He meticulously examined every detail on the panel of the major boss, the Evil Spirit Wizard.
If he were to dig deeper, Zorn could write an entire dissertation on the hidden attributes and traits of every single line of text on this panel.
After all, back in the day, the Players' research into the major boss, the Evil Spirit Wizard, was truly on par with academic study.
Several unique analysis threads would pop up every day.
As a recognized World-level boss, his depth and power were beyond question.
Zorn sized up the panel. Beyond his amazement, he was also struck by many new insights.
One of these insights was that the Evil Spirit Wizard he had become was not the "battle-damaged version" but the true "complete version."
As he mulled this over, his gaze fell upon [Talent].
The SSS-level [Mortality and Rebirth] and [Evil Spirit Authority].
These were the most terrifying and pride-inducing aspects of the Evil Spirit Wizard, Zorn Corick.
[Mortality and Rebirth] was an extremely rare method of Resurrection.
Within the major boss Evil Spirit Wizard's Divine Kingdom dungeon, the "Fallen Poem of the Evil Spirit."
He had three chances to resurrect.
In other words, Players had to defeat him four times to officially secure the kill.
Even before the Fallen Poem of the Evil Spirit chapter, if Players managed to luckily kill the "Evil Spirit Wizard" before he had fully matured...
...he would use [Mortality and Rebirth] to escape and resurrect. He could even replenish the charges of [Mortality and Rebirth] through slaughter.
The battle-damaged version of the Evil Spirit Wizard only had three uses of [Mortality and Rebirth].
But now, Zorn's [Mortality and Rebirth] had five.
According to firsthand Player data, five resurrections meant this was the genuine "complete version."
Compared to the life-saving [Mortality and Rebirth]...
...the true threat to the World, the thing that made so many factions wary, was [Evil Spirit Authority].
"[Evil Spirit Authority] (SSS-level): You can grasp the Spiritual Root Source and reshape it."
To put it in layman's terms...
Zorn Corick could passively influence the Spiritual Root Source and self-will of those around him, turning them into loyal Believers.
By actively using this Ability, he could change the very souls and wills of others, directly converting them into his loyal Believers.
And these Believers, in turn, could provide the Evil Spirit Wizard with a continuous supply of their excess Spirituality.
He was a walking source of corruption, a born proselytizer, a terrifying Demon who siphoned Spirituality.
This was the major boss, the Evil Spirit Wizard, Zorn Corick.
The very core of what the Esoteric Sect coveted and the Church feared.
As Zorn ventured deeper into the sewers...
...the constant "SQUEAK SQUEAK" of gray rats echoed around him.
Thanks to the influence of the blood moon, almost all the gray rats were in a state of mutation.
Sensing the bizarre and grotesque power that permeated the air, Zorn fell into thought.
'The blood moon will be the catalyst for the Rat Plague.'
'Soon... Ogrande City will face a terrifying Rat Plague.'
Right now, Zorn was undoubtedly a beneficiary of this rodent calamity.
He continuously siphoned the life and Spirituality from the mutated gray rats that swarmed out of the darkness.
The "Elite Mutated Gray Rats"—those that had absorbed sinister powers, causing their Spirituality to distort and drive them mad, growing to the size of small dogs—were especially effective at sating Zorn's hunger.
In this distorted, frenzied, and out-of-control state, their Spirituality was highly corrupting. For humans and Transcendent beings, such creatures had to be utterly annihilated.
Otherwise, they would cause spiritual contamination and damage.
But for the [Evil Spirit Wizard]—a part of a certain unnamable Evil God, one who possessed the complete outline of a Sequence—it was a different story.
He himself was the Controller of Calamity and Death.
He fed on such things and savored every moment!
After devouring over a hundred mutated gray rats and more than a dozen Elite Mutated Gray Rats...
...Zorn finally felt somewhat sated.
Just then, he sensed a mysterious power surging and gestating in the depths of the darkness.
If he listened closely, he could even hear faint, indistinct murmurs.
Scrutinizing the darkness, Zorn's pupils narrowed.
'Is... the Forbidden Bloodline Sect constructing a bloody ritual? Or do they have some other purpose?'
Whatever it was, Zorn had no intention of investigating.
He had only just received the legacy of the [Evil Spirit Wizard]; he had no desire to provoke those lunatics from the Forbidden Bloodline Sect.
Most importantly, he couldn't afford to provoke them right now.
'If I want to grow strong in peace, I have to be cautious!'
Zorn silently retreated, following the path he had taken.
It wasn't long before he encountered another seven or eight mutated gray rats on his way back, led by an Elite Mutated Gray Rat.
Under the leadership of the Elite Mutated Gray Rat, these mutated rats seemed to be moving... in a squad formation.
"SQUEAK..."
