Morningstar

Morningstar ducked, as ordered, falling into place below Nari's charging form. She clipped all three skyrat raiders with her spear, their wounds deep in its wake. Her damage was light, being a tank, and so Morningstar made up for it with his following strikes.

Two raiders hit the floor, dead. Their bodies disintegrated, leaving one fearful pirate, his chanty far lonelier than it had been before. Anticipating reckless retaliation, Morningstar hid behind the iron wall that was Nari-Lanreth and bided his time. The pirate would make a mistake sooner or later, and they would end him for it.

"Nice hits," Morningstar complimented from behind, peering over her armored shoulder at the remaining foe. "We really should team up more often. Freyd doesn't tank things for me; he just dodges. Way less fun," he smirked hypocritically.

The pirate shouted the last few lines of his sordid sea chanty (Galtean sailors would be horrified to hear it). Morningstar caught that as a sign that the poor mob was about to make what would be its final move.

Looting Skyrat Raider 2 & 4:

ID: 223582 LD: 8+6=14 CD: 7
ID: 223583 LD: 11+6=17 CD: 7
4,000 col ((500*3)*2)+(500*2)
6 materials (2*3)
T4 Rare Weapon 223582a
T4 Uncommon Consumable 223582b
T4 Rare Consumable 223583a
T4 Rare Armor/Shield 223583b

40 minutes ago, KnightessCiela said:

New Item Crafts:
[x6] Jackpot Pretzels | T1 Perfect Snack | LD III | ID: 221827, 222283, 222300, 222300-1, 222304, 222512
[desc.] A salty pretzel that is fresh from the oven and has been made with love. It has been shaped into the form of a heart, each pretzel having a small FI branded on it for Fondante's Inferno.

221827

 

222283

 

222300, 222300-1 & 222304

222512

 

 

approved

1 hour ago, NIGHT said:

r10 artisan | x12 daily crafting attempts | cd tool

rhinestone. | TIER 4 TRINKET | AMBITION
[desc.]: chipped jewels fashioned into small polished representatives of themselves.

[27/08/23] | +9
[02/09/23] | +14
[03/09/23] | +12
[04/09/23] | +10
[14/04/24] | +9

approved

Events were moving quickly. One second, Morningstar was on his way to a bakery and the next, he was skewering a giant fish named Bertha. Now, the fish was dead and the quest technically complete, aside from the final task of handing it in for their rewards. It was an odd and sudden group he had stumbled his way into, but not an unappealing one.

Nymoria was uncanny. The way her voice (if that's what it was) snuck into his head was almost creepy. The system had a way of weirding Morningstar out. He imagined it was nice for the girl to communicate easily, though.

"Lead the way," he said to Wulfrin, who had mentioned returning to the mayor with his money.

***

And the party did just that, meandering through Tolbana together until finally arriving at the Mayor's house. Morningstar rapped on the door. It looked like an expensive place; considering he was the elected leader of a settlement, that wasn't so strange, he supposed. Tolbana was an otherwise humble and discreet place, though.

The mayor opened up, peering out as if surprised to see the motley crew. "Yes?"

"Couldn't get your money, but will this do?" asked Morningstar. He handed over the jawbone of the fish.

The Mayor eyed it dubiously. "Well, yes," he stammers, "I suppose that's a fair trade. Truth be told, I don't quite remember how much we loaned him, anyway." Delicately, with two fingers, Dorian accepted the unusual item. "Uh, alright, that's all, then. Thank you for your help. If you ever need anything in this town, do not hesitate to drop my name. I'm sure that's far more valuable than any monetary reward I could offer you, anyway."

With that, he shut the door.

"A monetary reward would have been nice too."

They switched places, with Morningstar now following Nari through the hull of the ship. More pirates, three this time, appeared in their path. One of them had a peg leg, which Morningstar thought was too on-brand for him. Another grinned at them with a mess of deteriorating teeth. The blonde shuddered at the sight.

