"Rosa, did you see it? A skeleton has appeared in the town!" Rosa's husband placed the tomato soup and fried ham noodles he had brought back from the restaurant on the table, then turned to his wife.
Rosa sprang to her feet, her finger touching the hunting knife at her waist.
Her husband jumped in fright, then continued awkwardly, "...It's working in the vegetable garden behind the Dragonflame Restaurant."
Rosa sat back down and sheathed her knife, "Dragonflame Restaurant, ah, that's normal."
"Yes," her husband found it amusing, "I heard it's a very beautiful skeleton!"
Xavier was on the verge of exploding. In many years after becoming a Lich, he had never encountered such a powerful professional Mage as Ina. He never thought that now he would not only have to endure the black dragon's beck and call, but also be gawked at by the townspeople.
Not only did they gawk, but they also pointed at Xavier's skeleton, "Such beautiful bones, as white as snow."
The people nearby agreed one after another, "Yes, it really is a perfect skeleton."
An old woman with silver-white hair took a step forward, "I really hope that when I die, I could also turn into such a beautiful skeleton."
The spot where she was standing was near the pile of rubble that Xavier had cleared from the wasteland. The old woman was so focused on staring at the little skeleton that she didn't notice an irregular piece of rubble under her foot. She twisted her ankle and immediately fell towards the pile of stones, about to hit her head.
People nearby gasped, reaching out to her, but only brushing against the edge of her clothes.
Xavier's body sprinted uncontrollably, and like a bolt of lightning, he caught the falling old woman.
He felt a wave of desolation. He knew he was finished.
Ina's words kept echoing in his ears: "From today, you will be brave and charitable, unafraid in the face of danger..."
Xavier took two steps back. He didn't want this!
In the end, the old woman tightly gripped his hands, "Thank you, young man. You're a good boy."
Xavier shook his head inwardly. This wasn't something he was willing to do.
But looking at the old woman's hands clasping his, he seemed to realize that he hadn't felt the warmth of a living person in a long time. These hands were just as warm as his mother's. That's why he didn't push the old woman away.
Speaking of which, it had been 137 years since his mother left him.
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Many years ago, about 170 years ago, there was a mage living in Sunset Town. His ancestors were all mages. He used all his wealth to build a small mage tower and was the most respected person in the town.
But his son did not inherit his talent and was only a mediocre mage apprentice in his middle age. After his father died, he lived in poverty. However, the mage apprentice's proudest achievement was that he had a genius son, even though his talent was in necromancy.
Necromancy is also magic. Although ordinary people have a wary attitude towards necromancers, under the tolerant magic environment at that time, these were not significant.
However, the good times didn't last long. When the prodigy Xavier was thirteen years old, the Orland Empire began a purge of different races. Any civilian with non-human blood, no matter if their human bloodline was one-fourth or three-fourths, as long as they had distinctive non-human traits, the better ones were expelled from the empire, and the unfortunate ones were even tied to the stake and burned to death.
Somehow, necromancers were included in the purge. Fortunately, Xavier was young and nobody knew of his talent. Xavier's father immediately changed his claim, asserting that his son was just as mediocre as he was, merely a commoner.
"You absolutely cannot use necromancy in front of people. Do you understand?" His parents earnestly advised Xavier.
Xavier solemnly nodded. He had been studying necromancy for a while. His grandfather's mage tower provided him with a good learning environment so that he could not be affected by the tense atmosphere of the Orland Empire. He even summoned a beautiful skeleton and named it Orldington.
His peaceful life continued until he was 16 years old. While out with his parents, on the main thoroughfare of Sunset Town, a two-year-old baby climbed over the window of a loft along the street, about to fall onto the cobblestone road.
Xavier's eyes widened: "Orldington!"
The snow-white skeleton emerged from the ground, caught the falling child in mid-air, and after gently placing the child on the side of the road, Orldington disappeared back into the earth.
His parents' eyes were filled with panic. Xavier asked helplessly, "Did I do something wrong?"
His father suppressed his anxiety and reassured Xavier, "You saved a child's life, you did the right thing."
Xavier and his family pretended as if nothing had happened and continued shopping at the market. No one knew that Orldington was summoned by Xavier. They thought they could escape this predicament.
The appearance of a skeleton in Sunset Town quickly alerted the Temple Knights in nearby cities. The Temple Knights saw this place as an object of investigation, and the people in Sunset Town were in a state of unrest, guessing who the hidden necromancer in the town might be.
