Morningstar

The eyes of totems were different coloured crystals: Purple, Green, Blue, Red, Yellow, White, and Black. They had already discovered purple, the Artifact of Mind. That left six remaining artifacts hiding within the game. "Let's assume that none of the totems are located on floors that have yet to be unlocked. Waste was found before the Twenty-Eighth boss raid, so anywhere from Floor One to Floor Twenty-Eight is on the table. We'll begin with the green artifact and work from there. I believe that it would be most efficient to send multiple teams out in search of a single totem, considering

The blonde smiled, returning his nod. The group went on to discuss many other ideas until the thought of an actionable plan was mentioned. They considered their next moves and determined that the best place to start was back on the Nineteenth Floor, where the first artifact was found. The area was, for the most part, cleared out so Morningstar would take on the mission alone. His objective was to do a thorough walk-through of the mountain temples in the Forbidden Lands, take down whatever remained of the Tanos worshippers, and ensure that nothing had been missed on the first expedition. They d

Morningstar had ideas, although he was not fond of any of them. "The most obvious answer is to disband the alliance and go our separate ways. Whether we like it or not, the player base would become a free-for-all if they found out there were only a few open slots on the trip home. The people with friends and family would prioritize them over strangers, even if they are from allied guilds." Caesar seemed to have expected an answer like that. Morningstar continued. "Alternatively, we send back people who are unfit to stay here. Children and the elderly would be a priority, of course, and as

It was a respectable goal. Difficult, but respectable. "The glaring issue that I see is that we have no way to know how many of us could actually be logged out. I mean, what if this alliance backfires? What if some of us are left behind?" Morningstar asked. "And how do we choose who stays and who goes?" Greymore added. He sounded like a leader, in a similar way to Caesar. In a group of one hundred or more, he thought that they would stand out, their words booming throughout the crowd. He was even more surprised to hear that he and Morningstar shared the same thoughts. Perhaps it was

"Our people have been allied for a long time now—almost since the beginning, actually. Sometimes, we get caught up with ourselves. We forget what it's like to be a solo player. Our goals may be aligned but the way we push towards them is quite different. We don't see the field nearly as much as you do. Not anymore. While we hold meetings in fancy rooms, you are out there every day, working towards a way out. There's honor in that. Wisdom too, we think." Greymore spoke next. "It can be a lonely world, Morningstar. Lonely and dangerous. There will come a time where progressing alone is no l

"I apologize for my shouting," he began, his voice hushed, "I only mean to say that I feel this meeting was called prematurely and with little information to offer." "I know you mean well, Mello," Caesar replied, accepting his apology, "and I appreciate your concerns. I've considered them as well and that's precisely why we are holding this meeting now, without all of the answers. I'd like to ask our three guilds to cooperate and research this topic further. I think we would all benefit from searching together and sharing the information we find rather than keeping it to ourselves."

"But where is the evidence that this is different from any other quest item?" Caesar stared at Mello for a moment before speaking. "There was no prompt for any quest when the item was retrieved. Besides, don't you think it's strange that there is no description, no indication of what the item is used for?" "To be honest," Greymore added, "this isn't much for us to work with, Caesar." "No! It's nothing for us to work with! Let's say that you're right—that this group of items will beam us back home if we perform some silly ritual. How? How do we do it? More importantly, where in t

Admittedly, Morningstar had thought the same thing (even if he was polite about it). There was little in terms of evidence and what they did have was a stone statue and a poorly painted piece of cave art. A broker's word went a long way but, in this case, he was skeptical. Caesar responded but it was hard to tell what he was thinking. "I said what I said. The Black Knights believe that if there is even a one percent chance that these items are the real deal, it is our duty as players to seek them out." "One percent chance? Even that is hard to believe! Don't you think that if there w

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Morningstar marched toward the two men, listening as Bahr offered him a choice. It would never have worked; both of them knew it. Nonetheless, it was noble of him. The King's Soldier dropped to his knees, defeated. Still, there was passion in his dying eyes. "Praise be—" The warrior's final words were cut short. His head flew through the air before tumbling to the ground. His body toppled over and, not a second later, disappeared. Blue pixels floated into the sky and the soldier's spirit returned to Cardinal. The victory was bittersweet. He glanced at Levi, who was half-hiding behind

Morningstar claims the following: Braso Crystal-A | Removes one enhancement on a weapon and replaces it with Absolute Accuracy. (This effect cannot override the Absolute Accuracy enhancement cap. Consumed on use.) ID: 218300 Braso Crystal-B | Removes one enhancement on a weapon and replaces it with Phase. (This effect cannot override the Phase enhancement cap. Consumed on use.) ID: 218301

A sudden surge of power pulsed in Morningstar's body, enveloping him. He gave Hirru a quick and gracious glance, as if to thank him for the gift. It was a skill he had never seen before and it was more than welcome at such a time. Morningstar rushed forwards once more. His footsteps were loud, echoing and mixing with the noise that surrounded him. His blade crashed into Wushen, bloody pixels flying from the fresh wounds on the monster's scaled body. Not only was he stronger—he was faster as well. He stepped off to the side, repositioning himself for the oncoming retaliation from their opp

Morningstar had become accustomed to Nari's strange words she would string together before each battle. She would have made a good actor, he thought. Besides that, it was the perfect distraction for the blonde and his party. He took the lead, a blur as he danced in an arc around the Ancient. He attacked from its flank, hoping to take it by surprise. If he had, there was no way to tell. It stood tall and still as the effects of Morningstar's blade ran through its old body. Paralysis overtook it and suddenly, it acted as the mountains that surrounded it. Such a creature seemed to