It was an awkward space to fight, especially with the sheer number of people involved. The ship was not made for three versus two combat, and they were about to find that out the hard way. Morningstar dashed forwards, clipping the pirate closest to them on the wooden stump of a leg and knocking him over with a yelp and a thud. He disarmed the next with a precise sequence of stabs and slices, aimed specifically at overpowering the man.

The third proved to be too much for Morningstar to handle. Not because he was an overtly powerful pirate, but due to a sudden blast of steam shooting him in the face. A protruding pipe on its last legs had finally broken and the swordsman would have to suffer for it.

***

Morningstar | HP: 720/720 | EN: 92/110 | DMG: 26 | MIT: 20 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 4 | BH: 39 | LD: 5 (6) | REC: 4 | FB: 40 | BLD: 48 | +8 EN -14 EN
Nari-Lanreth | Lv. 33 | HP [807/940] | EN [97/106] | ACC [4] | DMG [9] | MIT [179] | F.AURA [16 DMG] B.Healing [+51] | STEALTH [-5] |  FRSTBT [40 DMG | -1 ACC] | THORNS [72] | PARA [8+] | HM [+4 B.DMG] | +4 EN +51 HP | 
[1,0] Skyrat Raider 2 | HP: 238/500 | DMG: 250 | MIT: 50 30 | ACC: 2 3 | EVA: 2 3 0 | Bleed: 48 (0/3) | Frostbite: 40 (0/2) | STUNNED | Blood Frenzy
[0,0] Skyrat Raider 3 | HP: 500/500 | DMG: 250 | MIT: 50 | ACC: 2 | EVA: 2
[1,0] Skyrat Raider 4 | HP: 238/500 | DMG: 250 | MIT: 50 30 | ACC: 2 3 | EVA: 2 3 0 | Bleed: 48 (0/3) | Frostbite: 40 (0/2) | STUNNED | Blood Frenzy
Poisoned Blade | On MD 9-10, apply Toxic Venom 30 to the target for 3 turns.  If already active, the effect refreshes.
Blood Frenzy | While subject to any DoT effects, a Skyrat Pirate gains +2 ACC, +1 EVA and -20 MIT. 
Sordid Sea Chanty | Skyrat Raiders sing an unbearably bad rendition of a popular Galtean sailor’s tune as they fight. Players suffer -2 ACC on their first attack against any individual Skyrat Raider and cannot score a critical hit on that attack. All other skills and enhancement effects based on dice results trigger normally.

ID222474 | CD: 12 | Recovery Successful | +4 EN
ID222475 | BD: 10+4-4 = 10 | <<Tech-F vs Skyrat Raider 2>> | DMG: 26*12 = 312-50 = 262 | BLEED | FROSTBITE | STUNNED
ID222476 | BD: 2+4-4 = 2 | <<Tech-F vs Skyrat Raider 3>> | Miss
ID222477 | BD: 8+4-4 = 8 | <<Tech-F vs Skyrat Raider 4>> | DMG: 26*12 = 312-50 = 262 | BLEED | FROSTBITE | STUNNED

Skyrat Raider 2 Activates Blood Frenzy
Skyrat Radier 4 Activates Blood Frenzy

Awoken by a tropical bird, Morningstar found himself face-to-face with a direct message from Wulfrin. His presence had been requested on floor eight, specifically at the Great Tree. He yawned, still beneath his light bed sheets, and closed his eyes for a minute longer.

The Monkey King was an old foe of his. He hadn't thought about the beast in years, and yet here it was, back again. He recalled being a lower level than Wulfrin currently was when he attempted the quest; they'd probably be fine without him.

He groaned, rolling over. On the off chance they wouldn't be, he returned a message.

As it sent, he hopped out of bed, threw on his combat gear and red coat, and wandered off to the nearby teleporter with his breakfast to-go.

***

"Morning," he said, appearing to the star-crossed lovers. "Oh," he grinned, surprised, "you two found yourself familiars, then? Right on."

