Chapter 44: Salvaging Reputation
After sprinting daily for 90 days, Rocky's cardiovascular capacity had improved significantly compared to an average human, allowing him to be able to keep up with the pace that Professor Mave set for the pack by leading from front.
He gave no instructions about how long one was supposed to run for, as he kept taking laps of the giant training ground again and again, with assistant Mave weeding out the people that fell too far behind the pack, noting down their names and adding the time it took for them to fall-out beside it.
For about the first six laps, which was roughly about 1.2 kilometers, everyone more or less maintained the jogging pace that professor Mave set, but it was after him increasing the pacing from the seventh lap to a stride that people began to fall out of the pack.
Lap 7 about 10% dropped out at once.
Lap 8 about 10% more dropped out with many others audibly gasping for air, as by Lap 12 about 50% of the candidates were weeded out, leaving only 200 or so left running.
Rocky was more or less fine even after twelve laps, feeling only slightly winded while Sophia, who was running in front of him, seemed like she had not even broken a sweat.
After Lap12, professor Mave reduced his pace to a slow jog, as he allowed the remaining participants to get some wind back in their lungs, before resuming his original pace for 6 more laps, turning into 6 more laps of fast strides thereafter.
After his second round of running, the 200 remaining students dropped down to 130, and it was at this point that the second cool-down lap came with professor Mave jogging slowly.
At this point, Rocky started feeling slightly light headed as while he could feel his strength returning because of the slow lap, he knew that the coming rounds were bound to be hell and just as he anticipated, once the slow lap was over, the principal went into an all-out sprint, prompting everyone to run at their full speeds.
Elves, Goblins, Vampires and Beastmen race members remarkably gapped the masses, following closely behind the professor as they were able to match his pace through significant effort.
Their racial advantage around higher inherent agility was on full display as they did not struggle as much as orcs, trolls, humans, dwarves and the other races.
Sophia, with her demi-human bloodline also managed to keep-up, while Rocky was purely ego-running at this point as he knew he was way out of his depth, running at an unsustainable speed that his body could not support.
Students began dropping like flies in this round, eliminated for being too slow or stumbling as they lost their balance, eating the training ground dirt in the process.
130 candidates dropped to just 20 within two laps, as Rocky felt his head-spinning and his muscles not being under full control at this point.
"WE HAVE OUR TOP 20" Assistant Mave shouted at some point, as the professor began slowing down his pace a little, saving Rocky from the humiliation of dropping out, just before he would have called it quits.
*HUFFFF*
*HUFFFF*
*HUFFFFFFFFFF*
Gasping in an ugly fashion, Rocky stumbled to his knees as he felt every vein in his body pulsating from the effort, as he seemed to be the only person amongst the top20 who was reduced to such a sorry state, as the other 19 remained standing and appeared to be only slightly out of breath.
"You okay? You looked completely washed" said Sophia to Rocky as she offered him a hand to stand up, as unlike him, she looked completely fine with not a single sweat molecule appearing on her forehead.
'Oh fuck you…' thought Rocky internally, however, he did not say it, as suppressing the shortness of breath that he felt, he stood up without taking her hand, as he put on a brave face.
"I'm fine, thanks" he said, walking away from Sophia, as he left her extended hand hanging.
'OOOOO'.
Cheers could be heard from the spectators who had been weeded out early, as Rocky and Sophia remained to be the focal points of everyone's attention even in this training.
Thankfully, Rocky managed to make it to top20 through sheer effort, as if he did not, the new gossip headlines of the university would have been about how the Champion of Gemini was weaker compared to the Champion of Poseidon, as Rocky was saved today only by his system training and the body strengthening potions that he drank.
"Alright, seeing as you 20 are the cream of the crop in this batch in terms of cardiovascular endurance, you 20 will have a friendly spar today for me to determine the general level of your class.
The class will still go on for 90 minutes more, whoever amongst you 20 wishes to earn some bragging rights on the very first day, come forward and challenge an opponent of your choosing" Professor Mave said, as a female Elf immediately stepped forward and issued the first challenge.
"Professor, I wish to issue the first challenge if that's okay-" she said, as professor Mave nodded, giving her the right to choose first.
Rocky flinched when she began scanning the crowd, praying that she did not choose him as her opponent as he did not wish to embarrass himself on day one of university life.
Having no experience in combat, he was sure that he would be beaten black and blue in combat, which was why he wished to avoid it if possible.
And fortunately, he was not the first opponent to be chosen, as the female elf chose a female vampire to fight against.
Sighing, Rocky took a seat where assistant Lobo guided him to sit, enjoying the ensuing duel alongside the rowdy practical combat crowd, however, the fear of being called out in subsequent fights still persisted in his head.
Chapter 45: Unexpected Quest
"Let this be clear: this sparring match is not a duel to the death or a ticket to the infirmary. I expect none of you to leave this arena in such states." Professor Mave said powerfully, as he drove the point of not injuring the opponent home.
"You can engage in combat with the provided blunt wooden weaponry or use your bare hands with victory being achieved through a critical strike or surrender.
You must obey my directives unfailingly, and under no circumstances should you aim to fracture bones," declared Professor Mave, while assistant Lobo wheeled in a selection of wooden arms for the picking.
