Sero walked back to his apartment with his mind swarming with thoughts. He was thankful the convenience store was roughly 5 minutes or so from his apartment. 

"Did that goddess… send me to the future?" he mused to himself. 

As Sero drew closer to his apartment complex, he began to notice that things were off. 

First, the roads were paved anew, and there were more people walking around than Sero remembered. Second, there were a lot more shops and buildings that were unfamiliar to him. 

Finally, as Sero rounded the corner, he discovered that instead of his dilapidated apartment complex, a tall and dignified gated building stood in its place. 

For a moment, he stood outside the steel gates and stared at the building. 

"Where the fuck is my apartment?" 

An image of Aphiel flashed through his mind, and Sero became aware of a rising irritation bubbling within him. 

"Are you lost? Or are you here to register as an Ascendant?" A soft voice called out behind him.

Sero turned around to see a young, fair-skinned woman standing there. She had long, flowing silver hair and bright blue eyes. Her attire was simple, yet elegant: a casual business blazer over a white blouse and a pencil skirt. She smiled at him, her expression warm and welcoming.

Sero immediately dropped his eyes to half-mast and gave her a suave grin. 

"Uh, yeah, I’m here to register or whatever. Maybe a beautiful woman like you could guide me?" Sero dropped his voice an octave lower.

The woman blinked, seemingly caught off guard by his sudden change in tone. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she hesitated before responding.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm not used to that kind of behavior. My name is Amaya Cromwell. I'm one of the Ascendant Liaison here. If you're truly interested in registering, I can help you out. But please, try to be more respectful."

Sero grinned. "Sure thing, beautiful."

Amaya sighed and composed herself. "Very well then. Follow me, and I'll take you to the registration office." She turned on her heel and began walking briskly through the gate and up the stairs. Sero hurried after her, trying to keep up with her long-legged stride.

As they walked through the hallways, Amaya pointed out various amenities and services available to registered Ascendants. There was a library, a gym, a garden, and even a spa. The decor was elegant and tasteful, with paintings and sculptures adorning the walls. The carpets were plush and thick, and the lighting was soft and inviting. It was a far cry from the dingy, run-down apartment complex Sero had left behind.

"Damn, this is fucking nice." Sero murmured to himself. 

Finally, the pair reached a waiting room beyond the amenities where several other people lounged about. Sero figured they were waiting to take some sort of assessment test before they could register.

The room was simple, with four metal doors ahead. Chairs were organized in rows, facing a small, wooden podium. Off to the side was a table with refreshments and magazines. 

A tall, regal man in his fifties entered the room from one of the four doors. His posture was straight and his eyes radiated authority. He introduced himself as Lord Damian, the administrator of the Ascendant Registry. He explained that each individual would be brought in one at a time in any of the four rooms to appraise their skills and determine their class, which would qualify them for registration.

"Good luck." Amaya nodded to Sero and quickly left before he could respond. 

"Oh well." Sero mumbled and turned his attention back to the orientation.

"Now that you are aware of what is to be expected, please line up in front of any of the four doors." Lord Damian finished.

Sero did as he was told, taking a spot near the end of the line. As he waited, he surveyed the other Ascendants. Some of them looked quite formidable, with muscles bulging beneath their clothes and eyes that seemed to glow with power. Others were more elegant and refined, their features delicate and their posture regal. There were even a few who looked...well, rather odd, with strange markings or abnormalities that set them apart from the rest.

Finally, it was Sero's turn. He took a deep breath and walked into an assessment room.

The room was small and dimly lit, with a single artifact in the center that resembled an orb. It seemed to glow with an unearthly light. The walls were lined with shelves overflowing with books and scrolls, and strange devices hung from the ceiling. The air was thick with the scent of incense.

Two figures stood beside the orb: a beautiful woman with long, flowing black hair and bright amber eyes, and a burly man with a thick beard and piercing brown eyes. They nodded in acknowledgement as Sero stepped up to them. 

"Hello sir. We will be recording the results of your assessment." The woman spoke first. 

"If you would, please place your hand on the orb. It will then analyze your stats and recognize your class and rank." The man next to her added. 

Sero nodded and did as he was told, placing his hand on the orb. 

"Sero Kassel. Scholar class. F-rank. Abilities: Perfect Copy, Perfect Recall, Perfect Analysis. Passives: Rationality, Influence." The orb immediately boomed. 

"…."

"W-well, there are a lot of jobs that require specialized academic classes." The woman finally spoke after the awkward silence. 

"Yes, even Tacticians and Commanders maintain civilian jobs on the side." The man chimed in with a reassuring smile. 

Sero feigned a smile and tried to hold himself back from crying. 

"Oh, really? That sounds good!" he managed to keep his voice steady. 

"We will process your information and grant you your Ascendant license in a few days. For now, please head over to the office of Ascendant Liaisons. You can get more information or guidance there." The woman motioned to the door. 

Sero thanked the pair and swiftly turned on his heel, making sure to hide his disappointment as he walked out of the room. 

He soon reached the Ascendant Liaison office near the vicinity of the previous amenities, where he caught sight of Amaya behind a desk among her coworkers. His mood immediately improved upon seeing her.

