The Martial Unity

Ria wasn’t present for the fitting process, but by the time he returned, he was covered in what felt like an extra layer of skin and extra muscle, making him look more muscular than he normally did. Thankfully, the suit wasn’t translucent after he donned it. It would be very awkward to travel with him otherwise.

“This…” he gazed at his hands with amazement. “This feels incredible.”

“The nervous system of the biosuit connects with your nervous system, allowing you to feel your environment extremely well. Its sensory input will allow you to detect any kind of danger much better,” the employee informed him as he moved around it. “It has several modes and functions. I can take you to a testing facility to help you try them out and get used to some of the more advanced functionality. It does operate with standard protocols of any exosuit as well, of course.”

Because of their complexity, there were industry standards and norms that were put in place, allowing pathwalkers to be able to move between exosuits with greater ease than they otherwise would.

Runark nodded, growing ever more comfortable with how empowering the suit felt. The EvoArmor was made up of normal epithelial tissue and general flesh, but it was highly durable. It used elastic tissue biotechnology to make every impact more bouncy and much more tolerable than it otherwise would be, greatly contributing to his durability, which was one of his shortcomings, as Arastia had pointed out.

He turned towards Ria. “I’ll be back soon. You don’t have to wait for me to make your choice.”

She nodded. “Have fun.”

She watched him walk away as Runark was taken to a testing facility by another employee where he could try out the suit safely. Her enthusiastic eyes returned to the display of suits before her with great eagerness. All of them had a truly immense appeal before them visually and in the specs that were listed out before her.

“Is there anything particular that you are looking for, madam?” The voice of the employee drew her attention.

“I’m not too sure, I’ve only ever worked at industrial exo-Martial suits,” she replied uncertainly. “If you could tell me your Martial Path, I could be of help. I have experience matching suits to Martial Artists.”

She hesitated at those words. She knew that if she revealed her true Martial Path, her identity would be revealed, for it was not a secret. She was one of the most extraordinary Martial Artists in the world, after all. “Dynamic Combat,” she lied, offering her standard answer. It was categorically the closest thing to her Martial Path that she could possibly get.

“My, interesting. For more balanced and all-rounder Martial Paths, I would recommend our flagship series of the Martialite series,” she gestured to a series of ex-Martial suits elevated above the others. “These are the quintessential Martial suits, able to amplify any and all Martial function.”

“Hmmm…” Ria studied the series with a more disinterested expression. They were amazing, of course. But they didn’t seem to resonate with her all that much. “Anything else?”

She swept her gaze across the remaining exo-Martial suits on display until her eyes rested on one that caught her attention.

It was bluish silver from top to bottom with every little volume.

“What’s that one?” She asked with curiosity. “That is one of our cutting-edge models, actually,” the employee replied with a proud expression. “We called it the Water Integument. It is actually the creation of a master dwarf inspired by the philosophy of a very special individual.”

She turned towards Ria knowingly.

“The Emperor of Water.”

Ria’s eyes stirred at those words as she turned towards the suit with a more intense gaze. “By philosophy, you mean…”

“The philosophy of Water, of course, is what the Emperor of Water has imparted to the world as a part of his profound wisdom,” the employee remarked with a sigh of great admiration. “To be water. To be formless, shapeless, able to take the shape most suited to its environment. To be able to change. That is the inspiration that has led to the development of this model. You see, this exo-Martial suit can change its shape, allowing the user to warp and mold it however the user wants. It is made up of an esoteric substance known as Quick Water, but more formally known as a lepton-bose condensate. It’s a superfluid armor; thus, it transmits energy with perfect efficiency, and its impact distribution system is flawless. The information system of this particular armor is made up of a quantum entanglement network that allows the user to change its volume and shape however the user deems, embodying the philosophy of Water to the fullest.”

She turned towards Ria, noticing that her customer had grown more allured by the extravagantly high-end model. “It’s powered by an antimatter core, making it very volumetrically efficient. And once the user understands how to manipulate the quantum field of the lepton-bose condensate, the user can freely alter its properties. Just like water, and just like the Emperor of Water, this model is truly limitless.”

“It’s like a more advanced version of the EvoArmor Model,” she realized. “It can do far more than that static armor,” she huffed lightly. “That armor has a fixed anatomy, but this armor can truly be what you want it to be.”

Ria’s amber eyes lit up with amazement. “I’ll take it!”

The employee smirked. “Very well, young miss.”

She took the teenager with her to the fitting room as they rapidly fitted her in the Water Integument exo-Martial suit. Ria grew excited as she felt the strange bluish-silver liquidy armor covering her bare body, making her feel like she was submerging in a warm pool of water. It covered every inch of her body bit by bit before eventually coalescing around her body.

“The fitting is completed,” an assistant informed her, overseeing the process. “Now, you may conduct some tests and acclimatize yourself to it.”