Acanthus

“Nymoria. It’s good to see you again. I hope you’ve been doing alright since our time in the garden.” Truth be told, she was worried about the girl. Acanthus hadn’t heard from her since their trip to the garden. While she pleased to see Silent Moments had come into its own as a shop, she couldn’t help but feel the place was a bit… somber. Not that Acanthus had any room to shame other people for that. But it was easier to worry about others than it was to worry about herself. But not easy enough to address her unvoiced concerns. “I’m here for a charm,” she said, picking out one with a ligh

Acanthus returned to the shop once she heard Ren’s work was done. She stepped into the Knight Shift yet again. If she kept pestering him for more work, eventually she would need to look into getting more permanent lodging down here just to save on time and travel costs. Then again, she did enjoy the climate and feel of floor 24 much more—maybe she could convince Ren to move upstairs. She wouldn’t have any problem bankrolling the move, but Rencesvals didn’t seem the type that was attracted to money. Even after all this time, he was still crafting armor for new players. Someone had to do it.

Yet another trip to Demian’s Kitchen. She had waited until Demian arrived on floor 24. Sometimes it took her far too much time to track the wandering kitchen down. She debated asking about adding Demian to her friends list. No, that would be too forward. She wandered into the campsite; he had chosen a covered area near the beach. It was quiet, except for the soothing sounds of waves lapping on the nearby coast. “Another order, if you have the time. Should be a big one, but nothing you can’t handle. And if you ever need some extra materials, let me know. I’ve ended up with quite a few

All posts refer back to 10/4 crafting. Hyperlink is here. Name: Steady Drone Profession: Performer Rank: 5 Roll ID: 234621 Roll Result: 5+1/LD:1 Item Type: Debuff Song Tier: 1 Quality: Uncommon Enhancements: Hypnosis 1 Post Link: Hyperlink Description:

Crafting for 10/4/2024 Extended Workshop. (+3 EXP total from Trinket | Tuning Fork + Hard Working) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 234621 CD: 5 +1 LD: 1 Uncommon - 6 (+3 Ambition) 2 234620 CD: 5 +1 LD:

Acanthus: how to accept groupchat invite Acanthus: wait, sorry, I meant to send that somewhere else Acanthus: Thank you very much, @NIGHT. And hello to the the other playes in this chat. It's nice to meet you Acanthus: Players, sorry, that was a typo

Nyanko sat on her usual perch, perking up slightly when Acanthus entered the shop. For the first time, Acanthus avoided the familiar. She did her best to avoid provoking any sudden emotions within herself. Praying that she wouldn’t find NIGHT in the shop, she hastily grabbed two order forms and scrawled her request on the paper. No more flowers, no more cutesy ties to the real world. Just digital trinkets to help her find more digital trinkets. She should have done this from the start. Speaking out loud to no one, she added, “Materials are easy to find. Take them. If you need more, just a

“Back again,” she announced, stepping into the Knight Shift once more. “I’ve been doing my best to get suited up for the floor boss coming up, which means looking for some of the more powerful enhancements.” She did her best to forget about how she’d barged in here as a new player, thinking that they were something as simple as merely crafting them into the original weapon. “Riardon found some light armor with just the right enhancement. Not as powerful as I’d like, but I’m not going to complain. The armor itself is close to what I’m looking for, but I need to clean up some of the other e

THREAD SUMMARY Experience: [Word Count: 7187/10 = 718.7] * [True Tier: 6] * [Group Factor: 1] = 4312 EXP + 500 (Quest) = 4812 EXP Col: 721 (Laurel Wreath) + 400 (bonus page) + 20000 (looting) = 29,621 col +128 foraging EXP (29) materials (2) demonic shard Hoya of Minos - Vanity pendant that is often used as a gift for weddings.

