Later that afternoon, Amaya managed to call up two of her close friends for Sero to meet.

The first A-rank Ascendant was a woman named Kanna. She was tall, with short black hair and piercing brown eyes. She wore a flowing red kimono that accentuated her curves, and she carried herself with an air of confidence that could only belong to someone who had earned their place in the world. As they met at a quiet café, Kanna ordered a cup of tea and took a seat across from Sero.

Sero said nothing and simply stared at Kanna.

"S-Sero?" Amaya nudged him.

Sero blinked, breaking his stare. "Oh, uh, hi." He said, forcing a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kanna. I'm Sero." He reached out to shake her hand, but Kanna merely raised an eyebrow and sat back in her seat.

"Anyways... Um, Sero would like to see a demonstration of your skills, Kanna." Amaya tried to break the awkward atmosphere.

Kanna raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think I'd want to do that?"

Despite their closeness, Amaya knew how proud Kanna could be. A slight feeling of anxiety crept over her as she tried to think of a way to convince her friend.

To the shock of both women, Sero abruptly got out of his seat and knelt down in front of Kanna, his head on the ground.

"I am but a humble F-rank Ascendant!" Sero proclaimed loudly. "I wish to see the strength of a rank I can only dream of achieving!"

The two women were stunned for a moment. Amaya could feel her face heat up from embarrassment and knew Kanna felt the same way. The pair didn’t have to look around to realize that the other patrons in the café were staring at the three.

"Um, well..." Kanna coughed into her hand. "I-I suppose I could show you something." She hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Amaya. "Have a space in mind?"

Amaya recovered from her embarrassment and nodded. "Yeah, let's use Athena's arena."

In a few minutes, Sero and Amaya stood in front of Kanna as she seemed deep in concentration. Thankfully, the arena was empty of other Ascendants, so there were no unwanted spectators.

"What class is she?" Sero leaned over and whispered to Amaya.

"She's a Deadshot. One of the strongest advanced classes in the Archer class."

"Huh? Advanced classes? You mean people can advance their classes like in a game?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"I really am in a game-type story." Sero grumbled bitterly to himself.

A flash of red light interrupted their conversation as Kanna opened her eyes, her hands covered in crimson mana. She nodded at Amaya.

"Would you be so kind as to fire off mana targets for me to shoot at?" She asked her.

Amaya obliged, charging up blue mana between her palms. She then fired off several balls of blue light up into the air.

"Wait," Sero protested. "Is she just going to shoot mana bolts at them? I mean, I could probably do that and accuracy isn't really a cool skill to learn–"

Kanna quickly fired several beams of screeching red mana towards the blue mana balls. In an instant, all the beams connected, creating several enormous explosions of red mana that completely dyed the sky crimson with a chorus of deafening booms.

Sero's body buzzed with power as he copied Kanna's skill in shock. Using his Perfect Analysis, Sero realized that Kanna had compressed her mana to its limits before she launched them with precise aim. In essence, she was a living machine gun that had just shot mana nukes.

"Holy fuck."

Sero stared, open-mouthed, at the display of raw power before him. His eyes darted back and forth between Kanna and Amaya, as if trying to take in everything at once. He felt a mixture of awe and fear coursing through his veins. Kanna's display had completely shattered any preconceived notions he had about what it meant to be an A-rank Ascendant. It was as if she was a force of nature, unstoppable and unyielding.

His shock slowly turned into excitement as he stared at Kanna with a hungry gaze.

"Show me more."

Sero's voice was barely more than a whisper, but it echoed through the arena nonetheless. Kanna raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused by his enthusiasm. She nodded at Amaya with a prideful smirk, who fired more mana targets in the air.

This time, Kanna fired off several smaller beams of red mana that whistled through the air, piercing the targets. Sero's copy and analysis informed him that the skill resembled a mana railgun, an extremely fast and nigh unblockable attack.

"Satisfied?" Kanna asked Sero, a hint of smugness in her tone as she quickly finished eliminating all the targets.

He nodded graciously, bowing extremely low at her feet.

"Thank you for your kindness!" Sero proclaimed unashamedly.

"...You're welcome..." Kanna hesitantly replied as she unconsciously stepped back. "Is there anything else you need?"

Though her words made it seem like she wanted to help him, her tone implied otherwise.

