Morningstar

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

It sped up. The static had worn off. Morningstar was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. He almost wanted to stun the dragon but worried that it might end up dropping out of the sky. Instead, he settled for another stab in the same soft spot between its scales. The party's previous attacked had weakened it greatly. He felt he could finish the job, even alone. The only issue now was getting back down safely. He had his teleport crystal. He was confident that he could pull it from his inventory and crush it before hitting the ground. Considering the height they were at, he would h

Static continued to affect the injured rock dragon. Still, it moved quick and decisively. Morningstar briefly activated Charge and with a bounce, pushed himself into the sky. After it dispersed and he began to fall, he flipped his sword around and prayed. He felt himself make contact with the dragon's back. He scrambled to find something to hold onto, settling for the sharp end of a scale. With one hand, he hung and with the other, he stabbed at the creature as it flew around the mountain. Aware that it had been mounted, the rock dragon spiraled, attempting to throw Morningstar off. He du

Morningstar met the rock dragon head on, dashing beneath its belly and striking hard. The static effect of his sword procced in between two scales and seemed to actually stagger the powerful beast. It stepped back swatting at Morningstar, forcing him out of the way. Then, as the swordsman tried to keep up his momentum, the rock dragon hugged his body tightly with his wings, hiding away in a giant stone ball. Even with static, he found it impossible to crack through the perfect defense of the rock dragon. Stone Ward did as its name suggested, warding off all three enemies until the user co

The dragon tried to roar again, calling for the trio to evacuate the radius of the petrifying smokescreen. They continued to aim for the legs, hoping that with enough trial and error, they would eventually find a weak spot in the scales. The Elder Rock Dragon missed the entirety of its breath attack. Morningstar was glad; there was no telling how long the effects of the attack would last and he was not confident that he would be capable of protecting either of his party mates if they had been stunned. They had already lost two and that was more than he was willing to sacrifice on a mission so

With it's spiky tail, it whacked the stone statue. The scout crumbled upon impact, dead in an instant. Morningstar grimaced, wondering how it had felt from the scout's perspective. How aware was he during petrification? Could he see or hear or feel his own death? With a roar, he beamed towards the dragon. He leaped and slammed a sword art against the beast's forehead with enough force to stun it, if only for a moment. His party arrived safely, joining him in combat. Even Renflow, who marketed himself as a healer, stood at Morningstar's side, sword brandished. He aimed a strike at the stun

Not two steps across the bridge, Morningstar froze. A cry echoed through the valley, paralyzing the party. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it: the dragon with rocky scales. It looked even bigger when it was flying towards them. Except, it wasn't flying towards them. "Shit," Morningstar exclaimed, picking up the pace. Behind him, Willow called out for him to be careful. Inevitably, the pair joined him on the bridge race. Ahead of them, the scouts noticed the incoming dragon. Unlike last time, there was no where to hide. The scouts drew their weapons, standing firm and strong. De

The wasp queen dropped to the ground, in two halves but still struggling to live. He flipped his sword around and ended its life mercifully, shoving his weapon into its head. It exploded, alongside the two lesser wasps, into particles. Soulcursed Blade returned to its scabbard. "Nothing like a few wasps to keep us on our toes, right?" Morningstar bumped fists with his companions and they continued on their way. By the time they reached the bottom, they could see the rendezvous point. Two scouts sat on a neighboring flattop mountain. In between the two was a long wooden bridge. Mornin

Morningstar let out a low grunt. Dull pain, inhibited by the system's restrictions, erupted in his gut and chest. His gaze dropped. The ends of two halberds had been buried in his torso, leaving an expulsion of blood in their wake. In the corner of his vision, his health bar dropped below seventy percent. What was happening? How could there be another gap in the safe zone? He looked at Freyd, who, in a split second, had taken on a form worthy of his title. The pain doubled as the spears were withdrawn from his wounded body. He toppled over, the combination of shock and damage briefly over

With some difficulty, Morningstar and his crew stopped themselves from tumbling down the hill. From around the bend, a trio of wasps appeared. One, he recognized, was a wasp queen. He had encountered one in the past and found them to be nasty critters. She was far bigger than her windwasp counterparts and likely far more lethal. He waved his hand to equip his blade and quickly drew it. "I'll take point on the queen; you two support me?" In agreement, they made their first moves. Morningstar dashed ahead, aiming for the queen and trusting in his allies to guard his sides. The two less

"What's your role in Cleric, Renflow?" Morningstar asked, curious about his new acquaintance. He turned his head to look at Morningstar. His eyes were wide, as if he were surprised to hear the question. "I'm the guild's treasurer. I'm also a healer, though." "Oh, yeah? I haven't met many healers. Difficult to come by, these days. Everyone wants to be the main character, I s'pose," Morningstar chuckled. Willow cut in. "Ren's one of the original guildmembers. He and Greymore met on opening day and, with a few others, started Cleric." "No kidding? And where did you come in?"

