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*Turn Order Shift for Optimal PH Players: Nisahime | HP: 920/920 | EN: 98/98 | DMG: 1{+4} | MIT:60 | ACC:1 | EVA:3 | LD:1 Setsuna | HP: 920/920 | EN: 89/118 | DMG: 29{+4} | MIT:20 | ACC:7 | EVA:6 | BH:37 | RISK: 8 | FLN: 16 | FRB: 40 | FRZ: 64 | LD:2 Simmoné | HP: 920/920 | EN: 95/118 | DMG: 27{+4} | MIT:20 | ACC:7 | AA | EVA:3 | REC: 8 | LD:10 | PROSP:1 | QTY: 2 Celeste | HP: 966/966 | EN: 93/118 | DMG: 29{+4} | MIT:78 | ACC:8 | PHASE | EVA:3{-1} | BH:39 | REC: 8 | HLY: 16 | BRN: 56 | LD:2 Raidou | HP: 920/920 | EN: 91/118 | DMG: 28{+4} | MIT:137 | ACC:5 | AA | F-SPIRIT

THREAD SUMMARY Experience | [Word Count: 6246/10 = 624.6] * [True Tier: 8] * [Group Factor: 1] = 4997 EXP Col | 749 (Laurel Wreath) + 400 (Bonus) = 1149 Col Mon | 1 Mon earned.

“I guess you’re still a decent doctor after all.” Argent, Acanthus, and Saitou sat around a small table at the back of Mucksucker’s. The room was filled with all of the other players from the floor, including Flechette, who had “dropped that dumbass Knight in a bog so deep it wouldn’t find its way back until the game was done.” The atmosphere was one of muted celebration. The knights weighed heavily on their minds, but nobody had died, and that was reason enough to celebrate. Acanthus leaned on her makeshift crutch with a hint of exasperation. Her antics had worsened her leg debuff e

Fifteen minutes later, an exhausted Argent walked back into the safe zone. His button down was grimy with water and leaves, and his slacks had a hundred small snags and tears. He had made it back alive, but the celebration had been postponed. “Out of the fire and into hell, it looks like.” Saitou lay against the teleportation obelisk with his hand outstretched. The place where the Knight had grabbed him appeared infected with a strange disease. Cracks of intense white light had covered every centimeter of his hand, and two of his fingers had already unraveled. “Grundar died a lot qui

PH Post Action | [x12] TECH-F (16 - 2 [Stamina] + 3 [Shift] + (2 * 1 Targets = 2) = 19 EN) + Charge (8 EN), Charge CD [1/3] = 27 EN Free Action | ID: 244126 | 6 + 8 = 14, Hit vs. Sand’s Claw Dealing 420 x 1.5 = 630 - 125 = 505 Damage, [Stunned] Applied Sand's Claw sustains 56 via BRN Sand's Claw is [Stunned], takes no action, [Stunned] replaced with Stun Immunity [0/4] Players: Nisahime | HP: 920/920 | EN: 98/98 | DMG: 1{+4} | MIT:60 | ACC:1 | EVA:3 | LD:1 Shiina | HP: 989/989 | EN: 108/118 | DMG: 1{+4} | MIT:256 | ACC:1 | EVA:2 | FL.AURA: 16 | FR

A bolt of light arced through the dim sky, illuminating the town in a blinding glow. As the bolt closed in on their position, Acanthus and Saitou squinted to avoid the flash. Even the unfeeling Knight seemed to stop and observe the strange light racing toward its helm. The bolt connected with a piercing clap, and the Knight stumbled back, its head skewered by the still-crackling bolt of energy. In a flash, the Knight forgot Acanthus and focused on its new, distant foe. Argent stood tall on a rooftop and nocked a second arrow. As he drew back, the arrow transformed into pure light. He shou

The southwest barricade was in shambles. The brief efforts of the town had been trashed in a single swipe. Debris littered the walkways, and the support beams beneath groaned under the weight of the Spectral Knight. Saitou laid over a nearby walkway, having been thrown from the barricade in the blast. The Knight approached him slowly. Acanthus scanned the area and was crestfallen to see Argent was not there. The town was too small for him to get lost—but where had he gone? He was likely the only thing standing between Saitou and the Knight. Aren’t you here? Her subconcious began

PH Post Action | [x15] AOE-I (22 - 2 [Stamina] + 2 [Shift] + (2 * 1 Targets = 2) = 25 EN) Free Action | Rhino's Horn (+3 Base Damage, -1 EVA) ID: 244125 | 10 + 8 = 18, CRIT+2 vs. Sand’s Claw Dealing 810 x 1.5 = 1215 - (125 / 2 = 63) = 1152 Damage, [BRN 56/2] applied Players: Nisahime | HP: 920/920 | EN: 98/98 | DMG: 1{+4} | MIT:60 | ACC:1 | EVA:3 | LD:1 Shiina | HP: 989/989 | EN: 108/118 | DMG: 1{+4} | MIT:256 | ACC:1 | EVA:2 | FL.AURA: 16 | FR.AURA: 16 | THORNS:112 | BH:30 | HB: 40 | MENDING: 2 | REC: 8 | LD:1 Simmoné | HP: 920/920 | EN: 95/118 | DMG: 27{+4} | M

