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The Third Return of the Necrotic Magic Swordsman

Chapter 204 — Buried Before the Beginning · Oct 16, 2026

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Chapter List (233)

Page number / 5

201 Chapter 198 — Birth of the New Destined 2026-10-16
202 Chapter 199 — Clash with the Blaze Ascendant 2026-10-16
203 Chapter 200 — Two Against One - The Birth of a Legend 2026-10-16
204 Chapter 201 — Beyond the Threshold 2026-10-16
205 Chapter 202 — The Voice Beyond Light 2026-10-16
206 Chapter 203 — A Truth Wrapped in Lies 2026-10-16
207 Chapter 204 — Buried Before the Beginning 2026-10-16
208 Chapter 205 — A Trial Without Power 2026-10-16
209 Chapter 206 — Hunter and Hunted 2026-10-16
210 Chapter 207 — The Trial’s Blind Spot 2026-10-16
211 Chapter 208 — The Price of Insight 2026-10-16
212 Chapter 209 — Eyes Within the Forest 2026-10-16
213 Chapter 210 — A Gift for the Curious 2026-10-16
214 Chapter 211 — The Shaman’s Fury 2026-10-16
215 Chapter 212 — Under the Watcher’s Gaze 2026-10-16
216 Chapter 213 — The Path Through Lightning 2026-10-16
217 Chapter 214 — The Peak Ruler 2026-10-16
218 Chapter 215 — The Killing March 2026-10-16
219 Chapter 216 — The March of the Fallen 2026-10-16
220 Chapter 217 — A Battlefield of Corpses 2026-10-16
221 Chapter 218 — The Battle at the Gate 2026-10-16
222 Chapter 219 — The Shaman’s Final Card 2026-10-16
223 Chapter 220 — The Frozen Settlement and Wind’s Wrath 2026-10-16
224 Chapter 221 — The Last Gambit 2026-10-16
225 Chapter 222 — The Monster Beneath the Curse 2026-10-16
226 Chapter 223 — When Death Answered Despair 2026-10-16
227 Chapter 224 — The Flame That Awakened 2026-10-16
228 Chapter 225 — The Choice of Fate 2026-10-16
229 Chapter 226 — The Path of the Tyrant 2026-10-16
230 Chapter 227 — The Road to Conquest 2026-10-16
231 Chapter 228 — A Hunt for Strength 2026-10-16
232 Chapter 229 — The Rematch with the One-Eyed Bear 2026-10-16
233 Chapter 230 — Monster Beneath the Earth 2026-10-16

The moment Evan stepped through the majestic gate for the second time, the world around him dissolved into an endless white expanse.

His gaze slowly swept across the silent surroundings before a faint look of recognition appeared in his eyes.

’So... I’m finally inside the Trial Space.’

He had stood here once before.

Not in this life.

But in another.

This place hadn’t changed at all.

It was still the same endless void where every warrior took the first step toward true ascension.

Before he could observe any longer, a brilliant flash erupted before him.

Instinctively, Evan tensed.

A translucent panel unfolded across his vision.

[User detected...]

[Trial Protocol Initialised...]

[Beginning complete body scan...]

[Please remain still.]

The instant the final notification appeared, countless strands of pale light swept across his body.

They passed through his flesh...

His bones...

Even the mana flowing through his circuits.

It wasn’t painful.

Only... strangely uncomfortable.

Like someone was inspecting every inch of his existence.

Minutes slowly passed.

”...Isn’t this taking a little too long?”

Evan frowned slightly.

’Is my status really that complicated?’

He mentally glanced over everything he possessed.

A few talents.

A handful of abilities.

Some skills.

Nothing *outrageous*...

Five full minutes later...

Another notification finally appeared.

[Scanning in progress...]

[Scanning complete.]

[Result: Null.]

[Error... Reinitialising Scan.]

”...Null?”

A trace of confusion crossed Evan’s face.

He immediately opened his status.

Nothing looked abnormal.

Everything appeared exactly as it always had.

’Did the Trial malfunction?’

Another few minutes crawled by.

Then...

More panels surfaced.

[Result: Null.]

[Error...]

[A security authority has been detected protecting the Host’s status.]

[Authority breach impossible.]

[Scanning halted.]

The moment he finished reading...

Evan froze.

His fingers slowly rose toward his face.

They brushed against something almost impossible to feel.

An invisible layer.

”...The mask.”

Only then did he realise what had happened.

The artifact wasn’t merely hiding his appearance.

It was concealing his entire existence.

”I almost forgot about you...”

With a thought, he deactivated the status-altering effect.

The transparent mask faded into complete invisibility.

