Night slowly fell…
Inside the dorms, the students are resting in groups of two or three people. They chatted up a storm. Some of them are watching TV.
Noah sat on the sofa with a book in his hand. He read to pass his time.
Imari asked Noah to leave the room temporarily while the ladies are taking a shower. This is to prevent another mishap like last time. He's free to do whatever he wants outside.
Even if an accident does happen, Noah won't be around to reap the benefits.
Noah decided to hit the lounge while the girls are showering. This is also a good way to relax.
If it was Noah in the past, he would be spending this time diligently training like a monk.
With his Limit ability, he can increase his powers by sealing away excess powers. This increased his powers faster than when he trained hard.
In a way, Noah found a way to relax while training himself. His powers can still grow without conscious effort.
Pure strength is one thing, Noah always believed in raising both strength and skills in tandem to achieve mastery.
Noah still cultivated his martial art and honed his skills while his powers are in an auto-grinding mode.
Noah did all these to ensure a steady growth in his composite powers.
He had ample opportunities to train during the day.
He used the night time to rest his body while honing his other aspects.
Those who are aware of Noah's strength would assume he got here through arduous training. The true secret to Noah's overwhelming strength is actually his ability to time his training and reflect actively on his own progress.
Soon, the lounge filled up with more people. Naturally, many of them noticed Noah's presence.
He's incredibly famous in the school. Even the seniors are aware of this superstar rookie.
The students started talking about Noah.
Soon, a lady entered the lounge. She noticed the fuss and the source, her eyes lit up. She walked over to Noah.
"Can I bother you for a minute?"
A beautiful girl with jet-black hair appeared. Noah looked at the guest.
He chuckled after confirming her identity.
"Ah, Tomoe, you came to rest too, huh?"
"I came here to play Shogi but I noticed you're here so I came over here."
Tomoe bowed respectfully.
"I wanted to thank you. Noah, you really helped Miyabi greatly and I can't express how thankful I am."
Noah didn't expect this sudden thanks. He shook his head.
"It's nothing, you don't have to thank me so formally."
"No, what you did is very important to Miyabi and to me!"
Tomoe lowered her head once more.
"If it wasn't for your timely assistance, Miyabi would have lost her ability to laugh."
Tomoe looked remorseful.
"Miyabi has been feeling very down due to not being able to keep up with everyone. I am worried for her but I am not in tune with her heart enough to offer sincere help or assurance. I just didn't know how to reach out to her. She's my duo and roommate but I felt bad over how powerless I am when it comes to matters of the heart."
Tomoe perked herself up.
"Miyabi might have broke under her own emotions were it not for your help. Miyabi might have even dropped out. I cannot thank you enough for helping Miyabi."
"I get where you're coming from but I only showed some simple pointers. Look, I get your message already, please lift your head up."
Tomoe's expression loosened. She beamed at Noah.
"Anyway, you have my gratitude. Feel free to come and find me should you require help."
"Okay."
Noah knew this honorable young lady meant every last bit of her declaration. She was brought up in a martial arts family so she won't fool around when making promises.
"I will definitely come find you if I need your help."
"Good."
Tomoe sighed in relief. She smiled at Noah.
"Then I will be out of your hair."
"Nn."
Noah shrugged.
"Good night."
"Good night."
Tomoe left as if she settled one of the thoughts bugging her.
Noah couldn't help but smile when Tomoe left.
"She's a bit traditional but she's not bad…"
Noah gave her that assessment before resuming his reading.
Soon, a flustered but tender voice called out to Noah.
"E-erm…"
Noah looked up once more.
What entered Noah's vision isn't a person's face. It's a pair of divine mountains barely shrouded by a thin piece of cloth.
"—!"
The sudden and captivating scene caught Noah by surprise. The book he's holding slipped past his fingers and dropped. Wu Yan had to unleash his wicked martial art skills to catch the book.
"Ah…"
The guest gasped as if she was astonished to see Noah swinging around like this.
"Noah-san, are you okay?"
Takahou Miyabi asked.
"Ah, Takahou-san?"
Noah raised his voice. He noticed his own erratic behavior when the other students looked at him weirdly.
The heavy missiles Miyabi packed made one's eyes gravitate towards that part of her chest. Noah awkwardly laughed when he saw Miyabi's anxious look.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"I-it's fine, I was the one who called out to you out of nowhere."
Miyabi thought he was acting like that because he didn't see her coming. She apologized to Noah.
"I-I just wanted to say thanks."
"Thanks, huh?"
Noah bitterly smiled.
"Tachibana thanked me just now. Now, it's you. You two truly are duos, you even did the same thing."
"Tomoe-chan?"
Miyabi lowered her head in embarrassment.
"I am thankful Tomoe-chan reached out to you but I wanted to thank you myself."
"If you really want to thank me, make sure to stay in school."
Noah beamed at her.
"We just got to know each other. If you left then I am sure Julie and Imari would be very sad over your departure."
"Really?"
Miyabi blushed, she sneaked furtive looks at Noah.
"H-how about Noah-san?"
"Me?"
Noah chortled.
"I would be sad too."
Miyabi couldn't sit still, she blushed like mad before standing up in a fluster.
"An-anyway, thank you very much! I am going back now!"
Miyabi ran away quickly.
"I…"
Noah wasn't sure what to say of Miyabi's hasty departure.
"She appeared out of nowhere and ran away just as swiftly, she's intentionally trying to surprise me, right?"