THUMP THUMP THUMP...
Soon, the thumping sound of the old butler, Glangk, climbing the stairs could be heard.
When he pushed open Young Master Zorn's door and saw the two "bodies" on the floor, Glangk's heart skipped a beat.
Thankfully, they were strangers.
Young Master Zorn was unharmed, and Bevis the Rat Catcher was here as well.
Hmm... Vanessa was also lying on the young master's bed.
The chaotic scene left Glangk momentarily unable to make sense of the situation.
Fortunately, Zorn's voice cut in, helping him clear his thoughts.
"Uncle Glangk, please see Sir Bevis out. And remember, use the back door."
"The patrol officers on Geluo Street are quite numerous. With the gunshot earlier, the night patrol will probably be here soon to ask what happened."
"Just tell them a strange bird was screeching outside my window and I scared it off."
"Also, give them a few Silver Dragons so the officers can buy themselves a late-night snack."
Soon, the old butler Glangk left with Bevis.
Zorn, meanwhile, began to clean up the battlefield.
He patted under the bed, and the white-furred Monster Treasure Chest he'd brought back from the Rat King's lair quickly scurried out and spat out two body bags.
During this time, Zorn had gathered a lot of information about Monster Treasure Chests.
Although there were some "Treasure Box Hunters" in Ogrande City, no one had ever engaged in the business of raising them.
Clearly, the market for "Monster Treasure Chests" was still a blue ocean.
Zorn stuffed the two men—not quite dead, but with absolutely no chance of survival—into the body bags and dragged them toward the basement: his Blood Sacrifice Ceremony chamber.
The stock for the Steam Giant Whale merchant ship would make Zorn a huge profit.
But in return, he had to be prepared to pay a steep price.
The price was the possibility of being kidnapped by these two Level Two Transcendents.
Then, his coerced old butler would have been forced to hand over all the profits to ransom Zorn.
He might not even have been returned, resulting in a tragic end where both he and the money were lost.
Many [Players] who coveted the Steam Giant Whale's fortune had fallen at the hands of these two Level Two outlaws.
If Zorn had been alone, he likely would have had to pay a price.
But with the help of Bevis, who had already advanced to Level Two...
...the ones who had to pay the price were the [Thief] and the [Soul Feeder].
When Zorn went to find Bevis, he also had him make a trip to the "Spirit Witch Lady's" place.
One must know, the "Spirit Witch Lady" was a lawful neutral, Middle Rank Level Witch.
Her status was extraordinary, and she had a great many fine things in her possession.
The "Awakening Potion," which countered the "Enchanting Fragrance," was not expensive.
Bevis made the purchase, and Zorn paid for it.
The two potions together cost less than five gold pounds.
Add to that the 20 gold pounds to hire Bevis for the fight.
The total cost was no more than 25 gold pounds.
And Zorn's rewards were far greater than he had imagined.
...
CRE...AK...
As Zorn pushed open the door to the secret chamber.
Countless tall, white candles emitted a cold, ghostly light.
An evil and dangerous aura filled the air.
At the center of the countless white candles,
a small altar built from Red Blood Rosewood was in a continuous state of operation.
On the altar, placed from left to right, were:
A Golden Dagger, a fragment of an Old Wizard's withered staff, and some Moon Flame Dry Grass stained with Zorn's blood.
Within the hexagram pattern, thick white candles stood at each corresponding point.
And at the very top, where the smoke from the candles coiled and rose, near the ceiling of the secret chamber,
a strange mass of Black Mist lingered gloomily, a masked face writhing and twisting within it.
From time to time, a deep, strange, and heavy hiss would echo out.
Standing in this small basement felt like being in a dark Purgatory.
A terrifying, evil, and grotesque power had silently unfurled over the past few days as the altar was set up.
Zorn, who always liked to be prepared, was waiting for the first crimson glow of the coming blood moon.
A power that meant danger, Death, and fear to others.
But to the child of destiny, the trendsetter of the era, the favored of fate, the perfect vessel for an Evil God,
that power was desperately eager to merge perfectly with Zorn Corick.
So much so that the moment Zorn entered,
the power of the Sequence began to twist and struggle, drawing closer to him.
The Sequence and inheritance from the Evil Spirit Wizard were desperate to reach their proper place.
"Oh! My dear little one, no need to rush just yet..."
A strange smile played on Zorn's lips. He reached out, gently caressing the air in front of him as he muttered to himself in a low voice.
"Look what I've brought you. Fresh, nutritious, and delicious food."
In a corner of the chamber lay twenty to thirty shriveled gray rat corpses, drained of their life and vital essence.
Of course, there were also other gray rats kept in an iron cage, reserved for later use.
'But just eating these is far from enough.'
