Morningstar

Morningstar nodded, following with a punch of his own. Unlike his previous attempt, his fist hit it firmly. It was his best one yet. Satisfied, he stepped back. "Yeah, from what I can remember, it was difficult putting together teams for the previous raid fight. The roles were awkward to fill and some people had to respec into tanks just to even it out. I haven't heard anything about the labyrinth on twenty-eight yet. I imagine someone's already taken it upon themselves to take a peek, but they aren't so easy that you can just wander in and clear them. They take time and preparation."

bunch of unique identifications, all paid for.

"Good plan," Morningstar replied, wishing he was weird and carried chalk instead. He placed his hand on the wall as well "Guess we go right, then." And so they did, following the winding path until their path branched again. This time, they were left with two distinct choices. They could turn and continue to walk freely through the wooden passageway or they could go straight, towards two armed guards. While at first glance, the decision was obvious, Morningstar was not so sure. The guards stood face-to-face, with their backs to the walls. In a hushed whisper, he turned to Oji. "Usually, g

2.25.2024 cost: 30,400

now it is 2.24.2024 cost = identifications[30,400]+rerolls[31,000]-junk[12,700]=48,700 col

His next punch was a bit too gentle. This time, the boulder didn't budge. He didn't mention it, his mind already wandering elsewhere. "Oh, you know Freyd and Nari? They're good people, great additions to the friends list." "I get what you mean, though. Even for me, it's hard to find people of equal level. I guess it stops mattering, eventually. There aren't enough frontline-level players for people to be picky about who they invite to things. Even if you're twenty or thirty levels down, you'll surely have the chance to throw yourself into some fights that probably aren't intended for you.

"No worries," Morningstar shrugged, following Wulfrin's act with a punch of his own. A rock flicked off the boulder, nearly hitting him in the eye. "Always need more crafters, I think. Raids can be costly and there's only so many players who can afford to support the frontlines' needs. And then there's people like you, fresh out of the Town of Beginnings and in need of gear. I can toss a unique in the direction of a frontliner, but I'm not much help when it comes to low tier items. Smiths are valuable." Stretching out his wrists, he moved out of Wulfrin's way. "I like twenty-two

"G'morning," Morningstar called, peeking his head inside the door to Freyd Edges. It was a homely little shop in a generally gloomy city. He eyed the various trinkets, odds and ends, admiring Freyd's collection. He realized he had never actually been to Freyd's shop before. The senior appraiser had always come directly to Star or left things with his blacksmith friend. Without looking up from a curiously designed sword, he spoke. "I was wondering if I could snag some unidentified weapons of your hands. Got a bit of a difficult customer. They're looking for Frost and my luck's just not the

"This place'll do that—bring out old skills. New ones too, really. I wasn't a fighter in real life but now I kill dragons and bandits and such, "Morningstar chuckled, "I'm learning all sorts of things that won't be applicable after the game's done. Although, I have gotten quite good at appraising items, so maybe I can open a pawn shop back home." He stepped up quickly, gaining momentum, and launched his fist at the rock. Punch after punch, they slowly depleted its hit points. The crack grew more, rocks crumbling off from the spot they'd been hitting. "If you're okay with some more un

Morningstar nodded, impressed with the crack that Wulfrin had left in the boulder. He took a deep breath in preparation and then struck the boulder. The crack grew larger, albeit only slightly. It would take a while for them to break through the whole thing, but it would break eventually. He shook out his hand. It wasn't exactly pain that he felt as much as it was discomfort. "We'll be done by nightfall," Morningstar said, hopeful, and then moved out of the way for Wulfrin to take his turn. "You're don't happen to be aiming for the Martial Arts skill, do you? You'd be good at it, I t

Morningstar paused before taking another bite of his sandwich. He stared at Vigilon, surprised by his sudden outburst. He cleared his throat. "I mean, probably. To be honest, I'm a little bit uneducated; but, I've been meaning to look into it. If Krysta doesn't already know, then maybe let her know. She's strong, though, so I doubt she'd be picked on." The sound of urgency in Vigilon's voice made Star want to investigate even more. He'd save it for another day. He snacked again, this time managing to bite, chew and swallow before he felt the need to speak again. "Non-gamers are always int

It was difficult, like Wulfrin had said; however, Morningstar had some experience with meditation. For him, the issue was not prolonged stillness of the mind, but withstanding the crashing wake of the waterfall. It pounded against his body nonstop and unrelenting. With closed eyes, he tried his best to breathe through the discomfort. The severity of it increased until, towards the end, it plateaued and he had become accustomed to it. In an odd way, it even felt relaxing. He'd surely need to stretch afterwards, though. Thirty minutes had flown by. He followed his acquaintance out of the wa

Morningstar quickly realized that he was not, in fact, an American Ninja Warrior. He followed Wulfrin through the obstacle course, their roles suddenly reversing as he struggled his way around the course. He was much less graceful then his colleague, and struggled to leap over many of the long jumps. His balance was also considerably worse. It must be the altitude, he thought, banging his knee against the platform he had intended to land on. Sore and out of breath, they completed the obstacle course, and Morningstar was thankful they were not being graded. Next, they were guided to t

