The Nightmare Wizard
Chapter 65 – The Price of a Head

Chapter 65: Chapter 65 – The Price of a Head

Lia’s eyes snapped open, her heart pounding a mile a minute. William’s room... had it all been a dream, a hallucination after fainting? She sat bolt upright in bed, desperately searching for William. "William?! William?!" Her voice trembled with panic.

The door opened almost instantly, and William entered, his face showing concern before softening at the sight of her awake. He quickly approached and knelt beside the bed, taking her hands. "Lia, calm down. I’m here. Everything’s alright." He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, trying to soothe her agitation. "You can get up and go about your activities now. Congratulations on last night, you endured like a champion." He explained that every night they should repeat the exercise outside, but the intense pain shouldn’t return.

Lia nodded, still a little shaky, and thanked him. She remained sitting on the bed as William headed to the deck. He needed to stretch his muscles, even though his wounds still ached. He did a gentle warm-up with his sword, slow and controlled movements, before heading to the stern of the ship, where the sailors usually gathered.

There he found Brannik and Renno, his sparring partners. "Look at him! Looks like you got run over by a cart," Brannik joked, though there was a friendly tone in his voice. "But they say you were partying for two nights straight." Renno chuckled. William smiled wearily. "Sorry I didn’t come to thank you guys earlier." Then he asked about Captain Thenerev.

"He’s talking with the mages," Renno replied, his tone becoming a bit more serious. "Seems they found something strange in the last few days." Curiosity piqued William. "What happened?"

Brannik cleared his throat. "The sharks... they’ve disappeared from the sea. They say it’s a bad omen." William frowned, confused. Renno leaned in a little, lowering his voice. "Sharks never get close to the Kraken’s lair. If they’re gone, it’s possible the Kraken is near. Keep this to yourself, eh? It’s not something everyone should know."

William nodded, promising to keep the secret. "Hey," he said then, his tone lighter, "will you guys come with me to the second level? I want to see how everyone else is doing." Renno said he’d go. Brannik shrugged, saying he had work to do.

The two of them went down to the lower deck of the ship. Everything seemed normal. The knight aspirants were training fervently, but even among them, William’s former comrades stood out. They moved with a palpable intensity, as if every strike and every dodge was a matter of life and death.

Every time William went down, the instructors just watched him from afar, avoiding approaching him for fear of Aurus’s retaliation. But this time, Drevlan, the head of all the instructors and the only Level 3 Knight among the trainers, stood in front of William with a mocking smile.

"Well, well, Rosehart," Drevlan said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Seems you have a knack for offending everyone you cross. I heard they put a nice bounty of a hundred spirit stones on your little head. What do you think? Should I collect my reward?" His gaze was challenging, though there was a hint of mockery in his eyes.

William stared back at him, feeling a pang of worry. Renno was only a Level 2 Knight; he couldn’t face Drevlan, and William himself was far from being in top condition. The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Drevlan let out a laugh, breaking the tension. "Just kidding, kid. But what’s no joke is that price on your head. Be careful with those lunatics. We knights have codes, and I still owe you one for not controlling my men and almost getting you killed." His tone became more serious. "While you’re on this ship, no one will attack you. But once at the academy... no one will miss one or two students less, you understand? Consider my debt paid with that information."

William was surprised but quickly understood the implication. His fight with the nobles had extended to everyone on the boat. The mage aspirants must feel humiliated by their defeat and would surely seek revenge. That was the reason for the high price on his head.

The Level 3 Knight chuckled dryly before turning and walking away with his arrogant gait. William sighed and walked towards where his former comrades were. Seeing him, they all stood up immediately, their faces showing a mixture of surprise and relief. They approached to congratulate him on his advancement, but seeing the scars and the paleness of his skin, they knew the rumors about the severity of his injuries were true.

Dixón, always the most direct, quickly approached and examined William’s wounds with a serious look. "It’s impressive you survived an attack from a Level 3 Apprentice," he commented, a tone of disbelief in his voice. "But you look like shit."

The atmosphere lightened a bit when William replied with a tired smile, "Yeah, but I look like this because of an attack. You look like you were rolled around by an ogre and no one even touched you." The group let out a few laughs, easing the tension. They shared jokes, and then the conversation focused on the training of the last few days. William briefly recounted the attack and the motives behind it.

Indignation spread among his companions when they learned that the girls had turned their backs on them after everything they had done for them. "If it weren’t for us, those damn bitches would be slaves!" Cedric exclaimed, his face flushed with anger. Thom clapped William on the shoulder. "But you got lucky anyway, huh? The beauty of Lia stood up to defend you."

William smiled, a glint in his eyes as he thought of her. "Yeah. I’m very much in love with Lia, I’d do anything to protect her." Everyone laughed and assured him of their support. "If we have to fight to the death, we can all die together," Theo added with determination.

William said goodbye to his friends and went back up to the deck. There he could see Eldrin, who was watching him with undisguised fury, leaning against the railing next to Roderick. The latter held a small ball of fire dancing in the palm of his hand and made a clear throat-slitting gesture, running his finger across his neck.

Seeing them so close to the girls, William just smirked to himself, feeling a pang of satisfaction. He walked between them on purpose, bumping their shoulders. Roderick, furious, was about to launch his fire attack when Eldrin stopped him with a wave of his hand. "I spoke with old Agis the other day," Eldrin hissed, his dark eyes full of warning. "Don’t touch the brat until we reach the academy."

Roderick reluctantly nodded, extinguishing the ball of fire in his hand, as he watched William’s back walk away. The tension in the air was palpable, a foreshadowing of the conflicts that would surely erupt once they reached their destination.