An explosion rocked the town. Eriwald buckled, each stilted house swaying precariously as the force of the tumbling barricade shook everyone from their feet. Argent was up in a flash, sprinting towards the source. Acanthus was up next, leg pulsing with that distant static. Before running, she looked to the crowd. “Stay in groups of two, three if you can. Keep an eye on each of the entrances to Eriwald. If you can’t reach me or Argent, find Flechette. You said you know the routes outside of town?” The young boy gave a courageous nod. “You bet! I’ll have ‘em knee deep in algae and swamp bugs bef

The players of Eriwald gathered in the town square, focused on Argent. His command of the group impressed Acanthus. Argent spoke clearly yet softly, but the silence of the crowd carried his voice through them. “We’ve got one Knight coming from the south. We should be prepared for the worst and assume the other Knight is with him. Brag, Flechette; are you two able to lure them away as usual?” A teenager’s hand shot up from the crowd. “Brag is down on the first floor visiting his brother. Just me today.” Argent’s face dropped. “He picked a terrible day to be a good brother. Crow, we’ve

Putting up barricades with one good hand frustrated Acanthus. Her abilities were limited to short distances and light boxes. She tried testing her bound hand once, only to find it totally numb. Her HUD told her that she could reclaim her hand in another sixteen hours. She knew a real broken wrist would be much worse, but losing access to her hand still felt humiliating. Saitou, easily thirty years her senior, was running laps around her. He was currently balanced on a wall of conjoined boxes about two meters tall. “Hand me the hammer, girl. Mine just lost durability.” Acanthus looked up i

“I’d like to help as well, Argent.” Acanthus pushed up with her good hand, swaying as she stood. “I can’t do much, but it’s better than sitting on the crates uselessly.” “I’m honestly just shocked that you’re not trying to slip away while I’m busy. You seemed pretty reluctant to stay under observation in the first place.” “It’s not like I can do anything with my arm and leg messed up like this,” Acanthus complained. “I’m too screwed up to go on a real quest. I’m basically useless.” Argent’s familiar hand squeezed her shoulder, and he frowned at her. “Acanthus, stop saying that.

PH Post Action | [x11] AOE-I (22 - 2 [Stamina] + (2 * 1 Targets = 2) = 22 EN) + Assassin (8 EN) = 30 EN - 1 [Rested 1/2] = 29 EN Free Action | ID: 244124 | 7 + 8 = 15, Hit vs. Sand’s Claw Dealing 583 x 1.5 = 875 - 125 = 750 Damage Players: Nisahime | HP: 920/920 | EN: 98/98 | DMG: 1{+4} | MIT:60 | ACC:1 | EVA:3 | LD:1 Shiina | HP: 989/989 | EN: 108/118 | DMG: 1{+4} | MIT:256 | ACC:1 | EVA:2 | FL.AURA: 16 | FR.AURA: 16 | THORNS:112 | BH:30 | HB: 40 | MENDING: 2 | REC: 8 | LD:1 Simmoné | HP: 920/920 | EN: 95/118 | DMG: 27{+4} | MIT:20 | ACC:7 | AA | EVA:3 | REC: 8

“What’s Saitou’s problem?” Argent walked towards the boxes where Acanthus sat uncomfortably. “If I had to guess, he doesn’t like being told his home is a dump.” “But it is. I didn’t mean to be rude, but look at this place. I know it’s a Safe Zone so it’s not falling into the swamp anytime soon. But what do they like about Eriwald?” Argent plopped down on the boxes next to her. “I don’t know. I would never want to live here. But that doesn’t deprive Saitou and the others of their right to settle down in Bug-opolis on the Swamp.” “It’s a terrible decision.” Argent made a non-

“Backup? Where do you think we are? The Aincrad Liberation front doesn’t come up this far, and the frontlines don’t come down this low.” “Then why don’t you just leave? This looks like a terrible place to live anyways.” Saitou’s glare turned murderous. Acanthus realized she had said something she shouldn’t have a moment too late. Thankfully, Argent stepped forward. “Saitou, let’s head over and drop these off together. After that, let’s talk about getting some barricades up, and discuss some long-term solutions to your Spectral Knight problem. Acanthus, wait by the plaza for me. I’ll

“Lucky girl. Ours seems hellbent on finding NPCs to eat. Jokes on them—Eriwald ain’t nothing but a dozen shacks and two NPCs. One NPC, now.” Saitou’s assessment was on the mark. Eriwald might have been the smallest Main Settlement Acanthus had ever been in. The whole place was barely a row of houses, each built on stilts that leaned dangerously into the murky water. Two dozen players stood behind Saitou, looking fearful and hopeful all at once. “Well, I’m keeping ya, Argent. If you could drop the crates off at Muck’s, Thrymr and CrowHunter will sort through ‘em and hand ‘em out.”

