Acanthus

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

“That was a good hit, Yuki!” Running in as the light of the Sword Art faded, Acanthus watched for the shark’s next move. It struggled to orient itself from the fierce attack, but then whirled around, bearing down on the tank. Acanthus sprinted to catch up, but the shark was impossible to keep pace with. Below ground, it burrowed like a meat-seeking torpedo at a breakneck pace. But even above ground, where it was slower, its colossal size and speed was unmatched. It was just like the first time she was here. Acanthus had hoped her immeasurable skill and powerful equipment would do the

THREAD SUMMARY Experience Acanthus | [Word Count: 5642/5 = 1128.4] * [True Tier: 6]= 6770 + 3500 (quest) = 10,720 * 1.1 (Slime Farm) = 11,297 Exp Freyd | [Word Count: 5642/5 = 1128.4] * [True Tier: 18] * 1.03 = 20920 Exp Wulfrin | [Word Count: 5642/5 = 1128.4] * [True Tier: 6] * 1.01 = 6838 + 3500 (quest) = 10,338 Exp Morningstar | [Word Count: 5642/5 = 1128.4] * [True Tier: 7] * 1.01 = 7977 + 3500 (Quest) = 11,477 Exp Col Acanthus | 507 (Laurel Wreath) + 100 (bonus, split equally) + 10,000 (Quest) = 10,607 Col Freyd | 1523 (Laurel Wreath) + 100 (bonus, split equally) + 4

“Apple Pie… McThingies? Freyd, I think you’re imagining things.” Or Cardinal’s translator was malfunctioning. Was Freyd American? The thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. Coworkers who had traveled abroad returned with strange, upsetting stories about American fast food. One of her friends swore that she went to a McDonald’s where they used fried chicken instead of a bun. Acanthus shuddered. The logistics of consuming such a monstrosity aside, it sounded deeply unappetizing. Surely Masako had misheard, or invented the story for shock value. A chime from her menu interrupted the train of

The boy admitted his mistake and waited for the tirade. Heat rose in the back of Acathus' neck. Traveling into danger, and he didn’t even think about a crystal?? I even asked if he had everything he needed! What— Memories washed away in uneven breaths. Acanthus composed herself, and smiled to reassure Sable. Fishing through her inventory, she pulled out one of her spare crystals. Even the touch made her pulse skyrocket, but she could hold the crystal long enough to pass off. “It’s perfectly ok. We left on short notice, didn’t we? And you don’t have a lot of experience knowing what

He took the sword. “You look like shit.” There it was. The patented ‘Star humor. There was still an edge to his voice, but the insult was dressed with the tone of care. It was a start. “Thanks. You too.” Then, a spray of flower petals. No, blood. Star’s hand vanished, a result of the strange Spectral Knight that loomed over the two. Morningstar lost no momentum, sending it off balance with a spinning kick, and Acanthus moved in while it reeled, scoring a few powerful hits. Acanthus stepped back to cover star, raising her shield defensively. “Are you ok? We can fall back if

“Wulfin, good to see you again. I saw your message and thought I would stop by.” The sigh she observed told him that he had given up on the thought of others joining him. Strange; she was always a little bit relieved anytime other people last-minute cancelled on her. Hopefully Acanthus’ company would be better than none. “I’ve not done this quest before, but I was told it has a good reward. It’s also repeatable, so do you know exactly what to expect? I’ll have to admit that I didn’t do much preparation. I normally like to know what a quest entails, but I was told the monsters are not

Two unfamiliar faces and a stranger was all it took for Acanthus to investigate. She was often more sociable while on the hunt for new watering holes. “Wu lfrin. Nice to catch up. Seems like we’re running in to each other quite a bit, hm?” She pulled a gourd from her inventory for a quick swing before reattaching it to her belt. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it did fight the biting cold somewhat. The stranger chatted with summer-vacation Nemo. I guess Cardinal doesn’t have all the kinks worked out yet. Acanthus waited patiently for their conversation to end before introducing her

Did she like her work? It took her a moment to realize Sable meant the game. He had just referenced the frontlines, but still… Thinking about the game as another salaried position depressed her. Swords and monsters, and it was still just an eight-to-five job. She left the question to suffocate with a curt reponse. “It’s alright. You fight things, do quests, and try not to die.” He didn’t press any further in the moment, moving towards the dilapidated church instead. The pair entered and surveyed the room around them. While Acanthus studied the high ceilings for any irregularties or monste

More crafts, all debuffs again: Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 245685 CD: 6 +1 LD: 17 Rare (Mast) - 8 (+3 Ambition) 2 245684 CD: 1 +1 LD: 10 Critical Failure - 4

