The Low-key Evil Wizard BOSS-Chapter 39 - 35: Altar - Calamity Origin Land

Faced with the sudden Surprise Attack, Zorn, who possessed the [Fighting Master] Sequence, reacted with lightning speed.

He leaned back, twisting his upper body at an unbelievable angle.

While dodging the attack, he simultaneously shot his right palm toward the horrifying monster’s gaping maw.

The bloodthirsty monster showed no fear of Zorn’s palm strike.

Instead, it lunged forward and bit down hard on his hand.

RRRIP~~

It sounded like flesh being torn away.

Zorn and the hazy afterimage shot past each other.

He quickly retreated a few steps.

The terrifying monster hissed, circling rapidly twice in the darkness.

Only then did Zorn get a clear look at the horrifying, mutated monster that had ambushed him.

It had powerful, thick lower limbs that supported its upright posture.

Its upper body, however, was hunched over in a grotesque stance.

Its upper limbs were slender, ending in blade-like claws that scraped against the sewer walls with a sharp SSSKRTCH.

Dingy, coarse fur covered its entire body, and a thick tail swung back and forth in the darkness.

Its head was a massive rat’s head, as large as a human skull.

This was a "Nightmare Ratman" that had just finished its initial development.

Zorn narrowed his eyes, studying the strange species before him, a creature born from the Catastrophe.

’A Nightmare Ratman has already appeared this early in the Rat Plague. It seems the [Forbidden Bloodline] hasn’t been stingy with their investment deep down here.’

’I can feel the Catastrophe Power writhing here. This Calamity Rat plague is far more violent than any before.’

’Also, this thing knows some simple Blood Sacrifice Ceremony. It already possesses a rudimentary intellect, so it can barely be considered an ’Extraordinary Species’.’

As the [Forbidden Bloodline], an Evil God Esoteric Sect organization, used rituals and offered sacrifices, they channeled a portion of the [Double-Ringed Snake]’s Bloodline Power.

The sewers of Ogrande City had now become a "hotbed" and "incubation ground" for the Catastrophe and its terrifying creatures.

The "Nightmare Ratmen" born in this environment were extremely difficult and troublesome to deal with.

If Ogrande City failed to extinguish the [Rat Plague] in time, it would escalate, and in an extreme case, the entire city could become contaminated.

All sorts of bizarre and grotesque powers—rat plagues, physical mutations, bloodline contamination, Spiritual distortions, and more—would radiate outward.

At that point, Ogrande City would become a terrifying, real-life "Calamity Origin Land."

The entire city, and everyone in it, would have to be... purified!

Fortunately, Ogrande City Hall had already taken notice of the rat infestation and had begun to take action.

The disaster wouldn’t be allowed to worsen to that extent.

In the dark, silent sewers, the newborn Nightmare Ratman stared at Zorn with its crimson eyes, a sharp glint revealing its greed, bloodlust, and madness.

Dangling from its mouth was one of Zorn’s fingers.

In the earlier Surprise Attack, it had bitten off Zorn’s middle finger.

The Nightmare Ratman tilted its head back, its long tongue wrapping around Zorn’s finger.

GULP!

It swallowed Zorn’s finger whole.

Then, the Nightmare Ratman’s fur trembled as it cautiously backed away. Its body, as if being wiped by an eraser, began to fade into thin air.

It vanished as it retreated.

The Nightmare Ratman was about to launch its next attack.

HISS!

The piercing hiss had just begun when it was abruptly cut short.

Immediately after, the Nightmare Ratman came crashing down from above.

GURGLE...

It thrashed wildly on the ground, its throat seemingly blocked as it let out agonized, wailing hisses.

Blood gushed from its mouth, eyes, and ears, splattering everywhere as it rolled.

In just a few moments, the Nightmare Ratman, an Extraordinary Species capable of easily killing a grown man, fell silent.

Its abdomen was still twitching and writhing.

A short while later, the Double-Ringed Snake, having eaten its fill, slowly slithered out of the creature’s mouth.

Zorn had deliberately let it bite off his finger.

With that simple setup, the Nightmare Ratman had fallen right into his trap.

Zorn didn’t even have to lift a finger himself.

「A moment later.」

A dingy, thumb-sized "Calamity Rat Crystal Core" materialized from the Nightmare Ratman’s corpse.

Zorn opened his palm and made a light grasping motion.

SQUEAK...

Accompanied by a terrified, spiritual shriek, the Nightmare Ratman’s distorted Wandering Soul was easily pulled out by Zorn.

