The Martial Unity

Rui did not feel confident enough to fight the root without data on, both, active and passive patterns of the Root.

There was a difference between these kinds of patterns.

Passive patterns existed in all movements of all living beings. These were patterns between involuntary and subconscious movements, including twitches of muscles and tendons, minute shifts in weight, respiration, perspiration, heart rate, complexion, and a dozen other variables. By analyzing these, Rui could predict the movements that a certain person was going to make by building a predictive model based on these tells and cues.

These subconscious cues and tells were devoid of any conscious or voluntary intent and control. Not even the most intense body control that the best of diplomats and spies trained in could get rid of the micro-physiological phenomena that Rui could perceive thanks to his senses.

Thus far, he had only collected passive patterns of the Root. He had spent many hours watching it lash out as it grabbed unrefined esoteric ore deposits. It had given him a good idea of the way it moved and would allow him to predict it to a certain extent.

But it hadn't been enough.

('I need to see it fight others,') Rui narrowed its eyes. ('Extensively.')

One or two fights did not suffice.

He needed hundreds if not thousands of fights to surveil.

Fortunately, Rui had just the right idea of how to get the data that he sought.

There were few ways in which Rui could possibly go about it, and he intended to spend time refining the plan.

('For now, training takes precedence,') Rui sighed.

And train he did.

He had underestimated the difficulty of the training of the Godspeed technique, even if Kane insisted that he had done quite well. He knew that it was going to be painful and difficult.

Still, he intended to get past it and complete it.

Months flew by as the monotony of the Shionel Dungeon truly began settling in for the first time since its discovery.

Even back when it had originally begun becoming normal after it had been discovered, Rui had come in and singlehandedly disrupted things, sparking a new wave of chaos that triggered even more volatile dungeon and political happenings.

But things had truly calmed down as dungeon floors began being discovered at an accelerated pace.

The reason was simple. The number of Martial Squires clearing the dungeon had tripled since Rui had begun his activities as the Voider. Furthermore, he himself had accelerated his own dungeon clearing.

One by one, both sides began whittling down the floors of the Shionel Dungeon as they traveled deeper and deeper into the dungeons.

That segment of the continent began discovering the many floors that the Voider had singlehandedly cleared. They couldn't help but admire the mysterious being that had taken that section of the continent by storm.

The election for the position of Guildmaster had begun approaching.

The many merchants of the Shionel Merchant Guild would vote for one of the hundred merchants of the Shionel Merchant Council, as the next Guildmaster of the Shionel Merchant Guild.

Normally, this was not as exciting of a matter.

However, this time, things were different.

The air across the nation was tense. Because people knew that for the first time in many years, the elections might break a pre-existing pattern that had stood strong for many years.

The Bradt Distribution Service had an enormous amount of sway over all the voters in the Shionel Merchant Guild. Guildmaster Bradt had previously bought seventy percent of the votes by deeply entangling voters with the Bradt Distribution Services' high-quality essential distribution and communication services.

That had been enough to sweep the elections every time despite Chairman Deacon's best efforts.

This time, however, things did not seem very clear.

Chairman Deacon and Deacon Industries had grown astronomically more powerful and influential as time passed.

He had exploited not one, but two massive opportunities to gain more power and more support.

Yes.

Two, not one.

The Shionel Dungeon was God's gift to him. It directly fueled his primary field and gave him unfathomable gains. He gained more than just wealth. He had gained economic dominance and political allegiances.

The second opportunity had come in the form of the Voider, surprisingly enough. No one, not even Chairman Deacon, had predicted that the Voider would end up becoming an avenue to gain more support. He united a tremendous number of stakeholders who had been negatively affected by the Voider's absurd success.

This resulted in a frightening amount of political capital. He had gained more from uniting people and gaining their loyalty through mutual interests against a common enemy than a common boon.

In some twisted way, Chairman Deacon was even partially grateful to the Voider for having arrived and united so many people against himself that Chairman Deacon had managed to splendidly harness thanks to the new gains that he had made from the Shionel Dungeon.

Of course, what speck of gratitude he had for the Voider's appearance was drowned by the endless hatred he had for the Voider. The sheer amount of trouble that he had given Chairman Deacon made him wish he could tear apart the little shit's face.

Still, he had shifted his attention away from the Voider for now. As much as he hated the Voider, the Voider was not his greatest enemy.

The image of Guildmaster Bradt appearing in his mind alone stoked his temper, but he kept his composure, grinning.

He was confident. This time, he truly had the ability to win. He had exerted more capital and resources into campaigning than he had ever done in his entire career. The capital expended in this time's election was greater than the sum of all the capital he had expended for campaigning ever before.

He was truly staking everything on the line. The sheer amount of commitments and expenditure of capital, resources, and commitments that had gone into buying as many votes as possible meant that Deacon Industries might collapse if he failed!