Successful but Tired

Max was currently sitting inside his bathtub unclothed and with his spirit weapon by his side, ready to begin his integration.

'Poor bathtub' Max thought as he remembered that the last days he had been getting awfully familiar with it; getting into many situations where he writhed in pain which ended in him being placed in here.

"Are you starting Max?" Mark asked after opening the door to the bathroom slightly.

"Yes, I don't recommend peeping in on it though" Max advised his friend who nodded and closed the door. Mark got outside of his room before going between the two doors which were the entrances toward Max's and Mark's rooms respectively.

'I hope you'll be alright' Mark hoped as a muffled scream suddenly resounded from behind the walls he had his back turned toward.

On the other side, Max began the process of integration.

Before the process, Max and Matt talked constantly in order to calm each other down but now there was no form of communication between them each of them being occupied with their own tasks.

"WHY DOES EVERYTHING BURN!" He yelled loudly as he pushed the shield into his body, using his element to merge himself with the shield.

The burning sensation he felt currently was many times inferior to what Max experienced so far but it was still over his tolerance level, tears managing to escape and travel on his face before falling into the bathtub.

Blood dripped from his stomach where he pushed the shield into his body. It was a strange process and it seemed like only a crazy person would do something like this and if someone was watching him, they still wouldn't be able to see what was truly happening with him.

Upon entering Max's body the shield decomposed itself before traveling through the body, fusing itself with its new host. This was the process of integration and it brought a strange sensation that couldn't be described as a lone sensation but more as an experience.

There was a strange and disgusting feeling as the shield decomposed followed instantly by pain that spread around the body; the last stage of the experience being the refreshing feeling which one could feel for just a short second because the cycle started once again.

What Max advised Mark to do was indeed the right thing, multiple people showing up during the night after Max wasn't able to refrain himself, fully unleashing the power of his voice and his voice was also amplified by the fact he was a werewolf so one could say that the scream could drive people crazy after some time.

The night was a long and tedious one as Max's scream resounded inside the building where first-year students resided in. All of them might've not have gotten any sleep but somewhere in the middle of the night Max's voice finally cracked and the level at which the scream was reduced to became more acceptable than before, some lucky individuals even being able to get some sleep before theoretical hours began the next day.

It was morning and Max was just able to finish his integration with Matt, the whole process leaving him extremely exhausted but he couldn't sleep just yet, getting up on his feet before turning his head toward the door which opened, revealing Mark on the other side.

"Is it finally over?" He asked, being sick of talking to people about the strange situation but mostly elated because Max wasn't suffering anymore.

"Y-yes" Max spoke in a low voice, his voice box was damaged from all the screaming he did and had yet to heal. Until now this did not happen though, the pain he felt after exaggerating with his meditation being able to overpower his senses and making his body limp; not giving it the liberty of screaming.

"We still have time until class starts, I recommend you get some sleep or something" Mark waited for an answer but it never came so he closed the door, speaking with a naked man wasn't really his thing even though he wasn't able to see Max due to the curtain.

Max wanted to sleep as his friend said but he had more important things to do, such as cleaning himself of the blood that covered the entirety of his lower body.

***

Max was now cleaned and clothed but still not well-rested, fazing in and out of consciousness while his teacher Richard talked about today's topic which was related to what the most encountered elements specialize in.

The teacher stopped before looking at Max who now had succumbed to his tiredness; snoozing away in his seat. The sound of water flowing was heard before a splash, Richard conjured a small water ball and hit Max square on the face… or at least it tried to.

Max suddenly opened his eyes as he felt the attack coming toward him, reaching his hand in the air and in an instant black flames gushed out from his body before solidifying in the form of a shield; more exactly a shield which Max knew too well by now, it was the physical form of Matt.

"Those are quite the reactions Mr. Sleep" Richard berated and congratulated Max at the same time, Richard now understood why he was one of the winners from the competition a while back.

"…Thanks?" Max doubtfully said before indirectly retracting his shield back into his body. He didn't understand what happened until a few seconds later; it was Matt who took control of Max at that time so this was why he wasn't able to process what was happening.

'A notice would be welcomed!' He then complained but all he did was get Matt slightly mad.

'There was no time to say anything!'

"I am sorry for sleeping in but I am extremely tired, didn't get any sleep last night" Max admitted but that made Richard question him.

"Why couldn't you get any?" He asked the one question Max wasn't ready for; lucky for him though Matt was already ready with an answer.

"Next to my room there was someone who screamed almost all night, he stopped after some hours but I wasn't able to get any sleep in after; I just wasn't able to sleep anymore" After considering with Matt, Max said.

"Hmm…" Richard then inspected his class, seeing that not only Max was sleepy but others were as well.

"It seems like teaching today is pointless so I'll make a small adjustment in your schedule, tomorrow be ready to stay for double the time as we have to finish this lesson as well, I'll let you guys get some rest and I hope to see you all well-rested tomorrow. Class dismissed!" He compromised for his students before getting a book from his desk.

It was truly a compromise made in heaven, this small action making Richard's image raise in the minds of each individual from 1-B class.

"I'll go get some sleep, I am really tired" Max announced Mark, they were both currently at the entrance of the academy building.

"I can't even imagine how tired you are, I'll accompany you as I need to get something from my room," Mark said to Max before pacing toward the first-year dorms.

'He is so strong' Mark thought, looking at Max who was beside him. It was understandable that people would go to high heights when their improvement came into play but being able to resist a night of pain like that was something else; not a lot of people would even consider something like this, him included. Because he felt extremely competitive when it came to Max, seeing him being so positive while able to resist such ways of improvement made his motivation go up.

"See you later" Max waved at Mark after reaching his room. He got inside before marching toward his bed, plummeting in it before falling asleep almost instantly.