The name of this character is alternatively translated as Kopel (Yen Press).
Spoiler Alert: This article or section contains details about plotlines not covered in the anime. Do not proceed unless you wish to be spoiled.
Coper (コペル,Koperu?) was a minor antagonist in the Aincrad Arc. He was one of the 10,000 players who were trapped in Sword Art Online and was one of the original 1,000 Beta Testers for the Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG). Using his experience from the beta, Coper attempted to improve his chances of survival by rushing to complete the «Secret Medicine of the Forest» quest and acquire a relatively powerful Anneal Blade from it before other players could swarm the quest grounds. During the quest, Coper met Kirito and proposed cooperating on the quest. However, when Kirito acquired his quest drop, Coper lured a large number of monsters into the area in an attempt to kill him and acquire the drop for himself. This plan backfired, leading to Coper's own death.
Coper was an approximately fourteen-year-old young man with slightly long brown hair and average height. His features gave off the impression of him being a serious person, while his habitual gesture with his hands made Kirito suspect that Coper wore glasses in the real world. His equipment consisted of a light leather armor and buckler bought at Horunka Village, as well as his starting weapon, a Small Sword.
Personality[]
Coper was a computer addict. He had a strong will to survive and would have done anything in order to ensure his return to the real world. This selfish attitude was exemplified by both him willingly abandoning the new players after Kayaba Akihiko's tutorial, and when he attempted to kill Kirito in order to get the «Little Nepenthes's Ovule» quest item.[1]
Background[]
Coper was one of the lucky thousand players who were given the chance to play the closed beta test of the first true VRMMORPG in the world, Sword Art Online. Pleased with the game, Coper continued to play after it was released to the general public. However, when he discovered that Sword Art Online had become a death game, Coper prioritised his own survival by abandoning the new players and heading to Horunka Village to strengthen himself by acquiring the «Anneal Blade».[1]
Having accepted the «Secret Medicine of the Forest» quest needed to acquire the Anneal Blade from Horunka Village, Coper travelled to the spawning point of «Little Nepenthes» in the area, where he discovered a player named Kirito already making progress on the quest. With Coper proposing to cooperate on the quest to acquire the «Little Nepenthes's Ovule» rare quest item, the two of them began killing the monsters together.
When Kirito finally managed to acquire the quest item for himself after killing more than a hundred nepenthes, Coper intentionally struck the fruit of the «Little Nepenthes» he was fighting in order to lure a great number of the plant monsters to the area and have them kill Kirito to acquire his drop for himself. After summoning the horde of monsters, Coper attempted to use the «Hiding» skill to escape the area himself, unaware that the skill was ineffective against monsters which did not rely on sight. While Kirito managed to survive the onslaught, Coper was overwhelmed by the sheer number of Little Nepenthes, which eventually led to his death.
Known Equipment[]
Sword Art Online[]
Name
Type
Acquisition
Notes
«Small Sword»
One-Handed Sword
Initial Equipment
Although a Small Sword was inferior to the Bronze Sword sold at Horunka Village, Coper preferred it due to it being more durable against the Little Nepenthes.