Zorn

Biodata

Name	Zorn
Full Name	Zorn Qiong'ang Lebunt 539
Alias(es)	Wizard Zorn; Lord Zorn; Child of the Curse Spirit
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Demon Hunter Wizards; Holy Tribunal; Supreme Council-aligned forces
Occupation/Role	Demon Hunter Wizard; Atoner; Beast King Wizard-like specialist; Ruger and Mahama's senior/handler; trainer of new Demon Hunter Wizards 1045
Rank	High-Rank Wizard; formerly a Third-Ring Origin Wizard 725 1045
Status	Alive
First Appearance	Chapter 357

Power Progression

Stage / Status	Chapter(s)	Details
Demon Hunter Wizard	357, 386	Introduces himself as Wizard Zorn and later invokes the Demon Hunter Wizards mark to take charge of Kurt's demon-related ritual incident.
Third-Ring Wizard	449, 455, 460	Confirmed to be a Third-Ring Wizard; he identifies a True Spirit Council opponent as another third-circle wizard and fights him directly.
Unable to advance to the Fourth Ring	470, 538, 539	At this stage, has not reached the Fourth Ring, reportedly because he cannot forget his past or accept himself. Jillian claims he refuses to use the power he was born with to advance.
Veteran Third-Ring Origin Wizard	725, 892	Explicitly identified as an experienced Origin Wizard. By the later discussion of his path, he is at the limit of the Third Ring, with integrating World Runes representing a major unresolved choice.
Acquires Inverted Cup	890, 891	Receives a Third-Ring wine cup from Ruger, then obtains the unrecorded One-Ring spell under a confidentiality contract. He considers it deeply important to his own path.
High-Rank Wizard	1045	Confirms his recent advancement after using a dark red cup made through Inverted Cup to integrate World Runes linked to demonic chaos. The advancement substantially transforms him and extends his lifespan.

Background / History

Zorn first appears when Ruger and Mahama encounter him during their travels and formally address him as Lord Zorn 357. On the God of Sorrow's remote island, they subsequently learn through Zorn's subordinate that the island is connected to the God of Knowledge and faith-power experiments 360. He later becomes directly involved in Ruger's sublimation preparations, providing guidance on rare materials, faith power, and the history of Beast King Wizards 364.

Zorn's residence functions as a temporary base for an experiment rather than a stable mentoring station. He uses Ruger, Mahama, and Kurt's advancement circumstances to draw out demons, revealing a calculating streak and a willingness to manipulate events from the background 369 386 387.

During Kurt's ascension ritual, Zorn intervenes after a peculiar demon attempts to leave, declares the situation a Demon Hunter Wizards case, and suppresses the demon-related incident while Kurt completes his advancement 386 390. Ruger later receives official credit for participating in the recorded demon-hunting operation; Zorn includes Mahama in the record as well 398.

Zorn is later revealed to have a burdened past tied to curse power. Jillian, a Holy Judgment Wizard, confronts him and accuses him of causing misfortune that cannot be atoned for; a handbook records him as occupying an entire page by himself among those connected to stubborn curse power 530 538. Jillian calls him Zorn Qiong'ang Lebunt and says that he wandered from place to place while growing up, possibly spending more than a decade as a mercenary and losing friends along the way. These details of his travels are presented as Jillian's claims 539. Ruger later reads that Zorn is known as the Child of the Curse Spirit, born from circumstances involving his mother and a curse spirit 552.

The curse handbook explains that Zorn's mother was a frail girl whose soul merged with her curse-spirit friend at the moment it was about to dissipate, restoring her to life. She subsequently grew up, met Zorn's father, and married him, retaining only indistinct memories of her childhood friend. Zorn was born through the extraordinary circumstances created by this union and became a more stable, living source of curses than an ordinary curse spirit; before becoming a wizard, he brought misfortune to his family and hometown because he could not fully control himself 552.

Jillian identifies Zorn as an Atoner who has served as a Demon Hunter Wizard in the nearby seas for a very long time, outlasting successive generations of colleagues 559. She further blames him for the destruction of Grotto City and for killing too many people, although Zorn does not directly answer her accusation 566. Ruger and Mahama later discuss his inadvertent destruction of a Grotto City during childhood and speculate about whether his prolonged residence in the Endless Sea reflects contractual restrictions, unfinished obligations, or his own preference 892. His status as an atoning Demon Hunter Wizard bound by a Holy Tribunal contract and unable to leave at will is subsequently reaffirmed 1045.

