The Nightmare Wizard
Chapter 75: Compensation

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Compensation

After his conversation with the sailors, William began to walk back, the echo of the Leviathan legends still in his mind. As he approached the makeshift hospital area, a familiar voice stopped him. "William! Come to my cabin." It was Professor Aurus. Without hesitation, William headed to the cabin, finding Aurus at his table, as usual, immersed in mathematical formulas and scribbled papers.

"Take a seat, have some tea," Aurus said without looking up, his pen dancing across the parchment. A moment later, he stopped, looked up at William, and observed him with clear intrigue. "I see you’ve trained hard. I didn’t expect them to give you the Kraken’s heart. That heart was promised to Captain Thenerev, and he’s known for being very stingy. You’ve done well, but unfortunately, you wasted the Kraken’s heart."

William couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Aurus’s tone was serious, with no hint of jest. Before he could articulate a question, Aurus continued speaking, a spark of knowledge in his eyes. "The Kraken is an incredibly powerful and very elusive creature. It’s so fearful that it would never attack anything with a similar power level. Its main ability is called Disruptive Zone, and its second strongest ability is the Disruptive Ray. Follow me."

Aurus left his cabin, followed closely by William, and both walked to the ship’s bow. Once there, Aurus turned to look at him.

"A mage’s basic ability is called ’Void Walk’. Observe."

William watched, fascinated, as Aurus teleported from one place to another with astonishing ease, seeming to disappear and reappear in an instant. It was an ethereal, almost magical dance that defied comprehension.

"This is the signature ability of mages, and it’s the reason why knights will never face a mage of their same level. They can move at incredible speed within a hundred meters, but a mage can teleport across an area of kilometers, depending on their power. The Kraken has the ability to prevent this. The Disruptive Zone causes chaos around it that doesn’t allow mages to enter the void. If they try by force, they would turn into minced meat; every part of their body would teleport to a different area. And the Disruptive Ray is that beam of light it used on you; no mage of a similar level would be able to resist it and would be killed instantly. That’s why they accepted my return so soon from the desolate continent, since with four mages it would be safer for everyone to survive. However, you attracted the Disruptive Ray and even managed to withstand it, what I don’t understand is where you got such a powerful talisman."

Aurus’s gaze settled on William, scrutinizing his every subtle movement. William could feel a great force thoroughly investigating him, as if every corner of his being was being examined. He supposed it was Agimenes’ penetrating gaze falling upon him. Understanding that Aurus was suspicious, William wasted no time and told him the story of how he had acquired the necklace in a small shop before departing and how it had been the cause of his conflict with the nobles.

Aurus simply nodded, removing the spell he had cast on William. "You’ve been quite fortunate. A necklace like yours must be Level 3 to completely withstand the Kraken’s direct blow. But the most important thing is that the Kraken’s Disruptive Zone doesn’t allow anyone to activate any magical artifact in its presence. Therefore, your necklace was at most Rank 3. It must be worth about thirteen million mana stones approximately. A very big waste, but you got it for one hundred gold coins; that is extremely lucky... Here you go," extending his hand, Aurus handed him a small black bag with gold details.

"These are one million mana stones. That’s what I managed to get from the other three, as they think I gave you that talisman. Although it’s not the thirteen million, they also promised to help you if you had any problems. That promise is more valuable to you, as you will spend a lot of time at the academy, and Agis is the vice-director. A favor from him can get you out of any trouble."

"I thank you very much, Professor. I will use them wisely. But I would like to know why it’s a waste to use the Kraken’s heart on me. Could you enlighten me?" William asked, his curiosity genuine.

"Right, right, that’s what I was trying to explain," Aurus replied, nodding. "You see, the Kraken is considered a magical creature of the zonal type. That is to say, its abilities are based on controlling a zone and delivering a one-hit kill with a powerful magical ability. One could say it’s a mage of the animal kingdom. Now, the most important parts of any animal are: the Life Gem, which contains all the beast’s knowledge—from the abilities it has learned to the characteristics inherited from its ancestors—and the heart, which contains all the energy stored within the beast’s body. You ate the Kraken’s heart, and your magical power should have increased to Apprentice Level 3, but you’re stuck at Level 1 without being able to ascend to Level 2. I can see in you that the energy is in chaos and overflowing."

At that moment, Angel also spoke. "The professor is right. Due to lack of information, I hadn’t understood what was happening in your body, but with this information, I can say that you are overloaded. All your energy is leaking from your brain. The strange thing is that it is being reabsorbed at an impressive speed, forming a spiral."

Before William could process the flood of information, Aurus continued speaking. "The energy within the Kraken’s heart entered your muscles, giving you that increase in your physical strength. Once used, there’s no way to redistribute the stats again. What I want you to understand is that magical-type beasts like the Kraken are rare. Almost all beasts are physical type, so it’s easier for a knight to devour beasts to ascend ranks, of course, provided they can kill them. In contrast, for us mages, it’s a matter of much searching. We had planned to ask Thenerev for the Kraken’s heart, but he gave it directly to you. A waste."

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