Morningstar

Seriously, how do people like this? Morningstar replied, "Delusion, probably. Off we go, then." With another successful quest completed, the three players wandered back through the forest, eventually landing in Snowfrost once again. At the tavern, the party raged on. The bards played loudly and through open doors, Morningstar thought he recognized the song they were singing. They'd repeated it a few times that night. One trick ponies, it seemed. "I'm calling it. Way past my bedtime," Star said, bidding the pair farewell. He cracked a crystal and zapped himself back home. Ra

The cavalry arrived and the party began. Freyd stylishly took the lead, engaging with Ugzeke as if they were old frenemies. Morningstar wasn't familiar with Shiina or Eruda, but he remembered Raidou from some point in time. Something about apples, he thought. Wulfrin was consistent as always. Star welcomed the familiar face and observed as he made his move against the troll. He had gotten better over the months they had known each other. When improvement was at the forefront of one's mind, he supposed that was inevitable. As if he had been doing it his whole life, he stunned Ugzeke,

"I dunno, it was kind of cool," he shrugged, joking. Absolute Zero had come dangerously close to falling on him, which was still not as bad as being stepped on, he thought. Nym rejoined the pair, and Star smiled at her remark. "Can't have Freyd feeling sad, can we?" The clearing felt a lot more open without Zero stomping about. The sound of the earth quaking was gone, and only the wind remained. "It's cold. Should we head back to town? Or do you two have more to do out here?" He asked. He was willing to stay out and help with any work they needed to get done, but leaned towards the former

Morningstar raised a brow at the newcomer. He didn't recognize her; she wasn't a frontliner, as far as he knew, and she didn't look particularly strong. Looks could be deceiving, though. "Make your choice," Star told her. "We should head out now. We're losing daylight." ----- He had killed the Phoenix once, before the previous boss fight, alongside members of his raid party. He could remember the general vicinity it spawned in, and thankfully it took them little time to locate it. He cleared his throat. "I don't think an extensive strategy is necessary, but don't fight too recklessly

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Morningstar was surprised to hear so much from Bahr. He hadn't come off as the sharing type, but Star was glad to see he was wrong. "It's nice to meet you too," he shook the man's hand and decided it was only fair he shared who he was as well. "I'm Stephen. I was an actor before all of this. Films, mostly. A bit of Broadway. I'm not a frontliner; not many people know me. I spend most of my days exploring or treasure hunting. Interestingly enough, I live on the twenty-fourth floor. Raitoborou Bay, actually. I own an estate up there." "I've never been orange, and I'm not a very violent

Beneath the toppling body of Absolute Zero, Morningstar fought for his life. The titan's lumbering motions were halted by the force of Freyd's attack. It tipped, losing its balance and threatening to crush Morningstar. With wide eyes, the blonde watched it drop. He started to sprint to the edge of its colossal shadow, but stopped upon realizing how futile it was. With one last card up his sleeve, he aimed his blade up and held it low. He thrust Dying Sun towards the ice being. The tip of the sword made first contact, and Absolute Zero exploded in an ocean of blue pixels. He was engulfed i

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With the goal of finishing before nightfall in mind, they left the bar immediately. The forests of Floor 4 were silent, but for the occasional howling of wolves, the subtle hum of cold wind, and the crunching of ice beneath the party's feet. They passed into a clearing, coming to a halt. They had arrived. Morningstar wondered which was taller: Absolute Zero or the Titanium Warden. When he and Freyd had fought the latter in the Endless Maze, it seemed like the biggest thing he would ever come across. Now, he was not so sure. The primary difference between the two was the ice. The Ward

Thread Closing: Morningstar receives: 6,484 EXP (Word Count [7720/10*6*0.7] + Recruitment Drive [3242*2]) 2,952 col (Loot [1,980] + 15% P5 Reward [972]) 2 Materials (Loot [2]) T4 Uncommon Consumable 223701 Typhoonflame receives: 2,680 EXP (Word Count [7720/10*1*0.7] + Quest [800] + Recruitment Drive [1340*2]) 2,500 col (1 page [400] + Loot [100] + Quest [2000]) 6 materials (Loot [5] + Quest [1]) Zachariah's Special Draught | Tierless Potion | HP Recovery III Initiate's Draw | T1 Perfect Rapier | PAR II, ACC I 5x Big Bertha Braciole | T1 Rare Snack | Vitality

