One SSS Affix per Level: My Novice Club Can Slay Gods!

It was an extraordinarily beautiful face.

Pale.

Delicate.

Otherworldly.

She wore a gothic aristocratic gown woven from black and dark crimson fabric. Its layered skirts resembled shadows cast by congealed blood, while intricate silver patterns traced the contours of her chest and waist, lending her an air that was both elegant and dangerous.

However, black cracks covered the surface of her skin.

Her eyes had also turned completely pitch-black.

System information appeared.

[Exiled Apprentice Witch—Irene]

[Level: Lv.15]

[Rank: Thousand-Player-Tier Boss]

[HP: 15,000/15,000]

[Physical Attack: 120]

[Spell Power: 480]

[Physical Defense: 100]

[Magic Defense: 260]

[Skills: Fire Serpent, Binding Chains, Phantom Clone, Firecrystal Awakening]

[Description: An apprentice witch exiled from the Dark Realm and the master of the Firecrystal Ant Queen. She once attempted to build an army of her own and take revenge upon the Dark Realm. After discovering the ore within Blackstone Mine, she altered it into Firecrystals capable of controlling the minds of living creatures. However, prolonged exposure to vast quantities of Firecrystals caused her own mind to be eroded by their psychic power. Her consciousness eventually collapsed, leaving her as little more than a walking corpse that endlessly creates puppet monsters.]

The witch stared at John and muttered a string of words he could not understand.

John studied the high-quality robe, staff, and accessories she was wearing, then slowly tightened his grip around the Novice Club.

Communication was impossible.

Her equipment looked expensive.

And it was all designed for spellcasters.

What a coincidence.

John began charging his attack.

"Come on."

"Let’s see what you drop."

The witch seemed to understand his provocation.

She lightly tapped her staff against the ground.

All around the workshop, the crimson light inside the chests of the newly implanted corpses lit up simultaneously.

Crack.

Crack.

Crack.

Miner corpses sat upright on the iron platforms one after another.

Several Firecrystal Ants in the corners also released piercing shrieks and charged toward John.

John watched the densely packed monsters surge toward him and gripped the Novice Club with both hands.

[Overcharge activated.]

One second.

Two seconds.

Bang!

The wooden club crashed down.

The shock wave from Cleave erupted throughout the workshop.

The miner corpse at the very front was instantly smashed into fragments, while the Firecrystal Ants behind it were sent flying by the impact.

[-3,978!]

[-3,978!]

[-3,978!]

A wave of damage numbers appeared.

The puppets that had only just awakened collectively clocked out again.

The witch’s pitch-black pupils contracted slightly.

She began chanting in a low voice, and two black-and-crimson silhouettes appeared behind her.

The next instant, two identical witches stepped out from the shadows.

All three witches raised their heads at the same time, fixing their black eyes on John.

John raised an eyebrow at the sight.

"Good thing I didn’t drink the potion earlier."

"If the guaranteed drop had been wasted on a clone, I’d be so heartbroken I’d log out."

There was only one Lucky Potion.

Something that guaranteed a 100% drop rate had to be used on the real Boss.

John did not rush to attack.

All three witches waved their staffs simultaneously.

Flames gathered in midair and took the form of serpents before shooting toward him with piercing hisses.

John stepped sideways.

A Fire Serpent grazed his shoulder and slammed into an iron platform, instantly reducing the corpse upon it to charcoal.

[Fire Serpent]

High damage.

A wide area of effect.

But the wind-up was obvious.

John began circling the workshop.

His years of gaming experience finally came into full play.

He continuously used the iron platforms, tracks, and scattered wreckage throughout the workshop to control his positioning.

He advanced.

Retreated.

Broke line of sight.

Then moved between different pieces of terrain to approach from another angle.

Before long, he discovered the pattern.

The three witches seemed to possess numerous abilities.

But their combat logic was rigid.

Whenever an enemy entered melee range, they would prioritize casting [Binding Chains].

After using the chains, they would instinctively retreat three steps to create distance before beginning to cast [Fire Serpent].

The casting time during this sequence was longer than usual.

In other words—

Entering melee range was the switch that triggered their opening.

The corners of John’s mouth slowly rose.

"Found it."

He activated [Holy Enchantment], and the Novice Club once again lit up with pale golden radiance.

Then he began moving between the three witches at close range.

Bang!

His club struck the witch on the left.

[-1,024!]

Bang!

Another swing struck the witch on the right.

[-1,024!]

John did not rush to kill them.

Instead, he repeatedly tested their HP, gradually reducing all three witches to approximately the same amount of health.

