Morningstar

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Thread Closing: Dungeon Wave #1 (Floor 11) = 22 mats Dungeon Wave #2 (700*2*20) = 28,000 col per player Dungeon Wave #3 (2000*50) = 100,000 col Dungeon Drop | ID 223924 | LD 19 | CD 7 | T4 Demonic Armor/Shield 223924 Morningstar receives: 4,877 EXP (Word Count [4729/10*6*1] + Dungeon [1800] + Field Boss [240]) 174,431 col (1 page [400] + Dungeon [128000] + Loot [45,300] + 15% P5 Reward [731]) 38 Materials (Dungeon [22] + Loot [16]) 1 Demonic Shard Random Dungeon Map 223906 T2 Consumable | Blessing of the Wood 221413 T4 Perfect Consumable 223894 T4 Rare Tri

Summoning the last of his strength, Star surged to his feet, reactivating his sword art for the third time. He aimed for the creature’s exposed underbelly, where its thick hide was thinnest. He lunged and drove his sword deep into Noxthral’s flesh, and the energy of the sword art exploded outwards, sending a shockwave through the creature’s body. Noxthral let out a final, agonized screech as the energy ripped through it, its massive form convulsing as the life drained from its eyes. The creature’s body collapsed with a heavy thud, the toxic sludge still oozing from its mouth as it fi

Kent, seeing his friend in danger, didn’t hesitate. He fired arrow after arrow at Noxthral, aiming for its eyes, its limbs—anywhere he could to keep the creature from finishing Morningstar off. But Noxthral was enraged now, its yellow eyes blazing with fury. It ignored the arrows, its focus entirely on Morningstar. "Get up!" Kent yelled desperately, his voice barely cutting through the fog of pain clouding Star’s mind. Star gritted his teeth, forcing his body to move. The sludge was burning into his skin, and the pain was excruciating, but he couldn’t stop now. He managed to get to h

Just as he brought his sword down, Noxthral twisted its massive body. Instead of the clean strike Morningstar expected, his blade glanced off the creature’s thick hide, sending a jarring shock through his arms. Before he could recover, Noxthral reared back and opened its maw wide. A low, guttural noise rumbled from deep within its throat. "Morningstar, watch out!" Kent shouted, seeing the danger before Morningstar did. In the next instant, a torrent of toxic sludge spewed from Noxthral’s mouth, a foul, putrid liquid that arced through the air toward Morningstar. He had no time to dod

Morningstar gasped as the breath was knocked out of him. Cold, slimy water filled his mouth and nose. He struggled to regain his footing, knowing that staying under meant death. Noxthral was already bearing down on him, its remaining three eyes locked onto its target with predatory focus. Kent loosed another arrow, this time aiming for the creature’s arm. The arrow struck, but it only seemed to enrage Noxthral further. It roared and slammed its massive arm into the ground, sending a wave of green water crashing into Kent. The impact threw him off balance, and he scrambled to keep from bei

Noxthral roared in pain, a deep, guttural sound that reverberated through the chamber. The force of the blow staggered the creature, but it quickly regained its composure, whipping its massive tail around to strike. Morningstar barely had time to raise his sword, the impact sending him skidding backward through the sludge. His feet struggled to find purchase in the muck as he dug in, holding his ground. "Keep it busy!" Kent shouted from behind, nocking an arrow and drawing back his crossbow. He aimed for the creature's eyes, knowing that a well-placed shot could turn the tide of the battl

Noxthral, Spawn of the Sewers They found themselves in an open chamber—the dungeon boss's lair. The water had mixed with slime and turned murky green. In the middle, the boss feasted. Noxthral, Spawn of the Sewers was its name. It was large, and had to be quicker than it looked to evade the two trackers. It had two arms that it used to pull itself along the ground and a tail that spanned about ten feet. Four yellow eyes focused in on its deceased prey. It was the woman they had followed into the sewers. They were too late. "Damn it," Kent whispered. Morningstar's sword lit up wi

He assisted Kent, who was seconds from being engulfed by the slime's noxious body, by running through the remaining slime with his blade. It was low enough for him to finish it off with one hit. He had the advantage of not being forced to reload every so often. That was the tradeoff for ranged weaponry. "Thanks," Kent huffed. "I owe you big time." "I'll collect some time," Star joked. They weren't done yet. Neither of the blue slimes was their culprit, and a trail of green ooze still paved the path ahead. The kidnapping mob lurked somewhere at the heart of the sewer system, and

They took on one Noxious Slime each, splitting up to make space. Morningstar circled around his slime, watching it expand and contract with that unsettling rhythm. The fumes were worse up close. Kent, on the other side, was trying to keep his distance, firing arrows to keep his slime at bay. “These things are tougher than they look!” he shouted, his voice strained. Morningstar grunted in response. He lunged forward, slashing through the slime with force, but it just absorbed the hit, pieces of it rejoining like nothing happened. It was like fighting water—it flowed back together after every st

An arrow whizzed by Morningstar's head, aimed immaculately at the leftmost slime. It dug straight through it, getting stuck in its core, where the slimes noxious attributes melted it away. "Geez," Morningstar said, remember not to punch or kick the damn things. His sword seemed to be okay whilst touching the slimes. It would sizzle on impact, but never melt or dissolve. He sliced a piece of gelatinous goo off of the other slime, but it remained unphased. How did you kill something that didn't have a heart or a brain? Or any muscles or organs, for that matter. "Let's just keep pu