Zorn's long familiarity with the Chaotic Star Sea includes maintaining familiars on important islands to monitor events. He does not intervene in every anomaly, instead acting when his own threshold is met or when an opportunity allows him to earn rewards, resolve a demon incident, and save those involved 725.

After years of hesitation over his path, Zorn obtains Ruger's Inverted Cup spell and uses it to help make his long-delayed decision. By their later seaside meeting, he has integrated World Runes linked to demonic chaos and advanced to High-Rank Wizard. He is preparing for an eventual long journey while training another batch of Demon Hunter Wizards in the region 891 1045.

Appearance

Zorn is most often described as a bare-chested, alcohol-reeking wizard with exposed chest hair, messy beard, and an extremely casual bearing 363 386 399.

• Open-fronted wizard robe or exposed chest 388
• Tangled chest hair that houses multiple demonic beasts or familiars 364 388
• Frequently carries or drinks cheap liquor, wine, or fruit wine 363 369 390
• Often appears sleepy, drunk, or sprawled in chairs instead of using his room 386 532
• Gives off the pressure of a formal wizard and is later confirmed as a Third-Ring Wizard 387 388 449 455 460
• Retains his familiar hairy-chested appearance and deliberately open robe after advancing to High-Rank Wizard 1045

Personality

Zorn presents himself as lazy, drunk, and unreliable, often sleeping in odd places, drinking heavily, and showing little concern for proper decorum 361 363 532. His behavior makes him seem careless, but Ruger repeatedly notices that Zorn's actions are more deliberate than they appear 369 398.

He is manipulative and opportunistic when demons are involved. He withholds details from Kurt and Ruger while arranging conditions to “fish up” stronger demons, prioritizing his own experiment and demon-hunting interests over full transparency 369 387.

Despite that, Zorn is knowledgeable and willing to teach when it suits him. He explains faith power, material substitution, Beast King Wizard history, curse effects, and hostile organizations, often mixing serious instruction with drinking and teasing 364 409 460.

Although his laziness is genuine, Zorn is measured and prepared when serious danger arises. Ruger and Mahama gradually come to regard him as dependable, particularly because he anticipates problems and acts decisively during demon-hunting matters 455 538. He also holds a fatalistic view of growth, believing that everyone has their own trial to face 564 575.

Zorn enjoys lively celebrations and informal company. Ruger comes to suspect that his eagerness to join island festivals is not simply a search for free alcohol, but an attachment to the comfortable atmosphere of singing, shared food, and companionship, possibly recalling his wandering and mercenary years. Ruger also considers this a possible reason for Zorn's residence on Kurt's island 712.

His casual confidence can conceal deliberate instruction. During the Foreign God Oversight Council commission, Ruger suspects that Zorn's dismissive remarks about supernatural dangers are intended to provoke the Council's representatives into explaining the risks more fully 724 725. His delight in capturing a powerful demon, however, is openly predatory; he relishes claiming both its body and a fragment of its soul 727.

In dealings over valuable knowledge, Zorn can be scrupulous and generous. Despite his eagerness to study Inverted Cup, he insists on completing Ruger's requested contract first and strengthens its confidentiality restrictions himself. He supplies two complementary spells in exchange and offers further help 891.

Advancement to High-Rank Wizard renews rather than diminishes his humility. Although he initially feels closer to the world, he later becomes more aware of his own smallness and the limits of his understanding, finding this renewed sense of discovery interesting 1045.

Abilities & Skills

Demon Hunter Wizard Authority

Zorn can invoke Demon Hunter Wizards authority and officially classify incidents as demon-hunting operations 386 398.

