Acanthus

Acanthus did her best to channel Freyd’s fearless attitude and actions from their fight with Terra Firma. If she closed her eyes, she could still see him leaping directly towards the mouth of the great shark, thwarting death with a swift kick to the teeth. The serpent’s teeth were not quite so kickable, but the method mattered less than the energy. Her initial onslaught had confirmed her initial comment: it was barely a fight. Just looking at the boss, Acanthus had every right to be terrified. The designer made the thing bristle with a hatred for players; made it loud, made it angry and f

The entire clearing erupted with a wailing that could have woken the dead. A deluge of cascading strings and woodwinds cried out in perfect and terrible harmony. The sound drowned out every happy thought it encountered, pulling up anxiety and terror from the deepest parts of Acanthus’ soul. She had spent weeks pouring every last horrible emotion into that crystal in a desperate attempt to purge her own thoughts—a sonic portrait that only Dorian Grey could admire. The Serpent’s eyes glazed over, overwhelmed by the cacophony Acanthus produced. Titania looked at Acanthus with terror as the m

“You’re lucky the snake arrived when it did. After this, I deserve some explanations.” Acanthus pulled botan free of its confines with a fluid motion, and prepared her sword art before she could see the serpent. Visualize another pulse from your feet. Direct it downwards. She sensed it—a bolt of pure energy rushing towards her from her left side. Shifting her stance, she held position, listening to the hum of botan telling her when to unleash. NIGHT had crafted the sword to never lie. The serpent erupted from the earth, only to be met with botan in full swing. The creature fell back with

“Alright, so here’s the clearing. There’s some good cover on the southwest end, and a couple of rocks to fall back to make it difficult for the Amphis Serpens to strike with its heads.” “Titania.” “So stay on your guard for the guy, because—” “Titania.” Titania’s rambling slowed to a halt as she realized. “I, um, did a lot of research before the quest.” “Bullshit.” Acanthus opened her copy of the info broker’s guide. “You think I wouldn’t scan the guide on my way up? There’s nothing in here about those details. You’ve been here before.” Titania’s face paled. “‘Can

For someone who awoke to strangers standing over him, Cyrus was surprisingly calm. Still laying in bed, he addressed Titania and Acanthus with annoyance. “I’m afraid this is outside of my normal hours. If you do not leave, I will be forced to call the watch.” Titania quickly spoke up. “We’re here about the Sandworm just outside the town. You need help getting rid of it, right?” Titania’s dialogue seemed to placate Cyrus. His script forced him up and out of bed, but his face had reverted to a more neutral expression. “Thank you,” he spoke with a hint of automation. “The great serpent

“Here we are. Rig.” The town was barely more than a hamlet. Acanthus was able to see the whole place from the ridge overlooking the settlement. She also didn’t notice any areas that looked suitable for grinding out mobs, but she had decided to let that go. “What next?” Acanthus asked as they walked briskly through the quiet streets of Rig. “We need to talk to the Mayor to move the quest forward.” Titania moved purposefully towards one of the larger houses. “He’s right here.” “Titania, it’s the middle of the night. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it before, but how are we goin

“Hmm… There’s not much, but I sense one player awake, about thirty meters southwest. He or she is walking perpendicular to our path out of town. Everyone else is asleep or inside.” “And it’s just one?” Acanthus nodded. “I’m positive.” “Good. It’s not Nid then—he’s a coward. He’s always got at least two lackeys in tow.” “A coward? Lackeys? I thought you liked your guildmates.” “I didn’t say I hated him. I just said he’s a coward.” Acanthus couldn’t think of calling a person a coward if she didn’t at least dislike them. But Titania seemed to think of things differently t

Acanthus | Lvl 77 (34/43) | HP: 900/900 | EN: 122/122 | DMG: 26 | MIT:43 | ACC:4 | THORNS:72 | BH:50 | BLI: 32/-20 | ENV-O: 32 | LD:6

Acanthus blinked and the quest was complete. They didn’t even need to return to Knorlit Village? She checked her quest log again; sure enough, <<Into the Fire>> had been marked as complete. Quest rewards transferred into her account, but she would take stock of those later. The next step was making it out of the volcanic flatlands safely. Rencesvals’s health had dipped just a fraction, but it was damage he couldn’t avoid and she couldn’t do anything about. Not that she had been doing much to begin with. Ara certainly hadn’t needed help fighting the hounds, and even Rencesval s

