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

Boom!

A Fire Serpent several times larger than the previous ones roared forward.

[Projectile Amplification activated!]

[Impact Guard activated!]

[-141,800!]

[Dual-Resistance Shield gained: 30,900!]

A massive portion of Sever’s HP vanished instantly.

The second Fire Serpent followed immediately afterward.

[-141,800!]

Then the third.

[-141,800!]

The bishop’s robe covering Sever’s body was completely incinerated.

His three hundred thousand remaining HP fell to less than fifty thousand in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, blinding crimson light suddenly erupted from within his body.

[Ancient Bishop Sever’s HP has fallen below 15%!]

[Special Skill: Martyr’s Last Stand activated!]

[Minimum HP locked at 30,000 for 10 seconds!]

[Enraged State activated!]

Sever tore the chains apart.

Crimson holy light gathered behind him, forming dozens of crystallized longswords.

"Heretics..."

"Must all..."

"Be purified!"

John raised his staff again.

[Binding Chains!]

Sever had only just broken free when the chains locked him in place once more.

Rosaline held her teacup and could not help laughing.

"How pitiful."

The HP-locking effect ended.

A fourth Fire Serpent crashed into Sever head-on.

Boom!

[-141,800!]

Sever’s body was instantly swallowed by flames.

Before he could unleash even a single attack in his enraged state, his body rapidly disintegrated within the inferno.

In the end, nothing remained but ashes drifting through the air.

[You have slain the Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss: Ancient Bishop Sever!]

[Underleveled Kill Reward!]

[EXP +3,500!]

[Gold Coins +80!]

[You have obtained the A-Rank Equipment: Ancient Bishop’s Robe!]

[You have obtained the A-Rank Weapon: Holy Crystal Spellblade!]

[You have obtained the Special Item: Sealing Core!]

[You have obtained the Quest Evidence: Bishop’s Memory Crystal!]

The moment Sever died, the entire underground cathedral began shaking violently.

Cracks spread across the dome overhead.

Large chunks of crystal fell from above.

The black chains sealing Rosaline also began rapidly dissolving.

She rose from her chair, closed her eyes, and spread her arms.

Her long pink hair danced wildly in the rushing wind.

"The taste of freedom..."

"It has been far too long."

She enjoyed the sensation for several seconds before suddenly opening her eyes again.

"However..."

"Traveling from here to the locations of my other five soul fragments seems rather inconvenient."

Rosaline sat back down and lazily beckoned toward John.

"Hey."

"Come over here and kill me."

John froze.

"?"

"What are you staring at?"

Rosaline pointed toward the collapsing dome.

"Are you planning to wait until it crushes you?"

John quickly understood.

This was only one fragment of her soul.

If he killed her here, this fragment could revive near the other five soul fragments.

That was certainly more convenient than traveling there herself.

Rosaline snapped her fingers.

Boom!

Black-and-crimson flames instantly rose beneath her feet.

[Thorn Witch Rosaline has voluntarily disabled her defenses!]

[HP continuously decreasing!]

[180,000/200,000.]

[130,000/200,000.]

[76,000/200,000.]

[39,000/200,000.]

Rosaline looked at John.

"Hurry up."

"The next time we meet, I’ll serve you better tea."

John summoned the Novice Club.

He stepped forward.

Then swung horizontally.

Bang!

[-43,920!]

[True Damage!]

Rosaline’s HP was instantly emptied.

Her body transformed into countless black-and-crimson flower petals.

Before completely disappearing, the woman winked at John.

"Don’t forget our agreement."

[You have slain the Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss: Thorn Witch Rosaline!]

[Target possessed a Special Status. Normal EXP and standard loot cannot be obtained.]

[You have obtained the Special Mark: Gaze of the Thorn Witch!]

The next instant—

The Underground Cathedral of the Holy Candle completely collapsed.

Rumble—!

The dome overhead shattered across a massive area.

The circular platform beneath John’s feet also began rapidly caving in.

White light suddenly enveloped his entire body.

[Hidden Dungeon core objective completed!]

[Forced teleportation in progress!]

Whoosh!

John vanished from the underground cathedral.

When he opened his eyes again, he had returned to the surface of the Ashen Ruins.

The ground beneath his feet was still shaking violently.

The iron door hidden beneath the stone slab collapsed along with the entire underground structure.

A grand system notification immediately resounded.

[Congratulations! You have achieved the world-first clear of the Hidden Dungeon "Underground Cathedral of the Holy Candle"!]

[Congratulations! You have achieved the world-first kill of a Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss!]

[Would you like to conceal your player ID?]

John did not hesitate.

"No."

The next second, a server-wide announcement echoed throughout all of Apocalypse.

[Server-Wide Announcement!]

[Congratulations to player "Endbringer" for achieving the world-first clear of the Lv.25 Hidden Dungeon "Underground Cathedral of the Holy Candle"!]

[Server-Wide Announcement!]

[Congratulations to player "Endbringer" for achieving the world-first kill of a Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss!]

[Server-Wide Announcement!]

[Congratulations to player "Endbringer" for achieving the world-first kill of a Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss!]

The announcements rang out three times in total.

At that moment—

Whether they were in beginner villages, main cities, or fighting inside dungeons, every player stopped moving.

A Lv.25 Hidden Dungeon.

A Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss.

And it had not even been two full days since Apocalypse launched.

...

After the server-wide announcements ended, the world channel remained silent for several full seconds.

Then messages flooded the screen.

[A Lv.25 Hidden Dungeon?]

[A Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss?]

[I only just reached Lv.8, and he’s already killing Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Bosses?]

[Did the developers secretly give him access to a private test server?]

[Where’s the report button?]

Someone immediately opened the Leaderboards.

[Level Leaderboard—Rank 1: Endbringer, Lv.14.]

"Lv.14 in a Lv.25 dungeon?"

"And he killed a Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss?"

"Yesterday, he wiped out Gray Ledger with a wooden club. Today, he killed a Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss."

"At this rate, is he going to fight the lord of a main city tomorrow?"

...

Meanwhile—

In a Lv.10 leveling zone outside Blackstone, several hundred Gray Ledger members were surrounding and killing monsters.

The Guild Leader of Gray Ledger was personally leading the group.

The Unit Three Leader was also following beside him.

When the announcement of the world-first Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss kill sounded, the entire group briefly stopped moving.

The Guild Leader raised his head and glanced at the sky.

His expression did not change.

"Continue."

"Everyone, increase your pace."

"Every member with an A-Rank Talent or higher must reach Lv.10 before the end of today."

"If we lack equipment, buy it from the cash shop."

"Potions, scrolls, and consumables are to be supplied at the highest available standard."

Gray Ledger’s greatest advantage had never been any single expert.

It was money.

Its organization, funding, and connections in the real world could all be converted into combat power inside the game.

Endbringer holding a temporary lead did not mean he could remain ahead forever.

At that moment, an encrypted notification appeared.

The Guild Leader glanced at it, and his brows gradually furrowed.

"Unit Three Leader."

The man directing the group immediately hurried over.

"Guild Leader."

The Guild Leader closed the communication interface.

"Did you previously help a player whose ID was FireRose?"

The Unit Three Leader froze.

After carefully searching his memory, he answered,

"I remember her."

"Not long after launch, an archer came to report something to us."

"She said the male warrior in her party had deliberately pushed her and the priest into a wolf pack."

"He also owed Gray Ledger money."

"I had someone deal with the couple, so I suppose we helped her once."

A vein instantly appeared on the Guild Leader’s forehead.

"Do you know who she is?"

The Unit Three Leader shook his head in confusion.

"I don’t."