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

"Don’t forget who you are."

"There is nothing wrong with maintaining strict discipline and following rules."

"Don’t start acting like bandits the moment you enter a game."

The three burly men immediately straightened their backs and slammed their heels together.

"For the Fleet!"

Their thunderous voices startled the nearby players, causing them to turn and stare.

The man leading them fell silent for a moment.

"Endbringer has agreed to meet us."

"Get yourselves ready. We’re heading to the rendezvous point."

"Remember—don’t say anything unnecessary."

"YES, SIR!"

The three men saluted again.

The man looked at their expressions, which somehow managed to appear both serious and idiotic, and suddenly changed his mind.

"Forget it."

"It would be best if none of you said a single word."

...

Northern Sunset City.

On a plain that had yet to be fully developed—

John stood beside a boulder and gazed toward a small hill in the distance.

Four tall, bald men stood in a neat row at the top of the hill.

Every one of them was nearly two meters tall.

They wore identical standardized armor, stood perfectly upright, and maintained almost exactly the same distance from one another.

From a distance, they looked like four antennas arranged in a straight line.

The corner of John’s mouth twitched slightly.

Apocalypse did not alter a player’s appearance.

Whatever someone looked like in reality was exactly how they appeared inside the game.

Finding four men with this kind of build at the same time, all of whom possessed an almost instinctive sense of discipline, was no easy task.

Luna Wolf’s background was no longer difficult to guess.

No wonder the other guilds had immediately stopped bidding after Luna Wolf offered one thousand Gold Coins.

It was not that they could not afford to bid higher.

They simply did not want to compete.

Apocalypse was an important test project for the United Council’s mass hibernation plan.

It was not strange for official forces to enter the game in advance.

However, the fact that even the military had dispatched personnel into the game made the situation somewhat unusual.

Zoey’s earlier warning that "this game isn’t simple" might not have been a casual remark after all.

John had chosen this location for the meeting after careful consideration.

The plain offered a wide field of vision.

There were no nearby buildings or obstacles.

If the other party attempted anything, he could instantly wipe them out with Fire Serpent or escape using [Void Shift].

John walked up the hill.

The man in the lead approached him first.

His player ID was [Luna Wolf].

He appeared to be around forty years old, with a broad, powerful build and a steady gaze.

There was none of the slickness commonly seen in businessmen on his face.

Nor did he possess the arrogance typical of senior members from large guilds.

There was only a capable and straightforward air about him.

"You can call me Horus."

"Guild Leader of Luna Wolf Guild."

He extended his right hand.

"My Class is Berserker."

John shook his hand.

"Endbringer."

"Independent player."

Horus then introduced the three men behind him.

The Shield Warrior, Ironwall.

The Archer, Hawk Eye.

And the Priest, White_Bear.

The three bald men nodded one after another.

Not one of them spoke.

They had clearly been warned before coming here.

John took out the Guild Creation Token.

The bronze token hovered above his palm.

A castle was engraved on the front, while the reverse side depicted a banner that had yet to be unfurled.

[Guild Creation Token]

[May be used to establish a Tier-1 player guild.]

After inspecting the item information, Horus decisively opened the trade interface.

[Player "Luna Wolf" has transferred 500 Gold Coins to you.]

[Would you like to accept?]

"Accept."

Including the five-hundred-Gold-Coin deposit paid earlier, the full one thousand Gold Coins had now been received.

John placed the Guild Creation Token into the trade window.

[Trade complete!]

Horus accepted the token, and his expression visibly relaxed.

There had been no probing throughout the entire transaction.

No attempts to lower the price.

And certainly no threats based on his identity.

The other party’s attitude was neither flattering nor arrogant.

John did not dislike that.

"The item has been delivered."

"I have other matters to handle, so I’ll be leaving."

After saying that, he turned around and began walking away.

He had only taken a few steps when Horus suddenly called out.

"Endbringer."

John stopped.

Holding the Guild Creation Token, Horus spoke seriously.

"Since you haven’t joined any guild yet, would you be interested in joining Luna Wolf?"

"Equipment, resources, and Gold Coins are all negotiable."

"The guild will not interfere with your normal activities."

John did not answer immediately.

Luna Wolf likely possessed an official background, perhaps even direct military backing.

Joining such an organization would indeed bring him quite a few advantages.

At the very least, Gray Ledger would have many more concerns if they attempted to move against him in reality.

However, the problems were equally obvious.

John could not determine Luna Wolf’s true objective in entering Apocalypse.

Nor did he know exactly how much the authorities understood about the game.

Once he joined them, his movements, equipment, and rate of growth would all enter their field of vision.

Even if Luna Wolf harbored no ill intentions now, that did not mean they would never restrict his movements in the future.

Besides, John still possessed another Guild Creation Token.

Inside the game, he had no need to rely on anyone.

As for the threat Gray Ledger posed in reality...

Relying on the military to deal with a criminal organization was not as simple as it sounded.

Unless John’s value had already risen to the level of national security, they would never mobilize a large amount of real-world resources solely for the sake of an ordinary player.

It was better to rely on himself than to ask others for help.

John shook his head.

"Thank you for the invitation."

"But I still prefer having more freedom."

A trace of disappointment flashed through Horus’s eyes.

The three men behind him also exchanged glances.

John suddenly changed the direction of the conversation.

"I won’t be joining the guild."

"But we can still be friends."

"If I obtain high-level equipment I can’t use in the future, Luna Wolf can have priority as long as the price is reasonable."

Horus’s expression immediately softened.

"That works."

[Player "Luna Wolf" has sent you a friend request.]

John accepted it.

"I’ll contact you when I find something suitable."

With that, he activated [Void Shift].

A silver-gray rift flashed.

His entire body instantly appeared twenty meters away.

After several consecutive shifts, he disappeared at the edge of the plain.

Horus remained where he was, watching the direction John had left in.

He let out a faint sigh.

"What a pity."

White_Bear moved closer from behind.

"Sir."

"Since the invitation failed, should we just tie him up and take him back?"

Bang!

Horus turned around and punched him directly on the bald head.

White_Bear clutched his skull and squatted down.

"Tie him up?"

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Forget whether the four of us even have the ability to pull that off."

"Our orders were to establish friendly contact and avoid making an enemy of him."

"Did every word go straight through your dog ears?"

White_Bear raised his head aggrievedly.

"I was only suggesting a backup plan."

"Shove your plan back where it came from."

Hawk Eye, standing nearby, looked in the direction John had disappeared.

"What about the conflict between him and Gray Ledger?"

"Should we intervene?"

Horus fell silent for a moment.

"Not for now."

"This is a personal conflict between him and Gray Ledger."

"Without orders, we cannot intervene on our own."

Ironwall frowned.

"Gray Ledger’s influence in reality is considerable."

"Can Endbringer really handle them by himself?"

Horus lowered his head and glanced at the Guild Creation Token in his hand.

He then recalled how John had repeatedly used [Void Shift] to leave.

"Have you three gotten it backward?"

All three men turned to look at him.

Horus’s voice grew low.

"The one we need to worry about right now isn’t Endbringer."

"It’s Gray Ledger."

He raised his head and looked into the distance.

"It won’t be long before they understand—"

"Just what kind of terrifying monster they’ve provoked."

...