• Declares Kurt's ritual incident a demon-hunting case 386
• Uses the Demon Hunter Wizards mark to reassure or control the situation 386 455
• Records Ruger and Mahama's participation in a completed demon-hunting operation through their badges 398
• Officially records the True Spirit Council confrontation as a completed demon-hunting incident, entitling the younger Demon Hunter Wizards to rewards 460
• Approves the group's applications to live on nearby islands while explaining the movement restrictions imposed by their observation period 669
• Collects the group's badges and handles the formalities to remove Ruger's probationary status as a Demon Hunter Wizard 722
• Continues leading and training a new batch of Demon Hunter Wizards while preparing for his long journey 1045

Third-Ring Wizardry

Before his High-Rank advancement, Zorn is a confirmed Third-Ring Wizard with substantial experience, allowing him to assess large-scale spatial instability and confront other third-circle wizards 449 455 460.

• Correctly judges that the Fairy Kingdom is breaking apart and nearing destruction from the abnormal ease and speed of its spatial passageways 449
• Recognizes a True Spirit Council opponent as another third-circle wizard before engaging him 455
• Fights the refined True Spirit Council wizard while Ruger, Mahama, and Varin handle the remaining enemies 455
• Remains unable to advance to the Fourth Ring during this period because he cannot reconcile himself with his past; Jillian claims he could have advanced had he accepted and used his innate power 470 538 539
• Is explicitly identified as a veteran Third-Ring Origin Wizard whose experience makes him capable of assisting with unfamiliar supernatural incidents beyond his immediate specialty 725
• Reaches the limit of the Third Ring, with World Rune integration representing a choice that would change both his path and himself 892

High-Rank Wizardry

Zorn eventually advances to High-Rank Wizard through World Rune integration, using a dark red cup created through Ruger's Inverted Cup spell. The integrated runes are linked to demonic chaos 1045.

• Describes the advancement as a profound leap comparable to becoming a One-Ring Wizard, with a more pronounced transformation than the transitions to the Second or Third Ring 1045
• Gains a substantially extended lifespan 1045
• Experiences a heightened closeness to the world during advancement, followed by a deeper awareness of the limits of his knowledge 1045

Demonic Beast / Familiar Control

Zorn keeps numerous demonic beasts inside his chest hair and body, treating them as “little darlings” 364 388.

• Produces a fish-like demonic beast and tears off its skin as ritual material 364
• Houses multiple beast heads with first-, second-, and possibly third-ring strength 388
• Summons a horse-shaped demon with black-flame wings to pull a carriage; Ruger assesses it as at least Second-Ring in strength 447
• Summons a thick snake as transportation through difficult terrain 460
• Uses a small beast to silence an old man's voice 444
• Feeds a dying fairy demon flesh and his blood, transforming it before storing it in his chest hair 449
• Uses potions, items, and a demon-bone key to entice a door-shaped fairy into becoming a familiar 463
• Erases Ruger's Arcane Imprint from a weakened two-headed demon, replaces it with his own, and stores the demon in his chest hair 563
• Stations familiars on key islands to monitor developments throughout the Chaotic Star Sea 725
• Captures a claw-handed demon that is one part of a larger demon comparable in power to an Abyss Lord. He also takes its soul fragment and declares his intention to cultivate it into an independent demon separated from its original body 727
• Has familiars that emerge to guard him while he sleeps and withdraw when he wakes 810

Beast King Wizard Path

Zorn is strongly associated with the Beast King Wizard path, though his version appears unusual and demon-focused 364 393 498.

• Explains Beast King Wizard history and how the path allowed poor-talent wizards to advance 364
• Mahama describes him as likely a special Beast King Wizard rather than a normal sequence wizard 393
• Ruger suspects his path resembles Beast King Wizard methods because of his demon-heart and magical-pet knowledge 498
• Emmanuel's assessment is later recalled as identifying him as a unique kind of Beast King Wizard whose path involves a Demon Nest Being modified by Zorn himself 725 892
• Integrates demonic-chaos World Runes when advancing to High-Rank Wizard 1045

Demon Suppression and Experimentation

Zorn is capable of trapping, baiting, and studying demons during advancement or ascension rituals 386 387.