This boy will never be done. He probably won't forgive me for it, either. Dropping off T4 Perfect Weapons | [243800a][243800b][243800c][243797a][243797b][243797c][243808a][243808b][243808c][243813a][243813b][243813c][243814a][243814b][243814c][243816b][243816c][243831b][243831c][243854a][243864b][243861a][243886a][243886b][243886c][243885a][243885b][2438855c][243899b][243898a] Also dropping off: 244169 | LD 16 | Unidentified Perfect Weapon with one guaranteed Unique Enhancement. Source And: 5 Demonic Shards Payment. 200,000 col sent. (5) Demonic Shards Sent

Acanthus sighed, the alcohol wearing off faster than before. Given the strange nature of the quest, she was uncertain whether or not its effects could be replicated. She also didn’t like other people knowing that she could get drunk. But she’d opened that can of worms when she stupidly had three of those Rusty Daggers. It wouldn’t be fair to Sable to worm her way out of her own actions. She explained as she marched into the sunken graveyard. “No, it wasn’t the drink itself. There’s a quest on this floor. For part of the quest, you end up drunk. But like everything else on this floor, it’s

The strange game of telephone was making Acanthus salivate. She responded to Morningstar in an uncontrolled whisper. “There are McMuffins in Aincrad??” Fast food, McDonald’s in particular, was a guilty pleasure in the Masuda household. It was never allowed in the house—dad was the doctor, and it was doctor’s orders. But that didn’t stop empty bags and wrappers from ending up in bedroom trashcans, surreptitiously taken out on trash day like a terrible secret. Acanthus swore she sometimes heard the guilty crinkle of a takeout bag from the study, when dad thought no one was around to hear.

She had startled the poor girl! Acanthus waited patiently as the woman coughed and composed herself. Acanthus looked away politely until she was ready to talk, and shook her hand as it was offered. Mari mentioned her relationship to Baldur and how the tea setting was not for any particular person. Acanthus thought the other girl seemed a bit morose. Acanthus was crestfallen at the woman’s sad remark. Living the game was already an alienating experience, and being an orange player exacerbated that, no doubt. She took a seat next to her, in front of the empty tea setting. “Do you mi

Aaand they were flirting. Had Acanthus been in full “business mode,” she might have made an annoyed noise, or tried moving the conversation forward. But they had their info, and Acanthus had two and a half drinks in her. And that was enough for the stuffy frontliner to take a back seat to the playfully annoying big sister. “I’m afr aid it’ll be a while before he’s g ot deeep pockets. But he’ll get theere.” She threw an arm around Sable a rubbed her knuckles through his hair. “H e maakes yp for it in other ways. Yknow we were runnin buddies for a little wh ile, so when I tell you he’s

Oh boy here I go craftin again Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 245534 CD: 7 +1 LD: 2 Rare - 8 (+3 Ambition) 2 245533 CD: 9 +1 LD: 13 Rare (Mast) - 8 (+

The sky bled like a fatal wound, fracturing the party in its overwhelming noise and darkness. Streaks of faint lightning lifted the veil of black before being chased away by distant thunder. In the distance, the sounds of fighting faded, with no indication of who had won, and who had died. “Lessa?! Freyd?? Jomei?!” Acanthus did not know what to look for. She did not know where to go. She stumbled through a swamp that was quickly becoming a lake. I need to regroup. We need to regroup. But how are we supposed to do that in all this rain? The lightning flashed again, low and red. A

Sable had found a lead even before he returned to their table. He’s got a good set of eyes. Special eyes, maybe. Sable locked eyes with her, and Acanthus got the impression that he was requesting backup. Taking one look at Gartholomew on his third plate of what looked like chicken wings the size of softballs, Acanthus decided his mind was sufficiently distracted. She was free to move about the cabin. With her cowl still drawn, walked briskly past Sable and the broker, nodding a quick greeting to the broker and scooping her drink out of Sable’s hands. “Thanks. I’ll be right back with anoth

Sable excused himself and vanished behind a nearby tree. Acanthus assumed he was leaving to collect anything he needed for the trip before he returned almost as quickly. She blinked twice in surprise. “That was fast. So you’re ready?” Acanthus suppressed a smile as the boy continued to adjust his armor. Cardinal was not concered with the intricacies of armor: it was worn or it not. But that didn’t stop the boy, herself, or the rest of Aincrad from treating the armor like the real thing. Hadn’t she done the same thing before her first fight? And she had fared well. The boy would be fine