Chapter 67
I nearly melted under Rana's cuteness, but somehow managed to hold out.
That was close. Really close. Maybe I would've been happier if I'd just given in.
Rana stumbling over my name and getting all flustered was great, too.
If there'd been an affection meter, it would've shot right off the scale.
She was stunningly beautiful, which made her cuteness all the more lethal.
I never expected simply hearing her call me by name—especially when she stumbled over it—to make me melt like that.
There was nothing like this in 〈Dan-Katsu〉, so I was completely caught off guard.
So this is the power of real life. Terrifying.
Shiera looked like she wanted to say something, but she only sighed before smoothing things over.
Thanks to her, I quickly calmed down and was able to resume the lecture.
I'm starting to see Shiera as a dependable secretary.
“Anyway, we got off track. Now, about how to train a 【Saintess】. Don't change the subject this time.”
“I know, so go on!”
Rana seemed to be in a good mood for some reason. This time, she didn't interrupt, and the discussion moved along.
Should I just keep her in a good mood? Hmm. I'll remember that.
“The 【Saintess】's role is that of a healer, but she's more of a buffer. She supports her allies with powerful buffs to give them the upper hand, and heals them when they're hurt. That's the general idea. In other words, even though her healing is powerful, be careful not to focus too much on it, or you'll waste the 【Saintess】's strengths.”
“A buffer, huh? Like a 【Princess】?”
“Yeah. Both the 【Princess】 and the 【Saintess】 are Jobs exclusive to royalty, so they're quite similar. But the 【Princess】 specializes in buffs, while the 【Saintess】 is primarily a healer.”
“But looking at the list, the 【Saintess】's Skills seem to be focused on buffs.”
Rana asked as she looked over the memo.
That was true. The 【Saintess】 had a lot of buff magic, about as much as the 【Princess】.
The 【Saintess】 could use a wide variety of magic, including attack, buff, defense, and healing spells.
Buff magic made up a large portion of her repertoire, but thanks to her Unique Skill, her healing magic was supercharged.
It was called 'Prayer of the Saintess Who Keeps Protecting,' and its effect was to grant 'Continuous LV○' to healing magic.
That was what made the 【Saintess】 the premier healing Job.
When I explained that, Rana tilted her head, looking puzzled.
“Is it really that strong? From what you're saying, it doesn't sound all that powerful.”
“Oh, it's more than just strong. Listen: 'Continuous' means healing over time. After a regular healing spell restores someone's HP, they keep recovering. The higher its LV, the more it heals and the longer the effect lasts. Can you see how powerful that is?”
The reason this support Job ranked second among the strongest Jobs, behind only the 【Hero】, was entirely thanks to this Unique Skill. You could even call it broken.
During battle, your allies would be under continuous healing at all times.
Since they kept recovering as time passed, they could just guard and hold out when things got dangerous, avoiding a crisis.
Its only drawback was that 'Continuous' wouldn't stack with other healing magic. But since you could still use regular continuous-healing spells, that drawback was meaningless.
Thanks to this, 〈Dan-Katsu〉 players could keep pummeling bosses while their 【Saintess】's Unique Skill constantly healed them. I certainly got plenty of use out of it myself.
But despite all my enthusiasm and excitement, Rana didn't seem to get it.
She still looked utterly baffled. Well, maybe you had to experience it firsthand to understand.
“Well, seeing is believing. For now, get the Unique Skill and 'Prayer of Healing.' Oh, LV1 is fine for your healing magic. But raise the Unique Skill to LV10. That's absolutely essential if you're going to use the 【Saintess】.”
“O-okay, I understand. What else should I get?”
“The 【Saintess】 is done for if she gets targeted, so pick up buffs that raise your Defense and Magic Defense. After that, use the memo as a guide for what to learn. If you get confused, come ask me anytime.”
“...All right. I'll be counting on you... Zephyrus.”
“O-oh, yeah. Leave it to me, Rana.”
She still sounded awkward saying my name.
It made me feel oddly ticklish.
Rana began studying my memo, so I turned toward Shiera next.
“...I can't help feeling jealous.”
“What are you talking about, Shiera?”
“It's nothing... Anyway, tell me about the 【Shield Princess】. I want to know everything you know, every last detail.”
“Sure. Leave it to me. Though most of it is written in the memo. You've already read the whole thing, right?”
“Yes. May I ask you some questions?”
“Bring it on.”
Unlike Rana, Shiera was intensely passionate about the 【Shield Princess】, and she already seemed to understand almost everything I'd written in the memo.
She'd probably grown up in a family of shield specialists. She also understood the tank's role perfectly. All that remained was to gain practical experience.
The only things the memo didn't explain were the details of a few 【Shield Princess】 Skills and her Unique Skill.
Shiera really was an honor student, unlike Rana.
No, maybe Rana had been aiming to become a 【Saintess】 while knowing surprisingly little about the 【Saintess】.
“The effect of the 【Shield Princess】's LV40 Unique Skill, 〈Perfect Allure Shield〉, is 〈For a set time, forcibly make enemies target you〉. I want to know exactly what it does. The moment I use it, will every monster target me?”
“It switches instantly. It's not just making them turn to face you—that's putting it mildly. If an enemy is already in an attack animation, its target switches to you. If you aren't on your guard, you'll take unexpected damage, so be careful. Also, this is an attack-type Skill, so it only affects enemies you hit. Assume it affects about one target. It's for bosses.”
As I answered, Shiera jotted down notes in her cute, flower-patterned notebook.
She's so diligent.
Rana, you could learn a thing or two from her.
When Shiera stopped writing, I continued explaining.
“Also, you need to be careful when the effect ends and aggro shifts back. If you let your guard down just because enemies can only target you while the Skill is active, you might not be able to regain their aggro when it wears off, and your allies could get taken out.”
Shiera looked serious.
Having an ally get taken out was practically humiliating for a tank.
A tank failing to hold aggro in a party where everyone was mindful of it was an absolutely unforgivable mistake.
She seemed to put all her focus into taking notes.
Well, that's why I'm here. I can serve as a sub-tank, so I'll step in to back her up until she's used to it.