey busy, allowing Oscar to wheel around and deal the final blow. As the standard fanfare played and Sewallus began to congratulate and thank the man, Oscar merely delivered another slap to the NPC’s cheek. It was astonishing how easily it was done. How little risk one needed to undertake now. He had to wonder that had the Quest played out then as it did now, whether it would have affected his current resolve at all. There was a certain thrill in the risk. It brought focus, unfettered restraint. He had become accustomed to do-or-die moments at a very low level and a very e

And so it began. As they approached the Monkey King’s lair, Sewallus twisted out of Oscar’s grip. His scripting set him into combat mode. Steel was bared and the man surged on ahead. Oscar was keen to let him do it, instead letting out a heavy sigh and drawing his weapon. He walked slowly, watching as Sewallus quickly put distance between them. And then he saw it. The Monkey King. A hulking brute of black fur and thick, sinewy muscle. There was a time when Oscar feared such a thing. A time when one blow from those powerful arms would have left him reeling, unable to take another hit. Those day

Oscar’s prior experience with the quest made Sewallus’ attempts at automated exposition a bit of a moot point. He knew exactly where to find the boss, knew exactly what the boss could do. And if not for the fact that the NPC was instrumental in unlocking a new Sword Art, Oscar would have been perfectly content to leave him behind. This was not a Quest Oscar took seriously. But, then again, there was nothing about the game other than the ultimate consequence that Oscar took seriously. It was all distraction. Fluff. Meaningless drivel meant to obfuscate the fact that everyone was well and truly

It was difficult not to feel nostalgic as he walked through Florenthia. So much had changed, but so much had also remained the same. The songbirds fluttering through the canopy, their chirps filling the air with a delightful melody. The sounds of the wind rustling through the leaves, the feeling of the wood beneath his boots. Oscar had to admit, when he really took a notion to stop and smell the roses, Aincrad was a beautiful place. Even if that beauty was marred by the fact that so many people were trapped in their own personal Hell. Walking smoothly, hands in his pockets, Oscar encountered S

The Monkey King. As Oscar recalled, it was the first Quest that he had really, truly challenged himself with. The first boss that he’d tackled solo. The first true risk he took within the game. There had been many of those since. It had been necessary to reach the point he was at now. Powerful, useful. A Player worth a damn focused on getting everyone home and protecting them from the monsters on the fringes while they were here. So he found himself amused that things had all come full-circle. Here he was, battle-worn but no less motivated, undertaking the very first challenge he ever gave him

Oscar had gotten distracted and hadn't realized that NIGHT had finished his commission in short order. Finally, though, he was cleaning out his inbox and noticed the message and made a beeline straight for The Evening Star to pick up his new toy. As he plucked the trinket off the counter, he wanted to stop and ask if NIGHT had enjoyed her meal. But after discovering that she was nowhere to be found, he decided it best to move on. He was still on the outs with the Tarot as things stood. And while NIGHT hadn't outright voiced her support to one side of the schism or the other, he thought it best

Oscar didn't want to ruin the mood. Clearly Elora was in her heroine arc and Freyd was working through something. But the boss was so tantalizingly close to death. Health bar firmly in the red, barely a sliver left. Oscar almost started salivating. It was so rare to come across an enemy so firmly within the sweet spot that Oscar liked to call "Bonkin' Range." The warrior surged forward. There were war cries and actual cries. Oscar raised his weapon and brought it down cleanly upon the crown of the boss's head. His blade cut cleanly and then stopped as it encountered resistance. For a mome

Oscar didn't really have any idea on what to do next. The System had made him quite lazy. In the past, there was an objective and an arrow and all he needed to do was follow them to wherever it was he needed to be. Things were different now... somehow. But he was nothing if not prepared. It was rare that he put his Searching skill to use unless he was searching spider pockets for incredible dosh. Without a word to the party, Oscar headed off in the direction the kid had run. It grew colder the further away from the town he got. Which was weird, because the sun didn't work like that. Event

It caught him off guard when the woman whirled around. Oscar had been altogether too used to having to crane his neck down at an awkward angle in order to meet someone’s eyeline. It was interesting to meet another freak of nature. And as she glared up at him, Oscar merely cocked an eyebrow. The silent exchange barely lasted a moment before she turned her efforts back towards bullying the poor, impotent man. It was quite endearing, but it put him off his game. Too many bleeding hearts and all. Together, the trio left the chaos of the bar. Oscar didn’t make an effort to join them on the ben