Death Mage with an SS-Rank Talent-Chapter 285
As Aaron was thinking about what to do in his future, not an entire plan, but pieces of a plan on what to do, he received a call on his communicator.
It was Lyanna, his friend, but most importantly, the Vice-Headmistress of the Dusk Academy.
"Hello, Vice-Headmistress", Aaron greeted her as soon as he accepted the call.
He was now in the shared rooms provided by the military. So, he can’t just speak as he wants to. Even if he was, unless they were both in private areas, the friendship would take a back seat, while the Headmistress-Student position would be in the front.
"Aaron, it’s good that you are alright", Lyanna felt better after hearing from him.
"What happened?" Aaron asked.
"The cults started to attack like never before. The peaceful zones are turning into war zones", she said.
"What?" he frowned when he heard the news.
Rock City, the area where his parents live, is outside of those war zones, where there are no monster or cult attacks. Sure, there were monsters here and there, but they are not as volatile as some areas.
Though battles were going on for months, none of the three factions had fully pledged to full war. So, war didn’t spread to every city or town or village.
The war mostly concentrated on certain areas that are important, and there would be some clashes here and there in lesser areas.
Though lesser regions are considered War Free Zones, there were clashes every once in a while. It was why the students were sent to places like that.
The city, Duskmist, was supposed to be like that, but the cults were experimenting with something and couldn’t do so in the war-torn areas, as there would be multiple high-ranking powerhouses who could sniff what was happening quickly.
It would be a quick failure. So actions like that are done where the security is low, and the areas that the alliance wouldn’t think too much about the area’s importance.
Except for facing such incidents a few times, most of the time, the low ranking ranking areas were free, but things have changed.
Aaron believed that his parents were safe being in such a low-importance city, but from what Lyanna said, it might not stay true for long, if they have not yet become dangerous to stay even there.
"Do you know if..."
Lyanna cut him off, "Don’t worry. Rock City was safe for now. No attacks till now, but I can’t guarantee that it will be safe in the future".
Aaron breathed a little after hearing that nothing bad had befallen his home city and his parents were safe, but that was only temporarily, and could change at any moment.
"Vice-Headmistress, I believe that there was a reason why you called me, right?" he asked.
He thought for a second. Though it was known to everyone that the Vice-Headmistress might be favouring Aaron. The reason was that he was stronger than his peers, and she also found a friend in him, but that doesn’t mean she would babysit him.
She would provide chances for him that were not usually available at the stage he was at, but whether he could make use of the chance or not, that totally depends on him. If he fails, that could be the last chance that he could get through her, but there is nothing that happened to determine whether he failed or succeeded in making good of the chance.
So, there was no reason for her call just to say that the war spread to all areas. The fort would announce it, if they haven’t already.
He was tired and wanted to rest for a while before he submitted the monster parts for his monthly quota, but before he could fall asleep, he got the call from Lyanna. If he had gone to submit the materials, he might have heard about the matter, if it was already publicised, or it would most likely have happened within hours.
"Ah, there is a reason for that. The alliance has created a mission board to actively hunt cult members. It was open to all, well, all awakened, whether they were an Hunter, Student or someone who works alone".
"As long as they capture and eradicate a member, there would be a reward based on the rank of the member and their importance to the Cults", she replied.
A sudden enlightenment came to Aaron. She was calling him to send him somewhere, but he suddenly thought of something like a loophole here.
"What if someone killed an innocent and showed proof that they belonged to the cult?" he asked.
It was not above some greedy ones who want to commit such heinous crimes.
"Don’t worry about that. The higher-ups in the alliance were not idiots. They thought that such things could happen, and there were rules regarding these missions. I will send the document regarding those rules".
"The main reason why I called was that I know you should be worrying about your family. So, I thought that you would want to be a part of the team that would be guarding the Rock City", she revealed the reason.
Aaron quickly accepted the commission. There is no way that he would be peaceful without knowing whether his family would be safe or not. So, if they are sending students, then he might as well go.
It would be a win-win situation for him. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
---
After ending the call with Lyanna, Aaron packed up his belongings and was on his way back home. It has been more than a year since he has seen his parents. Though he had regular contact through communication devices, it was not the same thing as seeing them.
Though he was returning and could see his parents almost two years before the required time, he was not happy. He was not returning because he was on holiday or because he had graduated. He was returning because his family could be in danger, which robbed him of the happiness that should have been there regarding the fact that he was going to see his parents after almost two years.