Morningstar

The other two only watched at first. Morningstar considered himself an amateur climber but, in truth, he had a fair bit of experience. He took his time, calculating the route in his head as he climbed. A few sketchy foot and hand placements blocked his path but, with some effort, he made it past them. Willow was first to follow his lead, with Renflow joining shortly after. With most of the route already mapped out and Morningstar finishing the rest as they climbed, the only stress they had was on their muscles. Morningstar grabbed hold of an extruding rock. It shook slightly under hi

A blinding yellow ball whizzed through the air, bouncing once as it came in contact with the acrylic floor. With a hard whack, Morningstar sent it back over the low net, where it bounced once more. The game was at its close. He crossed the baseline, preparing for an easy volley. The ball came once more and he lunged forwards, knocking it up before it could touch the ground. It was a good shot; however, the return was better. It tumbled gently towards him and Morningstar found it difficult to tell where it would land. He stepped left and stretched to the corner, his racket barely connecting wit

Applying Braso Crystal-B on Soulcursed Blade | T4 Demonic Straight Sword | Fusion ID: 214863 Original Enhancements: VO II, AA I, STK I New Enhancements: VO II, AA I, PHASE I

Purchasing x4 Teleport Crystals 800*4=3200 col

Another day, another shopping trip. With Nari's sudden call for backup against the four horsemen, Morningstar thought it time to do a restock of his nearly empty consumable stash. It was quite sad, looking into his inventory. There were more items between tiers one and three than there were four. Not great, he thought, closing up his inventory and entering Cintamani. "Hello," he said, greeting the store owner. He didn't know Bistro well, but he appreciated her the consumables she had made for the previous boss fight. His respect for anyone who supplied the frontlines was always

The old man promised that he would wait until evening but could not stay any later than that. As soon as the sun began to set, he would depart, with or without them. Morningstar, Willow, and Renflow began their ascent. The path up the mountain began steadily, slowly progressing in difficulty the further up they got. The giant stone guardian and the other mobs that inhabited the mountains were the least of their problems compared to the climb itself. They had received a warning that at a certain point, the path would end. From there, it was essentially a free climb. By the time they had ar

It was nice to be back out in the sunlight after so much doom and gloom. "British Columbia, huh? My parents had a house in Vancouver. I used to stay there sometimes for work. Nice place. Busy," he followed Freyd out of teleportation arch. It was his second time in Glyndebourne. A proud summer-lover, Morningstar was unsure of how the floor made him feel. Perhaps, he had not explored enough. He hadn't actually left the city yet. He did, admittedly, enjoy wearing sweaters. Maybe it'll grow on me, he thought. He felt a tap on his shoulder, prompting him to spin his head around. It took longer than

It was a smaller crew than he had anticipated. Nonetheless, he was pleased to see them all—some of which he hadn’t encountered in ages. Yona, the fair-skinned brunette that he only seemed to run into at parties, arrived as instructed: dressed for a warm Christmas. He tilted his head slightly, gesturing to the bartender who had finished setting up. “Technically, I think Dante was first,” he corrected, half-joking. “Thanks for coming. The turnout might not be huge, I admit. My one weakness is advertising.” He paused and then, with a smile, added, “Don’t let me keep you from the beach. Enjoy

They listened to the old man and boarded the carriage. It was rickety and the tarp had a golf ball-sized hole in it. It was no wonder why the driver wanted to avoid the rain. The rear compartment held the three players uncomfortably. It was not small and they all fit well enough, but the wood was hard and the road ahead rough. Morningstar could have done with a cushion. "What was so important that you felt you needed backup? Greymore didn't give me any specifics," he told the Clerics. Willow and Renflow looked at each other with unsure eyes, as if communicating through a mental link.

His body materialized in the center of Urbus. The city was as busy as it always was. It was not quite the Town of Beginnings but it was a close competitor. Players chatted amongst themselves, some visiting the variety of shops that lined the streets. Others kept to themselves, offering little more than a second of eye contact and a slight smile or nod. Then, he saw Willow. He had hoped to see her at the summit but she did not show. It was a shame, he had thought. Destiny did not seem to think so. Suddenly, they had been pulled back together as if it were meant to be. It was strictly busin

Particles floated up and behind the Titanium Warden. It began to tip; Morningstar's queue to leave. He released his grip on the blade, allowing it to dematerialize behind him. His feet connected with metal and he began to slide down the forearm of their falling opponent. The steel of his boots screeched against it but amidst the chaos, Morningstar hardly noticed the ear aching sound. He couldn't tell when or where he had fallen off, but the drop had been shallow. Unharmed, he sat against the wall of the labyrinth. "Y'know," he called out, "I really expected there to be more of a fight."

Morningstar placed his feet against the Warden's tough armor and tugged on his sword. Clearly, he had wedged it in too well. It wiggled a bit but the majority of the blade was stuck. He groaned, annoyed with his own misfortune. He tried dislodging it a few more times before giving up and rethinking his strategy. "Little bit stuck! Catch me if I fall!" he shouted to his comrade below. Hanging from one hand, he swished his wrist with the other. His inventory, full of primarily junk, grew large before him. At the very top was one of his many underused blades. He was glad he had chosen n

the end MORNINGSTAR + 2,990 xp | (3,979/10)*5*1+1,000 + 1,750 col + 12 materials + 1 T4 Perfect Weapon + 1 T4 Perfect Armor/Shield + 2 T4 Perfect Consumables + Ability to use Rig as a safezone

