Morningstar

"Halador," Morningstar's grip loosened, "who is it that you fight for? We saw no one else here. What about your people?" Halador's stern expression turned warm. "My kingdom spans from here to the edge of the mountains. My 'people,' as you put it, include all of the creatures that call them home. I fight for them. It is my duty to ensure that they are looked after and that their king remains worthy of the title." Morningstar nodded. Halador engaged, twisting his spear as he thrust towards his opponent. It caught Star off guard. His eyes widened as he watched the tip of the lance ram t

In response to the grave warning, Morningstar kicked up the blade and resumed the duel. His fighting was unclean and choppy; the pain in his head had weakened him significantly. Halador was also staggered, however, from both the stab wound and Star's static. In their weakened states, they remained even adversaries. The Lightbringer and the King of the Mountains danced, their blades flashing in the dim light of the throne room. Their clash of wills echoed in the enclosed space, sparks flying from metal. Tension hung heavy in the air as they circled each other, the outcome of their duel uncertai

In a flash, Halador pressed forward, creating a shallow fissure with sheer force. Earthshaker's tip scraped Morningstar's neck but missed any lethal spots. The Lightbringer clashed against it with reverberation and electricity bounced up its body. The static shocked Halador, breaking his poise. Morningstar took the opportunity to attack once more. He lunged, his blade breaking through the armor that covered the king's stomach. The Soulcursed Blade screamed in a high pitch that only Morningstar and Halador could hear. The blonde withdrew it from the king's body and dropped it to the ground

He raced towards Halador intent on testing the king's true power. There was something the old man had not advertised but was keen on using. He sliced and slashed until finally, another tile flew up. This time, Morningstar was ready. He smacked it out of the way, his gauntlet cracking it in half. The king reared back. Moments before the blade could touch him, rocks tore from the ground, ripping up the floor and forming around Halador. A tough shell, even harder than the elder rock dragon's scales, encased him, making it impossible to touch him. Spikes emerged from Granite Shield, stab

With a sigh, Halador focused. He charged forwards, his spear pointed at Morningstar's chest. The blonde lifted his blade just in time to adjust its angle. It left a dent in his shoulder plating but he had avoided being impaled. With the spear out of the way, Morningstar was free to strike back. His blade poised for Halador's throat, he stabbed; however, instead, he connected with a slab of marble. It shattered, dampening the blow and allowing Halador to block with his arm. Morningstar stared with wild eyes. They split apart. A perfect square was missing from the floor exactly where they h

Without stopping to think, Morningstar reentered the Earthshaker's range. He deflected a hefty swing, his riposte cleaving the plating on Halador's leg. It was the king who backed up now, without even looking at his new wound. "You fight well, swordsman," he said with a smirk. "What might your name be?" "Morningstar," the blonde replied. Behind them, the others whispered, plotting to enter the fight as well. Halador caught them. "You may take your turns if young Morningstar fails to defeat me. Until then, please be patient. Lily and Wilfred are hungry and tend not to care for ru

Morningstar, Willow, and Renflow entered the throne room. On each side of them, in the circular windows beneath the ceiling, perched a rock dragon. Their bodies were composed entirely of stone, just like the beast they had fought before. Judging by their size and appearance, they were young. He knew better than anyone what they would become, given the time. Goliaths. These, however, could still fit within the space of the throne room, if they so pleased. They were no bigger than a pair of elephants. Their gray scales and rocky jaws were meant to intimidate the Lightbringer. They did

The main entrance of the castle led the party through a gorgeously adorned hallway of jewels and crystals. Gold rimmed the edges connecting the walls to the arched ceiling. They could hear nothing but their own footsteps and voices now. "What is this place?" Renflow asked, rhetorically. "It screams dungeon," Willow said, eyeing the mural that followed the path of the ceiling. "What do you think that's all about?" She pointed up. The mural depicted the rough mountains as well as many of the animals, including the rock dragons, that inhabited them. "Cardinal's an artist, I guess."

