ooc01.character_application
Series: .hack Conglomerate (Specifically .hack//ROOTS and the .hack//G.U. Games)
Character: Ryou Misaki, "Haseo"
Timeline: Near the end of vol. 2 Reminisce, upon the revealing of Tri-Edge's true identity. Post reset brings him from vol. 3 Redemption, after "Rebirth".
Personality: Ever since he was a kid, Ryou has been quite a loner. He has a hard time coorperating and mingling with others, and would prefer to do things alone. As a child, he coped with it by pwning people in the internet and being annoying, but as Haseo, he played it straight out. All the small amount of hope and optimism vanished on his first day at The World, and most of the time he still thinks it as one stupid game. In fact, he no longer plays it for laughs or fun, which is the true purpose of the game - he's playing to get Shino and Ovan, and thus, his peaceful life in The World before, back. He proclaims himself as self-centered and a lone wolf, refusing all forms of help. It's his fault too that he doesn't have such a good reputation, either - he usually ignores other players, thinking of them as annoyance. If he does get to interact with a player, it would have to do something with PKing and Tri-Edge. He is also quite rude and grumpy, not to mention very aggressive. Put in his qualities of being impatient and even hot-tempered, and you get one cranky guy. He snarks most of the time, telling then to mind their own business and go away. And on rare times, when he has to cooperate, he pretends of being selfish - he initially thought he could use Canard and Project GU as tools, and leave them once he's done with them.
Thing is, it's all a facade. What Ryou describes himself as is different from what he really is. In fact, Ryou is actually one big softie. He also has a weakness to children, always playing the big brother role to them (he spoils Bo. A lot.) That's because he is someone who protects people, just like what he did to Shino. He cares about people a lot. Though initially he only cared about his small group of friends, his current experiences with The World tends to have him make that group a little bit larger. And while he still initially refuses to partiticapte in some business not regarding his mission, he eventually gives in after a few proddings. Whenever you need him, he's always there to protect you. That's why he was so devastated when he failed to protect Shino - Ryou tends to have large amounts of guilt every time he fails to save someone, whether it's Alkaid or Atoli. He's not the kind of person to just walk away when he sees something. Shino's PKing was also the reason why Ryou became more closed-off than ever. But now, he's starting to realize that he needs others to help him along the way, and that he can't just do this thing without his friends.
Also, despite the lack of hacking skills or actual tactics, Ryou's actually quite smart. He has a good sense of judgement, especially at character, usually knowing when someone lies or not. He can usually see through other people's masks, suspecting a deeper, more sinister motive when one has it (though this trait is not foolproof - he got fooled from time to time, too). Ryou hates two kinds of people - those that looks down at other people, and those who use other people to their advantage. Quite hypocritical, considering that he acts like that, but it stops there - it's just an act. That's why he can hate Sakaki all he wants, for controlling Atoli like that.
If there is one quality everyone agrees about Ryou, it's his determination. He's stubborn as hell, and that's what makes him strong. Despite all that happened - particularly his deleveling - Ryou gets to still stand up and keep moving on. Yes, he broods and mours and yes, he has his weak side too, but he never ever gives up. Ryou has a lot of self-respect, especially when he actually gets the work done, and will stop at nothing to win what he wants. Even when things go awry, or some complex plot twist happens, Ryou still moves on. He does what he believes in. But that doesn't mean he cannot forgive, too.
This self-respect is what Haseo makes as a good leader. Once again, he is a bit smart, and so he does the best move for them all. Yes, people hate him and get annoyed at him, but they also follow him in admiration to his good qualities. He now knows how to deal with people (sort of), and respecting the fact that he cannot always do things alone, he now actually has the courage to ask for it. He now tries to appreciate people.
And as for the recent betrayal by a friend, Ryou can actually cope with it. He knows that bawwing about it isn't going to solve things, and immediately decides to pursue him. But that doesn't stop Ryou from asking questions, because he needs to know why and see the entire picture of the story. He wants to see his reason. And still, a part of him mourns at the loss of a dear and very respected friend.
Background: Ryou Misaki's first encounter with The World was when he was only ten years old, a rather childish and annoying kid (no, really). At that time, he played an infamous PKer named Sora, and was actually a villainous character in that part of the series. Near the end of .hack//SIGN (the prequel to the original .hack// games), Sora was data drained by Skeith, who was controlled by Morganna at that time. In the duration of seventh months, he was a Lost One, his PC trapped in the game and Ryou being in a coma. Once The World was finally saved, he, among the other Lost Ones, finally regained conciousness. Ryou didn't have any recollection whatsoever regarding The World, and his parents kept him from knowing anything at all.
His life then continues normally in the next seven years, not even knowing that he played the game before. Now seventeen, someone then recommended The World R:2 (the second version of The World) to Ryou. Despite being rather a loner and an antisocial, he decided to give it a try. He then created yet another character - Haseo, an Adept Rogue. Rather a bit hopeful than usual, Haseo then looked forward to his first day in The World R:2. It was November 2016 at that time.
Guess what? It was totally sucky.
When he logged in for the first time, two players named IYOTEN and Asta warmly greeted him in Mac Anu, the Root Town for the Delta server. Being a fresh n00b, Haseo was willing to get help from the two of them, who were willing to teach him how to play the game. Unfortunately, it was nothing but a mere plan for something sinister - IYOTEN and Asta received an e-mail from an anonymous sender, claiming that there's a new - and thus naive - player logging in. After Haseo completed his first field, IYOTEN and Asta revealed themselves as PKers - Player Killers. They then proceded to PK poor Haseo off. It's a good thing, then, that someone was nearby.
Enter Ovan, a very powerful yet totally cryptic player. He defeated both of the PKers and then revived Haseo. However, Ovan left Haseo immediately after that. Now alone, Haseo wandered across The World, meeting several friendly players along the way. Oh yeah, he also met several PKers too. One of the kinder people Haseo met, however, was a girl named Shino. Shino was apparently a guildmate of Ovan, and both of them started the Twilight Brigade. The guild was small yet slightly bonded, whose goal is to search for the Key of the Twilight. Haseo, who was finding a reason why should he even bother continuing playing the game (other than not putting that monthly subscription to waste), then joined said guild, after some influence from Shino. However, being the loner he is, the only people Haseo really cared much about were Shino and Ovan. Soon, Ovan suddenly disappeared, and the rest of the guild crumbles. The guild is then disbanded, but Haseo tags along with Shino, who starts becoming more closer to her than anyone else he met. Haseo then made a promise to Shino - to protect Shino, and for both of them waiting for Ovan's return.
One day, Shino heard that Ovan was waiting for her at the Lost Ground Hulle Granz Cathedral, the key words being ?Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. However, she didn't expect that there was someone there, waiting to attack her. Haseo, after hearing from Tabby (one of their former guildmates from the Twilight Brigade), rushed in to follow her. Unfortunately, it was all too late - he can only watch as a PKed Shino falls, and crumbles into data in Haseo's arms. Shino is then turned into a Lost One in the real world. The only other person around was a man that shall be, for the most of the series, known as Tri-Edge. The guilt and tragedy then made him make another promise - to get back Shino no matter what, and get stronger, in order to defeat Tri-Edge. He becomes more guarded then ever, refusing help from anyone at all. To him, nothing else was important anymore, just to get back his previous life in The World. He has a rather broken-down mental state at this point, so to speak.
Then came the Forest of Pain event, which gave a special prize to those who complete the quest. Only Haseo and some other guy not important in this application were able to complete it. As his prize, Haseo immediately gained his two other forms. At this point, Haseo becomes a PKKer (one who kills PKers) known as the Terror of Death. He became infamous around the game, especially after he was able to defeat 100 PKers when they ambushed him. He still doesn't accept any kind of help at all, and is sometimes labelled by those who once knew him as a lunatic.
Eight months later, and Haseo's popularity grew, attracting a lot of players. One of them was Sakaki, who frowned upon Haseo's actions. He then confronted Haseo at Mac Anu, accompanied by his subordinate, Atoli. The only reason Haseo even bothered to look at them was because Atoli's PC looked a lot like Shino's. Shortly thereafter, he receives a message from a Ovan, who finally returned. Rushing to talk to him once more, the two had a confrontation. Ovan then reveals that Tri-Edge would return to Hulle Granz Cathedral, the place where Shino was PKed. They then planned meet there, and fight against Tri-Edge together. Finally, at level 133, Haseo once again gets to meet Tri-Edge. Unfortunately Ovan wasn't around but Haseo didn't care. A battle ensures, one that Haseo loses, and in the end he gets data drained. As a result, everything about his character was reset, and thus returned to level 1 without anything at all. Not only that, but his PC was also reformatted, erasing even Shino's emails to him. Ouch. But Haseo doesn't complain and wail about it. Instead, he stands up, and goes to climb back to power once more.
Haseo logs in and sees a glimpse of Ovan around Mac Anu. Instead, he finds Silabus and Gaspard, members of the Guild Canard, which was dedicated into helping newbies. Since poor Haseo was level 1, they thought he was a newbie, and so dragged him into an adventure. However, by the end of the dungeon, they ended up meeting Bordeaux, a PKer bent on getting her revenge from Haseo. Bordeaux was about to PK them when a woman named Pi shows up, and chases Bordeaux away. Pi offered help for Haseo so he can level up faster, but Haseo, of course, declines. Pi then leaves, but not before warning Haseo of a strange and dangerous power inside the character he uses.
Haseo then meets Atoli, who was determined to explain Moon Tree's teachings to him, and finally convince him that PKKing is bad. Dragged along to a field with her, Haseo is then forced to complete it with her. However, after receiving the prize at the end of the field, Atoli suddenly hears something. Curious, the two of them followed it, leading them to one of Tri-Edge's Signs (marks from an attack by Tri-Edge). Accidentally Gate Hacking the Sign, the two are then sent to an area - the Lost Ground of Indieglut Lugh. There, they saw a man that they would later know as Endrance, surrounded by strange, black dots. Endrance leaves shortly thereafter, and while Haseo and Atoli tried to go after him, a mysterious creature suddenly attacked them. Fortunately a guy named Kuhn was around, and after summoning a strange being, he was able to drive the mysterious creature away. Kuhn then gave the guild key to Raven to Haseo, where he met yet another player named Yata, who explained everything about him.
