Morningstar

He stared at the serpent, watching as it suffered slowly. Sand quickly piled on top of it. The desert was unkind, even to those that called it home. He pitied the creature, although he knew that it was one of a thousand virtual monsters created to stop him from proceeding through the game. It had no spirit to sympathize with. Still, he pitied it. Then, it was gone. In its wake was a large dune, no different than the rest of his surroundings. He almost walked away, leaving it to be consumed by the earth, but he knew that it would awaken soon and the fight would continue. Who was he to aban

It felt cruel to leave them with nothing but a scratched-out name. They deserved better, his fallen family. He could feel his crystal necklace against his warm skin. Sometimes, even after all these years, he would see Lexa’s face in a crowd, smiling at him. It was never her and he knew that. And still, he would smile back, wishing it was. Another rattlesnake emerged from the burrow, this time triple the size and far more intimidating. It had red marks along its wild face and held the title of King above its head. It was his final opponent. It was fast. It swooped down and Morningstar

They took turns snapping at him until he found himself tired of the wasteful fighting and swept through them all with a single devastating blow. Blue shades remained where their bodies had once been. They floated off into the sky, dispersing into the atmosphere until they were gone completely. He had become so accustomed to not seeing a body left behind after a kill. He wondered why the game destroyed them on death. He theorized that it was for the sanity of the players. Surely, killing monsters over and over again had an impact on the brain. Perhaps a corpse would have made it feel too real.

The health bar in his peripheral increased slowly from five hundred and twenty-four to six hundred and twenty. He drew his greatsword once more as the being revealed its identity. A giant rattlesnake lunged at him ferociously. He let out a roar as he ripped through its center with the edge of his blade, cutting it in two. Its health dropped to zero while his remained full. It vanished before it could reach the ground. Morningstar had encountered a burrow by the looks of it. How he had missed it on the way there was beyond him. Maybe he had gotten lost—it would not have surprised him. The

Would that boy have been successful? Maybe. Had there been no skill, no battle sense, would he have made it that far to begin with? Was it the game that chose to disarm Satsu or was it Morningstar himself? Then it occurred to him that the whole game was a trial of sorts. He thought about the countless number of players who had not made it off the First Floor, the players who had chosen to die rather than play. After so much time, he was still here—did that not count for something? His inner monologue was interrupted by an eruption ahead of him. It was hard to tell what was

The gates behind him unlocked, allowing him to exit the colosseum. He placed his goggles back over his eyes, stepping out from the cover of the immense structure and into the now growing sandstorm. How long had he been inside the arena? It could not have been more than a few minutes of combat but in that time the environment had changed greatly. It was hard for him to tell which way he had come from by looking at the dunes. He marched into the whipping winds, sand kicking up all around him. He reflected on his battle with Sando Satsu while simultaneously battling the elements. He questio

Its weapon clunked to the ground. He twirled around its fistless swings with ease, completing his dance with a precise stab to the heart, or where he estimated there would be a heart if it were a living creature. It fell to the ground as he pulled the greatsword away. Sando Satsu was dead. Victory was Morningstar’s. Cardinal spoke to him once more through a tiny virtual pop-up. This time, it congratulated him on his successful duel and listed his rewards for quest completion. The experience was quite nice, he thought. The weapon and armor set were a tad more exciting to him, despite them

The force knocked him plenty of feet backwards. He crashed into the sandstone wall, rock and dust falling on top of his damaged body. He could swear that a grin had formed on Sando Satsu’s ugly face as he arrogantly strutted towards him. Did the monster think he had won? That Morningstar would not rise again? His brand new robes had become tattered from the constant combat between the two. It was a nuisance, to say the least, and he found it curious that it was at the forefront of his mind while staring death straight in the eyes. As Morningstar moved to lift his blade, his opponent

This time, Morningstar took the offensive. He charged at Satsu. When he was as close as he could be, he brought his blade high above his head and swooped it down like a hawk that had spotted prey. It phased directly through the alligator’s right arm, causing it to flop to the ground, unmoving. The beast roared out, rageful. A red aura formed around it as it began growing larger and larger until it stopped at approximately double that of its former self. What Morningstar was fighting was no longer an animal or a warrior—it was a monster. This time, Morningstar had no chance at blockin

Sando Satsu lifted itself from the dusty earth, pushing with the weight of his large weapon. Morningstar was unsure of how to describe the item. It was almost like a bladed fan. It had quite a bit of reach, surprisingly, and judging by the force of the hits it was about as heavy as his greatsword. Immediately, it resumed attacking. Morningstar was capable of keeping up with its extreme speed but each hit felt like a speeding car against his blade. Suddenly, Satsu spun. The blonde stumbled backwards, losing his balance, and felt a dull pain in his abdomen. He looked down, only to find a lo

Then, “no one” appeared. It began with a faint rumbling, followed by the shifting of sand around him. He awoke the Royal Greatsword from its hibernation, leaping backwards as a long set of fangs gaped at him from below. They clashed blades for a moment and in between swipes, Morningstar glanced at the name that hung above his opponent’s head: Sando Satsu. “That’s a stupid name,” he scoffed, striking the alligator with the flat end of his weapon. It dropped to the ground in an instant, trapped in a daze caused by the weight of the greatsword combined with the might of his sword art. H

He entered, shoulders cocked back and blade hung steadily over his right shoulder, itching for battle. A warning appeared in front of him. Those who accepted the quest were to commit entirely. There was no backing out, no teleport crystals, no chance at escape. Fight or die—those were the only options ahead of him, should he accept the quest. Without hesitation, he pressed a finger against the hollow blue circle on the menu in front of him. Cardinal wished him luck before the gate rose back into the structure of the colosseum. Morningstar stepped out into the sandy arena, removed the gogg