The fog lifted from fields and minds alike as Callisto died. His form took one final, defiant pose, flaking away against the morose background as the players watched with a mixture of emotions. Acanthus, for her part, felt an exhausted kind of relief. Everyone had survived. She had survived. For just a moment, the worry and the fear subsided. She had hoped they would make room for some kind of rare peaceful feeling. Instead, the space left by anxiety left an empty, dull feeling. Her mind began moving forward, calculating exactly what needed to happen to prepare for the next floor boss. She tal

“Guild handler? First of all, you said this guild was small. What kind of small guild has enough people for middle management? Second, are you even hearing yourself? The more you talk about Commanding Presence, the more it worries me.” “Commanding pre—?… Oh, the guild is a little weird, sure. But it’s not ‘middle management,’ Acanthus. He’s more of a personnel officer. Nid reports directly to the Guild master too.” “Titania. You just described every middle manager I’ve ever met.” “Acanthus, we can argue about my guild structure later. We’ve made it to the gates of Nimbus. My sea

Nimbus was not one of the more popular settlements, despite its proximity to the first floor. The massive stone fortress was a sight to behold, but the landscape around it was exhausting to travel. Most of the collectible materials here served blacksmiths and alchemists—other professions preferred to keep to other floors. When Titania and Acanthus materialized in the plaza, only a handful of NPCs and players were present. “Great, let’s move.” Titania immediately vanished into the side streets. Acanthus caught her breath as she caught up to her. “You’re very eager to get out of here. You w

Under the cover of dark, the two players left the villa. Acanthus broke the silence yet again. “So what is this guild you’re in? This is the second time you’ve mentioned them to me, but I know barely anything about them.” Titania and Acanthus traveled the wilds of floor 24 on their way to Scalabis. Titania ran her thumb over the throwing knives along her bandolier. “It’s a pretty small guild. We try to stay out of the way for the most part.” “In that case, how did you stumble into meeting them?” Titania smiled blankly. “It was just a happy accident, I guess.” More vague ans

Acanthus pondered for a moment. “Titania, it just sounds like they’re bullying you.” “I know it looks bad, but they’ve been so good to me. The only reason I’ve made it this far in the game is because of the guild. So if it takes a little tough love to push me forward, then I’ll stomach it.” The image of Acanthus’ dad appeared behind Titania, and her heart fell. I do this because I love you. Acanthus stood abruptly. Titania, startled, stood as well. “Acanthus?” “Let me go change. I don’t like this, but I’ll do it.” “You mean it? You’re not even—no questions or anything?

“It’s part of a quest.” Titania opened her journal and flipped the screen around to Acanthus. “There’s a wurm plaguing the town. If you kill it, the town becomes a safe zone for the player.” “So… you need help killing it?” Titania nodded. “Everyone else in my guild has done the quest. Except for me. Part of advancing in the guild requires that you can use Rig as a safe zone. That way, you have easy access to those grinding areas.” Acanthus found it odd that she hadn’t heard of these grinding areas before. Surely something like that would be featured in the info broker’s guide. “So wh

Titania appeared genuinely remorseful. “Acanthus, again, I’m sorry. I messed up—again.” Acanthus stayed standing, waiting for whatever Titania would say next. “Could I have one more cup? Let me try one more time.” With some reluctance, Acanthus walked over to the kettle to refill her cup. “Thank you.” She took another long sip. “I’m really sorry about your friend.” Acanthus glowered. She didn’t believe her—if anything, she was sorry that she’d upset Acanthus. Probably because she needed something. And then the request came. “I seem to have a habit of putting my foot in my m

Acanthus decided that if Titania were being upfront, she could as well. “Yes,” Acanthus confirmed. “Consistently for the last two weeks. But even before that, I had night terrors from time to time.” “Two weeks? Did something happen?” “I… yes. I don’t want to get into details, but a friend of mine passed away.” “Oh, that’s it?” Acanthus blinked. She wasn’t sure she had heard correctly. Titania frowned. “Ah, I’m sorry. I remember you telling me that death in the game was real.” “And I’m remembering now that you’re deluded in thinking otherwise.” Her response was tinged w

