Acanthus

Crafting for 9/19/2024 Langue de chat consumed (Ambition). +1 EXP per craft (+2 total from Trinket | Tuning Fork) Crafter's respite consumed. (230287) Daily attempts reset! EXP 1500/2559

“I think I could come back here, but…” Acanthus trailed off. “I don’t know how to say it. A place this perfect seems like a danger.” She took a moment to think. “I mean, it would be easy to just come here every day, not ever worry about anything at all. If you’re living in paradise, why would you? But the truth is, we’re stuck in a terrible situation, and the only solution is to gain levels and climb floors. And I don’t think this is the place to do that. Besides,” she added, “the beauty here is a little too... Repetitive, I think is the word? Everything is so green and lush. I think there’s s

THREAD SUMMARY Acanthus EXP: 1,500(Quest) + ([Word Count: 3878/10 = 387.8] * [True Tier: 4] * [Group Factor: 0.6]) = 2,431 * 2 = 4,862 EXP Col: 400 (page) = 400 col Morningstar EXP: ([Word Count: 3878/10 = 387.8] * [True Tier: 7] * [Group Factor: 0.6]) = 1628 * 2 = 3,257 EXP Col: 0 (page) + 488 (Laurel Wreath) = 488 col Pinball EXP: 1,500(Quest) + [Word Count: 3878/10 = 387.8] * [True Tier: 8] * [Group Factor: 0.6] = 3361 * 2 = 6,722 EXP Col: 0 (page) + 1008 (Laurel Wreath) = 1008 col

“I would enjoy another quest with you both. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Pinball before. I enjoy seeing him.” She hoped he would see that as the compliment and admonishment she intended. Acanthus turned away to smile faintly when Morningstar complimented her. Composing herself, she returned Morningstar’s gaze. “I’m sure you were both more than able to handle this quest yourselves. Thank you for allowing me to come and earn experience alongside you all.” She gave a quick bow. Shivering at a sudden gust of wind, Acanthus looked around the icy landscape. “Where will we need to

Acanthus slid into the meeting room as late as possible. She had been there an hour early, of course. On time is late, she thought firmly. But the thought of such a large crowd gave her physical anxiety, and she hoped that walking in late would avoid the worst of the small talk. First would come the pleasant hellos—those were never bad. Then the introductions. And then the questions. Oh, Acanthus, I didn’t see you at the last floor boss meeting. Or any of the others. Where have you been all this time? And Acanthus would have to find some answer that was somehow truthful, yet evasive, yet polit

She eyed Oz suspiciously as he offered a cigarette. When it became clear it was not a prank, she snatched the cigarette from his fingers, lighting it quickly before tossing the spent match into the bushes. Taking a long drag of the cigarette, she was surprised by the green tea flavor. Mildly disappointed... But she took another quick pull. “I… don’t smoke,” she lied. “Usually. Only whenever we had to pull all-nighters at work. Which wasn’t that often,” she lied again. “I didn’t realize that Cardinal allowed smoking. Thank you,” she finished, finding her manners. Acanthus had made it throu

“Olive trees are angiosperms, which makes them flowering plants,” Acanthus explained as Morningstar and Freyd cleaned them up. She tried her best to avoid over-explaining—part of Freyd’s tone suggested that he was simply making light conversation. He probably already knew all of this. “Olives are the part of the tree that forms around the seeds. I believe that makes them fruits. They’re like grapes, but good.” Her last sentence overlapped with Morningstar’s comment, eyebrows raising as she restrained herself from speaking further. When Morningstar mentioned the tomato garden, Acanthus began to

Crafting for 9/18/2024 Langue de chat consumed (Ambition). +1 EXP per craft (+2 total from Trinket | Tuning Fork) Crafter's respite consumed. (230280) Daily attempts reset! EXP 1401/2559

Crafting for 9/17/2024 Langue de chat consumed (Ambition). +1 EXP per craft (+2 total from Trinket | Tuning Fork) 1273/2559 EXP. Crafter's Respite used! (ID 230277-3). Daily resets attempt. Jesus Christ this might be the worst crafting day I've ever had. EXP: 1317/2559

