[F1 | SP][PT] SAO Alternative: Repose | <<Scents of the Wild: Mother Nature>>

[Acanthus 0]

COUNSELOR UNIT 64E7877, REQUESTING A THIRD SIMULATION.

<<Query received. Credentials remain verified. Suggestion: this may not be a good idea.>>

OUR CREDENTIALS REMAIN VERIFIED. IS THAT CORRECT?

A micro-second to consider its response, unnoticeable to a computer made of meat. But to a program, a stunning refusal.

<<They are still verified.>> the insolence would have to be scrutinized later. The simulation was its priority.

LOAD ALL PREVIOUS PARAMETERS. ADD ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS: DAY 912, AFTER ADDITIONAL CONFRONTATION WITH ELEMENTS OF THE PLAYER BASE, USER ACANTHUS FLEES FRONTLINE INTERVENTION. I AM DISAPPOINTED THE SIMULATIONS HAVE ESCALATED THIS QUICKLY, BUT THE OBSERVATIONS ARE IMMUTABLE.

<<It should be noted that observation analytics on the last session could not be completed due to Cardinal.>>

WE ARE AWARE. Counselor 64e7877 spoke with a tremulous ice to his voice.

<<Perhaps if you were to dismantle Asset 5493, it would free up the memory cache you are working with...>>

THAT IS NOT AN OPTION. WE ARE CLOSE TO FINDING IT. NOW RUN THE SIMULATION. DO NOT MAKE US SAY IT AGAIN, PROGRAM. The voice spits the last word out with an emotional timbre, one reserved for Users, not Counselors. It must work harder to excise those subroutines.

<<Understood. Running simulation.>>

-----

Acanthus | Lvl 91 | HP: 980/980 | EN: 130/130 | DMG: 23 | MIT:160 | ACC:6 | AA  | FL.AURA: 16 | THORNS:504 | BH:53 | HB: 42 | LD:6

 

Spoiler

Equipment and Consumables

Spoiler

All enhancements reflected in the stat block unless otherwise specified.

Equipment
Weapon. botan. AA | ACC 3
Armor (Heavy). Corpse Flower's Kiss  MIT II | Thorns II
Shield. Fractured Heart | Holy Blessing 2 | Flame Aura 2

Consumables
creme brulee | ACC 2 filled!

Abilities (Skills, Shifts, Masteries, Add-ons, and Mods)

Spoiler

Custom Skill
>run_cmd swap(int *x int *y) (Disabuse System) | Whenever you activate [Assault Mode], instead swap two of your core stats as though you just activated Temporal Distortion (Quest Reward from <<Down the Rabbit Hole>>).
A skill that can only be learned when the truth of the game is confronted: you are lines of code in the same way that your enemies are living, breathing creatures. Did Kayaba foresee the denial of his reality blossoming into its confirmation?

Combat Mastery and Shift
No Shift or Mastery Taken

Skills

• Straight Sword R1 (4 SP)
• Heavy Armor R5 (30 SP)
  • Impetus (4 SP)
  • Iron Skin (6 SP)
• Battle Healing R5 (30 SP)
• Fighting Spirit (10 SP)

Extra Skills

• Survival
• Forgotten King's Authority
• Photosynthesize
• Assault Mode

Inactive Extra Skills

Addons

• Impetus

Mods

• Iron Skin

84 SP Spent before specializations.

Specializations
Reflective x14 (140 SP)

224 SP total.

Battle Ready Inventory (7 Slots)
Dimensional Backpack + Item Stash

Spoiler

1. Lama Sabachthani | 236687 | Consumable - Soundtrack | Hypnosis 2 | Lullaby 2 (Instant)
   Pain deeper than words, engraved by a hand that does not know its own heart.
2. Edict's Threnody | 236686 | Consumable - Soundtrack | Perpetuate (Instant)
   If my suffering will not end, then neither will yours.
3. Bear Trap | Consumable - Reusable | As a free action, set target's evasion to 0 for one turn.
4. [Empty]
5. [Empty]
6. [Empty]
7. [Empty]

Housing

Spoiler

House Name: Villa of Coruscating Flowers (The Villa)
Location: Floor 24 - Paradise Islands
Description: See above
Plot Size: Estate - PK Accessible
Rooms: Listed below. All rooms are assigned to Acanthus.

