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

If an attack from behind triggered a guaranteed Critical Hit, then it would be 1,020 multiplied by 1.5.

1,530 damage.

John stared at his status panel for three seconds.

Then he lowered his head and glanced at his White Briefs.

He quickly noticed a small line of text beneath the Affix description.

[Embedded Affixes may be removed.]

[Removal Fee: 100 gold coins.]

John breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as they could be removed, everything was fine.

A hundred gold coins might be an astronomical sum to him right now, but he would have plenty of ways to make money later.

John closed his status panel and began planning his next move.

The town was filled with players who had only just descended into the game.

Most of them would instinctively search for NPCs and accept quests.

Delivering letters.

Running errands.

Gathering herbs.

Killing chickens.

Hunting rabbits.

Then they would line up outside the Novice Town and fight over every newly spawned monster for a few copper coins and several dozen experience points.

Meaningless.

With a God-rank Talent and an SSS-rank Affix, the last thing John should be doing was wasting time on ordinary quests.

He needed to kill monsters.

As many monsters as possible.

Level up.

Obtain more Affixes.

Then use those Affixes to forcibly transform this Novice Club and pair of White Briefs into monstrous equipment powerful enough to make the development team kneel down and write a formal apology.

John rested the wooden club on his shoulder and prepared to leave the alley.

Just then—

Creak—

A carriage suddenly stopped at the entrance to the alley, completely blocking its only exit.

John halted.

The carriage door opened.

Eight large men climbed out one after another.

They wore filthy, worn leather armor and carried short blades at their waists. Their faces bore the practiced malice of men who had done this countless times before.

Local NPCs.

The burly man at the front looked John up and down.

He froze for a moment before breaking into a wide grin.

"Looks like we’re in luck."

"We’ve barely started working, and an Otherworlder has already fallen into our laps."

A tall, thin man rubbed his chin, his smile even more repulsive.

"He isn’t even wearing clothes. Doesn’t look too bright, either."

"This type is the easiest to deal with."

"Isn’t that shaman in the southern district looking for a living sacrifice? We should get a good price for him."

"And even if we can’t sell him alive, that’s fine."

A bald man beside him waved the short blade in his hand.

"We can cut him up and sell the parts separately."

At the words "sell the parts separately," John suddenly felt a chill between his legs.

This was bad.

John silently took half a step backward, his gaze rapidly sweeping across his surroundings.

The alley was narrow.

Stone walls stood on both sides.

A dead end lay behind him, while the carriage blocked the path ahead.

There were eight enemies.

Their levels were unknown.

Their attributes were unknown.

Their skills were unknown.

All he had was a wooden club, a wooden board shield, and a pair of briefs that had recently erupted with golden light.

Fight them head-on?

Too risky.

Run away?

Even less likely.

At a time like this, he could only gamble.

The next second, John’s entire body suddenly convulsed.

"Ugh!"

His legs went limp, and he collapsed onto the ground with a loud smack.

Immediately afterward, his limbs began twisting irregularly. His neck tilted to one side, his eyes rolled back, and incomprehensible noises escaped his mouth.

"Gurgle... hehehe... gaaah!"

All eight men froze.

Silence filled the alley for a moment.

The tall, thin man frowned.

"What’s wrong with him?"

The bald man cautiously took a step backward.

"Some kind of Otherworlder disease?"

The burly leader stared at John for several minutes.

John continued convulsing on the ground.

He put an extraordinary amount of effort into it.

His spasms even began to develop a rhythm.

At last, the leader could no longer hold himself back.

"Hahahaha!"

"He really is an idiot!"

The others burst into laughter as well.

"We’ve struck gold this time!"

"Idiots are great. Idiots don’t know how to run."

"That shaman loves people who aren’t right in the head. Says their souls are looser and easier to sacrifice."

One of the men approached with a rope and crouched in front of John.

He reached out and slapped John’s face.

"Hey, idiot."

John grinned foolishly.

"Hehe."

The man laughed even harder.

He turned toward his companions and shouted,

"I don’t think we necessarily have to sell this idiot to the shaman."

"We might get even more if we sell him to a circus—"

Before he could finish speaking, the cloudiness vanished from John’s eyes.

His hand shot into his spatial inventory.

The next instant, the Novice Club appeared out of thin air.

Thud!

A heavy impact rang through the alley.

The wooden club smashed violently into the back of the man’s head.

[-823!]

[Damage overflow!]