The assortment included an array of weapons such as wooden swords, spears, and bows with flat-tipped arrows, all readily available for selection.
Facing off, the elf naturally gravitated towards the bow and arrows, while the vampire opted for a wooden spear, each choosing their weapon in alignment with their nature.
"I heard Gisella approached Wendy to join her team, however, Wendy rejected the approach and mocked Gisella to think that she would ever team up with an elf like her, I think that's the reason behind their beef with each other today-"
Rocky heard someone murmur behind him, as he realized that the challenge between the female elf Gisella and the female vampire Wendy was not issued randomly and had some backstory to it.
"Vampires and their vain pride, man, I'm telling you... if she doesn't want to team up with her, then it's clearly her loss. I mean, who wouldn't want an archer in their team? Also quite a beautiful archer at that" said a male voice behind Rocky, as the other guys snickered and passed lewd comments, giving Rocky a glimpse of how men remained men, despite universal boundaries and cultural differences.
As the murmurs and chuckles subsided, Professor Mave's voice sliced through the tension, commanding silence with an authoritative "Begin!", as both Gisella and Wendy took their battle stance.
Gisella, with a quiver slung over her shoulder and bow in hand, took a cautious step back, eyeing Wendy with visible hatred.
If looks could kill, Wendy would already be dead, as Gisella seemed to hate that woman with all her essence.
Wendy, gripping her wooden spear with a novice's uncertainty, mirrored Gisella's cautious stance. It was evident that neither had extensive training as both their movements were hesitant and their strategies were unrefined.
With a deep breath, Gisella nocked an arrow, her fingers trembling slightly. The arrow, released with more hope than precision, whistled through the air, veering wide of Wendy and thudding harmlessly into the dirt of the arena as a murmur of amusement rose from the onlooking students.
"An elf who can't shoot arrows? Now that's a first, hahahaha"
"Of Course she doesn't want to be your teammate if your aim is so shitty! Who even allowed you to join this university?"
Mean comments were thrown at Gisella left and right, but impressively she did not let it waver her focus.
Wendy, not wishing to stay docile for long, charged with a boldness that mirrored her inexperience.
Closing the gap between herself and her opponent who was nocking another arrow onto the bow, she thrust her spear towards her abdomen, however, it was a slow and clumsy thrust that was easily sidestepped by Gisella, who managed a half-hearted attempt at a counter with her bow, trying to use it like a staff.
The two circled each other, exchanging a series of inept attacks and dodges with Wendy's spear occasionally jabbing at the air near Gisella, who retaliated with arrows that mostly found new homes in the ground or the wooden barriers of the arena.
The climax came not as a dramatic knockout as the crowd hoped for, but in the most awkward way possible as in her zeal, Wendy overextended a thrust, leaving herself off-balance. Gisella, seizing the opportunity, dropped her bow and tackled Wendy in a move that was more desperation than technique as they tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs and wooden weapons.
Professor Mave, seeing that the spar had devolved into a scrappy wrestle, stepped in. "Enough!" he declared, pulling the two apart with ease as both students were left panting, covered in dust, with minor scrapes marking their first foray into combat.
"You call this shit sparring? Disgrace both of you…. My four year old daughter fights better than you both" he said, humiliating the two fighters as the crowd roared into laughter.
"Go back, have some rest…" he said, his voice softening as he shook his head and scanned the crowd for fighters that looked promising, but since he did not know the nature and willingness of students to participate in this spar he eventually decided on making the next fight via a public vote.
"Alright, I'll ask you, the common crowd as to who amongst the top twenty do you wish to see sparring with each other?" Professor Mave asked, as immediately chants of "Rocky! Rocky! Sophia! Sophia!" broke out.
The vote was almost instantaneous and unanimous, as professor Mave looked towards Rocky and Sophia, knowing full well about their real identity.
"The champion of Gemini against the champion of Poseidon on the very first day of class?" he said, rubbing his chin, as he seemed to entertain that idea.
Initially, he wanted to do that fight at the end of the year, but seeing the reaction of the crowd he felt like, doing it on the first and last day would help encompass the their individual progress better.
"Very well, the crowd has spoken, come forward Rocky and Sophia" he said, as Sophia got up with a spring to her step and immediately went ahead and took a bare knuckle fighting stance.
Rocky, feeling as if his worst nightmare had just came true, stood up in a trance, as he felt the gaze of hundreds of students piercing his back.
He really did not want to fight, he was a complete novice who was bound to be humiliated by Sophia, however, the environment did not seem like it cared for his opinion.
'Should I just yell 'I surrender' when the bout starts and save myself some humiliation?' he wondered as just as he thought this, the system screen popped up infront of his eyes.
[ Strongest System Notification :- A new 'quest' has been created.
Quest Title - Defeat the champion of Poseidon.
Quest Description - Defeat the champion of Poseidon in this upcoming spar, establishing your superiority as a fighter.
Quest Reward - Immediately attain, (basic) sword and martial arts mastery.
Failure Penalty - The strongest system will be unavailable for use, for the next three months ]
Rocky's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the system screen! The stakes of this spar just became much bigger than just losing some face.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT Target, good job everyone! ///
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
21 Power
stone 
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