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

The Guild Leader stared at him for several seconds before forcibly suppressing his anger.

The Chairman himself had personally inquired about this player, yet the man had dared involve himself without even investigating her identity.

The Guild Leader opened the guild channel.

[Gray Ledger Guild Leader Announcement!]

[Direct order from the Chairman of Headquarters!]

[Attention, all members! Upon encountering player "FireRose," kill her immediately!]

[Reward for each successful kill: 10,000 US dollars!]

The moment the announcement appeared, the entire Gray Ledger guild erupted.

The Unit Three Leader was completely dumbfounded.

Moments ago, FireRose had merely been an archer reporting her own party members.

How had she suddenly attracted the personal attention of the Chairman?

The Guild Leader walked over to him, his voice cold.

"From now on, whenever you encounter an unusual player—"

"Report it before making any decisions."

"If you act on your own authority again, I will personally teach you what rules are."

The Unit Three Leader lowered his head.

"Understood."

The Guild Leader turned his attention back toward the leveling zone.

"Everyone, continue leveling."

"Neither Endbringer nor FireRose will be allowed to escape."

...

Ashen Ruins.

John paid no attention to the discussions taking place outside.

He sat down on a broken stone slab and began reviewing his rewards.

[Hidden Dungeon "Underground Cathedral of the Holy Candle" settlement complete!]

[You have obtained Free Attribute Points +20, EXP +800, and Gold Coins +30!]

[You have achieved the world-first kill of a Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss ×2!]

[Additional Reward: EXP +1,200 and Gold Coins +60!]

[B-Rank Quest "The Missing Investigation Team" completed!]

[You have obtained EXP +800 and Gold Coins +20!]

The rewards arrived one after another.

[Ding! Your level has increased to Lv.15!]

[Current EXP: 2,620/4,500.]

[Free Attribute Points +5!]

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

[You have obtained the SSS-Rank Affix: Mana Reflux!]

[Mana Reflux]

[Type: Weapon-Exclusive Affix]

[Effect: Whenever this equipment deals damage, restores MP equal to 10% of the actual damage dealt.]

Attacking would now restore Mana.

The more damage Fire Serpent dealt, the more MP John would recover.

Combined with [Mana Conservation], he would almost never need to worry about MP again.

John directly embedded [Mana Reflux] into the Fire Crystal Staff.

Buzz!

Rainbow-colored golden light rose from the tip of the staff.

He then invested the twenty attribute points from the world-first clear reward, along with the five points obtained from leveling up, entirely into Strength.

[Strength +25!]

[Voidwalker Trait activated!]

[Constitution, Agility, and Wisdom synchronized: +25!]

After finishing with his attributes, John continued inspecting the item rewards.

[You have obtained the Special Token: Thorn Witch Emblem!]

[Thorn Witch Emblem]

[Effect: Allows the bearer to pass through certain Dark Realm barriers and freely enter territories controlled by the Dark Realm.]

[Notice: This emblem carries the aura of Thorn Witch Rosaline.]

[You have obtained the S-Rank Pet Egg: Thorn Sprite Egg!]

[Hatching Requirement: Player must reach Lv.20.]

[You have obtained Guild Creation Tokens ×2!]

[Effect: May be used in a main city to apply for the creation of a player guild.]

[You have obtained the Special Item: Dungeon Override Token ×1!]

[Dungeon Override Token]

[Type: Single-Use Item.]

[Effect: Allows the user to override and edit a dungeon that has already been cleared for the first time, redesigning its structure, monster configuration, and loot table.]

[Description: The overridden dungeon will reset in an entirely new form, but no additional world-first clear rewards may be obtained.]

Two Guild Creation Tokens.

At the current stage, no player had officially established a guild inside the game.

As long as John wanted to, he could obtain the server-wide announcement for founding the first guild at any time.

Continuing downward, the complete loot dropped by the Ancient Bishop was finally displayed.

[You have obtained the A-Rank Set: Holy Candle Bishop Set!]

