The Martial Unity

"Honestly, I'm just going to have to get stronger, forging my own path and completing missions to gather more experience," Kane replied, sighing. "There isn't much else to do besides that, for now at least."

Rui nodded. "That's level-headed and prudent. For now, your situation is stable, albeit far from what you desire. It'll be a while before you have a chance to change that. Getting stronger by creating techniques that are synergetic with you is definitely a good initiative."

Kane nodded, before asking. "How do you even create techniques from scratch?"

"It's difficult," Rui replied honestly. "But you don't have to make it from scratch. For example, both my techniques use other techniques as building blocks. The long-range technique which I named Pathfinder required me to master two techniques from the Martial Union before I could incorporate them into the Pathfinder technique. My defensive technique also relies on Reverberating Lance, a striking supplementary technique that I learned as a Martial Apprentice."

"Wait." Kane jerked his head back lightly. "You constructed a defensive technique out of a striking technique? How is that even possible, that makes no sense."

"Be creative, Kane." Rui chuckled. "An offensive technique doesn't necessarily only have to be used to inflict damage on your opponents, how you use techniques matters just as much as the techniques themselves."

"Hm..." Kane's eyes narrowed as he processed what Rui told him. "What was the thought process for creating the technique like? Did you just think 'alright, I'm going to create this technique like this' or what?"

"I identified my needs and my strengths, and then aimed to create a technique that fulfilled my needs to a great degree by relying on my strengths to do so," Rui told him as he looked up in thought. "That was how I conceived of the conceptual basis of the two techniques that I created. One addressed my long-range inability and the other addressed my defensive needs. Both of them rely on my unique strengths to do so, and wouldn't be able to do it without them, that is true synergy."

"That actually makes a lot of sense, now that I think of it." Kane nodded. "My current needs are... frankly everything because I only have a few techniques right now. My strengths are my speed, agility, and evasive mobility."

"Also your affinity for techniques centered around those combat attributes." Rui pointed.

"But that isn't relevant if I'm trying to create a new technique rather than learn already constructed techniques, right?" Kane frowned.

"As I said, you can incorporate existing techniques into your new technique partially, or even wholly." Rui reminded. "As long as the concept of your technique truly stems from you, it will be individualistic enough to help you take a step towards the Senior Realm."

"Interesting..." Kane began to grow a little more interested in the matter. "It's incredible how you are probably the only person who can make me enjoy Martial Art. Talking to you is rather refreshing after the torment that I've gone through in the past few months."

"Any time." Rui nodded.

The two conversed for some more time before it was time to split up. After all, Rui had other plans and Kane had other things to attend to.

"Anyways, I'm glad to have spoken to you after I got out." Kane clasped Rui's hand in a partial hug.

"Me too, it's remarkable that you finished your Squire habilitation phase just before I picked my first mission in a while." Rui nodded. "Take care, Kane. And congratulations on reaching the Squire Realm. I've been waiting to congratulate you in person."

The two of them exchanged farewells as they went their separate ways. Rui headed straight toward the Martial Union. He could barely suppress his excitement as he swiftly made his over to the Hajin branch office of the Martial Union. He would not be delayed in the undertaking of a mission that would allow him to employ and exercise his new techniques in the field.

He swiftly completed the security check-in before immediately heading to the mission library.

Once he entered, he was plagued with the age-old dilemma of which class of missions he ought to go for. Thankfully, the fact that he had a more specific goal that he hoped to fulfill with whatever mission he ended up choosing.

('It is probably impossible to rigorously use both techniques in one mission.') Rui had already realized this.

The scenarios and circumstances in which the techniques would feasibly be used were almost entirely mutually exclusive from each other. The Pathfinder technique could only be thoroughly tested in circumstances where there was a great distance between him and his target or opponent. How could he exercise the Flux Earther technique in such a situation? It was practically unfeasible.

('I'll need to begin with a mission that allows me to thoroughly test one over the other.') Rui sighed. It was unfortunate.

Furthermore, one technique was easier to find missions very well suited than the other. The Pathfinder technique was born for sniper assassin missions and hunting missions. It would be quite effective and would shine in both of these circumstances.

On the other hand, the Flux Earther technique would work best in a bodyguard mission. However, that was only if the target of protection was actually under attack. Most bodyguard missions did not have intense life-threatening combat. Rui knew this from experience.

Bodyguards served as a deterrence more than anything. They severely disincentivized attacking the target of protection of the bodyguards because those bodyguards ensured that there were consequences for trying to attack their client. Rui wasn't sure he would actually get to use the technique all that often. In fact, he was more likely to use the Flux Earther technique in an offense class mission than he was to use it in a defense class mission.

After all, offense class missions guaranteed combat while defense class missions didn't necessarily do so. Rui would rather go for a guaranteed general combat application of the Flux Earther technique than the possibility of a specialized application of it.