Chapter 3
[Kaya]
Race/Gender: Half-Elf Female
Class: Battle Vestal
Level: 1
Max Health: 13 (11+2)
Attack Power: 2–7
Defense: 2 (1+1)
Speed: 4 (3+1)
Survival Rate/Awakening Chance: 7%
Scouting Chance: 14%
Positive Trait: Agile Movements (Speed +1)
Negative Trait: Nyctophobia (Mentality decrease rate increases by 25% in brightness below 50%)
“Huh.”
She was a very unique character. Even though she was classified as a healer-type character, a Battle Vestal in heavy Armor was an oddity. The class itself was almost contradictory. The Battle Vestal was only available as a female class, and despite its decent class bonuses, the female stat penalties reduced health, attack power, and defense, making it less viable.
Moreover, while it didn’t show in the profile, all characters had racial passives. Elves, for instance, had a heavy Armor penalty, making an Elf Battle Vestal a poor choice.
“This is my first time seeing a Half-Elf. Could you provide some information?”
“Oh, sure…”
According to the staff, Half-Elves inherited only half of the Elf’s racial trait, “Increased Efficiency in Buff and Healing Skills.” However, they didn’t suffer from the heavy Armor penalty. The downside was that every Half-Elf had to carry at least one phobia and also suffered from infertility.
But phobias could be carried by any race, not just Half-Elves, and infertility wasn’t even worth discussing in a game that wasn’t about love or romance.
In short, this Half-Elf Battle Vestal had almost no penalties relevant to me while retaining some of the beneficial traits of an Elf healer, making her quite an attractive option.
For the record, the pinnacle of healers was the Elf Curing Vestal, but that was like drawing a legendary item in another game—out of the question from the start.
Back to the Battle Vestal, while she had a lower healing capacity compared to a Curing Vestal, she boasted enough combat power to crush most mobs on her own.
In other words, she was a damage-dealing tank with some healing ability.
‘Of course, if she were a full Elf or Human, I’d have reluctantly chosen a different hero, but since she’s a Half-Elf…’
Despite being only half, her racial trait was highly compatible with the healer role, making her an intriguing choice. Especially since she was the only healer among the 10 candidates….
After reviewing the profiles of the first to ninth candidates one more time, I eventually decided to go with the 10th hero.
‘This means running a party with just one Battle Vestal for healing will strain our party’s sustainability. A Paladin will have to be our frontline tank. Even so, picking the Battle Vestal is the right choice for now.’
I had to say goodbye to the strongest tank, the Guardian, and the all-around Heavy Knight, who boasted decent damage, defense, and crowd control. The only frontline class capable of healing was the Paladin.
“I’ll choose this hero.”
“Huh? Interesting taste you’ve got there. Well, after she comes out, you’ll get a chance to introduce yourselves and see if she’s a good fit.”
The recruiter stamped the 10th hero’s profile with a thud, tore it in half, and handed me the central part.
As the inner door opened, a woman clad in a plain black nun’s habit walked confidently toward me.
Standing about 170 cm tall, her physique wasn’t as frail as a full Elf, possibly due to her Half-Elf lineage. Her build appeared rather robust. Her Greyish hair was neatly cut around her shoulders.
Her confident stride and seemingly trained body contrasted with her innocent-looking face, which looked like it belonged to a noble lady who had never killed a bug.
‘What am I even thinking right now?’
This Half-Elf Battle Vestal, as unique as her profile, had an unbalanced yet intriguing appearance.
She stood there, saying nothing, just staring at me. I nodded slightly and introduced myself.
“Ahem. I’m Hendrik of Hero Party HAT. My class is Bounty Hunter, and I look forward to working with you.”
“I’m Kaya, a Battle Vestal.”
Her voice, which I heard for the first time, was rather husky, and her demeanour quite curt.
***
Now that I had recruited a companion, all that remained was to learn basic skills, receive basic equipment, and purchase essential exploration supplies at the general store. After that, the tutorial would be complete.
“Kaya…”
“Just Kaya is fine.”
“…Alright, Kaya. Have you learned your skills?”
She shook her head silently.
This Battle Vestal lady preferred to communicate through subtle gestures rather than words. In a game, it didn’t matter whether a character was talkative or not, but here, in reality, proper communication would be essential to avoid unexpected issues.
I brought Kaya back to the Hero Training Center.
After sending her to the trainer for Battle Vestal class, I went to find the Bounty Hunter trainer for myself.
“I’m here to learn basic skills.”
“Hmm.”
An older man with a shiny bald head, who had been dozing off in his chair, nodded once and tossed four sheets of paper in my direction without even looking at me.
‘Well, this part feels like the game again.’
The four sheets were skill scrolls.
Once you tore a scroll, the corresponding skill would be registered. The reason there were four was that a character could only use a maximum of four skills at a time.
You could register additional skills and swap them out later at rest spots, but that was a story for later.
And, true to the spirit of this infamously luck-based game, even these basic skills were randomized. Although the skill pool wasn’t that large, the four initial skills could make the difference between a heavenly or hellish early and mid-game experience.
‘I swear, the developers of this game should have their paychecks randomized too.’
I calmed my wildly beating heart and tore all four skill scrolls at once.
[Skill ‘Wanted Sighted’ acquired.]
