In an unprecedented move, two boulders were brought into the swordsmanship training hall on the very first day of ss, since there were two students that already possessed aplete understanding of basic swordsmanship.


    One nce was enough for instructor Mae to determine that both Rocky and Sophia did indeed have excellent technique as the cuts they left in the practice dummies were clean from edge to edge.


    To her it was clear that they were not achieved through possessing brute strength or a great de, but because of perfect technique, which qualified them to move onto the next stage of assessment, the boulder sh.


    The boulder that was brought in was about 10 meters tall and four meters wide, being taller than both Sophia and Rocky, making it challenging for them to slicepletely through it since they could not use an overhead strike.


    To sh apart a boulder this size they needed to have truly exceptional understanding of the sword as generally without the use of a special sword skill, achieving the level of mastery required to split apart a boulder was quite high.


    "Start whenever you want, don''t worry about failure since I don''t expect you to seed on the very first day of ss, but still try and give it your best shot" Instructor Mae said, as she signaled for Rocky and Sophia to begin.


    Sophia looked at Rocky, who politely signaled her to make the attempt first as he said "Ladies first…." With a fake smile.


    " Alright-" Sophia said with a confident smile on her face as she stepped a feet away from the boulder and took a perfect shing stance.


    Taking in a deep breath, she gathered her strength as she focused sharply on the target she wished to hit.


    ''Sophia! Sophia! Sophia!''


    Chants of her name could be heard in the background as she gathered the attention of the entire ss as usual with her brilliance.


    ''Please make a fool of yourself and fail-'' Rocky thought internally, as he hoped that Sophia suffered a crushing defeat, however, contrary to his prayers she seeded and quite spectacrly at that.


    "HAIIIIIYAAHHH"


    She shouted, as she shed the Rock from the center using an overhead sh technique that seemed to extend her swords area of effect to several times the swords size.


    Although it was just for a moment, Rocky could almost visualize arger sword ovepping with her actual sword as she sliced the boulder as perfectly as she sliced the practice dummy.


    *THUD*


    *CHEERS*


    As the two pieces of boulders hit the ground below with a loud THUD, the entire ss erupted in cheers as Sophia cemented herself as a swordsman who was miles above the rest.


    "BRAVO!" Shouted instructor Mae as she threw herself into a hug towards Sophia.


    "I''ve never had a student as talented as you, I''m excited to train a seasoned student for once on things beyond just in old swordsmanship" Instructor Mae said happily, as shepletely disregarded the feelings of the rest of the ss while praising Sophia.


    " It''s nothing much ma''am, I''m sure Rocky will be better than me, afterall he''s the one I''m aspiring to be" Sophia said, as instructor Mae''s gaze turned towards Rocky whose left eye twitched from the unnecessary expectations that Sophia just nted on him.


    "My my, not just one, but two exceptional kids? This is my lucky day!" Instructor Mae eximed as Rocky felt the pressure to perform mounting on him.


    " That''s right! Rocky even defeated Sophia in practicalbat! He must be able to sh through the boulder too-"


    "Wohoo, go Rocky!"


    The students began hyping Rocky up as well, as while the words they said were not sincere, there were many who wanted to suck up to Rocky if they could and they tried their best to y that role.


    " Whenever you''re ready…." Instructor Mae said, as Rocky stood before the boulder as well and began cracking his neck and loosening his muscles.


    Unlike Sophia who stood just a feet away from the boulder and made a stationary strike, Rocky stood a few feet away and adopted a running stance.


    With the knowledge of swordsmanship imparted to him by the strongest system, he understood how to split the rock by concentrating all his strength along one single fault line as contrary to what most people believed, cutting through a rock did not require actually shing it in half, but rather just striking it with enough power to force it to break into two.


    *SLAM*


    Attempting a double overhead sh such that his second sword mmed against his first one to create double the force, Rocky aimed to split the Rock from the center, as with his decent strength that surpassed that of a normal human and his excellent technique that was twice enforced with the dual wielding, he managed to also achieve a clean break at the center of the rock as it fell with a loud THUD.


    *CHEERS*


    Cheers broke out amongst the students once more as once again it seemed like both the chosen champion of gods seemed to be a cut above the rest and equal inparison.


    While instructor Mae observed the clever trick Rocky pulled off, she only smiled about it as being clever was also a part of the warrior''s skill and the challenge never specified how exactly one was supposed to cleave through a boulder.


    "Bravo-" she said, pping politely for Rocky as well, however, unlike Sophia she did not take him into a hug, nor was she dazzled by his swordsmanship.


    Nheless, she did acknowledge his sess and deemed the challenge to be fulfilled perfectly.


    " Wow, it seems like I''ll need to hold special sses for the two of you while the rest of the ss catches up, haha, I''ve never had anyone clear the first two stages within the first two months of academy.


    This is new for me as well-" Instructor Mae admitted candidly as the students who fell behind now felt a small degree of jealousy towards Rocky and Sophia.


    While some attributed their sess to their position as a Champion, there were many more who cursed their inferior background and upbringing for theck of progress as they hacked away at their practice dummies with increased determination.


    ''I haven''te all the way to this academy after paying so much gold to fall behind the rankers on day one. I must catch up, I must to better-''


    ''So what if they''re champions, I refuse tog behind while they receive special tution widening their gap between them and me! I will definitely clear the first two stages within a week as well''


    Rocky and Sophia''s sess, sparked the inferiorityplex in many and created an urgent need inside them to improve, which was audible through the intensity with which they began hacking at their dummies which was notably louder than before.


    ''Oh this is not bad at all, at this rate we will progress much faster than I expected'' Instructor Mae thought as she looked at the ss, feeling happy at seeing thepetitive spirit that Rocky and Sophia ignited in everyone''s hearts.


    " Perfect as always, good job!" Sophia said, as she smiled and extended a hand for Rocky to shake, as she continued with her act of being friendly


    And Rocky, who had perfected the art of being fake on the surface, took it with a smile as well as he replied "I look forward to learning more about swords from you-"


    ----------


    /// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, good job everyone.


    The goal this week is one bonus for every 200 PS, This is first as we have already hit 200, but I need more! Come on guys ///