The Third Return of the Necrotic Magic Swordsman

[14th Everdusk 2103], DC-23 City, Dyna Crest Country, CGA Branch, Beast Grove Fields.

While Lucas was attempting to gather his teammates at the CGA Association, deep inside the dungeon where Evan was hunting, something else was already unfolding.

A trio of skeletons cornered a boar, its body trembling as a bone fang protruded from its belly just below the heart. Blood pooled into the dirt as the dying beast made one last, desperate attempt to escape.

It charged forward, hoping to break through—but its effort was futile.

A figure stood in its path.

The boar, running on sheer will, didn’t stop. But the person calmly raised a black sword, flames flickering along its edge. With a single, clean slash, the sword tore through the boar’s throat. The head flew off, landing a few meters away. The decapitated body stumbled a few more steps before collapsing.

“Hah~~ Looks like I can finally take down boars on my own,” Evan said with a proud grin, stashing his black flame sword into his inventory.

Without wasting a second, he knelt in front of the corpse, activating his talent before anyone else could show up.

“Plunder,” he said.

A familiar energy enveloped the boar.

[]

Skill: Charge (Lv.1 → Lv.3)Type: ActiveMana Cost: 15 MP → 25 MPCooldown: 10 sec → 8 secProficiency: 0%

Description:A wild boar’s natural dashing strike, now optimized. Allows the user to dash forward with explosive force. Upon impact, the target is knocked back and potentially staggered.

Effects:• Forward Dash: 5m → 7m• Impact Force: +5% → +15% damage• Stagger Chance: 10% → 15%• Momentum Boost: If used after sprinting, gain additional 5% damage (!)

“Huh, I’m really going to be insanely overpowered at this rate,” Evan smirked, reading the updated skill info. “Didn’t even use it once, and it leveled up. That’s insane.”

He recalled how the skill had first appeared—how proficiency increased just by obtaining duplicates.

”That guy definitely gave up a lot to create this talent system for me,” Evan muttered, marveling at his gains.

He checked his stat progress from this hunt alone.

“Let’s see… from today’s boars: +18 STR, +17 AGL, +11 STA, +2 INT, +7 END, +5 VIT… Damn. At this pace, I might hit my stat cap before max level.”

A notification chimed in his system.

[You’ve killed Lv.27 Forest Boar. EXP +510 (+50% for Level Gap)][2,640/2,200 EXP][Level Up! → Lv.21(1^)][440/2400 EXP | 10 Unassigned Stat Points Gained]

“Seven levels in a single day? That’s bordering on monstrous,” Evan chuckled and opened his skill tab to inspect the recent upgrades.

[Skill Progress]• Lv.3(1^) [02%]• Lv.3(1^) [12%]• Lv.3(1^) [32%]• Lv.3(1^) [03%]• Lv.4(2^) [05%]• Lv.2(1^) [16%]

“If this keeps up, I’ll have maxed-out skills way before the others,” he muttered, scanning the field for more prey—only to freeze when his eyes caught a familiar figure.

Lucas.

And beside him, a girl Evan didn’t recognize.

“Lucas...? Who the hell is that girl?” Evan muttered, narrowing his eyes. “Team partner? Future fiancée? Probably both.”

He looked around. No one else nearby.

“Wait—are they walking toward me?” Evan tensed. “Sh*t… what do I do?”

Without hesitation, he summoned his mask, setting it to visible, and adjusted his status info just in case Lucas had a way to peek into it.

“Please let this work…”

“Umm~~ Brother, are you hunting here?” Lucas asked, stopping a few steps away.

The girl behind him remained quiet, her gaze glued to Lucas like a puppy in love.

Evan simply nodded.

“Oh, okay. Solo hunt, huh? Pretty bold of you. But… why the mask? Only elite hunters wear those, and even then, it’s rare,” Lucas said, casually glancing around, eyes scanning for bloodstains.

“NOTHING. JUST RESTING. DONE HUNTING,” Evan replied in a forced deep voice, trying to disguise himself.

“If you don’t mind… wanna join us?” Lucas asked, tilting his head. “We’re short one member.”

“Lucas, are you serious?” the girl behind him—Ilya—whispered. “He’s hiding his face. Could be a criminal or a banned hunter.”

“Don’t worry, Ilya. I’ve got an eye for people,” Lucas said with a grin. “He’s about our age. Just a solo hunter, nothing more.”

Evan noticed something subtle—Lucas’s eyes had changed. A glint… a glow.

‘Dragon Sight…’ Evan’s heart tightened. ‘An SSS-rank talent, maybe?’

Still, he remained calm.

Lucas extended an offer again. “I’m Lucas, a D-rank Battle Mage. This is Ilya, an A-rank Healer with a unique class.”

Evan hesitated, then replied, “OH, YES. MY NAME IS LIM. D-RANK SWORDSMAN. SORRY, BUT I’VE BEEN HERE FOR A WHILE ALREADY. GOTTA LEAVE. THANKS FOR THE OFFER.”

Lucas nodded. “Alright. But if you change your mind, contact me.”

He showed his ID. Evan glanced at it, then turned away.

”OKAY. BYE.”

He walked off, but not before overhearing Ilya’s snide comment.

“Tch, what an attitude. Didn’t even note your ID, or share his.”

“Relax,” Lucas replied. “Maybe he’s just not the social type. But… his voice—it felt familiar.”

Ilya pouted but followed Lucas as they headed off.

Evan, now a good distance away, glanced back and sighed.

“That was close…”

He wasn’t ready yet—not for Lucas, and definitely not for the girl.

“Six boars. That’s enough for today. Meat and money both secured,” he said to himself and started heading toward the exit.

But before he could take another step, the ground trembled.

A thunderous roar echoed across the field.

Evan turned around—and froze.

“…This sh*t is really messing with me.”

- To be Continued -