The White Wizard

Chapter 2

Arthur truly wished he was more knowledgeable. If he had been stronger, he would have confronted those angry bull-like men or that bastard pea-headed fellow who ripped his father’s heart out without hesitation. 

But there was still far too much Arthur needed to learn; about his life, about magic, and about whatever had pushed his father into being hunted and killed.

As he ran through the deep woods, thoughts kept dragging him backward. Memories precisely.

How Gad used to yell at him whenever he refused to learn even a single pronunciation correctly. Everything now came crashing down into regret.

If he had learned more seriously, perhaps tonight would have turned out differently from this miserable disaster.

The heavy and thunderous footsteps behind Arthur never faded. The ground shook as the giants drew closer.

Arthur was shocked by how those men could carry such massive bodies so swiftly despite their huge and muscular physiques.

But if there was one thing Arthur desperately wanted, it was to rip open the hearts of those wicked men exactly the same way they had done to his father.

Arthur was certain he had never seen any of them before. Gad himself rarely left the cabin, not to mention making enemies terrible enough to hunt him down like an animal.

What exactly had Gad done wrong to deserve something this brutal?

For people to come all this way just to take the life of a man who secretly loved his son but never truly knew how to show it.

But even with all that hatred, Arthur still blamed himself. He was the real cause of this calamity.

If only he had endured spell lessons the same way he endured punishments for his stubbornness, perhaps he would have been capable of helping his father tonight.

Arthur ran deeper into the woods as far as his trembling legs could carry him.

The forest was covered heavily in fog while the shrubs beneath his feet felt cold and eerie. Even the strange continuous hooting of owls made the night feel even more disturbing.

Eventually, the forest began thinning out. Arthur suddenly found himself standing before a massive waterfall with violently raging currents.

There was nowhere left to run. He was trapped.

He looked upward at the enormous moon while clutching the three books tightly against his chest as the approaching footsteps behind him grew louder.

But while staring at the sky as though the moon itself could somehow save him, Arthur failed to realize how close he had drifted toward the edge of the waterfall.

The ground beneath him cracked. Arthur lost his balance completely and plunged straight into the raging waters below. He screamed as the current instantly dragged him away.

But the spell still concealed him from his enemies. Even if they wanted to help him out, they could neither hear nor properly perceive him within the natural sense.

Arthur never realized when the three books slipped from his grasp.

Then the dark sky finally broke open with violent rain. The torrential downpour added even more chaos to the deadly aquatic region Arthur had fallen into.

As Arthur repeatedly sank beneath the freezing waters, flashes of distant lightning illuminated the sky ahead of him. That was when he realized he was no longer near the forest anymore.

He had been dragged frighteningly far away and now found himself in the middle of an enormous ocean.

The wind was unbearable too. Its violent intensity almost tore Arthur away entirely.

Fortunately enough, a dried floating log became his salvation.

Arthur wrapped both arms around the trunk tightly while the cold made his body shiver uncontrollably. His teeth trembled violently as random jerks kept running through his body.

The rain refused to stop, and the night itself felt like it was carrying death inside it.

One painful truth Arthur wanted to accept was that he had failed again.

He had lost the three books while being swept away from the forest region. It dawned on him fully now. All was uncertain.

After a long while, the furious downpour weakened into a soft drizzle. The violent wind reduced drastically too. But one of the heaviest burdens remained the endless ocean surrounding Arthur from every direction.

When the rain finally stopped completely, the cold air pierced deeply into Arthur’s skin.

It nearly forced another violent shiver through his body and almost threw him back into the ocean.

And Arthur dared not loosen his grip on the log even slightly. Because if he did, he would quickly discover the danger of not knowing how to swim.

There were no trees. No land. No signs of life. Just endless water stretching endlessly in every direction.

Arthur doubted even a powerful wizard could survive easily in such endless waters.

Honestly, would a wizard even attempt transforming into a shark or whale? No. Even the freezing cold alone might destroy the stability of the spell.

Strangely enough, Arthur never realized when he eventually drifted into unconsciousness.

He truly believed he was still awake, not knowing he had already blacked out for a very long time.

And perhaps that alone defined the word mistake perfectly, because while trapped in a mistake, one often believes everything is still right.

In Arthur’s case, perhaps fate itself refused to drag him into the darkest regions of the ocean.

When he eventually woke up, Arthur would realize that whatever strange fortune followed him was more than enough to keep him alive.

Arthur was startled the moment his eyes opened. He was still clinging onto the floating log as though unseen forces had kept him attached to it for some mysterious reason.

But now, the log had already drifted toward the shore of the aquatic region. Morning had arrived. Dawn itself was slowly giving way to the approaching brightness of day.

“Are you some kind of gorilla trying to catch ants on that trunk?” a rough aged voice suddenly echoed nearby.

Then the voice muttered again. “He doesn’t even look black though.”

Arthur quickly turned his head. A small boat floated nearby while an old man with a pipe hanging from his mouth squinted at him like someone suffering from terrible hypermetropia.

The man wore an old worn-out hat while his beard and moustache were so thick and massive that Arthur imagined they could probably reach his stomach.

“You got no mouth?” the old man asked again.

Arthur still could not answer immediately. Honestly, he did not even know whether to respond or simply continue thanking nature for somehow dragging him safely toward land.

Then suddenly, the old man lazily pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at Arthur.

Arthur instantly jolted in fear. “Hey, hey... I got a mouth, sir!” he quickly said while raising both hands.

The old man narrowed his eyes again. “Get in here right now or I blow your brains out,” he threatened roughly. “You screwed-up fellow.”

Arthur immediately obeyed and carefully stepped into the boat. The old man stared at him suspiciously while smoke from his pipe curled upward into the morning air.

He never lowered the gun. Instead, he kept it aimed directly at Arthur with threats written all over his wrinkled face.

“Where in the cinnamon hell did you sprout from?” the old man asked with his rickety voice.

Arthur shifted uneasily. He honestly did not know where to even begin from. And was it truly worth explaining anything to this old timer? Definitely not.

However, the old man had no idea he was standing before someone capable of creating mystical disasters if he wished to.

Arthur could easily play some mischievous tricks on him right now. Honestly, it seemed like the best option available since Arthur could still remember a few spell incantations.

Arthur suddenly felt the urge to show this old man that strange things were about to begin happening around him.

“Carez ta na enslutch te eth...” Arthur muttered quietly beneath his breath.

The old man tilted his head. “What did you just say?”

At that exact moment, the long gun inside the old man’s grip suddenly began twisting violently on its own.

In complete terror, the old man threw the weapon away instantly.

“What in the Name of Mother Mary!!!” he screamed before falling backward inside the boat.

Arthur quickly rushed toward him and helped him back up.

“I think we should leave this place, sir,” Arthur warned seriously. “I heard spirits roam around this shore.”

The old man immediately yanked the cross necklace from his neck and began wildly pointing it in every direction.

“Lord have mercy!!!” he screamed in panic.