He heard Mina call out to the team, her words ringing out amongst the crowd. Keep going, he thought to himself. His arms and legs ached; they begged for him to quit, to give up. But, denying their request, he pushed on. Pumping his calves, he lunged at Brimstone. His energy faltered, yet his will moved forwards. He forced his hands to swing, his blade arcing and piercing the beast with its might. His hit was a success, although it felt more like a failure. The head of the dragon raged on, hanging onto its health by a thread. He was close but unable to take down their opponent. S

Two health bars remained. Additionally, the squad had fell their second head. On their path to victory, they claimed the lives of both Overgrowth and Serration. Morningstar glanced up at Wushen, towering above them with an ominous glare. It was shocking, he thought, that none of his teammates showed any fear despite what faced them. He could feel it, even though they were nearing the end. There was no shaking it, the creeping dread that followed him around like a plague. They would be fine. And yet he questioned that still. Two health bars remained and the end felt so

Morningstar swung high, activating another sword art. The dragon head, ghostly and transparent, loomed above the players. It was less intimidating after they had fell the last. Still, it was a threat. He cut through with a stun, although he assumed the effect would be lessened considering what they were up against. Serration's health bar dipped low but not quite to zero. He caught his breath, only now realizing how fatigued the fight had made him. The Soulcursed Blade carried something dark within it, something that pulled at him from a deep place. He struggled to fight it off but tr

Despite Overgrowth falling to their hands, the battle was far from over. Wushen was open to attacks, so Morningstar charged in alongside the rest of his team. He swung hard, the weight of his sword doing the majority of the work. He felt it clash with the armored scales, cutting through despite the beast's iron defense. His teammates' attacks did the trick as well, their damage adding up to quite a lot. From opposite sides of the boss room, he could see the faces of other players in different teams making moves as well, although there was no time to stop and speak to any of them.

Overgrowth. It appeared suddenly alongside the others and would be the focus of Team Freyd's attacks, for the time being. First came Mina, her strike setting off the assault. Then, Katoka followed up with an attack of her own. Morningstar was technically the third to join in, although he was only a second behind Kat. He lunged towards the dragon, channeling a sword art. The black glow once again enveloped the Soulcursed Blade, humming ominously as it awaited the taste of its victim's blood. He felt the edge of it collide with Wushen—Overgrowth, rather. A bit more was all it woul

Every day was quiet at Honeydew & Hushwind. Yes, it was a shop. No, he had no intention of having customers. When they came, he welcomed them (although, it was rarely on purpose) and when they did not, he was just fine. He opened the store in the middle of no where specifically because of how tranquil it was. Monsters were scarce, if any showed themselves at all. People were scarcer, which made it easy for him to work. That's why he opened H&H in the first place: he wanted space to focus. His home was for living and playing—a work-free zone, so to speak. The spacious cabin in the

"Keep using TECH-A, just like that." With a nod, he reactivated the sword art. As he attacked, he felt something strange wash over him. He lacked the words to explain what Wushen had done to them. His body burned and yet, he fought through the pain. He gritted his teeth, each step more difficult than the last. He felt his sword connect, hissing as it touched flesh and blood. His gaze rose to the dragon's health bars. Judging by what green remained, they must have been reduced to about sixty percent or so. It was a slow slog that looked grimmer and grimmer the more they trekked forwar

The changing of the dragon's aggro was a bit worrisome. It was not that he thought Katoka would be unable to handle herself; Freyd was simply better suited for the role of a tank. Morningstar, his grip firm and strong, slashed upwards. A black aura enveloped the blade as his sword art activated and further damaged Wushen. The Elemental Warlord was different than before. The look in its eyes had changed; it seemed more cautious, more deadly. More than a dozen ants nipped at it—perhaps it had grown annoyed with them. As the fighting went on, he was constantly glancing back and forth be

ms would like to come

Not bad, he thought. Azriel, Fiend of Tanos had fallen. They were victorious and with little more than a health scare. Morningstar's gaze fell to the temple. Darkness stopped him from peering too far inside. If he wanted to examine its contents, he had no choice but to enter. Would there be more foes to face on the inside or had the Fiend been the last obstacle in his path? Had there been more, he assumed they would have followed up on Azriel's defeat. It made little sense to him for there to be more to fight after what was essentially a final boss. Still, he kept his blade read

Morningstar nodded. He had fully expected to travel to the boss fight alone but welcomed the company. When the fourth member of the party appeared, he smiled. He thought he recognized the man but could not put his finger on where from, if they had met at all. "I'm open to whatever you would all prefer," Morningstar said, indifferent to who was the party leader. He did not nominate himself—he always felt weird about that sort of thing. He expected that Vigilon would take the lead, although it was a hunch and nothing he cared to prove, even if he could. That being said, he would not ha

Morningstar's attention was drawn to the health bars that appeared above the dragon's head. They had dealt a decent chunk of damage after all. He followed Elora's lead, weaving in an attack after her own. The Phoenix's power circulated through him and, thanks to Hellstorm, staved off the effects of his blade. His mind and heart were clear now, his focus unwavering. He slashed the dragon along its side. It was not as strong of a hit as his last but it did the trick; it was yet another wound left on the beast's body. The health bar dropped even further from their repeated attacks. For the f