"Well... technically this didn't happen because of you." Aphiel remarked.

"No, yeah, I got that." Sarcasm laced his thoughts. "But, this situation only happened because I'm here."

"Truth to be told, the association and I wouldn't have chosen you to help with this plan," Amaya chewed on the nail of her thumb. "But Gregor pushed heavily for you to be involved. Ever since the first Ascendants Tournament half a year ago, there's been a sinister organization that call themselves 'the Culling'. They rose up when the global rankings of the S-ranks came out and began to spread terrorism worldwide to both hemispheres."

"Ah." Sero faintly recalled learning about the changed geography of the world. Amaya had informed him that the apocalypse a year ago had drastically altered the Earth, causing the land to merge into two massive continents. The western hemisphere was where he resided, and the eastern hemisphere was a day's flight away.

"Through their violent and cruel slaughtering of Ascendants and non-Ascendants, the organization's goal is to ultimately summon what they call a 'Catastrophe'. These Catastrophes were rumored to be incredibly strong beings from another world, but as of now, there are no records of these beings actually existing." Amaya looked at Sero to make sure he was paying attention. "We haven't had too many problems with the Culling interfering in the Ascendants Tournaments or other related events, but a few weeks ago, one of our informants caught wind of a plan to somehow use the tournament participants as tributes."

"Ok, so..." Sero held up a hand. "You want me to risk my life by joining an event that murderers might also be taking part in? Are there no other Ascendants that could do this?"

Amaya gave a strained smile. "Legally, any division member of the Ascendants Association must declare their affiliation, so that would cause their organization to be on high alert. The Janitors can't participate either, since that branch only has 7 members. Plus, with their low numbers, it's much more efficient to have them on the sidelines."

"Wait, there's only 7?" Sero glanced at Nala, who shook her head.

"I'm not a member, if that's what you're wondering. The Janitors are also all S-ranks." Nala said flatly. "Not that I want to be a member. I prefer being my own boss, remember? I’d rather not be known as the boss’s daughter in his branch."

"Right..." Sero turned back to Amaya. "So, there's really no other person who could take my place? What about Raul, or Kanna?"

"Funny you should mention them," The Ascendant Liaison chuckled. "They're already participating. Raul is especially excited at the chance to fight you."

Sero made a disapproving face at the mention of his name. "Ok, so they know about all of this too, then?"

"No. You will be the only participant in the loop. The rest cannot know because who could tell how they'll react. I can guarantee Raul would hunt down the Culling members himself and cause more trouble." Amaya crossed her legs and leaned forward. "Believe me, I'm not a fan of this plan either, but you are the only outlier here. You're not that widely known yet, and your class enables you to adapt to anything."

Sero went quiet for a moment, weighing his options. On one hand, it would be a fantastic opportunity for him to copy powerful skills and possibly win some money. On the other hand, he'd have to work and there was a very real risk of him getting caught and killed. He'd already died once and he wasn't very keen on dying again.

"What would I get in return?"

"Besides copying a lot of skills? I'll forgive your debt, and throw in a quarter million of gold."

Sero choked and began to salivate as a wicked smile bloomed across his face.

"You think I can be bought off?" he managed to stifle his excitement and wipe off his smirk.

"Relocation. I'll set you up in a 5-star suite penthouse."

"How much is the success of this operation worth to you?" Sero began to sweat, feeling himself succumb to Amaya's offer. Thoughts of luxury flooded his mind.

"It is incredibly important, considering it would potentially save lives as well as the chance to catch Culling members for interrogation." Amaya leaned closer to Sero, sensing his will wavering. Nala watched the pair with a hint of amusement.

"Then... then the deal doesn't seem fair–"

"Your meals will be paid by the association for a full month."

"I'll do it." Sero quickly extended his hand. Amaya shook it with a smile.

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"I'll get started with fulfilling my half of the deal. In the meantime, the tournament is scheduled to start on the last weekend this June, so in two weeks. Make sure you're prepared." She stood up, stretching her arms above her head.

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out," Sero assured Amaya. "So, the other Ascendants don't know about this?"

"Nope. Just the Janitors and the Special Protections division."

"You're part of that division, too?"

"Well, originally I was interested in joining their division, but I opted to go into the Liaison division instead," Amaya made a face. "Anyways, since I've had the most contact with you, they decided to have me mediate instead."

"Oh, ok. So, how am I supposed to enter the tournament? Just show up at the arena?" Sero asked.

