The Martial Unity

Funnily enough, this hadn't been the first time Rui had been defeated by a Squire-level technique. He, along with Kane, had been knocked by Squire Kyrie with a Squire-level technique. Although, she had done it in an extremely safe manner with the precision of a surgeon while Squire Dylon had done it in the most extreme way possible.

Of course, their circumstances had been extremely different.

Rui had woken in the medical wing of the Academy later. The first thing he did was glance at his arms.

"All healed up." He sighed with relief. They had been crushed by a single attack from a Martial Squire. "Man, he's so strong."

Rui muttered, sighing as he tried to squash his increasingly intense desire to break through into the Squire Realm. But alas, it wasn't time yet.

He closed his eyes as he directed his thoughts toward his Martial Art. He didn't quite feel the instinctive certainty about the maturity of his Martial Art that he had been told he would feel once his Martial Art reached maturity.

He shook his head. "Perhaps it will come once I cement my current level of power with experience."

It wasn't impossible after all.

He put those thoughts aside as he considered his situation at the moment. ('What to do from here?')

His immediate goals were, of course, still Squire candidacy and the Squire Realm, but he still had to plan and take steps to reach that level.

"For now... it's time to leave the Martial Academy." Rui murmured.

He had long anticipated the arrival of this milestone; his graduation from the Academy. It had been nearly a perfect three years since he first joined the Martial Academy. He had already become sixteen years old. "So much has happened since I joined."

He thought back to his journey within the Martial Academy. From the time he had joined, entering the Foundation Stage that had honed his body and bare basic hand-to-hand capabilities. The Exploration Stage had given him a taste of what Martial Art really was like and soon after he had discovered his Martial Path with Project Water.

What followed was an exciting journey of training and growing stronger while experiencing the world through his many missions. The Martial Contest had been a highlight, allowing him to compare himself with his many peers across the Kandrian Empire. He had stepped outside the Kandrian Empire for the first time only when he had accepted his very first international commission, learning more about the world outside the Kandrian Empire.

And now he had come to the stage where the Martial Academy could no longer provide him any meaningful value. He did not want to continue being a student if that was the case.

"Apprentice Quarrier?" A nurse noticed him awake. "I see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Perfectly fine actually." Rui replied. "My arms are fixed."

"Indeed." The nurse replied. "We've completely treated and healed all your wounds. We'll just conduct a final check-up, and then you'll be discharged immediately."

It wasn't long before Rui left the medical wing in his sparring uniform, heading straight to the offensive technique training facility.

"You're back!" Squire Dylon exclaimed when he saw Rui walking in.

Rui smiled in response. "Instructor Dylon."

"I'm really sorry for what I did, my boy." Dylon sighed as he apologized. "I lost control there for a second."

Rui shrugged. "No worries, sir. In hindsight, it gave me a much better understanding of what Martial Squires actually are capable of. Squire Kyrie has always held back and the Martial Squire my friends and I defeated could not be considered a genuine Martial Squire. In hindsight, I'm glad that you did what you did."

Rui nodded, consoling Dylon.

"I'm glad you feel that way." Dylon sighed in relief. "Though I wouldn't hold it against you if you were resentful. A direct hit with a Squire-level attack would kill most Martial Apprentices."

Rui shook his head, chuckling. The two bantered some more as Rui revealed that he was going to be leaving the Martial Academy very soon.

"Is that so..." Squire Dylon sighed, with a mixed smile. "I might be joining you very soon."

"Did you plan to retire as an instructor?" Rui knitted his eyebrows in confusion.

"No." He shook his head. "But, the accident in our spar might lose me my job."

Rui's eyes narrowed at those words. "I see... Don't worry, I'm sure that the Martial Academy will recognize that this isn't something worth losing a Martial Squire instructor of your caliber. I have learned a lot from you, and I'm grateful for all of it. I'm sure there are many Martial Apprentices who feel the same way."

"You're going to bring tears to the eyes of this old man." Squire Dylon chuckled, before gesturing Rui away. "Good luck, and goodbye."

Rui left the training facility after bidding him goodbye before immediately heading to the reception of the Martial Academy.

"Excuse me?" Rui asked one of the support staff.

"Yes? How may I help you?" She asked.

"May I have a sheer of paper and a pen?" He asked, promptly accepting them from her.

He sat down at one of the tables and began writing a letter. It took him nearly ten minutes before he was done. He walked over to the receptionist before handing her the piece of paper. "Could I request you to please pass on that letter to headmaster Aronian?"

"Of course, Apprentice Quarrier." The receptionist bowed towards him, carefully accepting the folded letter.

"Thank you." Rui turned around as he made his way back to his dormitory room. He had plenty to think about now that he had finished some smaller matters. Yet immediately, a staff member come to inform him that the headmaster had summoned him.

"Right now?" Rui asked.

"Yes." The staff member replied.

"Alright." Rui nodded. ('That was quick.')

It took him a while, but he reached the headmaster's office shortly.

"Headmaster Aronian." Rui bowed deeply as he expressed the respect earned by a Martial Artist of the upper Realms.