[Set Pieces: Holy Candle Bishop’s Mitre, Robe, Gloves, Boots, and Belt.]

[Total Set Attributes: Physical Defense +420, Magic Defense +560.]

[Set Effects: Spell Damage +15%, Dark Attribute Resistance +25%.]

The defensive attributes of this set far exceeded those of the Squire Set.

John immediately equipped it.

A white-and-gold bishop’s robe covered the light armor beneath it.

Compared to his previous bargain-bin knight appearance, he finally looked somewhat like a top-tier player.

Unfortunately, he was still carrying a battered wooden club.

The overall aesthetic had not been completely saved.

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

[Weapon Type: Spellblade Rapier.]

[Spell Power +180.]

[Wisdom +80.]

[Attached Combat Skill: Holy Light Judgment.]

[Holy Light Judgment]

[Effect: Summons holy light to judge the target, dealing 300% Magic Damage. Damage dealt to dark creatures is additionally increased by 100%.]

[MP Cost: 120.]

[Cooldown: 30 seconds.]

Then came the final item.

[Soul Clone]

[Quality: S-Rank.]

[Effect: Summons one Soul Clone.]

[The clone inherits 100% of the user’s core attributes and may use skills already mastered by the user.]

[Clone Duration: 10 minutes.]

[Maximum Simultaneous Soul Clones: 3.]

[MP Cost: 80.]

[Base Cooldown: 10 seconds.]

John’s eyes lit up.

It inherited one hundred percent of his attributes.

It could even use all the skills he had already mastered.

One clone was essentially another complete version of himself.

He learned the skill immediately.

[You have learned the skill: Soul Clone!]

After reviewing most of his rewards, John suddenly felt a trace of regret.

"If I’d known, I would’ve saved that guaranteed-drop potion until now."

Two Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Bosses.

Had he used the potion that guaranteed a one-hundred-percent drop rate, his gains might have risen by another entire level.

Still, the potion had helped him obtain the Hidden God-Rank Class Scroll, so it was not as though he had wasted it.

At that moment—

A sharp whistling sound suddenly came from behind him.

John’s pupils contracted.

[Soul Clone!]

A figure identical to John instantly appeared behind him.

Bang!

A spear of white light pierced through the clone’s chest and blasted it more than ten meters away.

[Soul Clone Damage Taken: -4,860!]

John rapidly turned around.

Five figures dressed in Holy See robes were approaching at high speed.

The man leading them was Marco.

...

Several minutes earlier—

The dark raven assigned to monitor the Ashen Ruins had returned to Sunset City and transmitted everything it had witnessed to Marco.

John and Lorne were not dead.

They had killed the convoy.

They had obtained the letter and the key.

They had even entered the Underground Cathedral of the Holy Candle.

The moment Marco received the news, his face turned deathly pale.

Using living humans to replenish Mana and maintain the seal on the Thorn Witch was a core secret the Holy See had concealed for a hundred years.

If it was exposed, both the Holy See’s reputation and the foundation of its rule would be shaken.

Forget a mere deacon like him.

Even the bishop responsible for the matter would be unable to bear the consequences.

Marco immediately summoned four other Holy See Deacons and rushed toward the Ashen Ruins.

However, by the time they arrived, the entrance to the underground cathedral had completely collapsed.

The sealing aura of the Ancient Bishop had also disappeared entirely.

Yet John was sitting unharmed in front of the ruins.

The situation had already reached its worst possible outcome.

There was only one way to contain it.

Everyone who knew the truth had to remain silent forever.

...

Marco stopped in front of John.

He glanced at the clone pierced through by the spear of light, his expression dark.

"You could have obeyed."

"If you had surrendered the staff willingly and shown a little more respect, I might have allowed you to leave because of your cooperation."

"But you insisted on interfering."

"You insisted on forcing matters this far."

The other four deacons landed one after another, surrounding John from every direction.

"Now, there is no turning back for you."