Morningstar

Pieces of dock fell with the rain. Eyes wide, Morningstar deflected the jagged plank that tumbled towards him. Visceral ramblings spilled from the split lips of the creature in the ocean. The phrases she uttered were mindless and decontextualized. Morningstar ignored whatever meaning there was to them and instead chose focus on how they could take it down. Never had he encountered something so difficult to comprehend. Where was her health bar? What was her weakness? The Mother of Smiles let out another shriek. While she did, Morningstar attacked. He slipped out of her field of view.

Morningstar frowned, offended as if he were L. Frank Baum in the flesh. Dull? At least she knew what the Wizard of Oz was. It would save him the trouble of contextualizing everything they encountered. Ages ago, he and NIGHT had slaughtered a group of brainwashed Winkies after defeating the witch. A layman might have thought they were short people, or maybe children. It wasn't something he wanted to explain to Morrigan. She confidently attacked one of the elite monkey's that arrived with the second wave. As the quest waves reduced in size, they rose in power. These monkeys were bigger

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"Ranch? It's a staple. I'm a blue cheese guy, though," Star slipped his blade away. He flicked sweat off his face, melting atop the dry mountain. Eagerly, he took a seat. He had to make his own comfort in the rocks, since there was nothing soft in sight. "There's a range in which they can spawn, but for the most part it'll be up here. Pray we won't need to walk far," Morningstar chuckled. Star's <<tracking>> activated in sequence with Baldur retrieving his spyglass. If it did spawn elsewhere, they would know. Regardless, they had some time to kill. "I like the way you fig

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The phoenix wouldn't have the opportunity to fight back. Baldur and Star were too quick to unleash their plethora of status effects. They battered it like it was a Floor 1 boar and not a lethal field boss. Morningstar swooped in at the end of Baldur's sword art, a shade of green overtaking the length of Dying Sun. He swiped the fire bird on its way down and it burst into flames, fizzling until it was reduced to a pile of grey ash. "Now we wait," Morningstar said, stretching his arm across his chest. Star watched in envy as the bird's remains ignited once more. It started as a slow-gr

Star snaked around the Night King's soldiers, finishing off the ones that Pinball had already weakened. He stuck his sword in the gut of the nearest captain, inflicting him with paralysis and cutting him down before it had the chance to wear off. "Listen, I'm all for games, but bringing Oz into it is a little much for me. I'll play, though, if winning means that I don't have to see his face." With a few quick slices, he chopped through a soldier on their way to the town's walls. "For the record, I'm at 10." At a distance to great for Morningstar to cross, a pair of soldiers found the

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Bosses that could reason sounded dangerous. He could only imagine the position it put the previous frontliners in. He counted his lucky stars that his foes hadn't said a word. Morningstar nodded. "Unintentionally, I'll admit. I keep mystic essence around my shop as much as possible, and I've collected more than usual since the raid. Upgrading equipment is expensive and there are only so many of us that can effectively farm uniques. It'll be a busy time for me, I think." Their ascent came to an end and at the top of the mountain, they found their prey. The phoenix perched on a stony s

Morningstar actively listened to Baldur's reply as they trekked through the Volcanic Flatlands. He hadn't witnessed the floor bosses the samurai spoke of, nor had he heard stories from other players who saw them fall. It was a blank space in his time as a player; a period where he had been too busy elsewhere to pay much attention to the happenings of the frontlines. He needed to to think before answering the samurai's question. Wushen was a being still burnt into his mind. Ants against a god, they fought the dragon spectacularly. In the end, the players left unscathed. Morningstar found c

i don't know why this big line is here don't ask me. The crystal basically jumped into his pocket. It was hidden in a bird's nest--a poor decision, it appeared, considering the bird who lived in the nest didn't take for the sparkly red object and shoved it out angrily. It dropped, tumbling until it landed in Morningstar's jacket pocket. He didn't notice the crystal at all; not the change in weight, nor the awkward lump protruding from his clothing. That was until it began to vibrate. So did his blue crystal. So did all of the crystals, actually. "Oh geez, Zandra. What now?" he m

Morningstar did the same. A journal materialized in his hands, along with two pens. "Here. Special paper." Star ripped a few pages out and handed them over. He took to translation immediately, scribbling messy letters into his journal. It was a shame the message had long since vanished from his memories. They could have been in and out of the cave in a minute. "If you can decipher it before me, I'll buy you lunch," he said. A few words came easy to him, but he wasn't sure if he was misleading himself. He was fitting letters together and the beginning of the first sentence m