The two clones did not possess Boss-level HP, so their health fell more quickly.

The real witch had a much larger HP pool, but even she could not withstand being repeatedly beaten with his club.

Flames flew chaotically throughout the workshop.

Chains continuously erupted from the floor.

John moved as though he were walking along the edge of a blade, narrowly brushing past the boundaries of each skill.

It looked dangerous.

In reality, everything remained firmly under his control.

Several minutes later, the HP of all three witches had been reduced to approximately 1,500.

John finally stopped.

He took the [Lucky Potion] out of his inventory.

[Use Lucky Potion?]

[After use, the next target you slay is guaranteed to trigger a 100% drop rate.]

"Now."

John raised his head and drank it.

The moment the potion went down his throat, a system notification appeared.

[Lucky Potion activated.]

[The next target you slay is guaranteed to trigger a 100% drop rate.]

All three witches raised their staffs at the same time.

John did not retreat.

Instead, he charged directly toward them.

He entered melee range.

Three sets of black-and-crimson chains erupted from the floor, instantly wrapping around John’s body.

The chains tightened, attempting to immobilize him completely.

John’s footsteps stopped.

But he did not struggle.

He simply stood firmly in place and gripped the Novice Club with both hands.

The next instant—

[Overcharge activated.]

An invisible force erupted from within his body.

The chains shook violently, but they could no longer suppress his movements.

Super Armor activated.

Crowd control negated.

As expected, the three witches retreated simultaneously.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

All three of them were now perfectly within Cleave’s range.

The next instant, crimson light appeared around all three staffs.

They began casting Fire Serpent.

John maintained his charge with both hands wrapped around the club.

Rather than weakening, the pressure surrounding him became increasingly condensed.

One.

Two.

Three.

Three seconds of charging increased his attack by 30%.

His 1,020 Physical Attack rose to 1,326.

Cleave dealt 300% damage.

That was 3,978.

Then the 20% damage bonus from striking with both hands was added.

Final Cleave Damage—

4,774!

Just as the three Fire Serpents were about to take shape, John brought the Novice Club crashing down.

Bang!

The workshop floor collapsed instantly.

The shock wave from Cleave spread outward like a golden tidal wave, swallowing all three witches.

[-4,774!]

[-4,774!]

[-4,774!]

The HP bars of all three witches were emptied simultaneously.

The two clones collapsed into black smoke and dispersed.

The real Irene remained standing in place.

For the briefest moment, clarity returned to her pitch-black eyes.

She seemed to want to say something.

But in the end, all that escaped her lips was a quiet murmur John could not understand.

The next instant, her body shattered, transforming into black-and-crimson motes of light that filled the air.

[Ding! You have slain the Thousand-Player-Tier Boss: Exiled Witch Irene!]

[Ding! You have completed the dungeon: Blackstone Mine!]

[Congratulations! You have achieved the world-first clear of Blackstone Mine!]

[A server-wide announcement will now be issued. Would you like to conceal your player information?]

John looked at the prompt and answered without hesitation.

"No."

The next instant, another server-wide announcement resounded throughout the game.

[Server-Wide Announcement: Congratulations to player "Endbringer" for achieving the world-first clear of the dungeon "Blackstone Mine"!]

[Dungeon teleportation has now been activated!]

[Players may now enter "Blackstone Mine" through the Blackstone Dungeon Hall!]

[World-First Clear Rewards have been distributed!]

The announcement repeated three times.

The world channel erupted once again.

[Endbringer again?]

[First the world-first kill of a Thousand-Player-Tier Boss, and now a world-first dungeon clear?]

[Is this guy even human?]

[I don’t think he’s here to play the game. He’s here to speedrun the entire patch.]

[What’s the recommended level for Blackstone Mine?]

[I found it. Lv.15.]

[???]

John did not look at the world channel.

His attention was entirely focused on the rewards.

[World-First Clear Reward: Free Attribute Points +20!]

[World-First Clear Reward: Gold Coins +50!]

[World-First Clear Reward: Hidden God-Rank Class Scroll—Voidwalker!]

[You have slain Exiled Witch Irene. EXP +700!]

[Ding! You have reached Lv.10!]

[Free Attribute Points +5!]

[Current EXP: 300/2,200.]

The Firecrystal Ants, puppets, and miner corpses he had killed earlier, combined with the EXP provided by the witch herself, had allowed him to break through to Lv.10 in one go.

John nodded in satisfaction.

[Ding! God-Rank Talent "Supreme Evolution" activated!]