This night Cyril had a rather vivid dream.
It was another one about a life of adventure, exploring the world and all the exciting new places it had to offer.
Conquering a mountain with a fiery pit on top, traversing the lush forests with giant trees that completely blacked out the sky, and surviving a perilous sea of sand where the weather was as much an enemy as magic creatures.
In the dream he enjoyed traveling, however, despite doing what he loved, he didn't seem happy.
At a certain point he was joined by someone in that dream. Someone that needed to be taken care of, which brought a great deal of frustration.
Many a time Cyril got the impulse to abandon that person, but for some reason he never did.
Together they traveled to remote settlements and met different humans, some who didn't even look exactly like humans.
In the process, they got into a lot of trouble that somehow always resolved itself in the end. He even felt a bit like a hero.
The burden he was protecting became less of a burden with time, even helpful on occasion.
It was fun.
Eventually, like all things must, such a life came to an end.
For some reason that person had to leave, less of a choice but more of an inevitability.
Cyril thought about convincing them to stay despite all that might follow but didn't do anything in the end.
Later, he came to regret his cowardice.
...
"Cyril!" Rhamn's voice was particularly piercing this morning.
Just as Cyril was groggily coming back into the world of the living, he felt his whole body shiver, like getting a strong dose of adrenaline.
"Quick, wake up!"
Like being dropped into a sea of ice-cold water, Cyril immediately freshened up and got up from the bed.
As he moved, Atheris, still coiled around him, woke up as well and weakly looked around while flicking her tongue.
Morpho also immediately flew up from her terrarium, ready to fight.
And Tigris... was still peacefully sleeping in a weird pose.
What happened?
Cyril vigilantly asked while looking around. It didn't appear like he was in any danger.
"We are in danger, and it is my fault," Rhamn solemnly said.
"I underestimated that piece of Black Tulip. I thought we could handle consuming all of it..."
What do you mean? I feel fine...
Cyril carefully felt his body and his mana. Nothing appeared amiss.
"Remember that we consume a certain amount of mana all the time to keep ourselves alive?"
How can he forget?
"With the enhancement of your physique, the required amount of mana increased as well," she quickly explained and continued with panic.
"It's still being increased! At this pace, before noon today, the amount of mana we consume will outpace the mana we produce! We will die!"
Rhamn was walking back and forth with a frown, contemplating what they could do.
"Right! Myra was a hoarder, right? Maybe there is something among her collection that will increase our mana regeneration!" She excitedly proposed.
Having understood the core issue, Cyril took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down his heart.
Don't panic. It's not a big deal, we will be fine. He calmly thought.
His attempt had a clear effect, as Rhamn no longer despaired, but unease was still evident on her.
"Come on, we must do something..."
Cyril peacefully went to wash up and change his clothing, all the while calming down Rhamn further.
It's still dark outside. We have plenty of hours until noon.
Maybe she already read his subsequent thoughts, as she immediately grew calm and no longer fidgeted.
"Forgive me, I was too surprised..."
Cyril didn't mind, of course.
We don't have to go to Myra to solve this. While she might have something useful, I have a better way.
Over time, Tigris woke up as well, got up to speed, and climbed onto Cyril's shoulder, not even bothered by Atheris, who hid underneath the jacket.
Morpho landed on Cyril's other shoulder, her mood tranquil.
Having finished with his preparations, Cyril approached the servants' room on the first floor and knocked on the door.
After a brief pause, the door was opened, revealing Ophelia in her nightgown. It covered her body completely from neck to feet, obscuring everything one shouldn't see. Her hair was dense and messy, reminding one of a bird's nest.
Her eyes still held the same cold discipline, however. "What do you need, Master?"
Cyril didn't hide or beat around the bush. "Before noon I need to get an item that will increase my mana regeneration. It's urgent," he said with a solemn face.
Ophelia's eyes widened in an obvious show of emotion.
After a brief pause, she immediately replied, "Understood."
Without any further questions, she moved to get out of the room, though she was stopped by Cyril.
"You have the time to change your clothes." He awkwardly motioned with his hand for her to go back. "I'll be waiting outside."
With these words he left, leaving Ophelia, who quickly went back into her room after a nod.
...
Standing outside, he looked at the still dark sky. The sun wasn't even visible yet.
While petting the nervous Tigris, Cyril waited under the moonlight and decided to ask a question to keep the mood light.
Now that we have three magic creatures, do you think that's enough?
Rhamn appeared in front of him, still wearing her business suit.
She held her chin with her palm and tilted her head, thinking about the answer.
After a few seconds she snapped her fingers and stared unashamedly at Cyril.
"I want as many as possible! Even better if we reach beyond a hundred!" She exclaimed with joy and pride.
Her enthusiastic words caused Cyril to stop petting the mighty beast.
Tigris confusedly looked up, only to see a shocked expression on Cyril, with sweat slowly forming on his forehead.
At this moment, despite the somewhat dangerous situation, he wanted to laugh.
He heard what Rhamn said just now too, and he was completely in support of such an idea.
To him, or rather to all of them, this sounded like a perfectly natural thing to desire.