His blade materialized at his waist. "So," he checked over his equipment twice, "we're heading to Florenthia first to pickup the quest?"

| MORNINGSTAR  | Lv. 55 >> P. 22, Lv. 33  | Status: [ zzZ ]  Notes:  //

Hide contents Morningstar | HP: 740/740 | EN: 112/112 | DMG: 28 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 4 | BH: 39 | LD: 5 (6) | REC: 4 | FLN: 16 | AA | PAR VEN equipped Dying Sun FLN II, AA, PAR VEN Red Longcoat EVA II, REC I Sapphire ACC III, EVA I battle-ready inventory Magdalyn's Cuckoo Teleport Crystal (x5) skills   Hide contents mod count: 3/5 2HSS | RANK 5/5 precision, stamina, ferocity shift: tech CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5 athletics, nimble COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 SEARCHING | RANK 4/5 (5) night vision, detect BATTLE HEALING | RANK 5/5 ENERGIST CHARGE extra SURVIVAL FORGOTTEN KING'S AUTHORITY LADY LUCK DISGUISE buffs   Hide contents statue # | # consumables Imperial Quarter Blend | DMG III Breakfast Fry | PROTEIN II paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting. sword arts   Hide contents en cost matches multiplier unless stated otherwise. shift underlined. ST | x12 -> x15 | x20 AOE | x11 -> x14 TECH-A | x16 | STUN | 13EN TECH-B | x16 | DELAY TECH-D | x16 | SHATTER TECH-F | x12 | AOE STUN misc/housing buffs   Hide contents Dimensional Backpack | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. Squeaky Clean | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). Filling | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30. Tasty | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. Relaxed | Increases out-of-combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. Multipurpose | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll. Skylight (Searching) | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill.  fishing #

Ciela was no natural at fishing. Big Bertha fully ignored her attempts at bait, and so she passed it on the the girl Wulfrin had introduced as Nymoria. A good effort was made, but even she wasn't able to catch the fish. She looked disappointed, or maybe it was just general melancholy. Star couldn't tell, but he smiled reassuringly. "No big deal," he said to the group, watching as the red-coated swordsman took the pole.

Who better to catch the fish than the resident fisherman? He pulled and Big Bertha followed the line out of the water and into the air. Morningstar reacted first; years of fighting had made it second nature. His blade materialized in his grip, and he skewered the fish.

"This would make a good dinner," he offered, holding it like a piñata for Ciela to whack. "Be gentle and maybe Petey Larkin'll let us keep her."

 # familiar tame

# familiar tame

# familiar tame

# rolling for familiar

Morningstar scanned the area, unable to explain his alertness. "This place feels different," he murmured, half to himself, half to Willow. "Like something’s watching us."

Willow nodded, her eyes darting around, trying to catch any movement in the shadows. "More elementals?"

"Could be anything," Morningstar replied, his voice steady. "But whatever it is, we'll be okay."

Willow smiled at his confidence, drawing some strength from it. "Yeah."

editing

After a few minutes, Willow glanced at Morningstar, her curiosity getting the better of her. "What keeps you going through all of this?"

Morningstar’s eyes remained fixed on the path ahead, his expression unreadable. He hadn't really thought about it. He weighed his words carefully to ensure his answer was an accurate representation of how he felt. "I like to explore. Find new things—things that nobody else has seen. It's what kept me from staying in the Town of Beginnings at the start. I was too curious. And Lexa..." He trailed off, pulling himself back when he realized the train had fallen from the tracks. "My girlfriend at the time was the same. Adventurous. Big personality. Always getting into trouble. We were a bad combination, in hindsight. I'm rambling, sorry."

"No, please, continue," Willow smiled.

He hesitated, but trusted her confirmation and obliged. "She liked to explore. Even wanted to start an exploration guild at one point. I guess it stuck with me. I'm kind of always out in the field, scouting."

"Maybe that's why Greymore picked you. I'll admit that some of the guild was... doubtful."

"I would've been," Star laughed.

"I wasn't," Willow assured.

Morningstar smiled. "What about you? What keeps you going?"

Willow considered his words, her gaze drifting back to the path. "I guess I just want to know what the point of it all is. The deeper meaning, you know? Like, what are we all doing trapped in a video game for years on end? I don't really know. I guess I'm hoping that, one day, I'll stumble upon whatever it is I'm looking for."