The view of the castle was familiar to him, although his previous company had been purposeful. This time, he and his ill-prepared companion would have to tread carefully. He wiped dirt off his jacket, noticing a brand new rip in the sleeve. He was otherwise in tact. Morrigan was appropriately confused. "The book starts the quest. You had it, and had I not been in your party, it wouldn't have taken me with you. I figured you'd die here by yourself," he said honestly, leaving out the fact that he didn't want to wait for another book to spawn. "The tornado is just the game's way of brin

The Dragon Knights took their place in front of their traps, silently inspecting the path ahead. One knelt down, lifting a rusted weapon. "We should turn back; take another route," one said to the other. Before they could leave, Morningstar emerged from his hiding spot. He sped into them, impaling the lance-wielding knight with his longsword. The knight crumbled, a stun effect coursing through his body. His shield-bearing partner roared, slamming Morningstar off. Star stumbled back, unscathed other than light dizziness caused by the impact. This was Typhoonflame's queue to join the fight.

Morningstar listened curiously to her tale, most intrigued when she showed him the book. "It's Wicked but if it was a quest. Kill some monkeys, kill the witch, everyone lives happily ever after." "Wait, this is it! This is the quest item I'm looking for!" He pondered how to ask her for it. Whatever the spawn rate was for the book, it was too long for Star to wait and this girl was in no position to tackle the quest by herself. He hummed, hesitant to speak up. "Okay, listen. How much will it cost to buy the book from you? I could pay you like, 20,000 col right now." "Or, even bet

Morningstar didn't have to wait long for the cavalry to arrive. He had hoped for a team with less experience, but figured it was an opportunity for Astra to experience what teamwork was like on the frontlines. Mina and Wulfrin were a reliable pair to have around. It was going to be an easy FTK run, as far as he was concerned. "He's too kind. I'm just a guy who likes exploring," he smiled. "Good to meet you, Astra." Star indulged in Wulfrin's food offerings. He was never one to deny a good meal, especially when he was pretty sure Ciela had made it. "Admittedly, I've only fought this b

"Oh yeah? It was probably from our batch then. I grinded Hellstorms for the raid party with Wulfrin and Hirru," he said. Another girl had tagged along, but he couldn't remember her name and she had no presence on the frontlines, from what he could tell. What he did remember was her attitude. She was standoffish and rude, but quite useful in a fight. Maybe those things went hand-in-hand. "I don't know if phoenixes have enough meat on them for spicy wings," he smiled. "But we can see." "It's on a smaller mountain though. Over that way," he pointed. "It's a little strange that it isn't

This way, I think. "Greetings!" He spun at the sound of the most real voice he had heard all day. The girl was disorienting. She was obviously a player, but had the dialogue of an NPC. "Robust mannerism?" he mumbled in confusion. If she was referring to the way he climbed out of the bushes, then maybe it was a fair description. Words evaded him. "I'm good," he answered succinctly. She smiled pleasantly, but Star found it almost creepy. "No trouble. Just a little lost," he admitted. Her gear looked standard. She wasn't fresh out of the Town of Beginnings, but she wasn't equi

A certain orange-cursored individual had left a stash of unidentified items worth a small fortune on Morningstar's doorstep. He accepted them pro bono, as he tended to do. He was also going out of his way to collect a Witch's Brew for his unprofitable client. One might have wondered if it was worth it. Morningstar thought that it was, on the grounds that it gave him an excuse to avoid his other work. No one had seen him at the guild hall in two days, which was unusual for the leader. Long hours were in the job description. Running away to toy with swords and trinkets was not. Lucky for him, th

Hearing his name, Morningstar cocked his head. He recognized the recently unretired frontliner instantly. Katana-wielders were plentiful in Aincrad, but he found they never looked the part. Baldur, clad in his blue haori, fit into the samurai appearance as if he were born for it. He wasn't sure who Snow was, nor why anyone would eat a lava fish, but he chuckled regardless. "Maybe try Frostbite. Can you put that on a rod?" he asked rhetorically. "Thank you. I'm just glad we all made it out alive. A couple of our guys had me scared for a second," he said, leaning into the uncomfortably

Morningstar fiddled with a trade menu while Ty got comfortable in the crevice. He sent over a single teleport crystal, realizing that she may not have had one of her own. She had grown, but her level was still low and the Dragon Knights were strong. If worst came to worst, he wanted her to leave him there. "Take this. Staying alive is priority number one for you. If you take a hit, and its looking bad, just teleport out. I'll manage." He hushed his voice, hearing the clanks of armor echo from down the way. With each slow, manual breath, he waited for the knights to cross by. The poor