Acanthus

It turns out, it wasn’t looking good—for the bandits. She tore through three of them with surprising ease. Once their shock subsided, the bandits surrounded her and began to attack in earnest. But Cardinal was there to assist her. Whenever she was attacked outside her periphery, she had a vague sense of something approaching her. She dipped out the way as a greataxe soared over her head. “Stand still, you little!—” Acanthus brought an elbow to his jaw and the bandit crumpled. She whirled around, catching another in the throat with Meteor as he raised his dagger. The bandit vaporized immed

They made their way over to the barracks. She thought that if anyone knew where the boss was, this would be a good start. She anticipated some combat, but nothing she couldn’t handle. “Wait outside,” she told Kagamine, and confidently opened the door to the barracks. Perhaps I have overestimated my capabilities. Nearly a dozen bandits stared at her as she entered. One by one, the health bars appeared. Three of which appeared similar to the bandits she dispatched in the dungeon. “Yew seem a bit lohst, miss.” The first bandit jeered. “I suppose use the ‘unz that escaped the prison.” Ac

Exiting the warden’s room, the two quietly prowled the hallways. The shelves and walls were barren of anything she could pilfer (I mean, forage). At times, they had to duck into the shadows to avoid bandits, but they never picked them up. Likely another quirk of the quest, perhaps a boon from choosing not to arm the boy. She wondered if having a sword emboldened him or not. Regardless, she did not want to jeopardize his health. His mom was waiting back home for him. Except that it was all an endless cycle. She would rescue him, the mother would be grateful. Acanthus would reap the quest r

Cautiously, she took the stairs out of the prison, with the boy close behind her. He shook like a small dog as he walked up the stairs, twitching at nearly every sound. She felt sorry for him. A month ago, I couldn’t bear to leave Tolbana. They crested the top of the stone stairs and found themselves in a small room with a single wooden door. [roll result] A lit fireplace fought off the damp castle air, and a lone table and chair marked where the warden sat before he came down. And got his ass kicked. Acanthus was startled at her own thought. It seemed… aggressive. She wasn’t used to such

Acanthus stepped over to Kagamine’s cell, key in hand. The key shattered as the door swung open. “Thank you.” The boy looked relieved and terrified at the same time. Acanthus gave him a quick, reassuring smile before scanning the prison cells. Unfortunately, the other cells didn't have anything either. She offered him a hand, and he took it gingerly, standing up. “Are you alright? Can you fight?” He shrugged. “I think so, and… I think so?” Acanthus tried to comfort him. “If you don’t think you can fight, then stay behind me. I can take care of the bandits.” Easily. She had been shock

With Rash out of the way, the fighting quarters became considerably less cramped. Bart and Borgen seemed to be having second thoughts about willing stepping into the reach of a fully armed player. Really, it was ridiculous. Why had they decided to accept even the slightest provocation? Acanthus guessed it had something to do with quest scripting. She had come around to simply blaming any random circumstances, bad or good, on Cardinal. Bart, clinging to life, heaved his greataxe with a mighty effort and tried to bring it down on Acanthus. But he was slow, even slower with his wounds,

I’m doing it. Acanthus felt a little giddy. I’m fighting on my own, and I’m winning. Hearing the bandit’s groans strengthened her resolve. It’s not over just yet. Charging the same attack, she rushed the bandits while they were down. She bore down on Rash, and he ended up taking the brunt of the attack, screaming as he fragmented into shards. She jumped back to avoid Bart’s strike, but had to roll away before she could attack him. Instead, she whirled around and caught Borgen in the chest with Meteor, dealing most of the rest of his health. He grunted. Not some newbie anymore, she realize

Acanthus watching as the three stood up and faced her down. The first bandit stood up. “That was awful rood of ya, cheeky lil’ ransom!” Acanthus had not wasted any time talking. She was already halfway through channeling her sword art, and let it fly. Remember, it’s more than brute strength. Finesse. It’s about finesse. She swept through the three, but the feeling of the sword art was overpowering. She had difficulty redirecting it elegantly, and smashed through the three bandits in a dizzying blend of slashes and strikes. At the end of her combo, she stood in the doorway to the cell, gri

