Who Said A Necromancer Can't Be A Priest?-Chapter 36: The Dead Forest (1)

"You called for me, headmaster?" Aaran asked, opening the door.

"Have a seat."

Igor was still swamped with paperwork and didn't spare a gaze at Aaran. It wasn't the first time the two were in such a setting. Aaran knew how much Igor hated noise while he worked, so he sat there, fiddling with his legion interface.

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Legion level: 02

Current legion captain limit: 3/5

>> Dread (Undead General): Lvl ???

>> Darius (Spirit Soldier): Lvl ???

>> Brute (Warrant Officer): Lvl 29

Current legion footsoldier limit: 10/10 (Click here for detailed information)

Legion Commander level limit: 35 (1st awakening)

Legion footsoldier level limit: 20 (1st awakening)

Note: Upgrade the legion level to increase the limits.

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Legion level 2. That was the fruit of five years of daily labor. The daily dungeon wasn't cutting it anymore and Aaran needed a new hunting ground.

The issue was Amara, Analeis, and, to some extent, Igor. Analeis and Amara won't let him out of their sight even for a minute. Which meant Aaran had a hard time focusing on the legion.

Those temple bastards were to be blamed for it.

It had been years since the last attack, yet Amara was as paranoid as ever.

No, her paranoia had grown over the years.

The temple was up to something. It was the only reason Aaran could think of. That's why he wanted to get stronger.

As for the hunting ground, Aaran had the perfect place in mind. But as a model student, he couldn't enter that place. Igor favored him too much to let him go there.

But what would he do if Aaran acted out?

"Do you know why I called you here?" Igor asked, putting the pen down.

Aaran looked at him and shook his head. Igor's mouth twitched at his nonchalant reaction, but he continued.

"Sylas Evermere, Dorian Vermonte, and Magnus Vortigen. Does any of these names sound familiar?"

Aaran once again shook his head.

Igor sighed, massaging his temple. Maybe he spoiled Aaran too much, or maybe Aaran genuinely didn't care about the nobles he beat up. The former reason was fine, but it would be worrying if it was the latter.

"They are the three nobles you beat up yesterday," Igor said. "Do you mind telling me why?"

"Do I need a reason to show the weak their place?"

Igor's eye widened at those words. It was the first time Aaran had said such a thing before him.

Every king in the Runedral empire was a sword forged from the Excellence Academy's rigorous training. The princes would one day inherit the throne and replace the old swords, and the cycle would continue.

But what would happen if the sword broke before being used? That was the dilemma Aaran had forced Igor into.

Also, by calling the nobles weak, Aaran insulted not only the nobles but also the academy itself. After all, the academy had trained the nobles to be the best.

Those nobles were set to graduate in a month and take important roles in their kingdoms. But this accident had broken them. There wasn't a single scar on them, but mentally they were scared to even lift a sword.

It was even more ridiculous that a nine-year-old had humiliated three fourteen-year-olds in a 3-on-1 duel.

"Weak or not, don't you think beating them into depression was irresponsible?" Igor asked, massaging his head.

"If a little beating gave them depression, then they weren't cut out to be kings," Aaran replied. "The empire doesn't need such feeble swords to fight for it."

In Igor's eyes, Aaran had become a complete fanatic for the empire. The obsidian locket must have been too much for him to handle. That was the only reason he could come up with for Aaran's actions and words.

But it also put him in a troublesome position.

If Igor punished Aaran for his twisted loyalty, he might start resenting the empire. But if he let him go unpunished, the other nobles would cause an unnecessary ruckus.

"You know… you're too serious for your age," Igor chuckled.

"Thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment... Those three didn't tell me what happened. What about you?"

Aaran remained silent for a moment. The reason behind their duel was ridiculous. So much so, that even Dread couldn't help but laugh at it.

Many boys had a crush on Seraphina. It wasn't out of the ordinary. She was beautiful, talented, and unparalleled when it came to magic.

The problem arose when Seraphina declined their pursuit, citing she was already engaged. It took a while for the servants to learn who she was committed to, but they did.

Aaran Aurelia.

Prince of a small-time kingdom who had been making waves in the academy. In their petty minds, if they humiliated Aaran, Seraphina would break off the engagement.

That's why they challenged Aaran to a duel.

Aaran was going to ignore them, but then they insulted his family. That was it. He was already looking to cause trouble, and they served themselves on a silver platter.

Eight duels later, he had defended his household's honor while humiliating theirs. But Aaran took things further each time. Partially to discourage idiots from attacking him and partially because he wanted to get punished.

[It looks like you enjoyed the spankings.]

Shut it, Dread.

Aaran had no interest in that kind of punishment. He wanted the official punishment from the Headmaster.

[You're the definition of down bad, I'm telling you.]

Back at the present, Igor waited for Aaran's answer. But when he said nothing, he sighed and changed the subject.

"The good thing is, those three have forgiven your actions."

Aaran raised an eyebrow and then burst out laughing. Igor wasn't surprised. He expected nothing less from Aaran, who was becoming more and more like him.

Just as suddenly, Aaran stopped and stared into Igor's eye.

"Who gave the weak the right to forgive anyone?" he asked. "It seems they didn't learn their lesson—"

"That's enough," Igor said. "They'd kill themselves if you beat them anymore."

"…I apologize for stepping out of line."

Igor got up, staring out of the floor-to-ceiling window. The academy was in his view, but so was the forest behind.

Although he didn't want to, Aaran had to be punished and Igor found the perfect way to punish Aaran in a way that benefited him.

"Donovan!" Igor yelled.

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The butler entered within a second as if he had been waiting to be called.

"Take Aurelia into the forest. He'd spend a night there as his punishment."

"As you wish, sir." Donovan bowed before turning to Aaran. "This way, young master."

Aaran nodded and left without a word, his head hung low. The two thought he was upset. Little did they know he was trying to hide his smile.