Apparently, that mysterious creature was AIDA, in short for Artificially Intelligent Data Anomaly. They are originally harmless errors in the internet created due to the disappearance of the Ultimate AI, Aura. However, in due time, they became aggressive, and then one of these AIDA, Tri-Edge, started attacking players, turning them into Lost Ones. The rest of the AIDA followed suit, and thus they became a threat to The World and the Internet. AIDA are also drawn to humans, and thus they sometimes attach themselves to players, and thus they are called AIDA-PCs, or the Infected. AIDA makes that player's negative and positive thoughts stronger, rendering them into an uncontrolled mental state. Infected Epitaph-Users lose control of their Epitaphs. Those PKed by AIDA-PCs also become Lost Ones.
Yata then reveals to Haseo that he is an Epitaph-User, and thus has the ability to summon the Avatar Skeith (who is, coincidencially, from the Phase who Data Drained his previous character, Sora. More on the Epitaph business is adressed on the Abilities section below). So Yata gives Haseo a proposition - to join Project GU and help them investigate AIDA, in exchange for more information regarding Tri-Edge. Haseo accepts.
Returning to Mac Anu, Silabus and Gaspard them give Haseo the task of running their guild shop. Haseo then meets a young player named Bo, who was looking for an item for his sister (who also plays the same character - their official character name is Sakubo). Haseo, having a soft spot for kids, gives Bo a discount. Bo then promises to return the favor to Haseo, and happily walks away. Haseo is then called by Kuhn, who calls him for training, in an attempt to awaken Haseo's avatar. Unfortunately, even with the help of Pi, Haseo was unable to summon Skeith. Disheartened, Haseo returns to town, finding Silabus and Gaspard trying to have him become Canard's guildmaster. Haseo then gives up from trying to decline the offer and accepts. He then proceeded to finish some quest in order for him to be able to become the guild master, and was able to with a small help from Bo.
Haseo, Silabus and Gaspard then went to the newly-restored Lumina Cloth, which was the town for the tournaments. They watched the Title Match for the Demon Palace Emperor. It was at that time that Haseo notices that the current Emperor was actually Endrance, the same guy he and Atoli saw that one time in Indieglut Lugh. Apparently Endrance was also an Epitaph-User, and uses his Avatar in order to win his battles. Thinking that it was cheating, Haseo storms out angrily, and finally meets Bo's sister, Saku, who turns out to be some fan of Endrance. Haseo and Endrance then meet each other, which resulted in them hating each other (sort of). Haseo then promises that he will be the one to defeat Endrance, and Endrance accepts the challenge. Silabus was eager enough to offer his help to Haseo, but suggested to find a cleric as a third party member.
Haseo immediately thought of Atoli, and tried being nice with her when they went to one of her favorite fields, in order to recruit her for the job. However, their opinions of The World clashed, and Haseo, angry at her, told her to just leave and never see him again. However, they still needed at Harvest Cleric, and so Silabus posted a message on the forum of The World in order to get one. A player named SAKURA then offered to help them, giving a certain area. Haseo had to meet her alone. Fishy, isn't it? Of course! Apparently it was just Bordeaux and her friends, wanting to PK Haseo. It's a good thing that Moon Tree members Sakaki and Matsu were around, who drove them off. Apparently it was Atoli who lead the way. Turns out Saku recruited Bordeaux to PK Haseo, but Bo was able to warn Atoli just in time. After things calmed down, Atoli then offers to become the third party members. With their team complete, Haseo, Atoli and Silabus then entered the Arena.
During the Arena battles, Haseo is confronted by a mysterious player named Antares. He challenges Haseo to complete a rather difficult dungeon, one that Haseo accepts. Apparently this dungeon proved to be quite unnatural, being rather puzzle-like. With a few short mails from Antares, Haseo was able to reach the end. That doesn't change the fact that Haseo was annoyed about all of it. But it apparently helped him - Haseo was able to go through a similar dungeon with ease in the Job Extention event, and now gets his 2nd form, allowing him to use Broadswords.
Haseo and his party then gets to fight Alkaid, who happens to be the previous Emperor. During the battle, Skeith finally wakes up, and defeats Alkaid. Pi then offers Haseo some training in order to help him control his Avatar, since using it against other characters is dangerous. Pi takes Haseo to an area where she can help Haseo, but they ended up getting attacked by AIDA. Pi gets infected after saving a character named Zelkova nearby (who turns out to be the Guild Master of Moon Tree), and Haseo uses his avatar to defeat Pi's rampaging Epitaph.
One of the people Haseo then meets, a comical guy named Piros the 3rd, then tells him of a Tri-Edge sign. The two of them go, only to see Yata and Ovan in a conversation. After overhearing something they didn't get at all, the two then leave.
During the final match of the tournament, Haseo and co. faces off Kuhn, Pi and Antares. Angered at them "getting in the way", Haseo gets angry and summons Skeith, and Kuhn responds by summoning his own Avatar, Magus. Eventually Haseo loses control of Skeith, and can only watch helplessly as his own Avatar brutally attacks Magus. Good thing Kuhn can make a copy of his Avatar, or else something bad would have happened. Either way, Kuhn and co. loses, and so Haseo and co. gets to fight against Endrance. Endrance turned out to be an AIDA-PC (and a combination of an Epitaph-User and an AIDA isn't nice) and thus uses his Avatar, Macha. Haseo responds back with Skeith, and wins the tournament, making him Emperor. And apparently, as it turns out, Endrance's cat Mia is actually the AIDA controlling Endrance.
Becoming the Demon Emperor, Haseo's crowning ceremony is then held at the Isle of Kings. Here, Atoli gets mad at Haseo (Gee, I wonder why), and storms off. Later on, Haseo then gets a message from Yata, telling him to come to their headquarters, the Serpent of Lore. There, Yata reveals that Atoli was actually another Epitaph-User, and that she Gate Hacked one of Tri-Edge's signs. Following Atoli with Kuhn and Pi, Haseo ends up in a strange white room full of lockers, and ends up meeting Tri-Edge again. After one normal battle and one Avatar Battle, Haseo manages to defeat and Data Drain Tri-Edge. They then have a conversation, where Atoli and Haseo make up with each other. However, the lockers suddenly open, emitting the same sound Atoli frequently hears. Hypnotized, she walks toward the lockers. Fortunately Haseo was around to break her trance, but AIDA's arms suddenly shot forward and attack Atoli. Afraid of losing another important person, Haseo goes with Kuhn and Pi, Atoli's PC in Magus' arms, back to the Serpent of Lore.
Yata then says that the AIDA stole Atoli's Epitaph. Also, Atoli notices that she can't speak at all, and that her hand ended up being numb. She tries to log off in order to rest, but is unable to do so. Everyone else tried, also with no prevail. Yata has only one explanation - they were transfered to an AIDA Server. Obviously they had to get out, but there's time constraint, too - Atoli would end up being a Lost One if they don't get out in time. In order to break free, Project GU then requested the help of Moon Tree in order to find seams in the server and thus find a way to get out of the Server. Eventually they made into the Operation Folder, but before that they had to fight against an AIDA Guardian. The data it had, for some mysterious reason, has the name "0-van 01". Hmmm... Not only that, but seconds before Haseo gets logged out of the AIDA Server, he sees Tri-Edge alive and well, and flanked by two other characters at that!
After that, rumors started to spread out. The administrators did say about something regarding a server crash, but it only lasted for mere minutes, while those who were stuck in the Server said that it was something among hours before this strange light popped out and logged them out (this "strange light" is because of Pi's and Yata's hacking expertise). And now, due to Haseo becoming Demon Emperor, Canard was upgraded into an intermediate Guild and thus they had a new @Home in a new server - Theta. It's now located at the Root Town Dol Dona. In order to celebrate, Silabus and Gaspard dragged Haseo on yet another quest (and a fun one, too - oh, the glory of Intermediate-level areas.)
After going back to Dol Dona, Haseo meets Alkaid (you know, the Demon Emperor before Endrance?) She also dragged Haseo to another field, and once they completed it, Alkaid told him her true reason for getting Haseo - she needs his help. One of the other Emperors (there are actually 3 in total), Sirius started acting weird. Once he teamed up with two strange players (and according to Alkaid's description, those two look the same as Tri-Edge's lackies). After Pi and Yata investigated one of the Arena Battles Sirius participated in, they confirmed that Sirius was, in fact, affected by AIDA. So, in order to Get said AIDA strain and turn Sirius back to normal, Haseo teams up with Alkaid to fight in the tournament (which also means giving up his Demon Emperor title). But, of course, they need another member - that member turned out to be Atoli, who wanted to prove herself.
And so, a rather awkward "love triangle" occurs (Alkaid and Atoli have feelings for Haseo, who's completely ignorant regarding the entire thing). However, a rather nice relationship evolves with the trio, as they go out together in order to train. Alkaid then eventually gets Haseo to train with her in a field, just the two of them, which leads them to a boss. Apparently the reward for defeating the area's boss was a rare weapon called the Lit Honeysuckle, which Alkaid gave to Haseo as a gift. Thing is, the word "Honeysuckle" has an important term for Haseo, since Shino also gave him a weapon with the word "Honeysuckle" in it, and apparently meant something romantic. Alkaid blushes in embarrassment, as Haseo dwells on his memories.
