The Martial Unity

Rui already knew this was coming, but he didn't know the process could be conducted by a Martial Squire.

"We will conduct an examination of you to ensure that you have indeed fulfilled both conditions of Squire candidacy." She explained. "Once that's happened, you will be briefed on the breakthrough to the Squire Realm and everything about it. The mechanics and principles that allow a Martial Apprentice to become a Martial Squire, and what it even means to be a Martial Squire. Once the briefing is done, we'll move to the preparatory phase, and only then will you undergo the actual breakthrough to the Squire Realm."

"What exactly does the preparatory phase entail?" Rui asked, curious.

Squire Diera shook her head in response. "The preparatory phase will be explained thoroughly if you have indeed fulfilled the conditions to the Squire Realm."

"I understand." Rui nodded. "Will the examination begin immediately?"

"It will, I require you to sign this consent form before that." She explained.

"Consent form?" Rui frowned. "What for?"

"The verification examination can be mentally distressing if you are not a Squire candidate." She explained in response.

"Distressing?" Rui raised an eyebrow.

"Only if you aren't a Squire candidate." She explained. "It's not too late to turn around. There's no shame in admitting you aren't ready, it is nothing to be ashamed about."

"I'm quite ready." Rui signed the form after having read it.

"Good, then follow me to the examination room." She gestured to him to follow her. "The examination requires me to test your mental fortitude by applying a tremendous amount of mental pressure on you."

Rui's eyes lit up in interest at those words, as he processed them.

('I see.') He realized. ('The procedure allows the Martial Union to test the mental fortitude of the Martial Apprentice in question, Squire candidates naturally have a stronger mental fortitude thanks to the breakthroughs in the individuality of the Martial Art in question.')

Thus, the Martial Squire would be able to weed out the wannabes from the real deal by subjecting an immense amount of mental pressure and seeing who cracks and who doesn't. However, that by itself did not verify that those who didn't break under her pressure were in fact Squire candidates.

('There's probably a specific mental threshold for that as well.') Rui mused.

Mental and neurological fortitude was required to survive the breakthrough process to the Squire Realm, as Rui had learned from the research data he had brought back from the mission to the Commonwealth Duchy of Vinfrana. The Martial Squire could probably test him to see if he had the required amount of mental fortitude required to survive the process by exerting mental pressure on him.

They traveled for a bit before they reached a separate facility. Rui was made to sit on a chair with several contraptions and a helmet-like device wired to it, which reminded Rui of Professor X from the X-Men series.

In the facility were several screens with images projected on him.

pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 "Prep him for the Squire breakthrough verification process." She told a team of a doctor and his assistants.

They made Rui sit down on the chair as various devices were hooked up to him. If Rui had to guess, they allowed the team to gain a lot of data on his metabolic data. Rui guessed this would aid in the verification of whether he had fulfilled the first condition of Squire candidacy.

"Bite down on this at all times." One of the assistants instructed him as she placed a bite guard in his mouth.

('They're taking some precautions alright.') Rui frowned. He was even strapped to the seat tightly, which were some ridiculous measures for a simple verification examination.

"Is all of this really necessary?" He asked Squire Deria through his bide guard.

"As I said earlier." She replied. "The examination can cause distress in the applicants of the examination."

Rui raised his eyebrow in surprise. This was one of the most rigorous verifications he had been through. Soon, the medical team left the entire facility, leaving him and the Martial Squire alone.

Rui felt awkward.

But the emotion went away as a profound sense of danger erupted within him with Primordial Instinct. The sensation rippled through him as he recognized the feeling.

('This is similar to when Squire Dylon was serious against me for a moment.') Rui felt his nerves tingling sharply. Primordial Instinct screamed in fear as it gnawed at Rui's self-control wanting to force the body into a panicked state of fight or flight mode.

Her eyebrows narrowed as the pressure mounted increasingly on him. Yet to her surprise, he didn't grimace or wince or break down in fear. He maintained his calm and composure despite the heavy pressure that she exerted on him. He met her gaze with a measured gaze.

('Interesting...') She mused. It certainly proved he was not simply lying about the first condition to Squire candidacy, otherwise, he would not have lasted this long. Yet it was the manner in which he prevailed against the pressure that she was exerting on her. She had never seen a Martial Apprentice withstand the degree of pressure that she was currently extending, she had already exceeded the bounds of pressure that any normal Martial Apprentice could possibly exert.

Barring Rui, of course.

She grew absorbed as she tried to gain an accurate and precise measure of his mental fortitude. The pressure she mounted on him would have incapacitated him by now. Rui had already previously witnessed an aura in the Squire Realm freezing his friends in shock and fear, he didn't think he would be nearly that easy. Yet, he was able to withstand it. At some point she even began exerting tinges of her bloodlust in the weight that she exerted onto Rui, however, she was unable to push him over the limit. Rui had grimaced from time to time as he withstood everything she threw him with and more. He relied purely on mental fortitude, not even certain mental techniques that may have aided him on the matter after all.

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