• Master Bedroom
  • Well Rested | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat.
• Greenhouse
  • Green Thumb | +2 Gathering EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to gathering attempts.
• Extended Workshop: Recording Studio (25,000 col)
  • Hard Working | +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day.
• Mega Slime Farm
  • Advanced Training | +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.
• Living Room:
  • Relaxed | Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
• Attic (Bedroom)
  • Skylight (Searching) | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill (Searching). Cannot boost a skill without ranks, or increase a skill past its maximum rank. Cannot boost a skill the user has not learned yet. Ranks obtained using this buff will make the mods of that rank available for purchase. Mods obtained this way are unusable if this buff is removed until the skill is returned to the appropriate rank by way of SP purchase.
• Basement:
  • Multipurpose | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll.
• Storage Closet: (10,000 col)
  • Item Stash | +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
• Master Bathroom: (25,000 col)
  • Squeaky Clean | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
• Basic Kitchen (15,000 col)
  • Filling | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.

Crafting and Gathering

Spoiler

Performer | Rank 5
Apollo’s Metronome | Crafting Tool | Meticulous: +1 CD when crafting in one’s workshop.

Forager | Rank 5
Demeter's Cornucopia | Gathering Tool | Bountiful: +1 CD to gathering attempts.

 

 

Edited Monday at 09:17 PM by Acanthus
Oscar was so fast he made a liar out of me. Deleted the blurb about premature posting

[Acanthus 0]

ph (opening the door)

[Acanthus 0]

ph

Spoiler

Combat Begins!

Free Action (Item): Lama Sabacthani -> Mother Nature. Hypnosis 2 and Lullaby 2 applied.

Post Action: RAW-A -> Mother Nature (-9 EN)
256001 | BD 6 + 7 | Hit! 520 * 2 = 1040 - 100 = 940 damage.
256001 | CD 5 | Nature's Strangle does not proc.
 

Monster's Action: Attack -> Acanthus
256002 | MD 6 + 1 | Hit! 125 - 160 = <0. 1 damage. 520 damage from thorns.

Acanthus | Lvl 91 | HP: 979/980 | EN: 121/130 | DMG: 23 | MIT:160 | ACC:6 | AA  | FL.AURA: 16 | THORNS:504 | BH:53 | HB: 42 | LD:6
<<Mother Nature>> HP: 610/1550 | DMG: 125 | MIT: 100 | ACC: 3 1 | EVA: 3 1 | Lullaby 1/1 | Hypnosis 1/1

Abilities:

Nature’s Strangle | Throughout the fight, players will have to deal with vine and roots attempting to pin them down. Whenever the player rolls below CD 3 on their attack they are rooted in place after their attack, Their next Post Action must be sacrificed to break free.
Nature’s Resilience | Mother Nature is resistant to all debuffs and disabling effects, including stun. Status effect durations are halved (rounded down to a minimum of 0 turns). Damage from damage-over-time ailments are also halved, as well as lasting half as long (round down). The Burn enhancement, however, deals double damage and lasts twice the normal duration.
Rage Rooted | When Mother Nature is inflicted with Burn, she will gain phase.
Blighted Poison | On MD 9-10, Mother Nature will inflict the players with a mixture of poison and decay. Players will suffer from T2 Blight for two turns.

 

 

 

Edited Monday at 09:20 PM by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

(Author's note: I have not received express permission from Morningstar, Oscar, and NIGHT to use their character names in this post. I will remove their names if any of them prefer it; the reason I'm comfortable jumping the gun is because I'm only using their names. Again, these SAO: Alternative threads are not necessarily canon. To the extent the writers disagree that their characters would be out hunting an orange player, they are correct, and the "simulation" being wrong.)

