Acanthus

In a single, powerful leap, the minotaur cleared the distance to Acanthus, sword crashing down on her. She barely raised her own sword in time; the weight of Kantaras forced her to the ground, grunting with exertion. Edict stood a few meters away, laughing. Acanthus yelled at him, “If you’re just going to stand there, the least you could do is get his attention.” Edict bowed theatrically. “I promised to provide moral support and conversation. So I’m here to say: you can do it!” Acanthus swore loudly as she redirected the minotaur’s blade to the side. Edict was nearly doubling over wi

Unfortunately, Acanthus had allowed herself to get lost in more than the moment. She despaired at the three paths she could take; part of her swore she had been here before. The sharp, crystal outcroppings seemed familiar, but they had not been depleted. But it’s possible they had refreshed since I was last here. She turned to Edict with a pleading look. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. She opened her mouth before remembering the pact, so instead shot him an obscene gesture. Edict snorted, and Acanthus gave him a dirty look. He simply mouthed “doesn’t count,” and then pointed to the left

“No talking until we find the Minotaur. You’re not allowed; I’m not allowed.” Acanthus was bemused at the suggestion. “So you’re confirming that I’m not fun to talk to, then.” Edict gently popped her forehead with a knuckle. “No, you idiot. I’m relieving you of the obligation to talk. Because if I promise you it’s ok to be quiet, you’ll get anxious anyways. If I promise not to talk, then you’ll worry you’ve upset me. So instead, we make a pact to just enjoy the quiet until the next part of the quest.” The idea strangely appealed to Acanthus. “So we can talk again once we meet the first mi

Things were quiet after that. Acanthus spent her time trying to navigate the labyrinth while stopping for foraging nodes. If Edict was frustrated at the slow pace, he didn’t show it. He seemed lost in thought as they wandered. Acanthus finally broke the silence. “I’m sorry that I’m not any fun to talk to.” Edict raised a single eyebrow. “What gave you that idea?” “You’re a talker. I don’t really know how to talk to people very well.” She busied herself gauging a fork in the maze. The air seemed fresher to the left. So she chose right. Edict caught up to her. “I think you’re doing gre

Acanthus stamped her foot. “You kept saying you would visit, and then when you did visit, you just said ‘nevermind’? What, did you just turn around and leave each time?” Edict suddenly became interested in some nearby vegetation. Acanthus stomped into his field of vision, ripping the flowers he stared at from the ground. Stuffing them into her pocket, she stared down Edict, doing her best to tie down his wandering eyes. “Did you even show up to the shop? Is this some pitiful attempt to pretend you came down to say hi so that I’ll be embarrassed that I didn’t recognize you?” He held out hi

Edict tried to explain himself as he wandered through the maze. All the while, Acanthus was busy picking out the best samples of what the maze had to offer. A few pieces of iron-hard bark would make for good blacksmith materials. She wondered if Ren would be willing to trade for them. Edict continued talking. “I guess I’m a crafter with commitment issues. I know I should just stick to one, but I really hate having to set aside that time every day just to grind out more items. It gets dull after a while.” We couldn’t be any different on that, she thought. I need that routine at the end of the d

On the other side of the forest, the mood improved considerably. What was it with Aincrad forests and traumatic situations? Acanthus resolved to take any route home that didn’t involve that stupid path. At this rate, she was going to develop a complex. At last, they made it to the labyrinth. It loomed over them, disappearing off into the distance. Her system map went dark the moment they stepped inside. Despite the gloomy exterior, the maze was full of life. The hard stone walls were pockmarked with moss and fungus. Trees and plants burst from cracks in the hard floor. Some stretches of t

“Edict!” She reached down to pull him onto his feet. Coming to, he accepted the help. “What just happened?” The usual trace of mirth in his face was gone. “Nothing happened. Let’s pick up the pace.” Managing about as fast a walk as they could, Acanthus’ mind raced. She wanted—needed—to know what just happened. And she would have been a fool to believe Edict’s denial. But it was clear he did not want to press the matter. And in this moment, he was right. The ominous feeling in the first grew, pressing in on the pair. An ominous feeling strangely reminiscent of HELLO, LITTLE ONE. TELL