'Offerings!'
Zorn needed a sufficient number of offerings.
Only then, when he inherited the [Evil Spirit Wizard] Sequence... would his Spirituality be more abundant,
his Evil Energy more plentiful,
and his physical form more grotesque.
And today, these two Level Two Transcendents were the perfect offerings.
As Zorn chanted the sacrificial Spell,
the nearly-dead [Thief] was rapidly drained of his life, vital essence, soul, and the "Spirituality" that formed his Extraordinary core.
This Extraordinary Spirituality could be called the very core of a Transcendent, their most crucial part.
If a perfect "Spiritual Crystal Core" was processed properly, a new Transcendent could be born.
But now, these two potential and extremely valuable "Spiritual Crystal Cores" were both being sacrificed by Zorn.
After the Evil Spirit ritual finished devouring the [Thief], it was the [Soul Feeder]'s turn.
When Zorn opened the [Soul Feeder]'s body bag,
the originally burly man now had a deathly pale face and was trembling violently. His eyes were shut tight, but blood gushed from them ceaselessly, like two writhing springs of gore.
He was a man who consorted with Evil Spirits, committed robbery, and extorted people through kidnapping—a thoroughly vicious criminal.
From the moment he entered this seemingly ordinary chamber,
he had only glanced at the thing deep within the altar—he swore, it was just a single glance.
In that instant, endless fear and darkness had consumed him.
A terrifying hand reached deep into his soul and heart, unhurriedly pulling out his memories, emotions, and humanity, strand by strand.
Before that horrifying power, everything about him was effortlessly laid bare, seen through, and analyzed!
Sinister Spiritual Energy poured into him, like a Hunter injecting digestive fluids to liquefy its prey before enjoying the meal.
Looking at the [Soul Feeder], who was mired in terror and despair,
Zorn's smile was calm yet unsettling.
'He wouldn't provoke those he shouldn't.'
'But he also wouldn't let go of any soul that needed to be redeemed and purified.'
'For these damned criminals, this will be their best final resting place.'
At first, the [Soul Feeder] still resisted.
But once the sinister Spiritual Energy was fully injected, permeating the depths of his Sequence Spirituality,
he quickly became devout and fanatical.
He crawled out of the body bag and knelt before the altar like a faithful Believer.
He murmured and cried out in a low voice.
"Great Dominator of Evil Spirits, you are my everything."
"I am willing to offer myself, hoping only that you might enjoy a moment of Joy."
"I hope my bones can become a humble stepping stone beneath your throne as you ascend."
Amidst his quiet and eerie declarations, his flesh, bones, soul, the [Soul Feeder]'s Spirituality, and the vicious spirits he had imprisoned all disintegrated, transforming into a sacrificial feast of flesh and soul.
It was all devoured by that sinister Sequence, the [Evil Spirit Wizard].
And Zorn watched this entire scene unfold with a detached gaze from beginning to end.
At the same time, he was also questioning the [Soul Feeder] for information, such as where he currently lived, the funds they had on hand, and so on.
As Transcendents who lived by robbery, they still had a fair amount of wealth.
Using the methods of the [Evil Spirit Wizard],
he could squeeze every last drop of value from these criminals.
Under normal circumstances,
once a Transcendent's "Sequence Spirituality" was corrupted,
they would become bizarre and abnormal.
Over time, they would gradually lose control, mutate, and eventually cause harm and disaster.
[Disorder]
This was a common trait of nearly all corruption, mutation, and loss of control.
But the [Evil Spirit Wizard], as the first World-level major boss,
the [Evil Energy] it controlled exhibited a remarkable degree of [Order].
As a result, the Transcendents it corrupted, enslaved, and controlled were almost impossible to detect for a very long time.
The [Fighting Master] Sequence.
At most, it could only ball up a fist and brutally smash an enemy's skull.
The [Evil Spirit Wizard], however, could use its influence to silently enslave others and pierce through an enemy's heart.
You never know when your own colleague has already become a lackey of an Evil God.
You never know when a certain nobleman has been silently imprisoned by an Evil Spirit.
You never know when a key informant has already set a death trap for you.
The Holy Fierce Sun Church.
Ogrande City Hall.
The parliament of Ostanton.
They would allow a hundred, even a thousand, Sequences like the Fighting Master to exist.
But!
They would absolutely never permit the existence of an [Evil Spirit Wizard]—a Sequence that could beguile the hearts of men, possessed astonishing infiltration capabilities, could create Believers, and had the characteristics of an Evil God.
But the [Evil Spirit Wizard]—that crucial part of an unspeakable Evil God—was about to be born.
And its birth could not be altered by any will.
This was the tide of the era, the very trajectory of fate!