Beneath layers of cold earth, Evan's vision gradually blurred as every breath became harder than the last.
The stale air inside the cramped metal container was nearly gone, while the only thing keeping his mind focused was the series of system notifications floating before his fading vision.
Above him...
His summons were digging relentlessly toward his location.
Through the faint soul connection between them, he could sense their progress.
They were already halfway through.
Just a little longer...
If he could stay conscious for a few more minutes, he would survive.
A new notification appeared before him.
[Host Trial Initiated.]
[Trial Rating: EX+ (Tier 0)]
Another panel unfolded beneath it.
[Current Objective: Survive]
Evan's pupils contracted.
One final notification appeared.
[Mission:Come Out Alive.]
[Description: Escape your underground confinement and assess the current situation.]
[Reward:
• Current Objective Information
• Status Panel Unlocked
• +3 Selection]
"..."
His expression darkened.
The first two rewards made sense.
But the last one...
+3 Selections?
He had never seen anything like that before.
'Guess I'll only find out if I survive...'
Clicking his tongue inwardly, Evan tried activating one of his elemental abilities.
Nothing happened.
He attempted another.
Still nothing.
Even the surrounding soil refused to respond to his mana.
It was as if every ability he possessed had simply vanished.
'...They really stripped everything away.'
For the first time since entering Ceruleth...
Evan felt truly powerless.
All he could do was wait.
His summons continued digging closer with every passing second, their presence growing stronger through their soul link.
Meanwhile...
His own consciousness grew weaker.
Darkness slowly crept into the edges of his vision.
Every breath burned.
Every heartbeat echoed loudly inside the metal prison.
Finally, his eyelids closed.
...
...
A loud impact echoed from above.
Evan's eyes snapped open.
Someone...
No.
Something stood directly above him.
Without hesitation, he issued a mental command.
Open it.
Immediately, movement came from overhead.
His summons had finally reached him.
A faint scraping noise followed.
Then...
A sharp sword pierced through the metal ceiling.
Clang!
The blade withdrew almost immediately.
Instead...
Several skeletal fingers forced themselves into the narrow crack before pulling with all their strength.
Seeing those familiar bone-white fingers...
Evan finally let out a quiet sigh.
At least...
It wasn't another trick created by the Trial.
Fresh air slowly seeped through the opening.
He greedily inhaled every breath he could.
The skeletons continued tearing the metal apart piece by piece.
The container resisted far longer than ordinary steel should have.
If it had been simple wood...
Even one of his skeletons could have shattered it with a single strike.
Yet this metallic coffin endured several minutes of relentless force before finally giving way.
With a deafening screech...
The lid was ripped apart.
Silver moonlight poured into the darkness.
For the first time since arriving...
Evan saw the night sky.
He slowly sat upright, breathing deeply before climbing toward the opening.
Only then did he finally notice the skeletons standing around him.
His movements paused.
"..."
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
He carefully observed them again.
Their bones were dull.
Their bodies looked fragile.
The aura surrounding them was pitifully weak.
'...These aren't mine.'
His brows furrowed.
Every undead under his command had grown alongside him.
Even the weakest among them had already surpassed Level 90.
These skeletons...
Barely looked stronger than ordinary undead.
One of them silently lowered itself.
Understanding its intention, Evan used its shoulder to climb out of the crater.
The moment both feet touched solid ground...
His surroundings finally came into view.
His expression slowly stiffened.
A massive crater stretched before him.
Scorched earth covered the battlefield.
Broken wagons lay overturned in every direction.
Splintered wood, shattered weapons, and torn luggage were scattered across the ruined campsite.
Dark patches of dried blood soaked the ground beneath the pale moonlight.
Not a single living person could be seen.
Only silence remained.
"..."
Evan slowly looked around.
"What kind of place is this..."
He crouched beside one of the destroyed wagons, observing the shattered remains.
"...Buried inside a crater... surrounded by destroyed carriages..."
His gaze swept across the countless traces of battle.
"Were they... ambushed?"
Before he could think further...
The system appeared once again.
[Mission:Come Out Alive.] ✅
[Mission Rewards have been distributed.]
[Status has been unlocked.]
[Objective Information has been updated.]
[Selections are ready to be chosen.]
Without hesitation, Evan opened the newly unlocked objective panel.
[Current Objective: Survive]
[Description:
Awakening within the remains of an unknown battlefield.
