Acanthus

It was my fault for joking with him. Why did I even do that? I don’t really do that except when I’m much more comfortable with people. The last person I joked with was Edict. The glum memory of her former friend set in. They’d barely even spent time together, so why did his absence hurt that much? “Acanthus! Snap out of it!” Eulogy yelled. The Phoenix was diving for her. She barely escaped the attack before responding with an assault of her own. In a few swings, the bird went down, screeching its final cry. Or rather, its second to last cry. Same as before, the ashes began to glow an

The Phoenix was nearly down. At this point, they had settled into an easy pattern of attacks. The field boss was now more of a backdrop to their conversation than it was an actual threat. “The shop you have is pretty neat. Although your selection is a little limited.” Acanthus deflated. “I suppose you’re right. I had a few larger custom orders that kept me busy. I’m working on getting my stock back up soon.” Eulogy moved in and attack the Phoenix, swords glowing. “If you’d like something ordered en masse, I could prioritize your requests.” “No need,” Eulogy said. “I’ll just find anot

The Phoenix had recovered, but Eulogy and Acanthus had readied themselves as well. Fanning out, they took turns distracting the field boss from one another. Acanthus noted with some appreciation that Eulogy was dipping into the shadows less and less frequently. And she was getting better about calling her attacks. Once they had found their rhythm, the two actually worked pretty well together. Acanthus called out her shatter as she moved in from the front. With a downward slash, she tore through the Phoenix’s mitigation. Eulogy appeared from the side, blades crackling with a dark energy sh

Acanthus needed to keep the pressure on in order to stack the mitigation debuffs. She charged up another shattering art, doing her best to circle around the beast while it looked for Eulogy. Unfortunately, Eulogy had a similar idea. As she charged into battle, she stumbled over something invisible and shouted. Eulogy appeared, taking a tumble into the cracked stony ground. “Hey!” “Hey yourself!” she shouted. “I was making that attack just fine without you!” “You were supposed to stay in front! Why’d you decided to get fancy?!” Acanthus was annoyed. The two solo players worked to unta

Acanthus pulled her blade back, focusing to fill it with a reddish, copper glow. “Shatter, nice.” The disembodied voice commented. “For someone who doesn’t know anything about the game, you’ve really got quite a collection of sword arts. Hey, you’re on floor nine. Have you gotten burn yet?” Acanthus wasn’t sure what to make of Eulogy. She felt like everything he said was somehow a backhanded compliment. “Not yet. I have plans later this today to meet a blacksmith from the first floor to complete the first leg of the quest, but that’s it.” “It’s a pretty great sword art. Got it sometime la

“A friend, huh? What’s his name?” “I’m not sure, actually. We go by real names, and I don’t pay attention to his user name. It’s really long and complicated.” Acanthus was suspicious—she hadn’t met anyone that went by their real name. But she also felt like she was prying an awful lot into this stranger’s life. Best to simply leave it be. She dashed underneath the bird, withstanding the awful heat long enough to land a few hits on the boss. Eulogy followed up with a sword art of his own. They were making much better time on this run. “Give it a little longer, and I think it’ll be rea

The pair continued their search without any luck. “It’s not even that big of a floor,” Acanthus complained. “Maybe the creature is smaller than the guide suggested?” It hadn’t been wrong before, but there was a first time for everything. “Or it still needs time to spawn in. Perhaps rendering a creature that big poses issues for Cardinal.” Not that she knew the first thing about computers; she was just filling the silence with something, anything that was shallow enough to ignore. “Let me know if you have any big orders for my shop soon. I recently made it to maximum rank as a performer, a

With a powerful flap of its wings, the Phoenix took flight again. Eulogy was thrown back by the gust, but caught himself, narrowly avoiding a scorch from the nearest geyser. Acanthus thought to try something new. Using her newfound skill, she began a sword art. One she had practiced, but not unleashed in battle yet. botan shimmered with a silvery glow, and Acanthus unleashed the blade with a yell. Connecting firmly with one of the creature’s wings, the bird screeched in pain. Her follow through also left her prepared for any counterstrikes. “Nice!” Eulogy whispered from nearby. “I gu