In the meantime, Haseo is, once again, dragged by Silabus and Gaspard into a quest. However, this quest is an important one, to the extent that it was a limited-time event - yet another Job Extension Quest. Unlike the first one, the second one didn't really need pure, sheer strength - it tested the bonds Haseo had. In contrast to the first one, which had Haseo go solo, he now needed three party members to go with him - clearly Silabus and Gaspard wanted to help. And so, they started the quest. Gaspard and Silabus were so happy-go-lucky that it infuriated Haseo (he wasn't playing The World for fun - he was playing it to save Shino!) and thus left them midway. However, Haseo remembered Atoli's words when their opinions clashed before, and so, out of guilt, not to mention remembering the fun times he had with them, went back to them in order to finish the quest together. Apparently it was also part of the test! If the entire party didn't open the treasure at the end together, Haseo would have to start over again. So, friendship prevails and finally gets his 3rd Form, allowing him to now use scythes as well.
In the meantime, Atoli hears about Alkaid and Haseo's training, and rather jealous, also asks Haseo to train with just the two of them. And with interesting keywords two - Theta Lingering Aching Love, huh. Unfortunately, Alkaid got to met Haseo on his way there, and so got to tag along, too. Poor Alkaid.
Then the tournament continues, Team Haseo being able to defeat those in his way. And apparently midway, Haseo got to fight two teams with Moon Tree members in it - one of them was Hiiragi, a supporter of Sakaki, and the other is a mysterious wise guy named Nala. And something fishy happened, too - not only did Nala give Haseo an armor that would be useful against Hiiragi, Nala also lost to Team Haseo on purpose! Clearly there's something weird going around, with one of the main Moon Tree members betraying his guild. But it's not really much of Haseo's business, so the Team moves on.
Then, before the finals, something tragic happens. Haseo then gets an email from Alkaid, noting him of someone telling her to come to a Lost Ground, where someone can tell her about Sirius' condition. Haseo rushes, only to find Alkaid, apparently PKed by an AIDA-PC. Alkaid fades away in Haseo's hands, in a manner hauntingly similar to Shino's. But Alkaid said a couple of words before becoming a Lost One - some are to cheer Haseo up, and two other words - "find Endrance." Haseo, depressed of losing someone again, tells Atoli of what came to Alkaid.
That meant Haseo needed to find a new party member, and Alkaid requested for Endrance in her stead. Alkaid once mentioned Endrance moving around town in a rather zombie-like state, but he was nowhere in sight. Eventually Haseo ended up in Indieglut Lugh, the same place where he first saw Endrance. There, he was encased in... Crystal? Ice? Either way, apparently Endrance found no more reason to go on, now that Mia was gone. Apparently Endrance's player played in the first version of The World, and had a dear friend of the same name. AIDA only took form of Mia in order to reach Endrance's weakness. Haseo was about to speak to him, but he was guarded by none other than Saku, who was thinking that Haseo came to take "Master En" away from her. Apparently Sakubo was also infected by AIDA, and revealed to be an Epitaph-User as well - she was the Avatar Gorre. Haseo then extracts the AIDA out, knocking Saku. Bo takes over, who lets Haseo give Endrance a bit of a pep talk.
The finals then come, and Pi then talks to Haseo. If her guess was correct, then Haseo's opponent might also be an AIDA-PC. If that happens, Atoli would be in absolute danger. So, Haseo agrees to replace Atoli with Pi. Atoli, who wanted to prove herself, was saddened by the idea, but eventually conceded. Unfortunately, during the finals, Endrance did not show up in time, and so Haseo and Pi had to fight witht just the two of them.
And apparently Pi's guess was correct. The leader of the opposing team was none other than Bordeaux, now an AIDA-PC. Someone injected AIDA into her, with she believes is the power she can use to finally destroy Haseo. Mid-fight, Bordeaux taunts Haseo that she was actually the one who PKed Alkaid, rendering him enraged. However, AIDA made her stats go off the scale, and Haseo ended up being driven into a corner...
When rose petals shows up, saving Haseo from the attack. Endrance then appears, being fashionably late. Bordeaux, now fully overwhelmed with AIDA, goes all-out, and is engulfed by the AIDA strain Oswald. Haseo then proceeded to summon Skeith, and finish Oswald off. Team Haseo then wins.
And then came the title match. Atoli started to change her mind, but Pi and Haseo still insisted not to keep her along, in fear that she may end up being a Lost One (granted, all three of them did have the chance of becoming a Lost One, but the three had awakened Epitaphs - they have a better chance of survival.) The squabble continues, until Kuhn, who was actually missing for days (actually he was quitting Project GU altogether, frowining upon Yata's methods), pops out and convinces for him to switch places with Pi "I will be [Atoli's] sword and shield," he says. With this new line-up, Atoli finally agrees.
Haseo, Endrance, and Kuhn then proceeded to fight Sirius. And indeed, his two friends were the same pair whom Haseo saw with Tri-Edge! Their names were listed as Azure Balmung and Azure Orca. Not only that, but this Azure pair also proved to be immortal! So, the three concentrated their attacks on Endrance. Eventually the AIDA possesing Sirius comes out - AIDA Helen. It also happened to have Atoli's Epitaph, as well! Smirking, Haseo then sets out to extract the AIDA. Atoli is immediately healed of her problem, Sirius is free of the AIDA strain, and Haseo wins the match. Sirius initially mourned the loss of that power, but it was quickly replaced by guilt once he heard of Alkaid's fate.
After the match, Endrance then pledges his alliance to Haseo (and really, it was really weird, Endrance's infatuation towards Mia is now replaced by his obssesion with Haseo! ...Did I mention that he's male online and offline? Having rose petals around and speaking poetically doesn't help, either). And in turn, so does Saku and Bo (while Bo is willing to help his "big brother", Saku was only going to participate because "Master En" was going to help Haseo, too. Who said Project GU was made up of sane people, anyway?). Haseo, Atoli, Kuhn, Pi, Endrance, and Sakubo. That's six Epitaph-Users. Two more to go.
Also, by that time, Haseo gets a mysterious e-mail from one of his old aquaintances - Phyllo. Which is really weird, because Phyllo's player died months ago due to cancer. Apparently it was a message from Antares, who was entrusted by Phyllo to give Haseo his last will. This will is the location of seven Lost Weapons, special items that can be used only by Epitaph-Users. Haseo then proceeds to fight against the guardian of his Lost Weapon, Death Eater. He succeeds, and acquires a scythe called Ticking Death.
So, Haseo became Emperor again, this time of the Holy Palace. You know what that means - he gets another crowning ceremony! And Antares' Member Address too, but that's not really important. He celebrates in the Isle of Kings, but notices that Atoli wasn't around. Well, she did mention about work in Moon Tree, but still. After talking to some people, Haseo gets some alone time, before being interrupted with Pi and Kuhn. Something bad happened.
Indeed something did, because Kaede, Zelkova's assisstant of sorts, came running to them. Apparently something terrible happened at Moon Tree - Sakaki staged a coup de tat, and not only that, he infected several people - including Atoli - with AIDA! Now Moon Tree's seemingly at civil war, and since Moon Tree's area suddenly became a mini-AIDA server, everyone getting PKed in the area ended up as Lost Ones! And since an Infected Atoli attacked Zelkova... Thus, Haseo, Endrance and Kuhn rushed around the guild area, beating up from Moon Tree members supporting Sakaki along the way. Assisting them is Nala, who turns out to be another one of Yata's characters. Before they get to Sakaki, however, Haseo suddenly ends up in a school corridor with voices. They were, apparently, from Atoli's memories, who was having trouble in real life. Sakaki took advantage of it, and infected her with AIDA.
Determined to bring Atoli back, Haseo then battles her in an Avatar Battle. Right after, he has a conversation with Atoli and gives her advice in his usual, rude way - keep moving forward, and don't run away. Now wanting to know who is the real Sakaki, Atoli then joins Haseo and Pi to search for him (Sakaki escaped after Innis, Atoli's Avatar, was defeated), leading to a Lost Ground. There, Sakaki infects himself with AIDA, and proceeds to attack the three. Haseo was able to finish him off, however, and Sakaki's PC falls in a virtual cliff.
Shortly thereafter, Ovan reappears, congratulating Haseo. As a gift, he gave him Tri-Edge's severed arm, leaving Haseo bewildered. And then, all of a sudden, Ovan unlocks the seal in his left arm, revealing... an AIDA arm. Before anyone can react, Ovan charges, PKing Pi and Atoli in one blow. In the ground, a familiar sign emerges - Tri-Edge's Sign.
Ovan is Tri-Edge. Ovan PKed Shino.
Ovan then tells Haseo to meet him in another Lost Ground, Megin Fi. He leaves Haseo, shocked and stunned at the discovery.
After recovering, Haseo then gets an email. It's from Matsu, a member of Moon Tree. Determined to know what's going on, he gave his Member Address. Later on, he then meets Pi again, who claims that both her and Atoli are fine, and they didn't end up in a coma at all. With all worries gone, Haseo then confronted Ovan in Megin Fi. There, Ovan reveals himself to be the one who was helping Sakaki all along, and then beckons Haseo to attack him. Later on, Ovan revealed himself as yet another Epitaph User - Corbernik, The Rebirth. Cue Avatar Battle, where Haseo manages to beat Ovan. However, as he disappears, Ovan mysteriously says that "this is not the death I wanted". Yata then pops up, telling Haseo that it was just the beginning, and that he only found a small portion of the truth.
He then gets an email to Atoli, telling him to go to Hulle Granz Cathedral (Delta Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground). There, they have a short conversation, only to be interrupted by Ovan, who managed to get behind Haseo. He doesn't attack, only saying the same words: "Become strong enough to defeat me." Haseo, who still needs to get to the bottom of this, can only move forward, and plan to face Ovan again. For Shino, Alkaid, and all of the Lost Ones.
