Divine Glitch: I Regressed With Endgame Knowledge

"Your mission is perfectly accomplished, Paladin Featherlight! I believe your future path will be even more glorious and brilliant, especially after I bestow this reward upon you."

A fierce burst of golden holy light erupted from Malga, Flame of Radiance, engulfing Ryan in brilliance so intense it left him blinking against the sudden glare. The sacred energy poured into his body, warm and overwhelming, and a system notification immediately chimed in his mind.

—

Congratulations, player! You have acquired the universal skill 'Radiant Fury'!

Radiant Fury: Upon activation, the player immediately gains 9 Divine Power. Additionally, all of the player's attributes are temporarily increased by 10% for 20 seconds. Any Divine Power gained from this skill that remains unused after 15 seconds will convert into current Health and Mana, with the amount determined by the unused Divine Power. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

—

Ryan's jaw dropped. "Holy smokes, I knew it! Those so-called scam quests weren't scams at all. They were just tasks those guys couldn't finish themselves. This is a universal skill quest—something every class has a chance to get. They failed it, so they missed out on the reward!" He let out a short laugh, speaking half to himself as he stared at the glowing description. "No wonder the people who managed to complete one never shared the details. They didn't want the ones calling it a scam to realize the truth."

In later years, players would whisper about quests rarer than the rarest, rivaled only by the truly one-of-a-kind. These were the universal skill quests. To complete one was to be set apart, immediately courted by the great guilds, with rewards so valuable they bordered on legendary.

Take the Arms Warrior known as Heart of Slaughter, crowned the King of Carnage. He had once completed such a quest and earned the universal skill Rage Unleashed. For every point of rage he consumed, his damage spiked higher and his health regenerated. With that skill, Heart of Slaughter could dive into entire mobs alone, cutting them down in a frenzy while bellowing challenges at anyone foolish enough to come close.

That was the kind of power Ryan now held in his hands. Universal skills were almost like ultimate abilities layered atop a class's talents. Radiant Fury could stand shoulder to shoulder with his Retribution talent, Divine Storm. Their effects differed, but the value was the same—and the significance for his future was immense.

Ryan could already picture the opportunities it would open. His swift kills seemed unstoppable, yet he knew there was a hidden flaw waiting down the road. At level forty, when classes began to unlock their most powerful abilities, Paladins would face an infuriating limitation.

All those new skills demanded Divine Power.

And Divine Power had to be earned in combat. A Retribution Paladin could generate it more quickly, but what of Holy and Protection Paladins? They had no efficient way to build it up. If an opponent understood this, all they had to do was retreat. The Paladin's Divine Power would fade as combat ended, and when the enemy returned, the Paladin would be helpless all over again.

Protection Paladins had it worst of all. Before gaining their defining skills, their damage was pitiful, and without Divine Power to drive their abilities, they were nothing short of a joke.

Some tried to work around it with clever tricks. One method involved using Reckoning to provoke a harmless animal nearby, keeping themselves technically locked in combat. It worked, but only sometimes. Not every battlefield had a rabbit or a wolf conveniently wandering close. Without such a crutch, a Protection Paladin facing a crafty opponent could do nothing but stand there, weapon in hand, completely at a loss.

But now, things had changed. The skill Ryan had just acquired rewrote the rules. With an instant 9 Divine Power, Paladins could unleash devastating attacks right out of the gate. Against anyone who didn't know better, it would look like he was cheating—opening the fight already charged to the brim.

Ryan was thrilled, though curiosity tugged at him. The description mentioned unused Divine Power converting into Health and Mana, and he wasn't quite sure how it worked. To test it, he left the camp, drew out a level 33 Corrupted Slime, let it beat his health down to half, then finished it off.

His Mana was already low from the spells he'd cast earlier, and he activated Radiant Fury just before the monster fell. All that was left was to wait for the countdown.

Fifteen seconds later, the timer vanished—and both his Health and Mana suddenly jumped by eighteen percent. One point of Divine Power had translated to two percent recovery.

Ryan grinned. "Not bad. In the right situation, this could double as a recovery skill."

Still, he wasn't satisfied with a single test. He unequipped some of his gear, waited out the cooldown, and tried again. And again. The results never changed. Eighteen percent, consistent every time. His theory held true: each point of Divine Power became two percent of maximum Health and Mana.

By then, all his quests in the Sunstone City camp were complete. Only the Divine Crusade mission remained, with three days left before it triggered. His experience bar for level 34 was already maxed, ready to push him into 35 whenever he chose.

But before leveling, Ryan had another plan. He intended to head to a new region, one he suspected still crawled with elemental invasion monsters. If he was lucky, he might encounter Elemental Generals—the ones who dropped Specialization Tokens.

Just as he was about to depart, a guild message made his blood boil.

Winter Lily had been attacked and corpse-camped for over half an hour.

Ryan's vision went red. He wouldn't even raise his voice at his own sister, and now someone dared to torment her like this? It was beyond provocation—it was suicide. And his guildmates, why had they only now decided to tell him?

"Who did this?!" Ryan roared in the guild channel. "Where were the rest of you? I made the rule of mutual aid in this guild for a reason!"

"Boss, it's not that we didn't want to help," Moonlight Beauty answered, her tone heavy with frustration. "We were powerless. Right now, besides a few hiding in safe zones, anyone who steps outside gets attacked instantly. It's not just us—lots of players are being hunted here in Cleansing Grove."

Ryan froze mid-rant. His fury didn't vanish, but Moonlight Beauty's words made it clear. This wasn't a random act of griefing. It was a coordinated, deliberate assault. And if that was the case, his rage alone wasn't going to solve it.