"Is that it?" Morningstar frowned. Kent was equally as confused, but covered up his wrist crossbow with his sleeve anyway. They had taken out the group of rats and were free to move on. They remained on opposite sides of the water, following the slime trail through the underground tunnel. Eventually, they came to a round, open space. The water was covered by slabs of stone, but continued to flow underneath it. The tunnel continued straight ahead. Stepping onto the floor triggered the next set of mobs to appear. From the ceiling dropped to enormous slimes. They were blue, and expanded

Morningstar stared in awe at the ranged weapon. Since when were those a thing? A rat lunged at him, forcing him to snap out of his surprise. He cut through it, splitting it into two halves. It dissolved at his feet, leaving him room to step forward into his next foe. Another rat gnawed at him, and he smacked it with the flat end of his blade, paralyzing it. He used his foot to nudge it over the edge and into the water. Kent was playing backup from a distance. He was agile, and a great shot. He leaped across the sewage canal and onto the walkway opposite Morningstar to give him more room.

The boar became more and more agitated the longer the fight went on. Even at a young age, it was a beast full of anger and rage. Ty pulled the truffle from her inventory and lobbed it at the boarlet, and Morningstar was happy to see that it hit. She had a good throw; he wondered if she was an athlete back in the real world. "With an arm like that, you should consider throwing weapons. Replace that truffle with a knife and that boar's as good as dead, I'd bet." Star drew his sword and bent down. He took a look at the boarlet's tusks, reminded of the time he took the quest, all those years

Morningstar took Freyd's offering, tossing his empty to the side. It shattered against the far wall, dissolving. "Freyd! Can't say I expected to see you here," he pulled an empty chair over for the Whisper and toasted to his arrival. "To not being stabbed!" Star shouted, and the group cheered with no clue as to what he referencing. Perhaps he should have anticipated familiar faces in a place so public, but he was just as surprised to see Nymoria as he was to see Freyd. Even more so, actually—she didn't seem like the tavern-going type. He'd never get used to the odd, Charles Xavier, telepa

Her second miss wasn't unexpected. She was learning a new skill, and swinging a sword was more difficult than it looked. Morningstar watched closely as the boar charged, and was thankful that she evaded its tiny tusks. At least she had the sense to get out of the way. "Keep your back straight," Star advised. "It's like you said, third time's the charm." Morningstar stood by in case of emergency, but was determined to let her figure it out on her own. She needed to learn what it was like to fight by herself. There wouldn't always be a group available to back her up; Star had experienc

Morningstar looked up from his messages. "I've got one," he replied. "It'll be his first raid. He'll need to bump up his level a bit before game day." He typed out a string of coordinates for Wulfrin to follow and hit send. Star recalled the pressure of the days leading up to the raid and wondered if his friend was experiencing the same. He was reliable, and a good man, but his numbers weren't yet favorable. They'd need to whip him into shape. Star wandered over to Hirru, looking over the list they had put together. "Hellfire's popular. I'm thinking we start there and see how much da

"Oh, yeah. Updates happen. New quests appear out of the blue. Field bosses too. Who knows how or why. Keeps things interesting, I guess," Star shrugged, curious as to where the updates came from as well. He had thought about it once or twice, but couldn't decide whether somebody on the outside was still pushing buttons or if the system had become fully automated. It probably didn't matter either way. Ty came face to face with her first boarlet. She hesitated whilst choosing her weapon, but settled with the straight sword. Her swing was far off its mark, but lucky for her, so was the boar'

Star forgot that he had been Ciela's first customer. He had placed a custom order, he recalled. Actually, he was pretty sure he still had the consumable on him. "At the time, I didn't realize you two knew each other," Morningstar admitted, obliging Wulfrin and making himself at home. He took a seat and graciously accepted Ciela's cookies. She was the best baker he'd met in Aincrad, and he had met quite a few. They were lucky to have found a house so close to both of their shops. Morningstar wished he could have done the same. The trip between Raitoborou Bay and the Forest of Wavering Mist

"Sure," Morningstar agreed. He gave his body a quick stretch while Freyd and the moose were locked in combat. He twirled his blade, stoking himself up. Then, he swung at the crippled beast, the entire weight of his form crashing against its spine. The bite of Dying Sun shocked Owij'be, causing his muscles to spasm reactively. He looked to Mina. The fight was all but over. The moose lay sprawled over the dead grass, weak and defeated. Star stepped back, refraining from finishing the job. It wasn't his kill to take. The others had worked through the labyrinth, clearing it of mobs and f

The White Rabbit Tavern was lively as usual. A band of bards serenaded its patrons with happy-go-lucky tunes. They were a notable group called "Kevin and the Magma Wyrms," who travelled between floors and performed wherever the coin was shiniest. The music covered up the sound of smashing bottles, the tavern's latest norm. The burly security installment ignored it; they left no mess since they would disintegrate a moment after shattering. Rowdy folk sang, danced, and spoke loudly amongst themselves. They had begun celebrations early because nights had the habit of ending too soon, and the crew

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Lyle grumbled inaudibly as they left, and Star imagined it wasn't anything Ty would deem respectful. At least he was as Morningstar remembered. Ungrateful, harsh, and not so fun to be around. They left Lyle's shop behind them and returned to the slightly less irritating city. "I don't know about bugged, but something's definitely different. I'm wondering if the quest was updated. I can't think of another reason why Zackariah wouldn't train you," he said. "And, actually, Lyle never loaned me a sword. I've never heard of tranquilizer truffles either. It's your lucky day, apparently," Star c

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