Almost immediately...

The Trial reacted.

[Authority restriction removed.]

[Resuming scan...]

Once again...

Light flowed through his body.

This time the process continued far longer than before.

One minute.

Two.

Three.

Five.

Still nothing.

Evan’s brows slowly furrowed.

’Something else is interfering.’

His attention shifted toward his status once again.

This time...

His eyes stopped on the Talent tab.

The list itself wasn’t particularly long.

But the first five talents...

Their grades remained hidden beneath rows of question marks.

”...I see.”

If the mask wasn’t the issue anymore...

Then those hidden authorities probably were.

Without hesitation, Evan partially activated the mask once more.

Instead of hiding everything...

He selectively concealed only the highest-grade talents.

The visible list changed instantly; his talent tab transformed into something less monstrous.

◇ Talents:

- [Gravitic Vein] (A)

- [Reaper’s Frenzy] (D)

- [Draconic Insight] (SSS Rank) [🔒]

- [Radiant Sanctum] (S Rank)

- [SwordHeart Resonance] (C)

- [Lunarch Ascension] (SSS+)

- [Enhanced Recovery] (D)

- [Iron Surge] (C+)

- [Tranquil Focus] (B-)

- [Nightstep] (A+)

The hidden authorities vanished from the scan.

Several quiet minutes later...

The Trial finally responded.

[Scanning complete.]

[User status successfully evaluated.]

[Cultivation Status: Level System]

[Race: Human]

[BoneAge: 18]

[CurrentTier: 0th]

[Physique: Monarch Grade]

[Title(s): 3] {!}

[Bounded Item(s): 2]

[Class(s): Necromancer (SS), Mage (E), Weapon Master (F), Blacksmith (B), Alchemist (S), Rune Enchanter (S!)] {!}

[Talent(s): 10]

[Stats have been calculated through the system.]

[Abilities: 16] {!}

[Skills:

Passive: 13

Active: 19]

[ClassSkills:

Necromancer: 15 {!}

Mage: 8 {!}

Weapon Master: 8 {!}

Blacksmith: 0 {!}

Alchemist: 0 {!}

Rune Enchanter: 0 {!}]

New notifications immediately began pouring in.

[Several anomalies detected within Host status.]

[Preparing removal process...]

Evan’s eyes narrowed.

Removal...?

The very next second—

[Error.]

[Unknown Authority detected.]

[Verifying Host Authority...]

A brief silence followed.

Then...

[Authority identified.]

[Host Authority Level: ]

[Anomalies authorised.]

[Continuing Trial.]

Only then did Evan quietly release the breath he had been holding.

If that authority hadn’t been acknowledged...

There was a real chance the Trial would’ve stripped away parts of his inheritance.

’Looks like Arven wasn’t exaggerating.’

As the successor of the Nexus’ former master...

His authority ranked just beneath its creator.

Without it...

Today’s outcome could have been disastrous.

The notifications continued without pause.

[Analysing Host’s past achievements...]

[Authority clearance granted.]

[Processing soul history...]

[Calculating accumulated soul experience...]

[Evaluating Host potential...]

[Assessing Trial capacity...]

Evan quietly watched every line appear before disappearing again.

So...

This was how the Nexus determined a person’s Trial.

Not merely through strength.

It judged everything.

The soul.

Past accomplishments.

Potential.

Even karma accumulated across lifetimes.

No wonder everyone’s Trial differed.

Finally...

The conclusion arrived.

[Evaluation complete.]

[Primary Class Anchored: Necromancer (SS)]

[Current Trial Difficulty: Tier 0 • SS]

Another notification appeared almost instantly.

[Secondary Classes Anchored.]

[Current Trial Difficulty: Tier 0 • SS+]

Then another.

[Host Talents integrated.]

[Current Trial Difficulty: Tier 0 • SSS]

Evan silently watched the difficulty continue climbing.

It wasn’t over.

[Abilities and Skills integrated.]

[Current Trial Difficulty: Tier 0 • EX-]

”...”

His expression slowly stiffened.

Then...

The final adjustment arrived.

[Physique and Bound Items integrated.]

[Current Trial Difficulty: Tier 0 • EX+]

”...”

Even Evan remained silent for several seconds.

EX+.

He had completed SS Trials before.

Even SSS.

But...

Never this.

For a brief moment, he had genuinely feared the system would mistake him for someone attempting a Tier One Trial.

Fortunately...

It had stopped at Tier Zero.

Still...

He couldn’t help thinking about what would’ve happened if he hadn’t concealed those higher authorities.

’Would the difficulty have gone even higher...?’

That thought alone was enough to make him uncomfortable.

