“For an important conversation, it sure felt trivial,” Rui muttered as he headed back home.
After the revelations and clarity that he had obtained from his last mission, he no longer felt a burning drive to immediately jump into another mission, even if it was a grade-four mission that would actually pose some danger to him. Of course, he would definitely dive into a grade four mission in due time, he had just finished speedrunning four missions back-to-back, and he was willing to slow down a bit and process his gains.
For now, he was focused on the conversation he had just had with a commissioner from the Martial Union.
(‘They were quite friendly even when I rejected them straightforwardly. He didn’t even try to apply pressure on me.’) Rui frowned.
Was that truly how the Martial Union operated?
Rui had the feeling that part of why he was receiving such good treatment was because the Martial Union did not want him to develop even a hint of a bad or hostile impression of them. That would explain why the commissioner was remarkably polite and pleasant. Even the compensation of tripling his reward as a token of gratitude and regret was a bit unnecessary, as far as rules and agreements went.
(‘They weren’t being overboard with showering goodwill, that would be counterproductive. They maintained their dignity as the Martial overlord while also giving me my due.’) Rui noted. (‘This must mean they value me more than I had expected.’)
Rui expected that the Martial Union might be a bit more heavy-handed if he was just another Martial Squire, at the very least, they wouldn’t be treating him as an honored guest.
(‘At least they were straightforward with their intentions.’) He shrugged as he pondered about what the commissioner had told him.
(‘Wanting to analyze and dissect the core of my Martial Art and disseminate it to other Martial Artists in the form of techniques huh…?’) Rui pondered. (‘What a fascinating objective.’)
It’s not that Rui was particularly averse to others inheriting a part of the VOID algorithm, it’s just he couldn’t explain how he came up with it. Talent alone couldn’t justify it, he wasn’t sure if the Martial Union would buy him developing it because he was oh-so-smart.
Furthermore, he didn’t think the Martial union could succeed in disseminating his Martial Art to others, even if partially. The only reason his usage of the VOID algorithm was viable and proficient was because of his mind, his absolute familiarity and understanding of it, the Mind Palace technique, and the Mindmirror brain.
Without any of these, he would not be able to apply the VOID algorithm the way he did. Even if the Martial Union did manage to derive the VOID algorithm through some kind of reverse engineering, he did not think they would be able to make it mass-viable for Martial Artists.
As fascinating as the sight of many different Martial Artists applying the VOID algorithm, partially or entirely, was, it was just too unlikely. He had spent his entire previous life trying to make it viable for normal people and he had failed.
He had succeeded in making it viable for himself, but he was far removed from any semblance of ordinary. He was satisfied with making it viable for only himself in this life.
He shook his head. (‘The Martial Union’s goal is not relevant to me, it’s interesting, but it doesn’t matter.’)
His thoughts immediately returned to his own Martial Path.
(‘I have some ideas…’) Rui’s eyes lit up in interest.
He had been considering the way to make progress forward, and he had already conceived of some ideas on how to go forward with developing his Martial Art.
(‘My techniques need to be compatible with both my Marial body and the VOID algorithm. Furthermore, these techniques need to be individualistic; they need to originate significantly from me and have significantly unique.’)
These were the conditions that Rui would need to fulfill when developing his Martial Art. They were significantly stricter than the conditions for growing stronger back when he was a Martial Apprentice. Back then he simply needed to find something that would make him stronger and had decent compatibility with him.
Now he needed to derive a technique or create one entirely from scratch that possessed extreme synergy with his Martial Art and body that also deviated from the existing base of techniques. The ones that he knew of, at least.
Yet despite the difficulty of this challenge, Rui grinned. He had to control himself from acting stupid out of excitement, but it was entirely evident regardless.
He would be truly forging his Martial Art from this point forth!
Prior he had been taking existing blocks and building his Martial Art from them, barring a handful of exceptions here and there. But now, he needed to construct even the blocks that he would use to further develop his Martial Art himself!
He truly looked forward to this immensely personal process. Just the thought of developing his own solutions to further his Martial Art was so exciting he could hardly wait to begin. He was no longer satisfied with the dull process of walking into the Squire-level library and mundanely picking whatever techniques sounded good. That had already grown mind-numbingly boring and dreary, and it was also weaker than creating one’s own techniques.𝗈𝚟𝐋xt.𝗰𝑜𝗆
Someone who did the latter would be able to perform better due to compatible synergetic techniques that made much better use of the Martial Artist and were better used by the Martial Artist. Furthermore, their individuality would bring them closer to the higher Realm in the long run. It was superior in every single way possible.
(‘A new chapter in my journey down my Martial Path begins.’) Rui breathed deeply as he opened his eyes to the world around him. Even the air felt refreshing and invigorating. The Sun’s shine was beautiful while its warmth was gentle. The wind danced as though rejoicing. It was almost as if the world was rejoicing alongside him.