The Martial Unity

"I'm not in the habit of beating around the bush too much, Squire Quarrier." Senior Ceeran eyes narrowed a little as his demeanor grew more solemn. "So I will ask you directly. Is your account of the execution of the mission accurate? Did you truly, with a technique of your own creation, accurately hit the target of the mission from nearly a kilometer away?"

Rui remained silent for a moment, before nodding. "My report is the whole and complete truth. I stand by every word written in it."

The man stared at Rui for a few seconds, trying to assess how sincere Rui was being.

"Your claims are more than just a little surprising. They're frankly shocking. What you claim to accomplish shatters known and established paradigms when it comes to long-range accuracy." He explained to Rui. "If true, they are a cause for celebration. Just discovering a new path to accomplishing high degrees of accuracy is a great contribution to the Martial World. It proves that there are other paths forward for us to pursue in the field of accuracy."

"Assuming, of course, that you're telling the truth." He added. "If you aren't... You will find our implementation of the penalties of deceit in reports and such to be fierce. So, having cleared that, do you still maintain your claims?"

The air grew frostier. The mighty Martial Senior did not even attempt to exert any pressure on Rui. Just the sheer latent sense of danger that Rui felt from him due to his sharp senses alone was greater than even his most powerful Mind Mask!

"Director Ceeran, I am not a fool. Why would I blatantly make up fairy tales and serve them to the Martial Union when I know I would not be able to escape its consequences? I assure you, my report is the whole and

will, rather than my position within the Martial Union. I identify with my identity as a Martial Artist more than anything else." He smiled, lightening the atmosphere a notch or two. "Secondly, I am of the personal opinion that you are sincere. My warning was more of an expression of the official stance of the

may ask, what is your stance?" Rui asked,

made an extraordinary breakthrough." Senior Ceeran's eyes lit up with greed. "Tell me everything. How does this technique work? What are the principles and mechanisms of this technique? How does it

is a bit abrupt. I thought the Martial Union respected the autonomy and right

dampened a bit as he studied Rui with a measured look. "Are you unwilling

given it much thought." Rui lied. "But I am open to it, I was

their techniques and Martial Art." Senior Ceeran. "We obtain their techniques through the

figured out why. While the Martial Union was, no doubt, powerful enough to bully nearly every Martial Artist and extract their secrets from them, this would be highly detrimental in the long run. The most negative consequences would involve a mass migration of Martial Artists from the

Gorteau, and the Sekigahara Confederation. These nations would more than happily accept the influx of Martial Artists, growing stronger while the Kandrian Empire and the

against the Martial Artist class to obtain what it wanted. This would reduce the rate at which it obtained techniques quickly and would severely weaken the foundations that the organization

was worth officially breaking this important norm and setting a dangerous precedent that would break the trust that it had earned from