Acanthus

Back on shore, Haru gave thanks to the ground. May I never search another boat full of fish traps again. With a grin so bright it rivaled the sun, Pete brandished a sealed letter. She stared at the envelope. “That isn’t a sack of col, Pete.” “Sure ain’t, missy! But it’ll more than settle my debts.” The quest marker seemed to agree, and so Haru reached for the letter. But Pete jerked it away playfully, and Haru seethed as Pete laughed yet again. He then thought for a moment and reached over to a particularly rank barrel, spilling over with chum. He pulled the letter lightly over

“Open it? Don’t you have a key?” Pete grinned sheepishly, and Haru groaned. “Alright, I think I can manage the chest. Could we at least row to shore?” Pete laughed. “I’m afraid not, missy.” And he elaborated no more. Haru scowled. This isn’t real. None of this is real. It isn’t real, even though I am furious at this quest and the hours I have spent looting and helping this flippant, helpless stick figure of a grandpa—it doesn’t matter because none of this is real. Fishing through the various bits in the boat, Haru dug out two lucky bobbers and a shoelace from mam’s fourth lucky boot.

One more quest like this and I’m going right back to Tolbana forever. Haru stood in the boat, pants and sleeves rolled up, doubled over, ransacking each and every trap. She swore she had been through the contents of the boat twice. But the moment she blinked, a new one would seemingly appear. It had to be some kind of luck-based check—one she wasn’t allowed to fail. Exhausted, she fished a small metal coin out of a trout trap. “That’s me mam’s lucky col! Thank you!” Another trout trap had a strange, ball-shaped object. “That’s me old bobber line! Thank you!” … A b

Pete's Fishing Hole Another quest, another old man with a beard. Even from a distance, she could tell Pete was a character. He seemed more leg than man, the way he danced around in his boat. Haru was surprised the whole thing didn’t capsize. But dance as he did, Pete seemed to know his way around the little jetty. As Haru approached, she noticed a few metal gleams in the bottom of the boat. “Well howdy there stranger! You seem to have an eye for my haul.” His eyes twinkled. “I’m here to collect Mayor Dorian’s loan. Are you the recipient?” Pete rolled his eyes in a playfully

The bag of boar tusks hit Lyle’s counter with a satisfying clatter. The blacksmith glanced into the bag. Haru swore she caught something that resembled approval crossing his stony gaze. “I use these on hilts,” he explained brusquely. Haru nodded. Short and to the point. Despite his rough attitude, she wished for more quest givers like Lyle. “Now, I'll have you know that I don't take loans from anyone, especially men the likes of Dorian White. You might try old Pete Larkin. He spends all his time fishing for river monsters or some such nonsense. Without a real job, the man could probably

As feral as the rest, the boar pursued her even as she fell back; with a horrible noise, it pressed forward and savaged her arm. Acanthus yelled, and drew her sword back. It began to glow. She felt the hum, and the warm tingle told her she was preparing the boar’s final blow. The hum resonated throughout her entire body. The tingling screamed to be unleashed, it needed to be let loose NOW— No. Focus. Don’t release early. Wait for the charge. Patient as ever, Haru waited. And waited. The hum became so violent she thought it might shake the sword loose from her grip. But she persi

Haru had to travel a small ways to find her last boar. By then, she had fashioned a makeshift mask with some of her spare layers. The weather was mild anyways, all of her extra coats and buckles were just for show. Unlike the other boars, she approached confidently, blade at the ready. Despite approaching from behind, the boar bristled and turned to her once she was in range. I’m sure there’s some kind of stealth in this game. Otherwise, no chance to sneak up on these guys. This boar seemed bigger than the other two, but Haru kept telling herself it wasn’t the case. It certainly felt

Haru sat roughly in the field. If two boars had taken half her health, she would likely be alright fighting the third immediately. But “likely” wasn’t the kind of chance Haru would stake her life on. So she popped open her waterskin and took a few long drinks. It was not as satisfying as she remembered water in real life, but it wasn’t as bad as the other food she had to put up with here. When she first arrived, she had tried not eating. But the game forced tiredness onto her, which frustrated Haru to no end. It’s not like we even have to eat in VR! It’s just another restriction added to