Morningstar could not help but laugh at Freyd's quip. The Whisper moved quickly towards the Titanium Warden but it ate the backbite of his sword as if it were a mere gust of wind. It was not entirely unexpected, considering what their opponent was made from. "We might be in for a long one," he called back, watching the man dangle from the giant's metal body. He agreed with Freyd's strategy of whittling down its mitigation until the envelope of plating was weak enough for them to strike it meaningfully. He followed in his partner's footsteps, increasing his pace with each step. The Wa

Freyd pinpointed the golem's location at lightspeed, checking off the first problem on Morningstar's endless list. "Tracking, huh? I haven't picked that one up yet. So many skills, not enough points, right?" He followed Freyd, heading his warnings of the weavers. "Twenty-eight's a strange one. I went once, not long after the boss fight. Got teleported to a room in some manor and had to do puzzles to get out. The game's gotten creative with it's traps—I don't know if you've noticed. It almost feels like evolution, which sounds crazy when I say it out loud," he laughed, although he was

Alkor magically morphed into Freyd and suddenly, Morningstar was in a party of four. He watched a coin shimmer through the air and fall back down to Vigilon's hand. He refrained from guessing the outcome aloud but called tails in his head. He was wrong. Krysta, dubbed leader of the party, made an extremely well-educated guess of the Lightbringer's name. "It is," he nodded. He made a mental note to be confident when announcing his role or playstyle. He was a frontliner now and it was time to start acting like one. "I'm a DPS," he replied, his eyes wandering through his inventory, pick

"Golem," Morningstar adjusted the strap across his chestplate, "singular. Ever fought the Titanium Warden?" He graciously accepted Freyd's gift. Refusing free crème brûlée was against his nature. Frankly, it would have been disrespectful. "I'm a little directionally challenged so I'm glad you could make it. I think it's more likely that I'd get lost than die to the Warden." After double-checking his equipment, Morningstar took the first step, beginning their expedition into the everchanging maze. He finished off Freyd's food without waste and blindly led the way. He couldn't rec

Grey clouds hung over Morningstar like a bad joke, taunting him with downpour but never fully committing. He toyed with the idea of entering the Labyrinth by himself. A single teleport crystal was tucked away in his inventory, ready to pull him out of harm's way. The maze was enormous, however, and largely unexplored. There was no telling what kinds of traps or teleportation locks lurked around the winding corners and towering walls. Contemplation ended with the decision to call for backup. He scrolled through his friends list and, deciding that there was only one good option, he typed a

He came to a plot of abandoned land not far from where he and Otter had met. On it was a fair-sized cottage and a pen that Morningstar assumed had once housed horses. He explored for a while, ensuring that it really was abandoned and not just a strange aesthetic. "Anyone home?" Morningstar called from the open front door. It's empty, he thought, meaning it's fair-game. Of course, it was not only empty of people. It lacked things as well. The kitchen had been cleared out, as well as the drawers in every room throughout the house. The whole house had been emptied except for the be

Morningstar's eyebrows rose. "So, the griffin really does exist?" "Oh, yeah. Haven't seen it myself, of course, but it's up there sometimes. It's a field boss, I think. Not my cup of tea, field bosses." "No?" "Not really. I'm not much of a fighter at all, really. I get by but I try to steer clear of anything too risky. Don't want to end up dying when I could just be hiking instead." "Fair enough," Morningstar had no counterargument. He had lived similarly for a long time. He finished off the delicious slice of banana bread and they talked a while longer before saying their

The wind picked up suddenly, tossing his bangs into his eyes, obscuring his vision and ticking him off. "Maybe it's about time I got this mess cut," he muttered to himself. Across from him, hiking along a rocky path, was a player. Morningstar waved, a handsome smile growing on his face. The player, a man in a yellow ballcap, returned the gesture. They stopped for a moment to chat. Neither of them had seen another soul in days, aside from the NPCs that Morningstar had helped in Rig. "Name's Otter," he handed over a slice of banana bread, a sign of good faith between the two hiker

Upon reaching the ruins, he surveyed the area. The weathered stones looked as though they might fall apart with the slightest touch. He looked around for monsters and, thankfully, there were none. Unfortunately, he expected that the lack of enemies meant that there would be no loot. The low difficulty area was often a sign that one's time was better spent elsewhere. He stepped carefully through the wet grass and circled the ruins until his interest waned. Then, he moved on. Snacking on the last of his apple stash, he journeyed deeper into the wilds of the seventh floor. He glanced ov

A message came in early and unexpectedly. joaquin: any luck with the search? He forgot that he had told Joaquin at all. Although semi-actively, he had been assisting with Morningstar's work, even accompanying him on some of his travels. He appreciated it, knowing that Joaquin's time had grown less free, with guild activities taking a hold on his life. The luxury of playing solo was the absence of responsibility. morningstar: not really. did a quest in rig, though. joaquin: i'm on twenty-six right now. no sign of anything here either. joaquin: meeting with guild later. h

With the last spoonful of stew, Morningstar leaned back, staring into the star-strewn sky above. The fire had reduced to glowing embers, continuing to faintly light up the campsite. He left the remainder of the campfire burning and cleaned up his gear before climbing into his tent. He nestled into his sleeping bag, the sounds of the night now muffled by the tent walls. A light breeze brushed against it, the ambience relaxing him. He gazed up at the ceiling, which gently swayed with the occasional gust of wind. The day's exhaustion had finally taken hold of him. He dozed off into a deep slumber

purchasing the following items: immolation potion x2 | 2,400 col golden key x1 | 1,000 col spyglass x3 | 800 col custom ambition tool x1 | 800 col total cost: 5,000 col