• Stops a disappearing demon with a thrown object 386
• Interferes with Kurt's ritual beyond its intended scope to draw out stronger demons 387
• Treats demon appearances as experimental opportunities 388
• Is recognized by Ruger's teacher as a demon-nest native walking a path with precedents but not blindly following rules 388 450
• Uses a Pale Yellow Crystal fragment from contaminated remains to summon the officially recognized demon Master Smith 732
• Questions Smith about true-name exposure, experiments, battles, and past injuries while investigating stolen faith power 734
• Warns Smith against excessive use of power that could provoke the Cavern World's will, and restrains his treatment of a valuable otherworldly survivor by pointing out the potential loss of merit stones 745

Curse Spirit Physiology

As the Child of the Curse Spirit, Zorn possesses an inherently curse-linked existence and was once unable to completely restrain the misfortune he caused 552.

• Is described as a walking, moving source of curses rather than a fragile ordinary curse spirit 552
• Keeps many demons locked inside his body, a circumstance Jillian associates with his guilt and formerly stalled advancement 538
• According to Jillian, formerly refuses to use his inborn power to reach the Fourth Ring because he cannot accept himself 539
• Is knowledgeable about curse manifestations, including the disharmonious curse and its effects on speech and behavior 409

Spatial and Travel Methods

Zorn has limited but notable spatial capability and access to special travel tools 448.

• Uses Jillian's combs and a scroll to help a carriage travel toward the Fairy Kingdom 448
• States that he has “dabbled in spatial powers,” though he is not a Gem Summoner 448
• Uses teleportation arrays together with his silver carriage for long-distance travel, including journeys to Falling Moon City and the former territory of the Three-Flame Divine Palace 713 738 739
• Makes his demon familiar both pull the carriage and expend its demonic power to drive it, rather than supplying Magic Stones 809

Knowledge and Mentorship

Zorn provides practical knowledge that helps Ruger solve advancement problems 364 368.

• Explains how faith power can substitute for low-tier missing materials 364
• Advises Ruger to choose Kurt's second method for obtaining faith power support 368
• Warns Ruger and Mahama not to rely too heavily on Return Stones before Abyss exploration 476
• Explains the disharmonious curse and its symptoms 409
• Informs Ruger that formally reporting his advancement as a Demon Hunter Wizard would expose his qualification to seek the inheritance of the ancient Demon Wizard 468
• Explains that the fairies help shape their kingdom and may die with it, or even before its destruction 454
• Cautions Ruger against treating strange temporal phenomena as something he can personally command 564
• Recognizes Ruger's need for a genuine Second-Ring spell and points out that Falling Moon City's institutions should allow him to resolve it 713
• Leaves Arcane Imprints on the younger wizards so he can locate them while they explore Falling Moon City 713 719
• Explains that demonic domains are broad and not reserved for the Demon Wizard alone, informing Ruger's understanding of the paths available to powerful wizards 750
• Exchanges Scorching Wings and Zan Zemanla's Flame Torrent for Inverted Cup, giving Ruger a complementary pair of spells capable of enabling high-speed flight 891

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Wine and liquor bottles — Constantly carried and consumed; often used while teaching or observing events 363 369 390.
• Demon Hunter Wizards badge/mark — Used to assert authority during demon-hunting incidents 386 455.
• Demonic beasts/familiars — Kept in his chest hair or body and summoned for combat, utility, travel, and suppression 364 388 444 447.
• Spatial scroll — Used with Jillian's combs to move the carriage toward the Fairy Kingdom 448.
• Carriage and demon mount — A silver carriage pulled by a horse-shaped demon with black-flame wings 447 468. The familiar also powers the carriage with its own demonic energy, allowing Zorn to avoid supplying Magic Stones 809.
• Demon-bone key — A peculiar key used alongside potions and other items to entice a door-shaped fairy into joining his collection 463.
• Polluted Spring / Defiled Spring — An Abyssal resource Ruger gives him in exchange for guidance; Zorn later uses Defiled Spring in his treatment of a dying fairy 398 449.
• Pale Yellow Crystal fragment — Retrieves a fragment from Badong's transformed legs, stores it in a box, and uses it to summon Master Smith for a separate commission 732.
• Third-Ring Inverted Cup — Receives a wine cup made by Ruger specifically for him to test 890 891.
• Inverted Cup notebook and confidentiality contract — Obtains Ruger's unrecorded spell under a detailed agreement prohibiting its disclosure or submission to the Knowledge Temple 891.
• Dark red wine cup — A cup created through Inverted Cup that Zorn uses in integrating demonic-chaos World Runes and advancing to High-Rank Wizard 1045.

