The Martial Unity

"Individuality... and maturity?" She frowned.

"That's right." Rui nodded. "Individuality and maturity. Your Martial Art needs to obtain enough of both, otherwise, you won't be able to even survive the breakthrough process to the Squire Realm."

"What exactly do both of those terms even mean?"

"I was getting there." He nodded. "Individuality is a measure of how much your Martial Path diverges from others, and how much of its depth comes from you."

She wordlessly stared at him with a skeptical expression.

"Your techniques and the way you apply them, that is what need to possess individuality. They need to possess a measure of uniqueness and originality."

"So... I need to create my own techniques?" She frowned. "That's super difficult!"

"If it were easy, everyone would be a Martial Squire." Rui snorted. "But you don't specifically need to create a technique from scratch, and all kinds of viable modifications and alterations to suit yourself, newer applications of an existing technique, combinations that you yourself derived from existing techniques, and really anything that originated from you that sets you apart from the others will be one step deeper into your Martial Path."

"I see..." She hummed as she processed her words. "So that means your Martial Art is much more unique than any other kind of Martial Art that exists out there?"

"You can say that." Rui nodded.

In reality, one could say much more than that. The fact that he inherited the VOID algorithm from his past alone meant that his individuality was on another level. He wasn't even sure how much of it he had, in all honesty. He knew he had more of it than any other Martial Artist his age, without a doubt. It would be rather shocking if there was.

"So, my Martial Art just needs to gain enough individuality, hm." She nodded. "Will do. But why is that necessary?"

Rui paused for a moment, considering whether he could answer her question, before shrugging. "To survive the procedure."

"Hm?" She frowned.

"The greater your individuality, the deeper your Martial Path, and the greater your mind can withstand," Rui told her, arriving dangerously close to the limit of what he could tell her.

think I have?" She

his gaze

covering her

just observing you."

an awkward pause before she

Uncovering herself, she even puffed her chest out a bit,

It didn't.

self-conscious, especially with all the attention on him. Furthermore, while his mind was pure, his seventeen-year-old hormonal body had other thoughts as blood gushed to his groin, awakening

is beneficial to my Martial Path. Just... get it over with." She looked away with a miffed expression, yet her blushed

turned back to

('She's hot.')

even able to look at her body without his cursed

isn't all that reliable anyway." He sighed. "It relies on my instincts, which are unfortunately clouded

"Clouded?"

it." He

close I am to fulfil the individuality condition

Rui shrugged, before freezing.

he went through the evaluation examination where a Martial Squire evaluated whether he had indeed fulfilled both conditions for Squire candidacy. The way she had verified whether or not

to withstand pressure above a certain degree, then that Martial Apprentice would at

he was also a Martial Squire, he was capable of

here, not in front

happened?" Vemy asked him, noticing his

here." He told her. "You need to come to my personal quarters, it's detached

threw a skeptical

Rui raised

"You know what."

haven't the faintest

can lure me to your personal quarters where nobody can see us and where you can try to do something