[F02 | SP] Why? Because I Can. | <<Breaking the Unbreakable>>

[Acanthus 0]

This was a terrible idea. Why. Why am I here.

Acanthus clung to the side of a mountain. Start conquering one fear, and you decide to jump straight into finishing it off. But the mountain seemed just as likely to finish her. High up in the peaks of the second floor, she had climbed for hours. And hours. And hours.

I’m not sure that I’m even halfway up. She reached for a handhold and pulled herself up. With an unnatural ease, she lifted herself to the next rocky outcropping. There’s no way I actually have this strength. It’s just the game assist rescuing me.

Heaving herself up and onto a ledge, she rolled over to the safety of the mountainside. Still facing the rocky cliff, she reached into her inventory and pulled out some jerky and bread. Eating the bread was a chore, and she was so exhausted she was barely hungry anyways. Acanthus put away the jerky; it would be too much effort to chew.

 

Spoiler

Acanthus | HP: 240/240 | EN: 42/42 | DMG: 6 | MIT: 18 | ACC: 3 | LD: 3

Equipment:

1. Vow of Return (T1 Trinket | ACC 3)

Thread Buffs/Consumables:

1. None (RIP damage buffs, you would've loved the boulder)

Skills	Battle-Ready Inventory
Straight Sword R3 Light Armor R3 Searching R3 Hiding R3 Combat Mastery: ACC 1 (Yes I'm an idiot and commissioned an ACC 3 Trinket and then chose ACC as my combat mastery)	None

 

 

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

With a moment to think, she reflected on why she had decided to climb hundreds of meters up a mountain for a quest on the second floor. Part of her thought that the martial arts skill seemed interesting. Part of her thought that the sword art it taught would be valuable in future fights. But her underlying reason was, in her opinion, less tangible than that.

I’d never get to do this in real life. She rolled over and gazed out on the second floor. It was a beautiful panorama of mountains and verdant fields. About six kilometers away, a colorful speck that was Urbus teemed with life. It’s so small from here. She had a sudden rush of vertigo, and was grateful to be laying down. She waited for the moment to pass before standing up once more. Gazing up the mountain, she eyed her next respite. Hundreds of meters up. Let’s get to work.
 

Edited August 10 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

Thirty minutes later, and the peak appeared like a mirage in the desert. She wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light, but the mountain really did seem to level out. Just a little further, and—

A sudden lurch, and she was hanging by one hand. She’d missed the next rock while she was daydreaming. “Ffff—”

A lady does not swear.

“–ff…rats.” With the game’s help, she swung herself up and connected firmly with the wall. That was close. I don’t think it would have killed me, but losing almost an hour of climbing might have done me in for the day. Acanthus focused in on the remainder of the climb. The handholds seemed further apart. She was glad she had left the breastplate at home. Climbing this mountain with any amount of weight on her seemed daunting. She remembered Edict warning her to leave the armor at home. “I climbed the damn thing in heavy armor. It was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done in that game.” He was an idiot to do that, but an impressive idiot.
 

Edited August 10 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

With a final push, she crawled over the ledge on her stomach. An old man sat serenely at the cliff face, admiring the view. “Ah, a new student. Welcome.”

The monastery had a humble beauty to it. A crashing waterfall framed the simple dojo, unpainted but well-kept. Around the dojo, a sprawling garden served as the only decoration. A winding staircase in the background disappeared up the mountain with little fanfare. She wondered where it went off to.

The teacher followed her gaze and chuckled. “In good time. There are tasks for you to complete first.” 

Acanthus returned wearing a plain white gi. It was loose and comfortable to wear, but Acanthus still felt like it was a bad fit. She kept pulling and adjusting, despite the perfect measurements. It reminded her of the few months she spent in karate class as a kid. Before her dad pulled her out. I’d never get to do this in real life.

“I will only train those who can prove to me that they are ready.” Acanthus stood tall and returned the master’s gaze. “Tell me what to do.”

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

“Let us start with basic footwork and breathing. I know that it may seem simple, but even these must be mastered to move forward. Spread your feet. Bend at the knees. Feel your center of gravity lower, but not falter.”

Acanthus followed each instruction as it was given, taking deep breaths between each step. Instantly, she felt her body relax. I was made for this.

The master regarded her form. “A strong grasp of the basics. Have you studied before?”

Maintaining her stance, she responded. “Yes, Sensei. But I was very young, and I did not stay for long.”

“I see. A shame. Let us try a basic form. Bring your left foot forward, but keep them under your shoulders. Imagine your feet on opposite sides of a narrow road…”

Step by step, Acanthus learned the first form. Step, strike, breathe. Cross, step, arms raised, strike. Breathe.

Returning to the first stance, she brought her hands up, then slowly exhaled as she brought them down to her belt. Even after all these years, the movements came back to her.
 