Relationships

• Ruger — Junior Demon Hunter Wizard figure and frequent recipient of Zorn's guidance; Ruger respects him but recognizes his manipulation 364 368 369 476. Ruger later gifts Zorn a weakened two-headed demon, which Zorn accepts and contracts 563. Their relationship develops into a candid exchange of valuable knowledge when Ruger supplies Inverted Cup and Zorn provides two complementary fire spells 891. Zorn later thanks Ruger for the spell's role in his High-Rank advancement, and they share an informal seaside farewell over tea and Sour Mushroom Wine 1045.
• Mahama — Ruger's companion under Zorn's loose supervision; Mahama and Ruger carry Zorn after finding him unconscious 532. An imposter later poses as Mahama but is exposed when unable to produce a Demon Hunter Wizards insignia 566. Zorn approves Mahama's move to a nearby island during the observation period 669. Mahama eventually leaves to become a Free Demon Hunter 892.
• Kurt — Pseudo-god and later First-Ring Wizard whose advancement ritual Zorn uses to lure demons 368 386 387. Ruger later speculates that Zorn's fondness for the island and its celebrations may have meant he already intended to help Kurt's advancement 712.
• Jillian — Third-Ring Holy Judgment Wizard with a hostile personal history toward Zorn; she confronts him over his past and curse-related misfortune 530 538. She claims to have come to help him, identifies him as an Atoner, and blames him for Grotto City's destruction 539 559 566. She also contends that his rejection of his innate power has prevented his advancement 539. Zorn refers to her as an annoying woman while explaining that the group's observation period suspends her authority to requisition their help 669. She later accompanies the group during the Foreign God Oversight Council and Smith commissions, and Zorn expects that she and others may leave the region before long 720 735 1045.
• Emmanuel Caputo — Ruger's teacher; identifies Zorn as a demon-nest native with an unconventional but precedent-based path 388. His assessment is later recalled as recognizing Zorn's self-modified Demon Nest Being and unusual Beast King Wizard approach 725 892.
• Varin — Trainee Demon Hunter Wizard who travels with Zorn's group during the Fairy Kingdom arc 444 448. She responds promptly when Zorn calls for her during the later island incident 566. After her later travels, Zorn recognizes a firm choice and determination beneath her gentleness, accepts her carefully selected wine, and addresses her as Wizard Varin 810.
• Mona — Prophecy Wizard who travels with Zorn's group. She volunteers to guide the search for Smith's target, surprising Zorn because he regards most Prophecy Wizards as reluctant to undertake such direct work 738 739.
• Master Smith — Golden-horned, officially recognized demon whom Zorn summons for a high-level commission concerning stolen and contaminated faith power 732 734. Zorn questions him carefully, helps pursue the target, and later restrains his anger toward the otherworldly survivor by invoking the risks of excessive power and the survivor's potential value 739 745.
• True Spirit Council members — Hostile organization encountered by Zorn and the group; Zorn fights a third-circle wizard from their side and records the conflict as a demon-hunting operation 455 460. He explains that forces living in the cracks include groups founded by powerful wizards who left the Supreme Council over differences in ideals 497.
• Foreign God Oversight Council — Temporary collaborators in the investigation of distorted, crystallized remains and contaminated faith power 720 721 722. Although not a member, Zorn's experience meets their standards for handling unusual supernatural incidents 725. He uses the cooperation to earn merit stones and reach the location of a separate Demon Hunter commission; their joint arrangement ends after Badong and his familiar are taken into custody 732.
• Holy Tribunal — The organization has a standing arrangement that permits Zorn, despite being a Demon Hunter Wizard, to move freely among the Endless Sea's nameless islets 539. His service as an Atoner is also governed by a contract restricting his ability to leave at will 1045.

Story Role / Major Arcs

God of Sorrow Island

Zorn's influence is felt through his subordinate and the island's knowledge-and-faith experiments 360. He later provides Ruger with a substitute material and teaches him how faith power can make it viable for a low-level sublimation ritual 364 365.

Kurt's Advancement Incident

Zorn quietly positions himself around Kurt's ascension ritual and waits for demon activity. When the ritual produces an opportunity, he intervenes as a Demon Hunter Wizard, suppresses the demon incident, and helps turn the event into an officially recorded operation 369 386 398.

