19 - Chapter 19

The lobby of the tavern was filled with the sound of voices, but the room on the second floor was filled with ominous atmosphere.

The necromancer Heisong sat on the ground paralyzed. Cold sweat was slowly condensing on his forehead, sliding across his pale foundation.

“I’m sorry, I… I didn’t know you were… an ancient undead demon dragon!” The elf had apologized three times, and even forgot to pretend to speak in the ancient elven accent. “I thought you were just an ordinary warlock and that you also went to ask my mentor for money…”

The Skeleton King was not using his human appearance, revealing black scaly skin and devil horns. At this time, his face was not in the shape of a human skeleton, but in the shape of a miniature dragon skull. Like the previous miniature version of dragon wings, this was part of his own power; it had nothing to do with dragons. This style of taking the shape of giant dragons was entirely because of the monarch’s interest.

The Skeleton King disguised as an ‘ancient undead demon dragon’ sneered: “You elves are really shameless. You are old to have the nerve to ask for money from humans who are over eighty years old…Well, maybe your mentor is willing to support you, I can’t do anything about it, but your various actions have disturbed my…my Kreve, I can’t stand it!”

Kreve was Burris’s current pseudonym. Heisong didn’t remember the name deliberately, but he thought of the young human mage in the tower.

“I’m sorry!” Heisong apologized for the fourth time. “I was wrong! I shouldn’t have disclosed his identity to outsiders! But… the rumors about him and the princess were really not my doing! I didn’t even think in that direction!”

“When your mentor is not in the tower, Kreve is the acting master. If you make Kreve worry again…heh, at that time, even if Burris comes to intercede for you, it will be useless!”

“I understand, I understand, I will explain the truth to my friend, and try to restore Mr. Kreve’s reputation… Do you think this is all right?” The elf almost cried as he said: “Or tell me what to do, I will definitely do it! Please… Please let Odile go, she is innocent, she doesn’t know anything. She and I haven’t known each other until recently…”

The Skeleton King was very satisfied. He bent, approached the elf with his evil dragon head, and said in a low and menacing voice: “Elf, it seems that you still don’t understand the seriousness of the matter. If you only revealed Kreve’s life then at best it will add some trouble to Burris, but if you reveal my existence…you will bring destruction to that tower!”

Heisong certainly didn’t want this to happen, he still wanted to go back and ask for money. “I understand! I understand!” He kept nodding. “Of course I don’t know who you are! I only know that you are just a great and wise warlock…”

The Skeleton King snorted coldly and turned to open the wooden door. When he turned his back to Heisong, his face had changed back to a human appearance.

“Well, remember your promise. I’m going to protect my Kreve, so I won’t waste my breath with you. Your girlfriend is in the back street of the tavern. Go.”

After slamming the door, Roth hurried downstairs. He pulled up Odile, who was sitting in the hall, and took her from the small door leading to the back kitchen to the back street of the tavern. Odile looked at him blankly, and he pointed to the firewood pile by the wall. “Lie down there.”

Odile quickly understood her lord’s intention, and she shrank next to the firewood and immediately entered a trance in a pitiful state. The Skeleton King nodded in satisfaction and disappeared into the street corner.

Tarina gradually woke up, and Burris’s strength almost recovered. He went downstairs and prepared to return to the guest area with the mage Haida. As soon as he walked into the garden, Charles chased after him. Haida walked away wittily, leaving the Prince’s son to talk to Burris.

The tall young knight bowed his head to the mage: “Your Excellency! I’m here… to apologize.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, why should you apologize?”

“I must be honest, not only be honest with others, but more importantly, be honest with myself. I want to confess to you I heard the rumors before and thought you were Her Royal Highness Estelin’s… lover. I didn’t think a necromancer could be of noble character and be willing to help others for free, and I thought that Her Highness Estelin had asked you to deal with this matter out of personal feelings…Your Excellency, I was wrong, you are a good and upright mage, you saved my sister’s life…”

Burris smiled and waved his hand. Of course I am not helping you ‘for free, it’s just that I didn’t ask for money personally. No matter what Charles was thinking before, as long as he didn’t say it, others would never know, and Charles came to apologize… It’s been a long time since he saw such a simple child. Burris wanted to reach out and touch the young man’s head, but Charles was too tall, he knew he couldn’t touch it, so he didn’t do anything more.

“My reputation is irrelevant, but this rumor has done too much harm to Her Highness.” Burris said. “I only met her a few times because of my mentor, Burris. Other than that, we have no personal relationship. I heard that Her Highness Estelin was seriously ill when she was young, and it was my mentor who saved her. She still remembers this kindness, so she often visits him. Although I don’t know how she usually is, I think she must be a very kind princess just because of this.”

Charles nodded frequently: “Yes! Yes! You are right! Such a noble princess should not be harmed by vicious rumors! Although I can’t control everyone… But in the future, if someone tells me rumors, I will definitely refute him with facts!”

Burris nodded with a smile. As soon as he was about to leave, the young knight stopped him again: “This…Your excellency, can I ask you a personal question?”

