The Martial Unity

The two dashed towards each other.

('I'm faster.') Rui realized.

Yet despite this, Gale's strike reached first.

WHOOSH

Rui dodged the strike.

Gale continued dishing an onslaught of strikes and Rui avoided all of them cleanly. Ever since he mastered Primordial Instinct, his timing had grown much sharper and more accurate. Its synergy with the VOID algorithm was truly impressive.

Gale didn't stop, his strikes were straight forward and had a huge range. He launched all of them from outside Rui's striking range, so Rui wasn't able to do much.

('He's a long-range striking specialist.') Rui realized. Each strike had a huge reach, and he launched them in a way that deliberately prevented Rui from reaching close enough to launch his own attacks.

Rui keenly observed this before making a decision, he stopped avoiding Gale and instead dashed against him once more.

A flash of surprise morphed into Gale's expression as he quickly launched a straight jab at Rui, growing even more surprised when he saw Rui didn't avoid them, and instead ran into it even faster. Just as the strike was about to hit Rui

WHOOSH

Rui disappeared.

('A feint!') Gale realized.

BAM

impact

to draw his strike away while

He just barely managed to throw up a guard as Rui pummeled him with short range blows boosted with the power of

Gale leaped back, grimacing.

kind enough to let him recuperate and regain his bearings, he rushed in. Gale panicked

another feint. This time he was a bit more prepared, he didn't want to

didn't dodge or

CLASP

moving with it to reduce the

The Binding Lash technique.

most apt way of defeating Gale, dragging outside the realm of striking which is where his specialty lied. In the domain of grappling, Rui had a clear

CRACK

technique allowed the user to

these

but counter-offense as well, allowing him to increase the accuracy of his timing immensely. The VOID algorithm allowed him to consciously and

physically stronger by virtue of being much older, but Rui had nailed the timing too well, that shoulder's fate was already

he felt, Gale did give up, struggling with everything he had. Despite the advantageous position Rui had, he didn't give

have been a career ending injury, but in the world of Gaea, within

tapped Rui's arm three times, indicating his resignation. The pain was far too excruciating and even if Gale somehow broke through, he had no chance of

sigh of relief. He did not enjoy the act of inflicting pain on others. He carefully let go

slowly, before throwing a bitter smile

He meant it.

how big the gap between them was. Gale had spent a long time in the Academy, and even with his mediocre growth, he had come to accumulate more power than most Apprentices in the Academy currently. But Rui still beat him cleanly, while

man." Rui offered a hand

won every other fight, he almost would not be chosen as the representative of the Academy. "I haven't