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.

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

and bare basic hand-to-hand capabilities. The

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

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

Quarrier?" A nurse noticed him awake. "I see

replied. "My arms are

healed all your wounds. We'll just conduct a final check-up, and then you'll be

wasn't long before Rui left the medical wing in his sparring uniform, heading straight to the

Squire Dylon exclaimed when he saw

in

did, my boy." Dylon sighed as he apologized. "I lost

are capable of. Squire Kyrie has always held back and the Martial Squire my friends and I defeated could not be

Rui nodded, consoling Dylon.

it against you if

two bantered some more as Rui revealed that he was going to

a mixed smile. "I might be joining you very

an instructor?" Rui knitted his eyebrows in

accident in our spar

this isn't something worth losing a Martial Squire instructor of your caliber. I

going to bring tears to the eyes of this old man." Squire Dylon chuckled,

bidding him goodbye before immediately heading to the reception of