Chapter 28
In RPG games, the healer type classes are mostly not fun.
However, a healer is often necessary when forming a party.
Of course, Akare was designed to proceed without a healer.
But if a party has a healer, the progress would be much smoother.
For this reason, healer was an unpopular class in RPG games.
Few people wanted to play it, but many needed it.
The reason I chose the priest class was one of those reasons.
I preferred multiplayer over single-player.
“Watch out!”
Raven, disguised as a man, shouted.
[BOSS Black Phantasmal Rabbit Lv.10]
I ignored Raven‘s shout and extended my hand toward the Black Phantasmal Rabbit.
The face of the Black Phantasmal Rabbit twisted like a demon, revealing sharp teeth.
‘Indeed, I prefer female Raven over male Raven.’
Chomp, chomp—
While the Black Phantasmal Rabbit gnawed on my hand, I thought about Raven.
The Raven currently accompanying me was in a princess state, so she was disguised as a man.
Originally, Prince Raven should have appeared depending on my gender, but I changed it using administrator privileges.
“Heal.”
Chomp—
The reason I suddenly reflected on Raven is because I remembered the feedback I received the most during the beta test period.
‘They asked for the option to choose Raven‘s gender.’
Most of the inquiries about the gender option came from female beta testers.
Their common claim was, “Even women prefer a prettier female character over a male one.”
“Homosexuality…”
If it wasn’t for the affinity system, it might have been different. But since the affinity system was already in place, it was hard to accommodate that request.
If the affinity reaches its peak, you could engage in all sorts of shameless activities, just imagining it.
‘Because of this, the Game Content Rating Board? or some such place tried to interfere.’
Fortunately, with the backing of Earth’s Akashic Records, all related issues were resolved smoothly.
“Did you know?”
Raven, watching the Black Phantasmal Rabbit munch on the aurora, turned her gaze to me.
“The Black Phantasmal Rabbit inherits the blood of a now-extinct monster, possessing a small amount of demonic energy.”
“…That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”
Of course. I discovered this secret with my Creator’s Authority.
How could a princess from a ruined kingdom, who just entered the world, know about it?
Well, it wasn’t a question I expected an answer to anyway.
“Then what happens when demonic energy meets holy power?”
“I’ve heard that demonic energy is particularly vulnerable to holy power.”
“That’s right. And just now, this cute little rabbit bit my hand that was using heal.”
Raven‘s gaze shifted to the Black Phantasmal Rabbit.
The Black Phantasmal Rabbit was dead, covered in holy power.
“Doesn’t it look cute like this?”
The only cute Black Phantasmal Rabbit is a dead one.
In reality, the usual Black Phantasmal Rabbit wasn’t much different from a regular rabbit and was rather cute.
“…A crazy person.”
I was just playing the game using the easy route prepared for those who chose the priest class.
But my favourite NPC freaked out and cursed at me.
Isn’t that a bit too openly hostile, no matter what?
This hurts my feelings too!
“Let’s set up camp for now…”
Raven showed signs of exhaustion and began preparing for camp.
***
We passed the first stage, the Forest That Devours Darkness, and arrived at the Capital.
“Wow. So many people.”
People standing around like country bumpkins who just arrived in Seoul.
People demonstrating their skills and interacting with each other.
People immediately forming parties and heading off to hunting grounds.
You could see countless people in the Capital’s Plaza.
‘What are they doing over there?’
In a corner of the plaza, where there were training dummies in an open space.
People wearing the beginner’s weapon, gauntlets, were gathered there.
“Alright, challenge!”
Whoosh-!
One of the martial artists who shouted “challenge” used Forward Leap.
They used the training dummy as a stepping stone to change direction.
But on the next attempt, they failed and ended up rolling on the ground.
“I succeeded the first time, but that was close.”
“Are they a prodigy? I can’t do it even once.”
“Wow, how did you do that?”
They certainly looked like aspiring martial artists.
They gathered in a group, practicing the directional change of Forward Leap.
I watched their enthusiastic practice for a long time.
Due to a balance patch, the maximum number of direction changes was limited to three.
‘They’re struggling with the first directional change.’
Well, how many opportunities do busy modern people have to move their bodies like this?
It was actually Daehyeop Kim who quickly adapted to the directional change that was the strange one.
This is how it should be.
“How does Daehyeop manage to do that?”
“I heard he practiced for nearly half a day.”
“Wow. It’s not easy.”
I left the spot, praying for the success of the aspiring martial artists.
‘Should I visit the Church?’
A priest can receive a buff by visiting the Church and offering a prayer.
Cooldown reduction, increased holy power regeneration speed, increased maximum holy power.
You can randomly receive one of the three buffs.
The balance for this hasn’t been adjusted yet.
They said a week of beta testing would be enough.
‘There were circumstances.’
There were too few beta testers who chose the priest class.
And none of them fulfilled their priestly duties by praying in the Church.
So, there wasn’t enough data to determine how balanced the buffs were.
You need data in the first place to adjust the balance.
As I moved toward the Church, I opened the skill window to check if there were any issues with the tooltips.
―――
Faith (Passive Skill)
- Converts the stat ‘Affinity’ into ‘Holy Power.’
