### Seven Years Ago
Arnes Hyouki, a ten-year-old boy, lived with his mother in a small village. Despite coming from a broken family—his father had abandoned them to join the mercenaries—Arnes led a happy, cheerful life thanks to his mother's love. Their family couldn't use magic due to a genetic anomaly. In a world where 70% of the population could wield magic, the remaining 30% were known as hybrids, devoid of magical abilities. Out of the magical population, only 25% were AA or SS ranked. Arnes' life was ordinary until one fateful day changed everything.
After playing with the village kids, Arnes was eager to return home to his mother's warm embrace. Little did he know that the hug he longed for would never come.
*Crank*
"Mom, I'm back! Did you know I got good at the game today...huh, why is the door open?"
His eyes widened as he saw his mother's lifeless body on the floor. Arnes wanted to share his day with her, but today was different. He was spellbound, staring at his mother's corpse in disbelief.
"Ah, we were waiting for you, chosen one."
Two men in brown robes stood behind his mother's body. One held a cross with a purple gem embedded at its center, and the other a dagger, stained with his mother's blood. As one of the men approached, Arnes, paralyzed with fear, wet himself. He didn't fully grasp the concept of life and death, but he knew something was terribly wrong.
"By the Curse of Aros, I offer this child's body to the darkness."
The man moved his arms toward the boy, who was too frightened to react. The cross shone brightly, and dark smoke filled the room, quickly being absorbed by the little boy as he passed out.
### An Hour Later
*SMASH*
"This is the house where the commotion was reported, right?"
"Yes, ma'am. Please be careful." The neighbor stepped back as soon he asked for help from authorities.
A woman, a knight of the country, had come in response to a report of two men forcibly entering a house and a subsequent scream. She broke down the door and entered.
"Hey, boy, I was reported two suspicious men were here."
Arnes didn't respond. He stood staring at the ground. Further back, a woman stood in the corner, barely visible.
"Is that your mother? Excuse me, ma'am, I need to know about the earlier commotion."
"Mom, someone is calling for you," Arnes said, looking at the ground in terror.
The woman staggered, struggling to walk. As she neared the door, the knight noticed her intestines spilling out—a sight that should have been impossible for a living person. The knight's eyes widened in shock.
"U-undead? What is an undead doing here instead of in a dungeon? Oi, kid, stay away from her!"
"Mom, she's afraid. Get back," Arnes commanded. The undead woman obeyed like a puppet.
"Did you call her your mother?" the knight asked, astonished in disbelief.
Arnes, with tears in his eyes, raising both of his hands as he tried to protect his mother. "Stay away from my mom! I cured her, and you're trying to hurt her again!"
"You cured her? Explain!" the knight demanded, pointing her sword at the boy.
Arnes, terrified, began to recount, "Two men hurt my mom. When I came back, one had a weird cross and the other a weapon. One of them put the cross on my head and said something about the Curse of Aros... then I don't remember..." Overwhelmed by fear, the child passed out, and the undead woman, his mother's corpse collapsed like a broken toy.
The knight, still pointing her sword at them, whispered in fear, "Curse of Aros." She approached the corpse of Arnes' mother. "This boy could be a threat to humanity. I must report this to the authorities. I feel sorry for him, but it can't be helped. This is the second cursed victim... What is happening in this country?"
Trembling, she raised her shining sword and decapitated the undead woman.
### Seven Years After
"Mmmhm... that dream again..."
"Good morning, master."
After the nightmare about his past, Arnes regained his senses. Each time he had the nightmare, his thirst for revenge grew. Ever since he was seven, he had one goal: to end his curse and find those who ruined his life.
To achieve this, he would fully utilize his necromancy powers. Confined for seven years due to fear of his abilities getting legal threat from country's authorization, he now had the opportunity to hone his skills at an academy that allowed him some freedom. The principal, aware of his powers, had helped him turn his life around.
"Another thing I want to ask the principal... how did she know about the city knight, my master?"
"...the city knight?" The summoned puppet, Imeki, looked at him with her robotic expression.
"That's my master... Imeki." Arnes recalled his master who helped him during his tough time in prison.
She nodded, though as a lich, she lacked human understanding.
"Anyway... you did great at yesterday's battle. Even though my words are useless to you, I still want to thank you."
"Master, why do you treat me like a human? It's useless to talk to me since I have no feelings."
"It's alright. To me, you're more than a lich, you're a human soul."
"Is that so, master?" Imeki tilted her head, still not understanding his point giving response like a robot or an AI. And as usual Arnes nodded.
"Well, today is our third day at the academy and our second day of classes. Let's see what happens next. And about that dragon yesterday... I'm sure we'll find similar dragon corpse for ourselves...that principal really want us to hunt a dragon corpse."
The fact I understood there were dragons resided outside of the city wall, it was safe to say the principal pointed that out for me so I can summon a dragon corpse for myself so I can use necromancy on it and use it as my puppet.
"If it's you, master, I'm sure we will."
I nodded and realized I smelled terrible. I told Imeki to wait in the room while I took a bath and got ready for the hellish classes.
To Be Continued...