The Martial Unity

His eyes narrowed as he studied the damage that his attack had inflicted on the Abyssfeeder specimen that he had attacked. It wasn't that he hadn't done any damage at all to its second inspection, he just realized that it was harder to tell because its anatomy was so undefined and hard to gauge.

But it was clear that it was not entirely ineffective. And yet, he was a little wary of the fact that his strongest attack did not even hurt it all that much. One of the biggest points of concern was the fact that it didn't even need that much time to begin adapting to a certain offensive.

('It's adaptation timeframe is absurdly little.') Rui tutted.

When he compared it to his adaptation, at least, the adaptation speed of the Abyssfeeder species was much higher.

Of course, Rui adapted to opponents as a whole, not to a single attack. Their adaptation also worked on fundamentally different principles.

His Flowing Void Style employed the VOID algorithm, which relied largely on data analysis starting from simply physicality and stance analysis to pattern recognition to create predictive models and did the actual adapting through the adaptive evolution model, picking the right counters based on what the predictions were.

It used to be that, but he recently added the Metabody System which allowed him to change his physical parameters to the most optimal to counter his opponent. He essentially altered them to complement his adapted fighting style.

Together, this formed the core of his Flowing Void Style.

('But this creature… It doesn't even seem to have a sophisticated mind,') Rui sharply analyzed based on their movements. ('It's adaptation is purely physiological.')

His attention focused even more as it approached. It had for some reason become an extremely flat sheet of blackness instead of the web that it was before. It began approaching Rui, which is when he sensed something was off.

('Wait a minute…') He frowned. ('I can sense it through Seismic Mapping, but not Tempestuous Feel.')

That meant it sent vibrations through the ground and not through the air.

('Which means… I see, so that's how it handled my attack.') He tutted as he understood what had happened. ('Acousting air absorption. That's how it dealt with my attack.')

It somehow had managed to alter its body in a way that would permeate the impact of the air particles through it in a manner that exploited the fact that gases are not bound together the way solids were. It would also explain why it didn't register on his Tempestuous Feel.

Just as Rui was starting to get a better idea of how this creature fought.

It lashed out at him swiftly.

It appeared that the other Abyssfeeders had also waited enough.

The other contestants grew graver by the second as they each sought to deal with the strange creature in their own ways.

Rui simply stood in place as the one that he had attacked reached him. He did not want to avoid confrontation because he needed as much data on this creature as he could get. The entire philosophy behind his Martial Art was data-driven adaptation, without data, he couldn't fight at his peak.

Another reason he not only stood his ground but rushed towards the Abyssfeeder was because this was not just a clash between man and beast.

It was a clash of philosophies.

Of course, he was cognizant that the abyssfeeder certainly not conscious or sentient enough for the complex thought needed to have philosophies. However, despite that, it was undoubtedly the case that there was a clash between the philosophies of himself and his monster of an opponent.

What was the best way to adapt and evolve to one's opponent in a physical conflict?

This was the avenue where they diverged almost entirely.

The creature's physiology was the foundation of its ability to adapt and evolve, its body was the foundation of this ability.

Rui, on the other hand, did not adapt nearly as much through the body. While it was true that he had the Metabody System which did alter its body to adapt to his opponent, the fact of the matter was that the degree to which he altered his body paled in comparison to his opponent. While he used autophagy, the hyper-enhanced flow of nutrition and cell-building compounds, the Herenal Virus, cell wall thickening, and such principles to alter his combat physical parameters, these were rather minor changes in comparison to the drastic changes that the Abyssfeeder went.

The creature did not even resemble its original self whatsoever.

Unlike it, Rui relied on the adaptation and evolution of thought. The VOID algorithm allowed him to make exactly the combat and hand-to-hand decisions that were perfectly suited to countering his opponent. The foundation of adaptation and evolution relied on the mind, rather than the body.

Rui narrowed his eyes as his expression intensified.

He felt his heart growing warmer.

He could not afford to lose this battle. The loss threatened the dominance of the philosophy that he had dedicated himself to.

Be water.

One might never expect it out of an instruction consisting of two words, but it had changed Rui's life.

No, that wasn't quite right.

It had changed both his lives. He had interpreted those words as referring to the state of one's mind. Back on Earth, that was the only interpretation that made sense.

Yet, this wasn't Earth.

In the world of Gaia, those words could mean a lot more than just the state of mind.

After all, he was looking at a creature whose body may as well be water. It had started out as a shapeless mass of webs, and now it was rushing towards him in the shape of a mat, was it not water in spirit?

Which water was superior?

Mind or body?

One could not say.

Yet even as the true battle was about to begin, a single thought flowed through him.

I won't lose.

He couldn't lose. For other battles, the loss was not absolutely intolerable.

But not this battle.

Mind of Water was the foundation of his Martial Path. He had dedicated everything to it. It was almost who he was as a person.

Losing that… That was no different from dying in mind.

He would rather die in flesh than let that happen.

I will win.

Rui's expression intensified.

His expression crumpled with severity.

His muscles brimmed with power as his mind honed itself sharper than it ever had. Every cell in his body roared as they came together, the sum totality of his being dedicated itself to this battle.

Deep within him, his heart stirred.

BADUMP!