Acanthus

Her energy bar was almost gone again. Acanthus sat down with a frustrated sigh. She had enough energy to take on the straggling pack of diseased, but she dismissed the idea as inefficient. There weren’t four of them. Four was the number she could strike at any given time. And given how hard the villagers could hit, she didn’t feel the need to take any risks with more. Traveling down the road, Acanthus almost felt daring. The floor offered her a fair number of challenges. At level ten, floor thirteen could be dangerous if she weren’t careful. Even being here felt forbidden. But after tripl

Another group of villagers littered the path ahead of her. She swept through them without a second thought. The whole thing was becoming a little too repetitive, even for her—and Kayaba knew she loved a good routine. But the monsters were thinning out and so was her health bar. She could lament the monotony while she sat to recover her health. It wouldn’t be long before she wished that she were back up and killing more. The last group had dropped another demonic shard. Not as many as she had hoped so far. But the col and materials flowed freely at least. And some dungeon maps as well? She

The villagers worked their mouths open and closed, as if consuming some imaginary feast. She thought it looked humorous, like some b-grade zombie flick. Acanthus paled. “H… Hungry?” The man nodded again. “Some of that vegetation creeps up on ya. We’ve lost a few late gatherers to Devil’s Creeper. But you’re safe. Let’s move to the campfire and talk about something else.” The evening campfire at Breath of Life seemed like a social event. She suspected those gathered comprised most of the town. They sat in concentric rings around the bonfire, chatting warmly and sharing stories about the da

She wasn’t sure where she was. Opening her eyes, a young man stood over her. He was dressed in the same hemp as the people of Angel’s Point. An NPC, then. His eyes were light and his face furrowed. She felt like she was about to be fussed over. Sure enough, she was. “Alright, sit up miss. Up you go. Do you need some food? Water? We don’t have much and it certainly won’t be delicious, but it’ll fill you up.” Acanthus waved him off. “Thank you, but I have rations. I was in a hurry to make it here before dark.” The man nodded. “I hear that. The plants get hungry when they don’t hav

After a brief, engaging conversation with Zandra, she had excused herself to open the scavenger hunt. A look of determination flashed across Acanthus' face. Current quest objective: win the scavenger hunt. Bonus objective: by a landslide. She rummaged through her basket to find the handle, and with a violent tug, pulled it from the comically small basket. She then slung the thing over her shoulder. It was almost as tall as she was. With a robotic fixation, Acanthus traced a line across the surf, digging half-meter holes approximately one meter apart. On her seventeenth hole, she turn

Kumaki had wandered off. Best to let her hunt a little on her own for a bit. She leaned against one of the tables, taking in the orphanage. Despite the name, it was a happy place. The children seemed to enjoy their time, and Acanthus was surprised to see a few books tucked under tables and strewn on the floor. The people running the orphanage seemed intent to offer a semblance of real life for the children, which warmed Acanthus’ heart. “Congratulations on the wedding. It’s a good thing to find happiness wherever you can take it.” Easier for her to tell other people than to live that hers

Acanthus smiled. She remembered how much of a struggle her first attempt at gathering had been. It was strange to feel nostalgic over something so recent, but in many ways it felt like a lifetime ago. She watched as Tiye pulled up a rock and found a crystal. “Just when I get help, I find one all by myself.” The girl rolled her eyes. "Typical." “Sometimes, it feels like Cardinal has a sense of humor that way. I’m sure if that man hadn’t come along, you’d still be looking for your first crystal. But you’ve got one down already, and that’s really good. I think I took quite a while for m

Crafts all refer to 10/22 crafts, found here. Round 1: Item Fusions 236232 + 236231 = 236249 (Perfect Masterpiece) 236228 + 236226 = 236250 (Rare) 236250 (Rare) + 236235 = 236251 (Perfect) 236234 + 236233 + 236251 (Perfect) = 236252 (Perfect Masterpiece) 236247 + 236243 = 236253 (Perfect Masterpiece) 236246 + 236245 = 236254 (Rare) 236254 (Rare) + 236239 + 226368 (Old Craft) = 236255 (Perfect Masterpiece) (Tossing in some old HP Recovery 2s for a few more on top) 234980 + 235048 + 235047 = 236256 (Perfect Masterpiece) 235045 + 235041 + 235039 = 236257 (Perfect Ma

Crafting for 10/22/2024 Extended Workshop. (+3 EXP total from Trinket | Tuning Fork + Hard Working) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 236236 CD: 11 +1 LD: 19 Perfect (Mast) - 11 (+3 Ambition) 2 236235 CD: 7 +1

Adrenaline pumped through her body as she took off in a full sprint down the road. The sun was setting; monster spawns would be increasing soon. And she was alone in the wilds. It was a dangerous place to be with Hatred clouding her thoughts. Wait, what had Hatred told her that day? She couldn’t remember. I don’t need to remember. I’m not here to learn about myself. I’m here to kill. Aincrad wants it, and I will oblige. Acanthus focused on her goal. If I get to town, I’ll be that much safer. That’s all I can do right now. Polishing off another pack of four, she took stock o

She recalled the shades that she had faced on the third floor, and almost laughed thinking about the strange creature’s comments to her. Were monsters allowed to do that? Maybe she just imagined it. It could all be in her head. Technically, it already was. All the beautiful questions of Aincrad, and violence is the only answer she chose. It was the only answer the system allowed. Acanthus had spent two years terrified of death, but the real joke was that death was the only option. For her, or for the things that stood between her escape. People called it the death game because of the obvious f