The key scraped against the large, rusty lock, and the cell opened with a squeal. The bandit stepped inside, axe still at his side. “Now why don’t ya show me how—” Acanthus hadn’t even waited. She brought her sword low, sweeping him off his feet, and his head cracked on the ground with a loud echo. Borgen and Rash drew their weapons with an exclamation, and rushed into the cell. Her sword was out of position, so she used the momentum from her initial strike to back into the corner, preparing for the next attack. Borgen charged and Acanthus parried the axe before bringing her foot dow

“Bruv, you had col countin’ du’ee yesterday. Yain’t foolin’ any’un.” Smack. “Foine! But ah’m takin’ Borgen and Rash wif me.” “Shore. It’s prolly jussa farse alarm. Durn trap just goes off sometimes.” Acanthus couldn’t tell if the accent was supposed to be drunk or British. But that really didn’t matter right now. She scrambled around the cell, looking for something to defend herself with. She found nothing. You just looked around the cell, idiot. Stop panicking. She looked for a few more seconds before she slapped her forehead. She tumbled down here in full gear. She drew her sword and wa

Pit traps. Acanthus softly knocked her head on the bars of her cell yet again. “Miss? Miss, are you ok?” “Yes.” She hissed at the boy. He quieted down. “Miss, my name is—” “Your name is Kagamine, your mom is Issela, and I’m here to rescue you. I get it.” Kagamine winced as she cut him off. “Yea, Miss, that’s about it.” Acanthus sighed heavily. “Kagamine, I apologize for my outburst. I just sort of fell into this quest—I mean, into rescuing you.” She looked up at the hole above her. “No pun intended.” “So how are we gonna get out?” I have no idea. The quest wouldn’t have put

Traveling west, the woods yielded to rocky plains. Before the trees gave out entirely, Acanthus stopped to see what she could gather. The tall, straight trees appeared to be a soft wood variety of some sort. She struggled to remember details from her botany classes in university. She pulled her axe from her inventory and worked at a few of the trees. The wood came away in large, bountiful pieces. She even managed to earn a few extra bonuses that would net her col when she got back to town. Satisfied with her efforts, she put away the axe and continued moving towards the quest icon. After

Acanthus engaged in a polite conversation, and clicked through a few menu options. She was just trying to make it through the dialogue without being rude so that she could return to shopping. It wasn’t until after she left that she realized what she’d done: she’d accepted a quest. Come to think of it, the woman was indeed distraught. Something about her son and a ransom? She hadn’t paid much attention, unfortunately. I could always abandon the quest. But she wasn’t sure how that worked. She had never dropped a quest before. Would that mean she wasn’t able to do it again? Most quests were

Acanthus softly knocked her head against the cell bars. She wondered how on earth she’d ended up here. “Miss? Miss, are you ok?” The voice had been looping the same line for quite some time. She hadn’t responded, trapping the NPC in a purgatory of a single voice line. That was my fault. Not looking where I was going. No idea what kinds of things I was taking on. Not very risk-avoidant of you, H– Acanthus. “Miss? Miss, are you ok?” She had been shopping in Flora. Apparently the forests of floor three had access to a very special kind of lumber that was perfect for instruments. Curious to h

“Good job!” Acanthus glowed at the praise. She began to ready for another strike, but Cordelia whipped by in a blur. Arun’s health dropped so quickly that she almost missed it. The quest dialogue started up again. “You have bested me... human. I—” “So you’re telling me you’re just that fast?” Acanthus asked incredulously, drowning out Arun’s impassioned plea. As the queen began to speak, she continued. “If you’re that high-leveled, what are you doing back on the eighth floor for a sidequest?” The queen droned on in the background, before one of the other elves stepped forward to Arun, clu

"Don't bother me. And don't die." I suppose I’ve had worse first interactions. "We'll be joining, too!" A player approached with his arm hanging around a very-confused NPC. Acanthus turned to the cold girl, who appeared disinterested. She turned back to the man, ready to let him down gently. "And before you say no - I can supply beer." “...Beer, you say.” Acanthus eyed him with curiosity. “Wait. Are you Oz? I think I recognize you from floor thirteen. I bought some whiskey from you a few days ago. It was surprisingly good.” She saw a menu appear in front of him—apparently the first p

"well, considering shelter first, we're closer to the cafe now, so let's head there next. -- i hope you're in no rush to get back to the gypsy yet." “Not at all. I think it would be good to wait out the rain. And getting her patched up might be a good idea. I’ll follow you there.” After what seemed like a damp eternity, they made it to a two-story Japanese building. The light coming from the inside was dim. She was about to ask if NIGHT was sure the place was still taking customers, but she slid the door open before the question escaped Acanthus’ lips. Once upstairs, NIGHT asked

