After about half an hour of searching through Astral City, Ryan finally collected all thirty Shattered Gem Fragments.
He turned them in to Sinna, the Jewelcrafter, and just like that, he officially learned the Jewelcrafting profession.
Just as he'd predicted, Jewelcrafting didn't show up on the main profession list. Instead, like the hidden Engineering skill, it had its own separate interface.
Waving his hand to bring up the menu, Ryan got excited. "Alright, let's grab all the professions while I'm at it."
He darted off toward the other profession trainers, only to stop in his tracks a second later.
"Right... I forgot," he muttered, annoyed at himself. "No other professions are available at Level 70. The Inscriptionist only shows up at Level 80, and the Chakra Master comes in at 90. They're not even in Astral City yet, so it's pointless."
Shaking his head, he pulled up the mini-map and scanned the layout of Astral City, already locking in on his next target.
Anarid, the Wandering Merchant.
A member of the Astral race, Anarid roamed the entire city at random. His inventory refreshed every thirty minutes to an hour and included everything from rare gems and blueprints to pets, low-grade herbs, ores, and even basic white-quality equipment. The system decided what showed up each time, so it was a gamble.
But once in a while, something truly valuable would appear, and that tiny chance was enough to drive players crazy.
In the future, Anarid would become one of the most tracked NPCs in the game. Dozens—sometimes hundreds—of players would follow him around, waiting to snap up whatever rare item popped up the moment it refreshed.
Today, though, the streets of Astral City were empty. Ryan was the only player online. Which meant everything Anarid sold was his for the taking. No competition. No bidding wars. A once-in-a-lifetime head start before the expansion officially launched—and with another expansion acting as a buffer in between, he had even more time to capitalize on it.
Knowing Anarid's route was long and winding, Ryan ran in the opposite direction. It would make it easier to intercept him.
After a little over ten minutes of sprinting and weaving through empty alleyways and glimmering walkways, he finally spotted the merchant—shimmering faintly, dressed in flowing robes, and hovering slightly above the ground.
He approached and initiated the conversation. The merchant's inventory loaded.
Almost immediately, Ryan's eyes locked onto a glowing purple item—Epic quality. But the excitement vanished just as quickly.
He stared at the item's name and cursed under his breath. "Seriously? This garbage?"
It was a blueprint—one that would later earn a reputation as the most expensive piece of trash in the game. Although labeled Epic, the equipment it produced was only Blue (Rare) quality. Worse, it was Bind-on-Pickup, meaning the crafter was the only one who could ever use it. Technically, it could be upgraded to Epic later on, but the materials required were so costly, you might as well buy a real Epic weapon outright.
Grumbling, Ryan scanned the rest of the merchant's stock.
Common ores. A couple of mid-tier herbs. A few scrolls that gave temporary stat boosts—but all required Level 30 or higher. Useless, for now.
The only thing even remotely useful was a green-quality blueprint: Swiftness Potion Recipe.
Now that was something.
An early-game Alchemy potion, it increased movement speed and was especially good for chasing down Rogues and Druids when they used Sprint. Actually, it was handy against just about anyone trying to run away.
Technically, it was a world drop—could show up anywhere—but not often. Supply was always limited, and although its price stayed fairly stable in the early game, the finished potions were extremely popular, especially in PvP.
The most crucial ingredient for the Swiftness Potion was Blackmouth Oil—and Ryan had plenty of Blackmouth Fish stored away in his public bank vault. He had caught them specifically while leveling up his Fishing skill, targeting Blackmouth schools.
But what he really wanted… was the rare cooking blueprint: Savory Deviate Delight.
This recipe only dropped from the Orc faction roaming the wilderness of the Dark Horde. It required at least 75 Cooking proficiency and used mutated fish that could only be caught in the Orc waters. What made it so popular was its effect—when consumed, the player would transform into either a flashy ninja or a pirate.
In a game where players often valued anonymity, this dish was more than just cosmetic fun. It could temporarily disguise your gear and identity, making it a valuable asset in PvP and trade hubs alike.
It took Ryan several hours to sort out everything he needed. Meanwhile, Mia had long since progressed through her own quests and was now persistently messaging him.
After a quick back-and-forth with his sister, Ryan deposited all the blueprints he'd acquired into his bank. Most of them wouldn't be usable until much later, but seeing the storage filling up with rare and future-use items gave him a deep sense of satisfaction.
Done with Astral City for now, he turned toward the teleportation portal.
Standing before the shimmering blue gateway that led to the human capital—Stormhold Fortress, Ryan took a moment to double-check everything.
Hearthstone set here?
He checked. Good.
If anything came up, he could just teleport back instantly.
He gave a quick glance at the locked race portals nearby—still inactive since those races hadn't been released yet—then stepped through the portal into Stormhold Fortress.
A flash of light, and Ryan emerged in the mage district. As he stepped out, a sense of confidence washed over him.
This wasn't just about levels or stats. It came from something deeper—his power, his gold reserves, his exclusive access to resources in Astral City. For the first time, all his past grinding, setbacks, and frustrations felt distant and insignificant.
He had finally made it.
Heading toward the trade district, he weaved through alleys until a broad elevated platform came into view: The Gryphon Roost. This was the main hub for fast travel between towns and cities.
He walked up to the Gryphon Master, Send, and after a brief conversation, unlocked his Gryphon riding privileges. From now on, he could use Gryphons to quickly travel to places like Goldmine Town.
He paid a few silver coins, and moments later, a massive Gryphon descended from above. Its wings beat with a deep, rhythmic thrum as it landed. Ryan climbed on, and the beast took off, soaring high into the sky.
The Gryphon was incredibly fast. What had taken him thirty minutes on foot now only took about five minutes by air.
As he dismounted in Goldmine Town, a wave of players immediately surrounded him. They had seen the giant Gryphon descend from the sky and a player step off its back—naturally, curiosity exploded.
Questions came flying from all directions.
"How do you ride that thing?"
"Where did you get it?"
"Is that a mount or a transport?"
"Do you need a special questline?"
Ryan didn't answer a single one. These people were idle, just wasting time. He had no interest in entertaining them.
Using mob phasing—the mechanic that let him pass through groups of non-hostile players in safe zones—Ryan slipped into the crowd and quickly vanished from sight.
Then, his eyes fell on a new quest:
—
The Path of Protection:
"Deep in the abandoned mine grows a Blood Blossom, said to greatly enhance one's physical endurance. Retrieve it, and I may be able to reinforce your body's defenses."
—
A specialization quest.
Without hesitation, Ryan reached out and accepted it.