“Once upon a time.” It was another one of his evasive answers. She almost pressed him for more. She was becoming desperate for something to latch on to. But she saw how focused he was on rowing, his mouth pursed in concentration. “...Ok.” Pinball rowed them out to the middle of the water. Without land nearby, Acanthus started to become unsettled. “Pinball, how do we find the fish? It’s one thing to track bosses on land, but are we supposed to… get in the water?” She glanced nervously into the black water. “Pinball, please stay settled in the boat. I don’t want to fall in. Pinbal

Cordelia led the charge, but Acanthus stayed right behind, just like she promised. Once Cordelia struck the King’s armor, Acanthus circled around to the other side. She knew she wouldn’t be able to crash through the armor the way Cordelia could. She had to strike more resourcefully. With a quick scan of the armor, she noticed cracks along the joints. She drove her blade into the open joints, and worked the blade ruthlessly. The king growled as she tore Meteor free, and the king began to bleed from the wound. “It’s disappointing that we can’t stun him. I am at a disadvantage here.” She had

End these. Then we can Nemo? “Gladly.” She swept over the remaining snapdragons, reducing them to shards with a few elegant sword strokes. “That was tiring,” she said as she sat down for a moment. Her energy bar was almost out. “I’m glad that ended when it did. I was cutting that last fight close.” Acanthus laid down on the grass and closed her eyes. The weather was at its optimal setting. Maybe it always was in this little corner of paradise, but Acanthus didn’t care. She was simply enjoying the moment. The sun bathed her in warm light, and a light breeze kept her cool. In the dist

“Theory exercises, as in music theory. I don’t remember much from high school, but sometimes writing down chords can help inspire some different ideas for performance crystals…” She was about to explain more, but she noticed Morningstar seemed to trip over a cornucopia that Acanthus hadn’t noticed before. A sprawling orchard spawned behind them, guarded by… fruit soldiers? They bore a striking resemblance to the “limes” Acanthus had pilfered, except they were large, limbed, and angry. Sour, even. Four of them flanked Morningstar, poking him with spears. "Who dares intrude on the grou

“Ah, a damage potion. That makes more sense.” She quaffed the potion quickly, doing her best to avoid any flavor. She was mostly successful, but did detect an odd note of… Sharp? Sometimes the potions tasted in ways that didn’t seem possible, likely a product of the Nervegear funneling all the senses directly into the brain. Speaking of senses, she fought to keep disappointment out of her face as she saw Freyd produce food. But she was not about to turn away free buffs. Tentatively, she took a small bowl of the shrimp gumbo and ate. The food almost immediately bounced back up. She turned,

Kumaki tumbled down the stairs, landing with an ungainly *tump*. Acanthus followed behind, scooping the cub up from the ground. It seemed content to be carried, giving happy looks to anyone curious enough to stare. Sliding into a booth near the entrance, she took one look at the menu. It perplexed Acanthus, so she decided to simply copy what NIGHT had ordered. She was worried that her taste buds would act up anyways. Her palate’s rejection of in-game food wasn’t as bad as it had been when she started playing, but she still worried about eating in company. Thankfully everything tasted wond

Nymoria finished off the snapdragons easily. Acanthus exhaled, not realizing until then that she had been tense watching Nymoria. Not that she couldn’t handle herself. It was just leftover anxiety from the last time Acanthus had let one of the snapdragons through. You need to accept that you won’t block every hit. But part of her railed against the thought. In a game where her life was on the line, Acanthus didn’t want anything short of perfection. She trotted up to Nymoria as the snapdragons faded away. “What do you say to one more pack? I lost track of time, and I promised a friend that

Acanthus watched emotionlessly as Freyd dragged the cat to its death. The thing bucked when the meathook sunk into the monster’s side, dragging it closer and closer to Whisper. It fights so hard for something that isn’t really going to die. Its cries for help are just the result of some conditional programming. None of it is real. Turning away as Freyd struck the final blow, she saw Morningstar down a bottle of something purple. “You weren’t hit during the fight,” she remarked. “So is that a potion to help you collect olives? I should be able to help find some.” She started picking throug

