Morningstar

He heard Mina call out to the team, her words ringing out amongst the crowd. Keep going, he thought to himself. His arms and legs ached; they begged for him to quit, to give up. But, denying their request, he pushed on. Pumping his calves, he lunged at Brimstone. His energy faltered, yet his will moved forwards. He forced his hands to swing, his blade arcing and piercing the beast with its might. His hit was a success, although it felt more like a failure. The head of the dragon raged on, hanging onto its health by a thread. He was close but unable to take down their opponent. S

Two health bars remained. Additionally, the squad had fell their second head. On their path to victory, they claimed the lives of both Overgrowth and Serration. Morningstar glanced up at Wushen, towering above them with an ominous glare. It was shocking, he thought, that none of his teammates showed any fear despite what faced them. He could feel it, even though they were nearing the end. There was no shaking it, the creeping dread that followed him around like a plague. They would be fine. And yet he questioned that still. Two health bars remained and the end felt so

Morningstar swung high, activating another sword art. The dragon head, ghostly and transparent, loomed above the players. It was less intimidating after they had fell the last. Still, it was a threat. He cut through with a stun, although he assumed the effect would be lessened considering what they were up against. Serration's health bar dipped low but not quite to zero. He caught his breath, only now realizing how fatigued the fight had made him. The Soulcursed Blade carried something dark within it, something that pulled at him from a deep place. He struggled to fight it off but tr

Despite Overgrowth falling to their hands, the battle was far from over. Wushen was open to attacks, so Morningstar charged in alongside the rest of his team. He swung hard, the weight of his sword doing the majority of the work. He felt it clash with the armored scales, cutting through despite the beast's iron defense. His teammates' attacks did the trick as well, their damage adding up to quite a lot. From opposite sides of the boss room, he could see the faces of other players in different teams making moves as well, although there was no time to stop and speak to any of them.

Overgrowth. It appeared suddenly alongside the others and would be the focus of Team Freyd's attacks, for the time being. First came Mina, her strike setting off the assault. Then, Katoka followed up with an attack of her own. Morningstar was technically the third to join in, although he was only a second behind Kat. He lunged towards the dragon, channeling a sword art. The black glow once again enveloped the Soulcursed Blade, humming ominously as it awaited the taste of its victim's blood. He felt the edge of it collide with Wushen—Overgrowth, rather. A bit more was all it woul

Every day was quiet at Honeydew & Hushwind. Yes, it was a shop. No, he had no intention of having customers. When they came, he welcomed them (although, it was rarely on purpose) and when they did not, he was just fine. He opened the store in the middle of no where specifically because of how tranquil it was. Monsters were scarce, if any showed themselves at all. People were scarcer, which made it easy for him to work. That's why he opened H&H in the first place: he wanted space to focus. His home was for living and playing—a work-free zone, so to speak. The spacious cabin in the

"Keep using TECH-A, just like that." With a nod, he reactivated the sword art. As he attacked, he felt something strange wash over him. He lacked the words to explain what Wushen had done to them. His body burned and yet, he fought through the pain. He gritted his teeth, each step more difficult than the last. He felt his sword connect, hissing as it touched flesh and blood. His gaze rose to the dragon's health bars. Judging by what green remained, they must have been reduced to about sixty percent or so. It was a slow slog that looked grimmer and grimmer the more they trekked forwar

The changing of the dragon's aggro was a bit worrisome. It was not that he thought Katoka would be unable to handle herself; Freyd was simply better suited for the role of a tank. Morningstar, his grip firm and strong, slashed upwards. A black aura enveloped the blade as his sword art activated and further damaged Wushen. The Elemental Warlord was different than before. The look in its eyes had changed; it seemed more cautious, more deadly. More than a dozen ants nipped at it—perhaps it had grown annoyed with them. As the fighting went on, he was constantly glancing back and forth be

ms would like to come

Not bad, he thought. Azriel, Fiend of Tanos had fallen. They were victorious and with little more than a health scare. Morningstar's gaze fell to the temple. Darkness stopped him from peering too far inside. If he wanted to examine its contents, he had no choice but to enter. Would there be more foes to face on the inside or had the Fiend been the last obstacle in his path? Had there been more, he assumed they would have followed up on Azriel's defeat. It made little sense to him for there to be more to fight after what was essentially a final boss. Still, he kept his blade read

Morningstar nodded. He had fully expected to travel to the boss fight alone but welcomed the company. When the fourth member of the party appeared, he smiled. He thought he recognized the man but could not put his finger on where from, if they had met at all. "I'm open to whatever you would all prefer," Morningstar said, indifferent to who was the party leader. He did not nominate himself—he always felt weird about that sort of thing. He expected that Vigilon would take the lead, although it was a hunch and nothing he cared to prove, even if he could. That being said, he would not ha

Morningstar's attention was drawn to the health bars that appeared above the dragon's head. They had dealt a decent chunk of damage after all. He followed Elora's lead, weaving in an attack after her own. The Phoenix's power circulated through him and, thanks to Hellstorm, staved off the effects of his blade. His mind and heart were clear now, his focus unwavering. He slashed the dragon along its side. It was not as strong of a hit as his last but it did the trick; it was yet another wound left on the beast's body. The health bar dropped even further from their repeated attacks. For the f

