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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: bchen3
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[Name: Yoon Sihoo]
[Main Class: Hero[EX] – Priest of Hespada[E]]
[Sub-Class[0/3]: None]
[Vitality – 36.2] – lv1
[Stamina – 50.3] – lv1
[Strength – 10.3] – lv1
[Agility – 35.7] – lv1
[Circuit – 0] – lv1
[Mana – 0] – lv1
[Divine – 57.2 (+10)(+136)] – lv1
Skills(3/15): Language of Babel(EX), Hero’s Destiny(EX), Hespada’s Law(EX)
[XP: 715309]
[Achievements: World Champion 12 times & 7 more – See More]
“…Recovery and buffing power are at the level of a knight’s priest. Stamina, even with buffs, isn’t enough to sustain combat for more than 30 minutes. I guess it’ll be sufficient at level 2.”
He reflected on the completed training and pondered how to use his XP for further development.
So far, he had spent his XP to increase his stats: Vitality 25, Stamina 40, Agility 25, and Divine 50.
At the start, his initial stats were simply not enough to complete the knights’ combat training, so he had spent 7000 XP to level them up.
After increasing those stats, he finally reached the level where he could manage a decent role in combat training using the EX-grade Laws.
He felt this was roughly equivalent to a Priest NPC in the Knights Order.
“I’ve established this as a baseline for a priest’s ability to perform well, so how do I plan further growth?”
He tapped his fingers, lost in thought.
“Gaining XP and stats through training is inefficient.”
Training was safe.
Intense training carried a risk of injury, but not of death.
However, the return was incredibly low.
Even after a week of intense training, he would only gain a total of about 1 point in stats.
He thought about how it took 100 XP to gain 1 point, and even then he was getting a discount. It was simply too low.
Considering that he was earning 40-50 XP for every intense training session with the Hero’s EX-grade experience boost, it seemed growth through training alone would be difficult unless he planned to live in the game forever.
“They said you get the most XP when you ‘kill’ something.”
Real growth would inevitably require real-world combat experience.
“I’ll stop using XP for now.”
His current stats were sufficient to handle the training levels.
Besides…
[Skill: Hespada’s Law (EX)]
The law used by priests of Hespada, the goddess of the hearth.
Mastering the law allows the priest to fully receive and wield Hespada’s divine power.
Law Level: 16 / 17
Current Rank: EX
Reached the maximum rank attainable.
“…It cost too much XP to make the Law EX.”
As soon as he decided that he couldn’t properly fulfill the role of a priest, he maxed out the Law.
The problem was that even with the 50% discount from the Hero’s Destiny effect, it still devoured 330,000 XP.
This meant that it originally took 660,000 XP to upgrade from E to EX.
He licked his lips as he saw his XP drastically depleted.
Still, his main class was decided as priest, and considering his abilities and potential, it was the best choice.
He hadn’t realized it at first, but excluding NPCs in this world, the highest rank he could reach with XP was A, unless there were special circumstances.
“That’s what it meant.”
5. Gain 100 XP to gain an additional 100 XP and raise the skill level cap by 1 level (unlocked at B or higher).
8. Gain 100 XP to gain an additional 200 XP, raise the skill level cap by 1 level, and gain 1 additional sub-class slot (unlocked at EX or higher).
The explanation of the upper limit unlocking ability from Hero’s Destiny.
This skill allowed him to reach the S and EX realms beyond the A rank.
“I didn’t even plan to put it in, but I won’t be accepting any Heroes ranked C or lower into a party.”
He couldn’t gain S-rank skills on his own, regardless of how much he grew.
It felt a bit unfair to categorize people based on their game ranking, but in his opinion, C-rank or lower players would likely be worse than NPCs for a long time.
The gap would be even greater for parties seeking high-end specs.
He had personally experienced the complete change in efficiency after creating the Hespada’s Law EX.
Even with his Divine stat boosted by equipment, his level 1 Divine stat was barely on par with knight order priests who had a minimum of 3-4 levels in Divine.
The benefits of a shorter casting time, changes to the incantation, and increased number of targets that could benefit from the skill were undeniable.
Frankly, if he spent XP to further boost his Divine stat, just the EX Law and his raw stats alone would be enough to be called a “Hero.”
“…But that’s not enough anymore.”
Luna, an A-rank player, was the tank, but he couldn’t just rely solely on her for his safety.
“The next sub-class should have some tanking capabilities.”
Even though it was a training session disguised as real combat, it was ultimately just training.
How many threats did he face during those training sessions?
Even in this simple and classic combination of knights and priests, variables emerged, and the threats were directly aimed at him.
In real combat, there would be even more variables than this training scenario.
There might be ambushes, or even assassinations.
It was a common trope in movies and anime, right?
You’re walking along, laughing and chatting, and then suddenly an arrow or a knife plunges into your head or chest, and you die. Just like that.
There was no guarantee that he wouldn’t be in that situation.
He had long since abandoned the adolescent delusion that he was the protagonist of a novel and would never die.
His life detection skill was only good for a day or two.
How could he possibly survive in a situation where he might die at any moment, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year?
How could he, a rear-guard in a situation where death was inevitable, remain a flimsy sheet of paper, trusting only in his talent in a game where a single death meant the end?
He had realized this through a few training sessions.
He was basically trying to make his death look like a murder, even though he wanted to commit suicide.
