Chapter 718: Early Puberty
The morning in the academy was unusual; the atmosphere, even the clouds were a veil of white. Fog drifted around the compound of the academy, thicker than usual-it was like a towering white wall that stretched to the sky.
The night surely had retreated for the moment and allowed the day to resume its work, but it seemed to have forgotten one of its belongings-the cold. And the day, despite being so early, seemed to be using a generous amount of it without a care in the world for the shivering and curling students in their beds.
Northern had a considerable resistance to cold and heat, yet even he was not aware when he dragged out a duvet from his wardrobe and rolled it around his body. He woke up feeling like a hotdog in a wrap.
The first thing Northern did was run over to his table to check the time. Luckily for him, he had not woken up late like he did last time. It was still the early hours of the morning, before people had even begun to wake.
After seeing the time, Northern smiled and stretched his hands and muscles into the air. Yesterday's night had been very eventful for him. All his owned talents had become EX class.
It was impossible to upgrade copied talents. The best Northern could have done was maneuver them thanks to DIY and his knowledge and ability to tamper with the soul. But that would cost him a useless amount of stamina and might have consequences.
For example, even after copying and upgrading several talents of the starchasers, it was not reflecting in his copied talent. That was because of the manner in which he had maneuvered to upgrade and tether the talents to each individual. He still had access to the talents and could properly copy them if there were any need to.
But none of the talents interested him. Maybe only Aster's lightning talent.
He did not want to maneuver his way to evolving those talents without getting them exclusively. The fear of such made him pause. Besides, his reserves of fragments had been exhausted and were just being refilled by his summons-all of them, even the new ones.
Hence, it was getting up really quickly.
Applying paste on his brush, Northern walked into his toilet and faced the rectangular mirror, staring at himself.
His hands immediately began to crawl over his face as he noted the changes.
'Is it me or do I look older?'
Northern knew how he looked the last time he saw himself. He was how a sixteen-year-old should be. But right now, ignoring his olive skin and its warm undertone, he looked like he had just slept through two years of his life in one night and went straight to hit puberty. Not to mention the height too!
Last Northern remembered, he did not have to bend to fit into the rectangular mirror.
'Fuck two, did I sleep through five years?!'
Northern leaned on the washing basin below the mirror to properly fit in; however, he had not completely rested on it when the basin peeled off the wall and shattered on the ground.
Startled, Northern took a step back, looking down and blinking several times. He raised his hands and looked at both palms.
Then a terrified grin crawled on his face.
'I guess it did not just end with being able to fly.'
Apparently, Northern had no idea, but from the moment he could fly until he slept, the changes in his body were still taking effect. And now, after several hours, they had fully come into play.
He was still the same; anyone who knew him would definitely not find it hard to recognize him, but they would notice the change.
Lucky for him, he did not have to be worried about anything. Because today was the beginning of the Milhwa Festival, and he would be seeing more of the combative school and less of the non-combative school.
And even after the festival, he was going to be transferring to the Artificing course, so he would not see those guys anymore.
Still, the change was very concerning. Northern bent into the mirror slightly and observed. His lean muscles were peak before but had gotten even better. He blinked several times, still adjusting to the strange changes in his body.
His reflection stared back at him with a mix of familiarity and foreignness. The muscles beneath his olive skin were now more defined, as if they had undergone months of rigorous training overnight. He leaned in closer to the mirror, running a hand over his jawline, which seemed sharper, more mature.
'This is going to take some getting used to,' he thought, straightening up.
Northern shook his head, brushing aside the unsettling thoughts. He had more pressing matters to attend to.
Today marked the start of the Milhwa Festival, a grand celebration commemorating the academy's founding. Today was the beginning of his dominion of the school!
After quickly finishing his morning routine, Northern changed into his uniform, which, to his dismay, felt slightly tighter around the shoulders and chest. So, he decided to put it away and asked the Spirit Linen to copy it and wear it on him instead.
The conscious cloth complied and merged with Northern, softly revealing into his uniform almost with the subtleness of a chameleon.
After that, Northern stepped out of his room and hurried to the dining hall where he met with Aster. The poor chatterbox seemed to have changed for the better. It must not have been easy for him, even though all he had to do was watch Northern break the will of the other two.
His fear of Northern had soared through the sky in two nights, and he was very thankful that he did not meet Northern again after that. He was able to sleep without being terrorized. He had been dreading the moment he would meet Northern again.
But when he saw Northern-first from afar he was shocked, and that shock for a moment pushed away the fear he had. He conversed with Northern normally until he remembered who he was talking to and suddenly became a grave of silence.
The dormitory had fewer than a hundred students, many among which were combative students. As they walked around the hall with their food, their eyes were alight with a joyful glow. Northern could tell they were as happy and excited about this as he was.
This made him genuinely happy. He wanted to crush not just their might but their souls. Have
their excitement and expectations so raised, then totally crush it.
Just imagine it... a nobody from the non-combative school singlehandedly crushing every damn person and winning the Milhwa festival.
A grin viciously adorned his face.