Wulfrin

Wulfrin cast the line back into the river. This would be his second attempt under his own personal restrictions. This plan was put in place to help mitigate the monotony of gathering materials. That was the part he liked the least about SAO. It had an egregious Random Number Generator that always seemed to be the bane of his existence. Every time he had to complete something that required him to collect any amount of items, he found himself continuing hopelessly, failing over and over again. Not this time he vowed. He would break up the fails with a combat to stretch his legs. Maybe looting th

Wulfrin recast his line into the river. Should he make three attempts to catch in a row that fail, he told himself he would face off with some mobs. He was confident he could handle the lower level mobs on floor one on his own if he was able to take them one at a time. The small mount of combat experience he had gotten had proven that much. He had a close run in with an enraged mama boar, but with the help of his mentor Freyd, the beast was able to fall. Up until that point Freyd had simply been the silent observer critiquing his performance, but in that moment of pure terror, he had stepped i

Here in Aincrad, Wulfrin could be the swordsman he had always dreamed to be. In every game he played the first character Lance created was Wulfrin. A human from a mundane life that never backed down from challenges and would do anything to help others. Often times that was the biggest weakness the character had, a fatal flaw if you will. He was too loyal. Wulfrin had a bad track record of putting his allies above whatever goal was before them often going so far as to sacrifice himself to get his allies out. Normally this wasn't a problem as in those games there was some way to come back, but t

Wulfrin continued his path of reflection. He cast his line back into the river, the bobber dipping up and down over the waves almost mockingly. The memories of this river were fresh, but they were still just as real as his life before. Outside of running through a repository of old memories for skills that could help with survival in the death game that had become his new reality, he hadn't really dwelled on his life before. Lance's life was rather mundane. He was stuck in college studying Computer Science and living with his parents. The house was always full and he often found it very hard t

Wulfrin had been browsing the broker's quests list for the next quest he would undertake. His criteria was simple; it had to be low risk as the players that he had been being carried by were all busy at the time. He found a quest that fit his criteria. A quest in the mountains of floor two; there he would be able to train body and mind. No danger was listed on the info panel, and it even specified weapons were not needed. On top of that he had found a notice that another player was looking for additional players that may be wanting a traveling companion. There was a time and place posted, and

The floating castle was unforgiving in many ways. Wulfrin had gone many times to Black Iron Palace to take in the number of names that appeared on the Monument of Life. Each name that appeared came with a brief description. Many of them were simple things, killed by boars and such. Wulfrin had already faced many of the dangers that players had fallen to. He managed to get his confidence up by telling himself he was making progress. He also scoured the monument often to see if he recognized any names. He had intended to join up with some other friends he had run with in other games, but hadn't

Wulfrin cast his line again. His time in Sword Art Online have mainly consisted of menial tasks like this. He had very few experiences in combat, but that was intentional. Wulfrin was trying to get as much of a gain in his level and gear as he could without fighting. Once he had exhausted all of those options, he planned to start getting into more fights while staying as safe as possible. Ideally those combats would be accompanied by some high leveled players looking to get more people to the frontlines with them. So far that plan was working. He had several paths before him he just needed to

Wulfrin made his way to the familiar riverside. Here is where his adventure had started. It began with him simply turning over rocks and picking up random bits of herbs for materials to satisfy the requirements of Zachariah. Not far from here was a cave where he found the secrets of a tablet outlining the foes he must face to find the treasure within. He had also faced off with several boars not far from here. For the most part though, the area was very calm and free of danger, unless he went out of his way to look for it. He pulled out a simple fishing rod and hook and cast it into the river.

