Quite happy with the current state of her progress, Astaria returned her attention back to where she was, seeing the city gate ahead.

Calling out to Ben, she guided Sapphire to fall into stride next to Ben’s horse.

“Right, sorry about that, I probably should have sorted my status page out earlier, but I just had too much on my mind. Let’s get going, can’t have the others get too far ahead of you in level.”

With a cheeky grin, Ben saluted.

“Yes Sir.”

With a roll of her eyes, she squeezed Sapphire with her calves and with a flick of the reins commanded Sapphire to begin sprinting.

After a short 10 minutes, Astaria brought Sapphire to a halt at the top of the rise southwest of Haligrad and turned her around to face the city, the location where she had viewed the sunset from last night.

Ben, seeing Astaria now stationary stopped next to her, curiosity evident in his expression.

“What’s up?”

Not answering, she just gestured toward the city with her head. Shifting his posture so he can look back, Ben observed the scene before him with realisation in his eyes.

“It’s more beautiful at sunset. You said you came in from the West right? It’s a shame you missed this scene, it's honestly one of the best first impressions of Caelus you can get.”

Pausing to take in the whole scene, Ben slowly responded.

“It is truly beautiful… it honestly reminds me of playing a few of the old single player fantasy games, the scenery is as impactful. And obviously much better than on a screen.”

A gentle sigh escaped Astaria’s lips as she began feeling relaxed with the gentle sea breeze caressing her face and the sun bathing her in warmth. Making the most of the serene moment, she tilted her head back as she closed her eyes, relishing the tranquil atmosphere.

After a moment Astaria returned her attention back to her surroundings and looked over at Ben who was watching her.

“What?”

Shaking his head, Ben replied with a relieved smile.

“Just happy that you have managed to chill out a little, you were rather tense earlier man, like seriously. Take your time and pace yourself a bit. You are already ahead of where you had planned to be level wise right? So, take that bit of leeway and give yourself some time to relax or you will burn yourself out.”

Sighing, Astaria slowly shook her head with a conflicted look.

“Honestly… I know you are right, but this is an opportunity we can’t miss. But I will take some time to relax, I should remember I have you guys to help now, so if I don’t have time, all I need to do is dump things on my subordinates.”

Letting out a slightly evil laugh after she finished speaking, Astaria quickly commanded Sapphire to turn around and begin running along the main road toward Woodspike Forest.

****

After around an hour of travel, Astaria and Ben arrived at the edge of the Forest. Slowing down, Astaria guided Sapphire off the main road towards a small spiny surrounded by various large rocks. The area had always been a safe place where players who used to grind in this forest would tie up their horses, so they didn’t have to worry about their safety.

Dismounting from Sapphire, Astaria gently stroked the horse's head and led her into the spiny, followed by Ben to where 4 other horses had been tied up to trees.

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“Thank you for your hard work getting me here so quickly.”

Letting out a whinny, Sapphire stomped her hooves on the ground while bumping her head into Astaria.

Letting out a laugh, Astaria shook her head as she removed Sapphire's bridle and put it into her inventory.

“You want a reward, alright, one second.”

Pulling out a quarter of an egg sandwich, she lay her palm flat and offered the treat to Sapphire.

“Good girl, now I will need you to wait here with the other horses while I go and help my friends, alright?”

With a shake of her mane Sapphire obediently followed Astaria over to an empty tree where she was tied up by a rope attached to the halter. Nodding to Ben who had also finished tying up his horse, the two walked towards the forest.

“So, where did everyone say they were exactly?”

Hearing Astaria’s question Ben opened his messages and checked.

“Let’s see… they are apparently still on the Lv 3 goblin rotation you told them about, the one with 9 groups.”

Resting her fist on her chin with her other arm crossed over her chest, Astaria thoughtfully noded at the new information.

“Oh, is that so? They have progressed quite nicely then. It does take a while to get used to killing goblins, even as a group.”

Giving her slightly stiff legs a quick stretch after the hour on horseback, Astaria started to lead the way into the forest.

“So, while we are on our way over, I will help power level you a little.”

Looking at Ben's name tag above his head, Nebustar, Astaria mentally clicked the party invitation option, causing both Astaria and Ben’s names to appear in the top left corner of her vision, alongside a health and mana bar for her, and a health and stamina bar for Ben.

Astaria could only shake her head again at Ben’s in game username. His naming sense had not changed, writing his name backwards and then sticking something at the end. At least this time it did not result in anything too horrific.

In Caelus Online, parties were gatherings of up to 5 players that had grouped up together within the system. They had access to a voice chat channel, as well as shared all XP gained from all kills made by party members.

Usually when a player killed an enemy, if there was another player within 25 metres of them, the XP gained would be reduced, lowering further for every additional player. However, when in a party none of the XP is lost but instead shared, only being lowered if a non-party member enters a 25-metre radius of a party member.

The exception to this is when multiple parties joined together to become a raid party, consisting of up to 10 parties, where the XP gain would not be lowered between parties. However, the XP each party gains are only shared between the parties that participate in killing the target. Raid parties also allowed for separate party voice channels as well as one available to all raid team members.

Walking into the forest, Astaria and Ben quickly came across an empty camp, hinting that there are others currently in this area, most likely players. Paying it no mind they kept walking until they eventually made it to an uncleared camp of 7 goblins.

Before the fight began Astaria cast Mana Heart, boosting her mana regeneration by 1 per minute for 30 minutes costing 10 MP.

With the back of her left hand now glowing blue from the magic circle on her skin, Astaria looked over at Ben.

“How many can you handle?”

Pausing for thought he stared intently at the goblins who were currently making a racket in the distance.

“At most 2 at the moment. I am still not completely familiar with my skills and don’t want to risk taking damage yet.”

With a nod, Astaria pulled out her new short sword from its sheath, the action making a satisfying sound as her staff appeared in her hand.

Now with a chance to fully examine the items, she looked at her steel staff which had a lustrous sheen to it. The bottom of the staff featured a spearhead on the bottom, meaning it could be used to stab and slash, while the staff's grip was bound with white leather. The upper part of the staff was diamond-shaped, holding a blue crystal in between the metal arms shaped into the outline of a cube. Lines of runes were carved into the metal, spilling down the upper section of the staff and ending at the handle.

Her steel short sword was pushing the maximum length of a short sword at 89cm which fit her fighting style well. It was well balanced, with a spherical pummel at the end of a white leather-wrapped handle. The blade was double-edged, with runes carved along the fuller of the blade.

“Ok, once you are ready, let’s start. I will deal with 5 of them, give me a shout if you need a hand.”

With a nod, Ben unslung his bow and nocked an arrow, starting to move closer to the group. Astaria closely followed behind, waiting until Ben was in position.

After sneaking to a distance of around 20 metres, Ben drew his arrow back and then released it. The arrow went sailing through the air, right past the targeted goblin's head and into the fire it was sitting in front of.

“Fuck.”

Quickly drawing a second arrow, Ben shot at the goblins who were now screaming and poking the item that attacked their fire with their spears. The arrow this time found its mark, hitting a goblin in the lower back.

“God, what dumb shits”

Hearing Ben’s comment, Astaria could not help but inwardly agree.

“Dumb but savage. If you ever see them, kill them with no mercy as they will show none to their victims.”

Ben gave a hum of understanding as he readied his next shot at the goblins who had now finally realised that there was someone shooting arrows at them.