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

The male warrior stood at the very front, a round shield in one hand and a longsword in the other, constantly drawing the Crimson Wolf’s aggro.

"Pull it left!"

"Mage, hold your Fireball until after it pounces!"

"Archer, aim for the eyes! Priest, save your heal!"

His commands were steady, and his movements were textbook-perfect.

Yet every time he blocked one of the Crimson Wolf’s lunges, he deliberately shifted half a step to the side, showing off the most impressive angle for a shield counter to the three female players behind him.

Even when he had only lost a dozen or so HP, he still lowered his voice and said,

"Don’t panic. I’ve got you."

When the mage’s Fireball landed, he first checked the Crimson Wolf’s HP, then turned around and praised her.

"Nice. Your timing was perfect."

His voice was gentle, his smile bright and confident.

He looked like he was leading a team.

He also looked like he was waiting for someone to applaud.

John only needed one glance to understand what kind of person he was.

He had seen plenty of men like this in his previous life.

A textbook example of a guy who loved carrying girls.

On the surface, he was generous, cheerful, and responsible, forever wearing an expression that said, "Leave everything to me. I’ll protect you."

In reality, every move he made was designed to earn praise.

He might as well have carved four words onto his shield:

LOOK AT ME, LADIES.

Still, the party was genuinely competent.

The mage timed her Fireballs well, the archer had impressive accuracy, and although the priest was visibly nervous, she never wasted a heal.

After several rounds of coordinated attacks, the Crimson Wolf finally let out a miserable howl and collapsed.

[-37!]

The final arrow struck its target.

The Crimson Wolf’s HP dropped to zero.

The male warrior sheathed his sword with a flourish and gently exhaled.

"Not bad."

"As long as we maintain our rhythm, the intermediate zone isn’t that difficult."

The female mage beside him smiled.

"That’s because you tanked so well."

The corners of the warrior’s mouth immediately twitched upward.

After watching the fight, John gave a small nod.

Their coordination was decent.

Their damage was terrible.

For ordinary players, however, this team was already quite impressive.

John turned to leave.

The male warrior noticed him and called out first.

"Hey, bro. You’re alone?"

John stopped.

The warrior approached with a friendly smile, his tone casual and natural.

"The monsters around here are fairly high-level. It’s dangerous to travel alone."

"Our party happens to have one open slot. Want to join us?"

His words were polite.

His voice was also loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

It sounded like an invitation.

It also sounded like a public display of his generosity.

John was just about to decline when the female mage suddenly raised her hand.

A pale blue gleam flashed through her eyes.

[Appraisal]

She swept her gaze over John, and her brows immediately furrowed.

"Are you sure?"

The warrior froze.

The female mage turned toward him, her dissatisfaction obvious.

"He’s only Lv.3."

"We’re already pushing our limits by entering the intermediate zone. Bringing along a Lv.3 player would just waste a party slot."

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

The smile on the warrior’s face stiffened.

He had invited John because anyone bold enough to come here alone had to be at least a Lv.5 expert.

He had never expected John to be only Lv.3.

Now that the invitation had already left his mouth, taking it back would make him look terrible.

Especially in front of his girlfriend.

The warrior coughed and was about to salvage the situation when John waved his hand.

"No need."

"I prefer working alone."

The warrior immediately seized the opportunity and put on an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to bother you."

John paid it no mind.

This kind of minor encounter was not even worth remembering the man’s ID.

But just as John was about to leave, the archer suddenly spoke.

"Wait."

She stared at the Crimson Wolf’s corpse on the ground, confusion appearing on her face.

"Something’s wrong."

"Why hasn’t the Crimson Wolf’s body disappeared yet?"

Everyone paused.

John turned around as well.

Normally, a wild monster’s corpse would remain for no more than a dozen seconds before either despawning or transforming into loot.

Yet the Crimson Wolf was still lying there.

Not only had it failed to disappear, but its body had begun to swell.

The next instant—

Bang!

The Crimson Wolf’s corpse exploded into a cloud of blood mist.

From within the crimson haze, an ear-piercing shriek suddenly spread outward.

Like some kind of summoning signal, it echoed across the entire grassland in an instant.