Curse and Past Revelations

After Zorn is found unconscious, Jillian arrives and reveals that his past is tied to stubborn curse power, guilt, and demons locked inside him 532 538 539. She alleges that he harmed people during years of wandering and that his refusal to accept his inborn power has kept him from the Fourth Ring 539. Ruger's later reading identifies him as the Child of the Curse Spirit and reveals that his mother was revived through her merger with a curse spirit before Zorn's birth 552.

Jillian later identifies Zorn as an Atoner who has spent a long time serving as a Demon Hunter Wizard in the nearby seas. She continues attempting to persuade him to accept her help while accusing him of being responsible for Grotto City's destruction 559 566.

Ruger and Mahama later revisit the possibility that Zorn's Holy Tribunal obligations have confined him to the Endless Sea. Ruger suspects that acquiring Inverted Cup may change his circumstances, particularly because World Rune integration would alter both Zorn's path and his identity 892.

Fairy Kingdom Journey

Zorn leads or accompanies Ruger, Mahama, Varin, and others into the Fairy Kingdom, using a demon-drawn carriage, spatial tools, and his familiars 447 448 468. During the journey, he recognizes that the Fairy Kingdom is nearing destruction, transforms and recruits several fairies, and confronts members of the True Spirit Council 449 455 463. He gives Ruger a simple combat order: “Don't hold back” 455.

Later Island Events

After Ruger's Abyss journey, Zorn accepts a weakened two-headed demon as a gift and binds it with his own contractual method 563. During a later gathering, Jillian invokes joint Holy Judgment Wizard and Demon Hunter Wizard command authority, exposing an impostor who had been posing as Mahama; Zorn remains composed and has Varin pour him wine despite Jillian's renewed accusations 566.

When Ruger, Mahama, Varin, and Mona later face danger on another island, Varin and Mona expect Zorn and the Holy Tribunal to find a way to address the situation. Zorn's arrival is not shown at that point 589.

Zorn subsequently waits for the returning group in his silver carriage, complains that he has been rationing his last bottle of wine, and assesses the unusual items they have acquired 668. He approves their relocation to nearby islands but explains that their experience on the unusual island requires an observation period during which they cannot leave the area without permission 669.

Falling Moon City and the Foreign God Oversight Council Commission

After several years without seeing Ruger, Zorn reunites with the group and recognizes Ruger's advancement to the Second Ring. He joins the island's celebrations, accepts Ruger's wine, and sleeps until the following afternoon before their departure 712 713.

Zorn takes Ruger, Mahama, Jillian, Varin, and Mona to Falling Moon City to meet a client. He leaves Arcane Imprints on the younger wizards and allows them to explore while he handles business, giving Ruger the opportunity to visit the Knowledge Temple and obtain a genuine Second-Ring spell 713 719.

The party is brought to the Foreign God Oversight Council, which is investigating bodies transformed into mixtures of flesh and crystal carrying faith, demonic, divine, and wizard auras 720 721. Zorn arranges the removal of Ruger's probationary Demon Hunter status, and the group travels toward the Twilight Sea 722.

During an operation around a palace where ascension rituals are being prepared, Zorn volunteers to enter rather than remain outside. His apparent nonchalance prompts detailed warnings from the Council, which emphasizes that his Origin Wizard status and specialized demon methods are not representative of all Third-Ring Wizards 724 725. He later claims the claw-handed demon Ruger has subdued, taking its body and soul fragment for cultivation before directing Ruger onward to another target 727.

As the investigation continues, Zorn reveals that the local wizards have been gathering regularly to pray to the God of Wizards 729. The Council eventually takes custody of Badong, his apprentice, and his contaminated tower-familiar. Its representatives then end their collaboration with Zorn, who accepts their departure without protest 732.

Smith's Faith-Power Commission

After the Council leaves, Zorn retrieves a Pale Yellow Crystal fragment and reveals that his group's true objective is a separate high-level commission. Their earlier cooperation supplied merit stones and access to the relevant location. He uses the fragment to summon Master Smith 732.

