Sero struggled to avoid Enzo’s attacks as his body screamed in protest. While the addition of Fairness helped him temporarily match Enzo’s strength, Sero learned that the repeated use took a heavy toll on his body. It was also taxing on his energy and mana reserves, siphoning large chunks that he couldn’t recover quick enough.

Up until this point, Sero gradually relied less on his mana sword and skills, opting to focus on melee combat as a sign of respect and resolve to Enzo, who was also using his fists to fight. However, unlike Enzo, Sero didn’t have a passive like Relentless to deal with the ever-growing fatigue and resource depletion.

Sero threw out a jab, feeling the stolen strength he acquired moments ago leave his body. Enzo easily sidestepped and thrust his palm into Sero’s chest, knocking him away once again.

Landing hard on the sand once again, Sero struggled to get back up, but couldn’t. His body was completely spent.

"You done?" Enzo entered his vision.

"Yeah. I can't get back up."

"Good." Enzo smirked as a throne made of hardened sand suddenly rose up from the ground. The Demonic Judge took a seat and watched Sero with an unreadable expression.

"No, yeah, I can pick myself up, thanks." Sero grumbled sarcastically as he rolled over and shakily pushed up off the ground.

"Congratulations on getting through your first day. Let's review your performance." Enzo slouched back and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You've got quite the knack for taking hits."

Sero grinned sheepishly. "Thanks, I guess?"

"Your combat sense is still terrible, but it's a hell of a lot better now than when you first started," The Demonic Judge continued. "You've learned to rely less on your Perfect Analysis and trust your instincts. That's good because you waste less time considering all your options."

"Isn't it better to thoroughly plan out the best way to attack?"

"In your case, no," Enzo frowned as he leaned forward. "Normally, that's something I'd advocate for, but your ability gives you all the information you need. Your lack of experience causes you to hesitate for a second to consider the options and that's extremely risky in a real fight. While I'm training you, I'm going to drill that combat sense into you, so you can quickly choose and execute the best option without a second thought."

Sero made a face, but nodded begrudgingly. Everything Enzo said was true, after all.

"I also plan to get you suited for adaptation, in the case where the option you chose doesn't work out." The Demonic Judge grinned. "I'll tell you this right now; it's going to be hell until the tournament."

Sero couldn't find the words to respond. "All right..." he finally mumbled.

"You starting to think my training is hard?" Enzo snickered. "Just imagine the old man's training. What you'll go through would never compare to what I went through."

Sero was silent for a moment, then nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. So, what's next?"

The Demonic Judge pulled his sleeve back and glanced at his watch. "Your mercy. It's been six hours since we started training. We should head back."

"Six- we've been in here for six hours?" Sero exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah. My Sponsor's personal space sorta makes you forget about stuff." Enzo stood up from his throne.

"Who's your Sponsor?"

"Eh, just the goddess Ma'at."

"Ma'at?" Aphiel suddenly squeaked in Sero's thoughts.

"Who’s that?" Sero was unfamiliar with the name.

"From Egyptian mythology, she’s the goddess who personified truth, order, balance, justice, harmony, law, and morality." Enzo closed an eye thoughtfully. "I think I listed them all. Anyways, this is her personal space. Apparently, she’s a big shot goddess so I don’t really get to talk to her much." He shrugged.

"She’s… incredibly important and powerful," Aphiel chimed in, almost enviously. "Her champions were always purveyors of her ideals, so I wonder if this champion represents justice considering his class."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Do you represent justice?" Sero asked.

"If it helps you understand, yeah, you could say that."

"So then does your brother… Is he also one of Ma’at’s?"

"Yep," Enzo chuckled, though it sounded more like a low huffing. "He’s somewhat aligned to balance."

"Is he strong like you, too?"

"Mmm," Enzo opened his eye and gazed down at Sero. "He’s not stronger than me, but definitely stronger than you. But, who knows? Maybe you’ll change that once I’m through with you."

"Sounds great." Sero replied sarcastically. He got up and brushed the sand off his clothes. "I can’t wait to get beaten up some more."