"Or whoever," Morningstar added quietly.

A small smile crossed Willow’s lips. "Or whoever."

The path before them began to narrow, the terrain becoming more rugged and treacherous. The air grew thicker with tension, the distant sounds of creatures echoing through the caverns. But neither of them faltered. They had come too far to turn back now.

Morningstar cast a quick glance at Willow. "Stay close. We don’t know what’s ahead."

Willow nodded, tightening her fists. "I’m right behind you."

Willow smiled, sensing a hint of vulnerability in Morningstar’s response. "I get that. It's easier to keep a small circle, especially in a place like this."

"Yeah," Morningstar agreed. "Most people here have their own agendas, and it’s hard to know who you can really trust."

"Freyd seems to be an exception, though," Willow said, probing gently. "What’s he like?"

Morningstar paused, as if considering how much to reveal. "He’s... different. A good guy, really. Strong, reliable. I won't pretend to know him that well. He helps me out from time to time, though."

"Sounds like someone you could count on," Willow remarked.

Morningstar nodded, but there was a distant look in his eyes. "You could say that. But even with friends, it’s hard to shake the feeling that everyone’s in it for themselves, in the end."

Willow tilted her head, studying him. "You’ve been through some tough times, haven’t you?"

Morningstar didn’t respond immediately. His gaze drifted to the horizon, where a magma worm fished itself out of the ground. "Haven’t we all?"

"That’s the thing about the game," Willow said, her voice softening. "It hardens you. Make you wary of everyone. But every now and then, you meet someone who reminds you that not everyone’s out to get you."

"Maybe," Morningstar conceded, a small, almost imperceptible smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Maybe that’s why I keep coming back."

"Back where?" Willow asked, confused.

"To the fight. To the unknown. To places like this," Morningstar clarified. "Because every time, there's a chance I'll find something... or someone worth trusting."

Willow's eyes softened as she looked at him. "You think you'll find that here?"

"Maybe."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, continuing to navigate the flatlands.

Somewhere down the line, the conversation had changed subjects once more. "Have you been to the Endless Caverns?"

"On Ten? Can't say that I have. What's there?"

"Not a ton," Willow said. "Shadow monsters and drakes, mostly. But it's really pretty. There's one area with like, glowing blue trees."

"Glowing blue trees?"

"Yeah... I don't know how to better explain them," she laughed.

Morningstar tried to recall a similar place but failed miserably. The tenth floor remained totally mysterious to him; he never really went near it. It was dark, gloomy, and quite dangerous if you didn't know your way around. The Endless Caverns, he had heard, were labyrinthian in nature and the other major locations were dreadful in name. He had little interest in an abandoned prison called Tartarus, if he was honest. There were far nicer places to be.

"Oh, oh! What about the shrines in the Labyrinth?" Willow was awfully curious ever since he mentioned he liked to explore.

He shook his head. "Only been to the Labyrinth once. It was sort of an in-and-out type of day. We took down the big titanium guy and then got the hell out. Not my favorite place."

"Mmm. Who's we?"

"Myself and a friend. Freyd's his name."

"So you do have friends, then?"

Star laughed, and was quickly joined by Willow. "Not really. I can count them with two hands. That's why were here today, yeah?"

A soft hand touched his shoulder. "I'm sorry," Willow told him.

He nodded. "Simon was just a kid. Fifteen, or something. He deserved better. Anyway, the heat's only fifty percent of the reason why I don't come here. This place tends to ruin my mood."

"Let's go," she smiled. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can leave."

"Yeah."

***

Conversation took a more cheerful note for the next stretch of their travels. Willow told him the story of her great-aunt's sixtieth birthday party. Horrendous laughter escaped from both of their lips; breathing and talking were equally difficult. "So, the dog pulls the table cloth and as she's moving in to blow out her candles, it tips over on her and her dress catches on fire!"

Through the excessive laughter, Morningstar spat out, "is it okay to find this funny?"

"No great-aunts were harmed that day," Willow assured him.