"Mmm," Morningstar thought carefully, picking out a piece of advice that might actually come in handy. "Don't be too nervous picking out your skills. You can always spend some col and get your points back if you make a mistake with them. I think I've done it about three times now," he laughed. "That being said, Battle Healing is a lifesaver." They arrived at the peak, and the dojo came into sight. A short, wooden bridge completed their journey. On the other side was a structure inspired by old Japanese architecture. It was a small space, hidden from plain sight between the tall mountain w

The Greater Fire Elemental gave the party a far easier time than Morningstar had expected. Between his stun and their consecutive attacks, the winged creature had no opportunity to attack. Constantly left open, a giant hovering target, they struck its fiery shape again and again, gradually witling down its health bar. Morningstar moved in after Krysta, dodging the flames that spit into the air. His sword phased through flames, obviously hurting the elemental despite the lack of physical contact. A sliver of red remained. He stepped out of Freyd's path, granting him the glory of the last hit. F

today is 2.22.2024

Morningstar smiled. "The early levels are difficult since, like you said, its a range with few people to party up with. Most people who've committed to leveling are in their 30s, 40s, 50s. I imagine that it's difficult to find someone who falls in between them and the countless level one players in the Town of Beginnings. Going solo's even harder, so a handful of frontliners try to help where they can. I'm sure you'll meet a lot of them if you keep this up." "I don't have much to offer that you would benefit from now, but come by my shop when you hit tier four and I'll introduce you to th

The wind pushed his messy hair all over, picking up as they ascending the tall mountain. Morningstar ripped open the glossy wrapper of his chocolate bar, cracking a piece off and popping into his mouth. Almonds crunched under his teeth, combining saltiness with the rich sweetness of the chocolate. In between pieces, he glanced up the mountain. It began relaxed. An easy pace that he could hold a conversation at was all that it took. About a quarter of the way up, it steepened greatly, and he knew that the pair was in for a rough climb. "Not sure why I started," Morningstar swallowed, "but

Morningstar rushed forwards, chasing down its buzzing opponent and putting it down for good. The last of the orchid nymphs was killed. Unfortunately, when he turned around, Joaquin had completed his squad of nymphs first. "Seriously?" Joaquin laughed. "I knew you would try to be faster than me!" "Whatever," Morningstar rolled his eyes, walking on without his friend, who was still cycling through his loot menu. When Joaquin finally caught up with Morningstar, he bragged about the three demonic shards he had been rewarded for all of his "hard work and effort." The blonde only

The next time the orchid nymph tried to attack him, Morningstar really did take it's arm off. It buzzed around for a while before crashing into the ground and shattering into a million tiny pieces. He moved on to the next nymph, which came right to him, allowing him to take it down without moving much at all. The third swooped in from behind, probably thinking that it had caught him off guard. It hadn't, of course. He sliced through its head, leaving all but one nymph dead and defeated. The final bug made its move, exactly as Morningstar had anticipated. It had waited for the right moment

Eight orchid nymphs remained, leaving each of the swordsman with four to take on. These eight were the strongest of the bunch; it made sense that they were the only survivors and yet, they would die just the same. Morningstar moved first, hitting all but one of the orchid nymphs simultaneously with a sword art. Their health bar dropped low, but not quite low enough to end the fight. The mob that had not been hit floated behind the rest, as if waiting for the others to distract Morningstar. When they did, he would swoop in and deliver a paralyzing swipe to his body. Joaquin was almost finished

Morningstar scooped up the loot and the lot of it funneled into his inventory. To be honest, the chest contained very little to add to his collection, but at least it was something. He withdrew his icy blade, a polar opposite to Joaquin's infernal weapon. Together, they stood against the orchid nymphs. Morningstar counted seventeen, which sounded like quite a few; however, many were severely underleveled. They rushed forwards, splitting the battlefield in half and challenging the nymphs on their own terms. It reminded Morningstar of their fight with the hellhounds on the ninth floor, or the da

"Hey, see that?" "Nope. What?" "In the bushes. No, over there, idiot." "Oh, shit—is that a treasure chest?" "No, it's an elephant," Morningstar said sarcastically. They moved towards the locked crate, kneeling down to take a better look. It required a key, which they very much lacked; however, they always came prepared with swords. Unfortunately for them, they were swiftly interrupted by the oncoming horde of mobs that had been watching them from the bushes the entire time. Eight Orchid Nymphs approached from all around them. Morningstar stuck his blade into the chest,

Morningstar knelt down. A feather had fallen from the sky and onto their path, landing right in front of Morningstar's feet. It was pastel green and longer than an eagles. What it could have come from, Morningstar had little idea. He had heard of feathered dragons and large birds, but was unaware of any within that area. That being said, the garden of Little Eden was home to many creatures that he had never encountered before. Snapdragons, moss wolves, hell, knights of Gaia. None of them were anticipated when he had set foot in the garden. Joaquin seemed to think the same thing, even sayi

"How'd he know we were friends?" Joaquin asked. Morningstar shrugged. "Coincidence, maybe? I didn't even know you were on the eleventh floor. He probably just picked two people at random. Maybe he does this a lot." "Still, freaky." They shared their thoughts on the garden, discovering that both had similar opinions. Despite being lost and led astray by their host, the garden was actually quite pretty and aside from the mobs, their time there had been relaxing. Also, there was the fact that their loot seemed to be enhanced while they were within its borders. Each of them was gain