Caelus Online

18. Sapphire

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

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

The stables were divided into 3 types, military stables, breeding and training stables, and temporary livery stables.

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

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

“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 answered.

“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 pointed, Astaria thanked him and made her way upstairs, easily finding the office door. Gently knocking, she waited for a response before entering.

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

Astaria pulled down her hood as she greeted the stable master.

“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 responded 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 gave 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 began 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 walked up to the stable door where Sapphire now had her head poking outside, looking to see what all the activity was about. Stroking her head, Sapphire lets out a soft snort in enjoyment at her attention. After a short moment of stroking, Astaria resolutely spoke 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 commented.

“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 explained 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 returned 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 spoke 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 becames Astaria’s mount.

Feeling Astaria’s stroking hand, Sapphire let out a snort and shook her long black mane.

Mounts in Caelus Online can be obtained in a number of ways, however, they all had prerequisites that needed to be fulfilled before a player could 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. And to gain 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 led Sapphire outside by the reins, looking around for Ben. Seeing him already mounted in the distance, she stopped to mount Sapphire.

Hooking her left foot in the stirrup, she pulled 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 fell 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 just getting kicked, with all the continued shaking from the horse afterwards making it worse…’

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

After Astaria got closer to where she could hear him, Ben called 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 opened up her menu while letting Sapphire follow along 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: 580/580

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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[Resistances]

(+ To Expand)

——————————

Charisma: 10

Luck: 550

——————————

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

——————————

[Titles]

-The First Immortal Warrior-

[Common Titles]

(+ To Expand)

——————————

Astaria first started 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 improved her physical strength, in this case allowing her to wield her new staff unhindered by its weight, while her STA or Stamina stat increased the amount of physical activity she could do while reducing the increase in her fatigue value.

As for the skills, Astaria spent 120 Skill Points to acquire all the skills available to her at lv 10 and raise their levels to 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 gained was [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 depended on the resistance of the target, meaning a common goblin will almost always be frozen while a boss class goblin will almost always resist.

The next was [Evasion]. It was a skill that used 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] was the first active buff that Astaria had obtained. Buffs came in two different forms, active and passive. Active buffs needed to be cast and stay active for a limited time, while passive buffs were permanent when obtained, an example was [Vitality Boost].

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

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

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