With a bit of wind magic, Osho practically glided through the streets of Stellaris College.
No one seemed to pay him any mind as he moved, and around him, people were moving about, minding their businesses as they went to where their lectures were taking place or went to complete some other errand.
Gliding slightly above him was Gale, and trailing behind them was Bedrock who moved on all fours. None of them was going very fast, so no one needed to exert themselves to catch up to the other.
It was still pretty early according to what the time said. Granted, it was a bit hard to tell using the usual measurements like the sun and shadows, considering that the sky of the hidden realm mostly consisted of stars.
Not that it mattered. As one got stronger, the need for sleep grew less and less, and it would eventually reach a point where one could fully replenish their energy simply by passively absorbing the atmospheric Mana.
Hence, even if the time says it was midnight, it wouldn't entirely matter to a lot of people since they could still move around.
Osho wasn't quite there yet, but he certainly needed less sleep than the average person.
As for where he was going? ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel~fire~net
Osho briefly looked at his schedule and nodded to himself.
• 08:00 – 10:00 → Foundations of Beast Anatomy & Physiology (Core)
• 10:30 – 12:30 → Beast Mana Pathways & Affinity Studies (Core)
• Afternoon → Free for lab work/training
• 08:00 – 10:00 → Applied Beast Engineering (Core)
• 10:30 – 12:30 → Catalyst Design & Synthesis (Elective)
• Afternoon → Training or practical sessions
• 08:00 – 10:00 → Mutation Risk Analysis & Stabilization (Elective)
• 10:30 – 12:30 → Beast Soul Resonance Studies (Elective)
• Afternoon → Free (research, tonic-making, sparring
• 08:00 – 10:00 → Applied Beast Engineering (Core, extended lab practical)
• 10:30 – 12:30 → Rotating elective/practical session (Stellaris assigns based on project needs)
• Afternoon → Personal projects/prep for weekend hunts
Upon looking at the timetable, one thing was very clear.
It was extremely lax.
One would expect a student's timetable in a place like Stellaris to be extremely strict with a lot of limiters in place. However, that was not the case.
An issue most ordinary schools had was their rigidity. Even if a student showed promise in a certain area, they were still required to attend different classes and split their attention equally.
Stellaris didn't have that restriction, as the reason there was so much free time for students was to allow them to go to other lectures if they pleased.
Yes, despite the timetable saying Osho only had 2 hours per class, he could stay in it longer if he wanted to, or go to another lecture related to his course to attend.
Through this, students could more effectively orient themselves with their interests and talents.
Granted, there was still a monthly assessment for each subject that a student needed to complete. However, the conditions weren't insane and they could be passed with a bit of effort on the student's end.
This would also translate into a student's future as they advance through the years. If Stellaris saw that they excelled in a certain area, arrangements would be made so that the subject they excelled at became their core.
It was a pretty niche system, and it worked well as Stellaris consistently produced extremely capable specialists.
In short, Stellaris is an institution that caters to the individual talents and desires of students, and the timetable and flexibility reflect that.
Anyway, with how large the campus was, Osho had no hope of reaching his lecture on time even if he ran at full speed. Of their group, Gale was probably the only one who could get there with raw speed
However, that's where teleportation formations came in.
They were scattered around the campus in convenient spots, so one could easily take them to teleport near their destination.
Osho and co took one such teleportation formation.
Using it, the team found themselves in what looked like a small city, but instead of residential buildings, it was large amphitheaters and dome-like buildings.
It was here that Osho saw one of the biggest concentrations of students.
People were moving to their respective lectures in droves, and Osho was impressed by the number of people, considering how hard it was to get into Stellaris.
He did notice quite a few older people who seemed to be students as well.
'Well, I suppose it's not impossible.' Osho thought. It wasn't rare for people to stay in places for long periods. Moreover, some courses in Stellaris were quite long, to the point where it wasn't odd to spend up to a decade completing a single course.
People were also walking around with their beasts freely. Osho spotted a few large flying beasts like two-headed birds and wyverns, which made him chuckle and ask Gale jokingly.
'Hey, when are you gonna be big enough for me to ride you?' Immediately, he felt Gale's unimpressed stare.
'Maybe when you allow me to reach the next rank.' He replied dryly, and Osho laughed.
Gale wasn't wrong, though.
It was widely acknowledged that a beast's potential also matched their growth cycle as a creature. So when a beast reaches the peak of their potential, they are considered to have 'matured'.
They could still somewhat increase in size within a specific rank, but they would reach the cap pretty soon. That's why despite months having gone by, Gale hadn't gotten any bigger.
The same applied to Bedrock. Since he had just hatched and was still at the lower stages of the Novice rank, he was still growing. But as soon as he reached the peak, he'd stop doing so and would need to break through to grow again.
'I do wonder how big they can get, though.' Osho thought as he recalled those utterly massive creatures he'd seen briefly as Mateo was teleportating their group towards the entrance of the hidden realm.
Something else he took note of was the people. Or rather, the types of people.
Veronica had alluded to the 'others' and how some were amicable, and it seemed like it she wasn't lying as Osho spotted quite a few beings that weren't human.
He saw a few with green skin and large muscular bodies. Some had animal-like traits like tails and ears, some were tiny and had wings on their backs, some looked human but were unnaturally attractive with long ears, and so on.
'It's like I'm in a fantasy novel.' Osho thought. He did notice, though, that none of these people seemed to have beasts, which was interesting.
Eventually, though, Osho followed the map on his watch to a large domed building that had a bunch of students going in and out.
He briefly marveled at the size and architecture before he made his way inside, and after following the crowd, he reached a large room with seats that sloped downwards until they reached a large stage.
The seats weren't simple, as there was a huge amount of space between each seat, and Osho saw people allow their beasts to inhabit these spaces, which he thought was pretty cool. They also had tables built into them.
There were an ample number of seats within the place, so Osho just picked one at random which was slightly near the front.
Gale settled in his lap while Bedrock just sat under the table at his feet.
Osho exhaled as he tapped his watch, and a virtual notepad appeared.
After a while of waiting, more and more students appeared within the hall, and eventually, it was decently filled.
Now, might ask, since Osho and co came so late, how did he plan to meet up with his lectures?
Well simple. Repeat lectures were a thing, and if Osho wanted, he could attend a lecture featuring the same lesson multiple times.
This begs the question. If this were an option, why were colleges so strict on students enrolling on time?
Well, there were a few, but the most widely known was that even if repeat lectures were a thing, the logistics of accepting students who came overly late all the time would be annoying, so they wanted to evade that as much as possible.
Anyway, this was one such repeat lecture, and Osho was a bit surprised by how many people were attending.
'Hm. Now that I think about it, if there is a monthly assessment for different subjects, then this month is about to end. So for them, they probably just want to brush up on certain things.' He thought as the place gradually quietened, and he looked forward as a figure stepped onto the stage.
He wore a crisp white lab coat and had a grey goatee. His hair was slicked back and his face was angular and handsome. He was an older man, but there were no wrinkles on his face, leading Osho to believe that his rank was fairly high as he was most likely over a century old.
"Good morning everyone. It seems to lot of you have decided to repeat this specific lecture. Which should be fine, as we have some new students who came in late. But I will not elaborate who." He said, his voice being amplified by Mana.
Osho took a breath and leaned forward.
And thus was the first lecture he ever attended in Stellaris.