"Oh! Amaya, right?" Sero grinned as he approached her. 

"Yes, how can I–" Amaya’s smile faltered briefly as soon as she saw Sero. 

"Ahem, how can I help you?" She regained her composure and tried again.

"I just did my assessment and was told to come here for guidance or whatever." 

"Oh! Ok, that’s great! What class are you?" 

Sero hesitated. 

"I’m a Scholar…" He said quietly and glanced away. 

"Sorry?" 

"…. I’m a Scholar. An F-rank." Sero felt himself crying on the inside. 

"Oh, that’s not… I mean, we’ve never heard of a Scholar before! What are… your abilities?" Amaya sounded overly optimistic.

Sero forced a laugh. "Well, my abilities are Perfect Copy, Perfect Recall, and Perfect Analysis. So, you know, copying and remembering stuff, and then analyzing it. I guess that's... pretty useful for a librarian?"

Amaya nodded slowly and Sero could tell she pitied him. 

"Well, there are guilds that may need a good librarian and they pay pretty well! Oh, but even government jobs pay pretty well for skills like yours!" She tried to sound hopeful. 

Sero smiled weakly. His confidence was draining away quickly. 

"A-anyway, your Sponsor can also help guide you down a path fitting of your… skills." Amaya finished awkwardly. 

"Sponsor?" Sero raised an eyebrow. 

"Yes, your Sponsor is the god or goddess that chose you to be what they refer to as their ‘champion’." Amaya quickly explained, seemingly relieved to change the mood of the conversation. 

"How would I talk to my Sponsor?" 

"Well, they’re always listening! In fact, I would bet that the god or goddess is watching over you right now! In some cases though, the more champions they have, the harder and longer it would take to talk to them directly since they’d have their attention divided. Take Ares or Horus for example. They’ve selected quite a handful of B-rank to A-rank Ascendants." 

Sero nodded slowly as he began to understand. 

"How many Ascendants does the goddess Aphiel have?"

"…Who?" 

There was a moment of silence between them. 

"My goddess is Aphiel." Sero finally spoke. 

"Oh." 

Amaya hesitated for a moment. 

"Well, there are some gods and goddesses that aren’t registered in our database yet because either they haven’t selected a champion or their only Ascendant hasn’t applied to any associations, so there’s a good chance you may be the only one. Which means she should be available at all times if that’s the case."

"Oh?" Sero felt his irritation rising. "So that means I can contact Aphiel whenever I want?"

Amaya nodded. "Assuming she doesn’t have any other champions, yes."

"And how would I contact her?" Sero flashed a false grin. 

"W-well, you could just concentrate and establish a mental communication line or speak out loud." Amaya replied nervously upon seeing Sero’s expression. 

"Well in that case-" Sero’s words were cut off by a chirping alarm that rang through the building. 

"Attention, staff and Ascendants. A C-rank monster outbreak has been detected near the city. All eligible personnel please respond." A masculine voice boomed through the intercoms. 

"Oh! I’m sorry, but it seems that I need to go! We should catch up later so I can properly explain things to you!" Amaya quickly got up and started to dash to the exit. Sero couldn’t help but feel as if she was relieved that this convenient timing of the situation interrupted their conversation. 

Not knowing what else to do, Sero followed behind her. 

Within minutes, the pair arrived at the scene where a couple of other Ascendants were already busy fighting the monsters spilling out of a dark gray, purple-ringed portal. 

The monsters were huge and grotesque, with giant claws and antennas. Dyed in varying shades of violet, they reminded Sero of overgrown lobsters the size of horses. 

"What’s the status, Brennan?" Amaya asked as she approached a lone man who wielded a giant broadsword and wore red armor. 

"Liaison Amaya. We are currently keeping the lesser monsters at bay for now, with no sight of the boss monster yet. Who’s this?" The man called Brennan nodded to Sero behind her. 

Amaya whirled around in surprise. 

"What are you doing here?! This place is too dangerous for you!" 

Sero shrugged. "I didn’t know where else to go." 

"Stay at the Ascendant Association building! Or shelters! Or even your own home! Why did you come here of all places?" 

He gave another shrug. "I’ve basically started over today."

"What do you even mean-" 

A loud boom followed by a chittering screech cut their conversation short. 

The trio turned their attention back to the portal, where they saw a gigantic lobster much darker than the rest crawl out. The other Ascendants began to draw back as some of them fired colorful and explosive bolts of magic at the elephant-sized monster.  

"Liaison Amaya. I believe we need to focus on the situation first." Brennan raised his sword. 

"Fine. You, get to somewhere safe." Amaya glared at Sero. "Brennan, tell the others to fall back; you and I will take the boss alone." She slammed her palms together and a light blue mist began to swirl around her hands. 

Sero suddenly felt his body buzz and his focus sharpening as he watched Amaya conjure a gleaming silver sword between her hands. 

"Champion. Use your abilities." A familiar voice suddenly spoke in his head.

"Aphiel?" Sero thought. 