 

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224837 | CD 8 | Success: +2 DMG against boulder (+2 total)

 

Edited August 10 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

“Already you have mastered the first form. Let us move on to the others.”

“Sensei…” She struggled with how to phrase her question. “I… I’m not exactly built for martial arts. Shouldn’t I… I should be weight training, or something?”

The Master gave her a hard look. “Who put that thought into your mind?”

She is a girl. If she stays in this class, she will get hurt. I won’t pay for my daughter to be thrown around by a bunch of boys twice her size.

“I… It was just a thought.”

The Master moved over to one of the sparring dummies. “Look at me, apprentice. Describe me.”

Acanthus studied the Master. “You are shorter than I am, sensei. You appear leaner, but even with your gi, I can see your muscles. I can tell you are very strong.”

“Strong? Yes. Very? Maybe once. But no longer.” With a flash of movement, the Master lashed out at the sparring dummy. *Whock*. The dummy spun a full circle. Acanthus barely had time to register the first hit before he landed four more. After a final spinning kick, the dummy’s head split, tumbling to the floor.

“A person who think might makes the master is a fool. He knows the body is a weapon, but does not understand *how* the body is a weapon. A person could swing an arrow, or throw a sword. If you are strong, such action might succeed. True mastery is understanding how the sword is swung, and how the arrow flies.”
 

 

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224838 | CD 6 | Failure.

 

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

“Demonstration is over. Let us return to the forms.”

One by one, the Master taught her. 24-step simplified form. Lee-style short form. 8-step silk reeling. She struggled to keep up with the Master, but he was patient with her. After her fifth failure in executing the strikes of the silk reel, she made a disappointed sound.

“Be patient with yourself. You are learning a lifetime of movements in a matter of days.” It really has been days, hasn’t it? She had anticipated the quest being simple: climb a mountain, talk to the man, and leave. Instead, time had flown by as she learned the different forms. She barely registered that she had climbed the mountain three days ago.

Not that she was trapped. After mastering the basic form, the master had offered to move to the second task, but she had refused.

“I intend to see this through,” she said firmly. In truth, part of her enjoyed the controlled exertion. It was structured and active, and felt calming at the same time. The Master needed no convincing to continue teaching her.
 

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224839 | CD 3 | Failure.

 

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

Five days into her training, Acanthus slowed into her final pose. From a crane position, she brought her raised leg out, setting it down gently, across the narrow path as she had been instructed. The Master regarded her approvingly.

“Excellent work. There are no more forms to teach you at this time.” Acanthus bowed. I can’t believe I started this quest on a whim, and here I am treating it like its the real thing. She thought somewhat bitterly about how none of this would translate into the real world.

First thing out of Aincrad, I’m finding a class. The thought surprised her. She hadn’t considered the thought since her father took her out of classes so long ago. But now, she realized how much she had enjoyed it, even back then.

No daughter of mine will thrash about on a mat with boys or girls. She may resume classes when she is paying for them. That was how dad worked. He never yelled, or said anything outright. He simply had his view of the world, and he rejected the parts that didn’t conform to his expectations. No anger, no vitriol. He simply withheld his support.

“Apprentice, you have done well so far. It is time for the second task. Follow me, and have a seat.”
 

 

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224840 | CD 8 | Success: +2 DMG against boulder (+4 total)

 

Edited August 10 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

The “seat” in question was a slick rock overlooking the grounds of the dojo. It was slick because of the hundreds of gallons pouring onto it. Part of Acanthus doubted that she would not be worn into nothing by the pouring water, but she trusted the Master. It’s time to stop doubting others—and myself. Without a word, she moved to the rock, and sat down with crossed legs.

The world was instantly drowned in the roaring waterfall. The wind and birds of the dojo were washed away, and even the Master’s voice was dull. “When you have honed your mind, come and find me at the top of the staircase. The final challenge awaits you there.”

“How will I know when I’ve honed my mind?” She felt her mouth moving, but she couldn’t hear her own words.

The Master smiled. “When you know why you are here.” And he left her to wonder.

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224841 | LD 5 | Failure

 

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

Why am I here?

It wasn’t just to enjoy the view. It wasn’t just to conquer her fear of heights. And it wasn’t even as simple as being something she could never do in real life. There was something more to it. Something deeper. She focused inward.

She wanted this experience. All of it. The good, the bad, the painful. She had been denied before. A shame, given how happily everything started.

Haru brought the form home joyfully. Her mother regarded her with the same warm happiness she always did. Her father eyed the form carefully, as though it might sprout teeth and attack them all. His gaze returned to his pleading daughter, vibrating with excitement. In some ways, his little Haru was more like his sister than himself. So vibrant, so full of energy. He couldn’t tell his daughter no. He relented and signed the form. She would start next month.

