Shaking off his thoughts, Ryan exited the quest selection window and went straight to the skill trainer's panel. It was time to learn the abilities unlocked at Level 10.
---
Reprimand: Compels the enemy to repent before the Light, stunning them for 3 seconds. 1-minute cooldown. Consumes 5 Holy Power.
Righteous Fury: Reduces damage taken by 10%. Holy damage generates a significant amount of threat.
Reckoning: Forces the target to attack you, but increases their attack power by 5% for 3 seconds. 10-second cooldown. Requires 1 Holy Power.
Parry: Grants a chance to parry enemy attacks. Each successful parry generates 1 Holy Power.
Radiant Glory: Consumes Holy Power to heal yourself. Can use up to 3 Holy Power at once. 20-second cooldown.
Finger of Light: Heals yourself or an ally. Requires mana. Has a chance to generate 1 Holy Power. 2-second cast time.
---
These six new abilities came as a relief to many players who'd been starved for active skills.
Until now, Paladins had relied solely on their basic ability—Fist of Light—to generate Holy Power, with no clear way to use it. But at Level 10, that all changed. A variety of Holy Power-consuming skills were suddenly available, transforming the class into something far more dynamic.
Once his skill setup was in place, Ryan gave a last glance at the Paladin trainer's remaining quests. He chose not to take any for now. Instead, he turned and walked away from the Grand Cathedral with determination.
It was time to visit Stormhold Fortress.
There was something he needed to see—his public bank vault. Whatever treasures still lay hidden inside would help him make a final decision about his class specialization.
After saying a few parting words to Mia, Ryan set off on the long journey to Stormhold Fortress.
---
The road between Goldmine Town and the capital was no easy stroll. Level 10 monsters lurked all along the path, waiting to ambush anyone attempting the trip too early. For players under Level 10, it was practically a death trap.
"No mounts... Running is exhausting," Ryan muttered, panting lightly.
He couldn't help but miss the convenience of his main account. Traveling on foot was slow, tedious, and frankly, beneath him. Mounted travel was not just faster—it was liberating. But now, he was back to square one.
To make matters worse, the road was far from peaceful. Every few steps, a monster jumped out to block his path, forcing Ryan to stop and fight. The constant interruptions dragged out what should've been a simple trip into an ordeal.
None of his new skills boosted damage directly, but Reprimand helped a little—it let him stun a particularly troublesome monster every minute, giving him brief windows to run ahead without interruption.
After more than thirty minutes of slogging through enemies and terrain, Ryan finally arrived.
Stormhold Fortress—capital of the human race.
A towering stronghold rose before him, majestic and imposing. Its high stone walls reached skyward, casting long shadows across the land. Level 40 guards stood sentry at the gates, effortlessly cutting down nearby Level 10 monsters and carving a narrow corridor for players arriving from the wilds.
As Ryan passed through the gates, orchestral music began to swell—epic and familiar. He paused for a moment, letting it wash over him. That melody. It tugged at something deep inside him.
How long had it been since he last stood here?
In the late stages of the game, no one really came back to their racial capitals. High-level players stayed in neutral cities—they offered all the same features and were closer to the main dungeons. Stormhold Fortress had become more of a nostalgic landmark than a functional hub.
But now, walking its streets again, everything felt alive. NPCs bustled around the city, preparing for the launch of the first major raid dungeon. They'd stay in motion until players reached Level 40 and unlocked the quest tied to the raid.
Knights on towering warhorses thundered past him in formation. The sound of hooves against stone echoed through the fortress, blending with the music in a perfect symphony of martial order.
Following the winding, familiar roads, Ryan made his way to the Western Bank of Stormhold Fortress.
He stood in front of it for a long moment, staring at the wide entrance.
The bank was mostly empty at this hour, its stone interior quiet. Yet inside Ryan, a storm was brewing—equal parts nervousness and anticipation.
After a brief pause, Ryan stepped inside the bank and made his way to the public vault terminal.
"Please, let it be good," he muttered under his breath.
With a tight jaw, he opened the vault—and immediately froze. A dazzling array of shimmering items filled the screen, their glow almost blinding.
His gaze snapped to the bottom-left corner—where his gold was stored.
Over 30,000 gold coins.
Ryan exhaled sharply, relief washing over him like a wave. At the current market rate on the forums—4 dollars per gold—that stash was worth more than $100,000.
Of course, dumping that much into the market all at once would crash the price instantly. Still, the fact that he had it? That was what mattered.
With no hesitation, Ryan withdrew the full 30,000. The metallic clink as the coins dropped into his inventory was music to his ears.
Feeling more grounded, he moved on to his next routine—checking the last page of his vault. Out of the seven available pages, he'd always stored his bags on the very last one. Old habits die hard.
Sure enough, there they were: Thundercloth Bags—rare 20-slot inventory bags.
In the future, these would be cheap and common. Tailors would churn them out for under a hundred gold. But right now, these were top-tier—larger and rarer than anything else in the game.
Even the final boss of the next expansion would only drop 18-slot bags—and those would trigger bidding wars between rich players and collectors.
Ryan hadn't stashed many. Just six Thundercloth Bags—standard loadout for a character. He hadn't expected to return, so this was all he'd prepared.
One by one, he equipped them into his inventory slots. As for the small bags he currently had, he carefully stashed those at the end of the vault. Sentimental value, these were his little good-luck charms.
Only after everything was properly organized did he finally turn his full attention to the rest of his vault.
Rare gems. High-level dungeon gear. Glyphs that enhanced player stats. Chakra Orbs for stat boosts. And a few incredibly rare crafting blueprints.
It was an impressive collection.
But nothing useful right now.
Ryan let out a long sigh, slightly deflated. None of it could immediately help his current low-level character. What he really needed were Engineering blueprints—and fast. That profession was still a headache he hadn't solved.
He'd already skimmed through everything once before and found nothing useful for that purpose. But this time, he was determined. He dug deeper, more thoroughly, inspecting every single item.
And then—he saw it.
Blueprint: Mechanical Squirrel
Requires 75 Engineering proficiency.
Ryan's eyes lit up. His heart gave a hopeful thump.
Without hesitation, he dragged the blueprint to a separate inventory slot and flagged it for future use. It wasn't exactly a game-changer, but it was a start.
He kept scanning.
And then, his heart skipped a beat.
Books of Light.
His breath caught in his throat. These… these weren't supposed to be here.
He had no memory of storing them. No idea when or why he'd put them away. But they were here now.
He immediately transferred them into his inventory, fingers trembling slightly.
—
Book of Light: Enhances your talents, making you even stronger.
—
In the early game, a single Book of Light was worth nearly as much as a mid-tier car in real-world money.
Ryan stared at the stack in disbelief. Somehow, against all odds, he had brought back something that could drastically accelerate his progress.
Something that could change everything.