Wang Shui

Biodata

Power Progression

Awakened skills and attributes are distinct from Wang Shui’s temporary SAO character levels and game skills 6 28 29.

Background and History

Before the Dream System

Wang Shui studied chemistry before switching to programming. He worked as a low-level CRUD programmer until the Dream System intercepted his soul, reconstructed his body, and made him an Awakened 1 29.

His first mission left him more interested in survival than adventure. Captured by an arms manufacturer, he spent a month in forced labor and failed the main quest. Afterward, Brother Hei helped him survive in the city and employed him at a repair shop under an arrangement that took seventy percent of his earnings 1 30.

Wang Shui chose the life-class route because it minimized mandatory mission participation. The trade-off was restricted access to the system’s exchange list and mission rewards oriented toward production rather than direct combat strength 1.

Sword Art Online

Entering the SAO world as fourteen-year-old Satō Itsuki, Wang Shui received a mission to obtain the World Seed, with erasure as the penalty for failure. He initially hoped to remain safe while Kirito resolved the main storyline 3.

His talent prevented ordinary interface-based skill acquisition, forcing him to seek instruction and learn through practice. He gradually adapted to fighting, explored the first floor, partnered briefly with Kirito, and rescued Shino from three murderous players before training alongside her 6 7 8 14 16 18.

Wang Shui tried to preserve familiar events while building enough strength to intervene if necessary. This included giving Kirito the powerful Violent Execution ring and withholding his knowledge of Illfang’s final-phase weapon during the first-floor raid preparations 14 21.

His attempts to manufacture firearms attracted Kayaba’s attention. The encounter developed into a collaboration on SAO’s history, industrial systems, firearms update, artificial intelligence, and the Mind Lock Computing Cloud Cluster. After more than a year in the world, Wang Shui delivered the World Seed data and returned to the safe city 24 26 28 29.

Rusty Sword Fortress

Back in the city, Wang Shui prepared for a supposedly straightforward delivery job arranged by Brother Hei. He sold blood to obtain supplies, began studying alchemy, and equipped himself with mobile armor and offensive tools 30 31 32 34 36.

At Rusty Sword Fortress, Lord Mengde attacked and imprisoned him beside Silvia, the betrayed queen of the Penumbra of the Moon. When the fortress came under attack, Wang Shui used his armor to escape and fought toward the outskirts while Silvia confronted the enemy’s strongest combatants 38 39.

He subsequently restored Silvia as a digital life-form, although repeated awakenings exposed serious psychological and technical problems. The experience also broke his trust in his employment arrangement: recognizing that Brother Hei could treat him as both friend and pawn, Wang Shui requested termination of their digital contract 41.

Amestris

Using a State Alchemist’s pocket watch as an otherworld key, Wang Shui entered Amestris with a quest to obtain 32.76 kilograms of the Sage’s Stone. He settled in Resembool, built a reputation repairing machinery, and continued combat training under Silvia 42 43 45.

His alchemical research focused on food production, including accelerated wheat growth and synthesizing starch from atmospheric carbon dioxide. He sought Hohenheim’s instruction in Alkahestry and used grain sales to finance logistics and production expansion 46 47.

Over the following years, Wang Shui and Silvia built an industrial and commercial empire supported by constructs with artificial souls. He eventually controlled nearly all national supply flows and almost all bulk commodity trading. Two years before Hohenheim’s departure, he accepted military recruitment as the Mirror Alchemy Master 50.

After providing Hohenheim with an alchemy-powered car and agreeing to help his family, Wang Shui headed toward Ishval to become more directly involved in unfolding events 50.

Appearance

• Build: A small frame, standing a little over 170 centimeters tall 4 34.
• Face: Ordinary, well-proportioned features; his appearance in the SAO world retained his familiar face but had softer contours 3.
• Eyes: Frequently described as unfriendly, lifeless “dead-fish eyes,” especially when tired 3 7.
• Hunting outfit: Black trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, equipment harness, tactical belt, outdoor jacket, extraordinary tactical boots, and a gray-white-black hooded shoulder cloak 34.
• Armored profile: His miniature Daylight · Bharal armor kept his total height below 1.9 meters, allowing him to use conventional weapons 34.