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224842 | LD 1 | Failure

 

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

Water pounded Acanthus. It battered her head and shoulders, and drenched her entirely. She used that feeling to focus herself further.

Harnessing the physical feeling of the water, she remembered the kicks and blows she practiced as a child. She remembered coming home and showing her family. Her mother complimented her passively, her father gave tight-lipped praise. But her aunt… She always showed her aunt everything she learned. Her aunt loved to watch Acanthus—Haru—throw her chaotic kicks with the passion of a child learning new things. Anytime her aunt stopped by, Haru would talk her ear off. She rambled on about her classes, and all the boys and girls she met. And her aunt listened with rapt attention. She treated Haru like she was: messy, full of life, and a lover of fierce kicks.

Haru loved her parents dutifully, but her aunt fiercely. She once made her late to leave by hiding all of her shoes outside. Her father had grounded her for a week. Her aunt had laughed so hard she cried. “Next time, it’s on,” she said. “I’m gonna hide my shoes first so you can’t.”

“Nu-uh! I’m gonna hide ‘em even sooner. And then you can’t never leave.”

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224843 | LD 16 | Success: +2 DMG against boulder (+6 total)

 

Edited August 10 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

Acanthus was acutely aware of the icy water. Thrust back into the present. Her mind began to wander.

When will I know why I’m here? Again, these quests and their strange, philosophical requirements. Maybe there’s a timer. I’m not sure I want to keep thinking about family right now. I’m already homesick, and lingering on all the bad doesn’t do me any good.

And it wasn’t all bad either. She thought about the times that she would go out with her family. They would go shopping together, and she would try on dresses with her mother. They often stopped somewhere for dessert. Even back then, she loved strawberries. It was partly because her mom grew the best strawberries she had ever tasted. She thought back to their garden, and how she would go outside and help her mom. At her age, “help” meant being told to hold a spade while she worked, but Haru enjoyed it all the same.

She recalled helping her mother work, and seeing her father gaze with pride from his office window. See, it wasn’t all bad.

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224844 | LD 9 | Failure

 

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

But things got worse when her aunt stopped visiting. Nobody would tell Haru why. Her mother always seemed eager to change the subject. Her father would give her the same brusque answer each time: “She made a choice to act in a way unbecoming of herself and her family. She has left.”

Even in the pouring water, Acanthus felt tears on her cheeks, washed away as they formed.

After her aunt left, Haru’s father changed. It was an almost imperceptible shift. He was sadder, and harsher. His stoic demeanor had solidified even further. Six months after her aunt’s last visit, he pulled Haru out of her classes. She had come home with a black eye after they were practicing throws.

This is unacceptable. You cannot play sports if you are going to hurt yourself like that.

Dad, it was my fault. Sensei told me how to land and I—

—I don’t care. Your looks are important, and I will not support you damaging yourself like that. You will thank me later.

She never did.
 

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224845 | LD 10 | Failure.

 

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

Time had lost all meaning. Acanthus merely wandered from thought to thought. She remembered sadly listening to her friends talk about all the things they learned in karate class. She remembered seeing her father burning letters addressed to Haru. She remembered the happiness in her father’s face as she slowly quieted down with age, and let the issue of karate classes die.

The water enveloped her. It was a steady, dull kind of pain. Something that helped guide her thoughts and emotions. It was a stimulus that forced her back into reality, and then prompted her to block it out as she remembered things. The shift between focusing and ignoring the water felt like breathing. In. The frigid water shocked her senses. Out. Nothing but a dull ringing in her ears. In. Pounds of force battered her mercilessly. Out. A vague sense of pressure on her back.

Taking one last breath, she prepared to plunge into her memory one last time. She would learn why she was here, and wrest that reason from herself.

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224846 | LD 4 | Failure.

 

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

She had not let her martial arts classes go when she was seven like she remembered. Her mind focused, overcoming the onslaught of the water around her.

She stood in the doorway of her father’s office. She had come home from University for break. She was ready to confront him about his letter. She wanted to take taekwondo as an elective, and he had refused.

“You cannot.”

“Does that mean you prohibit me, or you do not believe in me?” He remained silent.

“I cannot force your hand. But I will not pay for you to learn things that do not further your education.”

“You paid for my botany classes.”

“...Your mother insisted.”

“And if this class were—”

“I will not entertain this any further,” her father said. Acanthus fell silent. “Pay for the class yourself, or make other arrangements for the spring. But martial arts are unbecoming for a lady such as yourself. You belong elsewhere.”

Another letter from her aunt lay on his desk. As Haru left angrily, he reached for the lighter.
 

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224847 | LD 20 | Success: +2 DMG against boulder (+8 total)

 

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

A lady such as yourself. Memories rushed back to her. Her father talking to her kindly but sternly. Teaching her how to act, and how to behave. You must dress like this. You must eat like this. Do not laugh too loudly. I do this because I love you. I want you to be the best person you can be. A good daughter. A good wife.

