Acanthus

Acanthus knew going into this quest that most players avoided this floor; but it wasn’t until she arrived that she knew why. She had heard the floor described as silent, with calming blue lights and very few monsters. But none of those descriptions really touched on the unsettling atmosphere. The wilds were painfully silent, like the moments before a parent’s harsh reproach. The lights were indeed a deep, calming blue; but it was the kind of calm that made her prone to stop caring, lay down, and wait for a monster to end her. And the monsters… The monsters were the worst of all. Emaciated huma

Crafting for 8/28/2024 EXP: 386/639

Led by the hand, Acanthus and Nymoria tumbled into Little Eden. It was a small wonder where the name had come from; the land stretched on for miles and miles, all picture-perfect hills and trees and tall, luscious grain. It was a forager’s paradise. Nymoria’s cheeks appeared flush—no doubt from the journey here. The garden. It is beautiful. You fit in here. It was odd that Nymoria had correctly observed her real-world green thumb. Or maybe, she chided herself, she has the common sense to guess that a forager would want to visit an endless garden. Where would you like to start? We can figh

The camp continues to exhibit a small level of activity as you maneuver outside the tent. Hogo-Sha’s footsteps stop just on the other side as another mercenary approaches him. They exchange hushed words, and Hogo-Sha utters a dissatisfied expletive before moving away. Outside the tent, you have time to review the document. The paper contains an uncoded missive that upon closer inspection, appears to be a contract. “Upon receipt of funds, we will dispatch our finest soldiers to assist your endeavor. Difendā and Purotekutā will arrive in Marsonia two days at the latest. We believe that you

You said you’re new to video games? I hope this isn’t the first one you have tried. Acanthus’ ears burned. “Actually, it is. I was supposed to be playing this game with my little—” She stopped abruptly. “I’m sorry, I’ve been told it’s bad form to talk about our lives outside the game.” Nymoria and Acanthus now entered another forest. It reminded her of the one she’d been in only yesterday to hunt Kumatetsu. This journey would involve much less danger. Nymoria’s eyes glittered as she talked about all the different wonders that this “grinding quest” offered. The term confused Acanthus—

If Acanthus hadn’t known where to look, she would have missed Pinball. I need to know how he’s so good at hiding. I’m sure some of it is Cardinal, but still… She approached quietly, thinking back to their last fight together. She had made a fool of herself, getting worked up like that. She wasn’t ready to blubber out some kind of apology. The best thing I can do is just make sure this fight goes smoothly. Do your fair share, don’t get worked up. It’s all just a game. Stepping around a large cluster of bright red mushrooms, she gave a curt bow and nod to Pinball. “Good… morning? After

“I’m grateful for the company. I don’t know that it’s really a matter of allowing you or not.” Acanthus looked down at Nymoria’s saber. “You seem more than capable of handling this quest. If anything, I may be thanking you by the end of it.” The flow of conversation started off awkwardly as Acanthus adjusted to the pace of Cardinal’s translation. Nymoria peppered her with signed questions. Have you completed this quest before? “No, actually. This is my first time. I didn’t realize the quest was repeatable. Have you been here before then?” Are you a frontliner? Have you been doing a l

Crafting for 8/27/2024 EXP: 367/639

This was the first night Acanthus had spent on a floor other than the first or twenty-fourth. The cool, damp air was unfamiliar to her, and she had tossed and turned all night trying to go to sleep. The sleep she did have was fraught with strange dreams. She was back on the first floor, in the grove where she’d found the demonic shard, only Kumatetsu was there instead. She fought the bear with only her knife for what seemed like hours. Then, the knife disappeared. She felt the pain indicator go off, and realized her knife was now protruding from her chest, driven by a familiar hand. Acant

On the outskirts of Ellesmera, Acanthus stumbled into a strange sight. A traveling cook with a cart stocked to the brim with food. She had a hard time believing the selection that was available, although the descriptions left her a little underwhelmed. Tasteless, tasteless, mild. Each of the descriptions seemed like a scathing indictment of the meal itself. But Acanthis didn’t care. Food here still had a strange taste to it—so no taste at all would be fine with her. She approached the cart tentatively, col in hand and prepared to buy a few things for her journey to Little Eden. Purchasing

You slip between the tent flaps. The furnishings speak to an austere and functional taste. There is a single cot in the corner and a table in the center, crudely fashioned from island lumber. On the table rests a rolled scrap of paper, sealed by a drip of green wax. The only other item of interest in the tent is a closed chest that appears unlocked. Unfortunately, your attempt to sneak into the tent did not go unnoticed. As you survey the inside of the tent, you hear whispered conversations begin to pick up. A few of the mercenaries are talking amongst themselves, and you hear the

The Stranger stared down the bear cub. The blade tensed up in her hand; the blade began to glow a deep red as she channeled the sword art. From the look in her eyes, Acanthus could tell the girl was about to enjoy this. A single knife flashed, and the bear exploded into crystalline fragments. "Are you alright?" I feel great. “I’m… I’m fine. I’m fine.” The Stranger had left; Acanthus had returned. Her whole body ached. Slowly, she wiped her blade on her cloak. “Thanks. For asking.” She knew it was apparent that the experience had rattled her, but it wasn't a conversation sh

Crafting for 8/26/24 EXP 347/639

She heard the whoosh of the knives and the bears’ agonized roaring. But the roaring didn’t stop. And if it didn’t stop, then that meant the bears weren’t dead. Not bears—cubs. Despite their size, the game had decided that they would be fighting cubs. And it got the details right: the uncertain gait, the way they fought awkwardly and without experience. And the eyes. They weren’t pleading like their mother. The cubs were confused. Aggressive, but confused. Diving between two of the limping bears, she lashed out with all her misplaced anger. Her sword caught one cub monster, shattering

