"Who are you?"

It was Theron..but how come he'd grown shorter?

Then it hit him. 'Oh!'

Ezra facepalmed, giggling hysterically.

"Did you not hear my question?" Theron raised his voice at the blatant disrespect.

While giggling, Ezra stretched his arm, reaching Theron's head and then flicked his forehead.

Theron's head bent backwards.

Theron didn't act because he was unsure of what mental disease the student was suffering from.

I mean, who laughs after being asked a question.

"Ah!" Theron backed away, holding his throbbing head.

Only then did Ezra face him. "I hope that helps your memory"

'This voice!' Theron eyes went wide. "Boss?"

"The one and only" Ezra replied.

With the top ten as his roommates, they thought it disrespectful to call by his name.

After debating whether to call him either leader, master, lord and a few others, they simply addressed him as Boss.

Theron acknowledged that the man in front of him was Ezra-because apart from professors, no one was able to hurt him so much-but that only made things more incomprehensible.

"What happened to you?"

"I overused my body and took to many potions to increase my chance of a breakthrough-this is the result of that"

Theron was expressionless, having been by Ezra's side the longest, he knew the man's antiques all too well.

"You really expect me to believe that?"

"Nope. I guess I'll just come up with something" Ezra turned. "Let's go"

Firstly, he went to see Elisa.

Elisa fixed her glasses. "A growth spurt you say?"

Ezra nodded, "Yes. Ever since childhood my body has been experiencing accelerated growth-although it is often more detrimental in long time"

"I see" Elisa muttered. She previewed him. "Honestly I'm jealous. Come stand here and let me check you"

For one, he'd grown from his previous height to 6'8, effectively dwarfing everyone else at the academy.

His eyes were still black and his hair still silver.

So apart from his shrunken muscles, enlarged body size and new height, not much changed.

"I'll be going now. I'd appreciate that you help me avert any weird rumours that might pop up?"

She nodded lightly. "Of course,"

"Also, I'll be out for a while. I need to get new clothes"

Elisa approved.

With that, Ezra was off to Guavedra best boutiques..only to be spotted just outside the gate by a man wrapped in black clothes.

The man whispers to him, 'I have a message for you'

The messenger was certainly not a master, so Ezra had nothing to fear.

Reaching a secluded area, the man pulls out an envelope from his breast pocket and handed it to him.

It had been ruffled.

"I was asked to deliver this as fast as possible. I had arrived ten days ago, but I was unable to come in contact with you"

Ezra was alarmed. Bard's potions came ten days ago as well.

In the envelope is a parchment.

It read, 'My liege, in all hopes do I pray that this finds in time.

Five days after I sent you the potion, I discovered that it had a tragic side effect.

True to its name, those who drink it have their growth rate accelerated, but in turn, their potential is sucked dry.

To achieve such masterful growth, as I discovered, there had to be catalyst, potions were but ingredients made to draw out that catalyst, which would lead to the desired effect.

With other potions, vitality absorbed from the blood was the catalyst.

Having bypassed that, the growth potion did not affect the body's vitality, but rather stole latent potential-which it then used to accelerate the growth process.

While I do not yet have specific parameters on how heavy the side effects will be, I advise that the potion is too dangerous and should not be used until further notice'

Ezra brain stopped for a second, recalibrating the new wave of information with his eyes glued to the parchment.

He could infer from pattern that the letter was written in urgency. Bard had even forgot to place his name at the end.

Ezra swept through his hair while his eyes became watery.

Bard said it fed on latent potential, and Ezra drank three at once.

He gripped this hair harder.

For this to happen to him after amounting so much resources to reach master rank, it shouldn't, no, it couldn't be!

But the letter was in his hands, if Bard's words were true..he might never go beyond his current rank.

He looked at the messenger and instantly grabbed him by the collar, raising him up.

"Why didn't you come sooner?" Ezra hollered, like a beast growling. "Do you realize what you've done?!"