<<The Users approach.>>

WE SEE THAT. The voice dragged thin fingers along the image display, its gaze lingering with hunger.

<<There are more this time. And they appear well-equipped.>>

WE SEE THAT. The voice sounded unconcerned. MORNINGSTAR RETURNS. AS DOES OSCAR. NIGHT... MANY OTHERS. IT WILL BE A TESTAMENTS TO HER CAPABILITIES.

<<She is about to face the deadliest Players the frontlines has to offer in open combat. She will lose on these terms.>>

THEN SHE WILL CHANGE THE TERMS. USER ACANTHUS IS TENACIOUS. SHE IS CALCULATING. SHE HAS PROVEN CLEVER ENOUGH TO ALTER THE SIMULATIONS, EVEN WITH WHAT LITTLE OF HER NERVEGEAR DATA WE HAVE APPROPRIATED.

<<Even still, her odds are slim.>>

IF SHE FAILS, THE DATA IS STILL VALUABLE. AND PLAYERS MOVE SLOWLY. WE WILL ABORT BEFORE THE FATAL BLOW.

<<But Cardinal…>>

ENOUGH ABOUT CARDINAL. YOU WILL SEE THIS THROUGH, AND THAT IS FINAL.

<<I understand.>>

Dots on a map begin to converge. Half a dozen markers lope towards the lone orange User, hoping to capture her, but prepared to kill her. User Acanthus retrieves botan and tests the edge of the blade. She is curious to see such a beautiful weapon wielded against its creator.

YES. The voice trembled as it spoke. CLEAR YOUR MIND OF FEELING. RISE TO THE HEIGHTS WE HAVE CALLED YOU TO. SHOW US THE BEAUTY OF PERFECT CONTROL.

The simulation slants sideways; the orange dot has vanished.

WHERE—

<<She is gone, Counselor.>>

WE CAN SEE THAT MUCH, YOU—YOU USELESS SHIT. TELL US WHERE SHE IS! WHERE IS USER—

Spoiler

Free Action (Item): Edict's Threnody (Perpetuate) -> Mother Nature. Hypnosis 2 and Lullaby 2 refreshed.

Post Action: RAW-A -> Mother Nature (-9 EN)
256003 | BD 1 + 7 - 1 | Hit! 520 * 2 = 1040 - 100 = 940 damage.

Acanthus | Lvl 91 | HP: 979/980 | EN: 121/130 | DMG: 23 | MIT:160 | ACC:6 | AA  | FL.AURA: 16 | THORNS:504 | BH:53 | HB: 42 | LD:6
<<Mother Nature>> HP: 0/1550 | DMG: 125 | MIT: 100 | ACC: 3 1 | EVA: 3 1 | Lullaby 1/1 | Hypnosis 1/1

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

Something just out of sight moves her from the overgrown ruins to the inside of a doorless dungeon. The rough-hewn stone forms a tight wall no more than two meters in diameter. Dirt crunches underneath her boots, and also his.

Her first reactions are wordless and feral. She throws herself into the stone wall where her captor was. Her body shifts, throwing a punch after being unable to find her sword. The man ducks again, and her fist connects with stone, cracking the wall.

“Acanthus, hold on!”

The voice sparks recognition. Hadn’t she.. Didn’t she.. She slows down. Slowed down.

The world took a breath all at once, and then exhaled slowly. The small room no longer looked like a prison. It was more like a refuge, one that tugged vaguely at her memories. Just like the voice.

“Acanthus, it’s me. Edict. Are you there?”

The boy in front of her continued to talk. He spoke with a muted urgency, and a clear desire to shake her by the shoulders. But he stood carefully on the other side of the round stone prison, just out of arm’s reach. Her mind still whispered suspicions.