Acanthus looked up to see Typhoon standing above her, shield raised. “Th—thanks, Ty,” she coughed as she stood back up. Collecting herself, she took stock of the battlefield one more time. Freyd’s last attack had done substantial damage to the shark, but it still held on, running after him like a rampaging bull. The shark was galloping toward Freyd again. However Cardinal decided who to attack, it was working overtime; Terra Firma was locked in on Freyd, and no one else. She and Ty might have been nothing more than sand in the area. It hadn’t even tried to step on her as it ran past last

Crafting for 9/16/2024 Langue de chat consumed (Ambition). +1 EXP per craft (+2 total from Trinket | Tuning Fork) 1193/2559 EXP. Crafter's Respite used! (ID 230277-2). Daily resets attempt. EXP 1239/2559

A short notice is tacked on the front of the bulletin board. It is written on the back of a piece of staff paper in a tight, neat script. The message is simple: Hello, this is Acanthus. I have a shop on floor 24. I would like to embark on a longer foraging trip, and need to leverage every asset I can. This includes having access to a greenhouse. I currently do not have enough funds for a house, so I am hoping that somebody will permit me to rent their greenhouse for a week. My initial offer for rent follows: If the greenhouse is already built, I will provide the user the first demoni

Acanthus thanked NIGHT and took one of the unlabeled bottles. She popped the lid, treating it like a health potion. Sure enough, the contents vanished and Kumaki was covered in a soft green light. “I guess it worked,” she said out loud. “Sometimes I miss real life, but one thing I’m grateful for is how simple healing is here. I’m not very good at treating wounds. I don’t enjoy the sight of blood at all.” The light disappeared, and the bear cub seemed a little more energetic. It rolled into Acanthus’ lap with the same blank, goofy stare it had in the meadow. Acanthus giggled. “She’s really a si

She looked at Freyd, then Morningstar, then back to Freyd again. When Morningstar cancelled the trade, she simply nodded. “Come by my shop anytime, I will be sure to have some performance crystals in stock for you, free of charge.” Freyd led the party to the Bastion wall, all while Acanthus silently thumbed through her menu. She didn’t remember seeing a posthole digging profession. It was probably just another custom skill. “Given my performance profession, I decided to lean into being able to supply myself with performance crystals. Ideally, the goal is to land as many 'dots' as I c

Typhoon managed to score a critical hit on the stampeding shark, and it became noticeably more agitated. It careened off to the edge of the bowl before turning around and pawing the sand with a snort. “Freyd?!” Acanthus yelled nervously. “I think it is about to get angry again.” Terra Firma bellowed and charged the group, jaw hanging wide with a mouth full of broken teeth. This isn’t real, none of this is real, she told herself in a near panic. So it’s not going to matter if I do something drastic. As Terra Firma came closer, she took one deep breath. You’ve had your moment to worry, now

“It’s not fair to Omen to say I know him. More accurately, we’ve met once before.” Her face remained impassive despite Freyd’s playful comments about their previous quest. “I don’t think we literally *grow* in this game, but I have leveled up.” She looked over her new armor. “How long ago was it, anyways? Everything feels a little timeless when it’s all ones and zeros. At any rate, I won’t be dead weight like last time.” Acanthus nodded in understanding. “We’re asking a lot for you to come down here just to catch us up to speed. I can spare the money, and I don’t intend to stay a chari

Pinball and Morningstar followed up with a practiced ease that made Acanthus envious. She wondered how long it would take before her fighting seemed so effortless. She told herself to be patient, reminding herself that she would level up and learn how to fight in good time. Acanthus also noticed how Morningstar alternated between punches and sword strikes. She did her best to observe him in the heat of battle, hoping to catch something to apply to her own fighting. Acanthus charged in, trying to mimic Morningstar’s movements. But without the <<Charge>> skill assisting her, she