"That's all I need, thank you!" Sero continued to bow.

Kanna glanced at Amaya, a desperate look on her face. Amaya sighed in embarrassment and held a palm towards her, sending Kanna back to the real world in a flash of blue light.

"So," Amaya turned back to Sero, who got up and brushed himself off. "Did you copy all of that?"

Sero's face contorted into an evil smile. His hands were enveloped in a green haze and he raised them to the sky.

Laughing maniacally, Sero fired off beams of green mana into the sky, alternating between the exploding nukes and deadly railguns. The sky bled green as Sero lost himself in the skills Kanna showed him.

"I'm guessing that's a yes..."

Sero suddenly stopped firing his mana into the air and fell on the ground face-first, his laugh cut short.

Amaya hesitated, then knelt down next to him.

"Are... Are you ok?" She asked him nervously.

Sero gave a muffled chuckle. "I'm so fucking cool." he said, before going silent.

"Sero?"

When he didn't respond, Amaya let out a heavy sigh, realizing he had passed out.

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

After he recovered in the association infirmaries, Amaya took Sero to meet the second A-rank Ascendant in front of the association entrance.

"Feeling better?" Amaya asked Sero as they waited for her friend.

Sero shrugged. "I keep forgetting I don’t have unlimited mana. It’s crazy to think that Kanna can just do that without tiring." He paused.

"Also, I’ve been meaning to ask, but could you explain more about classes? My goddess- er, Sponsor, wasn’t very clear on that."

Sero ignored Aphiel’s indignant cries.

"Oh. Yeah, well every Ascendant starts off with a base class. So far, there’s 7 generic base classes which are Warriors, Archers, Thieves, Mages, Brawlers, Healers, and Summoners." Amaya began.

"Ok…" Sero slowly nodded.

"Each base class can be advanced depending on how much effort a person spends on improving themselves. For example, I was able to reach Spellblade by learning swordplay as a Mage class, though it was difficult at first." Amaya continued.

"Oh, I get it so far," Sero mused. "Then what base class is a Scholar?"

Amaya made a face.

"Since you’re the only one we know so far who’s ascended as a Scholar, I’d say there’s a good chance you’re a unique class."

"Unique as in… I’m the only one who has this class?"

Amaya nodded. "Sort of. Unique classes are infamous because there’s usually only one Ascendant who has that specific class as well as having no known advancements. However, there are some unique classes that are very rare due to their extremely specific qualifications, so there may be a few Ascendants that share that class."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Sero’s eyes began to glaze over.

"Er, to put it in simple terms, the two types of unique classes are ones like your Scholar, where only one Ascendant has been known to achieve, and classes like the… Demon, where very few people achieve." Amaya shivered. "Those with the Demon class are bad news. It usually means that they have evil personalities and traits that made them ascend as such."

"Hey, that sounds more fitting for you." Aphiel remarked in Sero’s thoughts.

"Huh, so there are others like me…" Sero murmured, continuing to ignore Aphiel.

"I really hope there aren’t." Amaya quietly prayed.

"What’d you say?"

"Hey, you must be Sero!" a tall, lanky man with a boyish face and messy brown hair interrupted them with a smile as he jogged up to the pair. His dark eyes seemed to hold a hint of mischief. "I'm Raul, nice to meet you!"

Sero barely managed to hide his disappointment.

"I’m Sero." he tried to sound upbeat.

"Thanks for meeting with us, Raul," Amaya said, giving Sero a dirty look as if she knew what he was thinking. "I know you’re pretty busy."

"Ah, it’s nothing. I’m happy to help." Raul grinned at Sero. "When you told me you were helping out a newbie, I couldn’t just say no. I remember what it was like to start from the beginning."

Sero forced himself to smile.

"I didn’t take you for a mentor, though. Is this something new you’ve been trying?" Raul asked Amaya.

She shook her head.

"Not exactly. Without going into too much detail, Sero was jobless, homeless, and powerless,"

Sero’s eyes twitched.

"…And I’ve been setting him up so he can start supporting himself. As for today, Sero was wondering if you could demonstrate your skills. He’s an F-rank, so he wanted to get a glimpse of an A-rank’s potential."

Amaya paused, giving Sero a curious look.

