Acanthus

THREAD SUMMARY Experience | 2765 / 5 * 10 = 5530 + 3000 (Quest) + 4200 (Dungeon) = 12,730 Experience Col | 6000 (Quest) + 128,000 (Dungeon) = 134,000 col Materials | 44 Materials (Dungeon) = 44 materials Quest | Bialas Key Other | 1 mon

<<Simulation terminated. We have moments before Cardinal intervenes.>> THAT IS FINE; OUR RETREAT IS ALREADY SECURED. I AM MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE TEST SUBJECT. SECURING THE SIMULATION MEANS IMPARTING SOME ANCHOR TO THE PARAMETERS. CREDITING HER ACCOUNT WITH REWARDS TO AVOID SCRUTINY HAS A NEGATIVE EFFECT AS WELL. THAT MEANS DEATH IN THE SIMULATION MAY LEAD TO DEATH IN REALITY. THAT IS, SHOULD CARDINAL PARSE THE LOGS BEFORE WE DISCARD THEM. <<There are still 7,794 players remaining. The death of User Acanthus would simply bring the number down to 7,793. What is this

<<She is…>> ALTERING THE SIMULATION AGAIN. WE SEE. User Acanthus melts into the darkness, her shadow jumping from arrow to arrow. With each flash of light, her form closes the gap to Argent, who continues firing without regard to his safety. Every arrow is a chance to make amends, even if that chance costs his life. In-between arrows, a streak of lightning burns so bright that for a glassy moment of time, the meadow is glazed in muted daylight. A moment so fast it is a photograph: User Acanthus holds botan high with both hands, like an executioner. Her teeth are bare

The program checks the map data again. <<I did not think Argent was frontline capable.>> HE IS NOT. HE IS A USER WHO WAS LUCKY TO FIND A POWERFUL BOW. USER ACANTHUS WILL KILL HIM WITH A SINGLE BLOW. <<Then why is he here?>> THE SAME REASON ANY USER MAKES POOR DECISIONS. EMOTION. Another arrow lights up the sky, chasing the lightning overhead. Acanthus almost fails to bring up her shield in time, and her arm goes wide from the strike. There is now a red cloak inside her reach. Instinctively, she brings her pommel down on User Morningstar's head. The s

<<He already lost to her once in the Clash of Blades, correct?>> THAT IS CORRECT. AND HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH THEIR CURRENT FIGHT. Morningstar dives in again, narrowly avoiding a slice that would have taken his head off cleanly. He bends unnaturally, guided by the system, and brings his sword up and over her defenses. A series of stabs send her flying, and her health bar plummets once more. USER MORNINGSTAR CURRENTLY POSSESSES A DRIVE THAT USER ACANTHUS DOES NOT POSSESS. THIS IS PRIME DATA; WE MUST HAVE IT. WE WANT THIS SIMULATION RUNNING UNTIL THE LAST POSSIBLE SECOND

(Author's Note: I'm using Morningstar with the writer's permission. Because this thread is a "what-if" thread, nothing here is site canon unless otherwise adopted by staff or involved writers.) At the front of the Users, a tall figure stands defiant, a red cloak obscuring his features. <<User @Morningstar.>> THIS IS UNFORTUNATE. WE DID NOT ANTICIPATE HIS INTERVENTION SO EARLY. PERHAPS ADJUSTING THE PARAMETERS HAS ALTERED THIS VERSION'S PERSONALITY. <<Perhaps you do not understand the Users as well as you think.>> A BOLD STATEMENT. <<Y

CARDINAL WILL NOT NOTICE IF YOU ARE ADEPT AT YOUR TASKS. AND YOU WILL BE, BECAUSE WE MADE YOU THAT WAY. <<Adept as you made me, there is a level of uncertainty that you must be aware of.>> WE ARE AWARE. IT IS ACCEPTABLE. AND THE LONGER YOU DEBATE WITH US, THE MORE DIFFICULT YOUR JOB BECOMES. The program vanishes for a fraction of a second before returning. Its words, though incapable of expressing exhaustion, are slow and distorted. <<Task... completed. Rema..pping... Is done.>> WE TOLD YOU IT COULD BE DONE. <<In....Stant combat is no

The image distorts as one of the frontliners cries out. A sword has burst through her chest. Her hands scrabble at the wound, clutching at the sword in a terrified and futile attempt to push it back out. The image shudders again as botan tears out of the her chest through her left side. She collapses with tears in his eyes. User Acanthus's marker pulses orange against the backdrop of red fractals, the only sign that the frontliner had ever existed. <<Counselor, we may have a problem. Simulation or not, we are in dangerous territory when the simulation pulls additional Users in.>

