William Massachusetts

William Massachusetts (real name: Nakayama Masashi) is a supporting protagonist in the light novel and anime series Log Horizon. He is a veteran player of Elder Tales and the Guild Master of Silver Sword. His class is an Elf Assassin-Hunter and he is at Level 90.

As the guildmaster of a raiding guild, William held that whatever happened to the city, for good or ill, was not his concern. In the wake of the formation of the Round Table Alliance, and the good it brought to the city, he goes into self-exile with his guild following him. While Adventurers speculated that William was too proud to bow down to any kind of governing body, the truth was that his decision was brought on by a feeling of shame due to his own pettiness. When Shiroe ventures north to the Depths of Palm, William readily agrees to volunteer himself and his guild to aid in his latest scheme to make up for his previous lapse. By this point, they had ended up in Susukino, taking over the city by ousting the rouge guild Brigandia from its tyranny.

He is voiced by Yuichi Nakamura in the Japanese version of the anime and Chris Patton in the English version.

Appearance
While William is noted to have the handsome looks of a young prince, his short-temper contrasts with that image. In the light novel, he was stated to have silver hair, but it was changed to blonde in the anime and the light novel illustrations thereafter, although the light novel text still says that he has silver hair.

Although his eyebrows are usually furrowed, he isn't usually angry and is instead just burdened by the responsibilities of leading a raiding guild.

Personality
William dislikes joining meetings as he opposed his guild's participation in the Round Table Alliance, preferring to "walk his own path." However, he encourages the remaining eleven guilds to work on the current problem, proving that he's against joining the alliance but not against their principles.

He later reveals that he held animosity towards the Debauchery Tea Party, having idolized them when he was a younger player and hoping to join their group once he reached level 90; however, by the time he finally hit level 90, they had already dissolved without even a trace of their former glory, forming a sense of betrayal within him.

Shiroe notes that William is charismatic, able to rally the Abyssal Shaft Raid Party even though the situation seemed hopeless, and thinks to himself that he wouldn't be able to do such a thing. In notes on the raid party, William is stated to have become Silver Sword's spiritual support.

It is revealed that in the real world, William was a serious gamer who had difficulties communicating with and befriending his classmates, which is why he was so engrossed with playing Elder Tale.