The dragon's heavy breaths boomed from outside the trio's hiding spot. Morningstar's sword was unequipped, as was his armor, in order for easier climbing. He hadn't anticipated a fight with anything more than a goat or something of similar caliber. The dragon was more than any of them had bargained for. It stood at the edge of the cliffside for a while, its back turned to them. When it was ready to fly once more, it left. Simultaneously, the three players let out relieved sighs and tried their best to crawl out of the hole without getting scratched up. They watched the dragon as it flew o

Freyd finished of what Morningstar could not with a solid kick. Sliding his sword away, Star watched his opponent's jacket fall to the ground. He turned around and there were more where Freyd had taken down the others. Drops normally appeared as a prompt rather than on the ground. "You didn't pick up a quest before you came, did you?" The woman was gone as well. He didn't see her escape the scene and assumed they had been too late. "It's a shame," he looked at the ground where she once lay, "but if she's an NPC then maybe she'll respawn." He caught the jacket, giving it a thorough look. I

The three opted for a break after their stress-inducing climb. They hadn't anticipated sitting so still, squeezed together in the crevice in the mountain's wall. Willow hushed the other two, who were attempting to find the slightest bit of comfort in their hiding place. A rhythmic beating sound came from above them. It did not come from a drum, however, but a dragon. *** Morningstar had spotted it first. An object grew closer and closer in the sky until he could make out wings. It clicked instantly. He cursed, grabbing hold of his confused team's arms and urging them to stand.

Morningstar laughed at the pair's confusion. Differing senses of humor, he thought. He stopped, as Vigilon wished, and glanced around. For them to break so abruptly implied that something was wrong. Were they in danger? He saw no mobs around but there were two players up ahead. Suddenly, like something straight out of a video game (which he supposed it was), Vigilon ran off, somersaulting behind a boulder in earshot of the strangers. For a moment, Morningstar was impressed with how stealthy he was without even using a skill. And then, he slipped on a rock." "Oh, brother," he shook hi

Morningstar was unsurprised to see Freyd join them. It was almost expected that wherever he went, Freyd would be there too. A part of him wondered if there were other players left in the game at all. Or, perhaps there was a strange spiritual connection that bound the two, persuading them to always arrive at the same places at the same times. He returned Katoka's greeting. She, unlike Freyd, was a surprise. The fraction of his past raid team together again was a pleasant sight indeed. A painful string of dialogue gradually led them to their impossible quest of cleaning up the wasteland tha

"No kidding? We've probably passed each other in the street at some point," Morningstar laughed, blocking a thug's knife and kicking him back. Freyd's follow-up had been precisely timed, a successful execution of teamwork. One down, three to go, Star thought. Three, however, was quickly turning to zero. His partner taking on two opponents for himself, he was left with the one who remained. The man pulled down his mask to spit and then raised his dagger high. He was hesitant to engage; understandably so, considering the clear difference in weapons. Morningstar took over, combining his lung

Krysta's comment regarding Vigilon's "many enemies" was likely intended to be a warning; however, Morningstar took it as a fun fact instead. It was kind of badass. Being new to raiding, he had zero idea as to what they should expect to find along the way to the labyrinth. Freyd had assumed that the pair's preparation was intended for monsters. Judging by the way they spoke, it felt like they meant players. He accepted a couple of Vigilon's consumables but, having already consumed a few, avoiding taking too many from the stash. "Thanks. I always seem to be out of these," he said, refe

Kyo's theories and philosophies about the game were logical despite her inexperience. She was an interesting character; a welcome contrast to the countless number of Town of Beginnings dwellers who saw the game only as a source of fear or anger. It was obvious that she had thought a lot about this. He chuckled at Vigilon's question. "I don't know, actually. I imagine he can't give us the skill but anyone can toss a line, no?" Stepping onto the bed of sand at the edge of the lake, Morningstar rolled out a towel and plopped down a basket of various foods. "There we go," he said, hands