The sun was beginning to set as Sero got the clear to be discharged from the infirmary, teleporting to his father's hospital with Kit. His dragons, exhausted from fighting and playing all day, allowed themselves to be recalled. Sero himself felt a lot better, though the teleport caused him to feel queasy after.

The pair walked to Tiero's room, when Casey popped out the door with a huge smile as if he had sensed the two coming.

"Mr. Sero! I saw your match!"

"Hey, Casey," Sero grinned back at the boy. "What’d you think?"

"It was amazing!" Casey exclaimed, bouncing on his heels. "You were so cool out there, using magic and everything! And your dragons were awesome too!"

Sero chuckled, ruffling the boy's hair. "Thanks, buddy."

Kit smirked at the pair, her gaze flickering between them. All three then entered the room, where Sero's father was conversing with Amaya and Nala.

"Son!" Tiero beamed as he saw him. "Your match was incredible! Going into the finals now, huh?"

"Yeah," Sero sat down next to Nala. "If I'm being honest, I'm a little nervous."

"Don't worry," Tiero reassured him. "You've got this. And hey, even if you don't, it's not the end of the world. You've made me so proud just by getting this far." He reached over and patted Sero's shoulder.

A lump formed in Sero's throat. Despite hearing more of his father's encouragement, he was still caught off guard by it. He swallowed hard, attempting to smile.

"Thanks, Dad." He turned to Nala and pulled out Elena's autograph. "Remember the bet we made?"

Nala gasped quietly as she took the napkin from him. "Is this... real?"

"Yeah, you can ask Kit if you don’t believe me. I went to Elena's room and got her autograph."

The Shadereaper gazed at the napkin with reverence, like she couldn’t believe she was actually holding a signature from her role model. Nala shot Sero a look of thanks.

"Wow, I can’t believe that you actually got her autograph," Amaya said, impressed. "Does that mean that Nala has to be your servant for a week?"

At the mention of the bet, Nala stiffened, apparently forgetting about the deal she made with Sero prior to the tournament. She warily gazed at him, who licked his lips with a smirk.

"Well, I would like to hope she honors that. I got beaten up by dragons and reptiles to get it," he laughed. As if it were a trigger, there was a sudden pair of chirping and a few seconds later, Moss and Lime appeared out of nowhere. Everyone gasped at their sudden appearance.

"Sero, are these the same dragons you summoned against Elena?" Amaya breathed in disbelief. The pups bounced around the room, going from person to person and sniffing them curiously. Casey giggled and clapped his hands happily as he trailed after the pups.

"Yup," Sero let out an amused snort. "I wasn’t expecting them to be babies, so you can imagine the panic I was feeling when they came out for the first time."

"Aww, they’re cute." Nala smiled softly as Lime leapt into her lap. Moss crawled up to Tiero, sniffing him intently. The pup seemed to sense his weakened condition, whining as she lapped at his fingers.

"Son… you are incredible…" Tiero murmured as he watched Moss crawl all over him. "To think I’d live to see the day where actual dragons were real."

Sero said nothing as he watched his dragons play with his friends and father. Tiero’s words left him thinking about the recent events, and how fast he had grown, not to mention how strangely quick Sero had adapted to the world. He figured his Rationality probably had a large part in helping with his assimilation.

"Would you feel more at ease if you weren’t so calm about this?" Aphiel spoke in his mind.

"Were you eavesdropping on my thoughts?"

"...Apologies, champion. I couldn't help but overhear your worries."

"It's fine." Sero sighed quietly to himself. "What do you mean by what you asked earlier?"

"Well, you ascended as a Scholar mostly in part because it fit your personality the best. However, to be blunt, there are others who are more suited for the class than you are."

"Ok...?" Sero immediately felt a rush of irritation.

"But, there is a reason why you are the only Scholar!" Aphiel continued quickly. "Even as a goddess, the reasoning of the world still eludes me, but you were chosen specifically to fulfill the role of a Scholar."

"What... does that even mean?"

"It's quite literally proven through how far you've grown to this point. If it were anyone else, they would not have been able to copy and utilize so many skills from other champions, not to mention defeat an opponent that would otherwise be several times stronger than them."

