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.

quickly reached the training

"Alright, let's begin!"

already reached the climax of your training under me. There is no time to start anything new, the

turned towards her. "... Condition your mind and body to be at their absolute peak.

She nodded.

the training you've done in the past few months, and perhaps even the past few years will be utterly meaningless if you do not take appropriate 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 will wake up completely refreshed for the

Ok." She impatiently

as usual, let us begin with mental fortitude training." Rui

narrowed as

on her as he removed his mind mask slightly. Currently, he was exerting just a little above what he had experienced from the Martial Apprentices in the first round of the exam. This was

handled it well, of course. Otherwise, Rui would be very pessimistic about her chances of cracking

teeth as she stared him dead in the eye. She had

seconds later, he eased up.

exhaled deeply, massaging

the entirety of your focus to muster up the mental fortitude needed to resist the pressure you will experience in round one,

grumbled. "I did just fine this time and many other

in reminders." Rui

that he was actually exerting more pressure on her than what she would be subjected to in the entrance exam. This was to increase her chances of 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

mental resistance

good." Rui lightly complimented

a

was on her

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

that face? This