( Day 20 of entering the Snake-Men Ancestral Chamber )


    On day 20, Rocky experienced his first serious mental breakdown.


    It was day five of him losing his sense of touch and finally theck of physical sensation got to him as he suffered a breakdown.


    Since he constantly felt like he was floating in the air weightlessly, the world seemed infinitely distant and ufortably close to him at the same time.


    One moment his mind told him that he was floating aimlessly in the sky, while at the other he felt trapped in a small box, unable to breathe as he suffered from insane ustrophobia.


    If not for the faint sound of his breaths, Rocky questioned if he was still breathing or not as living this way for extended periods of time drove him to the verge of  insanity.


    He wanted to run outside, he wanted to stand under the open sky and assure himself that he was not trapped in a small box, however, he also did not wish to be dragged by the devil to the torture chamber for leaving his bed during sleep hours.


    Having already undergone 3 sessions of mental torture in the past five days, Rocky now understood firsthand just how terrifying, mental torture was.


    The devil, intent on punishing Rocky for breaching house rules, subjected him to a harrowing ordeal designed to torment both his mind and spirit.


    He was mercilessly plunged into the depths of his most traumatic memories, reliving the anguish of his parents'' untimely deaths and the horror of Riva''s devastating explosion. Each scene was revisited with a visceral intensity, forcing him to endure the pain and sorrow all over again.


    But the torment did not end with the past; it extended cruelly into visions of a bleak future as well.


    Rocky was shown harrowing glimpses of potential realities such as Buhara''s tragic demise, the Earth''s catastrophic destruction, and the disdainful rejection from the followers of Gemini, who scorned him as a weakling.


    These visions of despair were not just threats of what mighte but also psychological weapons aimed at breaking his resolve and spirit.


    Compared to physical torture, these sessions were way more difficult to endure and left Rocky quaking everytime he went through one.


    While it seemed brutally cruel to him, Nubi only ever subjected him to torture that he could endure and never to a point that could break him.


    Before walking into this chamber, Rocky was like a teenage child from Earth who had no idea about how cruel the tower really was, which was why this form of cruel mental training was extremely important for him.


    By facing his worst memories, by facing his future fears, Rocky was being groomed to have a strong mind and a resilient personality as if he did not go insane after surviving the 90 days inside this chamber, Rocky would undoubtedly be a formidable force to be reckoned with.


    Usually, life would have been the one to put him down time and time again before he was subjected to this sort of mental pain and anguish, however, within this chamber he was maturing extremely fast and within a safe environment.


    Though brutal, this training was designed to turn him into the best possible version of himself, however, the question remained as to whether or not he could endure it.


    **********


    ( Day 25 of entering the Snake-Men Ancestral Chamber )


    By day 25, Rocky''s sword qi became strong enough to slice through the practice dummy from a distance of 10 meters.


    While the other students in his ss still practiced on how to slice the dummy in half cleanly using a physical sword and the elite students learned about some sword skills that needed mana infusion to perform, Rocky advanced to the level of slicing through dummies through pure sword qi projection, leaving his peers far behind in the dust.


    He reached this stage without the help of the system and without having a teacher to guide him, as he understood the fundamentals of swordsmanship from the very basics by developing his ownprehension, giving him a robust base unlike any other.


    For him to now add mana to his sword qi shes and make them exponentially stronger than they already were was no big deal as while his friends learned moves like [ Boulder Splitting sh ] Rocky could now create moves of his own from the basics.


    ''Sword Genius''


    If anyone within the tower was ever worthy of being given such praise, it was Rocky, as having his senses being taken away from him probably benefited him the most when it came to his sword arts.


    "Hahaha, only focusing on swordsmanship 24x7 is the best way to survive this hell hole.


    Thank God I can still train with the sword to keep my mind upied, without this I''d go insane already, hahaha" Rocky said out loudughing like a madman, as although he did not think he had gone insane, he was already no longerpletely stable.


    **********


    ( Day 30 )


    As day30 rolled around, Nubi came looking for Rocky once more as she guided him outside the living chambers and towards the evaluation hall.


    Leonard had quit yesterday having been inside the chamber for 75 days as he faltered at the veryst phase after taking a new penalty that he could not endure anymore.


    "Don''t do it Rocky, don''t take new penalties between day 30-75, if you n on taking three penalties take one only during thest 15 days. y it smart-" was hisst advice to Rocky before he left, as those words kept echoing in Rocky''s mind continuously the night before.


    A big part of Rocky''s brain told him not to take another penalty, however, the other part kept reminding him of how powerless he was during events of the past and how he would continue to be powerless for events in the future if he quit here.


    The other part of his brain argued strongly that the visions that the devil showed him woulde true if Rocky did not actively change them as eventually it was this part which won the debate in Rocky''s head.


    His fear of losing people he cared for was greater than his fear of whatever penalty this chamber gave him and hence, Rocky decided to ept whatever penalty the chamber wished to give him here today.


    "Your third biggest w is your mana capacity and mana control.


    Although you are not a mage, ack of mana control and reserve will hinder your future growth.


    If you sacrifice your swordsmanship and your right to practice the sword for next 60 days, I will fix your mana capacity and control problem" the chamber god, speaking in his own voice said, as Rocky felt his brain crashing at this offer.


    Swordsmanship was the only thing keeping him sane, it was the only thing he thought about whenever his mind was empty and they wanted to take it away?


    "You can curse me all you want, you can cry and beg for leniency too, but my offer won''t change.


    So what will it be Champion of Gemini, do you ept this trade or not?" The chamber god said in his voice as Rocky grit his teeth and suppressed his desire to curse.


    "I ept-"


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    /// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the GT Target, good job everyone! ///