Normal things then happen, regarding Canard's @HOME being transferred to Breg Epona, and Haseo being able to access the Sigma server. And there's another quest where he was dragged by Silabus and Gaspard, but let's not go there. However, shortly after, everyone in Project G.U. receives a message from Pi, telling all of them to meet at their headquarters. There, Pi reveals that Yata is missing - both in "The World" and the real world. Turns out CC Corp was verging on desparate in order to solve the AIDA problem, and kicked Yata out of his position as leader of G.U., replacing him with a far more "reliable" player, one that claims to be able to control AIDA - Sakaki. Oh, and he's completely infected by AIDA, too.
Refusing to work under Sakaki, the entirety of G.U., leaves, only for Haseo to be forced to go with his plans. Sakaki intends the final Emperor tournament, one of Sage Palace, to be a PK Tournament, one that only grabs those with a high PK count as contestants (also, people with reputations in the arena). Being a PKKer, Haseo is forced to join. So, Pi then uses it as an advantage and asks Haseo to give her some time in order to find Yata. The rest of G.U. then sets up their plans, but Endrance and Sakubo suddenly refuses to take part in the tournament, as well as mysteriously leaving the group, leaving only Kuhn and Atoli to help Haseo.
The PK Tournament, as it turns out, to be a plan by Sakaki to ruin Haseo. The Arena was an AIDA server, and with a place full of people Haseo PKed before, they're bound to boo for him - or, in the other contestants' case, go towards him in rage. In the first round, Haseo's team is forced to survive five battles, all of them against Chaotic PKs (The top PKs, so to speak. They are even recognized as bounties by some people). Then, he forces Haseo to fight against IYOTEN and Asta, the same PKers who killed him on his first login - apparently they were still PKing newbies. Affected by the AIDA server, Haseo almost goes berserk and loses all character development, but was able to stop himself in time. And finally, he confronts his self-proclaimed mentor, Antares, in the semi-finals.
Their match was for real, but Sakaki intended to have things his way. He then proclaims Haseo to be a cheater, asking Antares to let him pass through the battle. Furthermore, he also says that Haseo is a hacked PC, being able to control illegal beings called "Avatars". He was about to disqualify Haseo for the tournament when an AIDA infected Taihaku (the current Sage Palace Emperor) appears, and says that he will take care of Haseo himself. Surprisingly, Endrance and Sakubo appeared to be on his Team, too! Sakaki reluctantly conceeds, but claims that Haseo would probably lose against the Hetero Trio, who were hacked PCs controlled by Sakaki, and also infected by AIDA. Sakaki is proven to be wrong, however, as Haseo manages to beat the Trio and be able to remove the AIDA that infected them.
All that was left was the title match. Taihaku, being the proud guy he is, leaves Endrance and Sakubo out of the match and battles Team Haseo alone. Haseo end up winning, and also gets to remove the AIDA from Taihaku. However, the AIDA then turns to him, and almost ended up being an AIDA-PC, if not for Atoli having him grab his conciousness before it was all too late. However, Haseo was damaged due to the ordeal, and Sakaki takes this chance to strike at Haseo... Only to find himself backstabbed. Literally.
By Endrance.
It was clever ploy. Endrance pretended to pledge his allegiance to Sakaki in order to find an opportunity to see Sakaki have his guard down and attack. Saku, being Saku, joined because Master En joined too. Now realizing that it was all for Haseo, she logs out, feeling a bit guilty. Still refusing to give up, Sakaki then uses the AIDA in him, and battles Haseo. With Endrance's, Kuhn's, and Atoli's help, Haseo managed to summon Skeith and defeat Sakaki once and for all. Defeated, Sakaki retreats, only to be attacked by the guy we all previously know as Tri-Edge.
Haseo manages to claim the Emperor title (once again), and just in time too, seeing that Pi managed to find Yata in the real world at last. However, there were some issues left to solve - for one, Saku bids Haseo goodbye, saying that Bo doesn't need her anymore, and since Saku isn't needed, she has to leave. Turns out, Saku was actually an alternate personality created by Bo, in order to protect himself. Haseo, however, persuades Saku to come back, and that no one can replace her as Bo's sister. Saku, convinced, listens.
And speaking of Bo, trouble seems to have struck him. He was "kidnapped" by a girl in goth clothing, and AIDA with her. Haseo and Pi chases the pair, only to find Bo quite fine, and even making friends with "Aina". Shortly, however, Aina disappears, like a ghost.
Pi then realizes that Yata disappeared again in the real world, even though his PC was still present. They tracked him down to an area, where they found him crouched on the ground. He then reveals himself the final Epitaph User, able to control Fidchell, The Prophet. However, it was just recently awakened, and thus it was berserk, forcing Haseo once again to Data Drain another Epitaph. With all the Epitaph Users Awakened, Ovan sends them a message, telling them to go to a certain area. There, they are then lead to "The Creator's Room", an area unknown to most of The World, even perhaps to most members of CC Corp. It is there where Haseo does his final battle against Ovan, who finally reveals his true intentions.
The reason why Ovan needed to be destroyed by Haseo - or rather, by an Epitaph User that consumed the other Epitaphs (Haseo ended up battling all of the other Epitaphs, by one reason or another), in order to unlock his Avatar's true power - "Rebirth", resetting the Internet. It was the only way to completely destroy AIDA, as well as return all of the Lost Ones, including his younger sister, who turned out to be Aina. However, being an Epitaph User, Haseo's PC and conciousness was severely damaged by the "Rebirth". He finds himself almost losing his soul, lying in what seemed to be a wasteland, before seeing a city on top of a turtle (what) hovering towards him, before being knocked out.
He then hears Zelkova's voice, who explains that Haseo must find himself as his PC is restored. There, he self-evaluates his journey, and notices how much he had changed, thanks to being forced to cooperate with others, as well as realizing the true meaning of power. And then Skeith appears, taunting Haseo for suddenly being so soft, even using Sora's personality (Haseo doesn't notice anything wrong, though). Skeith was about to leave when Haseo says that he's taking Skeith with him, because he is him.
By that time, Zelkova finished tweaking Haseo's PC, and granted him the Xth Form. However, when Haseo wakes up, he finds himself in a rather strange world...
Abilities/Additional Notes: Haseo's an Adept Rogue, known for being a "jack of all trades, master of none" class. Upon character creation, the player can choose a combination of the other classes, as well as any of the three armor types. For his PC, Ryou chose the classes Twin Blade, Edge Punisher, and Flick Reaper, allowing him to wield twin knives, broadswords and scythes. He also uses heavy armor. While his stats are generally well-rounded, he is geared more to the meele type, and proritizes offense rather than defense (he is, however, pretty fast while using the Twin Blade aspect of his character). His Scythe is also a Lost Weapon called Ticking Death, which has a chance of "draining" a small porion of his enemy's HP and SP. His special skills are called "Arts", and while there is a specific list of Arts for each weapon he uses, Haseo can freely switch through these weapons at any point, even in battle. His only skill is Repth, which he got through a special scroll, that allows him to heal a small amount of HP.
Furthermore, Haseo has access to Awakening mode, which, once his Morale gauge is full (it fills up with actions in battle, such as special attacks, healing, defeating a monster, etc. Furthermore, Beast and Demon Awakening can be used even when only half of the gauge is full. However, that means that the Awakening has a shorter duration), he and his party can do a special attack. He currently has three Awakening Modes - Beast Awakening, which temporarily, but drastically, increases the speed and attack power of the party, Demon Awakening, which the leader of the party can cast a first level attack spell repeatedly during the duration, and Divine Awakening, which allows the party leader to unleash a powerful attack, the strength depending on the affection levels of his party members. Divine Awakening can be only used in a party of three, with all of them alive. Avatar Awakening, post-reset, has replaced Divine Awakening. It allows Haseo to use Skeith perform Data Drain (or, by this canon point, Drain Arc) against normal enemies in order to do deal massive damage, but it still needs a party of three in order to control Skeith. Originally, it can also gather Virus Cores, but Adstring's not made up of data, so he's not getting any Virus Cores in Adstring.
Haseo being the main character of a series, must have some special kind of power, right? And indeed, he does. Haseo is an Epitaph-User, his character having the ability to summon one of the Eight Morganna Factors, or Epitaphs (The Epitaphs were data gathered from the Eight Phases, remnants of Morganna, one of the antagonists of the original .hack// series), in the form of an awesome-looking Avatar. Haseo contains Phase One, The Terror of Death, Skeith. These Avatars can only be seen by Epitaph-Users. However, due to its huge amount of power, an Avatar is hard to control, and so Haseo only uses them against AIDA. Skeith has four main actions, the first three used for "Protect-Break", since Avatars usually have Shields. The first two are defensive - Stun and Dash. Dash allows Skeith to escape attacks, while Stun allows him to send out bullets that may halt the enemy's movement. His offensive move is Slash, which uses Skeith's gigantic scythe in order to weaken the shield. Once "Protect-Break" is done, Skeith then now uses Data Drain, which rewrites the opponents' data, while extracting excess data.
Also, thanks to Zelkova "operating" on his PC, Haseo's now considered as a hacked PC, and has unlocked his final form - Xth form. It allows him to have the Dual Gunner class, which allows him to fire 8 shots per round (and he reloads really fast). Furthermore, the closer he is to his opponent, the stronger his attack is, and he can move (specifically, dash or glide) while firing. Also, he has a Double Trigger, "Judgement", that allows him to do a follow-up attack after performing an Art. Here's a demonstration.
Since Haseo is from an MMORPG, several changes would have to be made, seeing as he is now "real" in Adstringendum. For one, he can now take off his armor, but he would have to remain in his PC's appearance all the time. Furthermore, the armor would return every time he starts a battle. His healing skill, Repth, can heal pains and small injuries, but not sickness or curses. He would have the ability to summon one of his weapons at any time, seemingly out of mid-air. His priveleges as a Guild Master, such as having a bike, will not be accessible during his stay at Adstringendum. He will also have to eat, sleep, etc. Finally, Skeith's usage would be extremelly limited (once again, Haseo only uses it against AIDA, so it won't be much of a problem), and will only be unleashed at the most dire of consequences. Instead of modifying data, Data Drain would now unleash a powerful attack instead, that can knock out a person or even put them into a coma.