You wake up in a soft bed in what appears to be a makeshift hospital. Judging from the view out your window, you appear to be back in the Palace at Marsonia. Judging by the sun (or your in-game clock), you haven’t been out for long. A nurse notices you stir as you wake and gives you a soft smile. “Wait right here. I’ll let the Chief know you’re awake.” She vanishes into the hallway. While you wait for his return, you have some time to yourself. Solaris swoops in and perches on the window, happy to see you awake. The Chief returns soon in a hurry. While he appears grateful for your re

"The icy prison you find yourself in represents the future before you." The will of Kayaba sweeps down as Uso-Tsuki’s statue schooches out of the way. You could swear that his face looks a little more smug than it did before. A face that almost seems to say “By all known laws of physics, I shouldn’t have survived that blow. And I dodged it anyways, because I don’t care about what you think is impossible.” Cracks begin to form in the ice surrounding his body. Although the venom has run its course, Uso-Tsuki still seems to be ready for the fight. Freeing his mouth, he smirks. “The god

Frost creeps up Uso-Tsuki’s immobile frame. His eyes become wide with panic. “You’re making a mistake! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain here. Release me at once. I can offer you so much more than the Chief. You can take Hogo-Sha’s place. He is disposable after his debacle with the map. We would be unstppbl—” His jaw sets, and he becomes unable to speak. His skin becomes pale and green as the venom starts to course through his body. He stares at you wordlessly in equal parts hate and abject fear. His frozen body appears to struggle against the inevitable.

Acanthus stared slack-jawed as the guards disappeared in an instant. Acanthus hadn’t even seen the sword art charge. One moment Cordelia was there, and then—poof. Shards of blue wafted into the air. She closed her mouth. “Well that was fun!” came Cordelia’s exclamation. Between her and Pinball, she wondered how the SAO players hadn’t cleared the game yet. The speed and power they showed were incredible. “Didn’t mean to go overkill, but I’ve been lucky lately, I guess.” Luck had nothing to do with that. Acanthus rushed behind her. “How did you manage that? I’ve heard about ‘Custom Sword Sk

Uso-Tsuki grunted with exertion. “Lucky hit,” he spat, as the green cracks continued to spread in his armor. It is clear that he was thrown off—you just shrugged off his best technique, after all. Leaping back into combat, he slashed with the first knife, aiming for your shoulder. The knife digs deep, exploiting the gaps in your armor. Snarling, he brings his second knife up, and plunges it into your side. You manage to shake him off, but your health bar has dropped once more. “You talk a big game hero, but you bleed just the same. Dragons, titans, gods—it doesn’t matter. You are just ano

Uso-Tsuki growled. “Hogo-Sha has been disciplined for his failure to keep the plans safe. If he is lucky, he will have another chance to serve me when I assume my rightful place.” He parries your attacks with contempt. “And your attempt to get under my skin is noted. Failed, but noted.” You noticed the veins in his temple bulge for a moment before he collects himself. “If anything, it’s a good thing you’ve shown your face now rather than later. I’d rather go ahead and finish off any dissenters now, it saves me the trouble of finding you.” Uso-Tsuki appears to blend into the background for

Her hands wet from the increasing rain, the crystal slipped from her hands, and landed with a *pop* on a rock below her. The soft glow began to flicker. Acanthus made a soft noise of disbelief. No, no no. She had poured her soul into this crystal. The hours she’d spent getting the orchestration just right, recalling the tune from her childhood. She prepared herself for the worst as she activated it. To her relief, the tune came through clearly. It was a soft, waltzing lullaby. Her mom sang it to her often, changing the sing-song lyrics from time to time. Acanthus had come up with her own

Acanthus covered her mouth to laugh as Cordelia expressed her boredom with the quest. It was hard not to sympathize with her. She’d felt the same way on a fair number of her own quests. She thought back to the tutorial, where she’d blocked out most of Mayor Dorian’s introduction, opting to rely on the quest instructions instead. “I would normally be concerned about launching right into combat, but I trust your judgment.” She looked down at the katana on her waist again. It did not look like the weapon of a novice—she had no doubt Cordelia wielded it as a master’s weapon. The tree continue