Several hours earlier, an adventurer caravan travelling through the forest during the night was ambushed by unidentified enemies. The battle ended in complete defeat, with nearly every member of the expedition slaughtered.
To eliminate any survivors, the attackers unleashed a large-scale curse before bombarding the battlefield with destructive magic, burying everything beneath the collapsing earth.
During the attack, the Host survived by hiding inside a reinforced metal container, which was subsequently buried beneath the crater.
Current Mission: Escape the enemy encirclement, survive the lingering curse, and recover your strength.
Note: This Trial recreates events from the past. All choices made within the Trial will not alter real history or affect any historical individual.]
Evan frowned.
The information answered several questions...
Yet raised twice as many.
It never identified the enemy.
It never explained who he currently was.
Nor did it reveal where this place actually was.
'Even the information is incomplete...'
'A Trial at EX+ difficulty doesn't even tell you what you're fighting.'
Closing the objective panel, he immediately opened his status.
The instant it appeared...
A crimson warning covered the screen.
[Warning!][The Host has been afflicted by a high-grade Curse.][95% of all Attributes have been sealed.][Most Talents, Abilities, and Skills have been sealed.]
"..."
Only then did Evan finally understand why he felt so weak.
He opened the rest of his status.
[
◇ Name: Evan Ravencall (Evan Windstone)
◇ Race: Human (100%)
◇ Age: 18
◇ Title:[Limit Breaker], [Holder of Monarch Physique], [Death Scholar]
◇Physique:Death Monarch [🔒]
◇ Rank: Tier 0
◇Level: 100 [ 1,65,000 / 165,000 ]
◇ Bounded Item: Mask of concealment (??), Veyr'Zhal, the Warden Chain Fragment (??)[🔒]
◇ Class:
-Necromancer (SS)
-Mage (E)
-Weapon Master (F)
◇ Talents: [🔒]
◆ HP: 1,440
◆ MP: 2,550
◆ Strength (STR): 58 {+32 Red} [163]
◆ Agility (AGL): 44 {+35 Red} [177]
◆ Vitality (VIT): 84 {+28 Red} [144]
◆ Intelligence (INT): 00 {+51 Red} [255]
◆ Endurance (END): 03 {+27 Red} [135]
◆ Stamina (STA): 85 {+28 Red} [144]
◆ Spirit (SPT): 86 {+6 Red} [34]
◆ Unassigned Stats: 600 [🔒]
◆ Attack Power: 408 (Physical)382.5 (Elemental)
◆ Defence: 279
◆ Storage Summon:4,958/6,860 [🔒] [15/340]
[Abilities][🔒]
[Skills][🔒]
➤ [Class Skills]
Necromancer (SS):
Raise Undead (Lv.Max), Necro Heal (Lv.Max), Undead Storage (Lv.Max), Death Bolt (Lv.Max), Bone Armor (Lv.Max), Undead Summoning (Lv.46), Death March (Passive) (Lv.Max), Dark Veil (Lv.Max), Bone Cage (Lv.Max), Corrupting Touch (Special, Active), Dark Art Mastery (Lv.Max, Hybrid), Pyre Mark (Lv.4), Corpse Flame (Lv.65), Mana Siphon (Lv.Max), Dark Slash (Lv.51)
Mage (E): [🔒]
Weapon Master (F):[🔒]
__
Evan stared silently at the status window.
Ninety-five percent...
Almost everything that made him who he was had been sealed away.
His physique.
His talents.
His abilities.
Even the vast majority of his classes and skills had been locked behind invisible chains.
The Trial had stripped him down to the bare minimum.
For the first time in a long while...
He felt genuinely weak.
His gaze lingered on the Death Monarch Physique.
A physique born from the pinnacle of Death, Darkness, Curses, and Souls.
Yet now...
It might as well have not existed.
As he frowned, a flashing [!] icon caught his attention in the corner of the status panel.
Without hesitation, he tapped it.
A new interface unfolded before him.
[Please choose the abilities you wish to unlock.][Selections will be awarded upon completing missions and objectives.]
[Selection Points Available: 3]
"So that's how it works..."
Evan immediately understood the purpose of the mysterious reward.
Every completed objective would grant Selection Points.
Those points could then be exchanged to temporarily restore parts of his sealed power.
His eyes swept across the enormous list.
Talents.
Abilities.
Classes.
Weapons.
Bound Items.
Even his physique appeared among the available options.
His eyes instinctively stopped there.