THREAD SUMMARY Experience: [Quest: 500] [Word Count: 5270/10 = 527] * [True Tier: 3] * [Group Factor: 1] = 2,081 * 2 (New Player Event) = 4,162 EXP Col: 400 (One Page) = 400 col Quest Item: Demeter's Cornucopia | Gathering Tool | Bountiful: +1 CD when using foraging skill Foraging: (9) materials

Titania and Acanthus were once again on the boat, headed back. It was twilight; they had spent the entire evening at Demeter’s banquet, celebrating their victory. Titania was still animated. “What a lousy trick!” She smiled from ear to ear. “Lousy and brilliant! I never thought the game would lie to us in an attempt to goad us into telling the truth!” Acanthus smiled back. She was glad that Titania had passed. After Argo released Acanthus, he tracked down Titania to ask the same questions. Titania had answered truthfully as well; she admitted that she hadn’t found them all on her own, and

Argo draped the lei around Titania’s neck. She thanked him and immediately started to fidget with it. As she wandered off to talk to some of the Nymphs, Argo leaned in with an air of conspiracy. “So, Acanthus. How come you didn’t get any kernels?” She felt the heat rising in her face yet again. He gave her a conciliatory face. “It’s not like that, girl! No judgment here. Just want a truthful answer.” The answer began to dawn on Acanthus slowly. “I… Titania and I found the same number of kernels. We were afraid that we wouldn’t have enough between the two of us, so we agreed to let her hav

The two found their way back to camp. Judging by the defeated looks of most of the players, Acanthus could tell who had received the Alethia kernels and who had not. As the final groups trickled into the hall, Demeter greeted them. “My radiant sunflowers, I understand the kernels were in short supply today. I apologize for that! If you don’t have many, or any, don’t fear. There’s always next time. Will all of you please line up and present your offerings? This is just humiliating. The players lined up, and all watched as they took turns placing their seeds into Demeter’s Cornucopia.

As the two walked back, Titania stopped them. “Wait, I think I can pay you back quickly.” Acanthus raised an eyebrow, and Titania continued. “One of my guildmates, he said that when he was on this quest, he was able to find a treasure chest around here. Said he even got a gleaming scale out of the thing.” Acanthus looked around. It didn’t seem like the place for a treasure chest to spawn, but she had to admit she hadn’t ever looked for one before. “Lead the way.” Titania began to wind through the meadow, searching over rocks and behind trees. “I know he said it was around here… Maybe, ba

The meadow was silent, save for the chirping of a few grasshoppers. The golden sun above was starting to drop down to the horizon. The competition would be ending soon, and Acanthus needed to make a decision. She bought herself some time with a final foraging attempt. Acanthus regarded Titania. She’s always been pushy, but never particularly needy or demanding. And she doesn’t seem like the type to beg for every last advantage or handout. She sighed. “That’s fine. I accepted this quest on a whim, and I didn’t have much to do today anyways. I’ll just complete it the next time I have a day

She hoped Titania was wrong, and looked desperately around the meadow for more kernels. Aside from a few loose materials buried in the loose earth, she found nothing. “I’m afraid you’re right.” Titania smirked, “we could always have a friendly duel for who gets them.” Acanthus shot her a look, and Titania took a step back. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!.. But still, how are we supposed to decide who turns these in?” Titania threw her arms up in exasperation. “Ugh, this is so frustrating! Why would they program a quest that is guaranteed to fail most of the participants?” “It really is qu

“Hey, that’s ok. We all experience the game in different ways. Nothing I believe can be proven—same goes for you.” Titania laughed. “In some strange way, it's just like how people in the real world quibble about the afterlife. Everybody has strong opinions about what happens, but no one can really prove it. At the end of the day, we’re all just trying to cling to some semblance of comfort before the inevitable end.” The conversation died awkwardly as Acanthus found some more cornflowers to pick through. Just like the first batch, they withered under her hand. Titania made an excited noise

Dumbfounded, Acanthus worked mindlessly on a nearby branch, pruning its fruits. [roll results]. Titania continued. “I mean, we all put on giant helmets that scanned our brain and are directly interfacing with it. How simple would it be to block out a single memory of consenting to ‘forgetting’ that this wasn’t a death game? Just to give the players some buy in?” “So that’s why I feel comfortable making rash decisions. Because nothing in here really matters. It’s all just a game, and no matter what I do, I’ll be waking up in the real world. Hopefully we’re experiencing time dilation, but w

Titania laughed. “That’s the biggest joke of them all. Just because we don’t see players that disconnect doesn’t mean they’re dead.” “I… but then…” Acanthus was speechless. “Where do they go?” Titania shrugged. “My guess is they just aren’t allowed to log back in, and we’re living some grand social experiment. It’s also entirely possible that we’re experiencing all of this in the blink of an eye. It’s all just electric signals and neurons firing. We could be here for twenty years, but we’ll wake up back at the start, and it will have been half a day, tops.” The prospect terrified Aca

Acanthus recoiled briefly. Titania noticed and said, “Acanthus, it was just a bug. Not even a bug. It’s a fake bug in a fake world. I might as well have stepped on a leaf in real life.” Acanthus thought of her next words carefully, picking over some low shrubs for materials while she was at it. At last! She wrested a large handful of berries from the bush. Her luck had turned around. “But… Some of the NPCs are so life-like. Some of them even seem to grow and remember along with us, the players.” Titania rolled her eyes. “Chalk that up to good programming. Cardinal is incredible with