<h4>Chapter 44: Salvaging Reputation</h4>


    After sprinting daily for 90 days, Rocky''s cardiovascr capacity had improved significantlypared 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 takingps 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 sixps, 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 seventhp 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 twelveps, 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 moreps, turning into 6 moreps 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-downp 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 slowp, he knew that theing rounds were bound to be hell and just as he anticipated, once the slowp 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 disy 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 bnce, eating the training ground dirt in the process.


    130 candidates dropped to just 20 within twops, 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 lookedpletely washed" said Sophia to Rocky as she offered him a hand to stand up, as unlike him, she lookedpletely 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 weakerpared 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 cardiovascr endurance, you 20 will have a friendly spar today for me to determine the general level of your ss.


    The ss will still go on for 90 minutes more, whoever amongst you 20 wishes to earn some bragging rights on the very first day,e 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 inbat, he was sure that he would be beaten ck and blue inbat, 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 practicalbat crowd, however, the fear of being called out in subsequent fights still persisted in his head.