Sapphire

With light footsteps, Ben and Astaria make their way toward the large row of identical stables. Each of the 10 buildings is around 100m long, with 4 rows of 27 stalls filling the inside meaning that they can accommodate around 1080 horses in total, a truly astronomical amount.

Briefly parting ways so Ben can retrieve his horse from the stables which provide temporary livery, Astaria ends up walking further ahead to the stables which actively bred and sold horses.

The stables are divided into 3 categories, military stables, breeding and training stables, and temporary livery stables.

Walking into the fourth building, Astaria is hit with the mildly unpleasant smell of the stables, that being a cocktail of manure and straw. She can see that a number of the stalls were empty as many of the horses were out grazing in the fields, while a small number are still occupied.

Astaria calls out to a nearby stable hand who was currently sweeping the floors.

"Excuse me, where can I find the stable master, I am looking to buy a horse?"

Looking up, somewhat surprised by the melodic and clear voice coming from the hooded figure, he quickly answers.

"I think the stable master is still in his office on the second floor. The stairs are just over by the field side entrance."

Looking to where the man points, Astaria thanks him and makes her way upstairs, easily finding the office door. Gently knocking, she waits for a response before entering.

Inside is a short man, clearly starting to succumb to a man's mortal enemy, baldness, currently looking up from the document he was working on.

Pulling down her hood, she greets him.

"Good afternoon, I am sorry to disturb you, but I am looking to buy a horse along with saddle and reins."

With a bewildered nod, the bald man responds after a moment composing himself.

"Of course, I assume that price is not an issue?"

Shaking her head, Astaria places her last gold coin on the counter.

"Sadly, I am limited to just this at the moment. Can you show me the horses within my price range?"

Picking up the coin, the stable master gives a curt nod in understanding before leading Astaria back downstairs.

"You are in luck since the horses you can purchase are still in the stables. Here, let me guide you."

Following the stable master, he begins to enthusiastically introduce the available horses, explaining their personalities and strengths. Finally arriving at a black bay mare, the stable master begins his next explanation.

"This Beautiful mare is called Sapphire, and you can probably tell why by looking into her eyes. She is 4 years old and very obedient. She has decent stamina and can be a little playful at times, but she would be a worthy companion."

Astaria walks up to the stable door where Sapphire now has her head poking outside, looking to see what all the activity is about. Stroking her head, Sapphire lets out a soft snort in enjoyment. After a short moment of stroking, Astaria resolutely speaks out.

"I will take her. Would you be able to saddle her up? I am in a little bit of a rush and would likely take longer than more experienced hands."

With a look of surprise, the stable master comments.

"You could have fooled me that you were in a rush, you were so diligent while checking out the horses! Oi, Sam, go get Sapphire here saddled up!"

With a smile, Astaria explains while following the man back upstairs.

"Just buying any old horse won't do. Temperament is important and I want to pick a horse I will get on well with. We will be travelling far and wide together after all."

With a pleased grin, the stable master becomes visibly more energetic.

"I'm glad to hear you think in such a way, it's reassuring to know that Sapphire's new master understands horses so well. Please come in and take a seat while I fill out the paperwork."

After completing all the necessary paperwork, Astaria returns downstairs to find Sapphire waiting for her by the stable's door with the stable hand from earlier, Sam, holding her reins.

Walking up to her new horse, Sapphire, Astaria softly speaks to her.

"Well Sapphire, you and I are partners from today onwards, I look forward to our travels together."

[Register Black Bay Mare: Sapphire as a mount?]

[Yes/No]

Clicking yes, Sapphire officially becomes Astaria's mount.

Feeling Astaria's stroking hand, Sapphire lets out a snort and shakes her long black mane.

Mounts in Caelus Online can be obtained in a number of ways, however, they all have prerequisites that needed to be fulfilled before a player can take ownership of them through the system.

In the case of Sapphire, all Astaria needed to do was gain the consent of the previous owner and enter within 5 meters of the horse. To consent this time all Astaria had to do was flash a gold coin.

Thanking Sam and the stable master who has come to see Sapphire off, Astaria leads Sapphire outside by the reins, looking around for Ben. Seeing him already mounted in the distance, she stops to mount Sapphire.

Hooking her left foot in the stirrup, she pulls herself up onto the saddle, comfortably adjusting her posture and her robe. Thinking about the slightly different feeling of riding on a horse than she is used to, Astaria falls into thought.

'Wow, this does not feel so… restrictive, huh. I guess this is one of those few examples where not having my manhood is more comfortable. At least I don't need to worry about my nuts getting squished and then slammed into the saddle, God that was far more torturous than getting kicked, with all the continued shaking from the horse afterward making it worse…'

With a troubled face reflecting her conflicted feelings and a shiver remembering the past experience, Astaria starts riding over to where Ben is waiting.

Seeing Astaria's is all mounted up, Ben calls out.

