The Martial Unity

He had come here to challenge himself. Not toss himself into the jaws of death.

Literally.

He had gained plenty of stimulation and experience against bizarre and strange monsters under bizarre and strange circumstances. He had gained an epiphany about the nature of his Martial Art and its relationship with him.

He felt much stronger than he was when he first arrived at the Shionel Confederation.

That was the whole point of challenging himself, it was to take him to high heights. He knew that there were very few things that made a person progress as well as stakes did. When he thrust himself into the dungeon, he was putting himself on the line, and he was putting his friend on the line as well, whom he dragged around.

It had definitely helped him achieve his goal even as it was now, but he definitely intended to finish the objective of clearing the dungeon.

He just wasn't sure if he ought to throw himself at the Root.

That was a suicide mission as he currently was. Was it really worth it to stick to his goal even if it almost certainly would cost him his life when the point of the goal had been accomplished?

('Then again, does a goal really mean much if I'm willing to break it so easily?') Rui clenched his fist. ('Can I really pursue my Martial Path and develop my Martial Art to the higher Realms with such a flimsy willpower and determination?')

He instinctively felt the answer was no.

('Why do I pursue my Martial Path?') A spontaneous question bloomed into his mind, and the answer popped into his head just as quickly. ('Project Water. My greatest dream and ambition.')

His ambition of developing a Martial Art that embodied the concept of Adaptive Evolution that Bruce Lee had alluded to in his time. At a time when such a school of thought did not even exist, his idol Bruce Lee had come across the profound truth and spread it to the world, changing the perceptions of martial arts forever.

Another question immediately presented itself to him.

('Am I willing to die for my dream? For my Martial Path? For Project Water?')

This time, there was no hesitation.

He didn't even need to voice the answer.

His fist clenched as he remembered the final days of his previous life. The medical staff had given up on him for he always refused to follow their strong recommendations of retiring and not straining himself any further.

He had pushed himself closer to death, in a desperate attempt to realize his dream until his body literally collapsed, unable to support his determination, unable to allow him to fulfill his dream, before eventually succumbing to death.

('Am I willing to die for my dream, was it?') His eyes narrowed. ('I did it once, and you sure as hell bet I'm willing to do it again.')

At that moment he had inadvertently made up his mind.

He did not think that a coward who broke his commitments to himself out of fear of death could realize such a lofty ambition. He did not think that such a person could reach higher Realms.

He did not want to be such a person if that was the case.

('Besides, I'd feel too lame if I gave so easily,') Rui snorted, amused. ('I may not be as daring and insane as the likes of Nel, but I'm not a pussy either.')

He immediately began considering several things. The difficulty. The complications. The actual objective, specifically.

('Well, for one, I don't even know if the Root will attack me if I start grabbing the unrefined esoteric ore deposits,') Rui realized, amused.

What if he did end up exploring the Root floor, and the Root just ignored him as he went about his business mining the mine?

In that case, it would mean the floor was completely harmless.

He would feel quite silly having grown all serious about something so harmless.

However, he did not think that this was likely. It was quite likely that the Root would consume anything that moved if it shared even a remote relation to the tree on the sixteenth floor with the tree.

In that case, the difficulty was probably extremely high.

Rui recalled the speed at which the roots lashed forward and snatched away giant boulders faster than Rui could even perceive with his Riemannian Echo.

('It's absurdly fast,') Rui sighed.

And absurdly powerful as well. It would kill him on the spot, all before he could even realize it. He was outclassed in speed and power.

Although he still didn't think the Root matched up to the sheer titanic demonstrations f power that Senior Ceeran displayed that day on Vilun Island, it was still not something a Squire-level force ought to be able to handle.

('Still, that isn't enough to stop me,') Rui's eyes lit up with interest and eagerness and several ideas, and courses of action popped into his.

All of them, however, acknowledge one thing. ('I'm too weak as I'm right now.')

There was no conceivable plan of action that he could even fathom when his ability to avoid death was so weak. He was simply too weak as a grade-six Martial Squire to resist such a level of power with his existing capabilities.

That meant only one thing.

('I need to get stronger,') Rui mused. ('It's time for training arc.')

He joked as he felt a great deal of clarity clearing the fog that had covered his mind since the discovery of the Root at the bottom of the Shionel Dungeon.

('I need to train and get stronger,') His eyes narrowed. ('Strong enough to take down that damn thing and clear the dungeon like I set out to do so in the first place.')

He felt more excited than he had in a while. He had come to realize in hindsight that he had grown bored of the Shionel Dungeon in recent times. He had become so good at it that it was no longer as fun as it was.

Things were about to change now, however.