"Wulfrin," Wulfrin introduced himself. The two shared a brief handshake before Callum led them into his small storage space. Most of the material lay in started but not yet completed projects. What was finished was a few bits of armor plates and simple weapons. "Unfortunately," Callum said with a sigh. "I can't really spare any of our stock." Callum only gave the cluttered workspace a cursory glance. "But, if you bring me back something to work with I'll be happy to pass on what I know." Wulfrin had already done a crafting tutorial before, so at least he knew the drill. Gather some materi

Whilst awaiting for Freyd to confirm he is ready to start his patented "Shark Bait Training Program", Wulfrin decided to focus on his future in the floating castle, Aincrad. His goal was to start down the path of the blacksmith. Wulfrin began searching through the streets of Tolbana for a proper teacher. He wanted to steer clear of Lyle, as his previous encounter with the rather unpleasant old man left him with a less than desirable attitude. Wulfrin located what appeared to be another much smaller smithy down one of the back streets of Tolbana, where Wulfrin rarely visited. Stepping into

With Freyd having lashed out and finishing the one Wulfrin had at sword point, Wulfrin turned to help out his companion. As the remaining three struggled to regain their footing following Freyd's onslaught, Wulfrin readied his sword art. A green energy covered the blade of his sword. The system took over and his body left into the air. With a graceful dance, sword and master as one, Wulfrin executed a three part combo. The first strike bisected the first of the three remaining maniacs. On his way to wards the second, Wulfrin lost his footing, the energy exertion had caught up to him in that sp

"So, let me get this straight," Wulfrin smirked as he drew his blade. "You think you can take us down, even though you couldn't face the thing we just killed." Wulfrin took an offensive stance. "Not exactly loyal to his brand." Wulfrin became a streak of red as he closed the distance almost instantly. The fanatic that made their crew known took a strike straight to the gut, sending them to the ground in writhing pain. Wulfrin stood over the maniac as its companions charged towards Freyd. The Whisper simply sidestepped the incredibly uncoordinated crew, watching as they stumbled around tripping

"You'd think that cowl of yours would help with the sand problem," Wulfrin said as he returned his blade to it proper resting place. "So what's next? You made two strikes against that thing and didn't even take a hit yourself." Wulfrin had a puzzled look on his face, as he fund it hard to tell if Freyd was playing it up or if the fight had taken more out of him than was visibly noticeable. Wulfrin shrugged. "At any rate at least Mr. Silver Spoon, will at least be somewhat pleased..." Wulfrin stopped himself. "... Who am I kidding nothing can satisfy that man except maybe his twelfth mistress o

The drums of Aincrad's battle music kicked up signifying the start of the boss battle. The great white shark with legs burst from the ground not far from Freyd. A streak of inky black darkness was not far behind. He had witnessed the same move against Mama Boar a few days back. The darkness left the land shark immobilized as Freyd leapt into action. The movements from both parties were much faster than Wulfrin was able to track. He wasn't used to combat being so swift and fast paced. After a brief exchange, Freyd backed off and signaled for Wulfrin to enter the fray. Wulfrin knew his opti

"Alright," Wulfrin replied standing up with purpose. "Good enough with me. If you think you've got it covered, I'll just wait for your signal. Worst case scream real loud before it devours you and I'll just teleport out. Normally I'd rush in to provide back up, but its been firmly decided I have no chance." Wulfrin noted the frustration in Freyd's demeanor at his question about the skill. "Don't fret about the skill. I assumed we weren't going to get it. I simply saw it listed as a potential reward and was curious." The newly form party was solidified with the invite screen, and the two heade

"Let me guess," Wulfrin held up his hands in acceptance. "Pretentious prick that spent too much time eating from a silver spoon?" Wulfrin chuckled he knew they type well. Most of the time the rich folk of the world wanted nothing to do with the commoners. Money talked in their world without it, you had no voice. "For someone who's domain continues to be a bloody mess due to a boss, he sure is keen to exploit the adventurers willing to face it down." Wulfrin took a seat on the bench next to the sleeping mongoose. "Since you've named this the Shark Bait Training Program, I assume you have a plan

Wulfrin had come up to Fortaleza after receiving a message that Freyd was ready to initiate his "Shark Bait Training Program", a fitting name considering Wulfrin was simply along for the ride on this one. The morning sun was already starting to scorch the earth and was a drastic change from the pleasant fields of Floor 1 that Wulfrin was accustomed to. The desert cities streets were filled with colorful market stalls. Instantly Wulfrin was able to recognize the inspiration of the floor, Arabian deserts. The streets looked like the movie Aladdin had jumped out of the screen and took over the en