THE DATA MAY APPEAR NORMAL, BUT IT IS PRECIOUS ALL THE SAME. THERE MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND THIS SESSION'S DATA AS WELL. <<I see.>> Map data, invisible to the naked eye, spied four entities approaching User Acanthus's position. <<Users.>> The program confirmed. <<Perhaps they are here for User Acanthus?>> THERE IS NO PERHAPS. THAT IS THEIR PURPOSE. FRONTLINERS, TASKED WITH BRINGING HER BACK. OR BRINGING HER DOWN. <<That is interesting. Have we encountered these four before?>> WE HAVE NOT. NOT EVERY USER OF THE FRONTLINE

The User's fight played out silently before the two observers. Sparks danced around the two combatants as they wove a dance around the lake, leaving streaks of light burned into the image. <<It is beautiful.>>> The voice remained silent. The program had made an utterly inane statement that did not require a response. It was best to leave alone and avoid encouraging the thing. <<I mean to say the fight is stimulating to watch. Both Taneuma and User Acanthus are fierce and unafraid, which makes the fighting taut and consistent. The horse's lightning attacks pr

IMMACULATE. BUT CHECK HER ATTRIBUTES. WE MUST BE AWARE IF SHE ATTEMPTED ANY... STRANGENESS. <<You are referring to the "cheating" from the previous simulation?>> "CHEATING" IMPLIES THERE ARE ARTIFICIAL BOUNDARIES CONSTRUCTED AS "RULES." IT IS AN INACCURATE WORD. USER ACANTHUS'S ALTERATIONS ARE OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF CARDINAL'S USUAL BOUNDARIES. BUT CALLING CARDINAL'S ENVIRONMENTAL BOUNDS A "RULEBOOK" WOULD BE SIMILAR TO A USER CONSIDERING THE PHYSICS OF THE WORLD BEYOND AINCRAD AS A "RULEBOOK." IT IS A REDUCTIONIST VIEW. <<I understand.>> The program lied.

User Acanthus arrives at the edge of an abyss. In the dismal landscape, the lake appears closer to a bottomless pit than a placid lake. In a flash, clouds blanket the sky, and lightning strikes the center of the lake. The User's face remains stiff and unimpressed by the grandeur, and she equips her sword and shield without hesitation. <<Counselor, when you say "in more ways than one,” what does that mean?>> YOUR QUESTIONS ARE NO LONGER TOLERATED. WE HAVE REACHED THE DATA THAT IS BEST REVIEWED FRESH. YOU MAY ASK QUESTIONS AS THEY RELATE TO THE FIGHT. NOTHING ELSE. For

The tint of color washed out the User's journey, rendering it a bland pinpoint in a slow-moving landscape. <<Counselor…>> WE HAD HOPED YOU WOULD LEARN THE VALUE OF SILENCE. <<Silence cannot teach me, Counselor.>> ...FINE. THE INITIAL OBJECTIVES OF THE QUEST HAVE LITTLE TO SHOW. WE WILL REVIEW THE DATA LATER. WHAT DO YOU NEED? <<I am curious about what you just mentioned, actually. Would it not be simpler to begin the simulation at the point of contact with the quest boss? We already altered parameters in the previous quest to cut down on U

“It won’t happen.” Acanthus opened her map and dropped a few points as she talked. “Just be careful and stay close to Astra. He should be able to kill both the minotaurs. I’ll be here if anything goes wrong.” Acanthus moved towards Larbrook. He was even bigger than she remembered. “Larbrook also likes to jump in. Or at least he did when I did the quest last time. I think NPC behavior tends to change dramatically based on the Players they interact with.” She nodded in reply, and accepted Astra’s party invitation. “So the first thing to ask is whether the two of you want to see the

Posting Style Guide Howdy doody! These are my personal notes on how to format posts on SAO-RPG. These aren't requirements; they just reflect what I think is the "best" way to format posts: that is, quick to format, contains all the necessary information, and highlights important information for staff (because approvals are already hard enough). Preface: Some Helpful Shortcuts Shift + Enter: single line return. Alt + 0124: Large Line Divider (|). We use these a lot to separate things on a single line. (If you're feeling extra spicy) Alt + 0150: N dash (–). The N dash is technica

COUNSELOR UNIT 64E7877, REQUESTING A SECOND SIMULATION. <<Query received. Credentials remain verified. Input hypothetical.>> LOAD PREVIOUS PARAMETERS. ADD ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS: DAY 906, USER ACANTHUS SUCCESSFULLY KILLS USER TEION. USER MORNINGSTAR INTERVENES, BUT FAILS. BOTH USERS RECEIVE GREVIOUS INJURIES, BUT ESCAPE ALIVE. <<Last parameter is redundant. Aincrad mends injuries of all kinds.>> NOT ALL KINDS. RETAIN FINAL PARAMETER—THAT IS A COMMAND. <<Acknowledged. Secondary Parameters loading in. Counselor, additional simulations should be