Morningstar continued. "We left from Fortaleza, I think, on the fifth floor. We did a quest called the Traveler—have you heard of it? Yeah, that one. We spent a day or so in the desert just walking and it was a terrible time. Anyway, we ran into some desert bandits out there but they didn't give us any trouble and let us pass through. We found some ruins nearby and intended on resting for a while before nightfall, but the bandits had tracked us there."

He fiddled with a cool, solidified lava rock. Willow was listening intently. She realized where he was going with his story. She had already guessed the ending.

"Katar lost it. Charged through the door of our hideout and took down one bandit. He wasn't even thinking. There were only three at the front door but a few more in hiding that none of us could see. I followed him out and took a spear to the back. Bam—suddenly, I'm paralyzed. Bandits killed Grace and Simon, our other party members. Our NPC guide, Zamek, was hiding in the house, as he should have been. We killed the bandits and then Katar just teleported out."

"Took us months to find him again and by the time we did, he was orange and running with some low-life PK group. Haven't seen him in years, now, and I hope I never do again."

He left out the part about nearly killing Katar the last time they'd met.

"We're never coming back here," Morningstar wiped his forehead.

"I get why you hate it now," Willow sighed.

She took a long sip from her canteen, only stopping when she realized she had to breathe. He took a short look at her before glancing away. She was new in his life. She hadn't been around during the start. It wasn't only the heat that caused him to hate the ninth floor. It was history.

He had mentioned the story once, but briefly and only touching on a few points before closing off. But it had been years since the events took place and it no longer carried the same weight it once had.

"A long time ago," he started, pulling Willow's attention away from the cold water, "I made some friends. One, actually, I knew in my old life—before the game. His name was Joaquin and at the time, he led a small group within his guild. They'd always try to recruit me but I was in a weird headspace and never ready to commit. I always declined. One day, though, I joined them on a quest. Joaquin wasn't around, so he put one of his guys in charge. Katar was his name. Hair like yours, a katana, samurai robes, and a bit of an attitude. He was a reckless player known for getting himself and his parties into trouble."

Morningstar paused to sip his own water.

"But, he was a good guy."

Morningstar had somehow stumbled into a quest. His party included star-crossed lovers and a deaf girl that he could somehow understand despite speaking two words of sign language. The system attempted to translate her signs through some sort of weak telepathy. All that trouble to get away from the voices in his head and here one was again. It mostly worked, too. The translations weren't perfect, but they showed how far technology had progressed. Cardinal never ceased to impress him.

He vaguely remembered the name Dorian from somewhere. A previous quest, he thought.

"Oh, shit, this is the first few lessons."

It was an ongoing questline for him. He had managed to avoid the last quest for years, but everything eventually had to come to an end. Things began quick as the fisherman tossed over a couple of rods and went off to hunt down his harpoon. Why they didn't get harpoons, he couldn't say.

He accepted the party request and denied the fishing rod, taking one good look at the water before deciding that he was better suited to not being in charge of reeling in their catch. "I'll do the other stuff," he told Wulfrin, handing Ciela the rod. "You go for it."

He held blame for nobody but himself.

Zandra rushed to his side, activating both her and her familiar's heals simultaneously. The distance between him and death was lengthened for a while longer. As his health bar regenerated, so did his body.

"Right," he nodded to Zandra. "Back to work."

Freyd had the right idea, battling the slobbering three-headed beast by himself. He controlled the fight expertly while the other two reoriented themselves. Morningstar leaned towards the the left-most head, leaving Zandra to do as she pleased. If he could whittle down its health bar just a bit more they would be off to the races.

A clear line to head number one had opened up. He swooped past Freyd, gripping his blade tight the second his fingers finished materializing. A bone cracked at the force of Dying Sun, but his attack barely tickled its lifeforce. That was the kind of energy he needed to put into his attacks, for the time being.

"Thank you," he called to Freyd. "I'm grateful that you held them off for me. And you too, Zandra, for the heals."

From his inventory, Morningstar pulled a pocket journal. It was leatherbound, and well-crafted at that. He had found his original on the game's opening day, shortly after discovering that he would not be leaving. It was his first purchase, even before a meal. He had continued buying copies ever since. Each time he dotted the concluding sentence of the final page of a book, he would return to where he started and purchase a brand new one. It was an cycle that he wished would never end; a ritual that brought him peace in a world so uncertain.