Character: Ryou Misaki, "Haseo"
Timeline: Near the end of vol. 2 Reminisce, upon the revealing of Tri-Edge's true identity. Post reset brings him from vol. 3 Redemption, after "Rebirth".
Personality: Ever since he was a kid, Ryou has been quite a loner. He has a hard time coorperating and mingling with others, and would prefer to do things alone. As a child, he coped with it by pwning people in the internet and being annoying, but as Haseo, he played it straight out. All the small amount of hope and optimism vanished on his first day at The World, and most of the time he still thinks it as one stupid game. In fact, he no longer plays it for laughs or fun, which is the true purpose of the game - he's playing to get Shino and Ovan, and thus, his peaceful life in The World before, back. He proclaims himself as self-centered and a lone wolf, refusing all forms of help. It's his fault too that he doesn't have such a good reputation, either - he usually ignores other players, thinking of them as annoyance. If he does get to interact with a player, it would have to do something with PKing and Tri-Edge. He is also quite rude and grumpy, not to mention very aggressive. Put in his qualities of being impatient and even hot-tempered, and you get one cranky guy. He snarks most of the time, telling then to mind their own business and go away. And on rare times, when he has to cooperate, he pretends of being selfish - he initially thought he could use Canard and Project GU as tools, and leave them once he's done with them.
Thing is, it's all a facade. What Ryou describes himself as is different from what he really is. In fact, Ryou is actually one big softie. He also has a weakness to children, always playing the big brother role to them (he spoils Bo. A lot.) That's because he is someone who protects people, just like what he did to Shino. He cares about people a lot. Though initially he only cared about his small group of friends, his current experiences with The World tends to have him make that group a little bit larger. And while he still initially refuses to partiticapte in some business not regarding his mission, he eventually gives in after a few proddings. Whenever you need him, he's always there to protect you. That's why he was so devastated when he failed to protect Shino - Ryou tends to have large amounts of guilt every time he fails to save someone, whether it's Alkaid or Atoli. He's not the kind of person to just walk away when he sees something. Shino's PKing was also the reason why Ryou became more closed-off than ever. But now, he's starting to realize that he needs others to help him along the way, and that he can't just do this thing without his friends.
Also, despite the lack of hacking skills or actual tactics, Ryou's actually quite smart. He has a good sense of judgement, especially at character, usually knowing when someone lies or not. He can usually see through other people's masks, suspecting a deeper, more sinister motive when one has it (though this trait is not foolproof - he got fooled from time to time, too). Ryou hates two kinds of people - those that looks down at other people, and those who use other people to their advantage. Quite hypocritical, considering that he acts like that, but it stops there - it's just an act. That's why he can hate Sakaki all he wants, for controlling Atoli like that.
If there is one quality everyone agrees about Ryou, it's his determination. He's stubborn as hell, and that's what makes him strong. Despite all that happened - particularly his deleveling - Ryou gets to still stand up and keep moving on. Yes, he broods and mours and yes, he has his weak side too, but he never ever gives up. Ryou has a lot of self-respect, especially when he actually gets the work done, and will stop at nothing to win what he wants. Even when things go awry, or some complex plot twist happens, Ryou still moves on. He does what he believes in. But that doesn't mean he cannot forgive, too.
This self-respect is what Haseo makes as a good leader. Once again, he is a bit smart, and so he does the best move for them all. Yes, people hate him and get annoyed at him, but they also follow him in admiration to his good qualities. He now knows how to deal with people (sort of), and respecting the fact that he cannot always do things alone, he now actually has the courage to ask for it. He now tries to appreciate people.
And as for the recent betrayal by a friend, Ryou can actually cope with it. He knows that bawwing about it isn't going to solve things, and immediately decides to pursue him. But that doesn't stop Ryou from asking questions, because he needs to know why and see the entire picture of the story. He wants to see his reason. And still, a part of him mourns at the loss of a dear and very respected friend.
Background: Ryou Misaki's first encounter with The World was when he was only ten years old, a rather childish and annoying kid (no, really). At that time, he played an infamous PKer named Sora, and was actually a villainous character in that part of the series. Near the end of .hack//SIGN (the prequel to the original .hack// games), Sora was data drained by Skeith, who was controlled by Morganna at that time. In the duration of seventh months, he was a Lost One, his PC trapped in the game and Ryou being in a coma. Once The World was finally saved, he, among the other Lost Ones, finally regained conciousness. Ryou didn't have any recollection whatsoever regarding The World, and his parents kept him from knowing anything at all.
His life then continues normally in the next seven years, not even knowing that he played the game before. Now seventeen, someone then recommended The World R:2 (the second version of The World) to Ryou. Despite being rather a loner and an antisocial, he decided to give it a try. He then created yet another character - Haseo, an Adept Rogue. Rather a bit hopeful than usual, Haseo then looked forward to his first day in The World R:2. It was November 2016 at that time.
Guess what? It was totally sucky.
When he logged in for the first time, two players named IYOTEN and Asta warmly greeted him in Mac Anu, the Root Town for the Delta server. Being a fresh n00b, Haseo was willing to get help from the two of them, who were willing to teach him how to play the game. Unfortunately, it was nothing but a mere plan for something sinister - IYOTEN and Asta received an e-mail from an anonymous sender, claiming that there's a new - and thus naive - player logging in. After Haseo completed his first field, IYOTEN and Asta revealed themselves as PKers - Player Killers. They then proceded to PK poor Haseo off. It's a good thing, then, that someone was nearby.
Enter Ovan, a very powerful yet totally cryptic player. He defeated both of the PKers and then revived Haseo. However, Ovan left Haseo immediately after that. Now alone, Haseo wandered across The World, meeting several friendly players along the way. Oh yeah, he also met several PKers too. One of the kinder people Haseo met, however, was a girl named Shino. Shino was apparently a guildmate of Ovan, and both of them started the Twilight Brigade. The guild was small yet slightly bonded, whose goal is to search for the Key of the Twilight. Haseo, who was finding a reason why should he even bother continuing playing the game (other than not putting that monthly subscription to waste), then joined said guild, after some influence from Shino. However, being the loner he is, the only people Haseo really cared much about were Shino and Ovan. Soon, Ovan suddenly disappeared, and the rest of the guild crumbles. The guild is then disbanded, but Haseo tags along with Shino, who starts becoming more closer to her than anyone else he met. Haseo then made a promise to Shino - to protect Shino, and for both of them waiting for Ovan's return.
One day, Shino heard that Ovan was waiting for her at the Lost Ground Hulle Granz Cathedral, the key words being ?Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. However, she didn't expect that there was someone there, waiting to attack her. Haseo, after hearing from Tabby (one of their former guildmates from the Twilight Brigade), rushed in to follow her. Unfortunately, it was all too late - he can only watch as a PKed Shino falls, and crumbles into data in Haseo's arms. Shino is then turned into a Lost One in the real world. The only other person around was a man that shall be, for the most of the series, known as Tri-Edge. The guilt and tragedy then made him make another promise - to get back Shino no matter what, and get stronger, in order to defeat Tri-Edge. He becomes more guarded then ever, refusing help from anyone at all. To him, nothing else was important anymore, just to get back his previous life in The World. He has a rather broken-down mental state at this point, so to speak.
Then came the Forest of Pain event, which gave a special prize to those who complete the quest. Only Haseo and some other guy not important in this application were able to complete it. As his prize, Haseo immediately gained his two other forms. At this point, Haseo becomes a PKKer (one who kills PKers) known as the Terror of Death. He became infamous around the game, especially after he was able to defeat 100 PKers when they ambushed him. He still doesn't accept any kind of help at all, and is sometimes labelled by those who once knew him as a lunatic.
Eight months later, and Haseo's popularity grew, attracting a lot of players. One of them was Sakaki, who frowned upon Haseo's actions. He then confronted Haseo at Mac Anu, accompanied by his subordinate, Atoli. The only reason Haseo even bothered to look at them was because Atoli's PC looked a lot like Shino's. Shortly thereafter, he receives a message from a Ovan, who finally returned. Rushing to talk to him once more, the two had a confrontation. Ovan then reveals that Tri-Edge would return to Hulle Granz Cathedral, the place where Shino was PKed. They then planned meet there, and fight against Tri-Edge together. Finally, at level 133, Haseo once again gets to meet Tri-Edge. Unfortunately Ovan wasn't around but Haseo didn't care. A battle ensures, one that Haseo loses, and in the end he gets data drained. As a result, everything about his character was reset, and thus returned to level 1 without anything at all. Not only that, but his PC was also reformatted, erasing even Shino's emails to him. Ouch. But Haseo doesn't complain and wail about it. Instead, he stands up, and goes to climb back to power once more.
Haseo logs in and sees a glimpse of Ovan around Mac Anu. Instead, he finds Silabus and Gaspard, members of the Guild Canard, which was dedicated into helping newbies. Since poor Haseo was level 1, they thought he was a newbie, and so dragged him into an adventure. However, by the end of the dungeon, they ended up meeting Bordeaux, a PKer bent on getting her revenge from Haseo. Bordeaux was about to PK them when a woman named Pi shows up, and chases Bordeaux away. Pi offered help for Haseo so he can level up faster, but Haseo, of course, declines. Pi then leaves, but not before warning Haseo of a strange and dangerous power inside the character he uses.
Haseo then meets Atoli, who was determined to explain Moon Tree's teachings to him, and finally convince him that PKKing is bad. Dragged along to a field with her, Haseo is then forced to complete it with her. However, after receiving the prize at the end of the field, Atoli suddenly hears something. Curious, the two of them followed it, leading them to one of Tri-Edge's Signs (marks from an attack by Tri-Edge). Accidentally Gate Hacking the Sign, the two are then sent to an area - the Lost Ground of Indieglut Lugh. There, they saw a man that they would later know as Endrance, surrounded by strange, black dots. Endrance leaves shortly thereafter, and while Haseo and Atoli tried to go after him, a mysterious creature suddenly attacked them. Fortunately a guy named Kuhn was around, and after summoning a strange being, he was able to drive the mysterious creature away. Kuhn then gave the guild key to Raven to Haseo, where he met yet another player named Yata, who explained everything about him.