Zorn questions Smith about the theft of faith power that appears to implicate the demon. Smith's account of being struck by a fragment of a falling world points the investigation toward the former territory of the Three-Flame Divine Palace 734. When Smith proposes using Ruger to carry the tangled faith power and trace the thief, Zorn leaves the choice to Ruger rather than deciding for him. He and the Holy Judgment Wizard observe the resulting ritual without probing too deeply 734 735.

Mona volunteers to guide the party, and they travel by carriage and teleportation array to ancient ruins. Zorn and Smith pursue the fleeing target but return empty-handed after the target doubles back and conceals himself 738 739.

Within the shifting city that follows, Zorn is seen calmly drinking. When he notices Ruger and Mona across the street, the surroundings immediately change, supporting Ruger's theory that the city prevents the separated companions from reuniting 742.

After Ruger returns with an otherworldly survivor, Smith angrily brands the man for siphoning faith power through Demon Remains. Zorn warns Smith not to expend excessive power or destroy a potentially valuable subject, bringing the demon's attack to a halt before he kills the survivor 745.

Inverted Cup Exchange

Ruger gives Zorn a Third-Ring wine cup during Mona's advancement celebration. Zorn remains composed while testing it, asks questions, and expresses a wish to use it for several consecutive days 890 891.

Three days later, Zorn visits Ruger to ask about the spell responsible for the cups. Ruger identifies it as the unrecorded One-Ring spell Inverted Cup and supplies a notebook containing it. Rather than demanding an inflated price, Ruger asks for secrecy and a fire-related flight spell. Zorn responds with Scorching Wings and Zan Zemanla's Flame Torrent, insists on completing a high-grade contract before reading the notebook, and adds further restrictions to protect the knowledge 891.

Ruger later keeps his own additional Inverted Cup research notes separate from the version shared with Zorn, respecting the differences between their approaches to the spell 924.

High-Rank Advancement and Preparations for Departure

During a later visit to Ruger's island, Zorn recognizes that Ruger has become a true Third-Ring Wizard and confirms that he himself has recently advanced to High-Rank Wizard. He credits Inverted Cup with helping him resolve a decision he had struggled with for years, explaining that a dark red cup made through the spell enabled his integration of demonic-chaos World Runes 1045.

Zorn describes the transformation, extended lifespan, and renewed sense of discovery brought by advancement. He is making final preparations for a long journey while leading one more batch of new Demon Hunter Wizards, and says he does not intend to leave before Ruger does. The two share tea and a barrel of fine Sour Mushroom Wine; Zorn quietly departs from the visit while Ruger sleeps 1045.

Notable Quotes

“Patience and knowledge are a wizard's most precious treasures.” 364

“Demon Hunter Wizards, handling a demon-hunting incident.” 386

“Don't hold back.” 455

“Everyone has their own trial—” 564

“This is probably... very important to me.” 891

“But that seems to make it more interesting, too. Just like when I first became a Wizard Apprentice-everything I saw felt new...” 1045

Trivia

• Zorn's living habits are so lax that Ruger jokes he would rather build a tavern than a proper laboratory for a Demon Hunter Wizards station 551.
• His familiars are oddly responsible compared with his drunken, careless public image 361. They later visibly guard him while he sleeps 810.
• He frequently stores living creatures inside his chest hair, including demonic beasts, a voice-eating beast, and even a fairy 364 444 463.
• His advancement to the Fourth Ring was long stalled because he could not forget the past or accept himself, according to Jillian's accusations and the curse handbook context 538 539. He eventually advances to High-Rank Wizard after acquiring Inverted Cup and integrating World Runes 1045.
• In his youth, Zorn persistently studied casting gestures and incantations for the Fireball Spell. He lost a Fireball-only duel against someone who had mocked him for it, but the opponent never mocked him again 448.
• His carriage can be powered with Magic Stones, but Varin has never seen him supply any; his demon familiar must both pull and power it 809.
• Ruger restrains Little Fairy from displaying its wine-improving abilities in Zorn's presence because he fears Zorn will immediately add it to his collection 713.
• Ruger considers Zorn's unusual birth and wandering childhood suitable material for the protagonist of a novel 920.
• Even after becoming a High-Rank Wizard, Zorn keeps the same exposed-chest style of robe 1045.