Throughout the entire scanning process, he had nearly interrupted it several times.

Had the Trial attempted to erase one of his things...

He would’ve activated the mask immediately.

Thankfully...

His authority had protected everything.

Evan slowly looked into the endless white void ahead.

”So...”

”What exactly does an EX+ Trial look like?”

For the first time in a long while...

Even he couldn’t predict what awaited him.

Almost as if answering his thoughts...

The final notification appeared.

[Trial preparation complete.]

[Host may now proceed.]

[The Nexus wishes the Host success.]

The instant the words faded...

Space itself twisted.

Evan disappeared from the white expanse without another sound.

The Trial...

Had officially begun.

...

The moment Evan’s trial officially began...

Far away, somewhere within the depths of the Prime Nexus...

Something that resembled an eye turned.

Its pupil moved only slightly, looking toward a place no mortal existence could ever perceive.

It lingered there for the briefest moment.

Then...

It looked away.

That tiny movement alone was enough to shake the surrounding void.

Space fractured.

Invisible cracks spread through the endless darkness as violent ripples raced across the emptiness.

For several terrifying seconds, reality itself seemed on the verge of collapse.

Only after the ruptures slowly repaired themselves did silence return once more.

As though...

Nothing had ever happened.

Meanwhile...

Evan’s consciousness returned.

”...”

Everything around him was pitch black.

No light.

No sound.

No sense of direction.

Only an overwhelming darkness that swallowed every trace of awareness.

’...Where am I?’

He instinctively tried to move.

Nothing happened.

His arms refused to respond.

His legs remained completely immobile.

It felt as though his entire body had been tightly sealed inside an iron prison.

’Why can’t I move...?’

A trace of uneasiness crept into his mind.

He immediately called out his system.

Nothing.

No status.

No notifications.

He tried contacting Arven.

Still nothing.

Complete silence.

’What kind of situation is this...?’

’Wasn’t I supposed to begin the Trial?’

His thoughts rapidly recalled his previous experiences.

During his first life...

His SSS-ranked Swordsman Trial had thrown him into the middle of a brutal battlefield.

He had started as nothing more than a nameless foot soldier, surviving countless wars before finally clearing the Trial.

His second life had been much kinder.

An SS-ranked Trial.

He had awakened as the young master of a mid-grade clan before subduing a Level 95 beast and defending his territory from a thousand-beast horde.

Difficult...

But manageable.

This...

Was completely different.

He couldn’t even move.

”Where the hell am I...?”

His voice barely escaped his lips.

The moment he spoke...

His chest tightened.

Breathing suddenly became far more difficult.

”...”

Evan immediately stopped talking.

’The oxygen...

It’s decreasing.’

A cold feeling spread throughout his body.

’Am I trapped inside something...?’

He tried feeling his surroundings.

Every direction met the same result.

A solid surface.

Above.

Below.

Left.

Right.

There wasn’t even enough room to stretch his fingers.

His heartbeat gradually accelerated.

’Don’t panic.

Think.’

’There has to be a way out.’

Just then...

He sensed something.

A faint connection.

Far above him.

”...My summons?”

His eyes widened.

He could clearly feel several of his undead.

But...

They weren’t beside him.

They were...

Above him.

Evan’s expression instantly froze.

An impossible thought surfaced inside his mind.

’...No way.’

He extended his senses through the connection.

Several seconds later...

His face stiffened.

”...You’ve got to be kidding me.”

He wasn’t trapped inside a prison.

Nor inside a cave.

He was...

Buried.

Nearly eight feet beneath the ground.

For the first time since entering the Trial...

Even Evan felt genuine despair.

”No...”

”No, no, no...”

He immediately issued a command through his soul connection.

Dig.

Every skeleton under his control instantly began tearing through the earth from above.

Meanwhile...

Evan remained completely trapped below.

The surrounding soil pressed against whatever confined him.

Every passing second...

The remaining air grew thinner.

His breathing became heavier.

His consciousness slowly started blurring around the edges.

Faster...

Dig faster...

Waiting wasn’t an option.

If they arrived even a little too late...

He would suffocate before the Trial truly began.

His vision gradually dimmed.

Then...

A familiar notification finally appeared before his eyes.

[Ding!]

[Host Trial Initiated.]

[Trial Rating: EX+ (Tier 0)]

Another panel appeared beneath it.

[Current Objective: Survive]

Evan’s pupils contracted.

One final notification appeared.

[Mission:Come Out Alive.]

[Description:...]

”...”

He stared blankly at the incomplete description.

Then slowly closed his eyes.

A bitter smile appeared on his face.

”...I’m really screwed this time.”

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