[Skill ‘Flashbang!’ acquired.]
[Skill ‘Skull Crusher’ acquired.]
[Skill ‘Nowhere to Run’ acquired.]
“Oh, for fuck’s sake….”
Three out of the four skills were utility skills.
For a main damage dealer, I only got one damage skill.
Holding my head in frustration, I left the support office.
‘Please, Kaya, I’m begging you.’
[Companion Skills Overview]
[Kaya]
[Skill 1: Divine Combat]
- Buff for self and one selected ally
- Recover 1 HP with each successful attack
[Skill 2: Pinnacle] - Buff for self
- Increases max attack by 1 and speed by 1
- Recover 1 random ally’s HP by 1 with each successful attack
[Skill 3: As God Wills] - Damage bonus +10%
- Hit chance bonus +25%
- 5% chance to instantly kill a non-boss monster
- Gain an extra action if a monster is instantly killed
[Skill 4: Battle Nun’s Penitence] - Self-inflict 1 damage
- Heal selected ally (excluding self) by 2 HP
“Holy shit.”
“??”
“Oh, nothing. Great work.”
“I just tore four scrolls.”
Well, she had a point.
In any case, fate wasn’t entirely cruel, as Kaya’s basic skills were relatively good, aside from only having one damage skill, just like me.
Especially the third skill, As God Wills, was a near-endgame skill that I could keep until the very end. While her healing wasn’t massive, the other three skills were all healing-related, so our party’s sustainability seemed secure for now.
Honestly, all that aside, I just felt reassured.
Oh, Battle Vestal. A once-ignored class in the game had now become my saving grace.
“Kaya, let’s go collect your basic equipment.”
“Understood.”
Oh, Kaya.
Just a few minutes ago, I had thought her cold demeanour would be troublesome, but now look at her.
How reliable she seemed.
We headed to the Equipment Support Office and received Kaya’s basic Armor for the Battle Vestal class, [Novice Nun’s Penitence], and her weapon, [Novice Nun’s Faith]. Seeing her stand before me, she looked like she could grab a flail and start separating the bones and flesh of monsters at any moment.
“Kaya, do you have any knowledge, tips, or experience about dungeons?”
“No.”
“Money?”
Shakes head.
I asked just in case, but of course, no luck.
She had no money, no experience, and no knowledge, yet somehow she had made it to this city. It didn’t make sense, but what could I do? It could be a game’s narrative convenience, or she might have personal reasons that I didn’t know about.
What mattered was whether she could pull her weight in the dungeon or, better yet, exceed expectations.
“Well then, I’ll purchase the necessary supplies with my money for now. Do you have any objections?”
“…Hendrik, you are the leader. No objections.”
Kaya nodded silently, the clatter of her somewhat crude heavy Armor echoing slightly.
“Good. Since you recognize me as the leader, let’s simplify our speech from now on. It’ll be more efficient.”
“As you wish.”
It was fine for now, but once we were inside the dungeon, nerves would be frayed, and there’d be too much to think about. Speaking too formally would just make things more complicated.
Luckily, there wasn’t any risk of that flail smashing my head.
“Do you have a place to stay?”
Shakes head.
“Then where have you been staying up until now?”
“All nuns who wish to venture into the dungeon are allowed to stay in the monastery until they join a hero party.”
Oh-ho. That’s an interesting bit of lore. The game didn’t mention that.
“Well, in that case, stay at the inn where I’m lodging for the night. It’ll only be for a day.”
Nods.
I took Kaya, who made a rattling sound with every step, to the inn. The innkeeper took a glance at her, then held up three fingers.
Tsk.
I paid three extra silver coins for Kaya to share my room. Thankfully, I didn’t experience any awkwardness, surreal feelings, or heart-thumping that would keep me from sleeping due to sharing a room with a Half-Elf nun.
***
The next morning.
After gathering Kaya, who was kneeling and praying on the floor, I spent the rest of my money on exploration supplies. The initial funds were pitifully low, and I was uneasy about it, but there wasn’t much I could do. I even asked the Hero Management Office if I could take a short-term job to earn some extra money. However, they told me that, according to the city’s rules, heroes were not allowed to work in Salem. To work, you’d have to relinquish your hero status, which would mean losing access to the dungeon. Once a hero’s status was revoked, getting it reissued was nearly impossible.
“Sigh….”
And so, with a backpack stuffed to the brim, Kaya and I found ourselves standing at the dungeon’s entrance.
Time Limit: 5 seconds.
The tutorial countdown neared zero, and finally, at 0 seconds:
The Long Terror tutorial has ended.
Final Objective: Clear the ‘Longest Terror’ difficulty.
Han Yujin can now monitor his companions’ status in real time inside the dungeon. Return stones cannot be used while exploring a zone. After defeating the boss of a zone, you may return to Salem once per zone. The dungeon merchant, appearing randomly, sells items at 150% of Salem’s price and buys items at 50% of their value. If a companion dies, they cannot be revived except in very special circumstances. If three companions die, the maximum party size will be permanently reduced to three.
Leader of Heroes Against Terror, Han Yujin. May you triumph against the Longest Terror.
The countdown had ended, yet I was still standing here.
As I reviewed the new penalties that I had never seen before, even on the hardest difficulty, I gritted my teeth.
“Let’s go, Kaya.”
—
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