"It doesn't look good," said Billy, looking from the prow of the ship at the flat mirror of the ocean ahead.

The sky was clear, not even a single cloud could be seen. The sunlight was intensely present, its brilliance reflected in the water. It made everyone's existence painful, to the point where it was hard to look at anything outside.

Right by Billy's side stood the mysterious man, his face concealed under a hood, and the young alchemist.

"How long might it last?" Bruno asked.

"I don't know. The longest I've seen was three days, so probably a day after tomorrow, we should be moving again," the captain replied.

"This is unacceptable," said the mysterious man. "We've already lost a day. I have places to be. Things to do."

"As much as I would like to do something, I can't change the weather," Billy shrugged.

The man snorted, then threw off his hood, revealing a bald head covered in tattoos and strange symbols forming geometrical patterns. He also had piercings on his eyebrows and ears, all made from either gold or platinum.

He placed his staff in front of him, a solid metal rod with multiple rings on the top part, and then let go of it. Surprisingly, it didn't fall but remained standing as if somehow it was suddenly fixed to the wooden planks.

He pulled back his sleeves, exposing his skinny hands covered in ink, and began waving them, moving his fingers in a strange, hard-to-track rhythm, while silently forming words with his lips.

Bruno immediately recognized what was going on; the man was casting a spell. Intrigued, the boy extended his hand to get closer to the mage, trying to feel the magic, and he did. It immediately overwhelmed him, causing every hair on his body to stand up. He wasn't the only one feeling it. The whole deck fell silent as every single pirate detected the pulsating energy around them. It charged the air with electricity, making people standing nearby able to feel it on their skin.

And then the whole ship was suddenly jerked forward, propelled by a gust of powerful wind that hit the sails, forcing them to expand. The entire construction cracked loudly as if the wood was about to break. Immediately, waves surrounded the vessel, plowing through the mirror-like surface of the ocean.

Everybody was pushed off their feet. The only one who managed to remain standing was the mysterious man. The rest mostly fell on their faces, completely caught off guard by the unexpected movement. A few painfully smashed into other people or objects and a couple hit the railings but stopped on the brink of being thrown overboard.

Shouts and curses filled the air as chaos ensued. A rush of people from the lower decks flooded to the surface to check what was going on. Some were bleeding.

Meanwhile, the mage almost collapsed, but at the last moment, he grabbed his staff to support himself. He gasped for air and then began panting heavily, eventually clutching one of the rings in his eyebrow.

With a sudden motion, he ripped the ring off, but there was no blood. The piece of gold came off without wounding him, only to crumble in his fingers before completely disappearing. He then straightened his back as his strength returned. His breathing returned to normal.

Next, his gaze fell upon Bruno, who was still in the process of picking himself up, entirely in shock from sensing the power of the spell.

"You know magic," stated calmly the mysterious man. "Is this why they wanted to pick you up so badly, that we had to change our route? Who taught you? I never heard about any mages among the pirates."

When the boy finally got back on his feet, he answered the barrage of questions. "I was taught in Exalos by the archmage Mamun."

"Mamun? Archmage?" the bald man snorted. "I never heard of such an archmage. Was he any good?"

There was something in the way the mysterious man was speaking that made Bruno slightly annoyed.

"Enough to study in Harothep," he replied, almost bragging.

"I never heard about any Mamun, and I'm fairly well-informed about Harothep. Don't lie to me, boy," he warned, his face displaying a more serious expression.

"He studied in Harothep. He graduated by developing a spell able to take the mind out of the body," the young alchemist argued confidently.

Despite his words, he started doubting slightly whether the story the old man told him was true. There was a chance he lied about studying in the famous and mysterious school. There was also a possibility that the bald man was only using the name of the school to underline his authority. However, the powerful magic he just witnessed indicated otherwise.

"A spell able to take the mind out of the body? Hmm... Now I'm starting to remember something. Yes... There was somebody who indeed focused on such magic. I remember reading the report from the research. It was utter garbage," he chuckled dismissively. "You should find yourself a better teacher."

"Utter garbage? Who are you? You seem to be very well-informed, and the magic you just used was incredibly powerful," the boy asked, genuinely intrigued.

"Yes, utter garbage. The research was done terribly. The calculations had many mistakes. I guess the council allowed him to pass only because they were interested in how he would develop his method. About who I am, this shouldn't concern you," said the bald man cryptically.

"I've seen the effects of the spell. It works. He moved a mind from one body to another," Bruno argued, trying to assert the legitimacy of what he had witnessed.

"You've seen it work? Where?" the mysterious mage inquired, his interest piqued.

"I can't tell," the boy replied defiantly. "Just like you can't tell me who you are."

A subtle smirk appeared on Bruno's face. He wanted to irritate the man because he knew he couldn't make him talk.

The bald mage chuckled at the boy's response and then left, his heavy staff knocking on the wood with each step. Bruno watched him go, lost in thought.

‘Definitely from Harothep. I wonder what kind of deal he made with the pirates. Could I use this connection? No... Not now, but maybe in the future... My knowledge about magic needs to increase,’ he thought to himself, sighing heavily.

At least they were once again moving toward their destination. Bruno turned to look at the horizon, squinting his eyes against the intense light. Even so, all he could see was an expanse of water ahead of them. There was still plenty of distance to cover, and he knew the journey was far from over.

With the corner of his eye, he spotted Billy walking away as well. The captain was mumbling curses under his breath, massaging his ribcage, which only brought a smile to the young alchemist’s face.