Although Invigoration allowed Lith to avoid sleeping, it wasn’t without side effects. Back when he was still at home, he had several opportunities to relax, like when hunting for food, teaching Tista fake magic, or simply spending quality time with his family.

Now Lith was relentlessly working like a machine, piling up stress without any break outside his three daily meals. Over time, the accumulated mental fatigue made him more cranky, nervous and aggressive.

It was something the Professors would not notice. Lith treasured them, and did his best to hold his temper and treat them with the respect they deserved. The same applied to his ‘friends’.

After his last heart to heart with Solus, he tried to spend more time them, to give her what she needed, more emotions and human interaction. It would soothe her depression and wear down his nerves, but he didn’t care.

– “Solus always does so much for me. Not only she is basically my moral compass, helping me on all the academical subjects. She also restricts my most violent urges, making me almost human.

Heck, if it was possible, I would gladly trade place with her. She would make a much better person than me.” –   Solus was moved by how strong were his feelings for her, and how many sacrifices he was willing to endure for her sake. At the same time, thought, she was very worried.

The prolonged lack of sleep had only made more apparent that his mind and body were experiencing a major change. Since overcoming the bottleneck, Lith’s body kept getting stronger every time the mana core was refined.