[Death Monarch Physique][Requirement: 5 Selection Points]
"..."
He silently moved on.
There was no point wasting time on something he couldn't afford.
Instead, he carefully evaluated what he needed most.
Not what was strongest...
But what would keep him alive.
Eventually, his gaze settled on his first choice.
[Item: Crimson Edge][Requirement: 1 Selection Point]
Without hesitation...
He selected it.
A reliable weapon always came first.
Although the curse had drastically weakened his body, Crimson Edge itself remained an exceptional weapon.
Its edge hadn't dulled simply because its owner had become weaker.
Even sealed...
It was still a Pseudo Tier-1 Ego weapon.
Far superior to anything a normal Tier-0 combatant could wield.
Only then did Evan realise another cruel restriction.
Even his storage space had been sealed.
Everything inside remained inaccessible until individually unlocked.
"...How thorough."
He continued searching.
Unlocking entire classes was far too expensive for his current situation.
Likewise, most skills would consume precious Selection Points without solving his immediate problem.
Then...
His eyes stopped on a familiar ability.
[Ability: Elemental Manipulation][Requirement: 1 Selection Point]
His second choice.
Unlike ordinary skills, Elemental Manipulation offered unmatched versatility.
Fire.
Ice.
Lightning.
Earth.
All four elements would once again become available.
More importantly...
Its mana consumption remained relatively low, making it far more efficient than repeatedly relying on sealed class skills.
Only one Selection Point remained.
Evan's gaze shifted toward the Talent section.
He ignored every higher-ranked option.
Instead...
He selected an A+ ranked talent.
[Talent: Nightstep (A+)][Requirement: 1 Selection Point]
His reasoning was simple.
The Trial hadn't ordered him to defeat anyone.
It had only given him one objective.
Survive.
Nightstep dramatically concealed his presence beneath darkness.
If escaping became necessary...
Few talents could rival its usefulness.
The moment his final selection was confirmed...
The interface quietly disappeared.
Evan slowly lifted his head.
Now...
It was time to understand exactly where he was.
His first instinct was to identify the people travelling alongside this body's original owner.
Yet...
The battlefield offered almost nothing.
No intact corpses.
No recognisable equipment.
Only shattered wagons.
Broken weapons.
And blood-soaked earth.
Enough blood to suggest dozens had died here.
"...Someone wanted everyone here dead."
His gaze eventually shifted toward the fifteen skeletons standing nearby.
Their emerald soul flames quietly flickered as they awaited his next command.
'Were these... this body's summons?'
He studied them carefully.
'No...'
He couldn't remember summoning them.
Nor did he possess any memories from before awakening beneath the ground.
The Trial had seemingly dropped him into the middle of someone else's life.
Or perhaps...
Someone else's final moments.
'Whoever this body belonged to...'
'He was almost certainly a Necromancer.'
Otherwise, commanding skeletons like these would've been impossible.
But beyond that...
Nothing.
The Trial refused to reveal any further information.
After a brief moment of thought, Evan recalled all fifteen skeletons back into his Undead Storage.
With his surroundings now silent once again, he began climbing out of the enormous crater.
Only after reaching the slope did he truly appreciate its scale.
The crater stretched dozens of meters across and nearly five feet deep.
It wasn't something created by a single spell.
The destructive force required to produce such devastation...
Could only have come from multiple peak-tier mages working together.
'Whatever attacked this caravan...
It wasn't ordinary bandits or something.'
The thought had barely crossed his mind—
Crunch!
A faint sound echoed through the forest.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Coming directly toward the crater.
Evan's expression sharpened instantly.
Without wasting a second, he activated Nightstep.
The darkness around him subtly distorted as his presence rapidly faded.
Using the uneven terrain for cover, he silently climbed the nearest tree before disappearing among its dense branches.
His breathing slowed.
His aura vanished into the night.
Whether the approaching figures were enemies or survivors...
Revealing himself now would be a foolish gamble.
Only a few seconds later...
Several silhouettes emerged from between the trees.
The instant Evan saw them—
His pupils contracted.
'...How is this possible?'
Disbelief flashed across his face.
'Why are they here...?'
He remained perfectly still.
Even the slightest movement could expose him now.
__
A/N:
Hey everyone! Author here, I'm excited to share this chapter. I'm trying something new, and I'd love your thoughts or suggestions for the story. Your feedback will help make it even more thrilling, so let's make it amazing together! (～￣▽￣)～