"Well, he won’t be an F-rank for long since his Scholar–"

"Since I’m trying to grow stronger as soon as possible!" Sero quickly interjected and extended a hand out to Raul. "I would be grateful for a demonstration!"

Raul was taken aback, but recovered and shook Sero’s hand with another warm smile.

"Of course! I am always willing to help those in need, no matter what."

Sero forced himself not to cringe at Raul’s overly friendly energy.

As Amaya began to teleport the three into Athena’s arena, she gave Sero an inquisitive look.

He shook his head. "Later," he mouthed.

After the trio were safely teleported to Athena’s arena, Raul began stretching.

"Raul’s a Rage Fist, an advancement of the Brawler class," Amaya explained. "He’s on the verge of becoming an S-rank."

"Another advanced class?" Sero muttered.

"So, Sero," Raul began as he leaned over to stretch his side. "How good are you at hand-to-hand combat?"

"I'm not bad," Sero replied, flexing his fingers. "But I'm not strong enough to win against an A-rank."

Raul grinned. "Humble, huh? I like that." He cracked his knuckles and raised his fists like a boxer.

Sero copied his stance, though he was hesitant to actually fight him.

"Don't worry," Raul reassured him. "I won't hurt you. I'll just demonstrate what I can do. Then I'll give you some tips."

"Oh, that's perfect." Sero fought back the urge to smile. He had no intention of learning from Raul; at least, not by his teaching.

As they circled each other, Sero studied Raul's movements. He was taller and leaner than Sero, and his fighting style was more fluid and precise. His fists moved like blurs as he attacked, each strike aiming for a vital spot.

Sero’s body buzzed as he copied Raul’s technique, though he started to grow impatient that he wasn’t using any skills.

Although Sero managed to block or dodge each of Raul’s attacks, he winced from the sheer strength behind each impact.

"Fuck!" Sero thought to himself.

As they continued to spar, Sero found himself unable to land a single hit on Raul. His attacks either bounced off Raul's rock-hard skin or were easily blocked. Raul, on the other hand, was beginning to tire Sero out with each successive blow.

With a final strike, Raul landed a hefty blow to Sero’s stomach, knocking him backwards onto the ground with a loud thump.

Sero wheezed as he hit the floor and tried to breathe through the pain. He was dimly aware of Amaya’s snickering.

"Hey... not bad." Raul entered Sero's vision with a warm smile. He extended a hand down.

Sero grimaced but took Raul's hand and pulled himself up.

"Thanks." he muttered, brushing the dirt off himself.

"You're pretty decent. I'm impressed that you were able to keep up with me for that long." Raul remarked, gazing at Sero with a curious expression.

"That's because he was copying you." Aphiel spoke in Sero's mind, even though he was the only one who could hear her.

"Yeah, well, I'm more interested in seeing some of a Rage Fist's skills." Sero stretched his body.

"Skills? Well I guess I could show you some basic ones." Raul murmured thoughtfully.

Sero had to bite his tongue. He didn't want basic skills, he wanted top quality, powerful attacks.

"You're just annoyed that he isn't a pretty girl." Aphiel piped through his thoughts, noting Sero's displeasure.

Before Sero could snap back at her, Raul snapped his fingers and smiled brightly.

"Oh! I could show you energy and mana efficiency!"

A sudden sinister gleam sparked within Sero's eyes as he whipped his attention to Raul.

"They sound... interesting. What are they exactly?" he said, as a hungry look contorted his face.

"They’re– my god, you scared me– they're skills that help you use energy and mana more efficiently. Well, they’re more like principles than skills, really."

Raul rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Though energy efficiency might take you a while to learn, I’m sure mana efficiency would be easy to pick up. Speaking of, what’s your class anyway?"

Sero hesitated for a moment.

"I’m a Spellblade." He lied, giving Amaya a pointed stare.

She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything, much to Sero’s relief.

"Oh, the same as Amaya, huh? No wonder she’s eager to help you out." Raul nodded understandingly.

"Yeah. Honestly, I just want to see how you do that energy and mana efficiency stuff, so don’t worry about teaching me the theories or whatever." Sero urged him.

"Huh? But wouldn’t it be better if I taught you as I demonstrate? I think you’d at least benefit from learning about the–"

Sero waved a dismissive hand. "No, it’s fine. I don’t want to take up more of your time. And besides, I have some important things to do soon."

