Acanthus

With a small yelp of victory, Haru yanked a cluster of mushrooms out of the ground. She held her breath for the moment before they inevitably dissipated. The mushrooms kept their purple hues. Haru breathed a sigh of relief. At least I'm not coming back empty-handed. With materials in tow, Haru hurried back to Tolbana. The sun was just starting to touch the horizon. Even knowing there was enough light left to make it back, Haru worried. About what she could not say, but the worried gnawed at her all the same. Back at Zackariah’s shop, he reviewed the materials. “Very good! I see

Haru grimaced as the last of the herbs shattered into a fine digital mist. The world may not be real, but her disappointment was. Haru made mental notes about the event. There were patterns to the harvest. When to pluck, when to pull, or observe, or prune. Fail the dance, and the chance to collect vanished. Haru had nearly discerned the patterns when the plant’s durability gave out. She sighed, but refused to linger on her failure. She needed to find another source. The fields gave way to woods as the sun began its descent. Haru estimated another few hours of daylight, but she was ab

Haru had read plenty of stories growing up: fairy tales, adventure novels, the occasional romance. One thing they all had in common was how they managed to skip the boring parts with such grace. If Haru ever wrote about her experiences here, this is one part she planned to leave out. Two hours of searching through once idyllic fields would have left her frantic, if the monotony had not numbed her first. Being out after dark was a risk she had no intention of incurring, but neither did she want to disappoint Zackariah. Zackariah won’t care. He’s an NPC, a quest giver on the first floor. Wh

The Gates of Tolbana Thankfully, her stomach settled as she approached the city gates. The fondue had taken effect, as she saw in the interface. Getting used to the interface had been difficult. It was odd to have such quantifiable information always displayed in her vision. She mused about what it would look like in real life. At the gates of Tolbana, she stopped and admired the scenery. Great, sweeping plains of grass rolled out before her. Until today, she had never admired them from this close. For the last six months, Haru had been one of the few that remained on floor one. The

Zackariah gestured to the back of his shop, where a large pot was bubbling. Haru was able to pick out the smell of… cheese? “I know in your care, the orders are as good as filled. But I’d like to offer you some assistance. I have here a fondue that is guaranteed to help you find what you’re looking for!” Haru paled slightly. She wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like every meal in Aincrad disagreed with her palate. Everything tasted… fake. She couldn’t describe it any other way. It was like trying to eat things wrapped in plastic, or seasoned with a faint tingling sensation. Zackariah notice

Zackariah continued on, unaware of Haru’s thoughts. “Would you gather a few materials for me? Flowers, herbs, rare woods, whatever you can find outside the city walls. I promise I’ll help you fill your order as soon as you return. In fact, I would be willing to show you how to do it yourself.” Haru nodded and bowed reflexively. She felt her cheeks burn as she chided herself. This is a video game, not some live-action roleplay. She heard Zackariah’s gentle laughter. “My, what manners from a lovely young lady! I’m not sure that I caught your name, miss…?” "Nice to meet you, my name is H–" S

Zackariah's Shop Haru marveled at the tiniest details in Zackariah’s shop. The way only some of the floorboards groaned as she stepped inside. The mismatched shelves sagging under the weight of a menagerie of potions and salves, no two alike. The shop bombarded Haru with a dozen different smells that she could not identify, all tied together by a soft bubbling sound emanating from the back. Zackariah’s voice reached her from the back of the shop. "Are you here to order something? I’m sorry, but I am currently swamped with orders, and I’m running out of supplies.” Haru took her time as she

Dorian eventually wound down. Haru lazily opened her menu to check the quest objective: “Enter Zackariah’s shop.” Simple enough. Haru began to scan Tolbana for any signs of her objective. She was shocked when Dorian began to offer directions. “That’s impressive. I suppose Cardinal picks up on body language as well as verbal prompts.” A brief beat, followed by another “My dear, I’m not sure I follow!” Cardinal must have a harder time responding to meta commentary. She had directions from Dorian, so there was no need to linger. So Haru turned and left without saying a word. It was rude to n

"I’m here for the introductory quest." Haru stated. Dorian quickly picked up on her language and began. "My name is Dorian, and I am the mayor of this town. As part of those mayoral duties, I issued a small loan to a member of the community a few months ago. Well, the time to collect had come around and I-" Dorian systematically ran his fingers over his perfect mustache while Haru’s mind began to wander. She’d seen this quest offered to a hundred different players. Each time, the same words, the same fingers through the same mustache. "You see, I've forgotten who it was I loaned–" I

"You're not real." The denial fell from her lips almost involuntarily. To her, it was like saying the day of the week, or the weather outside. It was not a question, or a point to be made. It was simply a fact. "None of this is real." But Dorian seemed real enough. His mustache was large and bristly, and his eyebrows conveyed more emotion than Haru did with her whole body. He was tall—taller than her boss in the real world. His robe and ascot (and monocle!) clashed horrendously, yet made perfect sense, in the strange way only a fantasy game could pull off. In the few seconds of

Profile Username: Acanthus Real name: Haru Masuda Age: 28 Gender: Female Height: 180cm Country: Japan Link to Character Spreadsheet Background Before Sword Art Online, Haru Masuda was nobody in particular, and that was just how she liked it. The eldest daughter of a doctor, Haru lived through a quiet childhood, both literally and figuratively. There were no major traumatic events in her childhood to speak of, and the house was silent during her f