Personality

Wang Shui openly fears death, pain, hunger, and harsh living conditions. His reluctance to fight comes from identifying himself as an ordinary person rather than a natural warrior. In SAO, concentrating on the physical demands of sword combat gradually gave him less room to panic 1 8 10.

He is socially capable, shameless, and willing to mix truth with deception. He invents stories to obtain instruction, gathers information through conversation, and organizes dueling sessions that become social gatherings. His treatment of Shino combines genuine concern for her independence with a calculated desire for a powerful ally willing to protect him 6 13 16 37.

His curiosity is intense but inconsistent. New subjects can absorb him completely, while boredom or a difficult bottleneck can rapidly drain his enthusiasm. He recognizes his tendency to coast and eventually admits that he needs Silvia to push him 2 15 44.

Despite his self-deprecation, Wang Shui values autonomy and fair compensation for his work. His caution can coexist with reckless confidence, and his gratitude toward Brother Hei ultimately cannot overcome his refusal to remain a subordinate whose life can be used as a bargaining piece 27 40 41.

Abilities and Skills

Arrogant Knower

A Dark Silver talent that greatly enhances learning while imposing strict restrictions on how Wang Shui acquires power 1.

• Cannot obtain a supernatural class or change his bloodline.
• Must acquire skills through learning rather than system infusion.
• Has no stated limit on learning ability.
• Does not provide direct combat power; understanding and practical experience remain necessary 1 7 31.
• Old Moran identifies Arrogant Knowers as rarer than other Knowers, with severe restrictions but less extreme knowledge-seeking behavior 33.

Engineering and Computing

His earliest specialties are manufacturing, repair, and mechanical engineering, later supplemented by computing research 1 28.

• Repairs mobile armor and heavy industrial machinery 1 45.
• Works with Kayaba on game systems, firearms, artificial intelligence, and digital consciousness 24 26 29.
• Memorizes his research closely enough to reproduce the Mind Lock cluster’s structure from scratch with sufficient time 29.
• Uses existing knowledge to accelerate further study through associative memory 26.

Martial Arts and Firearms

Wang Shui develops Foundation of Martial Arts (Beginner) through sustained experimentation rather than instant mastery 29.

• Practices unarmed striking, grappling, joint locks, sabers, swords, staffs, and spears 29.
• Creates an AI martial-arts instructor with Kayaba, using the Mind Lock to preserve its interest in combat 29.
• Trains quick draws and the Mozambique Drill against moving humanoid enemies 29.
• Adapts techniques to SAO’s mechanics; joint locks can cause Fracture, while internal-organ and acupuncture-point attacks receive little useful feedback 29.
• Does not unlock a firearm-related Awakened skill during his SAO stay despite extensive practice 29.

Alchemy and Alkahestry

He begins with elementary metal manipulation and later combines three complementary forms of alchemy 32 50.

• Reshapes an alloy nut into a ball during his first experiment, exhausting his available energy 32.
• Uses a Reflection Array and specialized tools developed with Old Moran to analyze and reshape Silver Dragon Alloy 35.
• Employs accelerated plant growth and atmospheric starch synthesis in food-production research 46.
• Uses a crystal coin to enable remote Alkahestry 47.
• Eventually surpasses Hohenheim in practical application and theoretical thinking, while still lacking some knowledge specific to Amestris 50.
• Rapidly learns other alchemists’ distinctive techniques. His claimed ability to imitate them only briefly and at reduced strength is a cover story 50.

Deadly Flying Blades

A controllable spell accessed through a green Mystic Card, rather than a fixed, automatic attack 36.

• Manipulates numerous ordinary iron strips, but initially only two Silver Dragon Alloy knives at once.
• Estimates that reducing and recasting the knives would allow him to control four.
• Reaccelerates deflected blades within its force field, enabling repeated attacks against an armored opponent 36 39.
• Provides substantially greater killing power than his unaided sword swings 36.

Mind Lock and Digital Consciousness

The Mind Lock Computing Cloud Cluster, developed with Kayaba, supports Wang Shui’s artificial-intelligence and digital-life work 29.