There was the Phoenix, flapping above the ground in perfect condition. It was like they had never even started the fight in the first place. “Same plan as last time?” “Seems to be the case.” Acanthus drew her sword. “You don’t seem like the type of build that can take a few hits. The shadows laughed. “You might be surprised, Acanthus. I’m capable of taking out the boss on my own.” Acanthus rolled her eyes. “Enough posturing. I’d like to make this fight quick, if you don’t mind. In response, Eulogy emerged from the shadows, slicing through the Phoenix’s underbelly. As it dipped, Acant

They hustled down the mountain together. Eulogy was at a near-sprint at times. The boy seemed like he’d rather die than slow down for a second. Thankfully, Acanthus had the energy to keep up. At the base of the mountain, the Phoenix somehow seemed farther away. Maybe it was the plumes of flame that burst from the ground, diverting her attention. She was yet again thankful for the fireproof armor. Eulogy didn’t seem to need any fireproof armor. He danced lightly around the geysers, in a pattern so rehearsed it seemed like he’d memorized the floor. He moved with a quickness and confide

Acanthus surveyed the landscape through her telescope. “Before anyone else? Are you saying this field boss is popular?” “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Lots of people hunt this boss. Eighty phase damage isn’t anything to laugh at. It makes burning through low-level monsters a breeze, and lets you land attacks on bosses with high mitigation.” “Phase… I’ve heard that term used before. That means it ignores mitigation, right?” “Yea. How have you made it this long in the game without learning the lingo?” Acanthus frowned. “Not really familiar with video games. And I spent a fair am

Eulogy clambered up to the summit and offered Acanthus a hand. She took it instinctively, letting him hoist her up onto the last ledge. As much as she hated this floor, she had to admit the view was breathtaking. The Volcanic Flatlands seemed so small from up here. She could see all the way to the edges of the floor, as well as the volcanos that jutted up, constantly erupting and shifting the landscape with magma flows. Eulogy took a deep breath, then exhaled. “I love this floor. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something satisfying about all of it; the heat, the constant change, the

“Good eye. I’m looking to do a few runs. I’ve got the tracking skill and a spyglass, so it shouldn’t take us very long at all.” Eulogy appeared satisfied. “Same here; we can use your spyglass if you’d like. I actually forgot mine. There’s a good incline up to a high point. We can use the spyglass up there and shave some time off our search.” Eulogy led the way. “High point” didn’t do the climb justice; Acanthus was panting for air about halfway up the path. The further they went, the rockier it got. “Sorry,” Eulogy said sheepishly. “It’s a little easier when you’re just wearing cloth armo

The bird slowly faded away. Acanthus pocketed the rewards. One down, one to go. With the fight done, she turned to get a better look at the boy. The boy was already staring at her with some kind of fascination. Acanthus frowned; what exactly was he staring at? “Sorry.” He must have noticed her look of confusion. “I had you mixed up with a person I ran into a while back.” “Not to worry. I’ve been told I have a familiar face.” Eulogy stuck his hand out. It seemed professional, out of character for a boy his age. “It’s nice to meet you, Acanthus. I’m Eulogy.” Now that she had a good loo

“No reason to worry at all,” she confirmed. Back when she started this quest with Pinball, the thought of scaling a mountainous monster and risking unavoidable damage—setting aside the fear of falling itself—might have driven her back inside for another year. Acanthus did her best to avoid conversation. She could have sworn Pinball gave her an odd look while she wasn’t paying attention. Odd looks meant odd questions, or unwanted conversation, and she didn’t want to repeat her previous weird, mushy remarks. Even though part of her thought about Pinball as a good friend, she recognized that

10/7 Craft evals All crafts refer to 10/7 crafts. Link is here Name: Breath of Life Profession: Performer Rank: 5 Roll ID: 235048 Roll Result: 8+1/LD:9 Item Type: Support Song Tier: 1 Quality: Rare Enhancements: HP Recovery 2 Post Link: Hyperlink Descripti

