The Martial Unity

Rui had to think about what Kane had just told him.

“Increase speed… by increasing power but also reducing body mass by exhaling matter that can be discarded for the moment? What in the world…?” He murmured with a shocked expression.

It was an absurd proposition, frankly. It offended his sensibilities, even.

How could one shed so much weight with a single technique? Rui knew that he had to be shedding a solid proportion of the weight of the body.

Rui’s eyes widened. “Is that why you looked so starved every time you finished using the ability? You were basically incapacitated every time you used the technique.”

“It’s not an easy technique to use,” Kane sighed. “As you have surmised, there are great drawbacks to using it. Just barely obtaining the power of a higher Realm, even if just for the briefest of moments, requires one to pay a great price.”

Rui was not surprised.

As a Martial Apprentice, Kane could break the sound barrier and move as fast as a Martial Squire, and every time he used that move, he was completely incapacitated by exhaustion.

That was the price of using the power of a higher Realm!

Rui briefly considered the implications and impacts that this revelation had on him and his plan. Knowing the technique that he was hoping to integrate into Project Forestep was quite useful and required him to consider the prospects of doing so more deeply.

“Firstly, I’m not looking to achieve the speed of a higher Realm for the briefest of moments,” Rui began.

“You wouldn’t be able to achieve it either,” Kane chimed in. “Even for me, my reaction speed is far too slow to be able to use it flexibly. That’s why I can only go in straight lines, and that’s why I need so much distance between myself and my target. Even with my highly heightened reflexes and reaction speed as an evasive maneuvering Martial Squire, I cannot fully keep up with the Godspeed technique.”

That made sense.

In fact, Rui recalled a fight between Fae and Kane a long time ago. Kane had won the fight by using Godspeed, but Fae had managed to get in a hit regardless, despite being far slower. This was probably because Kane was unable to react to her strike Because of how fast he himself was moving, and did not possess the reaction speed to control his body and move in time either.

“I’m not looking for something like that,” Rui shook his head. “I do not want speed beyond my control.”

“Well, just by looking to master the Godspeed technique to a certain degree, you kind of are, you do realize that, yes?” Kane tilted his head, looking at Rui oddly. “After all, your raw neurological reaction speed is above average for a Martial Squire as old as you at most. And it normally ought to be average, but it’s above average only because of your Hungry Pain technique allowing for a stronger and faster Martial body.”

Rui understood his concerns but knew that they were misplaced. The reason that he wanted to master the technique despite his lacking reaction speed was because he had long decided to rely on predictions in addition to reactions.

“I have a plan, don’t worry about it,” Rui shook his head for the time being. “I don’t want the original version of the Godspeed technique, it doesn’t suit my technique, and I cannot master it due to difficulties due to incompatibility. What I want is a diluted version of the technique that can be used more continuously and fluidly.”

“That’s going to be difficult,” Kane frowned. “I’m not even sure how to teach you that when I don’t know if I can do that myself. I’ve only learned the Godspeed technique, and the only alterations I’ve ever done are merging it with the Void Step technique.”

The mentions of Kane merging two grade-ten techniques into one were almost significant enough to draw his attention away from his important considerations, but he put that matter aside.

“You can leave that part to me, I’ll begin the training for the conventional Godspeed training, and in my inability to master it, I will strive to discover alternatives. Lower intensity for more grounded, but more controllable speeds,” Rui told him as he grew increasingly excited.

Imagining himself wielding a partial Godspeed technique while using the VOID algorithm to compensate for the lacking reaction speed, and even surpassing it, made him incredibly excited.

He couldn’t wait to realize this ambition and obtain a tool to be able to keep up with the Root.

“Alright, if you say so,” Kane shrugged. “I’ll continue by explaining the training methodology.”

“Will it require special equipment?” Rui raised an eyebrow.

The issue with the needed equipment and training definitely was something that he was worried about. Given that the Martial Union had developed training equipment and gear for basically every technique that it sold, he was worried that he would need to somehow get his hands on a ton of different equipment and devices and instruments to train in the training regimes that the Martial Union had developed.

In that case, it would make his training regime that much more cumbersome and problematic.

He would need to contact Martial Commissioner Reze and discreetly purchase the necessary training equipment, devices, and gear. It was another matter of whether Commissioner Reze would agree to engage in such a risky deal. Rui was especially worried if the training for the technique entailed a ton of different training equipment and gear. Or if it required training resources that were simply impossible to transport all the way to the Shionel Confederation.

For example, the training regimes for sensory techniques were much more demanding. It required controlled training rooms infested with all kinds of esoteric technology that muted any and all senses.

Transporting an entire training room ten thousand kilometers away for Rui’s sake was far too impractical. If that was what was necessary, Rui could forget about completing Project Forestep soon.