"Alright, looks like everyone's here." Instructor Talon nodded in satisfaction as he scanned his eyes over his students.
"I won't ask anything meaningless like your current level, as obviously, there's no way to confirm the truth for this many students, and oath scrolls are way too expensive to use in such a senseless way."
One wouldn't be able to see another's level inside the Myriad Sword Realm, thus it would be impossible to track everyone's levels.
Furthermore, the Neo-Earth World Government isn't too keen on micro-tracking everyone, only the absolute apex of budding talents and those who have already proven themselves.
Even A-rankers don't warrant immediate attention, though their progress would still be checked from time to time.
Someone like Sylphina would still need to prove herself in a way, though far less so than those wielding lower-ranked swords, before the top dogs of humanity would observe her a bit more closely and ensure that her talents would develop with minimal hindrances.
Only those with S-Tier and above swords would be instantly offered such options and privileges.
This was called a privilege because the government would still be doing it, despite fully knowing that a significant number of them had already long sworn themselves to at least one of the top seven guilds, which meant that these novices wouldn't be working for them in the future.
They couldn't even dream of poaching these talents even if they wanted to.
After all, the Seven Sword Guilds would always be able to offer far more incentives for honesty and loyalty than the Neo-Earth World Government ever could.
They were also the skyholders of humanity in the Sword Trials.
This was why the government could not and did not dare meddle too much in their affairs, as it might result in something negative for their entire race.
But of course, the few who did vow to serve the government would receive a bit more legal authority, though the tradeoff was wealth and freedom.
"I know this is a swordsmanship class, but I shall discuss a few terminologies for more efficient task assignments.
Your swords are divided into three main categories.
I will refer to those with large and heavy two-handed swords as Sunderers.
Meanwhile, those with medium-sized swords that boast versatility, such as katanas and the like, are classified as Duelists, and lastly, those whose main weapon excels in speed and precise thrusts are called Piercers."
After clarifying the terms to his students, Talon assigned tasks to each of the three classes:
Sunderers will practice their downward chops, prioritizing power over anything.
The duelists like Daru, on the other hand, were assigned to complete two hundred and fifty horizontal quick draws and two hundred and fifty diagonal slashes with proper form as their priority.
Lastly, the Piercers shall do five hundred thrusts that would prioritize precision first, then speed.
Class 70's first afternoon swordsmanship class began like so.
As the students swung and thrust their swords, Talon circled them, observing each of his students for a set amount of time before moving on to the next.
His style of teaching could be considered rather mainstream and boring compared to the instructor of Class 69, where the gorgeous, blueberry-haired young woman was a part of.
The other class was already in full-blown sparring, drawing envious gazes from the three other classes occupying the sixth training field, especially those from Daru's, as they shared the same roofed, outdoor dojo and running track with the 69th class.
Around the thirtieth minute, those who had better physical prowess were able to finish five hundred swings early, allowing them the freedom to rest on the benches and watch the sparring sessions of their neighboring class.
And man, were they glad they finished early…
The gorgeous blueberry-haired female student was up next, fighting a young man who had a bit of a reputation in the southern region of cluster 4, since his high school was in the top ten like Daru's, and he was the Sword Prince of that school, ultimately awakening an A-ranked sword.
But to their surprise, he looked a bit nervous when facing the young woman.
Part of the reason was that he wanted to impress the "Ice Fairy", but the other part soon spread to the other classes:
"Hey, she's gorgeous, don't you think?" said a young man from class 69 to another young man from Daru's class.
"Well, I won't lie, she's like an Ice Goddess, no?"
"Hahahaha! You're also a man of culture, I see…I think we'll get along. I'll let you in on something, as I'm sure you don't recognize her.
She's Iris Snowcrest, once an average student in an average high school. She wasn't even the Sword Princess, and yet, she awakened the S-Tier Sword, Edelweiss! This is also the reason why Darren Zillmann is currently a bit stiff...perhaps also down there, hahahaha!"
The mind-boggling information about the blueberry-haired young woman naturally spread like wildfire.
Inevitably, the hearts of the majority of the youngsters were instantly captured, and the name "Ice Fairy" was immediately replaced.
Iris was now being called "Snowflower", as it fit her appearance far more—beautiful, but cold, lonely, and unreachable.
Soon, the sparring match began.
Like her sword's name, Iris moved gracefully, yet there were hints of stoicism and toughness in her motions, fully showcasing her skills after holding back during her high school years.
There was no sense in hiding any longer, as the seven guilds and the government were probably already eyeing her.
There was no escaping her fate.
Hints of loneliness and despair shone through her eyes, further chaining the hearts of the poor young men around her.
Daru gave the hubbub around him very little attention, though.
He only noted that she was a wielder of an S-ranked sword and was probably very skilled.
He certainly hoped to compare sword mastery with her in the near future, but for now, thirty more horizontal quick draws of proper form.
Unfortunately, his slow completion time was mistaken by False Witness and the other high-rankers as incompetence—that while he had some skills, his true self was far from what was rumored of him.
Why else would he awaken a trash sword, otherwise?
The flies buzzed about, attempting to annoy Daru, and of course, he simply ignored them, fully focused on performing the basic motion.
Meanwhile, Sylphina was getting more irked by the second.
She certainly needed an outlet to vent her frustrations.
Luckily, once everyone was done, Instructor Talon announced something that eased her heart a bit:
"Waterbreak for five minutes. Prepare for sparring."