The Martial Unity

There was only one issue.

(‘Testing these solutions will require me to master and modify some techniques; new and old.’) Rui shook his head with resignation.

It couldn’t be helped. The originality of Project Sniper came from its revolutionary concept of relying on a data science approach to improve aim and accuracy instead of pure skill. However, that didn’t necessarily mean that every ounce of the technique across all aspects was completely original and something Rui had developed from scratch.

For example, Project Sniper required a projectile firing mechanism to fire projectiles of some sort from a long distance away. However, Rui was not going to create from scratch a brand-new projectile-firing mechanism that the Martial world has never ever seen before. He was going to look at existing super long-range offensive techniques and choose one that was most fit for his needs. Once he mastered said technique, he intended to modify the projectile firing mechanism of the technique to suit Project Sniper.

He had no intention of re-inventing the wheel, he was only going to modify existing wheels to suit his needs.

He also needed to master a technique that gave him much more thorough long-range sensory capabilities. After all, how could he possibly snipe a target away from a great distance away if he could not sense them from a great distance away?

Of course, he did have Seismic Mapping, but Seismic Mapping did not have the detail and precision he was looking for. Furthermore, its accuracy grew worse the further above the ground any given object or person was. Furthermore, it had grown a bit obsolete in the Squire Realm because Martial Squires did not need to touch the ground thanks to Sky Walking.

He intended to pick up an aerial sensory technique that would allow him to accurately evaluate atmospheric conditions which he could use to process and make more objective deductions and conclusions. He could only proceed with the rest of the development of the technique after he obtained the necessary sensory prowess needed. After all, any question of whether he could possibly snip people accurately from a great distance away came was meaningless if he could not even perceive his targets properly.

“I can purchase the technique and begin mastering them when I go to the Martial Union to verify my compatibility and tolerance for the poisons I hope to master.” Rui nodded. Until that happened, no further progress with the Severer and Sniper Projects could be made.

That left only one project; Project Bounce.

He sighed. This project was the least developed, even on a conceptual level. While he had a somewhat clear idea of how to go about the other two projects, Project Bounce was more difficult.

“Converting incoming attacks into kinetic energy of my own body is not the most difficult part, even if it is difficult. But it’s definitely plausible. On the other hand, getting rid of that kinetic energy on the spot instantaneously and completely is quite difficult, I’m not sure how to even go about that.” He sighed.

Well, he intended to tackle the first part with suited techniques while he brainstormed a way to handle the second part. He had already given the matter some thought but he could not think of a realistic way to do so at the moment.

Rui shook his head, he would cross that bridge when he came across it, he was not going to unnecessarily waste too much time when it was clear that he simply couldn’t come up with a solution at the moment.

“Alright, no time to waste.” Rui immediately left the Orphanage and headed straight to the Martial Union, arriving within five minutes. He quickly headed towards the Martial support counter.

“Excuse me.”

“How may I help you?” The staff member smiled.

“I wish to book poison compatibility tests for these poison-oriented Martial Art techniques.” Rui handed her a list with the names of the poisons.

“This… will take a while to arrange, please wait while we arrange the tests you seek.” She informed him.

“I also wish to visit the Squire-level library,” Rui explained. “Please do inform me through the accounter when the process is done.”

“Alright, we will be sure to do that.”

He immediately headed to the Squire-level library while the Martial Union arranged the tests he was looking for.

“Alrighty then,” Rui murmured once he reached. “Where to begin?”

He intended on purchasing a suitable long-range technique, a wide-range aerial sensory technique, a technique that allowed him to intercept attacks elastically if such a thing existed.

He sauntered over to the offense-oriented section of the library, walking over to the long-range portion. Thankfully, the techniques in the library were organized very systematically, making it rather simple and easy to find any particular kind of technique that one was looking for.

He skimmed through them as he happened across several interesting techniques.

[Fireball]

This technique was a head-oriented long-range technique that ignited the air through intense pressure while exhaling, causing one to blow out fire.

Rui had seen this technique before, once in the Martial Contest. One of the representatives was a Martial Apprentice with a heat-oriented Martial Art. Her dangerous heat-based techniques had made her a force to be reckoned with.

(‘This won’t work for my purposes, however.’) He shook his head.

The requirements he had for his sniping technique was the fact that it needed to be precise and discrete, while also being able to sustain itself over great distances. This technique did the exact opposite. The Fireball technique was not precise or discrete, it affected a broader area before the user, and it most certainly did not have the kind of range that Rui was looking for. While it was an extremely iconic attack across all of fiction, it was not something that Rui could even consider purchasing for the Sniper Project.

He ran across a very familiar technique.

[Tempestual Ripple]

“Hmm…” Rui pondered whether this old technique of his would work or not.