She had been six. To her, a father was still a figure of impassable authority. He knew best. Really, he knew everything. So if she needed to be a good daughter, she would do just that.

The water washed away her thoughts. It washed away those commands left by those around her. She was not something to be bottled and set on a shelf. She was not a tool to be formed

Without those commands, her will faltered. For a brief moment, she felt directionless.

Then… Why am I here?

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224848 | LD 3 | Failure.

 

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

I am here because I can be. I need no other reason.

The sense of water around her dulled. The waterfall continued to pummel her, but blocking out the sensation seemed as easy as holding her breath.

I am not here to prove myself right, or my family wrong. That does not matter. What matters is that I am here because I choose to be here. I don’t need to be “good enough.” I don’t need to fit whatever mold I’ve shaped for myself, or my family has shaped for me. I am the waterfall around me—my form and shape may change, but I will always be water. Call it what you will, expect from it what you might, and I will still be water.

Slowly, she rose and left the deluge. Instantly, the world around her felt still. The sound of wind and birds rushed back into her ears. Rather than setting, the sun was now rising from its nightly slumber. She had been out all night. Refreshed from her meditation, she prepared to climb the stairs.
 

 

Spoiler

Roll ID: 224850 | LD 17 | Success: +2 DMG against boulder (+10 total)

 

Edited August 9 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

Acanthus changed into a dry gi the Master had left for her. It no longer felt like an awkward fit.

She walked slowly and methodically, still deep in her own thoughts as she climbed the stairs. She had blocked out so much of her life at home—why did it take a video game to come to terms with her past?

Does it matter? You are here, and you are moving forward.

The top of the stairs reached the summit of the mountain. Her unease of heights buzzed in the back of her brain, but she blocked it like she had the pressure from the waterfall. The master waited for her, sitting next to a massive boulder.

The boulder was easily a meter taller than herself, and just as wide. Doubt tried to creep in, but she worked to keep it out. With her meditation fresh on her mind, she recalled the techniques to keep those feelings at bay. The Master grinned as she approached.

[Acanthus 0]

“I see you’ve fully honed your mind. You’ve done well. You are ready to finish your training.”

“Am I here to split the boulder?” The Master nodded. “Take as much time as you need. Remember your training, and begin when you are ready.”

Acanthus squared off with the boulder. Standing up straight, she offered it a small bow. The Master gave a dry, wheezing laugh. “I don’t see that very often.”

Acanthus said matter-of-factly, “it may be just a boulder, but it is my opponent nonetheless.”

Drawing in a deep breath, Acanthus spread her feet and bent her knees. She drew her fists back to her waist, wrists facing up. Drawing power from her hips, she thrust out to strike the boulder—Whack. “Fff—

A lady does not swear.

“–ffFUCK,” she finished, shaking her hand. The Master cackled. “A more measured reaction than some students, if you would believe.” She looked up at the boulder. Her punch barely had an effect.

I can’t let that bother me. I have as long as it takes. I know I can do this.

Spoiler

Note: To reduce clutter, I am not posting any LD or CD unless they affect the boulder's health.

Combat

Post Action. Roll ID 224873 | BD 5 + 3 + 2 = 10. Success. 11 DMG

Post-Roll

• Acanthus | HP: 240/240 | EN: 41/42 | DMG: 6 | MIT: 18 | ACC: 3 | LD: 3
• Boulder | HP 64/75 | EVA -2

 

•  

Edited August 10 by Acanthus

[Acanthus 0]

Breathing deeply, she poised for another strike. The thought of hitting solid rock intimidated her. Don’t think about the target, think about the blow.

Crack. The sound of her knuckles connecting with the boulder echoed off the mountain. She heard a flock of birds from below. The master remained quiet, but his eyes spoke encouragement.

Her pain indicators went off. They were distracting her. Just like the waterfall. With a deep breath, the pain indicators faded from a buzz into a barely audible hum. She struck the rock again. Crack. The hum strengthened, and Acanthus took another deep breath to calm her nerves. She noticed red grid marks forming on her knuckles.

Undaunted, she returned to striking the boulder. She applied the movements she learned from her for exercises. Step, strike, breathe. Cross, step, arms raised, strike. Breathe. Blow by blow, cracks began to form. Chips flaked off the boulder from all side. Her exercises had paid off.

 

Spoiler

Acanthus recovers 1 EN.

Combat

Post Action. Roll ID 224874 | BD 2 + 3 + 2 = 7. Success. 11 DMG

Post-Roll

• Acanthus | HP: 240/240 | EN: 41/42 | DMG: 6 | MIT: 18 | ACC: 3 | LD: 3
• Boulder | HP 53/75 | EVA -2

 

Edited August 10 by Acanthus