Divine Glitch: I Regressed With Endgame Knowledge

Even though the swarm of corrupted giant insects gave Ryan and his team plenty of opportunities to rack up reputation points, their expressions showed that things were not as simple as they seemed.

The corrupted creatures were overwhelming in number, but the NPC soldiers holding the line were no less formidable. Frontline warriors and paladin-like tanks braced themselves against the onslaught, while healers kept their allies standing with endless streams of mana-free spells. Behind them, mage NPCs unleashed wide-ranging attacks, their voices rising in a chorus of incantations. Blue and white Blizzards swept across the battlefield, fiery Firestorms erupted, and the dark swirl of Arcane Winds cut through the horde.

These spells shredded the insects' health bars with frightening efficiency. And if an insect's health dropped too low from NPC damage, Ryan and his team received no reputation for finishing it off.

"This is exhausting. Our reputation has barely moved," Molly muttered to Ryan, her voice tinged with frustration. Ten minutes had passed already, and after cutting down wave after wave of corrupted insects, their gain was barely a thousand points.

That meant all of them combined were killing fewer than a thousand creatures in a full minute. With more than a dozen people working together, it came out to less than ten kills per person.

"It's still better than at the start," Ryan said, though his tone betrayed his own weariness. "When we first jumped in, the NPCs stole half our kills. At least now we're managing to secure more for ourselves." He had fought in defense battles like this before and had assumed this one would be no different. But in the beginning, their clumsy coordination had left them with one point of reputation for every three kills.

Left with no better option, Ryan told everyone to forget about finishing off half-dead stragglers. Instead, he ordered them to plant themselves in front of the NPCs and intercept insects at full health. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it kept the reputation trickling in. Still, none of them could come close to Ryan's pace when it came to scoring clean kills.

Another twenty minutes slipped by. After comparing notes, the group realized they had managed around three thousand reputation points between them. It wasn't spectacular, but nobody seemed disappointed. To reach the rank of Revered from Neutral required a staggering one hundred and thirty-five thousand points. Earning three thousand in a single run was respectable. If they could repeat this four or five times a day, they would hit Revered in about two weeks. And that didn't even include the bonus reputation from quests and donations.

Ryan knew that once the Level 37 dungeon, Dreadful Zone, opened, players would flood in for farming runs. Clearing the dungeon yielded about thirteen hundred reputation points. A typical group could manage four clears in one sitting, enough to complete a Guardian task and walk away with five to six thousand reputation in roughly three hours if luck was on their side. That added up to about twenty thousand points a day.

The faster groups could grind their way from Neutral to Revered in a week. Dedicated players, bolstered by quest rewards and repeatable missions, could shave it down to four or five days. And when weighed against the reward—a Level 40 epic longbow—that kind of grind felt like nothing at all.

As the last of the corrupted giant insects fell, Ryan lowered his weapon. This was only the first stage. The real challenge would begin with the arrival of the leader-class insect, though before that came the elites. Fewer in number, but each worth ten times the reputation of a regular kill.

From the direction that had remained quiet until now, a thunderous rumble suddenly broke out, the ground trembling as though under the weight of a stampede. The group, still finishing off stragglers, froze at the sound. When they noticed Ryan had already stopped fighting, they hurried to clear their remaining targets and regrouped by his side.

"Boss, are those new monsters coming from over there?" Nightwalker shaded his eyes, peering into the distance.

Smoking Gun didn't bother guessing. He cast Eagle Eye, scanning the battlefield with a sharp look before dismissing the skill. "Around a hundred elite-class corrupted giant insects. Wonder how much reputation they'll drop. Their health is about eight thousand, but with the Willmag's Domain debuff it's closer to four. Shouldn't be hard to deal with."

"They're not the main threat," Ryan replied. His gaze stayed fixed forward. "Look behind them." He couldn't see it yet, but he had been through enough defense events to know what was coming. The leader-class boss never lagged far behind.

"I see it!" Smoking Gun nearly shouted. "Corrupted Rot, Level 33 leader-class boss! Over five hundred thousand health! That's insane!"

The group stiffened, but Ryan's calm voice steadied them. "Relax. The NPCs will handle the tanking. We just need to tag the boss and keep contributing damage, or else the loot won't count as ours."

That drew a round of laughter, the tension easing as quickly as it had built.

Corrupted Rot advanced through the swarm, a hulking insect warped beyond recognition. Its sheer bulk and writhing limbs were intimidating, but under the effect of Willmag's Domain, its damage and health had been cut in half. It lacked the devastating 20 percent health reduction attack typical of such bosses, and with the healers on hand, even non-tank plate wearers could take a hit without crumpling. In truth, this so-called leader-class boss was little more than an elite with a bloated health pool.

With the NPCs anchoring the fight, Ryan's group whittled it down without difficulty. Moments later, the monster collapsed in a twitching heap. System prompts rolled across their screens—one thousand reputation earned. Cheers went up instantly.

No one even fought over the repeatable quest item that dropped. With Evelyn's quiet nod of approval, Ryan assigned it directly to Smoking Gun. He and Evelyn were the ones who still needed it most to reach Revered and secure the epic longbow.

"Thanks, thanks!" Smoking Gun said, grinning as he accepted it. It was only worth a thousand reputation, but the gesture itself felt heavier than the reward.

"Alright, that's it for here," Ryan said, raising a hand. "Let's head to the Nyman Revivalists, turn in our supplies, and see if luck's on our side today."

The group fell in behind him, spirits high as they marched toward the encampment.