Morningstar stifled a laugh at Typhoon's remark. He also didn't think Dorian's name carried weight, but didn't want to say anything aloud. "My pleasure. No debts, don't worry. If you need anything, just shoot a message my way," he smiled, sending a friend request. Then, he went on his way. He had enjoyed his time as a guide. He'd also had more than enough of Floor 1 for a single day. He crushed a shiny blue crystal in his grip and teleported elsewhere. --- He swore he had sent himself home. What should have been a blue sky was a layer of smokey clouds. Smog polluted his senses,

The question was difficult to answer. Ethics and morals weighed at the back of Morningstar's mind, as did his own emotions and personal philosophies. Bahr promised that there was no wrong answer, but Star couldn't help but wonder if that was a lie. He wondered if, deep down, Bahr wanted to be condemned for his misdeeds. He cleared his throat. "I had a mentor—Jack was his name—who once told me to judge people by how they act, and not how they've acted. Couldn't have been easy for him, either. His dad was an addict and went to prison for a good chunk of his life. It was a combination of dru

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Nobody special, huh? A commonality between them. It was arriving in Aincrad that made Morningstar unspecial. He often thought about his life as Stephen Star; about how different it was in comparison. His name held a level of power that he couldn't imagine now. His once recognizable face had long been forgotten. He was the most plain, normal person you could meet, and he would not have traded a thing for it. That was where they differed. The tears forming in Bahr's eyes were not caused by joy, nor by relief. He restrained himself, holding back from showing Morningstar what he battled

"Well, I'll be... You've found yourself a weapon there, ay? Keep it—and the rest of the loot, too. Consider it my thanks for delivering this to Dorian for me." With a grin so bright it rivaled the sun, Pete bestowed upon Ty a sealed letter for Dorian, saying that its contents will more than settle his debts. He wiped it against a stale barrel of day-old catch before handing over to her. “That should serve Dorian right, for how he treats his debtors,” he spat into the lake to accentuate his dislike. They returned to town square, where Dorian was still calling for players to help him out.

Pete laughed at her apt description of Mayor Dorian. He looked confused at her following question, though. "It didn't. It ended up right here," he raised his fishing rod. "It ain't just fish that live at the bottom of the ocean. Plenty of treasure to pull up, if you're patient and ya know where to look." Somehow, through the junk and scraps, Ty pulled out a treasure chest. Morningstar had not seen one in a while. It was a bit smaller than the ones he was used to finding in dungeons and such, but loot was loot at the end of the day. "Open 'er up," Pete said with a grin. "Whaddaya say

"Pete Larkin is my favorite of the bunch. He's just a fisherman, basically. Back when I did this quest, he took us out onto the water and had us fight a giant swordfish. These days, who knows. So far, this quest has changed a lot. I'd expect this last part to do the same." They arrived at the docks and found Pete sitting in a chair with his rod in hand. Judging by his empty bucket, it had been a quiet day. "Fish not biting?" Morningstar asked. Pete looked over, scowling at the players who had disturbed his peace. "Not yet. But they'll come around. They always do." "We've been se

With three boars defeated, and their tusks gathered, their job was done. They headed back to town and returned to Lyle's shop. He was still at the anvil, smashing away at a different weapon. This one was a a curved sword. He was bending the blade as they waltzed in, announcing their entrance with a simple greeting. He turned to them, rolling his eyes. "Oh, you're back. Bring 'em here, then." They handed over the tusks they had gathered, and Lyle gave a curt nod of approval. "I use these on hilts," he explains simply, before setting the tusks aside. "Now, I've got to get back to work.

"She'll get herself killed if we let her go alone." Morningstar couldn't agree more. Nymoria had definitely evolved since the last time they had seen each other, but strong enough to run through Absolute Zero was a stretch. Hell, Star didn't even like the idea of soloing the thing. He stood up, wrapping himself in his scarf. "I'm here too," he said to Nym, who seemed not to have noticed him. He found it peculiar that the shadow man was more eye catching than the guy in the red coat. A pat on the birthday boy's back and the quick consumption of the drink Freyd had given him was all he

Before Star knew it, Typhoon had caught herself another boarlet. He wished he could throw that well. "Well done. You've earned yourself another boar tusk," he chuckled. With two boars down, they'd almost completed Lyle's portion of the questline. One last boarlet waddled near them, and Morningstar pointed it out to her. "Might as well get this guy if he's going to waltz right up to us." Star was happy to see Ty coming along so quickly. Sometimes, the fresh players he'd meet were afraid of the wilds, and for good reason. To him, she seemed accustomed to leaving her comfort zone. Combat, wi