Sero considered Aphiel's words. It was true that he had copied and adapted skills from other champions. It wasn't just that though, it was his ability to think, to reason, that made him unique. He was able to look at a problem from multiple angles and find the best solution. Admittedly, the best solution he found for each match was to kamikaze through Revenge, but the way he executed the finisher did merit some achievement.

"If you had ascended as any other class, I highly doubt you'd have taken this all in stride. You were able to deal with the fact that you were dead, right? Not to mention that was before you even came back to Earth. That alone was more than enough for whatever higher being had decided to bestow the Scholar class upon you."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Perhaps I wanted to reassure you since I sensed how concerned you felt over the effects of your Rationality passive. It may not seem normal to be so calm when you usually should, but it's not necessarily a bad thing."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Sero mulled over her words for a moment, seeing some comfort in her words. He supposed he should be grateful for whatever higher being had seen fit to bestow upon him the Scholar class. It had been a trial by fire, but he had survived and even thrived. And as much as he didn't like to admit it, he did enjoy learning and adapting to new situations. It was part of what made him who he was.

Before he could respond to the goddess, his pups suddenly growled. Moss turned to the door, baring her teeth as Lime hopped out of Nala's arms.

As Dr. Malek entered, Nala quickly reacted, sending out shadowy ropes that wrapped around Lime before she hit the floor. Amaya followed suit, casting a blue cage-like prison around Moss. Sero's body buzzed as he copied Nala's 'Shadow Bind' and Amaya's 'Mana Lock' skill.

"Ah, we have so many visitors here," Dr. Malek remarked with surprise before he noticed the growling dragons. "It seems that these two aren't very fond of me."

"Dr. Malek," Sero stood up, forcefully recalling his dragons. "Sorry about that. My dragons don't usually act that hostile."

"It's quite alright," the doctor smiled warmly. "They must have smelled the Grim Reaper on me."

It seemed as if everyone was slightly confused or shocked at his words as the doctor offered a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, I just had a patient leave us today," Dr. Malek began, casting a pointed glance at Casey. "And I learned a bit about mythical creatures to know that dragons have a sixth sense for certain things."

"Ah, right," Sero nodded, recalling the way Moss comforted his father.

"Anyway, I came in to check on Mr. Kassel here," Dr. Malek smiled at Tiero as he flipped through his charts. "The surgery was a success, but just to be sure that there are no issues, I just wanted to ask how you're feeling?"

"I feel... strange," Tiero said, blinking. "Like I should be feeling worse, but... I don't?"

The doctor frowned, clearly troubled, but his face softened after a moment. "Well, there will always be strange side effects with unique operations such as this, but in terms of issues, I'd say this is more in the best case scenario. You're here and seemingly healthy, so that's a good start."

As Dr. Malek continued to examine Tiero, Sero turned to Nala and Amaya.

"Thanks for sticking with my dad," he quietly whispered. "And just being here for him. It means a lot." The women nodded back in acknowledgement.

Sero smiled at them both before glancing back at the doctor and Tiero. As the conversation between them continued, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. It was a strange feeling, considering that just a few days ago, he had been preparing for the worst. But now, with his father's condition improving and the doctor's positive outlook, he allowed himself to hope. Maybe things were going to be alright after all.

"Well, we'll be running more tests in the upcoming days, just to be sure that Mr. Kassel won't be having any issues in the future," Dr. Malek finished checking Tiero as he scribbled on his clipboard. "As soon as you're cleared, you're free to leave."

"Thank you, Doctor." Tiero smiled at him, then to Sero. "I can't wait to spend more time with my son."

Sero kept his face even, returning his father's smile. Dr. Malek waved to everyone before leaving the room.

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

Spending a few more hours with everyone before excusing himself home, Sero wanted to be left alone. Amaya offered to drive him back, but he declined, making up an excuse that he was going to do some last minute training with Enzo.

Night had fallen when Sero began to walk back to his penthouse, his mind swirling with thoughts. Normally, he would have discussed his feelings with Aphiel, but this time around, he wanted to keep them private to himself.

Sero trekked through the brightly lit streets of the city, barely registering the bustling life of pedestrians as they went about their lives, unaware of the turmoil brewing within the Scholar.

First and foremost was the upcoming match against Liam tomorrow. While Sero wasn’t confident he would win, there was also a part of him that was fired up at the chance to knock down the Demonic Enforcer a couple of pegs. In a way, it was almost ironic, since Sero himself could begrudgingly relate to Liam’s attitude had it been the Sero a couple of weeks ago.