"Right then, good to go?"

Flashing a smile filled with ferocity in anticipation of the coming fights, Astaria replied.

"Definitely. Although keep the pace at walking for a few minutes, I'm going to spend the accumulated points from last night."

With a quick comment in affirmation from Ben, Astaria opens up her menus while letting Sapphire follow the road.

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[Astaria]

Class: Mage - Lv: 10 – 2.5%

Race: ???

Gender: Female

Age: 20

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HP: 350/350

MP: 420/420

Fatigue: 14%

Hunger: 3%

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Skill Points: 142/277 - 60% [-120]

Attribute Points: 0 [+33/-33]

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[Attributes]

VIT: 35 [+20]

STA: 13 [+3]

DEF: 10 (+1)

STR: 20 (+4) [+10]

AGI: 20 (+8)

DEX: 10

INT: 35 (+23) [+10]

WIS: 45 (+34)

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[Equipment]

Enchanted Mastercraft Steel Staff [Rare+]

(34 ATK) (WIS+10, INT+10)

Enchanted Mastercraft Steel Short Sword [Rare+]

(52 ATK) (WIS +15) (Sharpness+)

Frilled Blouse [Rare]

(WIS+4, INT+3)

Steel Bracers [Rare]

(WIS+5, STR+4)

Skinny Leather Trousers [Rare]

(AGI+4, INT+3)

Steel Plated Leather Boots [Rare]

(INT+5, AGI+4)

Black Hooded Ornate Robe [Rare]

(INT +2) (DEF +1)

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Charisma: 10

Luck: 550

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Karma: 100,000

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[Skills]

Staff Lv 2 [+1]

Short-sword Lv 2 [+1]

Magic Arrow Lv 2 [+1]

Fireball Lv 2 [+1]

Lightning Lv 2 [+1]

Earth spike Lv 2 [+1]

Freeze Lv 2 [+2]

Evasion lv 2 [+2]

Mana Heart Lv 1 [+1]

Casting Lv 1 [+1]

Vitality Boost Lv 1 [+1]

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[Fame and Contribution]

Personal Fame: 16

The Temple: 330

Adventurers Guild: 380

Alennos Kingdom: 11

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[Titles]

-The First Immortal Warrior-

[Common Titles]

(+ To Expand)

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Astaria first starts by applying her 33 Attribute Points, raising her VIT, STR, and INT by 10, and her STA by 3, starting to raise her average base stats before specialising. Astaria's STR or Strength stat improves physical strength, in this case allowing her to wield her new staff unhindered by its weight, while her STA or Stamina stat increases the amount of physical activity she can do while reducing the increase in her fatigue value.

As for the skills, Astaria spends 120 Skill Points to acquire all the skills available to her at lv 10 and raise their levels to lv 2.

[Freeze Lv2]

[Launches a small orb of ice towards a targeted enemy that will freeze them upon contact.

MP cost: 30

Cast time: 0.5s

Cooldown: 9s

Damage: (WIS x 20%) + ((Main hand weapon attack + Sub weapon attack) x 50%)

Duration: 3s

Chance to inflict: {Freeze}]

[Evasion Lv2]

[Uses mana to increase the user's movement speed in one direction in a short burst.

MP cost: 5

Cast time: 0s

Cooldown: 5s

Additional effects: Movement speed +5% for 1s]

[Mana Heart Lv1]

[Creates a link with the surroundings to draw in additional mana.

MP cost: 10

Cast time: 1s

Cooldown: 20 min

Effect: Mana regeneration +1 per minute for 30 minutes]

[Casting Lv1]

[Reduces the casting time for skills and spells. Passive

Effect: Cast time -25%]

[Vitality Boost Lv1]

[Increases the user's VIT. Passive

Effect: VIT +10]

The first skill Astaria gains is [Freeze], a spell that launched a ball of frost at an enemy, freezing the target for a short period. The duration and effectiveness of the spell will depend on the resistance of the target, meaning a common goblin will almost always be frozen while a boss class goblin will almost certainly resist.

The next is [Evasion]. It is a skill that uses a small amount of MP to increase the distance of a person's evasion in any direction, helpful for giving a new mage more time to cast as well as helping with positioning in a fight.

[Mana Heart] is the first active buff that Astaria has obtained. Buffs come in two different forms, active and passive. Active buffs need to be cast and stay active for a limited time, while passive buffs are permanent when obtained, an example is [Vitality Boost].

[Mana Heart] is an active mana regeneration skill, costing a small amount of mana upfront, it will increase the amount of MP regained per minute by a small sum, becoming more effective at higher levels.

And lastly, Astaria acquires [Casting] and [Vitality boost]. Initially [Casting] reduces the casting time by 25%, with each level slightly increasing the amount reduced, while [Vitality Boost] increases the total VIT stat by 10, with the amount of VIT gained rising by 10 per level.