Acanthus

“Wulfin, good to see you again. I saw your message and thought I would stop by.” The sigh she observed told him that he had given up on the thought of others joining him. Strange; she was always a little bit relieved anytime other people last-minute cancelled on her. Hopefully Acanthus’ company would be better than none. “I’ve not done this quest before, but I was told it has a good reward. It’s also repeatable, so do you know exactly what to expect? I’ll have to admit that I didn’t do much preparation. I normally like to know what a quest entails, but I was told the monsters are not

Two unfamiliar faces and a stranger was all it took for Acanthus to investigate. She was often more sociable while on the hunt for new watering holes. “Wu lfrin. Nice to catch up. Seems like we’re running in to each other quite a bit, hm?” She pulled a gourd from her inventory for a quick swing before reattaching it to her belt. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it did fight the biting cold somewhat. The stranger chatted with summer-vacation Nemo. I guess Cardinal doesn’t have all the kinks worked out yet. Acanthus waited patiently for their conversation to end before introducing her

Did she like her work? It took her a moment to realize Sable meant the game. He had just referenced the frontlines, but still… Thinking about the game as another salaried position depressed her. Swords and monsters, and it was still just an eight-to-five job. She left the question to suffocate with a curt reponse. “It’s alright. You fight things, do quests, and try not to die.” He didn’t press any further in the moment, moving towards the dilapidated church instead. The pair entered and surveyed the room around them. While Acanthus studied the high ceilings for any irregularties or monste

More crafts, all debuffs again: Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 245685 CD: 6 +1 LD: 17 Rare (Mast) - 8 (+3 Ambition) 2 245684 CD: 1 +1 LD: 10 Critical Failure - 4

This boy will never be done. He probably won't forgive me for it, either. Dropping off T4 Perfect Weapons | [243800a][243800b][243800c][243797a][243797b][243797c][243808a][243808b][243808c][243813a][243813b][243813c][243814a][243814b][243814c][243816b][243816c][243831b][243831c][243854a][243864b][243861a][243886a][243886b][243886c][243885a][243885b][2438855c][243899b][243898a] Also dropping off: 244169 | LD 16 | Unidentified Perfect Weapon with one guaranteed Unique Enhancement. Source And: 5 Demonic Shards Payment. 200,000 col sent. (5) Demonic Shards Sent

Acanthus sighed, the alcohol wearing off faster than before. Given the strange nature of the quest, she was uncertain whether or not its effects could be replicated. She also didn’t like other people knowing that she could get drunk. But she’d opened that can of worms when she stupidly had three of those Rusty Daggers. It wouldn’t be fair to Sable to worm her way out of her own actions. She explained as she marched into the sunken graveyard. “No, it wasn’t the drink itself. There’s a quest on this floor. For part of the quest, you end up drunk. But like everything else on this floor, it’s

The strange game of telephone was making Acanthus salivate. She responded to Morningstar in an uncontrolled whisper. “There are McMuffins in Aincrad??” Fast food, McDonald’s in particular, was a guilty pleasure in the Masuda household. It was never allowed in the house—dad was the doctor, and it was doctor’s orders. But that didn’t stop empty bags and wrappers from ending up in bedroom trashcans, surreptitiously taken out on trash day like a terrible secret. Acanthus swore she sometimes heard the guilty crinkle of a takeout bag from the study, when dad thought no one was around to hear.

She had startled the poor girl! Acanthus waited patiently as the woman coughed and composed herself. Acanthus looked away politely until she was ready to talk, and shook her hand as it was offered. Mari mentioned her relationship to Baldur and how the tea setting was not for any particular person. Acanthus thought the other girl seemed a bit morose. Acanthus was crestfallen at the woman’s sad remark. Living the game was already an alienating experience, and being an orange player exacerbated that, no doubt. She took a seat next to her, in front of the empty tea setting. “Do you mi

Aaand they were flirting. Had Acanthus been in full “business mode,” she might have made an annoyed noise, or tried moving the conversation forward. But they had their info, and Acanthus had two and a half drinks in her. And that was enough for the stuffy frontliner to take a back seat to the playfully annoying big sister. “I’m afr aid it’ll be a while before he’s g ot deeep pockets. But he’ll get theere.” She threw an arm around Sable a rubbed her knuckles through his hair. “H e maakes yp for it in other ways. Yknow we were runnin buddies for a little wh ile, so when I tell you he’s

Oh boy here I go craftin again Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 245534 CD: 7 +1 LD: 2 Rare - 8 (+3 Ambition) 2 245533 CD: 9 +1 LD: 13 Rare (Mast) - 8 (+

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

Smack 7

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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