The Martial Unity

"So you're the new Martial Squire that the entire town has been abuzz of, hm?" A sharp-eyed woman remarked with a detached tone. "One of the few Martial Artists to have ever passed the general science exam to become a journeyman scholar, that too only after ten days of preparation. Perhaps you chose the wrong field."

Soon after they signed the contract with the town of Crexeet, they were quickly led to the Department of Defense, where they met with the head of defense Squire Ferilwal.

"Pleasure to meet you, Squire Ferilwal," Rui greeted her, ignoring her remark.

"Come along, there are some things that need to be done," She told them as she led the two of them into a large facility.

"Erh, what exactly do we need to do?" Kane asked, breaking the silence.

"Why, I thought that should be obvious, surely," She remarked as she turned towards them.

"Uh, no?"

"You'll be proving your worth," She said as she led them deep beneath the facility, into a large facility. "Proving your worth as Martial Artists."

"A Martial Artist who can crack scholarly exams is worthless as a Martial Artist," She narrowed her eyes. "The fact that you possess a foundation to be able to pass that exam, and not just pass it, but get almost a full score makes me doubt your abilities as a Martial Squire. Your presence as a Martial Artist is scarce, too."

She raised her arm, gesturing with her index finger. "Prove to me you're worth something."

Rui wasn't even mad at her words. In truth, there was validity to what she was saying.

He was a young Martial Squire, and although he didn't disclose his identity, his youth was not something that could be hidden. The fact that he was able to perform well in a scholarly field would normally mean an immense amount of effort in that field that wasn't put into Martial Art.

It was a reasonable conclusion that someone would come to. He would have concluded that as well.

"We're in a Squire-level training space, you can go all out and not worry about damage," She continued. "Before we begin, what is your Martial Path?"

"I am an all-rounder," Rui replied. "I do not wish to divulge my actual Martial Path."

Rui was no fool. If he revealed his Martial Path, then it was possible for Chairman Deacon to somehow get word of a Martial Artist with 'adaptive evolution' which is what Rui was known to have. Even if the probability of this happening was low from Rui's perspective because the communication across the continent was too little, it was best not to tempt fate any further.

Both he and Kane had already ensured that they did not need to disclose any personal information that they did not want to, and this most certainly included Martial Paths.

"Hmph," She snorted as she glared at both of them. "I'll squeeze it out of you real quick."

The tension in the air spiked for just a second.

And then it began.

She shot forward at incredible speeds, staring straight at Rui. Kane stepped away, clearly recognizing that she was beginning with him.

Rui narrowed his eyes as he made a split-second decision.

He chose to run away.

The reason was simple. Her arms were positioned at her hips, and there was no torque build-up to launch a strike.

It meant that she wasn't a striker. Given the position of both arms coiled and ready to lash out, he was quite certain that she was a grappler. Rui did not want to face a grappler in her element, thus he made sure to maintain some distance between them.

('That's why she chose this place instead of an open field,) Rui mused.

The closed space, no matter how wide, gave her the advantage, it meant that simply retreating to constantly maintain a large gap between them was not possible, at some point, he would need to switch strategies and do something else.

Rui's grappling had not kept up with his striking or his long-range techniques, something he was now regretting in hindsight. He would definitely need to rectify this error in the future, but for now, he could not engage her in this field.

Thankfully, he didn't need to.

THWOOM!

A powerful Mighty Roar Flash Blast technique shot forward toward his opponent.

BAM!

She grimaced as the sound projectile slammed into her. She had barely recognized his mouthing position to be a projectile attack, immediately bringing her guard up. The sound was very difficult to directly sense, which was what made the attack tricky to deal with.

However, it was most effective at longer ranges. At short ranges, the sharp sense of a Martial Squire could sense the powerful breathing technique being activated, as well as the distinct movements usually performed at the launch of the projectile.

Rui launched four more projectiles rapidly one after the other.

Yet this time, she was more prepared.

She swiftly evaded them one by one, before racing forward.

STEP

Rui paused as he tutted with them all behind him. He had reached the limit of the battle room, he could no longer avoid her. Furthermore, the predictive model that he had long begun collecting on her was only partially incomplete. He could try running to either side, but he quickly abstained from doing.

She had revealed to be faster than him in travel speed, which he wasn't too surprised about. Being able to close the distance was extremely crucial to full-contact Martial Artists like herself when dealing with long-range Martial Artists. Running away on either side would most likely just prolong the inevitable and make him less equipped to deal with her when she did get in range.

STEP

He rushed forward as he decided to not only abandon evading but also actively approach her head-on.

Squire Ferilwal's eyebrows rose as a savage grin sprung up on her face. Veins on her arms popped as she prepared for a swift takedown.