Chapter 41: Advancing to Level Two!

The aristocratic academy was being ravaged by swarms of rats and the nightmarish Rat-Men, turning the campus into a stage for a bloody ritual. Teachers and students alike were being torn apart and dragged away in a relentless, ever-growing tide of vermin. The catastrophe showed every sign of escalating further.

It was not until Zorn slew the Rat King that the surging tide was abruptly severed.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."

Countless mutated grey rats and their elite counterparts emitted piercing shrieks. The order of the rat swarm began to fracture. The frenzied, bloodthirsty Rat-Men and many of the plague rats grew restless and agitated.

"Squeak..."

"Squeak..."

The swarms chattered in chaotic, disorganized cries. Even the intelligent Rat-Men sensed that something was wrong. Dragging their original spoils, some even began to discard their human prey. The Rat-Men, accompanied by a large number of plague rats, started to retreat. However, the mutated grey rats and the larger elite specimens began to scurry about aimlessly.

The human survivors, trembling and weeping, fled in panic. For a time, the entire campus became even more chaotic, but overall, it was no longer as terrifying as before. Previously, the swarm had acted like an army, pillaging everywhere; now, it had become a scattered pile of sand. Had Zorn not killed the Rat King, the casualties would have been far greater.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Zorn and Jolia blended into the terrified crowd and quickly fled the plague-ridden campus. Along the way, Zorn managed to rescue two students who were being dragged away by plague rats.

"Oh! Thank the great Holy Sun, Master Zorn, you finally made it out!"

Seeing Zorn sprinting toward him, Old Nero, the coachman who had been kneeling by the carriage praying to the Great Sun, hurriedly stood up. A look of joyful relief washed over his wrinkled face. When he saw the grey rats, his expression shifted, and he climbed onto the carriage with remarkable speed.

As soon as Zorn entered the carriage, Old Nero immediately started the horses, rapidly pulling away from this terrifying place of disaster.

"Hoo..."

Zorn let out a sigh of relief as he settled into the carriage. While fleeing through the crowd, he had noticed some extraordinary individuals hidden within the academy taking action; they were likely officials from Ogran City. The city placed significant importance on the security of the aristocratic academy.

Mutated grey rats—elite mutated grey rats—plague rats—Rat-Men.

The approximate trajectory of how the disaster had been nurtured in the sewers surfaced in Zorn's mind. Those "plague rats," standing up to a meter tall, were capable of biting an adult man to death. The "Rat-Men," who possessed rudimentary intelligence and spiritual sensitivity, were already incipient extraordinary species. Combined with their ability to manipulate the swarm, and guided by a Rat King, every appearance they made was a catastrophic disaster of death.

More importantly...

Inside the carriage, Zorn rubbed his temples. As he fled outside the school, he had noticed a grey-green miasma leaking out from the area of the sewer vents.

Today was the first weekend of June. Driven by the evil cult known as the [Forbidden Bloodline], they had successfully pried open the bloodline power of the sleeping Twin-Ringed Serpent. Cursed blood was flowing, and a terrifying corruption was spreading. The "catastrophic ecology" within the sewers had officially been birthed; the disaster had taken shape.

The Rat Kings were impatient to emerge and feed, growing rapidly in the cataclysmic environment. Much like the "announcement gift" of some damned evil spirit, the Rat Kings also hungered to carve their own stigmata of calamity into the prelude of Ogran City.

Next, it would be up to Ogran City and the Church to intervene and handle this disaster.

Inside the carriage, Zorn carefully examined his attribute page.

[Star Mark · Fighter] (30th Anniversary Exclusive Commemorative Edition) (Untradable)
Level: 1 (99%)
[Talent]
Steel Will · Iron Bone (SS Grade): You possess the will and physique of steel.
[Skill]
Basic · Skull-Cracking Fist: LV1 (0%)

The [Star Mark · Fighter]'s Skull-Cracking Fist had reached LV1. Zorn had already sensed it moments ago. At level 1, the Skull-Cracking Fist—whether in punching speed, destructive power, or the deployment of internal energy—had reached a new level, fully capable of suppressing the Rat King boss.

Zorn then looked at his own level, his brows furrowed slightly. At 99% of level 1, he had not yet broken through to level 2. Just a moment ago, he had clearly grasped the feeling of that metamorphosis, but... he found it difficult to push the process any further.

"Normally, this should be a smooth transition; advancing from level 1 to level 2 is not difficult."

"Is it a problem with the dual sequence?"

Zorn could not help but rub his temples. He had waited a long time for this disaster to erupt. If he could not use the disaster to break through, he would need to rely on the Star Mark or the power of the "miasmatic black fog" leveraged by his previous trap ritual.

As he mused, a burst of noise and clamor rose from the streets outside.

"Ah... run!"

"Look, what is that?"

"...So many rats!"

"Oh! My god, those damned rats, how dare they?"

Zorn pulled back the carriage curtain. Looking out, he saw the towering, marble-hewn spires of the Holy Sun Church, rising like steep sacred swords in the distance. At that moment, dense swarms of grey rats and plague rats were climbing toward the top of the towers in droves.

The grey tide of rats surged upward, as if demons were slowly devouring the landmark of the Holy Sun Church in Ogran City.

"So that's how it is!"

Zorn suddenly gained some insight; he knew the catalyst for his breakthrough.

He... was an Evil Spirit. Order was watching him, and he needed to wait for chaos and calamity to bloom.

Soon, the time reached four in the afternoon. By now, the towers of the Holy Sun Church had been completely submerged by the rat tide.

Clang!
Clang!

The thick, melodious, and solemn church bells rang out for the four o'clock vespers! Normally, they would ring four times. But this time, the bells stopped abruptly after only two tolls. Immediately following, a wave of screams and shouts erupted from the crowd.

Zorn looked through the glass. The golden bell was falling toward the earth like a meteorite.

"Crash—thud—"

The dull sound struck everyone’s heart like a heavy hammer. The bell of the Holy Sun Church had been dropped from the towering structure after the rats bit through its ropes. In that instant, Zorn felt the power of calamity reach its peak.

"The local rat gang is truly ill-mannered; they are incredibly arrogant!"

Zorn could not suppress the smile on his lips, for he had grasped the opportunity for his breakthrough.

Using the chaotic calamity as a shroud, Zorn quietly began his promotion and metamorphosis. His level advanced to 2 first, followed by his "Internal Energy" and "Evil Energy," both beginning to transform.

"Sss, sss, sss..."

His physical body, life force, soul, and sequence spirituality were all undergoing a rapid, all-encompassing transformation. The evil spirit characteristics of the [Evil Spirit Warlock], which would normally have diffused and drained the life from everything around him, were completely contained by the "Fighter Sequence," the "Star Mark," the "Steam Factory," and the soaring "catastrophic ecology" outside, not allowing a single trace to leak out.

"Hoo..."

After a long while, Zorn, having completed his level 2 transformation, exhaled softly. He carefully sensed the effects of his breakthrough in every aspect.

"Physical strength, spiritual perception, intensity, and life durability have all been enhanced in every way."

"The Evil Energy and Internal Energy have also completed their metamorphosis."

"Compared to level 1, this level 2 dual-sequence is significantly more powerful."

Opening the system panel, Zorn found he had new gains as he ascended to level two.