The Martial Unity

"You're late!" Crea huffed

"I'm actually exactly on time." Rui retorted.

"If you arrive just on time, then training begins late, so you're late!"

"Training begins after I arrive and I arrived on time, thus training begins on time as well."

"The entrance exam is in a week. We don't have time for delays!"

"Well, you're the one delaying it now with your little tantrum, you know."

Rui chuckled as she glared at him, doing her best to intimidate him, in vain of course.

"Colonel Jenken." Rui bowed lightly, happening to run into the man on the way to the training grounds.

"Squire Quarrier, I'm glad to see you've arrived on time." He nodded stiffly, ignoring his daughter's reaction to his words. "The entrance exam is just around the corner, and we're in the final stretch for preparation. She's made incredible improvements at your hand, validating my decision to commission you. Good job and good luck."

He turned towards his daughter, bending to her as his military posture relaxed a little as he smiled. "You've already made me proud. Do your best. I love you."

She nodded, a little embarrassed.

He got up, turning back to Rui. "Alright then, I've got to head to work, as you can see."

He gestured to his military garb and adornments. It was an ostentatious uniform with badged, medals, and several stars. None of which were adornments that would decorate the uniform of an ordinary Martial colonel, Rui was sure.

reached the

"Alright, let's begin!"

"We've already reached the climax of your training under me. There is no time to start anything new, the only thing we can do is polish what

turned towards her. "... Condition your mind and

She nodded.

care of your mind and body for when the time comes," Rui warned her. "In fact, an intense workout will coincide the day before the exam where you will be denied rejuvenation potions so that you can get a real organic night of sleep to time it right so that you

impatiently nodded.

let us begin with mental fortitude training." Rui

narrowed

Apprentices in the first round

Rui would be very pessimistic

she stared him dead in the eye. She had a brave

seconds later, he eased up. "Well

deeply, massaging her sweaty

mental peak," Rui advised. "It takes the entirety of your focus to muster up the mental fortitude needed to resist the pressure you will experience in round one, if your emotional

"I did just fine

harm in reminders."

nothing going wrong in the entrance exam. He didn't want to tell her this for fear of her letting her guard down and making a blunder causing her to fail the

hour of continuous mental resistance training later,

Rui

a

was on her feet,

dynamic omnidirectional sparring, as usual." Rui casually said. Yet she stiffened at

This is quite important, you