The Martial Unity

Ria felt strange moving in the exo-Martial suit. It was quite different from virtually any other exo-Martial suit she had ever tried. Other exo-Martial suits she had tried were simpler and less robust. They were also less equipped with all that many technological systems in the first place. VMMM

The door to a testing facility opened as she spotted a blur whizzing through the air at high speed. Runark laughed as he sprinted across the room and across the air, trying out the speed mode of the EvoArmor exo-Martial suit. He smoothly whizzed through the air as his silver hair fluttered, his body easily cutting through the air as he experienced less drag than he normally would.

WHOOSH

He paused with a grin when he saw Ria enter the facility. “Ria! Looks like you made a choice too, huh?”

He slowly sky-walked down to her as he studied her bluish silver suit with a curious expression. “Huh, that looks… odd.”

“It’s the Water Integument exo-Martial suit,” Ria replied with a hint of enthusiasm in her voice. “It’s similar to yours, but it has even more functional utility. It’s made up of an esoteric substance called Quick Water, apparently.”

Runark’s eyes lit up at the name of the exo-Martial suit. He already understood what possessed her to choose this suit, because even he could see where the inspiration for this came from. She simply averted her eyes as he directed an amused knowing look. “Well, why don’t you try it out?” Runark sky-walked high up again.

She gazed at her hands before taking off into the air, paddling against the air to hover as she tried connecting with the suit. Most exo-Martial suits had neural interface technology installed in them, allowing them to connect with the user’s nervous system to allow them to directly control it. She willed the shape of the suit to change a little at her hands, trying to make it sharper to use it for an impaling jab. Both Ria and Runark’s eyes widened with amazement as the liquid suit at her hands reshaped itself to form a mean spike that was razor sharp.

Runark gulped. “…That’s crazy. I’ve never seen such a versatile exo-Martial suit. Be careful with that.”

“Yeah…” Ria examined the spike. “I wonder if…”

She willed it to change shape, having it take on the shape of a hammer, then a sword, then a larger fist that molded around her fist. “…It can take any shape that I want it to.”

It could also take any property that she wanted to, apparently. She closed her eyes, willing it to become hard.

VMMM

It shifted from a smooth flowing liquid across her body into becoming an unyieldingly hard surface. “Let’s put it to the test,” Runark hardened his EvoArmor before swinging at her abdomen with heavy force.

BANG!!!

A loud sound emerged in the room as the EvoArmor struck the Water Integument suit. “Ow!” Runark winced as he pulled his hand back, gazing at his suit. “I can feel the pain because the nerves of the suit are connected to my nervous system, but it’s otherwise only a little bruised. But your suit…”

He turned towards her with an amazed expression. “…It didn’t so much as even budge. That’s crazy!”

Ria smiled with amazement. “Let’s go another round, I want to test it out.”

“Sure thing! I’m not gonna lose this time!” Runark grinned.

“Hah, you’re going to lose like every time!”

The two of them rushed at each other, exchanging a series of blows at each other, gaining greater familiarity with the exo-Martial suits that they had chosen. Their suits were similar, centered around adaptive evolution in one way or another, so there were commonalities. Runark’s suit was simply easier to wield and was more helpful, while Ria’s combat suit had a higher ceiling but was more difficult.

An ordinary Martial Artist would require years before she could gain mastery over it. But not Ria.

Very rapidly, she absorbed the experience from practicing with the exo-Martial and made it her own. She grew more and more proficient at using the suit at a rate that stunned even the assistants in the testing facility.

“I wonder if I can…” Her amber eyes lit up as she came up with an idea. From the back side of her suit emerged two appendages that spread far and wide, growing thinner with each passing moment.

“Is that…” One of the assistants in the facility murmured with a stunned expression. “Are those wings?”

BOOOM!!!

“GAH!” Runark was sent flying as Ria socked him with a flying punch, propelled by her newly created pair of wings. She laughed at his expense, flapping her wings as if she had grown up with them, as if they had already been a part of her anatomy.

“Ugh…” Runark groaned as he got up, staring at her in amazement. “How did you master creating wings from that suit just like that?”

Ria smirked at him smugly. “What can I say? I’m just that good.”

Her smugness irked him, even if he found it cute. But what truly stunned him was how the fact that she was comfortable had her suit flap wing-like appendages like they were nothing.

He knew that mastering wings was something that took time, based on the rare cases of a Martial Artist having such a thing. And based on the fact that therianthropes also needed time to get used to them.

But as he watched her dashing around the room with her wings smoothly, he was reminded of the gulf in talent between them. “Why the long face?” She paused. “You want to get a Water Integument too? There’s no need to worry because Aunt Arastia will take care of all of the bills.”

“I actually prefer this suit, it’s better suited for me, all this choice…” He gestured at her shapeshifting exo-Martial suit. “…is too much for a Martial Artist like me. My combat style is simpler.”

“Good, then let’s get going,” Ria smirked. “I can’t wait to see Aunt Arastia’s face when she sees the bill for these. Hehehe…”