Schmitt

Schmitt is one of the ten thousand players trapped in the death game Sword Art Online, and eventually rises to become sub-leader of the Divine Dragons Alliance's defense force. His path there begins with tragedy: after unknowingly helping to facilitate the murder of his original guild's leader, he uses the money paid for his silence to buy the equipment needed to join the more powerful DDA, driven above all by a desperate need to feel safe.

Behind his tank-like battlefield presence lies genuine terror of death; convinced the game's dangers could spread anywhere, he devoted himself to becoming as sturdy as possible through cautious, methodical leveling rather than risky combat. That philosophy eventually made him one of the toughest players around in raw hit points and defense, though it also left him dismissive of lightly armored, offense-focused players. Haunted by guilt over the Griselda murder, Schmitt later confesses his unwitting role in it, and survives all the way to the final battle against the game's creator on the 75th floor.