Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

--

Within the Sword Tempering Cave, Cedric faced the relentless assault of the sharp winds laced with Sword Intent.

He's 1500 meters deep into the cave at this point, a very impressive feat since it hasn't even been two months since he became a student of this class.

Cedric alternated between enduring and confronting the breeze coming towards him, allowing it to temper every aspect of his Sword Skill, ensuring that he was getting the full experience here since this was the only place available to him where he could practice his sword.

Even at his dorm, Cedric was careful not to go all out with his Sword Intent in fear of damaging it. After all, he's only a temporary resident there.

Sure, he did apply several formations in the training area of his dorm but even they could barely keep intact after a single full powered swing from him. That's why he's only releasing his entire strength within the cave since this place could endure his blows.

At this stage, Cedric's Sword Intent was already having a minor effect on reality whenever he manifests it. It's still invisible to the naked eye but if he wanted to, he could let everybody feel just how sharp and unyielding his Sword Intent was.

Whenever he releases it, an invisible shroud that distorts the space appears in the area where he released his Sword Intent. Most of the time, it's focused on his sword, however, he also douses his entire body with it sometimes.

Cedric has lost count of how many times he felt hurt by the strong and sharp breeze within the cave. His Sword Intent experienced numerous cycles of destruction and refinement because of it, and each time it experiences a cycle, it comes back just a bit stronger than before. That's the cruel but effective way the cave helps someone temper their Sword Intent.

With how much tempering his Sword Intent received, Cedric could feel that he was inching closer and closer to forming the Sword Heart. Whenever he sank his senses into his Sword Intent, he could already feel the shallow seed forming within.

It's like when he's still condensing his Hollow Core of the White Lotus Core Technique. There's still some work left but he's nearly done.

Once he achieves the Sword Heart Realm, that's when he'll officially be considered a Sword Master and a real student of this class — not that he needed to prove his belonging to this class any further since the Instructor himself verified him but well...it's more personal for Cedric.

While Cedric does know a few faces here and there, he never had a 'real' interaction with the 'stars' of this class. At most, they exchanged looks and pleasantries but no more than that.

He understood that they were busy and had no time to socialize, and that they had a goal that they wanted to pursue. Cedric wasn't seeking their validation or attention either, however, it would be nice to at least have some friends here if it's possible. After all, they're classmates, no?

And even though Cedric wasn't able to interact much with his classmates, that doesn't mean that he's ignorant about them. What use does he have for his hearing if he's not using it to eavesdrop on conversations?

In total, there are 30 students in this class including him, official ones, that is. As for the unofficial students, the ones proving their worth at the plaza, there are at least 50 and that number increases from time to time.

Of course, official students or not, each person here is a genius of the Sword, some are just lacking compared to others.

The really notable people though are the Top 5 Students of this class according to the official rankings of the 'Sword Coliseum', they are:

Aurora Swiftblade at the 5th place. A female senior student. She formed the 'Shadowless Razor Sword Heart' — which prides itself in speed, lethality, and quietness.

In 4th place is Roran Bloodsteel, a male senior student. He formed the 'Blood-letting Sword Heart' that is lethal to anything that bleeds. So long as he has a source of blood, his killing intent will never waver and his sword will never dull.

Darius Flameheart, a male senior student is at the 3rd place. He's famous for his 'Ceaseless Combustion Sword Heart'. Each swing of his sword explodes with the strength of 10 volcanic eruptions. Cedric heard that this guy once reduced a metropolis-sized area in under a minute.

In 2nd place is Lyra Moonsteel. A female sophomore student. Yes, she's one of the youngest here in terms of seniority but her skills are the real deal. She's famous for her 'Moon Cycle Sword Heart' — which follows the cycles of the moon through her Sword Art. Despite her being a Sophomore, she is deeply respected by her classmates because of her talent and skills.

And finally, in the first place, we have Cassius Nightfall, a male senior student. Famed for his 'Withering Night Sword Heart' that saps all life it touches. Any life he harvested using this, he could control as he pleased. It is said that even a graze of his sword could drain hundreds of years of someone's longevity. Ain't that just terrifying?

Cedric had seen these people once or twice during his time here. However, because of their status and fame, they're a bit difficult to approach, not because they're arrogant or whatever, people just feel embarrassed or inadequate to hang out with them. At least, that's what Cedric understood so far.

As for himself, he didn't even try. He's an ant compared to these people. Even Lyra - who's only a Sophomore, already reached Tier 9 recently. He wasn't disillusioned that they would pay attention to him. They might've heard his name in passing but he's not worthy of their attention just yet.

These people also receive the full attention of Instructor Uruk. He would often give them lessons to help them increase their strength so that they could walk the Sword Path even further.

Don't be mistaken, just because the rest of the official students weren't mentioned, it doesn't mean that they suck. Well, they might be true here, but outside? They're frightening still. It's just that the gap between the 6th place to the 5th was a moat that hasn't been crossed yet in this batch of students.

**

Cedric sighed as walked out of the Sword Tempering Cave.

He concluded his Sword Training for today, feeling rather drained and hurt from his fight against the wind within the depths of the cave. He winced as he felt the soreness in his arms.

After greeting the guardians of the cave and signing off his session, he was about to make his way out of the cave when he sensed a gaze on him. Even without looking, he could tell that this man was up to something and that he was being targeted.

Not wanting to deal with this, he merely continued on his way. He didn't even plan on looking at the guy who was clearly waiting for him.

"...reaching the 1500 meter depth and staying there for an hour straight despite being merely Tier 3. I'd say that's impressive if it wasn't so suspicious."

'Yeah no, not dealing with this cliche. Just ignore him and leave. You know what's gonna happen, so just ignore him and keep walking.' Cedric muttered to himself. Not even stopping to acknowledge the man talking to him.

"I mean come on!" The man sneered, "Am I the only one seeing this? It's absolutely impossible for a Tier 3 to reach those depths! I get that you're a genius and all but in this class, who isn't a genius?"

"..."

Cedric adamantly ignored him. Not even sparing him a glance at all. He already passed by the guy, not even slowing down his pace nor showing any changes in his expression.

Seeing this, the man was incensed. How dare this trifling cheater ignore him! He knows full well that he's talking to him yet he dares to treat him like air?

"Ah, I see how it is." He sneered louder this time. "Too full of yourself, huh? Figures. After all, any random Tom, Dick, and Harry that ends up in this place would experience a significant boost in their confidence, believing that they're some hot shit only to find out that they're just as worthless as before."

The man scoffed in disbelief and looked at the ceiling of the cave.

"Fine, be that way I suppose. I don't know what method you used to become a student of this class but know this...you can't fool me. I know that you cheated somehow and no, I don't need proof because you're the proof itself. I don't know how long you can keep this up but know that you will—!"

"...uhm, excuse me?"

The man blinked and finally looked in front of him, only to see a completely different face than the one he was expecting.

"Err, are you okay? Do you need medical attention?"

For what it's worth, the one who asked him this question looked genuinely concerned but that's not the issue here. His intended target actually dared to run away from him! The gall of that guy!

Shame burned in his heart as he heard the spluttering giggles of the cave guardians nearby.

He could only ignore the nice guy and stomp his way out of the cave to save himself from any further embarrassment.