Divine Glitch: I Regressed With Endgame Knowledge
Chapter 61: Race for Reputation

Chapter 61: Race for Reputation

Ryan didn’t pay much attention to the buzz on the forums. He just mentioned it offhand to Evelyn and the rest of the guild—and left it at that.

Securing his fourth Glorious Achievement finally let him exhale. For the first time in a while, he felt like he could truly take a breath. There weren’t any more known methods to earn those achievements—not yet, anyway.

Eventually, as players climbed to higher levels, more avenues would open up. But for now, this was it.

Leisurely, he dropped his newly earned attribute point into Stamina. While riding his mount across the open terrain, he began considering where to assign the accompanying talent point.

His options were still confined to the first three tiers of the Retribution build. Conviction and Vindication—both tempted him in different ways. But in the end, he leaned into Conviction

—

Conviction: All your attacks and spells gain +1% critical strike chance. (0/5)

—

As soon as he added the auxiliary talent point, that 0/5 turned into 5/5. A full 5% increase to his crit chance across the board.

He didn’t stress too much about defensive reductions. Before raid-tier content kicked in, his current level of protection was more than enough. And when Vindication finally became necessary, odds were high that another Retribution Paladin would be in the group to cover that.

The extra 5% crit from Conviction directly boosted his output—always useful, always on.

"Guild Leader, there’s a quest objective up ahead. Should we turn it in?"

Moonlight Beauty’s voice cut through his thoughts. By now, the two of them had returned to Alliance of Light territory. The local mobs had dropped to around level 14. Up ahead, an NPC stood with a giant glowing question mark over his head—clear turn-in indicator.

Ryan glanced at it, then shook his head.

"No. Let’s head back first. We’ll turn it in at Darkwood Camp. The new quests there are better suited for our level."

He nudged his mount forward without waiting for a reply.

When they arrived at Darkwood Camp, several other player parties were already milling around. Some had just ridden in, others looked like they’d been there for a bit. Their speed was startling—they’d already pushed their quests this far?

"Geez, they’re moving fast! How much time’s even passed for them to get here?" Moonlight muttered.

Her tone carried a hint of frustration, and almost immediately, comforting messages started popping up in the guild channel.

"Moonlight, don’t be so dramatic. At least you got a Glorious Achievement! We’re here stuck in the heartlands—super jealous of you." —BY Tyrant Queen

"Exactly. A Glorious Achievement puts you way ahead, no matter how fast they’re leveling. The rewards you get from those can’t be undone by a few hours’ progress." —BY Winter Lily

Seeing his sister chime in to calm Moonlight down, Ryan couldn’t help but add his own voice.

"Come on, Moonlight. Look at those guys. If they knew you were the one who earned a Glorious Achievement, they’d probably delete their characters and start over in the beginner village—just to try and do what you did."

That made her laugh. She stopped complaining, nudging her mount forward to follow Ryan into camp.

Not a second later, a message popped up in Ryan’s friends list.

"Featherlight, are you there?"

Ryan raised an eyebrow. The sender was Sky Dragon Roar.

That was unexpected. Why would the head of the Sky Dragon Family be messaging him directly?

He had a guess.

"Is something wrong?" Ryan typed back.

"Featherlight, I heard someone’s already created a guild. If that’s true... it’s gotta be you, right?"

"Yes, I did create one."

Ryan’s response was curt.

Sky Dragon Roar didn’t hesitate. "I’d like to ask... is there some shortcut to creating a guild? There’s no way the current quests give enough reputation to hit Honored, right?"

There was a slight edge to his voice—hopeful, but laced with unease. On one hand, he was eager to learn of a shortcut that could accelerate his own progress. On the other, he didn’t want it to exist. He’d worked hard, gained considerable reputation already. If there was a shortcut, it meant others might surpass him before he could act.

"There’s no shortcut," Ryan said plainly. "One of my Glorious Achievements gave me 5,000 reputation. That’s how I met the requirement."

Just as he suspected, Sky Dragon Roar had reached out because word had spread—someone had created the game’s first guild. That "someone" being Ryan.

Sky Dragon Roar’s voice brightened. "Then, the other players who earned Glorious Achievements... are they all in your guild?"

"Yes. They’re all members of my guild."

Ryan was starting to lose patience. This wasn’t a conversation he cared to entertain for long, but etiquette kept him from just cutting the call.

Sky Dragon Roar clearly picked up on the shift in tone. He quickly thanked Ryan, ended the chat, and sat back.

Nearby, Sky Dragon Iris approached. She had been watching his expression and now smiled with relief.

"How was it?" she asked.

"Perfect!" Sky Dragon Roar grinned, energized. "You guys, speed up and find the Guardian in this zone. I’ll clear every quest here to farm as much reputation as possible."

He turned toward the crowd of players around him and shouted, "No one’s ahead of us now! Push hard—find that Guardian! It gives a huge amount of reputation. The Sky Dragon Family will be the second guild in the game!"

Cheers erupted. Hundreds of players scattered deeper into the zone, forming teams and sweeping the area in search of the powerful Guardian monster rumored to be hidden nearby.

"How are the players handling professions?" Sky Dragon Roar asked Sky Dragon Ascendant, who had just returned from the field.

The reply, as usual, wasn’t ideal.

Sky Dragon Roar frowned, then quickly issued new instructions. "Have them gather materials as fast as possible. Partner with the studios we’ve worked with before—no need to rely on in-game gold. Just get it done."

"Yes, Big Bro! I’ll contact them right away."

Sky Dragon Ascendant nodded firmly and immediately logged off to take care of it.

Sky Dragon Roar stood silently for a moment, staring at the landscape ahead. His mind lingered on the name Featherlight.

’Where did you come from? Why have I never heard of you in any of the pro circles?’

He shook his head, letting out a sigh.

Back in Darkwood Camp, the object of his curiosity was busy turning in quests. Ryan had just hit Level 11.

He had deliberately held off leveling up while in Dark Horde territory, keeping the free full-heal from leveling as a tactical fallback. It had already saved him once. But now, back in Alliance of Light territory, there was no reason to stall.

With access to new quests now unlocked, he moved efficiently through the camp, grabbing objectives and forming his route.

Then a message popped into the party channel—this one from Moonlight Beauty.

"Guild Leader! I just got word—someone found a Guardian! Should we go check it out?"