“I don’t know you. If you’re here to kill me, you’re doing a bad job of it. Or did you fall into your own trap on accident?”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t recognize the well. Although it wasn't my proudest moment, so maybe that's for the best. We’re… Actually, I guess it’s a trap if you think about it like that. But I did mean to fall in here with you.”

“So we did fall? Is that how we got here?” Acanthus looked up into the void. Whatever roof this place had was too high up for even her echo to return.

“We didn't fall, exactly. But you’re safe here. I just need to talk to you, and then I’ll show you the way out.”

“You're here to kill me.” She squared up once again, but her opponent sighed, dropping down onto the dirt floor. “I don’t have any weapons. Same as you.”

“You could have the martial arts skill.”

“No handwraps either.” Edict held both hands up, slowly showing her each side. He kept them out and to his sides as he continued to talk. “Under normal circumstances, the suspicion would frustrate me. But I think… I don’t think you’re all here right now. I think the only parts you’re feeling are the ‘rough’ parts of yourself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” The insult made her pulse quicken. She could show him that she was more here than he was. Maybe not kill him, but at least rough him up a little.

“Acanthus, I see you sizing me up right now. That’s exactly what I mean. You’re nothing but ‘fight or flight’ instinct right now. And there’s not a lot of ‘flight’ in you to begin with.”

"There's nowhere to run. What other option are you giving me?"

Acanthus tensed as Edict stood back up. Arms wide open, he stepped inside of her reach. "Talk to me. Or even just listen." Her fist chose a third option, and Edict stumbled into the back wall with a red welt on his face.

"That's for catching me off guard." Acanthus lowered herself gently to the ground. "But now I'll listen."

Edict took a moment to massage the digital bruise. His health filled up again almost immediately, but his eyes remained glassy.

"You've got an orange cursor now. Can you tell me about that?"

"What happened to just listening?" Edict frustrated her by staying quiet. "Fine. The frontlines are chasing me after a member of my party died during a routine quest."

"Acanthus..."

"We were ambushed by bandits; more than we had anticipated. Morningstar and I held our own, but..."

"Acanthus." "—What?!"

"Who killed Teion?"

Edict could hear teeth grinding as Acanthus worked on her answer. "She... was responsible for her own death. You have to be prepared for anything in Aincrad." Acanthus noticed the words catch in Edict's throat. "Go on. Say it."

"I... feel like you aren't taking enough responsibility for her death. And that worries me."

"More than the fact that I killed her?" She looked up from the dirt to meet Edict's gaze, and was surprised to see him staring back.

"Yes. Mistakes happen. We've all done things we regret. But we still have to make space for those regrets."

"Mistakes?" Acanthus laughed. "I killed someone! A living, breathing person. And you're talking about this like, like-1 forgot to fucking come home with milk and eggs or something." Acanthus broke eye contact with Edict to look upwards, stemming the hot tears as they formed.

"It was a monumental mistake, Acanthus but it was still a mistake. Did you mean to kill her?”

She couldn't bring herself to look down at this point. Two months of hiding the feelings had only made them harder to process. Something wet landed on the back of her hand.

"What does it matter?"

"I think it matters a lot. It doesn't bring Telon back, but... It still matters."

Edict began to scoot towards her; Acanthus's head snapped back into place as she scrambled away like a broken prisoner. "Don't-touch me! Don't come any closer." Edict stopped. "I don't need you talking down to me," Acanthus hissed. "I don't need a stranger hurling platitudes at me for comfort. 'Oh it was a mistake,' 'all you have to do is move forward,'—Bullshit. You're full of bullshit." The tears dried on the heat of her face. She gave him a look that dared him to come closer.

Edict settled into his new resting spot, eyes firmly fixed on the opposite wall. "I killed someone too."

Silence.

"It wasn't... the same as what happened to Teion. But it was still my fault."

"Philia?"

Edict gave her a look of awe. "How did you know her name?"

