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

"He has been waiting for news from the main city."

John did not immediately follow him.

"We only accepted a quest and came here to investigate the surrounding area."

"We don’t know anything about Giantwood Town’s current situation."

"Explain everything clearly on the way."

The Guard Captain nodded.

"I’m Glen, Captain of the Giantwood Town Guard."

"This story begins ten years ago."

The group walked toward the center of town along the street.

According to Glen, the name Giantwood Town had not been chosen at random.

A genuine giant tree had once grown in the center of the town.

It had stood several hundred meters tall.

When its crown fully spread, it could cover nearly half the town.

Legend claimed that it had grown from a seed of the sacred tree belonging to an elven race from another world.

The first people who arrived here had survived by relying on the fruit and leaves produced by the giant tree.

Over time, more and more people gathered around it.

Villages, roads, and shops were all constructed around the tree.

That was how Giantwood Town gradually came into existence.

The giant tree represented both the town’s heritage and the sacred object worshiped by all its residents.

However, ten years ago—

The giant tree disappeared.

It did not collapse.

It did not wither.

Nor was it cut down by anyone.

The entire tree simply vanished overnight.

The ground where its roots had once grown remained completely intact.

Not even a single wood chip could be found nearby.

It was as though the tree had never existed at all.

Zoey frowned.

"Then what’s in the center of town now?"

Glen fell silent for a moment.

"A shadow."

"Although the giant tree disappeared, its shadow remained."

"No matter where the sun moves, that shadow never changes."

"Even the harshest sunlight of summer cannot drive it away."

At first, the residents of Giantwood Town merely found it unsettling.

Some attempted to dig up the ground beneath the shadow.

Others cast fire and holy light magic into it.

Nothing had any effect.

Then, several years later—

The first group of monsters crawled out of the tree’s shadow.

From that point onward, a monster tide would emerge from the shadow at regular intervals.

Sometimes, there were only a few dozen monsters.

At other times, their numbers reached into the thousands.

The residents of Giantwood Town gradually went from panic to numb acceptance.

They modified their homes.

Stockpiled weapons.

Constructed defensive lines.

Even ordinary residents learned how to use crossbows and spears.

Zoey looked toward the heavily wounded soldiers.

"If this place is so dangerous, why don’t you move away?"

Glen’s footsteps paused.

"We can’t."

"Giantwood Town lies along Sunset City’s northeastern border."

"To the north are the Galecrest Highlands. To the east is the elven trade route. And the road to the south is the only route back to Sunset City."

"This is the most important transportation hub in the surrounding region, as well as a supply station for armies and merchant caravans."

"If Giantwood Town is destroyed, all transportation routes northeast of Sunset City will be completely severed."

Glen lowered his head and looked at his scar-covered palms.

"We request assistance from Sunset City every year."

"Armies also pass through here frequently."

"They take away food, potions, and supplies."

"Yet not a single unit has ever been willing to stay and help us clear out the tree’s shadow."

His hands slowly clenched into fists.

His knuckles turned slightly white from the force.

"We want to leave."

"But if we do, the next places attacked by the monsters will be the villages behind us—the ones without any city walls."

John said nothing.

However, he took in every detail of Glen’s expression.

At that moment, a system notification suddenly appeared.

[Endbringer’s Trial Grounds revenue settlement complete!]

[Total net dungeon revenue has exceeded 100,000 Gold Coins!]

[All consigned items have been sold!]

[Equipment consignment revenue: 102 Gold Coins!]

[Your current total assets have exceeded 100,000 Gold Coins!]

One hundred thousand Gold Coins.

According to the game’s publicly listed exchange rate, that was equivalent to one hundred million US dollars.

And this was not a one-time source of income.

As long as Apocalypse continued operating, and as long as players continued entering Endbringer’s Trial Grounds, John would continuously receive a share of the entrance fees.

John closed the notification.

This was clearly not the time to study his earnings.

Several minutes later, the group arrived at the center of town.

There was no tree in the distant plaza.

Only an enormous black shadow of absurd proportions.

The shadow displayed the complete outline of an ancient tree.

A thick trunk.

Twisted roots.

And an enormous crown that covered nearly half the town.

There was clearly nothing overhead.

Yet on the ground, it looked as though a towering tree truly stood there, blocking out the sky and sun.

The sunlight seemed to be swallowed the moment it touched the edge of the shadow.

Everything inside was pitch-black.

Nothing could be seen clearly.

John merely looked at it from a distance, yet he felt as though something deep within the darkness was staring back at him.

Glen did not approach it.

Instead, he led the three of them around the plaza and into the mayor’s office.

The so-called office was merely a two-story stone building.

Its interior was extremely shabby.

There were no expensive carpets.

No delicate decorations.

One corner of the desk was even missing and had been awkwardly propped up with a wooden block.

The room was filled with military supply ledgers, casualty lists, and requests for materials.

What stood along the walls were not works of art, but crates of arrows and healing potions.

Clearly, nearly all of Giantwood Town’s limited funds had been invested in its defenses.

An elderly man with graying hair rose from behind the desk.

"Reinforcements from Sunset City?"

"Someone has finally come!"

Glen spoke quietly.

"Mayor, these three are warriors from another world sent by Sunset City."

The old man hurried over and tightly grasped John’s hand.

"I am Morris, Mayor of Giantwood Town."

"Thank you. City Lord Raymond has not forgotten us after all."

Standing behind them, Zoey wore a complicated expression.

Strictly speaking, City Lord Raymond probably had no idea they were here.

John did not bother correcting him.

"Let’s talk about the tree’s shadow first."

Morris hurriedly nodded.

"Of course."

"The next monster tide could erupt at any moment."

"What plans do you have?"

John did not beat around the bush.

"We enter the shadow."

"Find the source of the monsters."

"And solve the problem from within."

The smile on Morris’s face instantly disappeared.

"Enter the shadow?"

"Absolutely not!"

His reaction was even more intense than John had expected.

"My lord, I mean no disrespect."

"But during the ten years since that shadow appeared, we have sent dozens of investigation teams into it."

"Soldiers, mercenaries, mages—even adventuring parties from Sunset City."

"Not a single person ever returned."

Morris walked toward the window and pointed at the enormous tree shadow in the plaza.

His voice gradually grew heavier.

"That is no ordinary shadow."

"It is a mouth that devours people."

The moment he finished speaking—

The tree’s shadow in the center of the plaza suddenly shifted slightly.

There was clearly no wind.

Yet the outline of one of the branches stretched across the ground like a slowly extending hand, reaching several meters closer to the office building.