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

John stared at the system notification before him.

He remained silent for three seconds.

Then his eyes began to sting.

So this was where all the luck from his entire life had gone.

Before he could think any further, another system notification appeared.

[Talent selection complete.]

[Entering the Class Selection Phase.]

The next second, the starry sky trembled.

One star after another lit up before John, each representing a different starting Class.

[Knight] [Rogue] [Mage] [Priest] [Mercenary] [Assassin] [Hexer] [Cleric] [Ranger]

...

A dense wall of information appeared beneath every Class.

Yet the more John read, the deeper his frown became.

No.

None of these Classes were right.

Then his gaze stopped on a dim gray star tucked away in a distant corner.

It was so faint that it seemed ready to go out at any moment. Compared to the radiant golden Classes around it, it looked like a defective product the system had casually tossed into the trash.

[The Forsaken]

John opened its description.

After reading only a single line, his expression changed.

"So this is where you were hiding."

Without the slightest hesitation, John raised his hand and selected it.

[Do you wish to choose The Forsaken as your starting Class?]

John did not hesitate again.

"Confirm."

Buzz!

A flash of white light instantly enveloped him.

The next moment, the starry sky vanished.

Voices, footsteps, and startled cries flooded into his ears at the same time.

[Ding! Congratulations. You have successfully entered the Novice Town of Blackstone.]

When John opened his eyes again, he was standing in the middle of an enormous town.

At its center stood a massive castle-like structure.

Towering spires rose above thick stone walls, while black banners fluttered slowly beneath the pale gray sky.

The entire town was surrounded by a tall wall built from black stone. Guards carrying spears patrolled along the battlements.

The streets were packed with people.

There were local NPCs dressed in leather armor, merchants pushing wooden carts, and grizzled veterans sitting by the roadside smoking.

Flashes of white light continuously appeared throughout the town.

Players descended one after another.

Some materialized in the center of the plaza.

Some appeared beside the stables.

One unlucky player fell directly into a fountain. The first thing he did after climbing out was curse the system.

"Damn! This water is actually freezing!"

"Why did I spawn beside a pigsty?"

"Has anyone received a quest yet? The old man next to me just keeps telling me to get lost!"

"Hahahaha! I spawned outside a public restroom. Wait—this is the Alice Vocational Academy?"

John did not rush over to join the commotion.

The first thing he did was open his status panel.

[Player: Endbringer]

[Level: Lv. 1]

[Class: The Forsaken]

[Talent: God-rank Supreme Evolution]

[HP: 100 — Constitution 10 × 10]

[MP: 100 — Wisdom 10 × 10]

[Physical Attack: 10 — Strength 10 × 1]

[Spell Power: 10 — Wisdom 10 × 1]

[Strength: 10]

[Constitution: 10]

[Agility: 10]

[Wisdom: 10]

[Physical Defense: 10 — Constitution 10 × 1]

[Magic Defense: 10 — Constitution 10 × 1]

[Skills: None]

All four core attributes were exactly 10.

It could not have been more standard.

John merely glanced over the stats before immediately opening his Class description.

[A Descender from another world, bound to no path and favored by none.]

[Class Trait: No weapon restrictions.]

Everything was exactly as he had expected.

John nodded in satisfaction.

The original idea behind this Class was probably that a useless nobody would remain useless no matter what weapon they picked up.

But for someone with Supreme Evolution, having no weapon restrictions was practically tailor-made for him.

Other players chose their weapons based on their Classes.

His Affixes would decide everything.

As for why such a Class existed in the first place, John suspected that the developers had probably included it as a tribute to a certain game.

John then opened his equipment panel and selected View All Equipment.

[Novice Club]

[Quality: C]

[Strength +10]

[Wooden Board Shield]

[Quality: C]

[Defense +3]

[White Briefs]

[Quality: Common]

[Defense +1]

That was it.

There was genuinely nothing else.