With a careful sidestep, Haru dodged the initial charge, and brought her blade up in an arc. It gouged a large chunk of the boar’s flesh, replaced by a strange, reddish grid. It was odd that a game that killed people would care about portraying graphic violence. The boar took a few steps, and with a weak squeal, collapsed to the ground. She checked herself again for wounds, and was pleased that she had dodged the boar’s attacks this time. Even in such a short time, I’m improving bit by bit. It was satisfying to have noticeable progress in a short amount of time. But she was familiar with

Haru was quickly learning that she had two modes: too cautious and too reckless. Anytime she worried too much about defense, she failed to land a single blow. Whenever she dove in for the strike, the boar found an opening and returned the favor. She held her side, sword outstretched defensively. A red gridded wound had opened up on her side. But she had been able to hit the boar as well. Again, it stood, but only barely. Lyle’s sword is starting to feel like a nuisance. He couldn’t have put one more point into damage? I might as well kick the stupid little pig to death. The boar

Haru had read that in battle, it was as much a war of attrition as it was raw strength. As she battled it out with the boar, she could see how that was the case. Lyle’s sword now felt like lead in her hands. She had barely raised it to her side when the boar came trundling back at her. It appeared to be wearing out as well. Their respective attacks were almost a plea for a break. Haru weakly swung the sword around her as the boar approached. It was more a warning to stay back than it was a danger. The boar in turn huffed and puffed, but made only a minimal effort to get into range of Haru

The second boar was not far off. Haru did a quick gauge of her health. It’s low, but I have health potions. I should be able to drink one or two if I take another hit. If things are bad enough, I think I can run with enough health to survive. Attracted by the sound of combat, it sauntered into range and targeted Haru. The boar unleashed an unearthly cry before launching into combat. The smell. Just as atrocious as the first one. Whoever was in charge of designing these had a bone to pick with boars; Haru doubted they smelled this bad in real life. Distracted, her first swing at

The boar lumbered at her, wounded and clinging to life. Just as she thought she was in range, the monster had a sudden burst of energy. “Ah!” She nearly fell over trying to back up. The boar reared and leaped at her, digging its tusks into her leg again. Her sword swung wildly around her, but missed the boar. I’m relying too much on the sword arts, she thought to herself. I have to get comfortable with the sword as it is, not as the game programs it. Another part of her brain was screaming. That’s nice and all but maybe we have this conversation with ourselves AFTER we kill this

My compliments to the developers. They really made these things smell atrocious. A heady manure smell wafted off the pig and towards Haru. It made her eyes water. Why did they feel the need to go above and beyond here? Just program a boar. They didn’t have to make it smell like fresh fruit and honey. Just a nice, scentless boar would have done the trick. For something not real, this was an awful lot of effort. She stared down the boar, its beady red eyes locked onto hers. Even though her pulse was rising, Haru kept her composure. She tried not to think about how crazy this was.

At the gates of Tolbana again, Haru was surprised at how much easier it was to step outside. For months, she had been terrified at the mere thought of leaving. Yet here she was, stepping out into the open plains two days in a row. There’s no way around it. If I want to move up, I have to take some risks. No more than necessary, but “no risk” is not an option. Besides, she believed Lyle when he said she could handle some boars. And she didn’t believe that Cardinal would have her fight anything dangerous for the first quest in the game. Maybe the quest had claimed a few lives, but they

Lyle's Forge The next morning, Haru found Lyle the blacksmith hard at work. His forged flared and spewed flame, and Haru winced at the rhythmic PANG—PANG—PANG of his hammer. She barely opened her mouth to ask about the quest when he grunted, “Busy.” Her mouth closed, and she resigned herself to waiting. Haru observed Lyle as he worked the long rod of iron. She couldn’t tell what he was making, but she wondered what he did with those wares. He didn’t operate a shop to her knowledge. Did he forge dozens of items, only for them to disappear the moment they were out of sight? “Hold out y

With a small yelp of victory, Haru yanked a cluster of mushrooms out of the ground. She held her breath for the moment before they inevitably dissipated. The mushrooms kept their purple hues. Haru breathed a sigh of relief. At least I'm not coming back empty-handed. With materials in tow, Haru hurried back to Tolbana. The sun was just starting to touch the horizon. Even knowing there was enough light left to make it back, Haru worried. About what she could not say, but the worried gnawed at her all the same. Back at Zackariah’s shop, he reviewed the materials. “Very good! I see