• Preserves an AI’s chosen interest, as demonstrated by his martial-arts instructor 29.
• Gives Wang Shui complete control over Silvia’s digital existence; he admits that his original explanation of soul transcription was a lie 41.
• Supports Silvia’s transfer between mechanical bodies and her control of Wang Shui’s body after interface debugging 44 47.
• Does not guarantee psychological stability: Silvia’s thirty-sixth copy awakens with records of previous breakdowns 41.

Blood of the Newly Born

Wang Shui’s reconstructed body grows and ages but remains fundamentally in a newborn state despite exposure to supernatural energies 32.

• His blood qualifies as the rare resource Blood of the Newly Born.
• A priest attributes the condition to his soul; Wang Shui suspects his talent.
• The resource is rare rather than exceptionally valuable, and selling it leaves him physically weakened 32.

Equipment and Items

• Daylight · Bharal — Tier-two miniature powered armor with an energy shield, combat-control system, super-mobility, and emergency treatment functions. Chosen particularly for charging and escape 34 39.
• Hand of the Hermit / Hermit’s Hand — Gold-quality gloves awarded after SAO. Their inspection capability helps him examine the internal structure of Silver Dragon Alloy 29 30 35.
• Silver Dragon Alloy knives — Initially reshaped into thirty mirror-smooth blades, each thirty centimeters long; used with Deadly Flying Blades 35 36.
• Blade Bullet greatsword — A 1.5-meter weapon fitted with his recreated Blade Bullet System. Its Double Strike enhancement produces two rapid follow-up chops 36 39.
• Worm Pistol — Fires 10 mm rounds; used to disrupt an armored enemy’s battlefield information collector during his escape 39.
• Annihilation Cycle array — Inscribed to strengthen his body and improve its internal functions 36.
• State Alchemist’s pocket watch — A blue special-item otherworld key, listed as tier one with danger level three 42.
• Anneal Blade — An early SAO sword that improves his attack power but initially makes recovery and precise movement more difficult 9 10.
• Supernatural Instinct — A rare SAO talisman whose value he initially underestimates 11.

Relationships

• Brother Hei — Benefactor, employer, and friend who helped him survive after his first mission. Their relationship fractures after the Rusty Sword Fortress assignment, leading Wang Shui to end his contract 1 30 41.
• Kazan — A mixed-blood little giant entrusted with watching the repair shop while Wang Shui and Brother Hei are away 1 30.
• Shino Asada — Classmate, neighbor, rescued companion, and combat partner. Wang Shui trains her and gives her Famed Gun: Blackwater, while privately seeking to develop her into an independent warrior loyal to him 3 16 18 28.
• Kirito — Temporary exploration partner and a key figure in Wang Shui’s plans to preserve the expected storyline. Wang Shui gives him Violent Execution rather than disrupting his path for personal gain 14.
• Argo — Information broker and trading contact who pays for his attribute-training advice and buys his refined steel 8 19.
• Akihiko Kayaba — Research collaborator in SAO development, AI, and the Mind Lock. Their partnership gives Wang Shui access to facilities and testing opportunities unavailable through ordinary play 26 28 29.
• Old Moran — Bookseller, alchemy adviser, and a figure somewhere between friend and teacher. Helps him analyze Silver Dragon Alloy and arranges his journey using the pocket watch 33 35 42.
• Silvia — Digital companion, combat instructor, and industrial partner. Their cooperation is complicated by her dependence on technology Wang Shui controls 41 44 48 50.
• Brother Tu — Convoy escort leader with whom Wang Shui quickly establishes rapport. Wang Shui later finds his body after the fortress battle 37 40.
• White Cat — Convoy protector whom Wang Shui rescues. Afterward, White Cat agrees to pay him 200 silver coins for the vehicle, without interest or a deadline 37 42.
• Hohenheim — Alchemy collaborator who helps develop the food factory. Entrusts Wang Shui with helping Trisha and their children during his absence 46 50.
• Trisha and her sons — Neighbors whose material needs Wang Shui promises to support; he also offers the boys access to Hohenheim’s study 50.

Notable Quotes

“Gender isn't the shackle on strength, nor is the body. The soul is.” 16

“No. But that doesn't stop me from obtaining power from this world.” 43

“I really do need someone to push me.” 44