The Martial Unity

Energy could neither be created nor destroyed.

An important law of the universe.

A law that the craftsman had butchered in the most flagrant and disrespectful manner one could possibly imagine. Of course, Rui didn’t respect the law much himself either when in battle, but to simply create out of nothing, that was not something that Rui was capable of either.

”…Now this is a feat worthy of a Transcendent,” Rui grinned with amazement. ”If you can create even invintium out of thin air, then my friend, you are a priceless asset to humanity.”

Rui had been glad that he had indulged the elder sage in his many attempts to create an armor worthy of him. It had been worth it, even if Rui had never earnestly sought such an armor. He knew that this was how dwarves challenged themselves, and if it helped human civilization get another Transcendent eventually, then it was entirely worth it.

Dwight, on the other hand, felt more fulfilled as a craftsman, more motivated as a creator, than he had ever been in his entire life. He was the next Transcendent of human civilization.

”Try creating this out of thin air,” Rui extracted a drop of exotic pluripotent matter from his primordial core. ”Let’s see how well you do it.”

The dwarf was very familiar with the material, of course. It was beloved by the dwarves, and they referred to it as Hephaestus’s Blood. He closed his eyes, concentrating as he applied his Creationverse to the information dimension.

VMMM

Rui’s expression lit up as a puddle of primordial seed emerged out of nowhere from thin air, falling to the ground, before shifting its nature to match the esoteric granite that the floor was made up of. ”This… this is game-changing.”

The dwarf continued pouring it, flooding the vast showroom with a lake of esoteric pluripotent exotic matter, much to Rui’s delight.

If the dwarf could create exotic pluripotent matter spontaneously like that, then he could create any material that humans needed. Including Transcendent-grade esoteric matter. Critical materials that humans were in short supply of, materials that were priceless because of the extraordinary effects they could produce- they could have the elder sage craft it with his Creationverse. It would completely change the strategic outlook of the war.

”Oof…” the elder sage seemed a little tired. ”That was harder than invintium.”

”Must be because of the information burden,” Rui remarked. ”It might be that more information-dense esoterics are harder for you. For the same reason that the Armor of Flowing Wisdom is harder for me to apply my Martialverse to.”

That hypothesis stood up to observation. It made the Creationverse less absurd in its power, but still priceless to human civilization.

For instance, Rui was certain that the dwarf could craft manifold trees. All he needed was the information about the trees, which they had access to, and he would be able to use his Creationverse to produce them. It wouldn’t be easy for the dwarf, based on how much exertion was needed for a puddle of esoteric matter, but he had only just broken through to Transcendence, so Rui knew for a fact that it would become much easier as he got used to it and got more efficient with his power.

WHOOSH…

His attention was drawn to the real world as the dwarf began fading. ”Woah there, quick, transfer your consciousness to the clone before you disappear.”

Dwight immediately walked up to the clone that Rui had created for him, pressing his hand against his clone.

Using his Creationverse, he created his mind within the clone before destroying his own.

WHOOSH…

Then, he disappeared.

Rui stared at the clone with an uncertain expression. If the man had made even one mistake, then it would all be a bust. It would truly tragic if the second Transcendent of human civilization was out of commission because of a single error. Rui wouldn’t even be able to fix it for him since he didn’t have a perfect copy of the dwarf’s mind.

Thankfully, the clone opened its eyes a minute later. ”…What a strange sensation. I feel identical, but I know I’m a different copy of the same identity.”

He gazed at his hands, opening and closing them. ”You were right; the exhaustion of the Creationverse carries over. It’s a metaphysical stamina. I can use my Creationverse, but it feels like trying to run after already having exhausted yourself.”

”Don’t push it for now,” Rui remarked. ”Trust me, you’ll get way more efficient at using your Verse over time. Focus on doing more with less.”

That was the first true lesson that Rui had learned about the Transcendent Realm in his battle with Divine Mother o-o-o-o. And this was despite having spent thirteen years with the Martialverse.

”Mmm… It’s frustrating, but very well. I’ll hold back for now,” Dwight nodded, turning back to Rui. ”I’m grateful to you, Rui. Without you, I would not have reached the Transcendent Realm. I will always be in your debt.”

The dwarf’s sincerity could be felt. He genuinely appreciated Rui serving as the challenge that propelled him to the Transcendent Realm. If not for Rui, how many years would it have taken for him to reach the Transcendent? Probably decades, if not centuries. This wasn’t even considering Rui’s model of Transcendence that made the Realm much more understandable and within reach.

”You don’t need to feel indebted; you did give me this really cool armor for free,” Rui glanced at the Armor of Flowing Wisdom he was still wearing, admiring the fractal, probabilistic geometries across the surface of the armor.

Yet, the dwarf scowled at the armor. ”Bah! What a flawed product! Give that back, I can’t have the Emperor of Water wear such an inferior product!”

”Eh, no, I’m fine with this.”

”I said give it back!”

”Seriously, this is—”

”It’s garbage! I’ll craft you a better one right here and now!”

In the end, the passionate dwarf got his way, committed to producing better armor for Rui, who simply resigned to Dwight’s determination.