“I need to reach a level where even if my neck is cut, I can regenerate and survive.”
Even if he couldn’t become a vampire where his neck could be severed and reattached, he needed to be at least like a zombie where he wouldn’t die until his head was cut off.
Of course, the NPCs he had been sparring with were not amateurs; they were the royal guards of Nadium.
He didn’t have a direct comparison, but they were the king’s direct guards, so they must be high-level within the world.
They couldn’t be weaker than the Goblin Joah, a novice-level player who roamed the outside world.
Not all monsters outside would be stronger than the royal guards.
But the point was, to clear the game, he needed to be able to cut off the heads of the bosses, even if it meant facing them head-on with an entire army, even if it was the royal guards, so that he could ultimately defeat them.
Those outsiders, whatever they were…
That’s why they called upon the Hero players, wasn’t it?
“…I’m giving up on clearing it quickly.”
Recognizing the current difficulty as hell mode, attempting to clear it prematurely would be madness.
He was a little worried about what was happening outside.
“…Honestly, it’s an occupational hazard, right? Gotta admit it.”
Siwoo, his secretary, would take care of it.
Did Japan have decent labor rights?
He had heard that there were a lot of black companies.
They wouldn’t penalize him for breaching the contract for being abducted and forced to work for them, right?
It was all just a joke, of course.
It was a job, it was money, and he needed to survive.
“During my pro life, I was too focused on my profession, so I didn’t spend much of the money I saved.”
If he died, the money would go to his parents, of course, but he was the one who earned it.
He needed to enjoy some of it, right?
He had cleared it, safely and without dying, even if it took a little longer than he had expected.
“…There are still three weeks left.”
While the actual reward was not much, he could be satisfied with gaining real combat experience while fighting knights.
He could also acquire his sub-class upon graduating from this training.
Finishing his thoughts, he leaned against the wall and rested, watching other players train.
Some were training, others sparring.
As they were considered valuable, even the F-ranks were getting 1:1 coaching from royal guards.
Most of them were average in terms of sense.
Especially the 9 priests who had chosen their class, their mindset was heavily focused on surviving.
They just wanted to stay safe in the back, healing and keeping themselves alive.
Their ranks were only D-B, and some were even timid.
“…Even aside from the party I will make, it will take a long time for the other parties to get any results.”
If he had chosen a damage-dealer, he would have had to bring those guys along as priests.
If this were a competition, he would have been happy about his competitors’ incompetence, but now that he needed to clear the game…
“…I’m not going to think about it.”
It wouldn’t be good to be full of negative thoughts before starting.
Some might actually get better once they actually enter real combat, and some people were actually pretty decent.
Coincidentally, all the users who received A-S ranks showed above-average sense.
Luna, who was initially intimidated by the opposing forces and even felt intimidated by the B-rank tank, had become more accustomed to the situation and was starting to win more and more often in their training sessions.
The S-rank players, in particular, were good enough to pass the pro trainee test with a little polishing.
“…Did they assign ranks based on talent?”
This was not even the Minority Report version for talent.
But if that was the case…
“I guess I was a genius after all.”
EX.
It meant talent beyond measure.
“Whoa!”
While feeling a little self-absorbed, a cheer came from a training area.
Clang! Clang!
It was a cute sound compared to the sound of swords clashing during knight training.
A small boy and a large man.
But it was the larger man who was being pushed back every time their swords met.
“He’s got sense.”
A small boy.
He was a Japanese high school student.
He was just like a kid that age, a samurai who was the champion of swords. In fact, this is martial arts.
If he had eaten a Japanese school lunchbox, it might be even more true.
But unlike the many other martial artists out there, this one was the real deal.
The other players, excluding himself, didn’t have that much XP to use.
If they were the same class, their stats would be fairly similar.
This meant that height, limb length, and weight, which were not converted into stats, would still have a major impact.
Even the Japanese high schooler, whose small stature made it difficult to wield a Naginata (long sword) by nature.
However, the Japanese student wielded a Naginata slightly shorter than his own body with ease, overwhelming his opponent.
He wasn’t scared because he was a kid, but he was good at directly facing the incoming sword, parrying it smoothly and attacking at the same time.
“He’s definitely S-rank no matter how you look at it.”
Of course, this was assuming that ranks were assigned based on talent.
He hadn’t paid much attention to his ranking since he was so quiet about sharing information during class selection, but if he was really S-rank…
“Then he’s the top candidate for damage-dealer.”
The other S-rank players had already formed their own parties, and the other A-rank players seemed to want to be the party leader, so they weren’t willing to come join him yet.
“They won’t get the feeling until they’re actually getting hit in real combat.”
They wouldn’t realize they weren’t the protagonist of the game.
“Stop!”
The knight acting as referee yelled.
I watched the Japanese high school kid, who was striking down his opponent, pointing his sword at the fallen figure, with a world-weary expression as if he was the coolest person alive, and he couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.
He lacked social skills, so he wouldn’t have a party yet.
Should I give him a poke?
Dealing with new, self-important rookies after their debut was nothing new.
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A naginata isn’t a sword, it’s more like a (comparatively) short bladed spear, meant for slashing as well as stabbing. Afaik they’re usually about 5-6 ft long, the blade making up less than a foot of that length.
Mm, yup, a tanking subclass is probably the way to go. Nothing more disgustingly resilient then a sturdy tank that can also heal itself.