The pair returned to Lyle's shop. The old man was still hammering away at his most recent project. Wulfrin made his way to the forge and set the tusks out for Lyle to see. Wulfrin cleared his throat to get the craftsman's attention. "Don't know why these were so important," Wulfrin said. The old man stopped his hammering project. "But now that I got them, can you please tell me if you took a loan from Dorian?" "I use these on hilts," Lyle spoke with a stern voice. Then there was a nod of approval. "You did good Kid, but I'll have you know that I don't take loans from anyone." The approval

"Alright Anthony," Wulfrin said as he offered the scale and bait tin back to Anthony. "I knew you could do it!" Anthony exclaimed as he pat Wulfrin on the back and shot him a wink. "I knew there was something special about you from the moment I saw you. As a gift from me to you, you should keep the scale. Just don't go giving it away now, because the next time you want one, you'll have to fish without my special bait." He took the bait from Wulfrin and nodded towards his humble fishing shack. "If you're ever in the area again, don't be afraid to visit. You know you're always welcome."

The time had definitely gotten away from Wulfrin. He had started early morning at Anthony's and now it was getting closer to dusk. However, it seemed his hyper fixation was keeping him here. Wulfrin was determined not to leave until he had the scale. After all once he had the fabled material, he could start his journey proper as a blacksmith. Wulfrin continued looking towards the future when the bobber sank below the surface once more. He grabbed the now taught line and began his battle with the fish on the end. The two struggled for control over the other. Eventually a large fish with gleamin

Time marched on. The bobber mocking him as it glided over the small waves that were starting to appear. The wind had picked up in the past few minutes causing the surface of the water to oscillate more violently than it had when Wulfrin had started his fishing venture. He began to wander if it would hinder him more or if the new motion would make it easier to find what he was looking for. While the breeze was a fairly decent one, it wasn't enough to make the session unbearable. The wind was just a simulation after all. Then the bobber sunk beneath the surface of the lake. Wulfrin grabbed the n

Wulfrin stood at the lakeside with longing. That scale was the only thing standing between him and moving on with his plan to get his feet under him. If he could find it then he could do like what Freyd was doing and gather materials and equipment more easily than just searching under rocks. He could have gone with foraging, but he really didn't like the thought of only looking under rocks and such for the materials to craft. At least he had a chance to open chests once he got the profession, at least that was what he had read. From there he could do a multitude of things with the items. He co

"You mentioned Freya last time," Wulfrin remarked as he unwrapped the small sugary bun. "I'm going to have to hit her up as well. These may not do much system wise, but they sure do remind me of the lives we had before." Wulfrin sat for a moment and enjoyed the moment of respite ash he devoured the bun. He began to reflect on the previous skirmish. "If Mama Boar was anything to judge my progress by, I doubt I'll be doing much to help in the fight with Terra Firma." Wulfrin jumped to his feet and dusted himself off. He hated the thought of not being able to contribute, but he hoped he wouldn't

Wulfrin kept up his mental wandering. It seemed like it was the only thing keeping him sane. The repetition of casting the line and reeling it back in only to find nothing at the end was getting to him. He was starting to doubt the tale Anthony had told him. The <<Bless Bait>> wasn't seeming to have an affect. Perhaps it was a placebo? Wulfrin shook the thought away, and focused back on his mental recollection. He was surprised how much he was able to recall, as it had been years since he had studied any of the info he was bringing back to the surface. He was proud of himself. The

Wulfrin found himself wandering away from his monster rolodex, and instead into his mythology knowledge. From what he had read on some of the discovered quests, Cardinal had a knack for pulling from various mythologies. He hadn't fully nailed down which one Cardinal was focused on, but he was assuming it was based off of the Arthurian times. That assumption aside he had noticed a hint of ancient Greek and Roman mythologies too. The good news is he had learned a bit of both Ancient Greek and Latin languages. It wasn't enough to be fluent, but he could at least pick out key words, like names and