[F18 | SP] [EV] A Bottle a Day, Part 2 | <<Fatal Error>>

[Acanthus 0]

Fifteen minutes later, an exhausted Argent walked back into the safe zone. His button down was grimy with water and leaves, and his slacks had a hundred small snags and tears. He had made it back alive, but the celebration had been postponed.

“Out of the fire and into hell, it looks like.” Saitou lay against the teleportation obelisk with his hand outstretched. The place where the Knight had grabbed him appeared infected with a strange disease. Cracks of intense white light had covered every centimeter of his hand, and two of his fingers had already unraveled.

“Grundar died a lot quicker than this. But it looks the same.” Saitou glanced down at his arm like it was someone else’s. With fascination, he turned his hand over and back again, watching new lines form near his elbow. “Best kill me now. Easier now than having a third Knight.”

“—That’s not necessary.”
“—We’re not doing that.”

The responses overlapped. Acanthus and Argent blushed. Saitou rolled his eyes. “Alright then, what’s the idea?”

“I think we’re on the same page. Acanthus, grab some of the antidotes from the Tavern. Looks like we’re digging into the stash a little earlier than we thought.” Acanthus nodded, pivoted, and promptly crashed into the ground.

<<Debuff: Left leg - broken 29h:59m>>

“Crow, go. You know what to look for.” The girl raced off. Acanthus fought in vain to stand back up, but her leg now hung limp, just like her right arm. “I’m sorry, Argent. I’m sorry—”

“Ssh. Acanthus, you did great. Sit tight. I’ve got it from here.”

What other option was there? Acanthus rolled onto her back and dragged herself up against some boxes to watch Argent work.

Sweat formed on Saitou’s brow. “Argent, just put me out of my damn misery. You’re just risking everyone’s lives here.”

“Stop thinking like that and hold your arm out. I’d suggest you look away. I’ve been told amputation is a disturbing experience, even in game.”

“I’ve seen it enough to know it is. And I’ve done it enough that I deserve to look. So hurry it up.”

Argent raised the wickedly long knife high above his head. It flashed down in a clean arc, connecting just below the “infection” with surgical precision. Saitou jerked as the blade bit into his forearm, and he swore for a solid two seconds. The gangrenous arm vanished, and the players waited with bated breath to see what would happen next.

[Acanthus 0]

“I guess you’re still a decent doctor after all.”

Argent, Acanthus, and Saitou sat around a small table at the back of Mucksucker’s. The room was filled with all of the other players from the floor, including Flechette, who had “dropped that dumbass Knight in a bog so deep it wouldn’t find its way back until the game was done.” The atmosphere was one of muted celebration. The knights weighed heavily on their minds, but nobody had died, and that was reason enough to celebrate.

Acanthus leaned on her makeshift crutch with a hint of exasperation. Her antics had worsened her leg debuff even further, and it happened right as her arm was improving from “broken” to “fractured.” At this rate, it would be weeks before she quested. But even with her injuries, it could be worse. She glanced over at the old man.

Saitou rubbed the stump where his arm used to be. “I’ll miss the darn thing. But it’s another reason to look forward to returning to the overworld.”

The players here had adopted the term “overworld” to refer to real life. She had been told it was yet another gamer term. Acanthus didn’t like how the word separated them even further from real life, but she watched her tongue adamantly.

Argent looked over Saitou’s health and status effects. “I’m not sure we’re out of the woods yet. Your arm will grow back in a day. We should check for the effect again when it does.”

“That’s not how infections work, Argent. And you know it.”

“I do, but this isn’t a normal infection. I don’t even think it passes for normal by the games standards.”

“I agree.” Acanthus began to think out loud. “Almost thirty floors in, and this is the first time we’ve seen anything like it. Mobs invading safe zones, travelling from floor to floor, corrupting NPCs and Players alike. I would be content to consider it new mechanics, but everything about Floor 29 seems aberrant.”

Saitou cut in. “Eh, that’s the Floor 29’s theme, I bet. It’s all Cthulu-stuff, isn’t it? So the designers just threw in some extra ‘oh no everything is breaking’ flavor to get the players invested.”

“Maybe.” Argent stared into his mug. “I hope so. Either way, it’s a crisis. And the sooner we fix it, the better.”

“How’s it get fixed though?” Saitou rumbled. “The Knights aren’t pushovers. By the time we’ve killed one, there’s two more in its place.”

“I don’t think killing them is the answer.” Acanthus pulled up the quest. “We all received this, right? It says that the Sword of Kings is missing. These monsters are all Knights. What if they’re looking for the sword?”

“Not a bad theory.” Argent looked over the quest details as well. “The question is: where do we find it?”

The hospital room from her dream reformed in her mind. The young girl, dressed in the muted tones of nature, had spoken to her. Acanthus recalled the words.

“Argent, Saitou… Have either of you ever heard of <<The Root?>>”

Continued in A Bottle a Day, pt. 3

[Acanthus 0]

THREAD SUMMARY

Experience | [Word Count: 6246/10 = 624.6] * [True Tier: 8] * [Group Factor: 1] = 4997 EXP
Col | 749 (Laurel Wreath) + 400 (Bonus) = 1149 Col
Mon | 1 Mon earned.