The man did not even have time to scream.

His body flew backward as though struck by a siege ram, crashing directly into the carriage compartment.

Wooden boards exploded apart.

The frightened horses let out piercing neighs.

[Ding! You have defeated a Lv. 5 Human Trafficker while underleveled. Bonus EXP awarded: +250!]

[Current EXP: 250/400.]

John’s eyes lit up slightly as he read the notification.

This could work.

These men were indeed several levels above him.

However, none of them had more than a thousand HP.

In other words, as long as he landed one hit—

They died.

The remaining seven men stood stunned for a moment.

Then rage erupted across their faces.

"Kill him!"

"Cut down that Otherworlder bastard!"

They drew their short blades and charged at John simultaneously.

The alley was so narrow that no more than three people could advance side by side.

That restriction gave John an opportunity.

He pulled out the Wooden Board Shield with his left hand and lowered his stance.

The first man reached him and slashed downward with his short blade.

John raised the shield to block.

Bang!

[-20!]

The Wooden Board Shield shook violently.

John’s arm went numb, and a chunk of his HP disappeared.

But it was enough.

The sense of distance and combat rhythm he had developed over years of gaming displayed its full value at that moment.

Block.

Sidestep.

Raise the club.

Smash!

Thud!

The Novice Club struck the second trafficker in the side of the neck.

[-759!]

[Damage overflow!]

The man’s body tilted sideways.

His head nearly touched his shoulder as he slammed into the ground, instantly falling still.

[Ding! You have defeated a Lv. 5 Human Trafficker while underleveled. Bonus EXP awarded: +250!]

[Ding! You have reached Lv. 2!]

[Current EXP: 100/600.]

[You have obtained 5 Free Attribute Points.]

[Ding! Unique God-rank Talent Supreme Evolution activated!]

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

[Cleave]

[Type: Weapon-exclusive Affix]

[Effect: Each successful attack triggers Cleave Damage in a 5 × 5-meter area. Cleave Damage is equal to 300% of the triggering attack’s damage. Cooldown: 5 seconds.]

John did not hesitate in the slightest.

He assigned all five Free Attribute Points to Constitution.

His HP immediately increased by 50 points.

Then he embedded the Cleave Affix directly into the Novice Club.

Buzz!

Brilliant golden light exploded throughout the narrow alley.

The traffickers charging toward him were momentarily blinded.

"What the hell is that?!"

"My eyes!"

John rested the club on his shoulder and grinned.

"Here comes the flying club."

He gripped the weapon with both hands and stepped forward.

The wooden club swept through the air.

It struck one of the traffickers directly in the abdomen.

Thud!

The man’s body instantly folded like a shrimp before flying off the ground.

[-1,004!]

[Damage overflow!]

The next moment, Cleave erupted.

BOOM!

A visible shock wave exploded outward from the point of impact.

The three traffickers beside him did not even have time to react before they were hurled through the air.

[-3,012!]

[Damage overflow!]

[Ding! You have defeated four Lv. 5 Human Traffickers while underleveled. Bonus EXP awarded: +500!]

As John’s level had increased, the bonus experience gained from defeating Lv. 5 enemies had decreased.

[Ding! You have reached Lv. 3!]

[Current EXP: 0/800.]

[You have obtained 5 Free Attribute Points.]

[Ding! Unique God-rank Talent Supreme Evolution activated!]

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

[Overcharge]

[Type: Weapon-exclusive Affix]

[Effect: Upon entering a charging state, you gain Super Armor. Each second spent charging grants a 10% Attack bonus, stacking up to 10 times.]

Another weapon-exclusive Affix.

John glanced at the Novice Club in his hand.

Originally, this club might have been nothing more than a random piece of firewood chopped down somewhere near the Novice Town.

But now, it was beginning to show a serious lack of respect for human life.

John placed the next five Attribute Points into Constitution as well.

Then he embedded the new Affix into the wooden club.

Golden light erupted once again.

The two remaining traffickers had just been knocked out of the alley by their companions’ flying bodies. Together with half of the shattered carriage, they tumbled into the middle of the street.

The commotion was far too loud.

Nearby players and NPCs were immediately drawn over.

"What happened?"

"Did someone start a fight?"

"Damn, you can attack NPCs in the Novice Town?"

"Isn’t that the guy whose crotch lit up earlier?"

"I think it is!"

"Wait, how has he already started killing people? I haven’t even finished accepting my first quest!"