Acanthus

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

She tried to backpedal. “I already regret what I said. We’re all facing Aincrad together, so we shouldn’t fault them for playing the game their own way.” Her mouth twisted up briefly, acknowledging her appreciation of the lowest form of humor. It is, was her first thought. One look at the boy raised concerns. What level was he? Did he have any equipment? Would he run at the first sign of danger? No, no, he probably wouldn’t run. If anything, she’d probably have to hold him back. And he seemed to want nothing more than to help out. Freyd probably saw the same thing when he drag

It was time to change things up. The Mossy Elemental had proved a difficult combatant, and resistant to her freezing attack as well. Perhaps she would be better put to use somewhere else in the fight. The players flocked towards the Summer Wave, a boy with white hair, flanked by a blue-haired boy and a purple-haired girl, surrounded the Enemy with an assortment of spears, hammers, and axes. Morningstar had also stirred himself up from whatever poignant moment had been happening on the sidelines. He appeared both distracted and flustered. Probably just a little heat exhaustion. The cr

Acanthus left the beginning meadows and walked slowly across the plains of floor one. She had planned out her time on the floor, but not her route. Surveying the field, she came across some wild oats. She went ahead and dug them up with calculated efficiency. The old Acanthus might have stopped to take note of their nature, how they grew, and how that might have impacted the area around them. But it was a futile endeavor of someone determined to treat a video game like real life. Materials were materials, at the end of the day. She wiped the sweat from her forehead. Digging up the oats wa

Another pack of goblins torn apart in seconds. Blood caked on the walls, drying instantly as though Acanthus observed it over the course of years. But her blade stayed bright and clean, urging her forward in a voice similar to NIGHT’s. “Sate yourself,” the voice told her. “There will always be more.” Part of her couldn’t help but feel a little sympathetic towards the low-level foragers. Were she not on a tight schedule, she might have dropped by to help them out. But there was no time for that—she had fields to scour, and only a few days to do it. After a week, Acanthus had promised to re

As goblin after goblin died, Acanthus noticed two strange things, one right after the other. The first thing she noticed was that these goblins refused to drop anything except shards and scales. She had gone on looting warpaths before, and each time she had received a mix of items, materials, and col. But these creatures burst with piles of shards. It would be nice if this weren’t a dream. I’d never have to worry about grinding ever again. The second thing she noticed was the violence. Her dream had removed the censorship Aincrad used to protect its inhabitants. Here, there were no cartoo

Deeper into the dungeon she went, through rusted doors and traps and monsters. At this level, it was nothing but goblins. They did not look powerful, but they had the health and damage of a top-level monster. She cut through another mob with ease. They die all the same. Leaving a thank you note and goodbye on the kitchen table, Acanthus left the house and strolled to the western city gate. By the time she made it outside the town, it was 6:00. The sun was not yet visible, but a dull light grew over the fields. With her low-light vision, it might as well have been noon. Not wanting to

Acanthus struggled as the tone of her visions broke stride from each other. She had no memory of either part of her dream. She had spent time at NIGHT’s estate, but had she ever gone foraging while living there? Not that she could recall. The dungeon was even more confusing. It appeared to be the Black Iron Dungeon from the first floor. But Acanthus had only heard descriptions. She had never set foot inside. Why are you so worried? It’s all just a dream, one of those rare lucid dreams that give you the freedom to act. She slashed through another round of goblins while she packed her

Acanthus was greeted by a dark, pitiful dungeon. The dim light kept her from seeing, but not smelling the damp, molding stones that disappeared into the darkness. A chorus of cackles grew in the distance. Goblins waddled into view, bearing wicked blades and grinning madly. With a single thought, Acanthus summoned her equipment and began to fight. Acanthus woke refreshed from the night spent at NIGHT’s estate. She woke early, hoping to get a head start on the day. No time to waste if I want to get home soon. Today’s tasks would be a quiet sort of busy work. Nothing exciting or hair-raising

The girl landed softly in a field of poppies. It was not a place she recognized. It was not Aincrad. Certainly, it was a land Aincrad would have created. The vermillion petals of the flowers formed an ocean so great the girl became momentarily afraid. In her awe, she wondered if escape was an option from the field, a beautiful prison without a single wall. When her fear and wonder subsided, she plotted how to leave. Unable to determine a plan, she decided to simply walk. As she walked, her path diverged from itself in a peculiar manner. The girl’s vision split in two: when she looked

Right. Just like last time. The shark thundered towards her, and she stood ready to meet it with Wormwood. Like last time, she would let the shark run close enough that she could puncture its tough hide with the blade. Then, momentum would do the rest. She held the blade aloft and waited. And waited. The land shark had a little bit of air in him as well. With a casual leap, it cleared Acanthus entirely, not even bothering to acknowledge the fighter. Acanthus groaned. So I guess we’re back to chasing it around this stupid little dust bowl, aren’t we? She gave Scarlet and Yuki an apolo

“I’m sorry to bother you. Do you know of a man that lives out this way? His name is Baldur.” Acanthus had, against all odds, become hopelessly lost. The system map was excellent for finding quests, or towns, or dungeons, or a number of other things. But player housing remained elusive. Perhaps there was some filter that would assist her, but she had not found it. Rather than tinkering with the map, she decided to stop and ask a nearby player. Acanthus’ rare desire to converse with a stranger was borne in part from the girl’s picturesque backdrop. She reclined against a beautiful tree