Finally, they were within the walls of the city. Inside was much less than they had expected. They had imagined a city, bustling and beautiful, with NPCs much like those in Urbus or the Town of Beginnings. People who, perhaps, had never met players like them before. Instead, there were no people at all. It was quiet within the walls. Platforms and statues, as well as gardens and waterfalls that lead to pretty ponds, lined what could only be described as a really long staircase. At the very top, there was a castle. Much like the rest of the citadel, it was made from various types of stone, incl

They hugged the wall of the mountain, which was taller than the others in the area and, unlike many, ended in jagged points. Morningstar's armor clanked; however, it was not loud enough for the golem to notice. "It's working," Willow whispered, prompting a sudden hush from Renflow behind her. Upon reaching the wall they realized two things. First, it was unclimbable. It was perfectly flat and even if they had brought the tools for the job, there was little chance that they could have made it up without the guard taking notice. There was also the fact that none of them had the strength nor

They laid out their plan: sneak past the guard and find a way through the wall. Was it a good plan? Absolutely not. Was it all they had? Unfortunately, yes. They prepared their gear in case of emergency. Morningstar switched his climbing clothes to his heavy armor. It was the worst possible suit for a stealth mission; however, in the event that they were caught anyway, they decided that it was safer to be wearing their strongest equipment possible. The others were dressed in cloaks with their guild insignia printed on the backs. It was a black ball with engulfed by an orange flame. Mornin

Star could faintly hear the concoction of voices speaking from the alleyway but could not make out a word they were saying. Inside the bar, things were looking grim and out of his control. A woman had snuck out the back door and wrapped around the side to run for a guard. With no way to stop her while remaining a virtuous player, all he could do was shout, "no, don't," which wasn't of much use. "Star! Tell me things are under control in there!" He wished that he could, deflecting a wine bottle with the edge of his sword. He was careful and made sure to smash it to the side, afraid o

The valley between mountains was green, spacious, and wet. Little stirred aside from small critters and birds. A few messages had been sent back and forth between Morningstar and Willow, mostly updating each other on their whereabouts and planning out where they would meet next. She also sent him a photo of Renflow being headbutt by an ox, which he saved for safekeeping. Morningstar's trek was long but uneventful. He searched a few nooks for any loot or materials but found nothing of value. A plum tree offered him plenty of fresh fruit. The whole bunch of it became his lunch (although, he save

He grimaced upon realizing what he had done. He didn't bother to count out each NPC in the bar. It was obvious by looking that there were too many to take on injured. Besides, an accident wasn't worth going orange for. Freyd shouted for him to keep the patrons inside. It was a tall order. Morningstar inhaled nervously and exhaled through a deep bow. "Ladies and gentlemen," he exclaimed on the way up, "we apologize for our intrusion! We are the Actors of Aincrad, a group of traveling thespians who have stopped in Glyndebourne for the end of our tour! Your Lady Sally, a genius upon the stag

2.17.2024 IDENTIFICATIONS EXP: ((3*3)+2)*8=88 COST: 3040*8=24320 col

The game was evolving, he remembered himself saying. It wasn't the same as it used to be. In the past, it was "kill mobs and collect experience" on repeat. It was straightforward and things made sense. Ever since the twenty-eighth floor had opened and he'd been trapped in the manor, things felt off. A mob he had fought a million times before would adjust its attack pattern ever so slightly. An NPC with little to no sense of awareness would say something unexpectedly unique. And now... whatever this was. Morningstar was perplexed. The scene played out rather normally at first: a woman pulls the

He strained his forearms and back pulling himself up the mountain. The rope burned his hands the further he scaled. The alternative to the pain, unfortunately, was death. He had survived one fall and he was lucky for that. He wouldn't have made the second. At the top, a mountain goat stared at him with wild eyes. It began to chew on the rope. In a panic, Morningstar equipped the knife he used to cut his food and, holding it by the blade, tossed it at the animal. It stuck into the goat's head and he toppled over the mountainside, right past the blonde. It took his favorite knife with him.

