Name: Rei Ishikawa
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Personality:
Some of the things that Rei has been a stickler for since grade school are structure and order. In Rei's eyes, the upside to having structure and order is that you always have an idea of what to expect, and this foresight can save you from a lot of preventable hiccups in the future. Call him uninteresting or call him a wuss, but Rei's never liked it when things spiral out of his control. Daredevils might like the challenge that comes with diffusing chaotic situations, but Rei thinks of that "challenge" as nothing more than an inconvenience.
When Rei isn't sure of himself or his ability to get a handle on a situation, his brain short-circuits like an electrical device having too much current flowing through it. Rei sucks at dealing with spontaneity, and he turns a little scatter-brained when he's put in situations that lie outside of his expectations. Throw even the slightest wrench into his plans, and he becomes the human version of a source code that forgot to take an exception into account.
Rei's been working through his issues, though. As a means to break out of his comfort zone, he's even forced himself to audition for his university's forensics team, and it's certainly caused him to get better at thinking on his feet. Numerous experiences of being forced up a podium to give speeches with little to no preparation have definitely given Rei some pointers on how to manage himself more gracefully under pressure. Not to mention, he's also gotten more quick-witted as a result of it all, learning how to tackle unexpected situations without being completely engulfed by the stress or anxiety that he inevitably ends up feeling.
While Rei is no stranger to being impulsive (he's only 20, for God's sake), his core personality is one that prefers to think before doing. Most of Rei's actions are calculated and logic-driven, resulting from a diligent analysis of costs and pay-offs. Because of this, a lot of his friends consider him to be a generally passive person, which isn't far from the truth. Unless Rei sees the worth in pursuing something, he won't take any action; the reward he gets for his endeavors would need to measure up to the total energy he expends in the process. This mindset might explain why Rei doesn't throw himself into every argument he can; to put things in Rei's words, "spouting off wasted air can be exhausting, and fighting battles without having any real stakes in them is just plain unnecessary."
Rei is generally a nice person, and while his ability to smoothly maneuver a conversation comes as naturally to him as an architect reading floor plans without any problems, it should be noted that he's actually an introvert. He may know the ins and outs of having fun, and he might not be opposed to bursting out in song and dance when appropriate, but at the end of the day, his tolerance for social activity is a little lower than most people. The boy likes his peace and quiet, and he'd appreciate it if people could give that to him every once in a while.
Appearance:
Rei stands at a nondescript 5'7" and is a bit on the shorter end compared to his peers. He has straight, jet black hair which frames the sides of his face, and it's usually parted a little to the side to keep it out of his eyes. Though he's not the type to care immensely about looks, he does comb his hair often to make himself look presentable. Nothing screams "presentable" quite like neatness.
Hair products and Rei don't get along, but they're not things that Rei is outright averse to. Due to a bad case of bed head, the natural state of Rei's hair is characterized by its messiness, jutting out in different (and sometimes gravity-defying) directions when not tamed. If even a smidge of gel could put down a cowlick or two, then Rei would be all for it.
He inherited a pair of blue eyes from his parents, but strands of hair occasionally obscure them. Black hair and blue eyes are an uncommon combination (uncomplimentary even), but Rei certainly raises no objections to them. Status quo is boring, and the world could use more variety.
What has most people envious of Rei is his skin, which he goes to great lengths to take care of. It's not flawless, nor something he takes pride in, but he is happy that he's been spared the burden of having to consciously worry about the superficial problems that can arise from it.
Despite only reaching 5'7" in height, Rei's a bit on the lanky side; this is something he has some misgivings about, as he's always wanted to be a little taller and more muscular. Unfortunately, genetics had others plans, dooming Rei to a life of what he considers to be "physical mediocrity." Being 20 means that there's probably not a whole lot of room left for Rei to grow more, so he's basically given up all hope at this point.
Class: Knight
Appearance:
True to his classification of "Knight," Rei's avatar takes the form of a red-headed warrior clad in an indigo-tinted armor. The color contrast between the hair and armor isn't something Rei came up with on a whim; he likes the idea of blending opposite colors because it reminds him of yin-yang, a symbol that represents balance. And so, fueled by his superstitions, he opted for the red-blue color scheme when he made his avatar.
Despite not liking accessories put on his avatar, Rei's not completely opposed to them. Sometimes, you'd find a headscarf and a cape on his avatar (perhaps even a sash on the torso, for good measure); other times, his avatar is characteristically accessory-less. It goes without saying, but Rei is rather temperamental when it comes to accessorizing.
A playful smile always seems to emerge from the corners of his avatar's lips, and part of the reason for it lies in the sheer exhilaration Rei feels every time he boots up his neurocomputer to travel to the virtual realm. Once in VR, his avatar's blue eyes light up as if to indicate excitement, and its small but compact stature takes an offensive posture to prepare for the upcoming battles.
Weapon:
As his avatar, Rei wields a two-handed longsword that appears to be lavishly (and I mean, lavishly) adorned with gold trimming in the hilt area. Sacrificing a bit of practicality for visual flair, the hilt itself is composed of two symmetrical circles that are entangled at the center, forming an infinity sign if not for a gemstone acting as an obstruction at the point of intersection. Blue striations and patterns also run along the entire breadth of the hilt, and the reason behind them is purely cosmetic (like most of the adornments on the sword).
Aside from a few structural differences (namely, the hilt and its gemstone), Rei's sword resembles your run-of-the-mill longsword. The modifications made to it aren't drastic enough to cause it to be unable to fulfill its intended purpose, which is to slice (obviously). Plus, it's in a video game where real-life physics aren't always applicable, and that means some creative liberties can be taken when making or customizing weapons.
Skills:
- Knight's Soul
A knight's bravery put on display can inspire the same courage in nearby allies. In its base form, Knight's Soul is a skill that boosts the damage dealt by Rei and his teammates. Each use of the skill accumulates one stack of Astraea's Sigil, increasing the strength of the damage buff proportional to the number of stacks. Once three stacks are accumulated in total, Rei and his teammates are granted Astraea's Blessing, which allows the affected players to absorb some damage dealt as HP. Like most buffs, Knight's Soul is dispellable, and if another player's skill dispels it, the stacks will reset to 0 until Rei casts it again.
- Kingsword
Rei's sword accumulates a large amount of magical energy, which it draws from the surrounding environment. It is released as a cylindrical blast stretching a long distance, capable of dishing out a lot of damage if a player is hit by the brunt of it. Rei can choose to charge it for a longer time than necessary to increase its damage output, and once charged to its maximum point, it is able to stun its target for a short time.
- Magic Burst
A surge of magical energy runs through Rei's body, making it feel lighter and more nimble; the result is that Rei gains a sizable boost in agility. Rei can also harness the magical energy flowing through him in the form of small energy blasts which he can fire off from his sword. Though the blasts aren't that big, they're more than capable of throwing even the largest players off balance, and this allows Rei to have more chances to advance his attacks further than he normally can.
- Astraea's Domain
Rei erects a unique barrier that can keep a maximum of three players cooped up inside of it. It's Rei go-to skill for picking off the other team one by one while he's accompanied by another teammate. It can be activated at any time if Rei deems it to be useful for the situation, and it locks nearby players within a confined space for a finite amount of time. When players afflicted with Astraea's Sigil are in Astraea's Domain, their overall stats gain a moderate boost.