Mia felt a warm flush creep up her neck as Ryan pulled her into a hug. Mature beyond her years, she knew his embrace carried a kind of comfort that was dangerously addicting. Yet, instinctively, she pulled back—not because she didn't want it, but because part of her feared how much she did.
Meanwhile, Molly—still just a kid at heart—burrowed into Ryan's chest, her small body trembling with joy. She let out a squeal of excitement and squirmed like a puppy in his arms.
"Ryan, you really made money?" Mia asked, still not quite believing it. Her tone was laced with cautious hope. After all, he had only logged into the game a couple of hours ago. How could he have made anything significant in such a short time? Even a few dollars would've been impressive—anything to show they were finally catching a break.
"I did! Five hundred bucks!" Ryan grinned, releasing Molly as he walked over to the tiny cabinet by his bed.
He pulled out an old bank card—something they barely used anymore—and swiped it through the slot on the old virtual setup. The device lit up with a soft hum. In seconds, a notification chimed, confirming the transfer from Sky Dragon Iris into Ryan's bank account.
"Mia, take the card and head to the bank. Withdraw everything and buy as much meat as you can. You both need real food in your system."
He pressed the card into her palm and looked at Molly, who was practically vibrating with joy at the mention of meat. Her eyes sparkled like she'd just won the lottery.
---
"Meat! Meat!" Molly chanted as she twirled around the room, giggling uncontrollably.
Mia rolled her eyes and gave her a playful smack. "You're not a baby anymore. Act your age."
Ryan chuckled. "You two head to the market. I'm jumping back into the game. If things go our way, we might be out of this dump in a few days."
He slipped the headset over his eyes, and with a brief flicker, he was gone—back in the game.
---
A flash of light welcomed Ryan back into the starter village. Cobblestone streets stretched out before him, flanked by wooden cottages that gave the place a rustic charm. But Ryan didn't pause to admire it. He had a purpose now.
He quickly pulled up his quest log and began turning in completed tasks. Pelts, fangs, tails—common drops from low-level wolves—were checked off one by one. He made a quick stop at the general goods vendor and dumped a mountain of junk items, netting over twenty silver coins. His inventory was now clear, ready for the next grind.
Only one quest remained.
Ryan's eyes narrowed.
Jimmy's Revenge—a rare, timed quest—was completed with a staggering 550 kills. That number didn't just raise eyebrows. It shattered expectations. Not even players in later stages of the game had managed to rack up such a count—certainly not with a class like Paladin.
What made it even more absurd was that Ryan hadn't leveled up. He had 23,000 experience points banked—nearly triple what was required to hit the next level. It was an unheard-of tactic. Normally, players rushed to level up for the stat boosts and skill unlocks. But Ryan had purposefully held off.
His secret? The Paladin's Fist of Light, a magical attack that ignored monster dodges, parries, and armor. With the quest-provided Weapon Oil, it became even more efficient—allowing him to mow down Frenzied Wolf Cubs at a rate no other class could match.
Warriors dealt only physical damage—dampened by armor. Rogues had speed, but their low hit damage meant more counterattacks. And once either class took a hit, they'd need time to heal.
But Paladins? They could push on.
Even Ryan wasn't sure he could pull off that feat again. It wasn't just rare—it bordered on legendary.
---
Reaching Jimmy's small cabin on the outskirts of the village, Ryan guided his Paladin to interact with the NPC.
"I've avenged you," he said, patting his chest.
Jimmy's eyes lit up, as if something deep inside him had been resolved.
Suddenly, Ryan lost control of his character. A pre-scripted cutscene took over, and he watched, slightly impatient, waiting for the system to finalize the quest rewards.
Finally, the notification appeared:
---
You killed 550 wolf-type creatures.
You earned Jimmy's approval!
You learned Engineering from Jimmy!
You gained 100 Quick-Toss Grenades!
You gained 5500 experience points!
You gained 55 silver coins!
---
'Engineering?! Are you kidding me?!'
Ryan stared at the prompt, stunned.
Engineering wasn't supposed to be in the game yet. He clearly remembered it being introduced during the first expansion—alongside two new races. But the game had just launched. No one should have access to it this early.
He quickly opened his character sheet, clicked over to the professions tab—and found nothing.
No Engineering.
His eyes narrowed. Had the system glitched?
He re-read the prompt. It explicitly said he'd learned Engineering.
Confused, he combed through every part of the interface until something caught his eye: a tiny new entry labeled More Options, sitting just beneath the profession slots.
Curious, Ryan clicked it, and a new panel opened.
Hidden Profession: Engineering.
His jaw dropped.
There it was. Not only had he learned it—he had unlocked a hidden profession. One that wasn't even supposed to exist yet.
He tapped on Engineering, and a familiar skill tree bloomed onto the screen. It was all there.
He flipped back to his regular profession tab—still empty, with two open slots.
"Hidden professions don't take up normal profession slots?" he muttered, more to himself than anyone.
His fingers trembled slightly. This was insane. Not only had he learned an unreleased profession—he had done so through a low-level quest. What else was possible?
If he could unlock other unreleased professions… If he could access every profession's skill tree…
He wasn't just thinking about Engineering anymore. In the late game, some profession-exclusive buffs could flip the entire balance of power.
But when he clicked back on Jimmy, the NPC just repeated the same lines. No clues on how to advance the new skill.
His Engineering proficiency sat at zero.
"How the hell am I supposed to level this up?" Ryan muttered, frustrated. Would he have to wait for the expansion?
He stared longingly at the Engineering panel. Some of the gadgets and items it could produce were absolute game-changers.
Then, the old saying echoed in his head:
"Blacksmithing can ruin your life. Engineering can bankrupt your entire bloodline."
Ryan let out a low, bitter laugh.
He remembered his past life clearly—how poor he had been, how close he came to selling everything just to survive. And yet here he was, on the verge of something no one else had discovered.
"But this time," he muttered, eyes burning with resolve, "I'm not afraid of being poor anymore."