“Go ahead, please”

“This may offend you, please believe me, I just want to know the answer, it’s not sarcasm.”

“Please go ahead, I will not misunderstand.”

Charles spent a few seconds organizing his words, his face flushed: “It’s like this. When I was a kid, there was a history teacher who used to be a priest in the temple of Otarot. He always taught me to stay away from spellcasters, especially necromancers. Later, my father cooperated with spellcasters during the Battle of the Moonset Mountains, and among them was an elf necromancer. My brother is now a civilian official. In fact, he used to study in Hilda Academy for two years. It was a place full of mages…”

Burris nodded in silence. Of course, he knew of Hilda academy, which was located on the east coast of the mainland and named after its founder. It is one of the only two arcane academies in the Confederacy of Ten Nations. Burris was not only a visiting professor of that college, but also one of the several board members.

The boy said: “My brother is not a mage, but has learned some basic principles of magic, but this experience of further education seems to have changed him. Once, I went to visit the history teacher with him, but I didn’t expect them to quarrel. After all, the teacher was an elder and at the end, my brother didn’t insist on his own perception… In short, my brother thought that mages are no different from soldiers. He couldn’t help defending the necromancers, and our history teacher couldn’t tolerate that.”

Your brother’s name is Nollard. He is ten years older than you, and he is very popular… Burris remembered that aristocratic child. He didn’t teach him, but he heard about the child’s various actions in the Academy. Nollard didn’t come to learn magic at all, he just came to influence other people’s learning. During his two years of study in the Academy, he flirted and fooled around with many, which caused several stupid struggles, leading to five apprentices, three women and two men, fighting each other out of jealousy… It seemed that two or three of these five were specialized in necromantic spells. Nollard defended the necromancers, mostly just to protect his ex-girlfriend and boyfriend.

“I just want to ask you.” At this moment, Charles continued. “Why did you want to be a mage? Especially…You are also a necromancer… It seems that you are about the same age as me. How could you have taken this road…”

Burris thought for a while and asked, “You should have heard your brother mention necromancy, right? Even if your brother defends it, he must admit that there are many things in necromancy that are disgusting, right?”

“Yes…”

“For example, nettles in the cemetery, burned bats, human blood mixed with medicines, fetuses that weren’t born alive, even corpse oil and bones hundreds of years ago…” As Burris said this, Charles was already sick. “Let’s not talk about it. Let’s see what necromancy can do. Some spells can kill enemies quickly, some spells can create lifeless and fearless warriors…and some are even more ingenious. Sir Charles, has anyone in your army been injured by actual combat or training?”

“Of course.”

“Like falling off a horse and breaking a front tooth?”

“That is really the case! Someone in my team broke their tooth last month, although it wasn’t because of horse riding…”

Burris laughed: “You should know that once an adult’s tooth is missing, it can’t be recovered. Now there is such a necromantic spell that can spawn new bones and shape them. A trained necromancer can let people grow tooth again, and then use the magic to shape the new tooth to fit the current oral structure. This new tooth is a real tooth, not a metal denture or illusion, and the whole casting process will not bring any pain and danger to the subject… Is this spell very convenient?”

“Indeed…” Charles recalled the mouth of that teammate. A missing front tooth at the age of seventeen was really sad.

Burris added: “However, this spell it’s not just for teeth. If it is cast in a different way, it can also be used in combat and assassination. Necromancers can make the enemy’s bones swell or collapse in a few minutes, or let them pierce the arteries and the flesh…”

The young knight froze. He couldn’t help taking a step back. The mage who was not much older than himself had always had a gentle temperament, but now he suddenly became very scary.

Don’t worry, no one will cast spells like this now.” Burris said. “Actually, the killing method is the basic version of this spell. It’s used to give deer antlers, let people grow new teeth, and help them to develop their legs when they have different lengths…Necromancers have been working on these new usages during the past hundred years. The Arcane Federation banned its killing version and the materials necessary for that spell and regular necromancers mentors won’t teach it to their students. Sir Charles, if there is an opportunity to let your friend grow his front tooth, would you like it?”

“This…Of course I would.” The boy said hesitantly.

“If there is an enemy invading Sago in the future, and you are powerful enough to ride and kill the enemy, sweep the battlefield, ensure that your side will retreat completely and make the enemy dare not to attack again…would you be willing to fight with this power?”

“I would be willing.”

“Well, if there is peace in the Moonset Mountains and the orcs and barbarians will never cross the mountains again, and at this time someone ask you to make a special trip into the orc village to kill all men, women, children, and even the newborn babies, would you do it?”

“No!” Charles said loudly. “Soldiers defend their homes and defend the country, but they never kill innocent people. I also know that some troops will do some depraved and disreputable things in war… But I certainly would not! Whether it is a realm knight or a temple knight, we would not!”

Burris looked at him appreciatively: “You asked me why I want to be a necromancer, and you wonder why your brother defends them. Don’t you already know the answer?”

Thanks for reading! If there is any mistake please tell me 🙂