Apparently, that mysterious creature was AIDA, in short for Artificially Intelligent Data Anomaly. They are originally harmless errors in the internet created due to the disappearance of the Ultimate AI, Aura. However, in due time, they became aggressive, and then one of these AIDA, Tri-Edge, started attacking players, turning them into Lost Ones. The rest of the AIDA followed suit, and thus they became a threat to The World and the Internet. AIDA are also drawn to humans, and thus they sometimes attach themselves to players, and thus they are called AIDA-PCs, or the Infected. AIDA makes that player's negative and positive thoughts stronger, rendering them into an uncontrolled mental state. Infected Epitaph-Users lose control of their Epitaphs. Those PKed by AIDA-PCs also become Lost Ones.
Yata then reveals to Haseo that he is an Epitaph-User, and thus has the ability to summon the Avatar Skeith (who is, coincidencially, from the Phase who Data Drained his previous character, Sora. More on the Epitaph business is adressed on the Abilities section below). So Yata gives Haseo a proposition - to join Project GU and help them investigate AIDA, in exchange for more information regarding Tri-Edge. Haseo accepts.
Returning to Mac Anu, Silabus and Gaspard them give Haseo the task of running their guild shop. Haseo then meets a young player named Bo, who was looking for an item for his sister (who also plays the same character - their official character name is Sakubo). Haseo, having a soft spot for kids, gives Bo a discount. Bo then promises to return the favor to Haseo, and happily walks away. Haseo is then called by Kuhn, who calls him for training, in an attempt to awaken Haseo's avatar. Unfortunately, even with the help of Pi, Haseo was unable to summon Skeith. Disheartened, Haseo returns to town, finding Silabus and Gaspard trying to have him become Canard's guildmaster. Haseo then gives up from trying to decline the offer and accepts. He then proceeded to finish some quest in order for him to be able to become the guild master, and was able to with a small help from Bo.
Haseo, Silabus and Gaspard then went to the newly-restored Lumina Cloth, which was the town for the tournaments. They watched the Title Match for the Demon Palace Emperor. It was at that time that Haseo notices that the current Emperor was actually Endrance, the same guy he and Atoli saw that one time in Indieglut Lugh. Apparently Endrance was also an Epitaph-User, and uses his Avatar in order to win his battles. Thinking that it was cheating, Haseo storms out angrily, and finally meets Bo's sister, Saku, who turns out to be some fan of Endrance. Haseo and Endrance then meet each other, which resulted in them hating each other (sort of). Haseo then promises that he will be the one to defeat Endrance, and Endrance accepts the challenge. Silabus was eager enough to offer his help to Haseo, but suggested to find a cleric as a third party member.
Haseo immediately thought of Atoli, and tried being nice with her when they went to one of her favorite fields, in order to recruit her for the job. However, their opinions of The World clashed, and Haseo, angry at her, told her to just leave and never see him again. However, they still needed at Harvest Cleric, and so Silabus posted a message on the forum of The World in order to get one. A player named SAKURA then offered to help them, giving a certain area. Haseo had to meet her alone. Fishy, isn't it? Of course! Apparently it was just Bordeaux and her friends, wanting to PK Haseo. It's a good thing that Moon Tree members Sakaki and Matsu were around, who drove them off. Apparently it was Atoli who lead the way. Turns out Saku recruited Bordeaux to PK Haseo, but Bo was able to warn Atoli just in time. After things calmed down, Atoli then offers to become the third party members. With their team complete, Haseo, Atoli and Silabus then entered the Arena.
During the Arena battles, Haseo is confronted by a mysterious player named Antares. He challenges Haseo to complete a rather difficult dungeon, one that Haseo accepts. Apparently this dungeon proved to be quite unnatural, being rather puzzle-like. With a few short mails from Antares, Haseo was able to reach the end. That doesn't change the fact that Haseo was annoyed about all of it. But it apparently helped him - Haseo was able to go through a similar dungeon with ease in the Job Extention event, and now gets his 2nd form, allowing him to use Broadswords.
Haseo and his party then gets to fight Alkaid, who happens to be the previous Emperor. During the battle, Skeith finally wakes up, and defeats Alkaid. Pi then offers Haseo some training in order to help him control his Avatar, since using it against other characters is dangerous. Pi takes Haseo to an area where she can help Haseo, but they ended up getting attacked by AIDA. Pi gets infected after saving a character named Zelkova nearby (who turns out to be the Guild Master of Moon Tree), and Haseo uses his avatar to defeat Pi's rampaging Epitaph.
One of the people Haseo then meets, a comical guy named Piros the 3rd, then tells him of a Tri-Edge sign. The two of them go, only to see Yata and Ovan in a conversation. After overhearing something they didn't get at all, the two then leave.
During the final match of the tournament, Haseo and co. faces off Kuhn, Pi and Antares. Angered at them "getting in the way", Haseo gets angry and summons Skeith, and Kuhn responds by summoning his own Avatar, Magus. Eventually Haseo loses control of Skeith, and can only watch helplessly as his own Avatar brutally attacks Magus. Good thing Kuhn can make a copy of his Avatar, or else something bad would have happened. Either way, Kuhn and co. loses, and so Haseo and co. gets to fight against Endrance. Endrance turned out to be an AIDA-PC (and a combination of an Epitaph-User and an AIDA isn't nice) and thus uses his Avatar, Macha. Haseo responds back with Skeith, and wins the tournament, making him Emperor. And apparently, as it turns out, Endrance's cat Mia is actually the AIDA controlling Endrance.
Becoming the Demon Emperor, Haseo's crowning ceremony is then held at the Isle of Kings. Here, Atoli gets mad at Haseo (Gee, I wonder why), and storms off. Later on, Haseo then gets a message from Yata, telling him to come to their headquarters, the Serpent of Lore. There, Yata reveals that Atoli was actually another Epitaph-User, and that she Gate Hacked one of Tri-Edge's signs. Following Atoli with Kuhn and Pi, Haseo ends up in a strange white room full of lockers, and ends up meeting Tri-Edge again. After one normal battle and one Avatar Battle, Haseo manages to defeat and Data Drain Tri-Edge. They then have a conversation, where Atoli and Haseo make up with each other. However, the lockers suddenly open, emitting the same sound Atoli frequently hears. Hypnotized, she walks toward the lockers. Fortunately Haseo was around to break her trance, but AIDA's arms suddenly shot forward and attack Atoli. Afraid of losing another important person, Haseo goes with Kuhn and Pi, Atoli's PC in Magus' arms, back to the Serpent of Lore.
Yata then says that the AIDA stole Atoli's Epitaph. Also, Atoli notices that she can't speak at all, and that her hand ended up being numb. She tries to log off in order to rest, but is unable to do so. Everyone else tried, also with no prevail. Yata has only one explanation - they were transfered to an AIDA Server. Obviously they had to get out, but there's time constraint, too - Atoli would end up being a Lost One if they don't get out in time. In order to break free, Project GU then requested the help of Moon Tree in order to find seams in the server and thus find a way to get out of the Server. Eventually they made into the Operation Folder, but before that they had to fight against an AIDA Guardian. The data it had, for some mysterious reason, has the name "0-van 01". Hmmm... Not only that, but seconds before Haseo gets logged out of the AIDA Server, he sees Tri-Edge alive and well, and flanked by two other characters at that!
After that, rumors started to spread out. The administrators did say about something regarding a server crash, but it only lasted for mere minutes, while those who were stuck in the Server said that it was something among hours before this strange light popped out and logged them out (this "strange light" is because of Pi's and Yata's hacking expertise). And now, due to Haseo becoming Demon Emperor, Canard was upgraded into an intermediate Guild and thus they had a new @Home in a new server - Theta. It's now located at the Root Town Dol Dona. In order to celebrate, Silabus and Gaspard dragged Haseo on yet another quest (and a fun one, too - oh, the glory of Intermediate-level areas.)
After going back to Dol Dona, Haseo meets Alkaid (you know, the Demon Emperor before Endrance?) She also dragged Haseo to another field, and once they completed it, Alkaid told him her true reason for getting Haseo - she needs his help. One of the other Emperors (there are actually 3 in total), Sirius started acting weird. Once he teamed up with two strange players (and according to Alkaid's description, those two look the same as Tri-Edge's lackies). After Pi and Yata investigated one of the Arena Battles Sirius participated in, they confirmed that Sirius was, in fact, affected by AIDA. So, in order to Get said AIDA strain and turn Sirius back to normal, Haseo teams up with Alkaid to fight in the tournament (which also means giving up his Demon Emperor title). But, of course, they need another member - that member turned out to be Atoli, who wanted to prove herself.
And so, a rather awkward "love triangle" occurs (Alkaid and Atoli have feelings for Haseo, who's completely ignorant regarding the entire thing). However, a rather nice relationship evolves with the trio, as they go out together in order to train. Alkaid then eventually gets Haseo to train with her in a field, just the two of them, which leads them to a boss. Apparently the reward for defeating the area's boss was a rare weapon called the Lit Honeysuckle, which Alkaid gave to Haseo as a gift. Thing is, the word "Honeysuckle" has an important term for Haseo, since Shino also gave him a weapon with the word "Honeysuckle" in it, and apparently meant something romantic. Alkaid blushes in embarrassment, as Haseo dwells on his memories.