- Reduces incoming damage by 10%.
- Increases the effect of the basic skill Heal by 50%.
- Increases the effect of the basic skill Blessing by 50%.
- Increases Holy Power by 10.
···
···
···
―――
‘No issues.’
I had been reading thoroughly when I found myself already at the Church.
“There aren’t many people here.”
Unlike during the Beta Test, there were a few players visible.
But even among them, there were no priests, and they soon lost interest and left the Church.
“What a shame.”
Even though one could enter the Church without being a priest, no one did.
I wondered why that was, but no clear answer came to mind.
As I lingered in front of the Church, a woman who appeared to be a nun approached me.
“Are you a believer?”
“Yes. I came to offer a prayer.”
A smile appeared on the nun’s lips.
“The regular service is about to start. Please come inside.”
Following the nun’s guidance, I entered the sanctuary inside the Church.
Sunlight filtered through stained glass windows, illuminating the interior.
The atmosphere in the sanctuary was solemn. Everyone had their heads bowed, offering prayers.
At the front was a Goddess Statue, much smaller than the one I had removed.
That wasn’t an Object of Destruction. It was just a mere replica, a fake.
Step—step—
I walked up the path and stood before the Goddess Statue.
All the believers nearby knelt, clasping their hands together in prayer.
I blended in among them, mimicking their actions.
[ You have heard the voice of the divine. ]
[ Maximum Holy Power has increased. (Lasts for 24 hours) ]
‘Got the worst one.’
Cooldown reduction is the best reward, and increased holy power regeneration speed is second best.
But I ended up getting the third-rate reward, increased maximum Holy Power.
‘Did the saint hear the voice of the divine too?’
A memory from the past came to mind. A story about a saint who didn’t believe in a deity.
She met her end in a battle against the heretics. Did she ever hear the voice of the divine?
I could have solved my curiosity instantly by using the Creator’s Authority.
But why bother? Right now, I wanted to focus on the game I made.
“Um… What are you doing here?”
Suddenly, someone whispered right into my ear, startling me.
I calmed my surprised mind and turned my head.
“Suzuka?”
“Oh! Do you know me?”
It would be stranger if I didn’t know her.
The only woman in the Large Company Party. The number one VTuber in the country.
‘She must have missed the nun’s guidance during the service.’
A sideways glance showed that the nuns were also busy praying.
“I was praying.”
“Praying?”
“Yes. You get a buff when you pray.”
“Gasp. Really?”
Suzuka glanced around and then clasped her hands, closing her eyes.
“Wow! It really gives a buff.”
“They say only priests can receive it.”
By the way, since I met Suzuka, this must be streaming live, right?
Well, it didn’t matter. I was just an ordinary priest player, not Aurora the Director.
“I heard the voice of the divine. It sounds like there’s some profound meaning in that phrase…”
No, it’s not. It was just written without much thought.
There’s no need to attach some deeper meaning to it.
“But why did you come to the Church, Suzuka?”
“Well… During the Beta Test, I just rushed through the Main Story. So this time, I wanted to take it slow. You know, look around a bit? Sort of like traveling.”
Wasn’t she supposed to play with the Large Company Party?
I gave her a questioning look.
Suzuka continued to explain.
“I was originally supposed to play with some companions, but I guess the heartbreak hit them too hard.”
“Heartbreak?”
What is she talking about?
Was there some backstory I missed?
“They kept saying something about having to prevent a tragedy. Completely infatuated with Raven, I guess.”
Pout—
Suzuka puffed out her cheeks and stuck out her lower lip.
‘They broke their promise.’
They promised to play with Suzuka!
Daehyeop Kim and Sweet, how could you do this as men?
“That must have been rough…”
It must have been really difficult for her.
Especially since priest is a class that’s best suited for party play.
From Suzuka’s perspective, it was definitely an awkward situation.
“Do you have any plans on where to go next after the Church?”
“No, I haven’t decided yet. I thought I’d visit places I haven’t been before?”
Hmm… A suitable hunting ground for two priests…
“Have you been to the Echoes of the Restless?”
“What’s Echoes of the Restless…? Oh, it’s a graveyard hunting ground? I haven’t been there yet!”
To the south of the Capital, there’s the Forest That Devours Darkness, while to the north, there’s a massive graveyard.
It used to be a Duke’s Territory, but after successive bad harvests and monster attacks, it became abandoned.
They tried to make use of the abandoned land by building a graveyard there, but it didn’t last long.
Hunger, thirst, pain, screams. The Echoes of the Restless drove people mad.
“But it’s a bit scary there…”
“We’re priests, aren’t we?”
Priests were the best at dealing with undead-type monsters.
Of course, they were the worst at handling any other kind of monster.
“You never know, right? There might be some treasure buried in a land full of restless souls.”
“Treasure…!”
Was she mesmerized by the word ‘treasure’? Greed filled Suzuka’s eyes.
“Let’s go right now!”
Is she just naïve? Or is she good at streaming?
To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure.
‘Sorry.’
In truth, there’s no treasure.
But it’s fun to go together and get some easy wins.
With a silent confession to my conscience, I followed the excited Suzuka out of the Church.
—
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