“Things? There’s more than one?” Acanthus wormed her way into the conversation once again. Saitou gave her a dull look. “Yes, girlie. There was just the one, and then it went off and ate Grundar the Blacksmith. No, it didn’t literally eat the damn thing,” Saitou interjected before Acanthus could speak. “That’s just what the kids called it when it… when it did whatever it did.” “Did it look like he was… breaking, I think it the best word for it.” One immovable eyebrow raised slowly. “Yea, that’s about right. Cracked like a bad mirror. Bad luck, my grandfather always said. Bad luck to

“Got yerself a sharp one, Argent,” he drawled. “She can name all the colors in a crayon box. Even shows a few when she gets embarrassed.” The heat in her face suggested a flush apparent to both Argent and Saitou. Acanthus did her best to recover. She bowed appropriately, saying, “my apologies, Mr. Saitou.” “Saitou is fine. You can bow, but it’s a waste of time. Did you bring the crystals, Argent?” The tavern keeper stepped forward, eager to reclaim the conversation and spare Acanthus. “Five crates: three for healing and two for antidote. Hopefully it will last.” “It won’t. Those

Of all the floors to visit, Acanthus had ranked the Eighteenth as the least likely, alongside the other inhospitable ones. There was no part of the floor untouched by bog and mire. The bogs differed from Floor 29 in that they contained some trace of life, but the life they contained left no room for players. Large creatures lurked below the swampy green waters, and the incessant swarms of bugs were somehow worse than their real-life counterparts. To Acanthus, the floor was uninhabitable. Surprisingly, that hadn’t stopped players from inhabiting it. Argent greeted the leader of the sm

Acanthus felt her heart pulse rhythmically. It was not the steady, biological warmth she knew from reality. In game, focusing on her pulse gave her the feeling of a stiff, ticking clock. As Argent’s fingers pushed delicately into her carotid, she felt her clock quicken for a fraction of a second. “Six seconds is enough to track a pulse,” she said quietly, and Argent’s hand slipped away. “I’m sorry. Would you like to be done for now?” Acanthus shook her head. “You’re fine. I just wanted to make sure nothing was the matter.” “You seem to be in perfect health, fractures and sprains asid

Sure enough, Acanthus saw three debuffs remaining (outside of the ever-present “Lightweight” effect): A sprained leg, a fractured wrist, and Disease - Blackblood. “The first two explain themselves. The last one is… confusing. It’s not causing any damage that I can see or that the game can register. It didn’t exacerbate your other debuffs as far as I could see. Now that you’re awake, I’d like to run some tests. May I touch you?” “If you have to. Haven’t you already been doing that while I was out?” “Just enough to get you here and make you drink potions. But now that you’re awake, I’d

Despite her bedridden frustration, Acanthus found the way Argent explained the system fascinating. She’d never taken the time to parse the intricacies of healing in the game. His thorough understanding reminded her of the time she wished to catalogue all the flora of Aincrad. She listened silently. “That distinction saved your life two nights ago. One of your debuffs was the infamous ‘Infection IV.’ Standing alone, it ticks away at your health like any other poison debuff. But it has a lesser-known effect: whenever another debuff hits zero, it triggers a moderate burst of damage. If I’d c

Acanthus' indignance subsided in the face of Argent's calm rebuke. Finally, she offered an apology. "Thank you." Argent let the response hang in the air before speaking. "I'm just glad you're ok." "You did a good job with the splint. Did you already know how, or did the game help out?" “Yes. To both.” Argent pulled up the party menu and talked as he reviewed her health bar like a patient’s chart. “I served for about two years as a medic in the army. I didn’t see a lot of action, but I saw enough that the training stuck. You’d be surprised how much of it applies to video games.”

Acanthus sucked in a week's worth of oxygen in a single breath. Her left arm slammed the headboard behind her; she tried sitting up with her right, only to find it fixed firmly in a cast. Her instincts told her to channel a sword art, but botan rested on the other side of the room. A hand gripped her shoulder tightly and squeezed once. Argent stood over her with sunken eyes and a relieved smile. His other hand held three different bottles, all nearly empty. "Hold still. I have another round of potions." Deftly, he uncorked each of the three bottles and administered them to the unwilling p

PH Post Action | [x15] AOE-I (22 - 2 [Stamina] + 2 [Shift] + (2 * 1 Targets = 2) = 24 EN) - 1 [Rested 1/2] = 23 EN Free Action | ID: 244123 | 1 + 8 = 9, Hit vs. Sand’s Claw Dealing 465 x 1.5 = 698 - 125 = 573 Damage Players: Nisahime | HP: 920/920 | EN: 98/98 | DMG: 1{+4} | MIT:60 | ACC:1 | EVA:3 | LD:1 Shiina | HP: 989/989 | EN: 108/118 | DMG: 1{+4} | MIT:256 | ACC:1 | EVA:2 | FL.AURA: 16 | FR.AURA: 16 | THORNS:112 | BH:30 | HB: 40 | MENDING: 2 | REC: 8 | LD:1 Simmoné | HP: 920/920 | EN: 95/118 | DMG: 27{+4} | MIT:20 | ACC:7 | AA | EVA:3 | REC: 8 | LD:10 | PROS