Skill(s) Being Dropped: R5 Light Armor | 30 SP Mod(s)/Addon(s)/Shift(s) Being Dropped: Meticulous | 4 SP SP Refunded: 34 Cost: 34,000

Vast as an ocean, the desert stretched out as far as the eye could see. Few dared to cross it; the beasts that dwelled beneath its dunes were swift and silent. Those who were unthreatened by such creatures had to consider the storms. Losing one's path was easy in a place like this and the desert was merciless towards its victims. What kinds of things were hidden in the arid regions of the Fifth Floor? It was a difficult question to answer and yet so constant on the minds of those whose hearts yearned for exploration. From time to time, things would appear in places that were once empty, t

Some time after making the request, Morningstar returned to Vigilon's shop. He greeted the man, who had his items laid out on the counter before him. The armor was even more beautiful than he had imagined it would be. It was intricate in its details and the red of the cape matched the robe that he currently wore. He was happy with his purchase. He lifted the sword, surprised by the weight of it. It was far heavier than Meteor and much more threatening, he thought. He thanked Vigilon, paying him a sum of col and going on his way. (+1 Royal Greatsword, +1 Armor of Fallen Radiance)

Morningstar nodded to the woman and left her to handle Amir. He advanced, his blade enveloped in green rather than gold as he activated another sword art. The dazed boatswain was slow to retaliate against the blonde's upward slash. Her left arm was destroyed upon impact with the ground, leaving behind a mess of blue pixels. Next, he aimed for her neck; a killing blow. The effects of the missing arm were clear to him and although she struggled to move out of the way, she managed to duck beneath the blade's edge and escape to a safer distance. He thought about finishing the job with another

Morningstar returned to Luminous Linens, powering through his exhaustion. His order had been completed, timed perfectly for a quest he had in mind. The afternoon air was cool and breezy but also a bit damp, as if rain was coming. He hurried inside the shop and greeted Krysta, who handed over the light armor he had commissioned. It was exactly how he had hoped it would look with all of the stats he had requested. "Thanks, I appreciate the help," Morningstar maneuvered his inventory, preparing a payment for the young woman. He sent the col to her account and waved goodbye as he retreat

Morningstar glanced curiously at NIGHT as she circled around. To be frank, he did not remember her well. Time had passed and countless other people and things had taken precedence in his mind. Still, he thought she carried herself differently. It was difficult to point out what had changed, though. Maybe he was delusional. She was the first to offer her help to Mary; however, the other two followed suit almost immediately. "I can't be the only one to say no, can I?" he joked. "I'm in." The white-haired player got straight to the point, following with genuinely good questions. Mary sh

7.20.2023 | IDENTIFICATION

Morningstar's attention was stolen by the hushed sounds of a distant voice. The words were unintelligible, a mere whisper in the breeze, but he was sure he had heard something. Suddenly, he was not alone. Amber fluttered between white hair and an orange cursor and, momentarily, he questioned whether this had been an ambush all along. Then, further away from the other players and in a separate direction, he recognized a third. At that distance, he could have been wrong; however, what he thought was a familiar face set his mind at ease. Perhaps he was not a destined murder victim after all.

With a single swing, three of the four wolves were killed. Only the fourth, the strongest, remained. His fury grew greater and he attacked once again. This time, he got the better of Morningstar, launching at him and ripping into his arm with his fangs. Morningstar shouted from the pain and smacked it on the head with the hilt of his blade, forcing it to let go. It backed up, watching carefully to identify his weak points. The truth was, against something as simple as a wolf, he had no weak points. He could be bit and he could be scratched but, realistically, the beast was destined to los

Morningstar found himself face-to-face with four more wolves, exactly the same as the previous pack. They all glared at him with ferocious eyes, baring their fangs and growling intensely. He finished off the apple quickly, swallowing and withdrawing Meteor once more. "Let's make this quick, alright?" He said to the obviously non-English speakers. One at a time, they attacked him with sharp claws and even sharper teeth. Every single attempt to take his life was a failure, although two of the attacks grazed him slightly. He activated a sword art and arced wide, hitting three of them bu

This, of course, meant that Glitch knew that somebody was on his trail. The question was, who would make it there first: he or Morningstar? Either way, the blonde was sure he could take down Avalanche. He only hoped he would be able to duel them separately from each other. It was difficult to gauge Glitch's level, skills, and stats. All he knew about was his weapon, really. He was a rapier wielder and Morningstar thought it was safe to assume he would be focused on close, quick strikes rather than a long, dragged-out fight. As for the effects of his weapon, that was also up in the air. Bl

A tiny bag of walnuts and an apple were all he had, unsurprisingly. He rarely kept much more than finger food on him because he was not a very hungry person, generally speaking. He crunched through the snow, crunching into a few walnuts simultaneously. He ate them in pairs and sometimes trios, resetting his palette with water after every few. The path he was taking was familiar, not because he had been there before but because he knew where it led. Deep in the frostbitten tundra, where the snowstorm was at its worst, you could find the Fourth Floor's field boss: Avalanche. Every floor had

Snow had collected on his upper back and shoulders. Brushing it off, he continued on his path through the forest. The further he walked, the less dense it became. What had previously been a dark tree line now opened up and Morningstar could make out things that were quite a distance from him. Moonlight crept through the branches of the spaced out trees. A trio of colorless hares bounced through thick snow, camouflaged. There were no signs of predators nearby. Morningstar's pace slowed, taking the chance to rest and recover from his back-to-back fights with the bear and wolves. He was uns