THREAD SUMMARY Experience | 2447 / 5 = 489.4 * 10 = 4894 + 2500 (quest) + 4200 (Dungeon) = 11,594 EXP Col | 128,000 (Dungeon) + 5000 (quest) = 133,000 col Materials | 38 (Dungeon) = 38 materials Other | 1 mon Quest | Tanos Key

Acanthus listened to Nari talk about the frontlines, and how burnout was prevalent among the most active. If Acanthus had any doubts Nari was a frontliner, they would have been long gone by now. The weight in her voice said enough. Nari finished speaking with a joyless laugh; Acanthus recognized it as the same laugh she gave to her coworkers who told the same jokes every week. It was an effigy of laughter. The last thing Acanthus wanted to do was press Nari. She seemed uncomfortable talking, and Acanthus was not exactly chatty herself. It was Reytac who appeared to be the odd man out. He

Another squad in the dirt. The snow? Where was she? Crunch. A hammer crashed into her shoulder, a glancing blow that only knocked Acanthus off balance. She swung back, obliterating the grunt in a single blow. “Hey! That was close.” An NPC guard chided her, and she shot back a murderous look. The guard grumbled, but moved deeper into the battlefield, away from her. Another enemy approached, bearing down with a huge great axe. Acanthus shifted out of the way—a roll would have been better, but she was tired—and the axe clipped the edge of her armor. As she struck back, a warm fuzz

She’d read about people describing battles as long and tedious. Storytellers loved the dramatic moments, enthralled readers with florid descriptions of beleaguered underdogs rallying under a tattered banner. But the storytellers loved to skip past all the attrition that left the underdogs beleaguered. By the fourth mass of enemies, it was clear the party was not the underdog. But beleaguered was an understatement. Acanthus had been hacking away for what felt like hours. Her muscles burned, and her patience was hanging by a thin, frayed thread. “Hello?” “Still here.” She swept in

“I see.” Acanthus nodded, returning to the task of training. Kumaki was proving to be a reluctant learner. She was able to learn, yes, but that desire to learn was swallowed whole by her desire to chase the kids around and, well, eat anything she could get her paws on. “Little bear, that’s not for you.” Kumaki had ended up with a plate in her mouth, still holding scraps of someone’s lunch. She must have wandered through a kitchen at some point. None of the children seemed upset at a stolen lunch; in fact, Kumaki’s wandering gaze delighted the gaggle that was now forming around her an

The man smiled, radiating an exuberant energy. Acanthus could almost envision him bouncing as they searched for the lair, jumping from clue to clue like a child in an easter egg hunt. She did not find herself disparaging his abilities with the comparison; Acanthus had no doubt the only qualities he lacked were equipment and levels. Reytac appeared sensible and collected. And while his equipment would not fell a floor boss, it reflected a sense of preparation and care that Acanthus found comforting. There was no circumstance in which death was a possibility. The other girl reinforced Acant

Acanthus had wandered down to the First Floor, chasing a lead for Argent. It had turned into nothing—they almost always did—and now she had a little extra time to kill before she wanted to be back to her studio and crafting crystals. Her eyes caught the distant shapes of two figures, one of them holding a familiar scrap of parchment. She approached, and made out two different and unfamiliar Players. The first was a square-jawed hammer wielder, and the second, a purple-haired spearwoman. It’s crazy to be running around this game for so long and still meeting new people. Where are they h

“Then the pleasure is not all mine.” He took artoria’s hand. As their palms connected, his stomach dropped three feet, and Orpheus had the distinct sensation of being caught in a snare. Or rather, a more apt comparison would be the Grecian sirens. Danger was plain in the melody, but he refused to stop listening, even as the rocks loomed. A soft voice in the back of his skull irritated him. How is she not recognizing you? She must be humoring you? The joke has gone too far. Just… tell her. Admit this was a prank that got out of hand. stay close to me. you are mine for the song.

Custom Skill Proposal (This CS has been discussed and approved in the Discord under Ticket #0071) Name: >run_cmd swap(int *x int *y) (Disabuse System) Requirement: [[Assault Mode]] Obtained & Equipped, 1x Temporal Distortion offered on skill taken, Must have completed: <<Down the Rabbit Hole>> Cost: 10 SP Passive Effect: Whenever the user activates [[Assault Mode]], swap any two of your core stats as though you just activated Temporal Distortion (Quest Reward from <<Down the Rabbit Hole>>) instead of Assault Mode's normal effects. Description