Everyone had something, he theorized.

He flipped through the messy pages, eventually coming to his most recent entry. A list of names were written along the horizontal lines of the page. Beside each of them was a floor. "This is where you should call it quits, if you don't feel ready for combat. If you need me to escort you back to town, I'm happy to do so."

The fiercest of beasts with unmatched strength, he realized, was Kumatetsu. It was at the top of his list and the first quest boss he intended on challenging. He did not explain the continuation of the quest, interested in hearing her answer first. If she returned to the Town of Beginnings, or Tolbana, or Horunka, she would stay safe for as long as she so desired. If she joined him on his quest, there were no guarantees of anything whatsoever.

Sunlight blasted Morningstar in the face as he materialized in the Town of Beginnings. It was an astringent change of scenery from the dreary tenth floor and the ill-lit locations within its land. He had spent enough time staring into the void that entering a normal town essentially burned out his eyeballs. Squinting, he stepped into the town.

His investigation of the void had come up futile. It was an oddity that simply existed with no logical rhyme or reason. Naturally, that intrigued him and so, he spent three days there. One of his experiments included dropping useless items into the pit. He would watch them enter the blackness and vanish. It was impossible to say where they would end up. Players, he discovered, woke in their beds if they ventured into the void themselves. Items, however, seemed to disappear entirely. He only dropped dull items, worried that if he sent a straight sword through it would end up back in whatever smithy it was crafted in. He wished for all blacksmiths to keep their heads during his investigation.

Seventy-two hours was plenty of time for Morningstar to give up. The first floor was his getaway from the endless noise (being the voices in his head, caused by the void). It appeared to stop as soon as he did, which he was thankful for. He tried to look down at the ground while he walked, going so far as to pull out his journal to avoid looking like a weirdo in public. Notes compiled from his endless expeditions up the tower were scribbled down. They looked sort of like a fourth grader took an edible and tried to write poetry. To anyone but him, they were cryptic and messy.

In exchange for a baby-sized sack of col, Morningstar rented the finest horse the Town of Beginnings had to offer. He was a white steed called Lincoln, and Morningstar was quite fond of him. "I'll bring him back in a day or so," he told the stablemaster before taking off.

He had no business in Tolbana, but decided to ride there regardless. It would be a solo-date in a town slightly less crowded and with better food than where he was currently located.

***

Morningstar dropped off Lincoln at another stable while he went about his day. There were quite a few shops he looked forward to peeking around in. There was a local bakery that he was particularly curious about. Before he could even begin, however, a familiar voice caught his attention.

"Wulfrin?"

| MORNINGSTAR  | Lv. 55 >> P. 22, Lv. 33  | Status: [ out of place ]  Notes:  //

Hide contents Morningstar | HP: 740/740 | EN: 112/112 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 20 | EVA: 4 | ACC: 4 | BH: 39 | LD: 5 (6) | REC: 4 | FLN: 16 | AA | PAR VEN equipped Dying Sun FLN II, AA, PAR VEN Red Longcoat EVA II, REC I Sapphire ACC III, EVA I battle-ready inventory Magdalyn's Cuckoo Teleport Crystal x5 skills   Hide contents mod count: 3/5 2HSS | RANK 5/5 precision, stamina, ferocity shift: tech CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5 athletics, nimble COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 SEARCHING | RANK 4/5 (5) night vision, detect BATTLE HEALING | RANK 5/5 ENERGIST CHARGE extra SURVIVAL FORGOTTEN KING'S AUTHORITY LADY LUCK DISGUISE buffs   Hide contents statue # | # consumables # # paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 15% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +1 LD to looting. sword arts   Hide contents en cost matches multiplier unless stated otherwise. shift underlined. ST | x12 -> x15 | x20 AOE | x11 -> x14 TECH-A | x16 | STUN | 13EN TECH-B | x16 | DELAY TECH-D | x16 | SHATTER TECH-F | x12 | AOE STUN misc/housing buffs   Hide contents Dimensional Backpack | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat. Squeaky Clean | The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down). Filling | Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30. Tasty | Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. Relaxed | Increases out-of-combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. Multipurpose | Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll. Skylight (Searching) | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill.  fishing #

"Not to ruin the mood...but does anyone see anything alarming around here? I don't trust this...it's too easy..."

