The Martial Unity

The two men stared at each other for a few seconds.

"You laid that out better than I could," Julian sighed. "I hadn't realized your project was that ambitious. Is there a particular reason you have confidence that fulfilling such a project is realistic? I don't mean to be discouraging, but setting extremely unrealistic goals is usually not only a waste of time and energy but also actively counterproductive."

"You're right." Rui nodded. "And to answer your question, yes, I do have a reason."

"Well, let's hear it then."

"The difficulty of overcoming the three problems I just laid out for you lies in the difficulty of processing available accurately and quickly enough to aim in exactly the right direction, to account for environmental factors, to account for the target's movements." Rui diligently explained, before pointing to himself. "I, however, possess a much greater ability to process information systematically in the manner needed to obtain accurate answers quickly, putting aside false modesty."

"I'm not sure I entirely agree with your characterization of the difficulties you just illustrated." Julian frowned. "Accuracy of aim is generally not a mental exercise in the manner that you describe it so much as it is a pure skill. Skilled marksmen do not solve complicated projectile mechanics equations when they fire accurate shots, they simply launch their attacks in exactly the right matter through judgment born out of a combination of talent and a vast amount of experience."

"You're completely right about that." Rui grinned. "However, just because that is the norm, doesn't mean it is a paradigm I need to abide by, especially when I'm better of not doing so."

"So, you're telling me..." Julian looked at him with a hint of skepticism. "You're telling me that you've created a new and superior paradigm for the very concept of long-range accuracy?"

Julian knew that his brother was quite strong, special, and brilliant. But as a scholar with a background in the study of Martial Art, he understood the sheer magnitude of claims that Rui was making at the moment. What he was talking about was nothing short of revolutionary.

"Hear me out, Julian." Rui smiled. "We already know that there are rather simple equations defining the motion of projectiles that are quite easy to understand, correct?"

"To you and me, perhaps, but neither of us is particularly average, are we?" Julian sighed. He wasn't tooting their horns, it was merely an objective fact. "Projectile mechanics is cutting-edge theoretical science, Rui. How did you even come about learning about them when you didn't go to a science university?"

Rui suppressed a snort. Projectile mechanics was extremely elementary physics back on Earth. He had studied it in middle school and more extensively in high school. However, Julian's words allowed him to discover the actual limit of understanding of theoretical physics of the Kandrian Empire. "Oh, you know, I read some of your old books when you were away living at the university."

Julian looked at him with skeptical eyes.

"I'm not lying, okay!"

"If you say so..." Julian shook his head with resignation. "Anyways, you were saying."

"So, as I was saying," Rui explained. "I understand projectile mechanics extremely well, and I'm also capable of systematically and objectively processing information quickly and accurately in the middle of combat. With these two traits, I should be able effectively to calculate my aim, making my accuracy objective rather than relying on skill."

"Even if that was possible, you may not necessarily be able to execute your calculations accurately. It's one thing to calculate exactly with how much force, and at what angle you must launch your attack, it's another thing entirely for your body to precisely and accurately execute those results." Julian astutely pointed out.

"True, that is where the true challenge lies, honestly. I might need to train my hand-eye coordination if I want this technique to work the way it does. But my hand-eye coordination is not a weakness of mine or something, not by any means. As long as I work hard and train my body to execute my calculations accurately, there is a decent chance that my vision for this project will be entirely realized." Rui explained with an excited grin.

"Hm." Julian considered his argument for a moment. "Well, there is a chance, of course. Provided your assumptions about your mental faculties are not inaccurate. I can't think of anything else to offer about this project, I'm afraid. My background doesn't really overlap with this field."

"No worries." Rui friendlily replied. "The fact that it has, at least tentatively, earned your approval is quite a encouraging news. It's a good affirmation that I'm not crazy."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Julian chuckled.

Rui was far removed from normal in many ways that it was sometimes hard to consider him sane. Even if he wasn't insane, he certainly wasn't normal in the head. There were just too many abnormalities that when considered individually, could be written off with his genius-level intellect, talent, or hard work, but when one zoomed out and looked at the big picture, it was truly mind-boggling.

Julian knew this because he had done exactly that, he had even jokingly insinuated that Rui was an adult in a child's body, a long time ago. As time passed, the more accurate that joke seemed to be.

Julian shook his head mildly. A joke was a joke.

"What about the final project?" He asked.

"Ah, it's a development project centered around an active defense technique," Rui explained. "I'm trying to create a technique where I transfer all the kinetic energy of an attack to me while ensuring none of it damages me, then I disperse that energy instantaneously, ideally."

"...That's it?"

"So far, yeah."

"That's not a goal, that sounds more like a pipe dream." Julian chuckled. "You need to have a more concrete way of accomplishing what you want instead of just stating as much."

"I know, but it's difficult to form a concrete plan for this one, that's why I wanted you to help me out," Rui explained.

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