Payne

Payne (ペイン, alt. Pain) is the top player in NewWorld Online and a supporting character in the BOFURI series. He is a the guild master of the Congregation of the Holy Swords guild and ranked first in the 1st event.

Appearance
He is an adult male with blue eyes and medium-length smooth blond hair. His body is slim but muscular, and he looks good too. He gives off the image of a holy knight. His characteristics and appearance make him look more like a protagonist than Maple.

Personality
Payne is an upright person. He is friendly, as he is seen grouping with Maple and other players during the 6th event without complaint. Because he aims to be the best, he's very competitive and challenged Maple Tree during the 4th event.

Either consciously or unconsciously, Payne's favorite pose is to turn his back on the camera.

Introductory Arc
Payne ranked first among the competitors during the 1st event.

Guild Founding Arc
Shortly after the 4th event was announced, the Congregation of the Holy Swords held a meeting to discuss the upcoming event. Payne expressed his caution about the unknown and sent Frederica to gather intelligence about Maple Tree.

Guild Competition Arc
Payne, Dred, Drag, Frederica, and 15 other members from the Congregation of the Holy Swords worked together to attack Maple Tree because they believed its guild members had exhausted all their powerful skills.

Payne took the heavy job of fighting Maple head-on while the others distracted the remaining members of Maple Tree. After Frederica transferred the boosts from the high-end skills of Dred and Drag, Payne used high-end piercing skills to slay Maple without the delays that come after using heavy skills. Kanade and Iz's attempt to save Maple allowed Payne to trounce them. After Maple was brought to 1 health and used counter, she unleashed [Atrocity] and swiftly defeated Payne.

During the chaotic battle at the Kingdom of the Flame Emperor, the Congregation of the Holy Swords planned to take advantage of Maple, who had gained the aggro of players assaulting the Kingdom of the Flame Emperor. Their ambush was thwarted as Maple swiftly used [Atrocity] and was multiplied to 7 with Kanade and Sally's [Phantom World!].

Payne was friends listed by Maple after the guild competition event and attended the Maple Tree after-party.

Rulership Arc
One time while participating in the 6th event, Payne was fighting alone until he encountered Maple. As a team that could be called the elite corps, Maple and Payne powered through the jungle while relying on the information Payne had gathered. They easily crushed treants, bees, and the queen bee. After traveling to their destination, they encountered what appeared to be a humanoid wood druid. With Maple's [Loving Sacrifice] up, Payne was able to attack while only dodging piercing attacks and quickly defeating the boss.

Maple left after defeating the druid, and two pairs of people arrived to challenge the boss, Chrome and Misery, and Kanade and Marx. After being asked to work together, Payne aided the four before they headed to their next destination.

The five traveled to the ruins, where many golems appeared. They were failing to make good progress until Mii appeared and joined them. Mii and Marx worked together to hide them from enemies, and they swiftly entered the ruins. The ruins were a memory puzzle, and Kanade's perfect memory allowed them to skip the difficulty and quickly reach the skeleton king. Using their skills and abilities, they easily defeated the skeleton king boss.

Skills and Equipment
His equipment is white and gives off the same angelic feeling as Maple's white Archangel equipment.

Active Skills

 * Holy Blade of Conviction: (断罪ノ聖剣) The users' sword shines and is swung after a short pause. Piercing attack.
 * Holy Blade of Exterminating Evil (退魔ノ聖剣) (note: this is likely a piercing attack)
 * Holy Blade of Fragmentation (破砕ノ聖剣) (note: this is likely a piercing attack)
 * Holy Rain: Your sword glows white, and when swung, the light moves up to 5 meters away before bursting into a rain of light.
 * Leap ?
 * Defense Break: A piercing attack.

Passive Skills

 * Stout Guardian: Great Shielder exclusive skill. Once per day, survive any lethal attack with 1 HP.

Relationships

 * Maple: Payne sees Maple as a rival he aims to defeat in the future.
 * Dred
 * Frederica
 * Drag

Trivia

 * As Payne has access to Stout Guardian, it can be safely assumed that his class is that of the Great Shielder. As that skill is exclusive to that class. That or he found a way to equip the ability by other means.
 * During the Web Novel, it is stated during the Fourth Event that he blocked one of Maple's Atrocity (or Savagery) arms using his shield. The anime omits this particular piece of weaponry.