John lowered his head and looked at himself.

His upper body was completely bare.

His feet were completely bare.

He held a battered wooden club in one hand and a crude wooden board in the other.

The only thing on his body that suggested the existence of civilization was a pair of White Briefs.

Several female NPCs walked past him.

They froze for a moment, then immediately covered their faces and hurried away.

The corner of John’s mouth twitched.

Just then, a mechanical voice suddenly sounded inside his mind.

[Congratulations. Character creation successful.]

[Current Level: Lv. 1.]

[Unique God-rank Talent Supreme Evolution activated.]

[You have obtained the SSS-rank Affix: Deadly Backstab!]

[Deadly Backstab — Universal]

[Quality: SSS Rank]

[Effect: Physical Attack +1,000. Attacks made from behind are guaranteed to land a Critical Hit. Critical Damage: 150%.]

John’s pupils abruptly contracted.

One thousand additional Attack?

Guaranteed Critical Hits when attacking from behind?

One hundred and fifty percent Critical Damage?

He instinctively tightened his grip around the Novice Club.

He had 10 base Physical Attack.

The Novice Club granted another 10.

With the Affix’s additional 1,000 points, his total Physical Attack would reach 1,020.

If he struck an enemy from behind and triggered the guaranteed Critical Hit, 150% damage would amount to 1,530 points.

More than a thousand damage with a single basic attack at the very beginning of the game?

Was that even human?

However, after the initial shock passed, John quickly calmed down.

Once an Affix was embedded, could it be removed?

If it could not, he had to choose the destination of his first Affix carefully.

The wooden club would definitely be replaced.

The shield would also be replaced.

As for clothes and shoes, there was no point considering them. He did not even have any.

Then what piece of equipment was the least likely to be replaced?

John slowly lowered his head.

His gaze settled between his legs.

A moment later, in full view of everyone in the plaza, he reached his hand toward his crotch.

[Do you wish to embed the SSS-rank Affix Deadly Backstab into the equipment White Briefs?]

[Confirm.]

Buzz!

A blinding golden light erupted from John’s lower body.

The entire plaza was instantly illuminated.

Every player and NPC nearby turned to look.

"Damn! What the hell just blinded me?"

"Who cast a skill?"

"Wait, why is the skill coming from that position?"

"Bro, drop your contact info!"

"I just entered the game and I’m already seeing this? Was I supposed to pay to unlock this scene?"

Several female NPCs screamed, covered their faces, and ran away even faster.

John looked down at his glowing briefs.

He remained silent for half a second.

Then he turned around and ran.

He charged headfirst into a nearby alley. Only after confirming that no one had followed him did he stop and lean against the wall.

His heart was still pounding violently.

The realism of this game truly was impressive.

So impressive that he had almost suffered genuine social death.

John took a deep breath and reopened his status panel.

[Player: Endbringer]

[Level: Lv. 1]

[Class: The Forsaken]

[Talent: God-rank Supreme Evolution]

[HP: 100 — Constitution 10 × 10]

[MP: 100 — Wisdom 10 × 10]

[Physical Attack: 1,020 — Strength 10 × 1 + Novice Club 10 + Deadly Backstab 1,000]

[Spell Power: 10 — Wisdom 10 × 1]

[Strength: 10]

[Constitution: 10]

[Agility: 10]

[Wisdom: 10]

[Physical Defense: 11 — Constitution 10 × 1 + White Briefs 1]

[Magic Defense: 10 — Constitution 10 × 1]

[Skills: None]

[Equipment: Novice Club, Wooden Board Shield, White Briefs]

[Embedded Affix: Deadly Backstab]

[Deadly Backstab: Physical Attack +1,000. Attacks made from behind are guaranteed to land a Critical Hit. Critical Damage: 150%.]

John stared at the line displaying his Physical Attack.

[Physical Attack: 1,020]

The corners of his mouth gradually curled upward.