“I see.” Titania offered no further response. The awkward quiet began to bloom, so Acanthus decided to simply nip it in the bud. “Titania, you know I’m a direct person. And so I don’t really know how to ask this gracefully. Why on earth are you here so early? Surely you’re not just checking on me.” “Isn’t that what friends do?” “I believe so, but messages also suffice. As well as meeting during daylight. Not that I’m unhappy to see you,” Acanthus quickly added. “Like I said, I wasn’t really sleeping well myself.” “Do you also have awful dreams?” The abrupt question stu

Acanthus set the china teacup in front of Titania. “No coffee, but give this a try. It’s a leaf that resembles lapsang souchang—very smoky and woody. It’s like drinking a campfire.” Titania took the teacup in her hand, and sipped without a second glance. Acanthus winced. “The tea is fresh from the kettle. How does that not hurt?” Titania shrugged. “I like really hot drinks. My colleagues thought I was crazy because I’d always take the coffee hot off the machine and then microwave it. Perfect temperature.” She glanced down at the tea. “This isn’t so bad though. What did you call it ag

The door opened with a creak, and a shadow that resembled Acanthus snuck through the door. Her back was hunched, and years of sadness, compacted into mere weeks, had worn the shine from her eyes to a dull matte. Acanthus slumped into the same stool she did every other time she came in and gave the room a brief, haunted look before laying her head in her arms on the bar. She suspected that @Ozwas not the kind of proprietor to clean surfaces regularly, but it didn't matter. The mysterious, tacky film on the bar wasn't any worse than the swamp she had just fought through. After a few mi

Life and death literally clashed in Callisto’s domain. The great tree Hirru summoned struggled to stave off the creeping decay. Tendrils of death crept through the mire, grasping frantically at the increasingly desperate players. Team 3 appeared to be clinging after Callisto’s roar shattered their formation; no sooner did Callisto attempt to retreat to the spirit realm did Pinball appear from thin air, clawing it back to the player’s domain with unerring strikes. With every attack, the frontlines gradually took control of the battlefield. Cornered, Callisto lashed out at Yuki and the othe

Wulfrin arrived quicker than she anticipated. She fought the urge to apologize. Asking him for help and then immediately apologizing… the only word that came to her mind was “unbecoming.” Acanthus opened her quest journal and rotated the window so that Wulfrin could see. “Info broker’s guide mentions a quest up here that has some pretty good rewards—or ok rewards, depending on your preference for danger. I thought that with you and one or two others, we could probably make short work of the hardest option and earn some good experience. Given the time frame, I suppose rousing another pe

“Alright,” Acanthus started, heaving a bulging sack onto the table. A heavy sense of dread overcame Eulogy. It was time to start working in earnest. “Let’s start with the easy things to get you trained.” “Why are you talking to me like a third-rate convenience store employee?” Eulogy eyed the massive sack with trepidation. There was no way the bag was actually that full. It had to be some programming trick. “You’re not third-rate. I’m certainly not paying you to be third rate.” Acanthus reached into the bag, pulling out item after item. The bag remained overstuffed. “I’ve only brough

This was it. Callisto was close to its end. Wiping the sludge off botan’s edge, Acanthus closed ranks with Team 1. Hirru shouted from the close distance, "I'm done. I've had enough of this worlds \bullshit. We've toyed with this thing for too long! Everyone! Attack!" The fog around Acanthus lifted, and she became acutely aware of the effort the entire team had been putting forward. Yuki and NIGHT had kept the bear distracted throughout the entire fight so that Mina and Ariel could land powerful staggering blows. Hirru had been the quiet backbone of the entire fight. She suspected that

Acanthus walked Titania to the sitting room near the front of the house. It was her favorite: as the smallest of the three parlors, it had a cozy, comforting vibe that the larger rooms lacked. It was also the closest to the kitchen, and featured a large east-facing window with a gorgeous view of the estate. It reminded her of the times she would drink tea with her mom while they watched the birds against the backdrop of her garden. Titania flopped into a plush chair while Acanthus busied herself in the tea cabinet. “Green or black?” “No coffee?” “I’ll fix you some black, then.”