( After the swordsmanship ss )


    Sophia could not ept her loss with grace, as the ease with which Rocky defeated her and the subsequent gazes she received from the crowd made her feel extremely ufortable.


    In life she had been brought up in an environment where she only received love from her family when she showed talent and sess, and hence, Sophia inherently did not take defeats too well as it made her feel afraid that everyone around her would start seeing her like an inferior being and detest her.


    In her mind, the entire basis of her friendship with Rocky was that one incident where he saved her from certain death. However, she genuinely believed that the two of them were in a group together, because Rocky respected her strength as a warrior.


    After losing to him so pitifully, the first thing that Sophia felt afraid of, was losing his trust and respect, as she felt worried that Rocky would not remain friends with her in the future if the gap between the two of them as fighters widened too much.


    "Hey! Good fight-" she said, walking up to him after the ss, as her voice carried an audible trace of nervousness.


    "Oh? Haha, thank you" Rocky said, shaking his head as he dismissed herpliment as being nothing much.


    Rocky himself had also undergone a massive shift in personality aftering out of the snake-men ancestral chamber and the war to save Earth, as after these two life changing experiences Rocky had started to grown numb to things like people''s perception of him, as today, he did not decide to take on the ck jacket to show-off his skills in front of the ss, but rather because he genuinely wanted to see where exactly he stood amongst his peers.


    Neither did humiliating Sophia matter to him, nor did the extra course point awarded to him by Professor Mae, as the only thing that Rocky was really concerned about was his own growth and the mistakes he made in today''s fight that could be improved upon before the next one.


    "Did you mean what you said? Do you really think I''m nowhere near your level?" Sophia asked nervously, as Rocky looked at her and smiled kindly.


    It was a very fake smile, as Rocky had no ''kind'' feelings towards Sophia in reality, however, recently he had became very good in masking his emotions and after his discussion with Karna and Neatwit back on Earth, where a big part of their rescue n for Riva depended on Sophia thinking that she had Rocky''s full trust.


    Rocky was now actively looking for ways to fool Sophia into believing that the two of them were something more than friends.


    "Of course not. I don''t think you are inferior to me at all, however, I was disappointed in your performance today.


    Us champions, you and me, we need to be much better than the rest of these ssmates, because if we''re not, they''ll put us down at the first chance they get-" Rocky said, as he tactically diverted the topic and made Sophia feel as if he was looking out for her when he was humiliating her in front of the ss.


    "Oh? You think so too?" Sophia asked, feeling surprised that Rocky felt the same way as her, as the words that Rocky said at this moment were exactly what Sophia felt like everyday.


    "Yep, I think so-" Rocky said reaffirming his stance, as a bright smile spread on Sophia''s face.


    "In the end, the only one who can understand me the best is you…. Hahaha, I''ve missed you thoroughly" Sophia said, as she only made a passingment, however, Rocky clung onto it.


    In a shock move, he slipped his hands into Sophia''s, as he continued to look forward with a silent smile on his face.


    For a second, Sophia was taken aback and wanted to pull away, however, when she realized that this closeness was favorable for her future mission, she epted his touch, as a soft smile spread on her face too.


    "I''ve missed you a lot as well….*sigh* you have no idea how much-" Rocky said in a heavy voice, as his words made Sophia blush from ear to ear.


    For a moment, Sophia felt like a teenager in love as she did not know whether she should take Rocky''s cute words seriously, or should she stay focused on her mission.


    "Cough, so bold, so shameless" she said, blushing, as Rocky covered his smile with his other hand and tightened his grip around the one holding Sophia''s hand as if to signify that he was indeed shameless.


    However, beneath the surface, Rocky''s mind was far from the sentimental disy he portrayed. His thoughts were tactical and focused on the broader implications of their interaction.


    As he felt Sophia''s grip tighten slightly, he knew his act was working, creating the perfect facade of mutual trust and reliance.


    "Sophia, we need to keep pushing each other," Rocky said, his voice soft yet carrying a firm undertone.


    "If we''re going to be worthy champions, we can''t afford to be anything less than exceptional. So going forward let''s train together to sharpen our skills. What do you say?" he asked, as he looked directly into Sophia''s eyes.


    Nodding eagerly, Sophia replied "Yes, I''d like that. Let''s train hard together and show everyone what we''re capable of…. And why us champions are different from them.


    Let''s train together, every single day after ss!" as she fell silly for Rocky''s schemes.


    "Hahaha, sounds perfect Sophia! I knew I could count on you to help me catch up with things I''ve missed and also pick up new skills….. afterall, in this entire university you are the only one I can trust wholeheartedly-" Rocky said, spreading his bait even wider which the unassuming Sophia never even realized was being set up.


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    /// A/N - This is a bonus chapter for hitting the GT Target! Good job everyone! Thank You for all the votes- ///