Acanthus

Custom Skill Proposal Name: >run_cmd swap(int *x int *y) (Disabuse System) Mechanic: Whenever you activate [[Assault Mode]], instead swap two of your core stats as though you just activated Temporal Distortion (Quest Reward from <<Down the Rabbit Hole>>). Description: A skill that can only be learned when the truth of the game is confronted: you are lines of code in the same way that your enemies are living, breathing creatures. Did Kayaba foresee the denial of his reality blossoming into its confirmation?

Appraisals (Each ID Links to the crafting date.) (2) Aincrad Lullaby | 245530 245531 | Instant Lullaby 2 Off to sleep, never to wake. (2) Minimalistic Etude | 245533 245685 | Instant Hypnosis 2 A few seconds is all it takes for the listener to lose focus in the heat of battle.

Compared to the previous floor boss, Acanthus felt entirely unprepared. She had helped with a few field bosses for this raid, but nothing she wanted to bring. The lion’s fur sounded nice, but shed part of her ability to weather damage. And the crystal tempted her, but the thought of opening herself to a brutal counterattack sounded foolish. She would rely on the bolder members of the team to commit to the supposed weakness. But no other preparations had been made. The floor boss was a rush project with a firm deadline, and Acanthus couldn’t bring herself to care. The spice of death slowly

"Whenever you have a moment, I have a larger order to place. I'll come find you after the floor boss." Purchasing. Creme Brulee x5 Payment. 10 Materials sent to Demian.

"Thanks for coming through on short notice. I have a few rarer tea leaves for your troubles." Purchasing. 4 Imperial Grey Quarter (DMG 3) Payment. 24 materials sent to Kingsley.

You silly little roller I have places to be

“Sorry.” Mari accepted Acanthus’ paper-thin excuse quietly, a wounded acceptance marred by the dark thoughts moving across her face. Shit. Shit shit shit. The excuse was terrible, but she had still hoped. Acanthus opened her mouth to explain herself. It’s me. I’m a jumpy idiot. I really am sorry. But they had already moved on. Mari took one last swig of the fruit juice before Acanthus polished it off and swapped over to sake. She enjoyed her own cup slowly while Kat spoke to Mari. “Not every day you run into someone so striking off the beaten path like this.” Acanthus sputtered

Ara followed in the wake of Acanthus’ fury, cutting down the lion in a single stroke. Its face contorted in a pained grimace before the entire thing shattered and vanished in the winds of floor seventeen. Acanthus fought the visions of Kumatetsu while she cleaned and sheathed Wormwood. The thing hadn’t felt any pain. It was just a thing, after all. The frontliners talked amongst themselves, debating whether or not the message was real. Truth be told, Acanthus had just assumed the strange message was true. Or at least had some merit to it. How else could some stranger reach out to the enti

They were in the field before Acanthus even knew what had happened. Morningstar had sussed out the lion almost as soon as they were on the Floor. She wondered if he was part bloodhound. Reading minds seemed to be an in-game skill: perhaps there was also a hidden skill related to searching that let you smell out the enemies? Either way, the Lion never stood a chance. Morningstar and Arabelle were already on the lion, destroying chunks of the health bar in single blows. Arabelle remarked that she hoped piercing the hide would not affect the drop. “Not that I’m aware of. I’ve hunted thi

Mari began to reach out, stretching closer to Acanthus’ face. At that moment, the reality of the situation dawned on her: she was alone, in the wild, with a complete stranger. A stranger with an orange marker. The wind picked up, and the shade of the tree danced as the branches shifted lazily. A knife flashed in the shadows cast on Mari’s hand. Acanthus recoiled for a fraction of a second, smacking her head on the back of the tree she rested against. The light had settled, and Mari looked the same as she had before. “Oh, I’m sorry! Sorry. I started drifting off to sleep. It’s a calm

Brrip. Acanthus rolled over, shaking off a deep and dreamless sleep. Her head throbbed only a little. Groggily, she tried opening her menu once, then twice, and then finally managed on the third swipe. MORNINGSTAR: want to talk about last night's message. can kill some field bosses while we do. meet at noon? Acanthus startled, falling onto the marble floor with a solid *thwack*, and the reminder that she was presently in a safe zone. The message sent anxious chills all the way down her back. What message? What did I say to him? I don’t remember sending anythi

Acanthus looked over at Mina hopefully, silently urging her to give up her antidote. If she was unwilling, Acanthus might give hers up with some reluctance. She wanted it for the raid, but having heard Ciela was joining… “It’s good to hear that she’s ready to take on the floor bosses. Is this her first fight, then? I know she wasn’t at the last one, but I wasn’t sure if she’d been in some before that or not.” With a quick leap, she took Wulfrin’s hand and settled onto the cart next to him. “So we just just roll along with the caravan, let ourselves get ambushed, and then kill all the

The two moved neatly to the other side of the room. Acanthus alternated squishing “small” (hand-sized) spiders, while fending off some of the more eager aberrations with her shield. She kept her eyes on the monsters, but heard Sable moving and muttering as they reached the door. “I don’t mean to alarm you, Sable, but there will be a point that the crowd is too big even for me to handle.” She severed the arms of an encroaching crab-person, who promptly melted into a black puddle. Two more horrors took its place. “We still have some time, but you will need to figure out the—” “Get in h

“Nothing.” Acanthus responded in-between much needed breaths. “I’ve checked with most of the reputable info brokers in Aincrad, and I’ve searched half this floor myself. Not a single solid lead.” The Knight’s brutal attacks stirred up the chaos once more. Lessa and Jomei joined, spurring the fight with words and actions. Something about the pair seemed different than usual. It was the way they carried themselves around each other. Were they dating? Had they been dating? People are allowed to just be friends. She chided herself for jumping to conclusions. Just because you see people t

3ulogy performed admirably with the attack. The goal hadn’t been to deal any damage. She needed someone to attack it to gauge the attack pattern. Facts and memories began to mash together to form the final puzzle pieces. Despite the realness of the game, it retained some of its idiosyncrasies. One of which was the shark’s animation. Despite being mostly lifelike, it engaged in a few “tells.” For instance, Acanthus caught the thing jerking its head upwards before diving back into the sand. And whenever it dived, the way the fin moved suggested either retreat or a charge. And when the thing