Apex Star

After Nova asked this, Harith and Ralph were stunned because they didn't expect this question to come at all.

"Esteemed guest, are you familiar with our young princess?" asked Harith after a moment of silence.

"Mhm, you could say that. We only saw each other once before, when she was leading a dungeon on Earth, my planet that recently awakened." Said Nova leaving a few details like kissing out of the conversation.

"Oh, so you saw her when she was..." When Harith got there he was too stunned to speak.

Because he remembered the exact time Imperia was in the dungeon only a few weeks ago and this youth before him was a Middle Stage 7 and he was alive after encountering the Vientienne princess.

Seeing Harith struggling to come to terms with what happened, Nova was amused by his reaction.

"Haha, it's okay we are friends." Nova laughed a bit.

'Wait didn't our princess throw a tantrum for a few days and was constantly pissed at everyone?! Is it because of him?' Thought Harith, as he felt that he was right.

"To respond to your earlier question, Princess Imperia is coming only tonight at the banquet from our main planet."

Harith casually said as every informed person knows this. What to say about a distinguished guest and core disciple of the Star Sect?

"Oh, I see... I hoped to see her earlier but it could wait. Anyway, thank you for telling me that." Nova was happy to hear that she was also coming to the banquet. Still, he was a bit disappointed that she was only coming later and not now. He would have to wait a little before seeing her again.

After saying goodbye to Harith and Ralph, Nova continued on his journey of sightseeing the city.

After walking for a few hours he stopped by a wooden bench to admire the lake before him.

Right after he sat down a raggy-clothed beggar came to his side.

"Hey kid, you're hard to find." The old man chuckled a bit.

Nova was a little confused and seeing that no one was around he knew the beggar was talking to him.

"Can I help you with something, old man?" Asked Nova, genuinely confused as he didn't remember meeting the old man before.

"Right now you can't, you're too weak. But it's okay, when the tournament is over I'll train you for a while."

After saying this the beggar turned to leave.

Nova was still confused and when he wanted to turn in the beggar's direction he only heard some words in the wind that made his heart turn cold.

"I'll make you strong to at least have a chance to resist the 'Slumbering'..."

When Nova heard that he instantly turned his head, but didn't see anyone there anymore. He was shocked and his pupils constricted.

'Who the heck was that? And how did he know about the 'Slumbering' that the 'Apex only told me about?' Nova got chills, thinking that he may have met with a ghost. One who knew very much about the workings of the universe...

Sensing that he was alone, Nova calmed down and decided to wait until the tournament was over to get his questions answered.

-----

A few meters above Nova there was a majestic throne with the 'beggar' sitting on it. The beggar was the middle-aged man that was previously sailing the universes as he pleased.

'Not bad, to actually have this concentration of 'Apex' on him already. At this point, the last owners of the Origin Star were a few levels below him.

But I wonder if it's enough for the hard times approaching...' thought the middle-aged man as he continued to watch over Nova and observe him with fervor.

-----

Feeling that he calmed down a few notches, Nova was prepared to go back to the guest rooms and get ready for the banquet.

'Wait, the banquet! I don't have any clothes for that and I can't go there in my sweatpants. Shit!' After facepalming himself, Nova wanted to buy some clothes from a shop he saw nearby.

After a few minutes of walking, he finally arrived in front of the shop again. When entering, he saw a few curious glances thrown his way, mostly because of his sweatpants. He was like a country bumpkin arriving at the city and making a fool of himself.

'Haa, this cliche feeling of novels hit me just right. But I won't make the same mistake as the other protagonists.'

After thinking so, our boy, Nova, rereleased a little bit of his aura to pressure the people around him.

Like magic, the glances thrown his way disappeared completely and were left with sweaty-looking people in the store. They were surprised by Nova's pressure and thought him to be a powerful being in disguise.

Making his way to the counter he asked the beautiful cashier to help him choose a few clothes for a special occasion.

After 30 minutes of clothes probing, Nova finally decided on what to buy. Now it was his turn to become one of those sweaty-looking people after probing tens of clothes.

'I swear, if I ever got a girlfriend in the future I'm not ever going shopping with her. I wonder if Imperia likes shopping...' Just like any male out there, Nova didn't make a decision yet and choose to wait for the future and see what happens.

After paying for his costume, Nova just got out of the shop when he heard a voice that couldn't ever be more familiar to him.

"Martin, I told you not to leave buying suits for the Star Sect banquet for the last moment!!" The angry voice of a woman could be heard berating a man.

"I-I forgot babe, I swear if..." The middle-aged man couldn't finish his words because he made eye contact with another person and was instantly stunned.

"N... Nova?!" Exclaimed the middle-aged man, he rubbed his eyes not believing what he saw.

"What?!!" said the woman also turning around.

"Mom, Dad..." said Nova with a stifled voice and he felt a lump forming in his throat.