The most suspicious was undoubtedly the Xaviers, who had been mages for generations. Although Xavier's grandfather had passed away, and Xavier was said to have no magical talent, his father was a mage apprentice. It might just be his disguise to cover up his identity as a necromancer.
Xavier's mother was very anxious, and his father returned from the baron's house in town, bringing good news: traces of non-humans or necromancers were found in many towns. The Temple Knights were aware of Sunset Town, but they should not arrive so quickly. They still had time.
"Let's move!" Hope ignited in Xavier's mother's eyes, "If we leave the Orland Empire, we will be safe!"
Xavier's father shook his head, "If we flee, the Temple Knights will immediately target us. Their investigations in other cities would surely be suspended, and they would prioritize arresting us."
Xavier, full of guilt, had tears in his eyes, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
"It's not your fault, son. Anyone would have made the same choice in that situation." Xavier's father stroked his head.
"I'll find a way to save us." Xavier's father said firmly.
A month later, when the Temple Knights arrived, the local baron, William, came out to meet them.
"I heard there's a mage apprentice in the town?"
Baron William shook his head, "Not anymore."
The Temple Knight raised an eyebrow. Baron William explained sorrowfully, "I was shocked to hear that there was a necromancer in town, so I called him over to inquire. That day, a group of my slaves rebelled and attempted to assassinate me. The brave mage apprentice tried to protect me, but unfortunately, he was killed."
The Temple Knight wasn't so easily fooled, he coldly asked, "Where is his body then?"
Baron William showed him the body of Xavier's father. The Temple Knight, who had seen plenty of tricks, called many townspeople to identify the body together.
"Yes, it's indeed Buck of the Varen family."
"How could this happen, Buck is so young..."
"Buck is a commendable warrior..."
The Temple Knight was finally convinced, but he proposed to burn the body of Xavier's father, to completely rule out the possibility that he was a necromancer.
On the day his father's body was burned, Xavier watched the raging fire outside the fire pit and muttered, "Why do this, I could have revived my father."
His mother, her eyes dried of tears, spoke numbly, "What you would revive wouldn't be your father, but a wandering spirit without memories or consciousness. I would rather him go to the divine kingdom where he can be free from pain, instead of him hiding forever in the basement of the mage tower."
The Temple Knights investigated the town for a few more days but found no other information about the necromancer. They also checked Buck's son, Xavier, who indeed was an ordinary child with no talent. With incidents of non-human resistance against the church happening everywhere in the empire and a shortage of manpower, the Temple Knights were already considering leaving.
Baron William casually mentioned, "I heard that recently, a considerable number of evil necromancers are becoming dissatisfied with the church, deliberately wandering around the empire, not only instigating the public to resist the church's orders but also using necromancy everywhere to confuse the eyes of you noble Temple Knights."
The leading Temple Knight nodded, "Indeed, there is such a thing. For such extremely evil necromancers, we will definitely execute them."
In this way, Baron William saw off the Temple Knights.
Xavier appeared in Baron William's castle, holding a silver necklace in his hand. It was a magical tool given to him by the baron that could briefly conceal the fluctuation of magical power, but its duration was very short and couldn't withstand the long-term inspection of the Temple Knights. However, they already had a satisfactory answer and their suspicions about Xavier had been dispelled.
"This is for you, young Xavier. You can continue to live here, and the people in the town will definitely not look at you differently." They had all benefited from Xavier's grandfather to some extent, which was why Baron William was willing to help Xavier.
"Did my father...did he really...or did he kill himself?" Xavier asked the question that had been haunting his heart for a long time.
Baron William answered him, "I deeply regret this, but your father indeed saved me. He was my savior." What he didn't say was that the injury Buck suffered was far from fatal, but he chose to give up his life.
Finally, a spark lit up in Xavier's eyes. He had seemed on the verge of madness just now, guilt suffocating him. He couldn't sleep or do anything else, spending each day sitting at the top of the mage tower, looking at the scenery outside the window with hollow eyes.
Xavier continued to live in Sunset Town with his mother.
On her deathbed, his mother held his hand, "Xavier, your mother is going to find your father. You must remember, from now on, I hope you neither save people nor harm people."
Xavier remembered and complied.
After his mother's death, he transformed himself into a lich and created a disguised body for himself, changing it every few years, and lived quietly for more than a hundred years.