"Yes, my champion. I am here to guide you. Use your Scholar abilities to copy–" 

"Why the fuck did you send me a whole year into the future?" Sero thought angrily.  

"W-wait, it wasn’t my fault! But also, you need to–"

"You sent me a year into the future and now I don’t even know what’s going on! My apartment is gone!"

"Sero Kassel, please listen to me for a moment! We can talk about that later!" Aphiel’s voice was desperate in his head. 

Sero scowled but relented. 

"Fine, what do I need to do?"

"As I tried to explain the first time we met, your Scholar abilities don’t apply to just memorizing text. You can copy and recall anything, including the skills and abilities of other champions." Aphiel sounded relieved. 

Sero went silent for a moment. 

"Wait, that’s pretty fucking broken." 

"Ah, but there’s limits and restrictions too!" Aphiel quickly added. "But for now, try to copy that champion in front of you."

Sero obliged and watched intensely as Amaya finished forming her sword. The buzzing in his body from before came back, and Sero felt himself suddenly understand the nature behind Amaya’s display. 

"Oh." He realized that Amaya used mana to form her sword. 

"That is the true power of your class. You can copy and understand anything that you see. Which is a surprise, even though when I learned you had a knack for academics but a terrible work ethic–" 

"How do I use what I’ve copied?"

"O-oh. Well it’s pretty simple, no? It’s like when you remember something during an exam and you write it down so like–" 

"Never mind, I got it." Sero grinned wickedly as he understood what to do. 

As Amaya and the man charged towards the lobster boss, Sero watched them carefully from a safe distance. 

His body buzzed with power as his mind quickly grasped the intricacies of Amaya’s fighting style.

He watched her every move, her sword dancing through the air with an almost ethereal grace. Sero realized that she was using mana to supplement her movements as well, giving her a huge boost to her speed and strength. 

Finally, Amaya charged up blue mana in her sword, firing the condensed mass of light at the lobster. 

Despite the might of the attack, the lobster boss seemed to suffer a mild burn as it roared in anger. 

"Shit, the hide is too tough!" Sero heard Brennan yell out to Amaya. 

"Aphiel."

"Yes?" 

"Perfect Analysis. Does that mean I can understand anything I see?" 

"Yes…? What are you planning, champion?" 

Sero didn’t reply. Instead, he directed his attention to the lobster boss and increased his focus. 

His body buzzed with power again and Sero found himself able to understand the monster’s biological structure. 

A menacing grin slowly spread across his face. 

"This is way too fucking strong." he whispered to himself. 

As Amaya and the man struggled to keep the lobster boss at bay, Sero clasped his palms together and concentrated. A green haze began to form and swirl around his hands as Sero felt himself become lighter and energized. 

"So this is mana? This is pretty cool." he murmured and formed a silver blade similar to the way Amaya formed hers earlier. 

"Champion? Please be careful! Your abilities may be strong, but your body cannot withstand their full capabilities yet." Aphiel sounded worried. 

"Ah, I’ll be fine," Sero thought as a wicked expression bloomed on his face. "There’s no way I wouldn’t try this out after learning what I can really do."

Sero finished crafting his sword in noticeably less time than Amaya and began to circulate the mana inside his body. He could feel himself growing stronger and lighter.

"Champion, don’t overexert yourself!" 

Sero ignored her and charged ahead. 

"What the–" Amaya watched incredulously as the young man who had shamelessly hit on her before now danced around the boss monster gracefully. 

Sero deftly dodged and weaved around the giant lobster’s attacks as he sliced at its joints with precision. The blade felt balanced but strong in his hands and Sero’s blood pumped with excitement as he executed the same moves he watched Amaya perform earlier. 

Despite the overflowing power he felt, Sero could tell his body was beginning to burn out. 

"Is this all I can do for now?" Sero thought to himself, irritated. 

A feeling of refusal rose within him, and he increased the speed of his attacks, furiously severing the muscles between the cracks of the hard exoskeleton. 

In mere moments, Sero had completely severed all of the boss’s tendons, rendering it unable to move. 

Sero finally ceased his attack and created some distance between him and the monster, joining Amaya and Brennan as he retreated. 

"Fuck," Sero panted heavily, feeling exhaustion setting in as he leaned on his knees. "I didn’t expect that to be so tiring."

Both Amaya and Brennan stared at him in shock. 

"I thought you were a Scholar," Amaya whispered over the agonized chittering of the boss. "But you just used skills that Spellblades have. What exactly is a Scholar?"

Sero gave an evil smirk. "Oh, I’m definitely a Scholar. And I’m fucking strong." 

He suddenly fell forward and hit the ground face first. 

"Anyways," Sero’s words were muffled by the asphalt. "You guys are able to finish the boss off, right?" 

Amaya took a moment to process everything. 

"L-Liaison Amaya! We must kill the boss so that the portal can close!" Brennan shook them both out of their stupor. 

"Right… right! Ok, let’s finish this!" Amaya turned her attention back to the incapacitated lobster boss, still in bewilderment. 

Sero closed his eyes as he heard the pair rushing off to end things. 

"I’m so… fucking cool." he mumbled as he finally passed out.