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

After leaving Blackstone Mine, John activated [Void Shift] several times in succession before finding an abandoned house with no one around.

Only after confirming that no one had followed him did he open his status panel.

[Player: Endbringer]

[Level: Lv.10]

[Class: Voidwalker]

[Talent: God-Rank Supreme Evolution]

[HP: 10,550

(Constitution 1,055 × 10)]

[MP: 10,550

(Wisdom 1,055 × 10)]

[Strength: 1,055]

[Constitution: 1,055

(Voidwalker Trait: Synchronized with highest core attribute)]

[Agility: 1,055

(Voidwalker Trait: Synchronized with highest core attribute)]

[Wisdom: 1,055

(Voidwalker Trait: Synchronized with highest core attribute)]

[Physical Defense: 1,107

(Constitution 1,055 + Squire Set 48 + White Briefs 1 + Wooden Plank Shield 3)]

[Magic Defense: 1,101

(Constitution 1,055 + Squire Set 46)]

[Skills: Fire Serpent, Binding Chains, Holy Enchantment, Scan]

[Equipment: Novice Club, Wooden Plank Shield, White Briefs, Squire Set, B-Rank Cleric’s Gloves, A-Rank Monocle, Irene’s Fire Crystal Staff]

[Novice Club Affixes: Cleave, Overcharge, Impact Guard, Bloodthirsty Strike, Lethal Damage]

[White Briefs Affix: Deadly Backstab]

[Irene’s Fire Crystal Staff Affixes: Mana Conservation, Projectile Amplification, CD--!]

John looked over the panel and nodded in satisfaction.

His decision to attack Gray Ledger immediately had not been made on impulse.

They had mobilized such a large force to blockade the dungeon exit. There was no chance the matter could have been resolved with a few words.

No matter what John did, a fight would have broken out eventually.

In that case, it was better to kill them first and ask questions later.

John closed his status panel and began taking stock of his latest haul.

Almost all the equipment worn by Gray Ledger’s fifty elites had come from the cash shop.

Unfortunately, most of it was useless to him.

The attributes were mediocre.

There were no special skills.

And none of it was worth wasting an SSS-Rank Affix on.

John kept several high-grade recovery potions and listed everything else on the marketplace.

He set every item at ninety percent of its official cash-shop price.

With each player carrying an average of twenty Gold Coins’ worth of equipment, selling everything should earn him roughly nine hundred Gold Coins.

John had expected the discounted equipment to be snapped up almost immediately.

Yet several minutes passed.

Not a single item sold.

Ten minutes later—

Still nothing.

John looked at the dense rows of views in the marketplace records, and his expression gradually became strange.

Plenty of people were looking.

Not one of them dared buy.

Clearly, news of Gray Ledger’s Unit Three being annihilated had already spread.

Everyone knew where this equipment had come from.

Buying it would be the same as publicly taking possession of Gray Ledger’s stolen property.

Ordinary players did not have the courage.

Even the major guilds were unwilling to invite trouble over a few pieces of early-game equipment.

The corner of John’s mouth twitched.

"Looks like I’ll have to take a loss and dump everything."

Just as he was about to lower the prices again, a series of system notifications suddenly appeared.

[Your consigned B-Rank Armor has been sold!]

[Your consigned A-Rank Staff has been sold!]

[Your consigned B-Rank Longbow has been sold!]

...

The equipment in his consignment list began disappearing at an astonishing speed.

In less than ten seconds, everything had sold out.

[All of your consigned items have been sold.]

[After transaction fees, Gold Coins +900!]

John raised an eyebrow and opened the transaction records.

Every single item had been purchased by the same player.

[Buyer: FireRose.]

Nine hundred Gold Coins.

At the public exchange rate, that was equivalent to nine hundred thousand dollars.

This player called FireRose was not only rich.

She also had guts.

Despite knowing the equipment had come from Gray Ledger, she had bought the entire batch without hesitation.

At that moment, a friend request appeared.

[Player "FireRose" has sent you a friend request.]

John considered it briefly before accepting.

She had just handed him nine hundred thousand dollars.

He could at least give her that much courtesy.

As for the buyer’s identity...

That could wait.

He did not have time to investigate who FireRose was right now.

Gray Ledger had just lost fifty elite members. There was no chance they would let the matter end there.

If John wanted to establish himself in the game, he needed to widen the gap in levels and equipment even further.

The sooner he reached a main city, the safer he would be.