Crafting for 10/7/2024 Extended Workshop. (+3 EXP total from Trinket | Tuning Fork + Hard Working) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 235048 CD: 8 +1 LD: 9 Rare - 8 (+3 Ambition) 2 235047 CD: 6 +1 LD:

All links refer to 10/6 crafts, found here. Name: First Floor Overture, Accelerando Profession: Performer Rank: 5 Roll ID: 234985 Roll Result: 5+1/LD:20 Item Type: Support Song Tier: 1 Quality: Uncommon (Mast) Enhancements: HP Recovery 1(Instant) Post Link: Hyperlink

Crafting for 10/6/2024 Extended Workshop. (+3 EXP total from Trinket | Tuning Fork + Hard Working) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 234985 CD: 5 +1 LD: 20 Uncommon (Mast) - 6 (+3 Ambition) 2 234984 CD: 5 +1

“One last hit is all it needs to go down. You want to do the honors?” Acanthus shrugged. At least he trusted her to do something. “I’ll draw its attention. Once I attack, you should have the opening you need.” Eulogy dipped back into the shadows as Acanthus bided her time. The bird turned its gaze to her. It spit fire and raked the air with its talons, but Acanthus was too quick, thanks to Nymoria’s charm. She wove under and around the attacks, letting the smaller strikes bounce off her armor. Eulogy seemed to be taking his time. “Any day now,” she said sarcastically. “Not that I’m in any

With a few practiced swings, Acanthus had knocked the bird out of the sky. “Eulogy, it’s yours!” “Got it!” He rushed past Acanthus, knives at the ready. He punctured the Phoenix precisely, causing its to lose its remaining HP. “Gotta watch out,” he said. “Now it’s time for round two.” Acanthus had read up on the Phoenix. The first time she killed it, the Phoenix would regenerate and gain an attack boost. She wasn’t too worried; given the respawn health, she would be able to make short work of it. Sure enough, the bird disintegrated into a pile of ashes with a theatrical caw. But rath

“On your left!” came Eulogy’s cry. She made space for him; this time, he had left an opening for her. Intended or not, she couldn’t say, but an opening of any kind was good enough for her. She scored a few choice hits before she was forced to roll out of the way. Eulogy had been right; she was so busy tanking the fight that she was having a hard time getting any decent strikes in. Thankfully, Eulogy was doing his share of the work. The two of them worked as one; Acanthus took the heat while Eulogy dealt out the pain. Once she got the hang of it, she rather enjoyed the field boss fight. Sh

Acanthus backed up from the Phoenix as its wings began to glow. “Watch out,” she warned Eulogy, “I think it’s about to activate an ability.” Stepped back cautiously. The Phoenix stretched out its wings with a loud caw, causing the ground to erupt. There was nothing either one of them could do to avoid the brunt of the attack. Even with her fireproof armor, she felt the heat bubbling up around her. Eulogy must be feeling like he was cooked alive. When the fires dimmed down, she looked for Eulogy. He appeared to be cracking a few crystals. Some of hers, actually. She recognized the ending m

Dodging past the volcanic vents, Acanthus closed in for a strike. She readied her blade, began to swing, when she felt something disconcerting. Someone was using her shoulders to launch themselves? Looking up, she saw Eulogy high in the air, knives whirling. “On it!” he cried, taking a sizeable chunk out of the boss’ health bar. “Hey!” Acanthus yelled. The more she worked with this boy, the more annoyed she got. “I had a perfectly good attack lined up!” “Sorry!” he shouted back. “I saw an opening. The damage is done either way, so what’s the problem?” The problem is that I don’t like

Filtering through the players on this floor, she saw the nearest was a player named 3ulogy. Sending the invite, she saw the boy dodge a flurry of attacks while quickly accepting the invite. His health and stats appeared on her HUD. “Any day now,” the boy said kindly. “Not that I’m in any danger, but it’ll at least go faster with another warm body.” I can be more than a warm body, she thought sourly. She stepped into aggro range of the boss, where it locked eyes with her and screeched. “Oh, and you might have your hands full dodging.” “Wait, haven’t you been at it awhile? You should h