It was a good observation. Morningstar sliced through a Blightbound Monstrosity, severing it in two like it was butter. He reigned in his horse closer to Nari so he did not need to shout. "Nah. I'm gonna live ignorantly and enjoy the easiness of this. It's not often the system gives us a break."

He took a good, long look at Freyd as he rode by. Morningstar refrained from saying anything, but he seemed off—mounting his horse and donning the shadowy cowl had flicked a switch in him that the blonde found oddly familiar. He glanced down at his hands, forgetting that Death's scythe had taken the place of the blade he normally wielded. He was no stranger to losing control, and while he had no evidence to back his claim, he thought that seething wrath might have been a symptom of claiming War's steed. It would wear off afterwards, he hoped.

Putting the change of his rampaging friend's personality to the back of his mind, he carried on. Another monstrosity was spawning in alongside staggering number three. It formed dark as mud, molding like clay into a clone of its fallen brethren.

Doom whinnied, rearing tall onto its hind legs, asserting dominance over the battlefield.

Looting

ID221998 | CD: 4 | LD: 11+10 = 21

10,000 col
2 materials
T4 Perfect Armor/Shield 221998a
T4 Perfect Weapon 221998b

Zandra's charge caught Morningstar off guard. It was quick and intense, the polar opposite of what Freyd had just told them. She swung high and hit air, panicking as Cerberus simply moved out of the way. The middle head swooped in for a counterattack. Morningstar clenched his fists and lunged, unable to sit back as the beast's jaws closed in on the girl. The backbite of his sword redirected the attack away from Zandra, saving her from an untimely decapitation while also pulling its attention towards himself.

For this decision, there would be repercussions. Head 3 slammed into him from behind, winding him. He tried to hit back but felt his feet leave the ground. His eyes grew wide, half from the utter confusion and half from the dull throbbing in his left arm. He gritted his teeth.

Like he was a stuffed animal at the arcade, the jaws of the second head of Cerberus clenched onto him tight. He tossed him like a plaything, but not intentionally. A few harsh swings had torn through the virtual flesh of his arm, leaving him to tumble through the air. He landed with a cartoonish bounce a short way from Freyd. With his remaining arm, he pushed himself off the ground. Pixels resembling blood floated from where the other had previously been. More came from scratches across his face; the landing had not been kind to him. His health bar lingered in the yellow, persistent enough to avoid turning red.

He listened to her story while putting together pieces of the puzzle. They were similar in many ways, he imagined. The both of them came from families with enormous reputations and he thought that insurmountable expectations were common territory. "Look at us," Morningstar smiled. "No MMO experience and yet here we are, surviving."

"I'm sorry about your brother," he added. "I hope he's doing okay now."

The tablet was coming together nicely. Etherial mentioned being shockingly adept at reading it, which Morningstar agreed with. She had a knack for translation. "The game will translate real world languages just fine, but this language was created specifically for this questline. It doubt it exists outside of this floor at all. There's probably some lore to it that I don't know, maybe from an ancient civilization that never really existed," he shrugged. "Anyway, it was intentionally left out of the system's translation database for that reason."

As he finished rambling, they completed the translation of the tablet. The words, once deciphered, transformed before their very eyes. Now visible in English to Morningstar and Japanese to Etherial, they could read it normally. The former read it aloud.

"If seeking power, wisdom and resilience, find ye those which embody nature’s graces: The fiercest of beasts with unmatched strength; a sentinel to the afterlife bound by the Stygian river; a wise and wily water-borne predator; the unmoved titan who is callous and free; a sly shadow high in the branches of the forest; and lastly, that which prowls and safeguards the sky. Only once vanquished will you harness their power to your benefit. These are the Keepers of Nature.”