After Erin''s spar with Sophia, news of Erin''s defeat spread across the university fast along with the warning that Sophia was not to be underestimated.
That she, just like Rocky with Gemini, had Poseidon backing her and when forced against a wall, she too could transform into an unknown variable that nobody could handle.
This incident, along with the massive ridge that she left behind in the swordsmanship training hall, led many students to believe that Champions of Gods, no matter how seemingly weak, were not to be trifled with, as Sophia regained some of her lost prestige as a superior warrior.
However, unlike their beliefs that Sophia was blessed by Poseidon in the middle of her spar, resulting in the sudden boost of strength she experienced, the true source of Sophia''s unnatural burst of strength was not from Poseidon, but something else entirely.
Throughout his life, Perseus often wondered as to why Sophia was chosen as the Champion of Poseidon over him.
He wondered as to what qualities did she possess that made her so special? However, when he could find nothing seemingly special about her, he attributed her selection to sheer dumb luck and lived his life in envy.
However, in reality, the reason behind Sophia''s selection was far more sinister than mere luck, as she was raised not as her own person, but as a soul vessel nurturing an ancient power.
From the start, Sophia herself was never chosen to be the Champion Of Poseidon, but was rather given the Champion''s brand, because she harbored a very old and powerful soul within her soul vessel alongside her own.
This was a soul of an ancient warrior that was on the verge of dissipating and dying, however, was nted once again in a newborn''s body where it slowly regained its strength.
Once Sophia reached tier4 strength, it was pre-arranged that this ancient soul was to take over her body and be the true Champion of Poseidon without anyone being any wiser, however, until then Sophia was given the luxury to live as a happy child.
The reason behind why, despite being the Champion Of Poseidon, she was allowed to put her own life at risk and take a dagger near her heart to trick Rocky was precisely because Escanor had faith that the ancient soul within her body would never let her die so easily and that if worse came to worst, that entity would step in and heal Sophia''s body.
Naturally, to avoid unnecessaryplications, the only person aware of the ancient soul being inside Sophia''s body was Escanor, as not even Sophia was aware that she was nothing more than a mere nurturing tool raising another soul for her family.
In reality, Perseus was always the only son that Escanor ever acknowledged, and it was because he acknowledged him that Perseus was not turned into a sacrificialmb and Sophia was chosen in his stead.
Today, as the anger and humiliation Sophia felt by almost facing a public defeat at the hands of Erin, aggravated her feelings to the point where she identally tapped into the power within the ancient soul and unleashed an attack far beyond her current capabilities, however, it was an event that wasn''t actually supposed to take ce.
The soul within her was supposed to stay hidden until it recovered enough strength to forcibly take over Sophia''s body, however, it was taken by surprise today with a sliver of its true power leaking.
Thankfully, nobody within the university who witnessed this event was knowledgeable enough to discern the real reason behind the unnatural source of Sophia''s strength, with everyone believing it to be the blessing of Poseidon.
Because if someone did discern it, the carefully crafted n of Olympus over centuries would fall apart because of this slight slip-up which would be seriously detrimental to both the ancient soul within Sophia and Escanor who was the mastermind behind this n.
***********
( Meanwhile Rocky )
Having formed a Soul Contract with Chun, Rocky ced the little bunny over his shoulder allowing it to lick the blood from near his ears and neck as he continued down the hardest trail.
After about fifteen minutes of walking, Rocky suddenly saw two massive red eyes ring towards him from a distance, as a massive pr bear the size of two battle tanks stacked over one another walked towards him with the most hostile expression on its face.
"Mommy!" Little Chun said as it leaped over Rocky''s shoulder and rushed towards its mother, while Rocky was left to cower alone in the presence of the massive beast.
"Die… disgusting human!" The pr bear said, starting to create a powerful snow beam between its jaws as it prepared to kill Rocky in a single shot.
Had Rocky not formed a soul-contract with little Chun, his chances of survival in facing this massive tank-like creature that was the size of a small dragon was next to 0.
No matter how hard he tried, he could never really hope to beat that thing, which was why Rocky was secretly extremely d that he managed to meet and con Chun into bing his soul familiar.
"Wait! If you kill me, your son will die too-" Rocky said, in an urgent tone, as his words caused the massive pr bear to pause mid-spell as it paused to take a look at little Chun.
"Summon Familiar" Rocky said, chanting the spell to summon one''s soul familiar as suddenly Chun teleported from under his mother and appeared in Rocky''s hands as its mother immediately understood the disgusting trick that Rocky had yed.
While Chun was a newborn kid who did not understand what a soul familiar was and what it meant to allow a stranger to pass their mana through one''s body, Chun''s mother was not as naive.
She knew precisely what Rocky did to her son and it broke her heart to see him converted into a ve.
"YOU DISGUSTING HUMAN! HOW DARE YOU CONVERT MY SON INTO A SLAVE FAMILIAR" Chun''s mother said, as she bellowed with rage, however, Rocky did not cower in her presence.
Patting little Chun''s confused head evilly, Rocky stared at his mother undeterred as he said "Escort me to the nearest test center, or your son dies–"