"I'm not in the habit of beating around the bush too much, Squire Quarrier." Senior Ceeran eyes narrowed a little as his demeanor grew more solemn. "So I will ask you directly. Is your account of the execution of the mission accurate? Did you truly, with a technique of your own creation, accurately hit the target of the mission from nearly a kilometer away?"

Rui remained silent for a moment, before nodding. "My report is the whole and complete truth. I stand by every word written in it."

The man stared at Rui for a few seconds, trying to assess how sincere Rui was being.

"Your claims are more than just a little surprising. They're frankly shocking. What you claim to accomplish shatters known and established paradigms when it comes to long-range accuracy." He explained to Rui. "If true, they are a cause for celebration. Just discovering a new path to accomplishing high degrees of accuracy is a great contribution to the Martial World. It proves that there are other paths forward for us to pursue in the field of accuracy."

"Assuming, of course, that you're telling the truth." He added. "If you aren't... You will find our implementation of the penalties of deceit in reports and such to be fierce. So, having cleared that, do you still maintain your claims?"

The air grew frostier. The mighty Martial Senior did not even attempt to exert any pressure on Rui. Just the sheer latent sense of danger that Rui felt from him due to his sharp senses alone was greater than even his most powerful Mind Mask!

Rui sighed. "Director Ceeran, I am not a fool. Why would I blatantly make up fairy tales and serve them to the Martial Union when I know I would not be able to escape its consequences? I assure you, my report is the whole and complete truth."

"For one, please address me by my Martial Artist rank if you will, rather than my position within the Martial Union. I identify with my identity as a Martial Artist more than anything else." He smiled, lightening the atmosphere a notch or two. "Secondly, I am of the personal opinion that you are sincere. My warning was more of an expression of the official stance of the Martial Union, more than anything."

"And, if I may ask, what is your stance?" Rui asked, curious.

"That you're a prodigious genius who has made an extraordinary breakthrough." Senior Ceeran's eyes lit up with greed. "Tell me everything. How does this technique work? What are the principles and mechanisms of this technique? How does it allow you to accomplish what you did?"

Rui paused for a moment, considering his reply. "This is a bit abrupt. I thought the Martial Union respected the autonomy and right to privacy of the Martial Artists, Senior Ceeran."

Senior Ceeran's enthusiasm dampened a bit as he studied Rui with a measured look. "Are you unwilling to share the development of your technique with the Martial Union?"

"I haven't really given it much thought." Rui lied. "But I am open to it, I was just a little overwhelmed."

"It is true that the Martial Union does not force its Martial Artists to divulge their techniques and Martial Art." Senior Ceeran. "We obtain their techniques through the carrot, rather than the stick."

Rui had already figured out why. While the Martial Union was, no doubt, powerful enough to bully nearly every Martial Artist and extract their secrets from them, this would be highly detrimental in the long run. The most negative consequences would involve a mass migration of Martial Artists from the Kandrian Empire to other sovereign states that were more pliable and less tyrannical.

Especially other super-nations like the Britannian Empire, the Republic of Gorteau, and the Sekigahara Confederation. These nations would more than happily accept the influx of Martial Artists, growing stronger while the Kandrian Empire and the Kandrian Martial Union both would grow weaker.

No Martial Artist would stay in an organization that proclaimed to be for Martial Artists but had no qualms about employing violence against the Martial Artist class to obtain what it wanted. This would reduce the rate at which it obtained techniques quickly and would severely weaken the foundations that the organization had worked hard to build.

There was nearly no technique that was worth officially breaking this important norm and setting a dangerous precedent that would break the trust that it had earned from Martial Artists.

Of course, Rui was not a naïve fool. He was relatively certain that as long the incentive was great enough, the Martial Union would shatter this norm without any hesitation to obtain whatever they wanted.

Like, for example, a way to significantly increase the rate at which Martial Artists emerged from the population would massively increase the number of Martial Artist population in the long run. Such a training technique would hold the strategic equivalence of a tactical intercontinental ballistic missile. Obtaining it was paramount. That was why Rui didn't dare reveal the possibility of the VOID algorithm accomplishing this to the Martial Union.

Of course, he was much less concerned about revealing his Pathfinder technique. That technique was valuable, no doubt, but it wasn't enough to get the Martial Union to take unscrupulous measures to obtain it. Especially if Rui already intended to share it in exchange for benefits.

"I'm aware," Rui nodded. "I am willing to share the Pathfinder technique with the Martial Union. However, only if the Martial Union fully appreciates the value of my Pathfinder technique, and that reflects in the remuneration and the recompense that the Martial Union is willing to trade."

"Pathfinder..." He murmured. "Interesting name, though it also sounds like a sensory technique to a certain extent."

He paused for a few moments. "No need to fret, young Squire. The Martial Union's evaluation of the value of a technique is fair and objective. We evaluate the value of a technique based on its individuality, potency, difficulty, and dissemination viability. In practice, it depends on how impactful your technique is on the Martial World."This is property © .