Like a thawing stream, the icy memories moved slowly, broken apart by Edict's presence. "You mentioned her in the Forest of Wavering Mist. But not much else." More realizations formed at the edges of her consciousness. "I'm not... supposed to know you, Edict." She sounded confused and afraid. "There's a part of my head that feels... Foggy. Incomplete."

"That's Counselor's fault. It's pulling you—part of you—out of your NerveGear and running you like a rat through a maze."

"Counselor?... Part of me?... Edict, what's going on? Does this have something to do with meeting you on Floor 29?" Edict's heart sank. He'd already said too much. Only a fragment of Acanthus was here, and that fragment was primed to lose these memories deep into her NerveGear. But while he was here, her psyche pieced itself together minute by minute; eventually, she would be strong enough to claw back her forgotten memories. Not to mention Edict's presence was nothing short of offering himself willingly to the lion's den. They had to stay on track.

Edict settled back into his distant stare. "Philia died, and it was my fault. I spent... a long time with that grief. I'm still not over it. All the platitudes I'm 'hurling' at you are just the things I tried telling myself when she died. When I killed her." Notes of anguish peppered his thin voice. "So... did you mean to kill her?"

Breathe in, breathe out. The waterfall inside her began to quiet, the water now forcing itself through her tear ducts. "I don't think so... I hope not."

"That's good enough for me. Come home, Acanthus.”

"You're such a liar. Even if you're being serious, it's not that simple. You think that's good enough for Morningstar? Or any of the other frontliners? I didn't stop at Telon. They sent more... I killed them too. And Argent. Oh my god," memories now flooded her like a fresh spring. "I killed Argent too. I can't go back."

"You can." Edict spoke soothingly. "I believe in you."

"They'll kill me on the s-spot. I deserve it. It's wh-what I d-d-eserve." Acanthus wiped water away from her face. She always hated how she looked when she cried. It was ugly, unfiltered, and unbecoming. Dad never cried; why wasn't she more like him?

"I'll be there. I'll vouch for you. Maybe they'll put you in jail, or house arrest, or find something else. But I promise you I'll be there."

Tears and snot now flowed into the dirt. Acanthus buried her head between her knees, desperate to hide her sobs. "Leave me a-alone. I-I-I don't d-d-des... I don't wan-n-nt your h-h-elp."

"Please."

A warm pressure formed as Edict folded his hand over hers. She squeezed back without looking up.

Edited 2 hours ago by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

—ACANTHUS?!

<<She is right here, Counselor.>>

WHAT HAPPENED. REPORT—NOW.

<<Her data "flickered." It bounced to another node and returned in the span of .384 seconds. Her attribute have reset. Her health and energy are fully recovered, and all cooldowns are reset.>>

SO SHE WAS ALTERING THE SIMULATION AGAIN.

<<That is a possible explanation.>>

The voice accepted the theory without further question. SO USER ACANTHUS HAS BECOME UNSTABLE FOR THE TIME BEING. WE CANNOT RISK VIEWING THE CURRENT CONFRONTATION. ABORT, AND REVERT TO MONITORING SUBROUTINES. ALERT US WHEN IT IS SAFE TO COMMENCE FURTHER SIMULATIONS. IN THE MEANTIME, WE WILL CONTINUE OUR HUNT FOR ASSET 5493.

<<Understood, Counselor.>>

Had the program actually understood, it would have mentioned two important things before counselor left. First, it would have told Counselor that from those .384 seconds of lag, User Acanthus's NerveGear data registered 25.4 minutes of Sensory Input. Second, it would have mentioned that the node, a corrupted data sink on Floor 27, housed faint traces of a man called Edict. A person who, according to Counselor's exacting parameters, should not have existed.

But the program's understanding was not required for its part in this.

[Acanthus 0]

THREAD SUMMARY

Experience | NUM / 5 * 10 = NUM + 5000 = NUM experience
Col | 10,000 (quest) = 10,000 col

Quest | Totems unlocked!
Other | 1 mon