In the meantime, Haseo is, once again, dragged by Silabus and Gaspard into a quest. However, this quest is an important one, to the extent that it was a limited-time event - yet another Job Extension Quest. Unlike the first one, the second one didn't really need pure, sheer strength - it tested the bonds Haseo had. In contrast to the first one, which had Haseo go solo, he now needed three party members to go with him - clearly Silabus and Gaspard wanted to help. And so, they started the quest. Gaspard and Silabus were so happy-go-lucky that it infuriated Haseo (he wasn't playing The World for fun - he was playing it to save Shino!) and thus left them midway. However, Haseo remembered Atoli's words when their opinions clashed before, and so, out of guilt, not to mention remembering the fun times he had with them, went back to them in order to finish the quest together. Apparently it was also part of the test! If the entire party didn't open the treasure at the end together, Haseo would have to start over again. So, friendship prevails and finally gets his 3rd Form, allowing him to now use scythes as well.
In the meantime, Atoli hears about Alkaid and Haseo's training, and rather jealous, also asks Haseo to train with just the two of them. And with interesting keywords two - Theta Lingering Aching Love, huh. Unfortunately, Alkaid got to met Haseo on his way there, and so got to tag along, too. Poor Alkaid.
Then the tournament continues, Team Haseo being able to defeat those in his way. And apparently midway, Haseo got to fight two teams with Moon Tree members in it - one of them was Hiiragi, a supporter of Sakaki, and the other is a mysterious wise guy named Nala. And something fishy happened, too - not only did Nala give Haseo an armor that would be useful against Hiiragi, Nala also lost to Team Haseo on purpose! Clearly there's something weird going around, with one of the main Moon Tree members betraying his guild. But it's not really much of Haseo's business, so the Team moves on.
Then, before the finals, something tragic happens. Haseo then gets an email from Alkaid, noting him of someone telling her to come to a Lost Ground, where someone can tell her about Sirius' condition. Haseo rushes, only to find Alkaid, apparently PKed by an AIDA-PC. Alkaid fades away in Haseo's hands, in a manner hauntingly similar to Shino's. But Alkaid said a couple of words before becoming a Lost One - some are to cheer Haseo up, and two other words - "find Endrance." Haseo, depressed of losing someone again, tells Atoli of what came to Alkaid.
That meant Haseo needed to find a new party member, and Alkaid requested for Endrance in her stead. Alkaid once mentioned Endrance moving around town in a rather zombie-like state, but he was nowhere in sight. Eventually Haseo ended up in Indieglut Lugh, the same place where he first saw Endrance. There, he was encased in... Crystal? Ice? Either way, apparently Endrance found no more reason to go on, now that Mia was gone. Apparently Endrance's player played in the first version of The World, and had a dear friend of the same name. AIDA only took form of Mia in order to reach Endrance's weakness. Haseo was about to speak to him, but he was guarded by none other than Saku, who was thinking that Haseo came to take "Master En" away from her. Apparently Sakubo was also infected by AIDA, and revealed to be an Epitaph-User as well - she was the Avatar Gorre. Haseo then extracts the AIDA out, knocking Saku. Bo takes over, who lets Haseo give Endrance a bit of a pep talk.
The finals then come, and Pi then talks to Haseo. If her guess was correct, then Haseo's opponent might also be an AIDA-PC. If that happens, Atoli would be in absolute danger. So, Haseo agrees to replace Atoli with Pi. Atoli, who wanted to prove herself, was saddened by the idea, but eventually conceded. Unfortunately, during the finals, Endrance did not show up in time, and so Haseo and Pi had to fight witht just the two of them.
And apparently Pi's guess was correct. The leader of the opposing team was none other than Bordeaux, now an AIDA-PC. Someone injected AIDA into her, with she believes is the power she can use to finally destroy Haseo. Mid-fight, Bordeaux taunts Haseo that she was actually the one who PKed Alkaid, rendering him enraged. However, AIDA made her stats go off the scale, and Haseo ended up being driven into a corner...
When rose petals shows up, saving Haseo from the attack. Endrance then appears, being fashionably late. Bordeaux, now fully overwhelmed with AIDA, goes all-out, and is engulfed by the AIDA strain Oswald. Haseo then proceeded to summon Skeith, and finish Oswald off. Team Haseo then wins.
And then came the title match. Atoli started to change her mind, but Pi and Haseo still insisted not to keep her along, in fear that she may end up being a Lost One (granted, all three of them did have the chance of becoming a Lost One, but the three had awakened Epitaphs - they have a better chance of survival.) The squabble continues, until Kuhn, who was actually missing for days (actually he was quitting Project GU altogether, frowining upon Yata's methods), pops out and convinces for him to switch places with Pi "I will be [Atoli's] sword and shield," he says. With this new line-up, Atoli finally agrees.
Haseo, Endrance, and Kuhn then proceeded to fight Sirius. And indeed, his two friends were the same pair whom Haseo saw with Tri-Edge! Their names were listed as Azure Balmung and Azure Orca. Not only that, but this Azure pair also proved to be immortal! So, the three concentrated their attacks on Endrance. Eventually the AIDA possesing Sirius comes out - AIDA Helen. It also happened to have Atoli's Epitaph, as well! Smirking, Haseo then sets out to extract the AIDA. Atoli is immediately healed of her problem, Sirius is free of the AIDA strain, and Haseo wins the match. Sirius initially mourned the loss of that power, but it was quickly replaced by guilt once he heard of Alkaid's fate.
After the match, Endrance then pledges his alliance to Haseo (and really, it was really weird, Endrance's infatuation towards Mia is now replaced by his obssesion with Haseo! ...Did I mention that he's male online and offline? Having rose petals around and speaking poetically doesn't help, either). And in turn, so does Saku and Bo (while Bo is willing to help his "big brother", Saku was only going to participate because "Master En" was going to help Haseo, too. Who said Project GU was made up of sane people, anyway?). Haseo, Atoli, Kuhn, Pi, Endrance, and Sakubo. That's six Epitaph-Users. Two more to go.
Also, by that time, Haseo gets a mysterious e-mail from one of his old aquaintances - Phyllo. Which is really weird, because Phyllo's player died months ago due to cancer. Apparently it was a message from Antares, who was entrusted by Phyllo to give Haseo his last will. This will is the location of seven Lost Weapons, special items that can be used only by Epitaph-Users. Haseo then proceeds to fight against the guardian of his Lost Weapon, Death Eater. He succeeds, and acquires a scythe called Ticking Death.
So, Haseo became Emperor again, this time of the Holy Palace. You know what that means - he gets another crowning ceremony! And Antares' Member Address too, but that's not really important. He celebrates in the Isle of Kings, but notices that Atoli wasn't around. Well, she did mention about work in Moon Tree, but still. After talking to some people, Haseo gets some alone time, before being interrupted with Pi and Kuhn. Something bad happened.
Indeed something did, because Kaede, Zelkova's assisstant of sorts, came running to them. Apparently something terrible happened at Moon Tree - Sakaki staged a coup de tat, and not only that, he infected several people - including Atoli - with AIDA! Now Moon Tree's seemingly at civil war, and since Moon Tree's area suddenly became a mini-AIDA server, everyone getting PKed in the area ended up as Lost Ones! And since an Infected Atoli attacked Zelkova... Thus, Haseo, Endrance and Kuhn rushed around the guild area, beating up from Moon Tree members supporting Sakaki along the way. Assisting them is Nala, who turns out to be another one of Yata's characters. Before they get to Sakaki, however, Haseo suddenly ends up in a school corridor with voices. They were, apparently, from Atoli's memories, who was having trouble in real life. Sakaki took advantage of it, and infected her with AIDA.
Determined to bring Atoli back, Haseo then battles her in an Avatar Battle. Right after, he has a conversation with Atoli and gives her advice in his usual, rude way - keep moving forward, and don't run away. Now wanting to know who is the real Sakaki, Atoli then joins Haseo and Pi to search for him (Sakaki escaped after Innis, Atoli's Avatar, was defeated), leading to a Lost Ground. There, Sakaki infects himself with AIDA, and proceeds to attack the three. Haseo was able to finish him off, however, and Sakaki's PC falls in a virtual cliff.
Shortly thereafter, Ovan reappears, congratulating Haseo. As a gift, he gave him Tri-Edge's severed arm, leaving Haseo bewildered. And then, all of a sudden, Ovan unlocks the seal in his left arm, revealing... an AIDA arm. Before anyone can react, Ovan charges, PKing Pi and Atoli in one blow. In the ground, a familiar sign emerges - Tri-Edge's Sign.
Ovan is Tri-Edge. Ovan PKed Shino.
Ovan then tells Haseo to meet him in another Lost Ground, Megin Fi. He leaves Haseo, shocked and stunned at the discovery.
After recovering, Haseo then gets an email. It's from Matsu, a member of Moon Tree. Determined to know what's going on, he gave his Member Address. Later on, he then meets Pi again, who claims that both her and Atoli are fine, and they didn't end up in a coma at all. With all worries gone, Haseo then confronted Ovan in Megin Fi. There, Ovan reveals himself to be the one who was helping Sakaki all along, and then beckons Haseo to attack him. Later on, Ovan revealed himself as yet another Epitaph User - Corbernik, The Rebirth. Cue Avatar Battle, where Haseo manages to beat Ovan. However, as he disappears, Ovan mysteriously says that "this is not the death I wanted". Yata then pops up, telling Haseo that it was just the beginning, and that he only found a small portion of the truth.
He then gets an email to Atoli, telling him to go to Hulle Granz Cathedral (Delta Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground). There, they have a short conversation, only to be interrupted by Ovan, who managed to get behind Haseo. He doesn't attack, only saying the same words: "Become strong enough to defeat me." Haseo, who still needs to get to the bottom of this, can only move forward, and plan to face Ovan again. For Shino, Alkaid, and all of the Lost Ones.
Normal things then happen, regarding Canard's @HOME being transferred to Breg Epona, and Haseo being able to access the Sigma server. And there's another quest where he was dragged by Silabus and Gaspard, but let's not go there. However, shortly after, everyone in Project G.U. receives a message from Pi, telling all of them to meet at their headquarters. There, Pi reveals that Yata is missing - both in "The World" and the real world. Turns out CC Corp was verging on desparate in order to solve the AIDA problem, and kicked Yata out of his position as leader of G.U., replacing him with a far more "reliable" player, one that claims to be able to control AIDA - Sakaki. Oh, and he's completely infected by AIDA, too.
