The Martial Unity

Rui calmly took his new stance as he met Fiona's probing gaze.

The initial predictive model had been completed. Rui had managed to hold on for long enough for himself and the Mindmirror Symbiote brain to work together.

This time, it was his turn to go on the offensive.

POW POW POW!

He began with a flurry of jabs at her, testing her out and feeling her reactions as he continued refining his predictive model.

It wasn't enough to be called a flaw, but one shortcoming of the VOID algorithm was that he needed data in the same areas as the things he was trying to predict by creating a predictive model.

Because of the fact that she had been on the offensive the entire time and he had been on the defensive, he didn't have much data on her defensive patterns. Although he could still predict her with parameters that were unchanging across offense or defense, the predictive model was at its most effective when it had adequate data.

WHOOSH WHOOSH

BAM BAM!

He casually evaded her, having predicted her movements with the predictive model, while launching perfectly placed and timed uppercuts into openings created by her own attacks.

She grimaced as she leaped back, throwing a concerned glance at Rui who chased after her, refusing to let her get her bearings in the fight.

With every attack he threw, success or failure, the prediction model gained access to more and more data that allowed the predictions to become more and more refined.

She knew that she had already failed in trying to defeat him before he evolved to her. The best she could do at that point was trying to win regardless of the evolution.

Yet she didn't have any viably means to do so

CLASP

Rui caught one of her arms having predicted her attempt at using the infrasonic sound attack to disorient him to try and exploit the opportunity to land a powerful blow on him then and there.

Yet, Rui mercilessly used Flow Flux bolstered with Flame Breathing and Outer Convergence.

She stumbled, yet before she could even try to regain her balance;

BAM BAM!

Two Tempestuous Ripples hit her from below as they launched her airborne as they carried her well outside the boundaries of the ring.

THUD

She landed heavily, out of bounds.

She sighed. "That's your win, I guess."

"Hehehe." Rui chuckled as he smirked. "Looks like I win this time."

"You've truly gotten ridiculously strong." She admitted. "Since when was your evolution thingy that strong?"

"For a while now," Rui admitted.

Back when he had fought her in the Martial Contest, he had not yet mastered the predictive model at that time. He had fought Fiona purely with the more primitive stylistic adaptation systems of the VOID algorithm back then. Although it wasn't entirely obsolete, it was obsolete compared to what he was capable of now.

It wasn't as though Rui had created something brand new in the time since the Martial Contest. The only difference was that he had mastered the Mind Palace and the Mindmirror Symbiote which allowed him to use the VOID algorithm himself in combat not just viably but also perfectly and sometimes even excellently.

Yet the VOID algorithm itself was the outcome of a project, Project Water that had taken him a lifetime to achieve.

So the power he had obtained in the last year wasn't just something he had obtained in the last year. But something he had finally crystalized after decades of effort.

"How did you get this fast and this strong?" She asked curiously.

"Hard work, talent, calculated risks, and a lot of luck." He replied dismissively.

He'd rather have kept the secret as down on the low as possible.

"Besides, you've gotten a lot stronger too," Rui added, consolingly.

"I just mastered a few stronger Martial Art techniques." She said.

"That's more or less what I did, really." Rui shrugged.

The two bantered some more as time passed. Rui enjoyed the extreme hospitality that the Roschem Family provided him. He had basically never experienced such luxury since he wasn't rich enough to afford such luxuries. He partook in everything they had to offer until the time for the commencement of the mission took place.

"Finally." Fiona muttered as they set out for the Martial Union. "This took far longer than it should have. What was the point of having to wait eighteen hours when we could have started immediately back then?"

"We may have been ready, but the civilian parts of our Serevian Dungeon team may not necessarily have been ready. These include miners and mining equipment as well as research scholars and other extraction teams for resource acquisition." Rui explained.

"But why not?" Fiona asked.

"Because there is more than just manpower that goes into these teams," Rui answered. "You need the necessary equipment and machinery, you need supplies; both personal and industrial as well as means of transportation that needs to come together for our Serevian Dungeon team to be ready."

"Ah, makes sense." Fiona nodded. "I'm just glad I'm not stuck with defending and protecting these nerds instead."

"You're also in the offensive squad by that you mean?" Rui asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

"Yes, of course." She nodded. "I would get bored just sitting around waiting for attacks. I accepted the Serevian Dungeon mission because I was quite curious about what the Serevian Dungeon was like and whether it was as exotic as people say or not."

Rui nodded as an interesting point took his attention.

"I wonder what Squad Ian Nepomniachtchi, is going to be a part of," Rui asked out aloud.

"Who knows, we'll find out." She shrugged.

"He struck me as an aggressive person, hard to imagine him coming all the way to the Serevian Dungeon unless he wants to actively seek out fight himself." Rui noted.

"That is true." Fiona laughed at his words mirthfully.

The two of them got out of their carriage once they arrived, immediately heading inside.

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