Morningstar

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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Star was about to rush in when he heard Mina's call. He was confused, and it paired with his disappointment. Retreat? Were they in such a bad position that teleport was their only solution? He peered at their health and energy bars. The latter was beginning to run dry, but they still had more than a few attacks to spare. Nari tossed a crystal to Mina, in agreement with her order, and Star didn't argue. He pulled a crystal of his own from his inventory and crushed it into dust. His body turned to pixels and his vision began to fade. He lost sight of his party and of the Ancient as he dematerial

"One's pushing it," Star said to Mina. "I'm sure it would accept three, though." Hirru's barrier gave them the confidence to play closer to the moose. Engulfed in light, the blonde swordsman dashed in. It swung at him with its massive set of antlers. They acted like miniature spears, threatening to pierce him if he stepped incorrectly. Star toyed with the beast, ducking and weaving around each attack like he was weightless. Fed up with his antics, it charged. Morningstar fled, rolling to the side, and Owij'be crashed into a heavy tree. It wiggled its head, trying to free itself from

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"Mmm. I'm an appraiser, not a cook. It's probably best we eat somewhere else. We can pick something up on the way to Zackariah's, if you want." And so they did. He showed her a cafe he liked because it was nearby and had nice muffins. He paid, of course, for whatever it was that she wanted. Morningstar chose a black coffee and a blueberry muffin. It was his usual order. Zackariah had been waiting for them. He was happy to see them return with the tiny material collection they had collected. "Ah, yes! Thank you! This will do perfectly. And for your reward," he handed a ruddy bottle to

Through a filter of green, Morningstar scanned the tunnels. There were three routes to take: left, right, or straight down the middle. Whatever had taken the girl left a trail of thick ooze for the pair to follow. Kent knelt down, taking a pinch of goo with his fingers and holding it to his eyes. "I've seen this before," he told Morningstar, pulling a handkerchief from his coat pocket. "On the sidewalk, just a few days ago, near a different entrance to the sewer." "Let's see where it leads," Star said. Kent nodded, wiping off his slime-covered fingers. Aside from water flowing,

Star was first to reach the manhole. He dropped to his knees, relentlessly searching for a way to pull it up. Kent drew his sword, offering it as a wedge. It was thin enough to fit but thick enough that it wouldn't snap. They pried open the cover, revealing a narrow, dark pit. Without stopping to think, Star climbed into the hole. His foot touched a steel ladder, and he used it to lower himself into the dark. He had never been so glad to have purchased the Night Vision mod. The tunnel around him went from pitch black to bright green. As his visibility increased, so did his disgust. Slime