CHAPTER 53: THE SCENT OF WAR

For most players, the third tier of talents marks the critical turning point—the moment where specializations truly begin to diverge. And for Retribution Paladins, that turning point comes with one defining skill.

Weapon Enchantment – Command: All melee attacks deal bonus holy damage that scales with attack power. Using Judgment while this enchantment is active deals massive holy damage. If the target is stunned, the attack is guaranteed to critically strike. Using Judgment does not consume the enchantment.

Judgment is the backbone of every Paladin’s arsenal, no matter their build. No Paladin in their right mind would abandon it. And for Retribution Paladins, Weapon Enchantment – Command is the only enchantment available. Once learned, it stays with them for life.

Its impact is immediate. High burst damage, guaranteed crits on stunned enemies—suddenly, the moment a Paladin reaches level 20 and unlocks this, they’re no longer a sluggish support class. They’re a high-damage frontline force, shaking off the underwhelming grind of early levels in one go.

The enchantment is brutal. Even basic melee strikes or skills like Fist of Light can trigger it, stacking four separate damage instances in an instant. When those hits crit in quick succession? A level 20 Paladin can one-shot a heavily armored warrior without breaking a sweat.

But Weapon Enchantment – Command wasn’t the only talent catching Ryan’s eye.

Two other third-tier talents were equally tempting:

—

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

Vindication: Your attacks have a chance to reduce enemy attack power by 5%. (0/2)

—

Three powerful choices. One was the core of the Retribution talent tree. Another could skyrocket his threat generation. The last? A rare tool for improving survivability.

Ryan furrowed his brow, staring at the talent options for what felt like forever.

"Which one should I choose...?"

After a long silence, he finally clicked.

Weapon Enchantment – Command.

He knew it wasn’t the smart pick on paper. As a Protection Paladin, his priority was supposed to be defense, durability, keeping the team alive while soaking damage.

But this enchantment wasn’t just about damage—it brought utility, too. That holy bonus would drastically increase his threat generation, making it easier to keep aggro. And the fact that Judgment wouldn’t consume the enchantment? That alone made it worth it. No more constant reapplying mid-fight. Clean, efficient, reliable.

It did sting a bit to spend an Auxiliary Talent Point—which could be worth as much as five standard points—on a single effect. But even then, Ryan didn’t hesitate. It was a power spike he couldn’t afford to pass up.

Besides, he already had a plan to earn another Auxiliary Point. Some of the simpler Glorious Achievements were well within reach. If things went smoothly, he might even snag one later today.

Talent chosen and locked in, Ryan replaced his current enchantment— Enchantment – Radiant Light—with the new Command variant, dragging it into his primary skill slot. His loadout was officially upgraded.

Next, he spent his two free attribute points. Both went into Stamina.

His base health jumped from 613 to 633. With equipment bonuses factored in—plus the 10% bonus from Protection talents—his total HP hit 839.

Now, this was a proper tank.

Satisfied, Ryan glanced over at his teammate.

Moonlight Beauty hadn’t moved an inch. She was standing completely still, her attention clearly locked on the forums. Probably theorycrafting. Or reading drama.

They still had a bit of travel time before reaching Blood Gorge. With nothing pressing to do, Ryan figured he might as well put his downtime to good use.

He opened his crafting menu and began working on a batch of Crude Grenades—a skill he’d picked up recently.

—

Crude Grenades:

Deals 55–65 fire damage in a small area and paralyzes enemies for 2 seconds. (Stun ends early if targets are attacked.) 2-second throw time. Unaffected by delay effects.

—

Each grenade required 2 Crude Gunpowder and 2 Linen Cloth to craft. Ryan had six full stacks of materials tucked neatly in his inventory—just enough to make 60 grenades.

He got to work immediately.

Two minutes later, he was done.

With all 60 grenades crafted and sorted, Ryan took a moment to reorganize his inventory into his preferred layout—clean, accessible, efficient. Then, he pulled up his friends list and opened a private message.

He began typing to his younger sister.

Ryan didn’t want Mia joining him at Blood Gorge just yet. It was too early—and far too dangerous. Dying to enemy factions didn’t just cost you time; it reduced your stamina. And if that dropped too low, even something as basic as fighting monsters or gaining EXP would become a nightmare.

Mages, in particular, were painfully fragile during the early game. One mistake, one ambush, and they’d be sent back to spawn with nothing to show for it. They only started coming into their own around level 30, when they entered contested zones with a more complete skill set.

Ryan hadn’t invited Evelyn or the others either. He knew most female players—while often great at coordination or support—tended to struggle in the raw, fast-paced chaos of PvP-heavy zones. There were always exceptions, of course. Moonlight Beauty, who’d just joined Ryan’s guild, was one of them.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Still silent, still focused.

Returning to the message, Ryan spoke into his mic.

"Mia, I’m sending you a guild invite."

A second later, the invitation was on its way.

Mia responded almost instantly, her voice full of confusion.

"Ryan, how’d you even create a guild? Don’t you need Honored reputation with Stormhold Fortress?"

Ryan chuckled and shook his head, sending her the invite anyway.

She accepted without hesitation. A moment later, her name officially updated to include her new guild tag.

Winter Lily Flowing Light

"Did you forget?" Ryan said. "You earned a Glorious Achievement yesterday too. Check your reputation rewards—then you’ll understand how much I got."

He sighed. She’d clearly been too dazzled by the extra attribute points to notice the real treasure: an enormous reputation boost.

At that moment, Mia was traveling with Evelyn and the rest of their group, heading toward Lakeside Town in the human heartlands to begin their next questline.

As they walked, Evelyn happened to glance over and saw the guild tag under Mia’s name. Her eyes went wide.

"AHHH!"

She screamed so loud that half the nearby players turned their heads.

"What? What’s wrong?" one of them asked.

Evelyn pointed wordlessly at Mia’s name. Then came the gasps. And then the mad scramble to check the forums.

In an instant, the news spread like wildfire.

Mia’s character, Winter Lily, now had a guild tag—despite the fact that no one, to their knowledge, had managed to create a guild yet. Most players assumed that wouldn’t happen until at least level 20. It had only been a few days since launch.

And yet, here it was. Flowing Light. The first player-made guild.

The forums exploded. Guild-focused players rushed to investigate, diving into every thread they could find. There had to be a shortcut to earning Honored reputation early—if someone figured it out, the second guild might not be far behind.

Meanwhile, high above the world, Ryan’s airship began to descend toward its destination.

In the distance, a column of thick black smoke curled into the sky.

A heavy stillness settled over the deck.

"The scent of war," Ryan murmured.

Moonlight Beauty didn’t respond. She was frozen in place, eyes locked on the view ahead.

Ryan turned to her.

"Let’s go."

Together, they disembarked.

Down below, formations of armored NPC troops were in the middle of synchronized drills. The gates bustled with soldiers, scouts, and officers moving in and out. Blacksmiths hammered steel in time with the rhythm of war drums.

The entire settlement pulsed with tension. Everyone knew what was coming.