Refusing to work under Sakaki, the entirety of G.U., leaves, only for Haseo to be forced to go with his plans. Sakaki intends the final Emperor tournament, one of Sage Palace, to be a PK Tournament, one that only grabs those with a high PK count as contestants (also, people with reputations in the arena). Being a PKKer, Haseo is forced to join. So, Pi then uses it as an advantage and asks Haseo to give her some time in order to find Yata. The rest of G.U. then sets up their plans, but Endrance and Sakubo suddenly refuses to take part in the tournament, as well as mysteriously leaving the group, leaving only Kuhn and Atoli to help Haseo.
The PK Tournament, as it turns out, to be a plan by Sakaki to ruin Haseo. The Arena was an AIDA server, and with a place full of people Haseo PKed before, they're bound to boo for him - or, in the other contestants' case, go towards him in rage. In the first round, Haseo's team is forced to survive five battles, all of them against Chaotic PKs (The top PKs, so to speak. They are even recognized as bounties by some people). Then, he forces Haseo to fight against IYOTEN and Asta, the same PKers who killed him on his first login - apparently they were still PKing newbies. Affected by the AIDA server, Haseo almost goes berserk and loses all character development, but was able to stop himself in time. And finally, he confronts his self-proclaimed mentor, Antares, in the semi-finals.
Their match was for real, but Sakaki intended to have things his way. He then proclaims Haseo to be a cheater, asking Antares to let him pass through the battle. Furthermore, he also says that Haseo is a hacked PC, being able to control illegal beings called "Avatars". He was about to disqualify Haseo for the tournament when an AIDA infected Taihaku (the current Sage Palace Emperor) appears, and says that he will take care of Haseo himself. Surprisingly, Endrance and Sakubo appeared to be on his Team, too! Sakaki reluctantly conceeds, but claims that Haseo would probably lose against the Hetero Trio, who were hacked PCs controlled by Sakaki, and also infected by AIDA. Sakaki is proven to be wrong, however, as Haseo manages to beat the Trio and be able to remove the AIDA that infected them.
All that was left was the title match. Taihaku, being the proud guy he is, leaves Endrance and Sakubo out of the match and battles Team Haseo alone. Haseo end up winning, and also gets to remove the AIDA from Taihaku. However, the AIDA then turns to him, and almost ended up being an AIDA-PC, if not for Atoli having him grab his conciousness before it was all too late. However, Haseo was damaged due to the ordeal, and Sakaki takes this chance to strike at Haseo... Only to find himself backstabbed. Literally.
By Endrance.
It was clever ploy. Endrance pretended to pledge his allegiance to Sakaki in order to find an opportunity to see Sakaki have his guard down and attack. Saku, being Saku, joined because Master En joined too. Now realizing that it was all for Haseo, she logs out, feeling a bit guilty. Still refusing to give up, Sakaki then uses the AIDA in him, and battles Haseo. With Endrance's, Kuhn's, and Atoli's help, Haseo managed to summon Skeith and defeat Sakaki once and for all. Defeated, Sakaki retreats, only to be attacked by the guy we all previously know as Tri-Edge.
Haseo manages to claim the Emperor title (once again), and just in time too, seeing that Pi managed to find Yata in the real world at last. However, there were some issues left to solve - for one, Saku bids Haseo goodbye, saying that Bo doesn't need her anymore, and since Saku isn't needed, she has to leave. Turns out, Saku was actually an alternate personality created by Bo, in order to protect himself. Haseo, however, persuades Saku to come back, and that no one can replace her as Bo's sister. Saku, convinced, listens.
And speaking of Bo, trouble seems to have struck him. He was "kidnapped" by a girl in goth clothing, and AIDA with her. Haseo and Pi chases the pair, only to find Bo quite fine, and even making friends with "Aina". Shortly, however, Aina disappears, like a ghost.
Pi then realizes that Yata disappeared again in the real world, even though his PC was still present. They tracked him down to an area, where they found him crouched on the ground. He then reveals himself the final Epitaph User, able to control Fidchell, The Prophet. However, it was just recently awakened, and thus it was berserk, forcing Haseo once again to Data Drain another Epitaph. With all the Epitaph Users Awakened, Ovan sends them a message, telling them to go to a certain area. There, they are then lead to "The Creator's Room", an area unknown to most of The World, even perhaps to most members of CC Corp. It is there where Haseo does his final battle against Ovan, who finally reveals his true intentions.
The reason why Ovan needed to be destroyed by Haseo - or rather, by an Epitaph User that consumed the other Epitaphs (Haseo ended up battling all of the other Epitaphs, by one reason or another), in order to unlock his Avatar's true power - "Rebirth", resetting the Internet. It was the only way to completely destroy AIDA, as well as return all of the Lost Ones, including his younger sister, who turned out to be Aina. However, being an Epitaph User, Haseo's PC and conciousness was severely damaged by the "Rebirth". He finds himself almost losing his soul, lying in what seemed to be a wasteland, before seeing a city on top of a turtle (what) hovering towards him, before being knocked out.
He then hears Zelkova's voice, who explains that Haseo must find himself as his PC is restored. There, he self-evaluates his journey, and notices how much he had changed, thanks to being forced to cooperate with others, as well as realizing the true meaning of power. And then Skeith appears, taunting Haseo for suddenly being so soft, even using Sora's personality (Haseo doesn't notice anything wrong, though). Skeith was about to leave when Haseo says that he's taking Skeith with him, because he is him.
By that time, Zelkova finished tweaking Haseo's PC, and granted him the Xth Form. However, when Haseo wakes up, he finds himself in a rather strange world...
Abilities/Additional Notes: Haseo's an Adept Rogue, known for being a "jack of all trades, master of none" class. Upon character creation, the player can choose a combination of the other classes, as well as any of the three armor types. For his PC, Ryou chose the classes Twin Blade, Edge Punisher, and Flick Reaper, allowing him to wield twin knives, broadswords and scythes. He also uses heavy armor. While his stats are generally well-rounded, he is geared more to the meele type, and proritizes offense rather than defense (he is, however, pretty fast while using the Twin Blade aspect of his character). His Scythe is also a Lost Weapon called Ticking Death, which has a chance of "draining" a small porion of his enemy's HP and SP. His special skills are called "Arts", and while there is a specific list of Arts for each weapon he uses, Haseo can freely switch through these weapons at any point, even in battle. His only skill is Repth, which he got through a special scroll, that allows him to heal a small amount of HP.
Furthermore, Haseo has access to Awakening mode, which, once his Morale gauge is full (it fills up with actions in battle, such as special attacks, healing, defeating a monster, etc. Furthermore, Beast and Demon Awakening can be used even when only half of the gauge is full. However, that means that the Awakening has a shorter duration), he and his party can do a special attack. He currently has three Awakening Modes - Beast Awakening, which temporarily, but drastically, increases the speed and attack power of the party, Demon Awakening, which the leader of the party can cast a first level attack spell repeatedly during the duration, and Divine Awakening, which allows the party leader to unleash a powerful attack, the strength depending on the affection levels of his party members. Divine Awakening can be only used in a party of three, with all of them alive. Avatar Awakening, post-reset, has replaced Divine Awakening. It allows Haseo to use Skeith perform Data Drain (or, by this canon point, Drain Arc) against normal enemies in order to do deal massive damage, but it still needs a party of three in order to control Skeith. Originally, it can also gather Virus Cores, but Adstring's not made up of data, so he's not getting any Virus Cores in Adstring.
Haseo being the main character of a series, must have some special kind of power, right? And indeed, he does. Haseo is an Epitaph-User, his character having the ability to summon one of the Eight Morganna Factors, or Epitaphs (The Epitaphs were data gathered from the Eight Phases, remnants of Morganna, one of the antagonists of the original .hack// series), in the form of an awesome-looking Avatar. Haseo contains Phase One, The Terror of Death, Skeith. These Avatars can only be seen by Epitaph-Users. However, due to its huge amount of power, an Avatar is hard to control, and so Haseo only uses them against AIDA. Skeith has four main actions, the first three used for "Protect-Break", since Avatars usually have Shields. The first two are defensive - Stun and Dash. Dash allows Skeith to escape attacks, while Stun allows him to send out bullets that may halt the enemy's movement. His offensive move is Slash, which uses Skeith's gigantic scythe in order to weaken the shield. Once "Protect-Break" is done, Skeith then now uses Data Drain, which rewrites the opponents' data, while extracting excess data.
Also, thanks to Zelkova "operating" on his PC, Haseo's now considered as a hacked PC, and has unlocked his final form - Xth form. It allows him to have the Dual Gunner class, which allows him to fire 8 shots per round (and he reloads really fast). Furthermore, the closer he is to his opponent, the stronger his attack is, and he can move (specifically, dash or glide) while firing. Also, he has a Double Trigger, "Judgement", that allows him to do a follow-up attack after performing an Art. Here's a demonstration.
Since Haseo is from an MMORPG, several changes would have to be made, seeing as he is now "real" in Adstringendum. For one, he can now take off his armor, but he would have to remain in his PC's appearance all the time. Furthermore, the armor would return every time he starts a battle. His healing skill, Repth, can heal pains and small injuries, but not sickness or curses. He would have the ability to summon one of his weapons at any time, seemingly out of mid-air. His priveleges as a Guild Master, such as having a bike, will not be accessible during his stay at Adstringendum. He will also have to eat, sleep, etc. Finally, Skeith's usage would be extremelly limited (once again, Haseo only uses it against AIDA, so it won't be much of a problem), and will only be unleashed at the most dire of consequences. Instead of modifying data, Data Drain would now unleash a powerful attack instead, that can knock out a person or even put them into a coma.