Rui frowned inwardly.

Then why did the Martial Master summon Rui if the verification was that simple?

He schooled his body strictly despite his confusion. The Martial Master had already demonstrated a scary amount of insight with his remarkable observation skills.

"You must be confused as to why we're even speaking in this manner if the verification was that simple," The Master remarked. "It's simple really, I came to learn about your techniques by coincidence, and happened to look into the profile of you that we created, and I have to say, I'm impressed."

He studied Rui with interest. "So young, yet so strong, so individualistic. I have never ever seen someone of your youth with a Martial Path as deep as yours."

He leaned forward. "This depth… It far surpasses anything I've ever seen from any Martial Squire ever. Th depth of your Martial Art given your age, is profound!"

Rui recalled Headmaster Aronian remarking the exact same thing many years ago when he was still a Martial Apprentice.

Could it be that Martial Masters in general were able to gain an immense amount of information from any and everything with just a simple glance?

He didn't know, but that only made him more nervous.

The air grew more tense as Rui grew deeply uncomfortable under the penetrative eyes of the Martial Master. It appeared that he was quite interested in whatever about Rui's Martial Path.

Rui was caught a little off-guard. He wasn't entirely sure yet whether this was a positive or a negative thing. It was a shame that he couldn't just get up and excuse himself from the place. But alas, what happened had already happened.

For now, he remained silent. He had already asked, and the Master had already replied. Right now it seemed that he was quite content simply observing Rui and learning more about him that way.

He grew more moved by the second, his eyes widening with amazement. He didn't make any effort to hide his emotions.

Rui winced as waves of pressure pressed onto him, making his head ache painfully. He had already grown accustomed to Senior level pressure, able to handle it with no pressure. But the pressure that the Master exerted on Rui was far harder to resist.

In fact, if not for the fact that his mind had undergone two rounds of rapid growth, and his Martial Path was quite deep, as the Master pointed out, there was a good chance that Rui would have experienced far more negative effects from the pressure that the Martial Master's emotions and exerted on Rui.

Rui felt even more uncomfortable as the man eyed him from top to bottom. It took him a while before he finally looked Rui in the eye.

"I have never seen someone like you," The Master spoke with a more serious tone. "The hidden power that you lock behind that mask, the depth of your Martial Path, the sheer amount of individuality in your techniques, that too merely the ones that you have chosen to supply to us. It's frankly unheard of."

His eyes narrowed.

Rui on the other hand gritted his teeth.

A new wave of pressure washed over him, as though it compelled him to answer that very question.

"What is your Martial Path, son?" The man asked straightforwardly.

Any ordinary Martial Squire would have wholeheartedly responded with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

But not Rui.

He shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot divulge that."

Normally, he would have considered lying. Perhaps he could lie that his Martial Path was centered around a dynamic Martial Body, but he ultimately decided against that.

This Martial Master had proven to be an extremely sharp individual. Lying to him was probably impossible for Rui as he was now. He would most likely instantly see through any shallow lie that Rui cooked up while also proving to be a pain in the ass once he learned that Rui had lied to him.

"I see. That's a shame, but no matter," He shook his head with a resigned smile, much to Rui's surprise. It appeared that he was gracious enough to acknowledge and accept Rui's unwillingness to divulge too many details about himself. "Those were interesting details that I just discovered. I did wish to talk to you about something else entirely, though these new insights I have made are relevant to what I called you here for."

"And what exactly would that be for, sir?" Rui asked with curiosity.

"You have registered for the Martial Contest, haven't you?" The Martial Master asked.

Rui narrowed his eyes. "That's right."

"I believe you are also interested in obtaining a high-grade esoteric detoxifying agent, and the surrounding medical treatments, correct?" The man asked.

Rui was not shocked that the man had access to this information. After all, he managed the entire town, which meant he could access any and all information within it, including the few interactions that the Church had had with him. That would explain how he knew what Rui was after.

"If I had to hazard a guess, you intended to partake in the Martial Contest in order to win enough times to gain enough of a favor from the church to redeem that potion and that treatment, correct?" The Martial Master asked.

"…Yes," Rui sighed. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

He wasn't surprised that the Martial Master had gone as far as to figure even this out.

"Then I have a proposal for you," The Martial Master smiled. "Allow me to become your patron, and in turn, I will lower the threshold of success you need to accomplish in order to get your hands on the medical treatments that you need."

Rui frowned.

That was not what he expected. It appeared that the Martial Master found Rui worth bargaining a seemingly mutually beneficial deal with. Rui lacked too much context to even understand the true meaning of what the man was saying. What he did know was that he was interested in pursuing a working relationship with Rui.