"Supposedly, this appeared as soon as the final mob was killed. No quest prompt, no explanation. Just a game. He played, of course, and his reward was the totem." "He played who?" Mello asked. "The system, I think," Caesar paused to gauge their reactions. Nobody spoke. They did not know what to say. Nothing like it had been seen before, as far as they knew. Their vision was clouded, only the tiniest piece of the painting filled in. "So, he won," Morningstar spoke slowly, as if he was still in thought, "and was given the item?" "That's correct." "And what if he ha

He grasped at his own sanity, struggling to keep control of his own mind. The blade was so heavy in his hands; even his previous greatswords were unfit to compare. It called to him, poking and prodding at him, urging him to hand over the reins. His vision grew red and blurry as he began to slip out of consciousness. Freyd's voice rang in his ears, pulling him from the edge. Delaying? What did he mean? What was not close to being over? His eyes grew wide and he swung at Wushen once more. A strange combination of electricity and frost collided at the tip of his sword, amplifying his da

"No sweat," Morningstar called back to Nari, "do your thing." He weaved in another attack, this time activating Shatter and crippling Azriel's mitigation. The Fiend of Tanos was left with a sliver of hit points; another attack and he would be defeated. Morningstar blocked a reactive attack from their opponent. Their blades clashed, the sound of metal ringing through the cold mountain air. He had grown physically stronger but the blonde expected it was out of desperation rather than a stat boost. He looked at Katoka. The dungeon boss was fully open and, so long as he could hold it off

"So, if I'm getting this right, you think that the ritual depicted on the mural is meant for us rather than for the cultists?" Morningstar asked. "Exactly. Gather the artifacts, escape the game. That's the running theory, anyway." "And where can we find the artifacts?" Caesar sighed. "This is our biggest problem, at the moment. Finding the first item was a complete accident. The knight who found it was leveling in the mountains and simply stumbled upon it." Greymore added onto the conversation with the following question: "Was there anything else of significance inside the

"It is possible," Caesar said, "that these items are nothing but fodder or items to a quest that we are not yet aware of. Our brokers have tossed other, more 'conspiracy' type ideas our way. Rumor has it that there are items that, when gathered together, can return players to the real world without clearing the hundred floors. We believe that this is one of those items." A scoff came from Mello's direction. "Who started that rumor? Sounds like rubbish to me." "It may very well be. Either way, my people and I have decided that it's worth investigating and I'm being gracious enough to

Morningstar nodded, trusting Oji to cover him. He climbed into he tunnel, taking a directional gamble. All of the Fae had flown into different tunnels; he could only assume they all ended at the same place. It was wide enough to not make him feel claustrophobic. They could have fit three or four people side to side without any issue. Not only did they air become thinner the higher they went, it seemed to become warmer the deeper they traveled through the branch. "They put in work to make us feel as uncomfortable as possible," Morningstar wiped the sweat from his forehead. How the Fae

The battle transitioned quickly, a new opponent appearing from the black of the temple. Suddenly, Mina's health bar was chunked and although the damage was ameliorated slightly by Nari's healing crystal, it worried him. He raced forward, passing the two and striking the so-called Fiend of Tanos. Azriel stumbled back, dazed from Morningstar's stunning sword art. He fell to a knee, struggling to lift himself. He was wide open and the team was free to strike as they pleased until the short-lasting status effect wore off. He made eye contact with Katoka, wordlessly requesting her aid aga

The good, the bad, his hopes and dreams, every decision he had made; they all lead here, to this moment. It was a turning point, a cog in the wheel that would either push him to greater heights or end his journey altogether. He stared up at the towering dragon and a memory flashed before him: Elwood, in his chair near the window, fitting in one last sentence before the end. "You're what the world needs, Stephen." For the first time, he unsheathed his blade. Along its path, shadows trailed behind. Blood-red electricity sparked across its body. It pulsated in

8.07.2023 ITEM IDENTIFICATION JUNK SALE

8.07.2023 | IDENTIFICATION

It was like a small statue made of stone and resembled the physical manifestation of a demon. Two purple crystals sat in the space of its eye sockets. Inquisitive looks had locked onto the item, Morningstar's included. Caesar continued. "The item is called the 'Artifact of Mind' and holds no description; however, it is not all that he discovered," he said, switching off the map and item and pulling up a new image. "This is a photo of the shrine where the artifact was found. Behind it, you can see a mural on the wall that could be depicted as the ascension of these worshippers." The m

He and Katoka synergized well. He was impressed by her ability to follow him in and finish off the group of cultists. Unfortunately, they had been a little bit loud. Two guards, much stronger than the previous four, stepped out before them. Mina and Nari held them off, giving the other two the opportunity to catch their bearings. He took a quick glance at Katoka, making sure she was prepared before he reentered the fight. "I'll take left," he said. Without another word, he dashed at the Tanos Guard. He diverted the direction of his opponent's weapon, creating an open space to strike.

He remembered how it towered over them and how quickly the battle went from an intense showdown to nothing at all. The Elemental Warlord fell just like any other monster. Unlike the rest, however, it would live forever in Morningstar’s memories. "Brilliant. Terrifying. I'm just glad to be here," he admitted. Caesar nodded, leaving his question at that. "Let's begin." He tossed a crystal into the center of the table and a holographic map appeared. "This is a map of the Nineteenth Floor—more specifically, it is a small portion of the Forbidden Lands." "Two weeks ago, one