When Cyril was younger, he thought that sleep was one of the more frustrating things about life.
He could logically understand its requirement: that's when the human body grew stronger, recovered, and got ready for the following day.
But emotionally he never liked it. You close your eyes and stare at nothing for eight hours, when so many things could've been done instead. You had to pray your body allowed you to lose consciousness lest you spend the night restless.
He heard some even enjoy this process, telling everyone what pleasant dreams they had.
'Those people must be out of their mind,' was how he thought about it back then. He rarely, if ever, dreamed.
But that changed in recent times, so perhaps he'd lost a little of his mind as well.
He started having plenty more dreams, though he could never remember what they were about once he woke up, only vague emotions he might've felt within.
Some were pleasant, some were not.
Life in the academy proved itself different from how he imagined it. In some ways it was simpler, in others worse. There was no big change he subtly expected.
But he forged ahead, as he always did. In pursuit of his one goal, he devoted all his time to studying and training. This led to significant results, allowing him to stay ahead of all the others.
However, the others were better than he thought. They weren't close to him yet, but they were getting closer.
For the first time he felt pressured and even a little afraid, though not like he would ever admit to it. This feeling might've driven him to do something reckless occasionally, which made the others avoid him even more.
Not that he cared. He was used to being on his own. That's how he preferred it.
However, one day when he was getting materials for a potion, he encountered a peculiar person. Her gaze stood out among the rest, as it held only curiosity about him.
She spoke without fear, her words giving him a perplexing feeling he wasn't used to.
One thing led to another, and he agreed to go with her to a zoo that was about to open. How did that even happen?
Instead of training to get stronger, he stared at the four-legged creature called a deer. It looked silly.
Somehow, it wasn't unpleasant.
It was the start of something strange.
...
"Cyril, wake up!"
Suddenly, Cyril sat up straight, his heart beating in his ears. He didn't feel any groggy state of slowly waking up. As if injected with pure adrenaline, he sat up straight, wide awake and ready.
"What happened?" he asked aloud, warily looking around.
A soft thud was heard when a circular white object fell from his chest and onto the bed.
"Meow," Tigris meowed in complaint as he woke up as well.
"Hiss?" Atheris stuck out her forked tongue in confusion, coiled around Cyril's neck.
Morpho flew out from her terrarium, circling around their dorm while scanning it for any possible intruder.
Rhamn appeared in front of Cyril, her red eyes shaking with panic.
"Something bad has happened! I underestimated this piece of Ambrosia. We must form a solution quick!"
A characteristic bang rhythmically ringing in his ears, Cyril observed her for a second. Slowly he began breathing in and out, calming down his heartbeat.
Gradually, Rhamn's eyes shook less as she took a deep breath as well.
Calm down. Tell me what happened in detail.
"The quantity and the quality of this Ambrosia were better than what we can handle. Your body was enhanced to a great degree. But, with it came the cost of keeping it with mana."
"Right now, I consume more than you can naturally recover! We are dying!"
His heart skipping a beat, Cyril once again took a few deep breaths.
I see. How much time do I have left?
Rhamn spread her hands to the side, trying to contain her panic. "Twenty-five hours!"
Oh.
Immediately Cyril relaxed, rubbing his face from mental exhaustion.
"What 'oh?' Our situation is serious!"
Cyril got up from his bed, calmly observing the moon still visible outside the window.
He already expected the time limit to be twenty-five minutes, not twenty-five hours. She could've let him sleep for a while longer. She woke him up during an intriguing moment.
"...I couldn't help it." Rhamn mumbled, a pout on her face.
As she read more of his thoughts, her panic disappeared as well, replaced only by slight worry and tension.
"It's my fault after all, and it is important."
I know. Don't worry, we'll fix it as soon as the sun comes up.
He wasn't out of options. In fact, he had many, so there was no hurry.
Tigris on the bed already drifted off back into sleep. Morpho, too, flew back to her terrarium. She couldn't afford losing sleep.
But Atheris remained happily coiled around Cyril's neck, enjoying this rare moment.
Since he woke up already, Cyril decided to start his day early. Rhamn already got rid of his sleepiness anyways.
"Sorry~"
After washing up, he sat by his desk, studying for a few hours. It was a tranquil time when it seemed like their unusual group was the only sign of life around.
Gradually, the darkness outside retreated. That's when Cyril calmly got up, readying himself for a short trip. Morpho eagerly landed on his shoulder, planning to go with him.
"Tigris, do you want to go with us?" Cyril asked the sleepy tiger still lying in bed.
The striped cat only lazily meowed in response, rolling on his other side.
Okay.
"Hiss!"
Atheris, hanging on his neck, raised her head and threateningly looked at the tiger.
The characteristic hiss of a snake quickly woke Tigris up. He jumped up on all fours, looking around in a panic.
"Don't force him." Cyril grabbed onto the snake head, changing her to cute mode.
After a moment of helplessness, Atheris quickly thought up an idea. She widened her eyes as much as possible, sending a tear-inducing look.
But not at Cyril. Instead, she sent this mental attack to the tiger.
Tigris met her golden eyes and soon began quietly sobbing. His younger sibling wanted help! How can he refuse?
Nodding up and down, he jumped down from the bed and began pawing at Cyril's leg, asking to go as well.
"..."
He silently picked up the easy tiger, putting him on his shoulder.
Atheris familiarly coiled around Tigris's neck, sticking out a forked tongue as her scheme succeeded. She was slowly learning how deal with this tiger.
Cyril contemplated reminding Atheris that a day had passed already and she no longer had to do this, but since she was so eager, he decided not to.
"Atheris is a responsible snake. Since she did bad, she would own up to it!"
Right.
Feeling mildly amused, Cyril went out of his dorm.
He walked across the empty academy grounds directly toward the workers' quarters. Unfortunately, his current problem couldn't be solved by his own efforts alone. He had to use some of the resources at his disposal.