Divine Glitch: I Regressed With Endgame Knowledge
Chapter 44: Between Luck and Loyalty

Chapter 44: Between Luck and Loyalty

The deepened talent for Enhanced Deflection granted a reduction in physical damage after a successful parry. Ryan’s heart swelled with quiet satisfaction. It was a powerful, survival-focused talent—one that, when paired with a high enough parry rate, would stay active almost constantly.

What he hadn’t figured out yet was whether each point in the talent increased its duration, or if the damage reduction stacked. Either way, it would cost his own precious talent points to unlock, and that posed a dilemma. The total number of points was fixed—unlike Auxiliary Talent Points, which could be earned through Glorious Achievements. Spending them here meant cutting into future possibilities elsewhere.

With a resigned sigh, Ryan closed the talent panel. He left his character standing idle inside the Grand Cathedral and logged out of his virtual headset.

The scent of dinner had already begun to spread through the house. As Ryan stepped out of his room, the aroma wrapped around him, rich and relentless, tugging at his stomach. Molly and Mia were already moving around the kitchen, warming up dishes with a rhythm that suggested they’d been at it for a while.

While Molly was still preoccupied, Ryan motioned Mia over and pulled her aside.

"Hey," he said in a low voice, "what’s going on between you and Evelyn?"

Mia blinked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean the sudden change. You two looked like you were ready to kill each other, and now you’re practically friends?"

She gave a short sigh and folded her arms. "It’s nothing."

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

She hesitated, then rolled her eyes and finally gave in. "Okay, fine. She wants to recruit me into her professional team."

Ryan stared at her. "That’s it?"

"That’s it," Mia echoed, shrugging.

He frowned, trying to reconcile what she’d just said with what he’d witnessed earlier.

"I deliberately logged out after we entered the Abandoned Mine," he said slowly, "but I left my character recording everything. I saw the conversation between you two."

Mia’s face stiffened for a beat.

"That’s all it was?" Ryan pressed. "Just a recruitment offer?"

Her lips curled slightly, a hint of annoyance creeping in. "Yes. That’s what I just said."

"But when I left, you two looked like mortal enemies."

"We were," she said, almost defensively. "But she offered... compensation."

"Compensation?" Ryan echoed.

Mia pouted. "She said you couldn’t possibly keep making money just by luck, and any money you’ve earned so far was just that—luck. She said the game revolves around teamwork, and without a solid team, you’ll hit a wall."

Ryan narrowed his eyes but didn’t interrupt.

"She offered me a spot on her team," Mia continued. "Five grand a month, just as a trial salary. If I perform well, I can earn more later."

She rattled off the rest in a breathless tumble of words, not quite meeting his eyes. Ryan watched her, a slow, wry smile tugging at his lips. Now it made sense. She wasn’t reconciling with Evelyn out of trust or friendship—she just didn’t want to admit she needed the money. She’d rather pretend they’d made peace than admit to her brother she was working for the enemy.

"You," Ryan murmured, shaking his head, a flicker of amusement warming his features. She was still too proud for her own good.

A sudden thought struck him. He was briefly tempted to tell her how much money he’d really made—but then stopped himself. Better not. It might just crush her spirit. Let the girl think she was catching up.

"Dinner’s ready!" Molly’s voice rang out from the kitchen. She emerged holding a dish, her tone almost triumphant.

Ryan glanced at her, eyebrows raised. "Why so happy? What happened?"

Molly smiled, eyes narrowing into mischievous slits. "Never mind. Let’s eat."

She walked off, refusing to say another word.

After a lively dinner Ryan was just about to retreat to his bedroom and dive back into the grind when his phone in the living room rang.

He picked it up, mildly surprised. It was the real estate agency he’d contacted earlier that morning. A woman named Ms. Quinn was on the line, her tone brisk and professional. She informed him that a few promising properties had come up on the market. The news lifted Ryan’s mood even further.

They arranged a viewing for three days from now, and after jotting down the details, Ryan hung up, feeling a little more grounded—and a little more motivated.

Back in the game, he reconnected with Mia. As soon as they logged in, the party panel lit up with flashing messages from Evelyn, all of them brimming with her usual mix of urgency and impatience.

Ryan chuckled under his breath. He typed a quick reply, then launched into the air from Stormhold Fortress. Together, he and Mia glided across the sky, eventually landing near the Abandoned Mine.

Evelyn and her team were already waiting near the dungeon entrance. The moment Ryan and Mia stepped inside, Evelyn gave them a curt wave, then turned and motioned for them to follow her deeper in.

Roughly thirty minutes passed as they cleared respawned mobs from earlier sections. A small number of elite patrols had returned, giving the group a bit of EXP and some loose change before vanishing into pixels.

As they pushed forward, Evelyn let out a small sigh and broke the silence. "While you two were flying around, I combed the forums again. Still nothing. No one’s found a way to get past that dead-end."

Her voice held the faint edge of fatigue. It made sense—her team wasn’t exactly pro-tier, and the fact that they’d cleared the upper levels of the Abandoned Mine had probably inflated her expectations. Clearing a dungeon others couldn’t even get halfway through would do that.

Now, though, faced with a path no one could solve, reality was creeping back in.

"Our next big breakthrough has to be that road," she added. "There’s no other goal left."

Ryan shrugged, lips quirking with a touch of amusement. "Where there’s a will, there’s a way. The devs wouldn’t design a dead end with no solution."

"I hope you’re right," Evelyn muttered—but she didn’t sound convinced.

They rounded a corner, and Evelyn’s footsteps suddenly stopped.

Her eyes widened as she stared down the corridor ahead.

The path that had stumped thousands of players—the so-called "impassable" road—now lay completely clear.

Not a single Kobold elite in sight.

"What the hell?" she whispered.

Ryan glanced at her, then looked back toward the now-empty stretch of stone. "So... not so impassable anymore, huh?"

"That’s not what I mean!" she snapped, whirling to face him. Her voice hitched, high and sharp. "I know it’s passable now—but why? Where did all the monsters go?"

Ryan didn’t have an answer. He simply kept moving, descending the once-blocked path without hesitation. The others followed, still glancing over their shoulders as if expecting a trap.

The silence was eerie.

No patrols. No alarms. No resistance. Just cold stone walls and the hum of tension thickening with every step.

At the end of the corridor, they finally saw it: a massive steel gate, bolted shut, imposing and final.

To the right of it stood a strange mechanism. A single handle jutted from it—clearly meant to be cranked to open the gate.

Beyond it lay the dungeon’s final boss.

The Kobold Priest. Goldtooth.

The rest of the team gathered behind Ryan, still quiet, still stunned. Evelyn didn’t say a word. Her gaze was fixed on the gate as though afraid it might vanish if she blinked.

They’d done it.

They stood at the front of the line—ahead of every other team in the game.

First to reach the final room, first to face Goldtooth.