Larbrook babbled to Acanthus in some incomprehensible accent. Judging by the wild gesticulations, he was alerting her to the misty path into the forest ahead of them. Edict mimicked some of his gestures. “Swedish chef over here is telling you that we have to make it through the forest to get to the labyrinth.” “How can you even understand him?” Edict tapped his temple and grinned, but said nothing more. Acanthus rolled her eyes and walked past him into the forest. The temperature dropped the moment they entered the woods. Acanthus could now see her breath. Something in the atmosphere

“As close-shelled as I am, Koji was even quieter. He didn’t like talking to people much. Mom and Dad were always so hard on him.” She wanted to say "for no reason," but she knew that wasn’t true. “Koji was incredible at videogames. He liked doing ‘speedy runs,’ I think they’re called. His favorite thing was to find things in the game that the game-makers missed, and use them to beat games. Glitches, bugs, exploits. I bet if he were here, he would have already found a way to cheat himself up to the 100th floor and solo the boss.” “My older brother loved games too. But he was less of a ‘hac

“I didn’t realize you had a brother. Me too; older brother. You?” “Younger. Strange, I really thought you—” “Were the older sibling? I get that a lot, surprisingly. What made you think that?” He looked at her, curious for her answer. “Well, you’re annoying.” “That’s a younger sibling thing—” “But in a caring way. For example, you insisted on tagging along—” “—for moral support and conversation—” “—to annoy me while you made sure I was safe.” Edict beamed. “I’ll take it.” Acanthus gave him a pointed look. “I see the younger sibling in you now.” “So t

The idiom must not have carried through Cardinal’s translator. There were very few flowers on this path to smell. “I’m just doing this quest for the experience. If it’s inefficient, it’s because I’m a poor judge of earning experience in this game. I’ve never played video games before.” She ended the conversation abruptly and walked ahead. Edict appeared frustrated, but said nothing else. He tried changing the topic. “You’ve never played a videogame? Like, never ever?” Acanthus shook her head. Edict whistled. “You picked a hell of a game to start with. Most of them aren’t this intense

“Aren’t you going to listen to your guide?” Acanthus observed the strangely tall anglo beefcake. He muttered incomprehensible words, taking every opportunity to stop and flex. “He is rather odd. Besides, I have you here. You’ve done this quest before, right?” The awkward pause told her she was wrong. “I’ve avoided this one, actually.” He kicked a few rocks as they walked down the gravel path. “Truth be told, it’s not very time-efficient. Navigating an entire labyrinth and slaying two monsters for 500 experience? You could get that in about 30 minutes on the upper floors.” He noticed

“I’m still not sure why you’re accompanying me. I intended to solo this quest.” “Call it an apology for being rude earlier. Plus, we keep saying we’ll meet up and we never do. I think running into each other was a sign that it needed to happen.” “As long as you don’t get in the way.” “Whoa-ho, we’ve got a big shot over here now,” Edict joked lightly. Seeing Acanthus’ firm stare, he straightened up. “No funny business. I know you’ll handle the quest perfectly. All I’m here to do is provide some moral support and conversation.” “Don’t you have some field bosses to kill on hi

“I… I’ve been keeping track. Myself.” Edict stared in disbelief. “We’ve been in the game for two years. You’re telling me you’ve been keeping meticulous track of every day since we’ve arrived?” “Apparently not meticulous enough. I missed two days.” Edict laughed. “I’d say that’s a good track record for two years. And it’s not like the days of the week matter much. Most NPCs follow a weekday and weekend schedule.” The days of the week don’t matter much. Unless it’s one of the things you’ve decided to reference to anchor yourself to the real world. “You’re right, it’s not that importan