The thing screeched as Acanthus snuck in with a paralyzing strike. Taking a moment to regroup, Edict hastily dug the teleportation crystal out of his inventory and pressed it into Acanthus’ hands. A trade dialog opened. Trade Offer: 1 Teleportation Crystal ẏ̴͓O̸͌̿͜Ư̷̾͜͜ ̷̤͊͋C̷̜̥̀Ạ̶̓Ǹ̸̻N̷̛̯̮̑Ó̴̱̫Ṱ̷͋̔ͅ ̴͍̎Ĭ̴̯N̵͎̥̎̕Ḯ̵̡͙̍Ț̷̳͆͗Ì̴̳͂ͅÄ̸͓̼́T̴̼̽E̵̥̔ ̵͈͑̈́T̷͇͑R̷̝̿A̸͎̫͋̆D̴̨̳̊͒E̵̠̽̆ ̶̘͗I̸̬͔̕Ṉ̶̮̒̽ ̴̳̈́̄C̸̜̐̌̊̄Ó̸̘̝͔͖̻̱̼̹͘ͅM̵̘̯̫͉̣̯̗̲̹̔̏̓͝ͅB̸̭̤͎̰̺̞̞͊̀̐̓̄̓̏̚͠Ä̴̺͕́͊̅̎͜T̸̥͎̭̬͉͙͍̜̦̒̓̀͂̀ Devastation clouded her face. “Don’t do this to me.” “Acanthus, look at the he

The mass lashed out with strange appendages, leaving gouges in the earth as it struck. Edict howled, drawing the creature’s attention, and raised his shield to resist blow after blow. Acanthus tried to close in and deal damage, but anytime she got close enough, a portion of the monster grew from the center mass to attack. Acanthus was sickened to realize the “arms” and “legs” it grew were just a fusion of bodies roughly estimating their human counterpart. “What is this thing?!” Edict yelled, fending off another onslaught of crystalline bodies. “The bodies are one thing, but the crystals—”

The final shadow was gone. Running over to Edict, she saw the light returning to his eyes. Relief washed over her. She picked him up, checking him over for any wounds she had missed. “A—Acanthus. I’m sorry, I wasn’t able to help…” “Stop it,” she said firmly. “Whatever is happening, it's not your fault. We need to run. Can you run?” Edict nodded, color returning to his face. YOU CANNOT SAVE HER. An eldritch howl shook the entire forest, rocking them both to their core. Then, a deathly silence. A horrific mass of bodies, studded with red crystals and shards, burst onto the pa

“You’re wrong.” Acanthus ran toward the nearest shadow. “I know I can do this.” WORTHLESS— “—Wrong!” She howled, swinging the sword with fierce concentration. The eyes of each shadow flickered, as if shocked by her stubbornness. “I’m worth whatever time I buy Edict. Then he’s going to get back up and he’s going to help me kill every last one of you!” VIOLENCE. ALL OF AINCRAD'S BEAUTIFUL QUESTIONS, AND SHE RETURNS TO THE SAME ANSWER EACH TIME. “I don’t fucking care for this right now,” she growled. “Tell me violence isn’t the answer when you aren’t sitting here trying to gut

The screams pierced her eardrums, slowly morphing into vicious, persistent laughter. From the shadows of the forest, dark figures formed and swam around her. Each of them formed red, weeping eyes, and blades made of crystal and fire. As they stepped into the dim light, Acanthus barely made out their humanoid shapes. STILL SHE STANDS, STILL SHE FIGHTS. A WASTE OF EFFORT. Acanthus wasted no time talking, choosing to lunge at the closest shadow. It melted out of range, reforming a few meters away. ALL TALK, AND NO ACTION. SHE PROMISED TO BE DIFFERENT. SHE PROMISED TO DISCARD HER KINDNES

The forest immediately quenched any hope of leaving without conflict. From the moment they entered, Acanthus had the acute sensation of walls closing in around them. Edict seemed particularly affected. He was pale and shaking. Acanthus put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Edict. Edict, listen to my voice. We’re going to be fine. Just focus on the sound of my voice.” He was a million miles away, talking to himself like he was having a bad dream. Hatred had not yet come for her, thankfully. She wasn’t sure what they would do if they were both unable to function. It wasn’t a luxury to linger

Edict started to talk again, but Acanthus quickly cut him off. “When did I ever say I wanted to be in a relationship? Why does everybody assume I’m ready—falling over myself, even—to be tied down to someone else?” Acanthus’ voice began to rise. Edict apologized. “I hit a nerve. We can talk about something else.” But Acanthus continued. “It’s exhausting. All of it is exhausting. The questions, the expectations, the constant performance—everything about relationships is exhausting, I’m tired of pretending that it isn’t. I’m tired of people telling me I’ll find the right person. I haven’t, and I

Acanthus filled the awkward silence picking at cracks in the stone floor. Surprisingly, she found small bits of material just within reach. Finally, she opened up. “... I left behind lots of people in the real world. But no lovers.” Edict chuckled, and Acanthus glared at him. “I’m sorry—lovers? Are you a period romance novel?” “I don’t have much experience with intimate relationships. Any, really.” Edict blinked. “That’s honestly surprising.” Acanthus prepared to shoot him another glare. “And why is it so surprising?” “Because you’re b—well, you just—man, I really have to be car

