Chapter 163: Ahem
'Really… not bad at all…'
There is a certain charm to festivals that even Novus, who would rather lock himself up in this little room of his and take his time improving himself rather than to go out there alone, couldn't help but find the academy's current atmosphere quite pleasing.
The morning sun had already revealed itself, risen above the eastern horizon as he stood up his bed and stretched himself, a faint smile on his face as he looks back to the events of yesterday.
Sure, albeit spending the entire day slowing his progress down for the sake of accompanying Medea and her friend, Elena, there is something to yesterday that he couldn't help but feel satisfied with.
'It's not always about focusing on growing stronger, is it?'
He couldn't help but mutter to himself, still sporting that faint smile on his face as he prepares himself for the day, looking forward to seeing the Sword Princess once again, their plan including searching for that trustworthy alchemist during the main event of the festival's second day.
As he cleans himself in the shower, the young man finds the time to check his daily improvements, a faint trace of joy and satisfaction in his mind as he looks at the numbers consistently going up, and along with it, his own strength.
[Novus Helion van Argenta]
[Combat Rating: D Tier Mage (Assessment Ongoing)]
[Talent: True Immortal Blood (EX-Rank Growth-type Innate Talent)]
[Current Evolution Domain Location: Verdant Expanse: Verdant Forest (1.5-star danger level)]
[Immortal Energy: 9,500/9,500]
[Strength: 8,100]
[Agility: 8,100]
[Vitality: 8,100]
[Arcane: 8,100]
[Harmony: 8,100]
[True Immortal Blood (EX-Rank Growth-type Innate Talent)]
[Growth Progress: 7.235 % (92.745% before Talent Rank Up)]
[Mastery: Intermediate level (17.91%)]
[Elemental Affinity]
[Fire: Novice (79.25%)]
[Shadow: Novice (82.17%)]
After preparing himself for the day, Novus then decided to head out, energy brimming from the depths of his being as he swung the door to his room open, his face sporting a look of confidence, inevitably pulling the attention of the other students around him.
It is true that due to the busy liveliness of things yesterday, most of the students' attention weren't on the severely conspicuous group of two of the most renown seniors among this batch of students walking with the most infamous freshman.
However, there are always bound to be some more observant, more interested people who pays attention to their surroundings more than usual, and said people bears witness to this conspicuous group as they roam around the academy grounds.
And when there are people and interesting events, there are definitely going to be rumors spreading, especially when one of the people these students are talking about is already subjected to multiple rumors enough to ruin anyone else's reputation.
Had it been any other one of his peers that is subjected to such things, they would most likely care about their image more than Novus currently do, possibly resulting in them committing reckless acts, further ruining their image.
This young man however, seems to be uncaring about what every single student has to say about him, the whispering and talks, as well as those scrutinizing, envious and even hostile gazes no longer bothering him in the least.
If anything, this young man couldn't help but feel like there are several insects roaming around his being, sure, a pretty annoying experience but something that isn't even capable of harming him in the slightest.
Hence the reason why despite all these hostile gazes, he just continues on his way, standing in the fork road where the paths to the male and female dormitories meet, just standing there, waiting for his company to arrive with his eyes closed, focused on improving himself.
[You absorbed Evolution Energy. Refinement of the body will continue until the source of the energy runs out.]
[Your talent: True Immortal Blood is being refined. +0.003% progress, +3 maximum Immortal Energy.]
[Your physique has grown. +3 strength, +3 agility, +3 vitality.]
[You sense all sort of energy clearer than before. +3 arcane.]
[Your body and soul seem to grow closer. +3 harmony.]
The words continue to ring in his mind until he heard a familiar voice calling out to him, that melodious, yet nonetheless cheeky tone said voice is talking with causing him to snap out of his shallow meditation.
"Hehe~~ Elena, look at this guy, looks like he couldn't sleep yesterday~~~"
As she said those words, Medea also closes the distance between himself and this junior of hers, the first male friend she ever had within the academy, and counting out those who belong to the same clan as her, the first ever in her entire life.
Her intent in doing so is simple, to take this chance to observe his face without having him staring back at her, something that, despite looking easy to accomplish, is something she deems as nigh impossible given how sharp his senses are.
It is to the point that just a moment of her staring at him will be enough to make him well aware of her gaze.
Looking at him, she couldn't help but admire the well-defined features of his face, the well-defined jawline, the straight, masculine nose, the sword-like eyebrows and the long eyelashes that gives a certain feminine touch to his otherwise completely masculine charm.
And as she continues plunging deeper into this observation, one of her hands starts moving up, intending to poke this face with curiosity in her gaze, only to be stopped as she heard a masculine voice.
"Medea, you're being quite audacious now, aren't you?"
As he opens his eyes, Novus' mind immediately concluded that this mischievous girl is about to play a prank on him again, prompting him to move swiftly as he raises his hand in defense, grasping the lady's approaching hand to prevent her from touching him.
"Hyaa~!!"
And Medea felt it as well, the suddenness of it all, him opening his eyes and immediately locking gazes with her, his swift, traceless motion that allows him to grasp her hand without her being able to react at all.
Worst of all, the fact that the two of them are standing just a few centimeters away from each other right now, making her painfully aware of how close the two of them are in their current state.
The anxiety from this fact alone causes all external stimulus to lose any semblance of meaning to her, the only thing she can notice being the young man in front of her, as well as the loud, racing beating of her heart.
If there is a silver lining to such surprise other than the odd mix of panic and calm that she is feeling, it is the fact that there are few students who are up this early, and even those who also wake up before the break of dawn are still in the dormitories, lazing around either in their own room or in the common area.
"Ahem!!!"
The Sword Princess' mind is already in utter confusion and panic, words that she wants to say now stuck in her tongue, this short moment stretching for what she felt like an eternity before she was snapped out of her daze.
Luckily for Medea, she brought Elena with her, else she doesn't know what she might've said, or done, right at this moment.