Chapter 132: Swordsmanship Class
( The next day )
The next morning, Rocky joined Professor Mave in the Practical Combat morning exercise session for the first time in a long time and everyone had their eyes fixated on the Champion Of Gemini's performance, after he had been missing in action for months.
However, to everyone's surprise, Rocky returned fitter than ever before as while he seemed to struggle slightly during the morning training sessions before, in the first session after his return, Rocky did not even break a sweat as he matched Professor Maven's training intensity without missing a beat.
While everyone else, including Sophia was completely exhausted by the end of morning training, Rocky told professor Maven 'Thank You for the warm-up' , as he did not seem to have taken the morning session seriously at all.
Somehow, after the system helped him absorb the soul essence of the necromancer god, Rocky felt like his body had improved several fold as his stamina felt nearly bottomless and his muscles and bones felt stronger than ever.
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( The swordsmanship training class )
There was a lot of buzz in the first swordsmanship training class after midterms as Professor Mae had promised to start a new curriculum following the mid-term exams.
As Rocky observed the techniques of his peers and their proficiency with the sword, everyone seemed to have improved immensely compared to the first day of the university, as everyone could perform the boulder splitting slash now and many had managed to learn some very impressive sword moves.
On his first day back, Rocky was issued with many swordsmanship sparring challenges, however, he politely declined them all as he did not wish to break the morale of the class by displaying his vastly superior skills, while the rest of them had been working so hard for months.
"Okay children, as promised, we will be starting a new training activity following today which will be to understand how to fight on a crowded battlefield as a solo-swordsman" Professor Mae said, as loud cheers erupted from the students.
While figuring out how to fight against a single opponent was easy, learning things like crowd control was difficult.
The students had been begging Professor Mae for months to teach them about the basics of crowd warfare, however, Professor Mae insisted that they must all wait until the midterms were over to learn this topic as she wanted them all to focus on the fundamentals of the sword until then.
As the cheers subsided, Professor Mae called for quiet and began the day's lesson with an intensity that matched the students' eagerness. "Today, we will break down the complexity of fighting solo on a crowded battlefield into manageable components. This skill is vital in wars where you find yourself isolated or when a situation forces you to go against numerous foes. So pay close attention- "
She pointed towards the center of the arena where several training dummies and obstacles had been arranged.
"Let's imagine this setup as your battlefield. Enemies surround you, each armed and dangerous. Your goal is not just to survive, but to eliminate all of them efficiently." She said, as she unsheathed her sword and took a fighting stance.
" First and foremost, what you need is situational awareness- "She said, as she pressed her sword against a practise dummy holding a sword, and then moved her head from side to side to demonstrate scanning one's surroundings.
"Always be aware of your surroundings. This means constantly scanning the environment not just for enemies, but for possible escape routes and advantageous positions," She said, as she stepped back from the dummy she was fighting against and threw a quick glance backwards to potentially prepare for an escape route if she ever needed one.
Seeing this display, Rocky smiled softly, as ironically he had just been through a major war and could completely relate to the advice that Professor Mae was giving.
"Never fixate on one opponent for too long, and always prioritize your opponents and the order you want to kill them in before engaging them" Professor Mae narrated, as she pointed towards the largest dummies and explained how she would personally pick whom to kill first and why.
"Assess which opponents pose the greatest threat, but remember that this isn't always about who is closest, but who can harm you the most," she explained, as Rocky nodded his head when listening to her words.
While her teaching was not at the level of War God Ravan, her tips did make a lot of sense.
"Movement is life on the battlefield," Professor Mae continued. "Keep moving, but do so with purpose. Use the terrain to your advantage if you can, but if you can't, just make sure that you keep your back safe as if an opponent circles behind you, the chances of you surviving the fight will be reduced drastically."
"Once you finally decide to engage, it should be swift and decisive. Strike where it counts and move on before they can counterattack." She said as she began hacking the dummies in half at incredible speed, but she did so in a safe way that did not compromise her safety at all.
" Finally, you might feel invincible, at the start, especially if your enemies are weaker to you, but conserving energy is crucial.
Quick, efficient strikes and movements conserve energy and keep you fighting longer under stressful conditions. So remember to not run out of steam mid battle" She said, sheathing her sword as she looked at the class and smiled looking at their gazes full of admiration.
"Okay, any questions?" Professor Mae asked, as a few students asked a few specific doubts that she cleared quickly.
"Remember, the essence of solo fighting in a crowd isn't about taking on everyone at once; it's about controlling the flow of battle, making strategic decisions quickly, and using your environment to your advantage." Professor Mae concluded, as Rocky began softly clapping for her demonstration.
The students, joining the claps by Rocky under mob effect, soon began to shower Professor Mae with a thunderous round of applause as she accepted the compliments with grace.
"Alright, since nobody has any doubts anymore, let's do some practical testing and have lots of fun….." Professor Mae said, clapping her hands, as her assistant rolled in a cart full of water filled jackets in the class.
"Everyone put on the water jackets, let's have a mock war!" Professor Mae said, as the students all excitedly rushed to pick up a jacket.
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/// A/N - Mass Release chapter 4 of 5, Almost done for the day! ///