The second thing on his mind were the feelings regarding his father. Truthfully, he was relieved and grateful that Tiero was still alive, yet the guilt, regret, and anger he harbored was difficult to simply let go of. Sero did see a point where he’d be able to forgive and forget, but that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. At least he didn’t have to worry about his father disappearing from his life again.

The last thing on his mind was what he wanted to do after the tournament, after everything had been settled. Guilds and other organizations had been blowing his phone up incessantly, to the point where he had to silence notifications. After copying so many skills, Sero definitely felt closer to living his dream of a comfortable life, especially with his new penthouse and influx of gold, but there was a small part of him that strived for more. A piece of him that had been nurtured by his mother, before he lost her.

Lost within his worries, Sero didn’t notice the woman barreling towards him until they collided. With a grunt, he reacted quickly, grabbing onto her as they crashed to the ground. Sero hit the concrete hard, feeling the wind get knocked out from him.

"Oof!" Sero groaned, his arms wrapped tightly around the woman.

"S-sorry!"

The woman scrambled to her feet, a vexing expression on her face. With a start, Sero felt like he knew her. Or at least, someone that resembled her.

With long, silky straight black hair, pale skin, and a tiny mole under the corner of her left eye, the woman was very attractive. Her strikingly vivid orange eyes were filled with panic as she gave an apologetic look down at Sero. She was dressed in a black outfit, a long-sleeved sweater and leggings, which was a strange ensemble to be wearing in the warm weather. Her hair brushed back against the breeze, revealing a pair of subtly pointed ears, reminding Sero of an elf. Or in this case-

"You’re a succubus."

Sero quickly jumped to his feet as he faced the woman. Upon hearing his words, the woman shrank back fearfully, a black tail swishing behind her nervously.

"N-no, I’m not, I’m just-"

Sero conjured his blade, coating it with green mana as he prepared to hunt her. The woman yelped with fear, her eyes glowing bright orange.

A wave of desire suddenly washed over him, making his heart race and his skin tingle. He found himself attracted to the woman, almost as if he would do anything for her just to be in her presence. Her very being felt like a warm, seductive blanket, casting a hazy cloud over his mind.

His Rationality immediately kicked in, dispersing the effects of the woman’s charm. She gasped in shock, quickly turning to run away. Sero reached out, casting Shadow Bind and wrapping her in dark tendrils that tripped her. He moved forward, priming his blade to run straight through her.

"Wait!" The succubus pleaded. "I mean you no harm! I haven’t done anything wrong!"

"Nice try," Sero muttered, raising his blade.

"Ok, I did steal your gold, but that’s about all I did! Honest! I haven’t hurt anyone else, I just wanted to live a quiet life!"

Sero halted his hand. The succubus’s words seemed to trigger Sero’s memory.

"Wait," he lowered his sword. "At the succubi outbreak… that was you? The one who took my gold?"

"Yes! I’ll pay you back, so please don’t kill me! And please let me go, I can’t afford to be caught by them!"

Sero blinked in confusion. "By who?"

"Hey, isn’t that the Scholar from the tournament?"

A masculine voice caused Sero to whirl around, finding a pair of masked figures stalking towards him. He became aware of how empty the street suddenly was, devoid of any other witnesses.

The two figures were cloaked in black, their simple masks revealing only the color of their eyes. Both of them brandished a gleaming short sword, one coated in dark red mana and the other dark blue. Sero sensed a considerable amount of mana between the two, placing them around the strength of an A-rank. At first, he thought they were Vultures, but the sinister vibes they gave off matched the description of a certain organization he had learned about.

"Champion, those two seem to have a contract with an evil god!"

"So these guys are part of Culling, huh?" Sero switched his focus to the two newcomers, who glanced at each other.

"Seems like he knows about us." One of the masked figures said to the other.

"Our orders were to capture the succubus, but there was nothing against the Scholar." The other masked figure had a feminine voice.

"Well, with the barrier up, we can do as we please. Besides, it’s not like the odds were in his favor against Liam. We’re good to kill him, right?"

"Yes."

The masked figures pointed their weapons at Sero, preparing to charge.