Who Said A Necromancer Can't Be A Priest?-Chapter 104: Dodgeball (1)
The gymnasium was crowded with students. Some were stretching, some were already practicing their skills, and the rest had their eyes pinned between the door and was the clock tower.
Only five minutes remained for the test to start. These five minutes would determine the next step of their plan. All these students were led by Theo and Deor Marki as they waited for the time to run out.
If Aaran didn't show up, then they wouldn't have to do anything. But if he somehow miraculously arrived there, then they'll have to go all-out and ensure he got the worst marks in the class.
However, their group wasn't the only one wishing for Jack's downfall. Alicia, the Saintess of Mercy, was no different. She had tried persuading Aaran to renounce himself as a virtue, but he didn't agree, making things difficult for the temple.
How could they possibly work with someone who killed the high priest? The thought was just absurd. That's why she even recruited the invigilator into her ranks and ruin Aaran's future as much as she could.
A tall man, holding a clipboard, looked at Alicia. There was still time left for the exam to start, but the saintess disregarded the rules, gesturing for the professor to start.
"Silence!" the professor shouted. "I'll be overseeing today's exam. If you don't want any point deductions, I suggest you all behave!"
Everyone went silent. A single point reduction can ruin their future and even noble brats like them were aware of the consequences.
The professor cleared his throat and began calling out names for attendance.
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"Alicia!" the professor called.
"Here!"
"Theo Marki!"
"Present!"
"Deor Marki!"
"…" he just raised his hand.
The professor kept calling names until he reached Aaran's name. He looked around the hall, and as expected, he wasn't there.
"Aaran Runedral!"
The professor called out, smiling.
"Is Aaran present here?"
No answer.
Theo and Deor were smiling the hardest, while Alicia acted as normal. Other than her vengeance for Aaran, she had to present the image of a kind saintess. Expressing her emotions in public wasn't something she would do.
"Looks like he is absent. What a shame. The status of a special student seems to have been wasted."
The professor was about to mark him absent when the doors were kicked open.
"Phew… made it just in time," Aaran said, panting.
The face of the Markis and Alicia was hilarious. Their smug expressions had been replaced by disbelief. Theo even pinched himself, unable to believe his eyes.
As for the professor, he couldn't do anything anymore as Aaran walked over to him and tapped the clipboard.
"Here, sir."
"Yes, ahem. Why are you so late?"
The professor still tried reprimanding Aaran, but did he have the right to do that?
Nope.
Not after pushing the exam forward even by two minutes.
"Am I late? I don't think so, professor," Aaran said, pointing at the clock. "If anything, I'm a minute early."
"Go get ready!"
"Right away."
Aaran was all smiles as he walked past the Marki brothers, but he didn't say a word to them, unlike Alicia.
"That didn't work out. Perhaps you should try a more… on hand approach next time."
"You…!"
Alicia raised her hand to slap Aaran, only to be flicked in the forehead by him. She froze up in shock. The nearby students who saw it happen couldn't believe it.
A man touched the saintess. How could she let that happen?
"How dare you touch me!?" Alicia yelled.
She was acting like he touched her in an intimate place. Even Eleanor didn't react like it when they spent the night together.
This saintess is really something.
She was the one who wanted to slap him, and now she's acting like the victim. Was she retarded?
Considering how those temple folks are, being a retard might be a requirement.
"You were about to slap me," Aaran shrugged. "I would have touched you either way. In fact, you should be glad. You would have touched a lot more of me. Heck, you could've actually been defiled."
"What are you even—?"
"Look, you're the saintess of mercy," Aaran said, cutting her off again. "What would people say if you hit me? You're supposed to show compassion and kindness to other, not violence."
Aaran continued, "Sigh, I can't believe someone as unqualified as me has to lecture you. Please learn from your mistakes and reflect."
Alicia clenched her fists, unable to retort, but Aaran's next words just threw him off.
"Perhaps you should try a more… hands on approach next time you want to mess with me," he whispered. "Trusting these fools would only lead to disappointment. Won't you agree?"
"I-I don't know what you mean…"
"Of course you don't," Aaran scoffed. "Either way, I'm off to change. I can't let these dusty clothes cloud your vision during the test."
"Who is interested in your body?"
"Who indeed…"
Just like that, Aaran walked away, leaving a fuming Alicia behind.
***
"I'll explain the rules to you now!" The professor yelled, spinning a ball on his finger. "There will be three balls spread around the gymnasium. Your goal is to hit others with these balls."
"Anyone who is hit by the ball gets eliminated, and the one who hit the other will get points. There will be three rounds, twenty minutes each. Your points will be tallied at the end of the exam and that will be your score. Any doubts?"
Theo raised his hand first.
"Can we team up with others?"
The professor understood why he was asking such question and smiled.
"There are no rules stopping you from doing that," he said. "But in the end, you will be marked individually, so keep that in mind."
Alicia was the next to raise a question.
"Can we use our powers?"
"Yes, you can. This exam is to test your battle readiness. Using your abilities is essential, but you cannot target others with the said abilities. The use of abilities is restricted to the balls only."
"What about weapons?" Aaran asked next.
"No offensive weapons allowed. You can use support weapons, although it is quite useless since you'll be scored individually. Any other questions?"
The students shook their heads. The professor nodded and blew the whistle.
"Fight!"