The surrounding grass shook violently.

Rustle.

Rustle.

Pairs of blood-red eyes began lighting up one after another within the tall grass.

The archer’s expression changed.

"This is bad!"

"That wasn’t a normal monster!"

The male warrior reacted as well and hurriedly raised his shield.

But it was already too late.

Low, guttural howls sounded from every direction.

John stood where he was, watching the crimson eyes draw closer, and raised an eyebrow.

A trap monster.

Killing it did not end the encounter. Instead, it summoned its own kind to surround the attackers.

This type of mechanic was not uncommon in online games.

But placing one in the intermediate zone on the very first day of the server was clearly a trap designed for organized raiding parties.

John tightened his grip around the Novice Club, and the corners of his mouth slowly rose.

For other people, encountering a trap monster was a disaster.

For him?

It was a delivery service.

The wolf pack closed in instantly.

The four-player party immediately formed up.

The male warrior raised his shield at the front. The mage and archer retreated, while the priest stood in the center.

This time, however, none of them looked nearly as composed as before.

John watched the wolves draw closer from every direction and could not help shaking his head.

"Putting a trap monster in a beginner village?"

"Did the players dig up the game designer’s ancestral grave in his previous life or something?"

The female mage’s face turned pale.

The death penalty in Apocalypse was severe.

You lost a level.

Your current EXP bar was completely emptied.

And one piece of equipped gear was guaranteed to drop.

The female mage looked at the warrior, her voice becoming shrill.

"What are we supposed to do?"

"Didn’t you say you rolled an A-Rank Talent and that we’d definitely be safe if we followed you?"

"I took out a loan under my real name to buy this entire set of equipment!"

John glanced at the two of them.

The warrior’s sword and shield, along with the female mage’s staff and headpiece, were clearly not ordinary equipment.

Apocalypse had opened its in-game store as soon as the server launched.

Real-world currency could be exchanged for game coins, which could then be used to purchase high-quality early-game equipment.

The gear worn by these two was worth at least two hundred thousand dollars in the real world.

No wonder they were panicking.

The female mage’s voice trembled.

"If all my equipment drops, the next time you see me might be on OnlyVans!"

The male warrior’s expression instantly became ugly.

He looked at the approaching wolf pack, and the calmness in his eyes gradually collapsed.

Suddenly, he spun around.

First, he slammed his shield into the archer on his left. Then he grabbed the priest by the shoulder and shoved her in the opposite direction.

"Ah!"

The two female players were caught completely off guard and stumbled directly into the opening in the wolves’ encirclement.

The Crimson Wolves immediately pounced.

Their screams tore across the grassland.

Blood erupted into the air.

The male warrior seized the opportunity to grab the female mage and charge toward John.

John’s position was the only part of the encirclement that had not completely closed.

It was also the closest escape route.

"Run!"

"They’ll buy us a few seconds!"

John’s gaze instantly turned cold.

Men with this kind of personality never disappointed him.

At the critical moment, they always performed exactly as expected.

John was about to draw the Novice Club when the male warrior reached him from behind.

As if John did not even exist, the warrior slammed his shoulder into John’s back and shoved him forward.

John stumbled half a step.

Directly ahead of him was a charging Crimson Wolf.

He did not need to turn around to understand what had happened.

"You’re using me as bait too?"

The next second, a Crimson Wolf leaped toward his face.

John drew the Novice Club with a backhanded motion and smashed it down.

Bang!

The wolf’s head exploded on the spot.

The impact even left a shallow crater in the ground.

[-1,024!]

[Overkill Damage!]

[Ding! You have defeated a Lv.5 Crimson Wolf while underleveled. Bonus EXP +100. Copper Coins +50!]

[Ding! You have reached Lv.4!]

[Current EXP: 0/1,000.]

[Free Attribute Points +5!]

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

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

[Impact Guard]

[Type: Weapon-Exclusive]

[Effect: Refreshes once every 10 seconds. After refreshing, the first instance of Physical or Magic Damage you deal generates a shield equal to 50% of that damage. The shield can absorb both Physical and Magic Damage.]

John’s eyes lit up.

"Now that’s good stuff."