They did not. Edict handed Acanthus her tent and bedroll, and they set up a campsite together. They worked quickly, clearing a campsite and preparing a fire. Acanthus was even able to gather a few valuable materials while they worked. She was grateful for the fire as the sun went down. The wind cut through the labyrinth, leaving them shivering when they strayed from the flames. “Can I ask why the quest had you on edge? I know it wasn’t about the danger. You obliterated each of the minotaurs.” Acanthus continued staring into the fire. “It’s about the joke earlier, isn’t it? Me saying you h

Her searching skill hadn’t failed her. The minotaur stood within charging distance, weapon ready for Acanthus. With a battle cry, she bore down on the creature. Locking weapons, she was so close she could hear the thing’s breath. And smell it. She turned her head to avoid the worst of it. Thankfully, Larbrook was there. He broke the two up, pushing the minotaur back with an elaborate combo. Giving Acanthus some breathing room, she took a deep breath, preparing a stunning attack. Advancing on Larbrook and Govarron, she snuck around to the beast’s side, driving her blade into its flank. It

“Do you think Love will find us first? Or do you think we’ll get the jump on Love?” “Edict, stop acting strange. We’re here to kill the minotaur.” “*You’re* here to kill the minotaur. I’m here for support and color commentary.” Acanthus snuck carefully around a corner, on the lookout for the Minotaur. Picking at a nearby outcropping of shining rocks, she tried her best to ignore Edict. Not that he was bothering her; he just seemed to be entertaining himself. He didn’t need her. No one really did. “I think we’re on the right track. Hold the commentary.” Edict quieted down immedia

“No, it’s not. It’s a quest about killing two minotaurs with a beefy Swede for about 500 experience.” Edict laughed, but Acanthus did not. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Just take my word for it. The whole thing seems a bit allegorical.” Acanthus picked at some gathering nodes while she talked. “It’s a stupid allegory. Relationships aren’t mazes. Relationships are like big, looming monsters that threaten to consume you if you stray too far into their domain.” “Has anyone suggested therapy to you?” “No. How about you?” Edict nearly honked with laughter before clapping a hand o

“Say, I think there may be a chest nearby. Why don’t we take a moment to look for it?” “Anything to stop talking about myself.” Scouting out the immediate area, the two spread out in search of the chest. But neither of them had any luck. “It’s my fault,” Edict said. “I’m no good at searching for treasure chests either. I’ve usually got a scout to help me sniff them out.” “You’re just used to working in a team, is all.” A team that can actually do things. I’m just a warm body in a party member slot. “Why don’t we rest for a second?” The two paused for a quick break. Larbrook wand

“I’m just taking a stab in the dark here,” Edict began. “But the whole ‘I don’t like talking because people confuse me,’ and the whole ‘rules don’t make sense’... not to mention the nerve I struck joking about relationships. I’d say you struggle to navigate relationships.” “Barnum effect.” “...You lost me.” “The Barnum effect is a phenomena named after the American entertainer P.T. Barnum. The entertainer was famed for his use of broad statements that allowed people to infer their own personal meaning, lending to the appearance that Mr. Barnum was an accomplished mind-reader, wh

“What if we just followed the left wall? That’s a solution, isn’t it?” “Sometimes.” Edict pondered. “But not all labyrinths work that way. They can be built in a way that defeats that strategy.” He pointed her over to some vines hanging off the wall, and she spooled them up for later use. If nothing else, they could mark their path. After wandering a little bit further, Acanthus threw up her hands in defeat. “Then why is that even a thing in the first place. You’d think that the rules would be a little more consistent. ‘Always go left’ except when it doesn’t work. ‘Always retrace you

“It’s refreshingly honest for you to just admit we’re lost, rather than try to hide it.” Acanthus tugged at her own hair in exasperation. She didn’t have the best map direction, and her in-game map grayed out the portion of the floor with the labyrinth. At least there were plenty of crystals for her to gather. “Being dishonest is only going to get us lost even more. I’m surprised. This place didn’t seem so big from the outside.” “Things are often different from a first-person perspective.” Edict paused to look at his menu. “Good thing I didn’t have anywhere to be after this. We may be stu