Pulling away with a fresh set of materials, she proceeded to run her sword through the monster. It weakly moaned as its body vanished. Like culling a garden, she joked grimly. Because her encounter had thrown her off, she had not realized that the road was facing south. She had made good time to Wanderer’s Rest. She breathed a sigh of relief. I’ve been lucky to avoid any mobs so far. I’m also lucky that the corpse wasn’t a diseased villager. According to her map, it would only be another hour until she arrived. She read up on the village’s entry in the broker’s codex. Apparently, the

After seeing the plant woman, Acanthus was careful to look over the foliage she plundered. Safety aside, it seemed disrespectful to pillage what amounted to the poor villager’s grave. There would always be other things to gather. Leaving their incidental resting places at peace seemed the least she could do for them. Acanthus leafed through her current plunder inventory idly. It was impressive. If there weren’t limitations on housing in the game, she could have gone and bought another estate with just what she had right now. And she wasn’t even halfway done. The day was still young, and s

No villagers in sight. Disappointed, Acanthus took the time to let her energy recover. She let her mind wander. Slowly, and without disturbing the grave silence, she stepped backwards from the entombed woman. Finding the courage to tear her gaze away, she walked as quickly as she could on her way. Although she had not seen them before, she could not shake visualizing vague shapes of men and women in the growth. She prayed that she was merely seeing shapes after her last encounter. Everywhere she looked, she saw the shapes of agonized villagers. She killed, sliced, and ripped away at

Correction: I exist in this game to kill. Everything else in this game exists to be killed. It is a simple existence either way. The plants had perfectly captured the last moments of the woman’s terror, down to the ridges of her forehead. Her sunken eyes conveyed an eldritch fear; only enough to comprehend that her death was coming, but not enough to understand why. Her mouth was similarly poised in rictus. Acanthus could see the gaps in her teeth, and a green mass near the back of her mouth, likely her tongue. Acanthus gently put her hand over her mouth. She resisted the urge to scr

Nothing on this floor could shake her. Nothing on this floor could scare her. She was, mathematically, invincible. As she arrived at about her shoulder-height, she noticed a particularly stout branch on the far side of the small tree, just shy of a meter long. She began working from the trunk out to the branch. As she rounded the tree to pick the last few berries off the branch, she had a grotesque realization. This branch has fingers. She killed more of the mossy freaks. Give me col. Give me your materials. She ripped limbs off a fallen villager; the vines made for good craft

With a deep breath, Acanthus continued her slaughter. They’re not real, she said as she slew. They aren’t even people anymore. They’re just people-shaped. If they were alive at one point, it was long before I sent them back to nothing. Eyes still on the road, she saw more of these berry-laden vines in the middle of the road. She continued along, following the vines as they wound their way down the path. Acanthus kept her eyes glued firmly to the road. The berries were becoming harder to spot in the thickening vegetation. Finally, she hit the source, something that looked like the bas

There was probably some interesting, rich background that players could explore. Why the floor became the way it was, the relation of the angels and the humans; that sort of useless lore. None of it would put col in her pocket. Learning about the game didn’t send her home any faster. Every so often, Acanthus noticed hints of civilization. Plants sometimes took the shape of collapsed houses and structures. The vines often formed alien shapes, indicating that it had swallowed up something foreign, lost to time and decay. Near the road, some tendrils of leafy vines crept slowly along. Acanth

Acanthus, dismayed, saw that the path continued east. To the south, a rolling sea of green choked out any direct path. She had been warned that it was possible to cut through the growth, it was a dangerous endeavor for inexperienced solo players. Resigned, Acanthus continued down the road. Despite the quantity of growth, it was not a vibrant, diverse ecosystem. The plants here all offered the same visuals—rich green leaves, and deep brown branches or light green vines. The colors were pleasant, but so uniform that it was almost maddening. Acanthus cut through the undergrowth with impunity

The last time she was here, she had spent so long marveling at the plants. How they grew, and they bloomed and had strange lives of their own. It was fascinating from a botanical perspective. Not from a game perspective. Acanthus reached down again to pull more of the vine. As she worked, she realized why her gloves had frayed. Sturdy or not, the vines had fine hairs that upon closer inspection, were small, supple needles. She felt a mild prick in her finger as a needle pierced the gloves and poked her finger. Drawing back, she decided that perhaps the kudzu was not worth perpetually harv

A few players approached her, waving politely. She greeted them in return. They appeared to be much higher level than her, although their gear suggested they were still fighting on the lower levels. Acanthus wondered what their story was. Did they know each other in the real world, or did they become friends from the shared trauma of their prison? Acanthus never worked up the courage to ask, and the players disappeared in the distance. Acanthus continued to lean against the tree, as still as a statue. Her eyes fixed on the energy bar in the top right, waiting for the exact moment it would

Leaning up against a tree, Acanthus stood placid. She fought the urge to take a deep breath. It was a physical reaction to a digital affair. Regardless of her breathing, the energy bar would return at a set value. Thanks to her villa, it returned much quicker. All the quicker to return to the grind. Acanthus glanced over her map, making slow, plodding progress. She had a task for the day, but she also had plenty of time to complete. There were worse floors to be stuck on, so why not take a little time to enjoy herself? She stood still for a moment, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Purchasing: (1) Dimensional Backpack, Spyglass (x3) Payment: Sent 5,800 col to banker

Adding on to Acanthus' house: Payment: 35,000 col sent to banker

NIGHT had impeccable timing. Her message went out right as Acanthus stepped away from the teleporter and onto floor 17. She’d actually planned to do some light grinding to pad out the materials she’d spent preparing for the raid boss. Before she could think (spiral) in earnest about the upcoming fight, she responded to NIGHT. Acanthus: I’ll be right there! Proud of herself for adeptly handling in-game messages for once, she didn’t realize she had sent the message in the old group chat NIGHT had made. Or that NIGHT was only about ten meters away. With a quick tug on her tunic (telepor