Edict held his hands up. “Sorry; sounds like I crossed a line there.” Acanthus glowered at him, but said nothing else. Edict put his hands down. “You were on the right trail, but the wrong day. He stops by the butcher’s shop on thursdays.” “Today is Thursday.” Edict looked at her quizzically. “It’s Saturday, Acanthus.” “Wait, how did you know that?” Edict opened his menu and selected a few buttons, then rotated the screen to Acanthus. [[Game Data: 23 Celsius, 11:37:23, Saturday, Troctobler 14, 679.]] A moment of silence descended on the two. Finally, Acanthus looked at him and s

She wandered around Aruyt, searching for Larbrook. Finding quests in this game was half the battle. Cardinal gave the NPCs a life of their own, and with quests being tied to those NPCs, it became important to learn what they did and where they went to even find the quest in the first place. “Acanthus? What a surprise! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Shocked, Acanthus formulated an appropriate response on the fly. “You are back, Edict.” Edict chuckled. “Seems that way. Although this time I’m not surprising you in a back alley cafe. It’s…” he looked around. “A back alley butcher shop.

She barged into the Sour rumor, strangely intent. She looked like she had run all the way from floor 24 down here. Slumping into a seat, she raised her hand. “One whiskey, please,” knocking it back the moment it reached her, shelling out col with her free hand. She panted as she recovered from the burn. “Thanks… Almost… Rank 5… Wish me luck.” Her stare momentarily went blank, and then she blinked, as if remembering something. She stood with renewed vigor, pausing to look around the shop. “I’m not really sure why I ended up down here. I think I needed a Crafter’s Respite?” Noticing her ope

One thing Haru hated about middle school were all the new emotions everyone seemed to be processing. Everyone except for her. Girls and boys alike became difficult. Girls giggling and laughing about new crushes in the hallway. Boys teasing and pulling hair. Friends she had through middle school became distant without warning. And the letter writing. She was told in no uncertain terms that the written letter was the pinnacle of love. Confessions, wall slams—it was all an elaborate parade of affections. So when Takumi sent her a letter, she had no idea what to do. “Write him back!” was the

Acanthus stroked Perlita’s fur gently. “I would have a hard time sending something this cute into battle. And Kumaki…” The bear rolled around on the bench, playing with the tin of treats. “I think she’s not really suited for combat. But as food-oriented as she is, I think I could maybe train her to hunt.” Scooping Kumaki off the ground and separating her from the treats, she gave Ciela another smile. “The orphanage sounds nice. I’ve never actually been there. I’m sure they would love to see some new faces.” Acanthus entered the monastery, and was nearly bowled over by a familiar little bo

Crafting for 10/1/2024 Ambition food consumed (170477). Extended Workshop. (+4 EXP total from Trinket | Tuning Fork + Hard Working) EXP 2493/2559. Crafter's Respite used! (229503). Daily attempts reset. EXP: 2561. Rank 5 achieved!

Crafting for 9/30/2024 Ambition food consumed (170473). Extended Workshop. (+4 EXP total from Trinket | Tuning Fork + Hard Working) EXP: 2426/2559

Skill(s) Being Dropped: Searching R5, First Aid R1 Mod(s)/Addon(s)/Shift(s) Being Dropped: None SP Incurred Towards Limit: 34/50 SP Refunded: 34 Cost: 34,000 col

PARAGON EVALUATION POST Updated as of 2/22/25 Current Paragon Level: 33 Level Reward Date Claimed Paragon Level 5 Laurel Wreath (Earn Col equivalent to 15% of player’s EXP earned in thread) 10/1 Paragon Level 10 (1) Gleaming Scale, (1) Demonic Shard, +1 LD to Looting* 10/1 Paragon Level 25 (1) Gleaming Scale, (1) Demonic Shard, Free Skill Respec 2/22 Paragon Level 50 (1) Gleaming Scale, (1) De

Crafting for 9/29/2024 Ambition food consumed (170471). Extended Workshop. (+4 EXP total from Trinket | Tuning Fork + Hard Working) EXP: 2346/2559