With the Knight stuck in a bear trap, the players rallied for one last push. The fatigue of back-to-back battles crept into her extremities. The buzz of adrenaline wore off by the second, replaced by the buzz of Cardinal’s warnings: watch out for this, you can’t do that, and most importantly, don’t die! But they weren’t dying today. A concerted effort from the players was turning the tide. Not just the players here, but those scattered across the floor, even those below who were shoring up defenses for the Knights that might break through. Every ounce of effort was a weight taken of

“Yuki. It’s good to see you again. I hope everything has been good since we met.” Things surely couldn’t be worse. The floor boss had been an unpleasant fight, and Acanthus figured that wading through that bog in armor that would stop an actual bullet might be cumbersome. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m bringing a friend… Or maybe coworker is a better term. His name is 3ulogy, and I’m coaxing him out of his remote shop to get him more involved with the other players. Maybe an easy quest will do the trick.” How long had it been since Acanthus had been down here as a fresh-faced r

She had miscalculated. The boy had turned around and then caught up with her before she had a chance to realize she had miscalculated. He was fast. Very fast—was it an in-game skill? "I um. It's good to see you back. Running that is. You were gone for a while and it's nice to know that nothing... Happened." The boy hesitated as he spoke, seeming to search for the right words. Even Acanthus could infer the word he was avoiding. The kindness of the gesture touched her. She slowed down more so she could keep the conversation going. “I wasn’t dead. Just lazy. And a little tired. It’

She had partially hoped that they had lost Morningstar. The red lightning bolt that struck the Knight told her otherwise. As reluctant as she was to face him, her pride could manage the wounds so long as they weren’t fatal. Sulking is unbecoming, she reminded herself. Acanthus recognized two others as they stepped in to hold the line: Katoka, whom she’d briefly met in the raid from last floor, and Lessa, another frontliner she’d met after the raid. A third Player—an elf?—joined them from the shadows, spear flashing against the light of the mirrored Knights. She and Freyd spoke words Acant

She takes a moment to test the blade. "It's heavier than I remember." Acanthus remembers her manners halfway out the door. "...Thank you for your help, Wulfrin." Wormwood, the Fallen Star | T4 Demonic Straight Sword (Longsword) | [244633] | Blight 2 | Env. (O) 2 “...and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water…”

Today's Crafts Extended Workshop. (+3 EXP total from Trinket | Tuning Fork + Hard Working) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 244645 CD: 9 +1 LD: 1 Rare - 8 (+3 Ambition) 2 244644 CD: 7 +1 LD: 12

Acanthus’ energy bar recovered faster than her psyche. One Knight alone was inconsequential. But mob after mob broke into shining slivers of glass before being remade in the image of another Knight. A full energy bar told her she shouldn’t be trembling. And yet her entire body shook. Acanthus watched her damage buff vanish. Fingers aching with phantom pains, she reached for her last potion, finding relief in its cool metal contour and downing the entire container without a thought. The taste was off. Or rather, the taste was off in a different way. Oz’s liquor-themed potions had a unique

Acanthus drops a pile of rare items onto @Wulfrin's counter, and then the remains of a shattered sword. "I'd like you to use these to repair the broken sword. I know I'm making your work difficult for sentimental reasons, so I'll pay extra." STEP 1 Fusion-> Result Corrupted Branch of the Sacred Oak | [236411a] | T4 Rare Straight Sword | BLD | Blight A switch collected from the largest tree in Demon's End. The edge leaks a noxious ichor that corrupts whatever it touches. Kingslayer | T4 Perfect Straight Swo

"Hithanksforthestuffseeya." Picking up: Cedar Pauldrons | Light Armor | 236451d | Life Mending | Mitigation | Recovery Shoulder Guards made from the tall trees of Glyndbourne. It possesses unique healing properties. Corrupted Branch of the Sacred Oak | [236411a] | T4 Rare Straight Sword | BLD | Blight A switch collected from the largest tree in Demon's End. The edge leaks a noxious ichor that corrupts whatever it touches. Kingslayer | T4 Perfect Straight Sword - Short Sword | [235690a] | Blight | Env. (O) | ACC A blade honed for the honor of slaying Ladonia's Royal Fa

“A great teacher? I’m not sure that I’m doing anything other than encouraging her. I don’t know the first thing about training an animal. Although that’s where Cardinal steps in, isn’t it?” Acanthus watched Kumaki approach Perlita’s drum solo on the large planter, enthralled by the rhythmic taps. Her master enjoyed the happy noises for a spell before picking her conversation back up. “It’s just like sword arts, isn’t it? I’m sure that if we all had weapons in real life, half of us would have already tripped and hurt ourselves on the sharp end of whatever we were holding. But the game make

His own vulnerability, paradoxically, left her defenseless. Acanthus let the silence linger a moment too long—a sign of defeat. He was the one that had just admitted to being broken. So why do I feel like I’m the one who lost this exchange? Acanthus returned her broken utensil to her inventory. A small notification appeared in her HUD. <<Stored - Chopsticks (Durability 0/50)>>. Strange they did not yet vanish. “One, perhaps two. I stumbled into one player my first few weeks in the game. His name is Pinball. I know very little about him because we talk very little on ou