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

John activated [Scan].

[Holy See Deacon Marco]

[Level: Lv.20.]

[Rank: Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss.]

[HP: 14,500/14,500.]

[Magic Defense: 1,180.]

...

[Holy See Punishment Deacon]

[Level: Lv.20.]

[Rank: Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss.]

[HP: 12,800/12,800.]

...

Five enemies.

Every last one of them was a Lv.20 Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss.

Even the one with the lowest HP had more than ten thousand.

At the same time—

[The Thorn Witch’s Blessing has ended!]

The tenfold attribute boost surrounding John completely disappeared.

Marco noticed John’s aura rapidly weakening, and a cold smile appeared on his face.

"It seems the power you used earlier has finally reached its limit."

John swept his gaze across the positions of the five deacons.

Fire Serpent was a single-target projectile skill.

The enemy had the advantage in numbers.

In that case, there was no need to waste any more time talking.

"Binding Chains."

Clatter—!

A mass of black-and-crimson chains erupted from the ground and instantly wrapped around the limbs of all five deacons.

[Double Bind activated!]

[Chains of Silence activated!]

[Targets have entered the Restrained and Silenced states!]

The expressions of all five men changed simultaneously.

"Black magic!"

"So you really are a heretic!"

John had already activated another skill.

[Soul Clone!]

A second John appeared beside him.

The original and the clone raised their Fire Crystal Staffs at the same time.

"Fire Serpent."

"Fire Serpent."

Boom!

Two enormous fire serpents surged forward simultaneously.

One flew left and the other right, each slamming into a different deacon.

[-15,840!]

[Mana Reflux activated! MP +1,584!]

[-15,620!]

[Mana Reflux activated! MP +1,562!]

The HP of both deacons was instantly emptied.

Their bodies collapsed within the flames.

[You have slain Lv.20 Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Bosses: Holy See Deacon ×2!]

[EXP +2,200!]

[Gold Coins +20!]

Marco’s eyes widened violently.

Two Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Bosses.

Both of them had died in an instant?

He struggled desperately, attempting to break free from the chains.

"Dispel the control effect!"

"Kill his clone!"

However, they were all Silenced.

Not one of them could activate a skill.

Three seconds later—

[Soul Clone cooldown complete!]

John raised his hand again.

A third figure condensed into existence.

There were now three Johns on the battlefield.

Three Fire Crystal Staffs rose at the same time.

The vicious expression on Marco’s face was completely replaced by fear.

"No..."

Three fire serpents shot forward simultaneously.

Boom!

[-15,910!]

[-15,780!]

[-16,040!]

Flames swept across the ruins.

The remaining three Holy See Deacons, including Marco, were killed at the same time.

[You have slain Lv.20 Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Bosses: Holy See Deacon ×3!]

[EXP +3,300!]

[Gold Coins +30!]

[You have obtained Holy See Deacon Robes ×5!]

[You have obtained the A-Rank Weapon: Punishment Staff ×2!]

[You have obtained the A-Rank Equipment: Holy Light Amulet ×1!]

[You have obtained Holy See Internal Passes ×5!]

[Ding! Your level has increased to Lv.16!]

[Current EXP: 3,620/4,800!]

[Free Attribute Points +5!]

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

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

John looked at the new affix, and the corners of his mouth slowly rose.

It was another [CD--].

[CD--]

[Type: Weapon-Exclusive Affix]

[Effect: Reduces the cooldown of equipment skills by 50%.]

He had already embedded one of these affixes into the Fire Crystal Staff.

Now that the second one had been added, the total cooldown reduction would reach one hundred percent.

In other words—

Every skill would now have absolutely no cooldown.

John did not hesitate.

He directly embedded the affix into Irene’s Fire Crystal Staff.

Buzz!

A second cooldown rune fused into the core of the staff.

[Irene’s Fire Crystal Staff now possesses two "CD--" Affixes!]

[Equipment skill cooldowns reduced by 100%!]

[Current cooldown of skills released through this equipment: 0 seconds!]

John raised the staff.

Within his skill panel, Fire Serpent, Binding Chains, and Soul Clone were all illuminated.

There were no cooldown restrictions whatsoever.

As long as he had enough Mana, he could cast them endlessly.

Meanwhile, the [Mana Reflux] affix he had just obtained continuously restored MP whenever he dealt damage.

Attacks restored MP.

MP sustained more attacks.

A perfect cycle had been formed.

John fell silent for a moment.

"That’s ridiculous."

He invested all five attribute points obtained from leveling up into Strength, just as before.

He then collected the equipment dropped by the deacons.

Scattered throughout the Ashen Ruins were still the crosses and wooden stakes left behind by the Investigation Team.

John dragged over five broken wooden crosses and hung Marco and the others’ corpses in front of the collapsed dungeon entrance.

They had used twelve members of the Investigation Team as fuel to maintain the seal.

In that case, these five men could remain here forever.

They would serve as burial offerings for the knights who had died unjustly.

...

Sunset City.

Deep within the Cathedral of the Holy Candle—

A row of white nameplates was neatly arranged before the sacred flame.

Crack.

The nameplate belonging to Marco suddenly split apart.

Then came the second.

The third.

All five nameplates shattered almost simultaneously.

The nun guarding the sacred flame turned deathly pale and immediately rang the alarm bell.

Not long afterward, an elderly man dressed in a bishop’s robe trimmed with crimson arrived before the sacred flame.

He looked at the shattered nameplates, then closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings for a moment.

The sealing mark of the Underground Cathedral of the Holy Candle had completely disappeared.

The aura of the Ancient Bishop had also vanished.

The old man slowly let out a sigh.

"It still happened."

"All five deacons are dead."

"The seal has disappeared."

"This matter can no longer be concealed."

He walked over to a desk and swiftly wrote a letter.

After stamping it with the bishop’s seal, he handed it to the nun beside him.

"Use the highest-level teleportation channel."

"Deliver this letter to the Pope personally."

The nun accepted the letter with both hands.

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Once she had left, the old man looked in the direction of the City Lord’s Mansion.

"I also need to meet with the City Lord."

"If I delay any longer, this may cease to be merely an internal matter of the Holy See."

As his voice faded—

White holy light flashed.

The old man’s figure instantly disappeared.

...

After dealing with Marco and the others’ corpses, John continued sorting through his loot.

The Holy See Deacon Robes, Punishment Staffs, Holy Light Amulet, and the large quantity of crystal equipment obtained from the underground cathedral were all inferior to the Holy Candle Bishop Set.

None of their attached skills were worth keeping either.

John listed everything he could not use in the marketplace.

[Equipment listed: 47 pieces.]

[Estimated sale value: 102 Gold Coins.]

Next came the S-Rank pet egg.

[Thorn Sprite Egg]

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

His level was still too low, so he could only toss it into the Void Armory for the time being.

Finally, John took out the two Guild Creation Tokens.

After players entered the main cities, the game had officially unlocked the guild system.

However, establishing a guild required more than sufficient Gold Coins and Reputation.

A Guild Creation Token was also mandatory.

Whether it was Gray Ledger or the other professional guilds, they were undoubtedly searching for one right now.

Two tokens.

John would keep one for himself.

As for the other—

It could definitely be sold for an excellent price.

John opened the world channel.

Only a few hours had passed, yet the Leaderboard had already undergone considerable changes.

[Level Leaderboard]

[Rank 1: Endbringer, Lv.16.]

[Rank 2: Staff of Judgment, Lv.11.]

[Rank 3: Oracle, Lv.11.]

[Rank 4: Luna wolf, Lv.10.]

...