"This is all your fault!"

"Hiek!" the man squealed, shivering with the fear in his glare evident.

"I should just.." Ezra grabbed him by the neck and began squeezing it.

"Pwese.." the man managed to make out a pleading sound as he struggled to get Ezra's palm off his neck, his eyes were becoming red because of suffocation.

"Pwese, dwant kall me!"

While struggling, the man tore his mask off.

Ezra immediately let go of him, letting him to fall to the floor.

It was an old man, bald in the top side of his head while white hair grew around it.

Ezra stepped back in shock. 'What am I doing?'

Fidgeting a bit, he knelt and helped the man sit straight.

The old man coughed and coughed, scaring Ezra as he eventually began coughing blood.

'Oh no'

Only then was it sinking in that he had almost killed a man as old enough to be his grandfather-for no legitimate reason.

While coughing, the old abruptly felt unconscious.

"S-Sir?" Ezra panicked. Quickly, he brought out a healing potion and downed it into the man's gullet.

'Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die' Ezra chanted, pouring a water into the man's mouth.

So long the heart was beating, there was still hope.

--------------

After one of the most grueling ten minutes of his life, the man begins to respond, and Ezra's calms, his anxiety reducing.

"Drink this"

He wasn't letting up, administering two more health potions to the old man.

Three minutes later, the man erratic breathing calmed, and he sat up.

Before he could day anything, Ezra began begging profusely. "I'm so sorry. I am so stupid, I almost killed you because of my mistake. Please I'm very sorry"

The man simply smiled. "It's okay young one. At least I didn't die, that's all that matters"

"I'm still very sorry" Ezra repeated, before the man said, "Raise your head. It's okay"

Only then did Ezra calm down.

A few minutes pass in silence.

"Old man, what are you doing all the way out here?" Ezra inquired.

"What do you think? I have to feed my grandchildren after that blasted war took my child from me. It's not like someone else is going to do it for me"

Ezra's eyes brighten, "Then, you have to let me repay to for this stupid mistake that I've made"

"You don't have to-

Ezra shook his head. "I insist" and brought out a pouch from his space rings and handed it to the man.

Placing it in the man's palms, the old man found it light, and touching it, he inferred the object within.

'Coins'

Money.

Then, out of curiosity he pours it into his other palm.

They were ten coins. Definitely Nitionian currency, but rather brown, silver or gold, this one was greyish white.

'No way'

The man realized what it was, and his hands started quivering.

"I can't take this"

"You have to, I won't take it from you"

"B-But-historical

"I have far much more" Ezra said coaxingly, closing the man's palm. "Take this as a token of gratitude and buy yourself new clothes, these one's are dirty"

Indeed, while he hadn't noticed before the man's clothes were dirty, proof of how much he had gone through to get here.

'And I almost killed him..I must've really run insane'

"Thank you" said the old man, a bright smile hung on his face.

Ezra takes the pouch and inscribe some symbols on the front.

"Take this pouch to any Black Jaws guild hall to exchange it for gold"

The old man's smile deepened.

He'd been wondering how to exchange the money without getting killed.

Now, his worried melted like ice in water.

Filled with determination, the old man stands. "Thank you for everything, I will not forget this your highness. Now, I must be going"

Melancholic, Ezra nodded slightly. "Travel safely"

"Yes"

Then, the old man left, leaving Ezra alone to ruminate.

'With how dirty his clothes were, he must have gone through a lot to get here on the same day as the first messenger despite being five days late'

Each word just had him hating himself more.

He stared at his hands. 'This is my fault. I was so excited I didn't wait another minute to use the potions, and now..I'll be paying the price.

Dejectedly, Ezra went to the boutique and got himself quality clothes.

Heading to the dormitory, many students stared, wondering who he was especially with the tall frame.

Reaching the academy's backyard where he trained his army of conscripted students, he met a ruckus.

"Where is Ezra Miller?!"