Chapter 33: A Leap of Faith
After reaching Level 10 and selecting a specialization, players unlocked the talent system.
Each talent tree was fixed in structure, but Books of Light could enhance them in powerful and unpredictable ways. For example, in the Protection Paladin’s tree, the first tier featured a talent called Deflection—each point invested granted a 1% increase to parry chance.
Using a Book of Light on this talent would cause a new branch to sprout from it. These enhancements were typically random, but many granted a bonus effect like: "Each successful parry deals a certain amount of damage to the attacker."
Other enhancements could include boosts to Strength, Stamina, or even self-healing effects that restored a portion of health on parry. All were possible—if you were lucky.
And luck was the key word. The drop rate for Books of Light was notoriously low. While any dungeon boss technically had a chance of dropping one, the odds were about as slim as winning the lottery.
The chances improved slightly when defeating the final boss of an expansion, but even then, players were looking at a one-in-a-thousand probability.
There was, however, another method of obtaining a Book of Light: completing certain dungeon achievements. These rewards were soulbound—non-tradable, but far more reliable.
Later in the game’s life cycle, large guilds would organize what they called bounty runs—guiding players through grueling achievement challenges in exchange for gold. These runs helped players earn the elusive books while also serving as a major income stream for the guilds.
As Ryan stared at the Books of Light in his inventory, a memory surfaced.
’Ah, that’s why they’re in my vault.’
It had been a lucky break. In his past life, Ryan and a few friends had briefly dipped into the trading scene. They’d pooled their gold to buy up a dozen Books of Light when prices were low. Then the market crashed—hard. The value of the books plummeted. His companions gave up and quit the game entirely.