Seilroom (3): The Battle Vestal Kaya
“Hoo.”
She was a remarkably unique character. A Battle Vestal who wore heavy armor despite being classified as a healer—it was a class that bordered on contradictory. Only women could take this class, and while the Battle Vestal bonuses were quite solid, the female penalty tanked her three core physical stats: HP, attack, and defense.
Plus, though it wasn't shown in the profile, every character had racial passives. Elves got an extra heavy armor penalty, making an elf Battle Vestal an instant pass—a trash-tier among trash tiers.
“This is my first time seeing a half-elf. Mind sharing some info?”
“Ah, that...”
According to the clerk, half-elves only inherited half of the elf racial trait—increased buff and healing skill efficiency—but they avoided the heavy armor penalty. Downsides included always having at least one phobia and infertility. Phobias could hit any race, though, and infertility? This wasn't some romance sim overflowing with dreams and love; it wasn't even worth discussing.
In short, this half-elf Battle Vestal had almost no penalties for me while cherry-picking the elf advantages. A pretty attractive healer. (For reference, the pinnacle was an elf Curing Vestal, but that was like pulling a legendary item from another game—best to ignore it.)
Back to the point: Battle Vestals had less healing output than Curing Vestals, but they could smash most trash mobs' heads in themselves. Solid combat power in a healer-tank hybrid role.
'If she were full elf or human, I'd grudgingly pick another hero, but half-elf? Damn.'
Even halved, that racial synergized too well with healers. Especially since she was the only healer-type among the ten heroes...
I double-checked the profiles from 1 to 9, then picked the tenth.
'One Battle Vestal healer means party sustain will suffer, forcing the front row into Crusader... but still, pick her now.'
Top-tier tanks like Guardian or versatile heavy knights with CC? Time to say goodbye. Only Crusaders could heal up front.
“This hero.”
“Hmm? Huh. Unique taste. When your hero comes out, introduce yourselves, confirm you're a match, and head out.”
The clerk took the profile, glanced at me, stamped the tenth one thwack, and tore it in half. The inner door opened, and a woman in plain black nun's robes strode confidently toward me.
About 170 cm tall, her half-elf build was sturdy rather than elven-slim. Dull gray hair cut neatly to her shoulders. Her bold gait and toned physique contrasted her innocent face—like a noble lady who'd never squashed a bug.
'What the hell am I thinking.'
A half-elf Battle Vestal with an unbalanced profile to match her looks. She stared silently.
I bowed slightly. “Ahem. Hendrick of Heroes Against Terror. Bounty Hunter class. Nice to work with you.”
“...Battle Vestal Kaya.”
Her husky, curt voice was a first.
***
With a comrade recruited, it was time for basic skills, gear, then stock up on essentials at the general store. Tutorial complete.
“Kaya.”
“Just Kaya.”
“...Kaya. Skills learned?”
She shook her head. This stoic Battle Vestal answered with gestures. In a game, chatty or not didn't matter, but here? Communication had to be clear—variables everywhere.
Anyway, back to the Hero Training Center with Kaya. Sent her to the Battle Vestal trainer; I hit Bounty Hunter.
“Here for basic skills.”
“Mm.”
A shiny-headed uncle dozing in his chair nodded without looking and flung four papers my way.
'Game-like as ever.'
Skill scrolls. Tear to register. Four because max four active skills. (You could swap at rest spots later.) And true to this luck-based shitshow, even basics were random.
The skill pool was limited, but these four could make early-mid game heaven or hell.
'Dev team deserves random paychecks.'
Heart pounding, I tore all four.
Wanted Poster
Flare Bomb!
Head Crush
Where You Gonna Run
“Ah, fuuuck...”
Three utility skills out of four. Main dealer with one damage skill. Head in hands, I left support.
'Please, Kaya.'
***
1. Holy Combat
Buffs self and 1 target
Recover 1 HP per enemy hit
2. Climax
Self-buff
Max attack +1, speed +1
Recover 1 HP random ally per hit
3. All According to God's Will
Damage +10%
Accuracy +25%
5% instant kill (non-boss)
Retry action on kill
4. Battle Vestal's Penance
Self-harm 1 HP
Heal 2 HP target ally (not self)
“...Holy shit.”
“??”
“N-no, good work.”
“Just tore four scrolls.”
Fair enough. Not doomed: Kaya's basics matched mine—one damage skill, but solid otherwise. Her third, All According to God's Will, was near-endgame viable. Low heal output, but all others healed, so sustain was fine for now.
Hell, she felt reliable. Oh, Battle Vestal. King God Nun. A trash class I'd ignored now shone for me.
“Kaya, gear next.”
“Understood.”
Oh, Kaya. Her stoicism had seemed headache-inducing minutes ago. Now? Solid as rock.
Geared in Battle Vestal starter [Novice Nun's Penance] armor and [Novice Nun's Faith] mace, she looked ready to pulverize monster bones and flesh.
“Kaya. Dungeon knowledge? Tips? Experience?”
“None.”
“Money?”
Shake. No surprise. Broke, green, clueless—coming here alone defied logic. Game fiat or backstory, whatever.
Could she pull her weight? That mattered.
“I'll buy essentials. Objections?”
“...Hendrick, you're the leader. None.”
Her crude heavy armor clanked as she nodded.
“Good. You acknowledge me as leader, so casual speech from now on. More efficient.”
“As you wish.”
Dungeon nerves sharpened everything; formal talk would hurt. Good—no mace to my skull.
“Lodging?”
Shake.
“Where've you been staying?”
“Nuns hoping for dungeons stay at the monastery pre-party.”
Oh, nun lore. Not in-game.
“Stay at my inn. One night.”
Nod. Clank to inn; owner flashed three fingers.
'Tch.'
Three extra silvers; room shared. No awkwardness, surreal flutters, or insomnia, thankfully.
***
Next morning. Took praying Kaya (kneeling on floor) and blew all coin on exploration consumables. Low funds worried me, but no choice.
Checked Hero Management: short-term jobs? Nope—city rules barred heroes from work. Stripping status blocks dungeons; reissue near-impossible.
“Hoo...”
Backpacks bulging, Kaya and I stood at the dungeon maw.
Time Limit: 5 seconds
Tutorial limit converged to zero. At 0:
The Long Terror, 'The Longest Terror'
Final Goal: Clear The Longest Terror difficulty
Han Yujin can now check comrades' status in real-time inside the dungeon.
Return Stones unusable during zone exploration.
Kill zone boss for one-time return to Seilroom per zone.
Dungeon shopkeepers (random): Sell at 150% Seilroom prices, buy at 50%.
Dead comrade heroes irrevivable (rare exceptions); 3 deaths permanently caps party at 3.
Leader of Heroes Against Terror, Han Yujin. May you conquer The Longest Terror.
Limit over, but I stood firm. New penalties unseen even on Hard—I gritted my teeth.
“Let's go, Kaya.”