Raul frowned, unsure of his intentions. Finally, he shrugged.

"Alright, if you insist."

The Rage Fist closed his eyes and pressed his palms together, as if in prayer.

"Watch closely. See how I’m focused?"

Sero gave a slight nod as his body began to buzz with power.

"This is how you circulate and manage energy. It’s a little different from mana. Think of it as your natural battery." Even though nothing was happening visually, Sero could feel a physical pressure emitting from Raul.

"By controlling your energy, you can use it to replenish your stamina, strength, and even increase your recovery rate," Raul continued. "But be careful. Your energy is linked to your physical body’s limits. If you expend all of your energy, you’ll find yourself weak and unable to do anything. You can increase your energy pool by training your body physically."

Raul opened his eyes and immediately leapt back into a defensive stance upon seeing the grotesque look of happiness on Sero’s face.

"Oops." Sero quickly dropped his sneer and maintained a neutral look. Even though Raul was lecturing as he demonstrated, Sero overlooked it since his Perfect Analysis made him realize just how valuable energy efficiency was. Not that he was listening, anyway.

"Oh my god– sorry, you scared me again." Raul relaxed his body but kept a wary gaze on Sero.

He pressed his palms together again, his eyes opened this time.

"This is mana," Orange streams of light began to swirl around Raul as Sero’s body buzzed with power again. "It’s very similar to your natural energy, but instead of being linked to your physicality, it’s more dependent on your spiritual side."

Sero nodded, even though he wasn’t absorbing anything he said. His Perfect Analysis would enable him to understand it later.

"The more in tune you are with yourself, the larger your internal pool of mana is. That’s why Mages and magic-related classes usually have a deep understanding of mana and have seemingly limitless reserves of it."

"That’s right. It’s why I’m able to use magic so often in battle." Amaya chimed in.

"However, one advantage mana has over energy is that you can pull it from your surroundings too. The only difficulty with that is that the process of drawing in outside mana takes a long time to learn, and even if you manage that, you still have to convert that mana to a similar form like your own internal mana to use it."

Raul dispersed the gathered mana from his body and smiled warmly at Sero.

"Just like with energy, if you use up all your internal mana, you’ll feel the exhaustion, though more mentally than physically."

"Oh, so that’s why I pass out so much." Sero murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing," Sero shook his head and flashed a toothy grin. "Thanks for the lesson."

Raul nodded happily. "When you get the hang of energy and mana efficiency techniques, you’ll notice a huge difference in the way you lose excess energy and mana. To put it simply, energy and mana are like a tightly coiled spring. Release the tension all at once and you will need time to compress it again after a recovery period. But if you relieve the tension slowly, you can also compress it while maintaining that tension."

He suddenly assumed a defensive position and breathed out slowly. Sero felt the physical pressure exuding from the Rage Fist. His Perfect Analysis told him that Raul was managing his energy so efficiently, that there was no excess waste.

In an instant, Raul launched a single jab so quickly that Sero registered the move a minute after it happened. A few seconds later, a gust of wind and pressure blasted Sero, causing him to stumble back.

"Shit!" He cursed, almost losing his footing.

"Sorry," Raul smiled sheepishly. "I tried to hold back as much as possible."

"It’s fine," Sero scowled as he ignored Aphiel’s and Amaya’s snickering. "I’m thankful for the demonstration."

Raul chuckled. "It’s no problem. Maybe I can help you learn sometime later."

"Sure." Sero feigned a friendly smile. He had already finished absorbing the concepts behind energy and mana efficiency, so he wanted to try practicing as soon as possible.

"Well, if that’s all you need, then I’ll leave you two. It was nice meeting you, Sero." Raul extended a hand.

Sero grunted and shook it.

Amaya sent Raul back with a flash of blue mana and turned to Sero.

"So–"

She visibly flinched from the unnerving smile and insane glint in his eyes.

"Um, you’re not thinking of doing what I think you’re going to do, are you?"

Sero didn’t reply, holding his palms up in the sky instead.

"Don’t you dare–!"

Sero laughed maniacally as he fired green beams of mana into the sky, alternating between exploding nukes and piercing railguns.

Amaya sighed to herself as she watched the entire arena become bathed in an emerald hue.