"You can register at the association, or online. Just provide your ID as proof."

"Got it." Sero nodded, then glanced at Nala. "Are you participating, too?"

"Hmm? No. I'm more interested in watching how you'll fail- how you'll do." Nala looked up from her phone. Sero couldn't tell if she was smirking or not.

"Then I hope I can give you a good show." He flashed a defiant toothy smile.

Sero's phone started to buzz. Surprised, he took it out and squinted at the screen, which displayed an unknown number.

Shooting a confused glance at the women, Sero picked up the call.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Sero?" A familiar, thundering voice responded.

He immediately looked to Nala, who was now clearly smirking.

"Is this... Gregor?"

"Indeed," Gregor chuckled from the other line. "I heard that you've decided to participate in the tournament."

Sero was about to ask how he knew, but quickly surmised that Nala must've texted him. "Uh, yeah."

Gregor chuckled again. "Well, I just wanted to wish you luck. You'll need it. Or, if you want some help, I could also do that for you."

The cogs in Sero's mind began to spin. He swallowed hard.

"Help as in... you'll show me your skills?"

"I have matters to attend to today, but come find me at the union tomorrow. 12 sharp." Gregor sounded amused and hung up. Sero found it hard to contain his excitement, even despite Gregor's vague answer.

"Judging by the look on your face, I'm assuming that was Gregor," Amaya offered a hand to Nala, who took it and climbed off Sero's bed.

"Yeah. Wait, are you two going somewhere?"

"We're going out to lunch together." Nala had a ghost of a smile on her face.

"Can I–"

"No." Amaya stopped him with a hand. "Us girls need a break from you every now and then."

Sero grumbled, but didn't press any further. He watched them leave his apartment before he flopped onto his bed.

"Hey, Aphiel?"

No answer.

"Don't tell me you need a break from me, too?"

"W-well," Aphiel finally responded. "Sometimes it's healthy to have some time to yourself!"

"Ok, fine, I get it." Sero sat up with a scowl. It sucked that he had to wait until tomorrow to copy Gregor's skills, and it didn't help that his only two friends alongside even his goddess were reluctant to hang out with him.

A slight panic began to fester within him as he realized he might become bored soon if there was nothing to do. Which, now that he thought about it, was contradictory to his previous wishes of wanting to live a lazy life. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but he wanted someone to simply spend time with him doing nothing.

Sero sighed and shook himself out of his thoughts. The pressure started to creep over him as it sank into his mind that he needed to prepare for the tournament. Not just because he needed to do well, but in the event that something went wrong, he would need to survive as well.

He couldn't believe it himself, but the best idea that popped into his head was to go to the association library after registering.

----------------------------------------

"This is nice," Amaya smiled, taking a bite out of her strawberry ice cream sundae. "Not having to deal with him right now."

"He'd be so hurt if he heard you say that." Nala replied with a slight smile as she dug into her second chocolate cheesecake.

"Yeah, but he'd forget about it the moment a woman walks by. But, enough about him. Have you thought about my offer?" The Ascendant Liaison set her spoon down.

"Mhm..." Nala swallowed before responding. "I will say, it is very tempting."

"Of course. Underneath the Intelligence & Espionage division, you'd be the leader of your own team. Your skills and experience are some of the best I've ever seen. We only have 3 other teams, but they're not very strong in infiltration like you can be."

"Thanks. But, I'd still have to report to someone higher up, won't I?"

Amaya made a face. "Unfortunately, yeah. I know you don't like to be ordered around, but maybe we could find a compromise?"

"Sure." The Shadereaper nodded emotionlessly. "I'll join under the two conditions I set."

"Your team is contract based and you don't have to follow orders outside commissioned operations, right?"

"Yeah." Nala somehow finished her cheesecake and looked around for their waiter to order a third.

"You're not wanting to negotiate pay or anything like that? Not that I personally think it's an issue, because the salary is pretty nice."

"No," The Shadereaper started to show signs of irritation when she couldn't spot their waiter. "Just those two conditions."

"It's a little out of the norm to have a team be contract based under a division, but I'll try my best to see what I can work out." Amaya checked the time on her phone. "I have time after lunch. Do you want to do something? Maybe check out the roster for the tournament participants?"

"Ok," Nala finally waved over their waiter. "Should we invite Sero?"

"I'd rather not, but if you want to, you can."

"Sometimes he's funny." Nala shot a quick text on her phone before turning to their waiter.

"In what way?" Amaya muttered to herself, baffled.