With that thought, John closed his panel and headed straight for the City Guard headquarters.

With the badge Irina had given him, he passed through every checkpoint without obstruction and soon arrived at the knights’ administrative offices.

The door opened.

Irina was seated behind a long table, reviewing documents.

When she saw John, she visibly froze.

"You’re back already?"

A moment later, her gaze dimmed.

Blackstone Mine had been cut off for an entire month.

Even the investigation team dispatched by the City Guard had failed to return alive.

John had entered alone the moment he met the mission requirements.

It would have been perfectly normal for him to fail.

Irina placed the document in her hand onto the table.

"It’s all right."

"The problem with Blackstone Mine has existed for a long time. It was never something that could be resolved quickly."

"What matters is that you returned safely."

John did not explain.

He walked up to the table and placed a charred crystal emblem in front of her.

[Emblem of Apprentice Witch Irene]

The moment the emblem touched the table, Irina’s voice came to an abrupt stop.

She stared fixedly at it, her pupils contracting sharply.

"This is..."

"The witch in the depths of the mine."

John’s tone remained calm.

"She’s dead."

The office fell silent.

A moment later, system notifications appeared one after another.

[Ding! You have completed the A-Rank Hidden Quest: Shadow over Blackstone Mine!]

[Quest Rating: Perfect!]

[EXP +600!]

[Gold Coins +20!]

[You have obtained an A-Rank Random Skill Chest ×1!]

[You have obtained a Special Reward: You may request one item from the quest issuer, provided it falls within their authority!]

Six hundred EXP was credited to John.

He casually opened the Skill Chest.

[You have obtained the A-Rank Passive Skill: Wide-Area Casting!]

[Wide-Area Casting]

[Effect: Increases the casting range and area of effect of all skills by 20%.]

John’s eyes lit up slightly.

Although it did not directly increase his damage, casting range was equally important.

An enemy mage of the same rank might still be unable to reach him when his spell had already struck them.

An extra inch of reach could decide a fight.

And this was a full twenty percent.

After putting away the reward, John looked at Irina again.

He had already used [Scan] on her moments earlier.

[Irina Frostsilver]

[Level: Lv.35]

[Identity: Acting Lord of Blackstone; Commander of the City Guard Knights]

[Description: Daughter of Blackstone’s previous lord. After several nobles opposed her succession because she was a woman, she voluntarily joined the knight order and eventually became its commander through military merit. Following the disappearance of the previous lord, she assumed the position of Acting Lord of Blackstone.]

John tapped the table lightly.

"How should I address you?"

"Commander?"

"Or Lady of Blackstone?"

Irina froze once again.

Then the corners of her mouth rose slightly.

"How many more times are you planning to surprise me?"

"It’s nothing special," John replied.

"I simply need your help with something."

Irina glanced at the witch’s emblem on the table.

"You resolved the crisis beneath the mine. That makes you a benefactor to all of Blackstone."

"Ask."

"As long as it is within my authority, I will grant it."

John did not stand on ceremony.

"I need information on every dungeon near Blackstone."

"You’re the acting lord. No one should know the surrounding region better than you."

"Dungeon?"

Irina thought for a moment before quickly understanding.

"You mean the secret realms."

She opened a drawer behind her and removed a thick scroll.

"This contains ten years of research conducted by Blackstone’s investigation teams."

"Nearly every discovered secret realm in the surrounding region has been recorded within it."

John accepted the scroll.

[You have obtained the Special Map: Blackstone Dungeon Distribution Map!]

[Number of Recorded Dungeons: 17.]

[Contains dungeon levels, entrance locations, known monsters, and danger ratings.]

This was exactly what he needed.

Irina then removed a silver-white badge from her waist.

"And this."

"There is an ancient teleportation array inside Blackstone’s church. This badge can grant access to it."

"The array can transport you directly to the main city nearest to Blackstone."

"Traveling there normally would take an entire month, even on horseback."

John accepted the badge.

[You have obtained the Special Token: Blackstone Teleportation Badge!]

[Possessing this badge allows you to use the teleportation array inside Blackstone Church once.]

John nodded.

"Thank you."

After leaving the City Guard headquarters, he immediately opened the dungeon map.

Seventeen dungeons.

Most of them ranged from Lv.8 to Lv.15.

They were perfect for his current level.

Over the next five hours, the players of Blackstone learned what it truly meant to be bombarded by server-wide announcements.