"That’s the spirit." Enzo flashed a toothy smile. "if it makes you feel any better, all you need for improvement is experience. Your resource control is decent, and you can just copy any skill, so there’s no point in refining either of those."

"It does a little," Sero admitted. "But, I’m still getting beaten up."

Enzo huffed again. "Then imagine what I had to go through with the old man’s training."

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Amaya was in the lounge area of the mercenary union, working on her laptop when she saw a bright red flash appear before her.

When her vision cleared, she saw Sero and a white-haired man standing there.

"Oh, hey Amaya." The Scholar casually greeted.

"Hey, yourself." Amaya closed her laptop and stood up, slightly annoyed. She noticed Sero appeared worn out, his clothes dirty with sand and his hair matted with sweat. The man next to him, however, was completely at ease without a single speck of dirt on his black suit. Amaya nodded to him in acknowledgement, her heart rate slightly increasing.

"Enzo."

"Liaison Amaya."

"You two know each other? Wait, of course you do, you guys are working together." Sero answered his own question.

"You were the one training him?" Amaya asked, ignoring Sero.

"Yeah. The old man said he was too busy and put me in charge of babysitting." Enzo replied, scratching at his neck with a finger.

"How was it?" Amaya avoided Enzo’s red eyes.

"He kept beating me up, saying it was training—"

"Sero’s gonna need a lot of work if he’s going to make it past the first round. But, his footwork and agility is pretty impressive for a beginner."

"Oh, that’s the stuff I copied from Amaya." The Scholar interjected, seemingly miffed at being left out of the conversation.

"That so? Then you’re pretty skilled right, Miss Liaison?" Enzo raised an eyebrow.

"I’m… I’m capable." Amaya kept her voice even, still avoiding Enzo’s gaze.

"Whatever you say. I’ll be going now." Enzo walked past Amaya without so much as a goodbye to either of them. She let out a breath that she didn’t realize she was holding.

After he left, Amaya turned back to Sero. She flinched when she saw his intense concentration on her.

"What? What are you doing?"

The Scholar made a face and tilted his head. His eyes squinted at her with a slight fascination.

"You… have a thing for Enzo?" Sero finally asked.

Amaya blinked, taken aback by the sudden question. She hesitated for a moment before answering. "No, of course not. He's... not my type." She forced out a laugh, hoping it didn't sound as forced as it felt.

"You're lying. My Perfect Analysis is telling me there's something about him that's attractive to you." Sero gazed at Amaya with a frown. "But what does he have that I don't? We're pretty much the same person..."

Amaya opened her mouth to protest, but then he snapped his fingers with a triumphant grin.

"It's his suit. You like guys in suits."

She was speechless. How did Sero figure that out so fast?

"I-I don't know what you mean," she stammered, feeling heat rising in her cheeks. "Anyway, it's not like you can't wear a suit. You can, you know. Just buy one."

"Hell, no." The Scholar waved a dismissive hand. "You'll never catch me wearing a suit. Not even if it's to impress the ladies."

"Ok, whatever, let's get going now!" Amaya turned on her heel and quickly made her way towards the exit, clutching her laptop tightly towards her chest. Of all the people she showed weakness in front of, it just had to be Sero.

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Sero groaned dramatically as he slowly rolled his sore shoulders back. His Recovery was in full effect, but he predicted that he'd be back in top condition after a good night's rest.

Glancing over, he smirked as he watched Amaya focus intently on speeding through traffic, apparently desperate to get him back home. Granted, his deduction at uncovering Amaya's crush on Enzo was a shot in the dark, but his Perfect Analysis had hinted something off with her heart rate.

Before getting into the car, Sero was blasted with a Water Blast and then Fire Blast, but it seemed like Amaya wanted to get him back for his sleuthing.

"Worth it." Sero thought to himself gleefully.

"You're a terrible person." Aphiel retorted in response. "Whatever you have planned, I hope you don't go through with it."

"Who says I have anything planned?"

"Aren't you attracted to her?"

"Yeah?" Sero slightly frowned. "But I'm also attracted to Nala, Kanna, the S-rank Elena–"

"Ok, I get it!" Aphiel sounded mortified. "Excuse me, I think I need a moment."

"Talk to you later." Sero chuckled.