The Martial Unity

"…And that about sums up my many adventures in the shoes of Master Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria."

By the time she was done, Rui was in a daze.

Dazed at just how much of a maniac a person could be.

"Now then, tell me about your adventures," Master Reina inquired with curious excitement. "As fun as mine were, any adventure that led to the birth of the youngest Martial Master in history and the most powerful Martial Mind in history cannot be anything less than extraordinary."

Rui gazed at her wearily, breaking out of his frozen shock. "...I'm not sure I want to indulge you after the mess that you have left behind for me."

"Oh, don't be a baby! I spent three years covering for you, I deserve to know!" She insisted.

Rui heaved a tired sigh as he began narrating his tale since their last meeting. The Beast Domain, the Valley of Prisms, the Forest of Fear, the Garden of Salvation, and finally, the Mellow and his breakthrough within the dungeon.

As much as her story impacted his, it could not even begin to compare to the bewilderment she exhibited from his.

"The Garden of Salvation…?" She stared at him. "You mean that myth?"

"It's not a myth," Rui shook his head. "It's real."

"…I've never heard of the Mellow," she murmured, trying to recollect.

"It is, or at least was, an insignificant place on the outside. The dungeon is gone, though after we disrupted it."

He abstained from telling her about the alien flora lifeform. That was far too important to reveal to anybody, including Master Reina; it was classified as extraordinarily strategic intelligence of the highest order.

"Still…" She turned to him. "To think you truly succeeded in finding the so-called Divine Doctor. Not to mention, to think you change so much in the span of three years."

Master Reina hadn't, for a moment, missed how much he had changed.

Although the closure with his mother was healing, the Elder Tree's inheritance undoubtedly changed his temperament, turning him more stoic and impassive than he used to be. In addition, the revelations of the Divine Doctor were so staggering that echoes of the emotional turmoil it left him in were reflected in his eyes.

No one would miss the changes that he had been through.

"Still, congratulations on your breakthrough," she wished him earnestly. "When you first came to me, I didn't think you would become a Martial Master eleven years later. Truly shocking. I hope you're prepared for the consequences of breaking the world record by half. If you think your breakthrough to the Senior Realm sent waves, then this time, it will be floods and tsunamis. Such an event will not be ignored by any of the fourteen Sage-level powerhouses of the Panama Continent."

Rui's expression grew serious. "I know. It hasn't been long since I returned, but I'm already on a countdown."

The guards and staff of the Royal Palace. His time in the Quarrier Orphanage. The information about his breakthrough to the Master Realm would slowly spread across Kandria and eventually across the entirety of the Panama Continent.

He was on a countdown the moment he returned.

"I intend to announce it after my father awakens."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why after?"

"Because the return of the Emperor of Harmony is more consequential and significant to the world than my breakthrough to the Master Realm at my age," Rui calmly explained his reasoning. "The former materially affects the future of human civilization and certainly the future of East Panama. While my record-breaking breakthrough would indeed shock the world, its impacts on the future are not as heavy. Ultimately, I am one Martial Master and far from the strongest."

He hadn't forgotten the eerie peril that lingered within the eyes of the Harbinger.

The fact that his Martial Mind allowed him to detect her desire for carnage was almost a curse.

"Far from the strongest, yes," Master Reina calmly remarked. "But strong, nonetheless. Your first priority should be understanding how strong you've become."

"…Don't worry," a smile cracked at the edge of his mouth. "I have already made plans to rigorously test my strength. It was quite unfortunate that my senses alone were unable to determine the overall combat level of Martial Masters very clearly."

"That's to be expected," Master Reina reassured him. "The combat power of a Martial Master is dependent on many factors, more factors than it is in the Senior Realm, which is why it is possible to gauge relative power by comparison in the Senior Realm through senses alone. However, you cannot trust the observational evaluation of power in the Master Realm. 'Power level' as an emergent property is far more complicated in the Master Realm. The Martial Mind complicates matters, and the compatibility of Martial Minds is something that cannot be measured."

Rui grew immersed in her words. "Compatibility of Martial Minds?"

"Correct," she nodded. "Some Martial Minds are antithetical to others. Some perform extremely poorly against each other, while some perform extremely well against others. This does not seem to be able to be predicted or known before the battle actually occurs. Thus, you must always be extremely careful judging a Martial Master until you have fought them. You cannot simply evaluate the strength of their Martial Body and Mind or purely rely on sensing their aura. All Martial Masters are extremely complicated beings."

"Hmmm…" Rui absorbed her words. "If compatibility of Martial Minds is an important parameter, then it makes sense that I had a hard time evaluating relative power levels in the Master Realm. But if that's the case, how does the Martial Union and other organizations grade Martial Masters?"

In the lower Realms, the power level was observationally evaluated in addition to being tested. However, as he had just learned, the power level of a Martial Master could not be observationally evaluated.

"Most organizations and nations bypass this by having all Martial Masters fight against as many other Martial Masters as possible, as painstaking and tedious as it is," Master Reina informed him as she explained to him the many dynamics of the Master Realm.

-