Haru grimaced as the last of the herbs shattered into a fine digital mist. The world may not be real, but her disappointment was. Haru made mental notes about the event. There were patterns to the harvest. When to pluck, when to pull, or observe, or prune. Fail the dance, and the chance to collect vanished. Haru had nearly discerned the patterns when the plant’s durability gave out. She sighed, but refused to linger on her failure. She needed to find another source. The fields gave way to woods as the sun began its descent. Haru estimated another few hours of daylight, but she was ab

Haru had read plenty of stories growing up: fairy tales, adventure novels, the occasional romance. One thing they all had in common was how they managed to skip the boring parts with such grace. If Haru ever wrote about her experiences here, this is one part she planned to leave out. Two hours of searching through once idyllic fields would have left her frantic, if the monotony had not numbed her first. Being out after dark was a risk she had no intention of incurring, but neither did she want to disappoint Zackariah. Zackariah won’t care. He’s an NPC, a quest giver on the first floor. Wh

The Gates of Tolbana Thankfully, her stomach settled as she approached the city gates. The fondue had taken effect, as she saw in the interface. Getting used to the interface had been difficult. It was odd to have such quantifiable information always displayed in her vision. She mused about what it would look like in real life. At the gates of Tolbana, she stopped and admired the scenery. Great, sweeping plains of grass rolled out before her. Until today, she had never admired them from this close. For the last six months, Haru had been one of the few that remained on floor one. The

Zackariah gestured to the back of his shop, where a large pot was bubbling. Haru was able to pick out the smell of… cheese? “I know in your care, the orders are as good as filled. But I’d like to offer you some assistance. I have here a fondue that is guaranteed to help you find what you’re looking for!” Haru paled slightly. She wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like every meal in Aincrad disagreed with her palate. Everything tasted… fake. She couldn’t describe it any other way. It was like trying to eat things wrapped in plastic, or seasoned with a faint tingling sensation. Zackariah notice

Zackariah continued on, unaware of Haru’s thoughts. “Would you gather a few materials for me? Flowers, herbs, rare woods, whatever you can find outside the city walls. I promise I’ll help you fill your order as soon as you return. In fact, I would be willing to show you how to do it yourself.” Haru nodded and bowed reflexively. She felt her cheeks burn as she chided herself. This is a video game, not some live-action roleplay. She heard Zackariah’s gentle laughter. “My, what manners from a lovely young lady! I’m not sure that I caught your name, miss…?” "Nice to meet you, my name is H–" S

Zackariah's Shop Haru marveled at the tiniest details in Zackariah’s shop. The way only some of the floorboards groaned as she stepped inside. The mismatched shelves sagging under the weight of a menagerie of potions and salves, no two alike. The shop bombarded Haru with a dozen different smells that she could not identify, all tied together by a soft bubbling sound emanating from the back. Zackariah’s voice reached her from the back of the shop. "Are you here to order something? I’m sorry, but I am currently swamped with orders, and I’m running out of supplies.” Haru took her time as she

Dorian eventually wound down. Haru lazily opened her menu to check the quest objective: “Enter Zackariah’s shop.” Simple enough. Haru began to scan Tolbana for any signs of her objective. She was shocked when Dorian began to offer directions. “That’s impressive. I suppose Cardinal picks up on body language as well as verbal prompts.” A brief beat, followed by another “My dear, I’m not sure I follow!” Cardinal must have a harder time responding to meta commentary. She had directions from Dorian, so there was no need to linger. So Haru turned and left without saying a word. It was rude to n

"I’m here for the introductory quest." Haru stated. Dorian quickly picked up on her language and began. "My name is Dorian, and I am the mayor of this town. As part of those mayoral duties, I issued a small loan to a member of the community a few months ago. Well, the time to collect had come around and I-" Dorian systematically ran his fingers over his perfect mustache while Haru’s mind began to wander. She’d seen this quest offered to a hundred different players. Each time, the same words, the same fingers through the same mustache. "You see, I've forgotten who it was I loaned–" I