A week has passed since the Lionheart Tournament finished, and countless members of the young generation, who had witnessed and participated in the tournament, brought the news of the exciting matches that they had seen throughout the duration of their stay home.
The funny thing was that the Champion's real name was set aside, and his alias, My Daddy, was spread far and wide. From the highest slope of the northern regions, to the farthest desert of the West, My Daddy's name resounded as it was sung by the bards, who wanted to share his story and achievement to the world.
Instead of a handsome red-headed Half-Elf, the Barbs told the tale of a chubby teenager with hair as black as the night, and light-brown eyes that could captivate those who stared into them.
The chubby people who heard this felt proud, thinking that one of them took one for the team and showed those with great bodies that even fatties like them could do great things when given the chance.
As his fame spread to distant lands, not just in Solais, but also in Elysium, the Half-Elf was still soundly asleep inside Iris' room and still hadn't woken up from his comatose state.
Natasha, who was Wildgarde Stronghold's High-Cleric, had diagnosed that Lux would only wake up anywhere between seven to fifteen days, as his body had to take its time to recover from the backlash of forcing himself to remain awake despite the fact that he was already suffering from the Abyssal Corruption inside his body.
Eriol had also warned him that he might enter a comatose state for more than a month if he forced himself in the tournament, but Lux didn't back down, willing to pay the price in order to protect his step-sister's happiness.
Against all odds, he had succeeded. In truth, before the match started, he made a request to Judge Dredd to not stop the match even if he lost consciousness.
The referee agreed on the condition that he would not stop the match as long as he deemed that Lux's summons could still fight. However, Judge Dredd made it clear that the moment he judged that Lux was not in any condition to defend himself, he would end the match and declare Cai as the Champion.
Lux agreed to this condition because this was already the best compromise that he could make with the referee of the tournament.
Fortunately, before he lost consciousness, the match was nearing its end, allowing him to become the Champion with everyone's blessings.
Alexander had only visited him once in the past week to check his condition. Aside from that single visit, he no longer went to check on the Half-Elf, even allowing him to stay inside Iris' room, so his daughter could take care of him.
The blue-haired beauty was more than happy to take care of the Half-Elf, even going as far as to wiping his body to make sure he was squeaky clean.
Eiko, who had witnessed her Papa's performance, spent her days munching on the Beast Cores that they had acquired from defending Whitebridge City against the Beast Tide. Naturally, this wasn't enough to give her a full upgrade, but Iris was more than happy to feed her more Cores, allowing her to Rank Up.
Just like Lux, Cai had also entered a comatose state because of the power of the Half-Elf's Abyss Touch.
However, to the High-Cleric's surprise, the Boar's regeneration and recovery rate far surpassed anything that they had seen, leaving Lux in the dust.
It was like the Abyss Corruption didn't want to linger in its body and left it after three days.
After recovering from its injuries, the Boar didn't leave right away and stayed in Barbatos Academy to look after Little Swordy, who was still unconscious. It also wanted to wait for Lux to wake up in order to properly congratulate him for winning the Lionheart Tournament.
"Um, one more plate of bacon please. And another serving of pork chops," Cai said to the waitress. "Put it on My Daddy's Tab, thank you."
The waitress smiled and nodded her head. The boar kept eating like there's no tomorrow, so they had to consult the Headmaster, Alexander, whether they should allow it to continue eating the way it did everyday or not.
Alexander's answer was crisp and firm.
"Put it on My Daddy's Tab."
After getting the go signal, the restaurant inside the academy treated Cai like a VIP, making the latter extremely happy to be able to eat for free.
In truth, they were also happy to host the First Runner Up of the tournament. Cai had not only become a mascot of the Lionheart Tournament, but also a celebrity. As the first runner up, the Boar had fought with everything it had, surpassing everyone's expectations.
"Cai, can I please have your autograph?" a pretty lady with blonde hair and green eyes asked the Boar who was munching on some bacon strips.
"Of course," Cai replied as it dipped its hoof on one of the sauces in the table and pressed it on the scroll that the pretty girl was holding.
"Thank you very much!"
"No problems. I love all of my fans."
The pretty girl giggled before kissing the Boar's cheek, leaving the restaurant with a smile. Half an hour later, Cai left the restaurant looking very satisfied as it strolled around the academy unhindered.
The students who saw it greeted it, and Cai returned their greetings with a polite greeting of its own.
'I wonder when Little Swordy and My Daddy will wake up,' Cai mused as it walked towards the training area of Barbatos Academy. 'I plan to invite them to the Rowan Tribe to see my Grandpa, so that they can get permission to enter the secret Dungeon that belongs to our faction in Elysium.'
'The slots are limited, so I need to bring strong fighters with me in order to clear it. I need to make sure that those other guilds from the six kingdoms will not be able to get the good stuff.'
One of the prizes given by the Tournament was a special badge that allowed the Champion to enter a special Dungeon that opened once a year in Elysium.
This Dungeon was controlled by the Six Kingdoms that supported Barbatos Academy, and they could only send a limited number of people inside it every year.
Usually, only the strongest Guilds that were loyal to them would be able to enter, but this year, they made a special exception for the Champion, and would allow him to bring an entire party inside the Dungeon that would open in exactly two weeks.
The Rowan Tribe was also given a limited number of slots to enter the Dungeon. Their quota was twelve people, and Cai wanted to drag Little Swordy and My Daddy onto its team, making its faction a powerhouse that could challenge the other Guilds that would also enter it alongside them.
'With Little Swordy and My Daddy, I'm sure that we can challenge the Hell-Mode of that Dungeon that no one has conquered in the past,' Cai thought.
When the Secret Dungeon was discovered, the Six Kingdoms found out that it would only allow Grade A Apostles and below to enter it. Because of this, they only sent their best candidates to challenge it, but up till now, no one had managed to clear the Hell-Mode of the dungeon located inside the Special Domain.
Even clearing Normal Mode required a great sacrifice. More than 98% of the Guild members who attempted to clear it would not reach its end, making it an extremely difficult Dungeon to deal with.
However, Cai had complete faith in its two unconscious comrades. In its eyes, even if it were to face the Four Kings and the Five Overlords in the Special Domain this year, it would have nothing to fear.
After all, with two powerful friends by its side, it could walk in the Special Domain with a smug look on its shameless face.