Upon seeing Zorn, the leading Elite Mutated Gray Rat's small eyes, gleaming with a bloody light, locked onto him as it let out a piercing shriek.
Instantly, the seven or eight mutated gray rats behind it adopted a combat stance.
'Has a new Rat King been born?'
Zorn's eyebrow twitched as he watched the scene unfold.
Now that he had acquired the [Evil Spirit Wizard] Sequence, his combat options were no longer as barren as when he was a [Star Trace Fighter].
He pinched the middle finger of his right hand and gave a gentle tug. The entire finger detached cleanly from its base.
As it hit the ground, the finger began to twist and writhe, growing larger before his very eyes.
In moments, the "Forbidden·Double-Ringed Strange Snake," a creature with two serpent heads, materialized before Zorn.
Its body was covered in silver scales that shimmered with a cold, silvery halo.
Its silver pupils were cold and merciless.
Its body was as thick as Zorn's arm at its widest point, and it was a full six feet long.
"HSSSS..."
Flicking its forked tongue, it stared down its rodent prey, slithering closer with an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Normal Transcendents using Forbidden Sealed Objects could, in most cases, only access the most superficial powers of these Forbidden Items.
However, as an [Evil Spirit Wizard] with the "Forbidden Weaving" Ability, Zorn could delve deeper and unleash the true forbidden properties of these terrifying Forbidden Sealed Objects.
[Forbidden Weaving] was both an "Amplifier" and a "Constraint Device" for Forbidden Sealed Objects.
Zorn had been nurturing this "Ring of the Two Serpents" for some time.
It was the perfect opportunity to use his powerful "Forbidden Weaving" Ability to unleash the ring's forbidden power.
Against this terrifying and highly active Sealed Object...
...the mutated rat squad's attacks couldn't leave so much as a scratch on the "Forbidden·Double-Ringed Strange Snake."
The "Forbidden·Double-Ringed Strange Snake," however, would snatch a mutated gray rat and swallow it in a single gulp.
After it had devoured all the mutated gray rats...
...the Forbidden·Double-Ringed Strange Snake circled Zorn twice before slithering ahead to clear a path.
It was only when Zorn reached the sewer exit that the Forbidden·Double-Ringed Strange Snake swiftly coiled up his body and merged back into him, becoming his middle finger once more.
However, Zorn didn't surface. He simply stood there, bathing in the quiet darkness of the sewer.
After a long moment, he slowly opened his eyes.
His brown pupils seemed even more profound than the darkness itself.
'Even after using the power of Forbidden Weaving, my Evil Witch Spirit wasn't depleted in the slightest.'
'From the moment I received the inheritance to the entire process of devouring and absorbing in the sewers, I haven't lost any Evil Witch Spirituality at all.'
'This...'
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, a sense of relief washing over him.
'This is proof that the Sequence is a perfect, self-contained loop.'
He had come down here to hunt mutated gray rats for two reasons.
One was to satiate his ravenous soul.
The other was to conduct a small experiment to verify his theory.
And now, it seemed the results of that verification were highly satisfactory.
The "Zorn Corick" of the original timeline had an incomplete Sequence, which caused his Evil Witch Spirituality to constantly leak away.
He had to kill constantly just to replenish what was lost, let alone raise his Level and strength.
At the same time, the leaking Evil Witch Spirituality was itself a contaminant.
His old butler, Glangk, had been contaminated by it.
One defenseless night, with a ferocious and twisted expression, he had used a dagger to rip open the chest of the young, naive Zorn Corick, rummaging around inside for something.
Betrayed by the person closest to him, Zorn Corick met a painful and unforgettable first Death in a state of shock. It caused his young heart to silently twist and darken.
He used [Mortality and Rebirth] to resurrect, then took the very dagger Glangk had used on him and cut off the butler's head.
As he buried Glangk, he also buried the last of his own friendship and trust.
From that day forward, he never trusted anyone again.
Even later, when he learned it was all caused by his own leaking Evil Witch Spirituality...
...the Zorn Corick who had already experienced far too much betrayal, slaughter, and Death did not choose to forgive himself.
He hated himself, and he hated this World!
He swore that he would personally bury this world filled with pain!
'You must control the Sequence, not be controlled by it.'
The consensus of the Legendary Players from his past surfaced deep within Zorn's soul.
As a complete [Evil Spirit Wizard] Sequence, it was far more subject to "Order."
The difficulty of controlling it had dropped significantly.
'The time... is about right.'
He pushed open the sewer cover. Spreading his palm, he felt as if he could grasp the blood moon's light, which flowed like water.
'It's time to see the games and struggles of those caught in the tangled web of fate.'
'And along the way, I should summon my Guardian.'
Zorn began to walk toward his manor.