As ferocious as it had been when it ambushed Zorn, that was how terrified it was now that it faced him in death.

The [Evil Spirit Wizard] was the fated end for countless Spirit Bodies and souls.

Pinching the Nightmare Ratman’s Wandering Soul between his fingers, Zorn mulled it over for a moment.

Then he merged it into the Calamity Rat Crystal Core.

This particular "Nightmare Ratman" possessed an invisibility Ability.

’If I collect a few more "Spiritual Ratman Crystal Cores" from Nightmare Ratmen with invisibility, I could find an [Alchemist] or a [Craftsmanship Master] from the Extraordinary Sequences to help forge Extraordinary Equipment like an "Invisibility Cloak."’

’When everyone’s Sequence Level is still low, an item like that would be incredibly effective for assassinations, quick getaways, or eavesdropping.’

’After all, it’s something every [Player] has.’

Zorn carefully placed the "Calamity Rat Crystal Core" into a small iron box.

Only then did Zorn proceed deeper into the darkness.

Using the darkness as a concealing curtain, Zorn moved silently through the depths of the quiet sewers, resonating with the Catastrophe, dancing with Death.

About a quarter of an hour later, Zorn successfully reached his target area.

This was a relatively wide underground corridor.

It was damp and cold, with small patches of blue fluorescent moss. A great number of gray rats lived here.

It was the perfect location for a hidden "trap altar."

In a corner, Zorn began to set up the ritual.

In the center was a three-branched candelabrum. When lit, the three black candles burned with an unusually strange and dim flame.

To the left was a desiccated Witch’s eyeball, which still retained some of the Witch’s Magic Power.

The first item on the right was a twisted, gnarled goat’s horn.

The final offering was the "Spiritual Ratman Crystal Core" that Zorn had just handcrafted.

Originally, Zorn had planned to kill a few more Elite Mutated Gray Rats to use as a substitute.

But then he remembered this trap altar was meant to leverage the "Black Mist" to accelerate his own growth.

So Zorn decided to invest a little more.

’In any case, the [Rat Plague] has arrived, so there won’t be a shortage of Ratman Crystal Cores.’

The ritual was set.

As the hazy smoke released by the black candles dispelled the darkness and revealed the specific environment of the Ritual Platform, Zorn silently chanted a prayer in the Saint Maya Ancient Secret Language.

For the purposes of ritual application, the Saint Maya Ancient Language was better than the Taes Ancient Language.

If one were communicating with the great and unnamable, then the Taes Ancient Language would be superior.

As Zorn prayed again and again, silently, the "Calamity Origin Land," Zorn’s place of origin, gave a response.

A thin "Calamity Black Mist" slowly descended, then silently dissipated into the surroundings.

As time went on, the Calamity Black Mist grew thicker, nearly enveloping Zorn, the altar, and the strange, black candlelight completely.

Suddenly!

Wooo...

A sound like low, whimpering sobs suddenly washed over him.

Then...

"Er... Gu... Nu... Si..."

"Er... Gu... Nu... Si..."

A heavy, melodious, and bizarre whisper drew closer.

A terrifying, ancient Evil God seemed to have felt the writhing Catastrophe calling to it.

Wooo...

In that instant, a bizarre squall surged violently.

It seemed to want to tear the very darkness to shreds.

Zorn, caught in the gale, was buffeted from side to side.

The three black flames seemed to simultaneously open their own terrible eyes.

In that moment, everything was devoured by darkness and firelight.

The surroundings fell quiet.

Zorn looked ahead.

The altar, the offerings, and all the strange phenomena from before had vanished completely, as if it had all been a dream, making reality itself seem unreal.

Where the altar had been, only a thin, hazy black mist remained.

’Black Mist trap, complete!’

Zorn reached out his palm and gently touched the hazy Black Mist.

SQUEAK...

At the same time, a gray rat darting out from a corner seemed to sense something.

It quickly skittered over.

As it neared the hazy Black Mist, a shadowy tentacle silently emerged.

The shadow coiled around the gray rat, dragging it directly into the depths of the hazy Black Mist.

SQUEAK...

After two faint, barely audible screeches, the Black Mist devoured it.

As it rapidly digested the gray rat, the hazy Black Mist seemed to grow a little stronger.

At the same time, Zorn could feel it. The "Catastrophe Power" here in the Ogrande City sewers was beginning to leverage the "Black Mist Power" from the "Calamity Origin Land."

But this also meant that Zorn had begun to use the [Calamity] and leverage it to call upon an even greater power.

This was the beginning of the Evil Spirit Wizard’s path to terror and dread!