Morningstar looked into the Redcoat's eyes as Freyd pummeled him. He didn't last a minute. His sword free from the man's shoulder, he refocused his attention to the last foe. On the opposite side of the fight, Freyd continued to evolve into an even more terrifying yet somehow beautiful form. The mob struggled to stand, let alone fight back. It was over. In one clean swing, Morningstar severed its head from its defeated body and watched as it disappeared from sight. He clutched his waist. "All in a day's work," he smirked, unwilling to admit to the obvious injuries. He could already feel t

The next morning, he awoke to mountain goats and light rain. Bleating startled him up and he saw the head of a goat peeking into his tent. He went through multiple phases of awakening: confusion, annoyance, and then pure laughter. "Good morning to you too," he rubbed his eyes, tossing off the bandit's blanket and crawling past the goat. Immediately, he regretted his decision to leave cover. Water soaked his hair as he stuck his head outside, causing him to hide away again. It was a good thing he hiked a lot because he had come prepared for this. Through the grogginess, he scrambled into his in

"Ah, well. Sorry about this. I'm sure you didn't have a choice. I suppose I take self-control for granted," Morningstar said, kneeling beside the disarmed bandit, who stared up at him with eyes full of fire. The bandit threw a punch, prompting the swordsman to kick his fist aside and end the fight with a second sword art. He spun, hitting all four of the bandits in one giant sweep. They all disappeared, leaving him alone with a fire and a bundle of ox legs. "I've been told," he sat down at the bandit camp, "that if I put out the fire, they'll stop spawning." He eyed the food but upon

"Listen, fellas, I fell from a really high place and I don't have the energy for this. Why don't we just sit down and talk this out over a few of those ox legs you've got roasting there," Morningstar pointed his sword at the meat hanging above the fire pit. Obviously, they had not taken a liking to his diplomatic approach, as each of them raised their weapon of choice upon hearing his idea. "Fine, fine. What do they call this again? Aggressive negotiations?" They came faster than he had expected. One jabbed at him with a dagger, managing to slice above his hip bone. He kneed the bandit in

"I'll try to steer clear; I'm not into piercings." He switched his outfit into something more suitable for the water. Committing to going knee-deep, he chose shorts and a simple blank t-shirt. With two sandwiches in hand, he strolled up to the lake. "There ya go," he said, delivering one to Freyd. The water was warm, as was mentioned. They'd picked a good day to come. "The game's a bit of a paradise for messed up people. Since there's no real judicial system, you can basically do whatever you want. Killing's never been easier," he voiced, taking a bite from his sandwich. "Especially

Hiking had become tiresome and Morningstar had endured both a long fall and a long day. "Just about time for a break," he mumbled through a yawn. His position was unideal, though, so he kept walking towards the top. It was quiet in the mountains. He supposed that there weren't many creatures (loud ones, anyway) that were up at night. He had passed some goats on his way up but they were the extent of the lifeforms he had seen. That was, until he saw the flame flickering from the center of the tabletop. He stood at the mountain's edge, still on the path he had taken. A group of four sat aro

He awoke at midnight, in a crater of his own making. Or of the dragon's making before it disintegrated. A sliver of health remained in the corner of his visual display. He was sore but alive. His first instinct was to move to safer ground; however, nothing appeared to have noticed him lying there. Or, if something had, it had been scared off by the falling dragon. His inbox had been blown up by messages from Willow. He sat up and typed out a few words. morningstar: all good. hbu? willow: what the hell do you mean all good? willow: it's been 12 hours! He stood up with a grunt and

The height limit had stopped them from flying any further. Morningstar had not considered that crashing was inevitable. Without the barrier, they might have eventually found the third floor. Cardinal could not have them discovering any loopholes to avoid clearing floors, so it threw them back to where they belonged instead. They tumbled through the air, the rock dragon dazed and Morningstar holding on for dear life. He could see the mountain again, yet it was so much further than before. The dragon had taken him on a joyride and he had no way of getting back to his party. They approached