The Martial Unity

The hunting class of missions sounded just fine for the Pathfinder technique, but the shadow class of missions sounded even better.

(‘The problem is that these classes of missions have a higher barrier of entry than other classes of missions.’) Rui noted.

For most other classes, having a few extra techniques of a certain kind was good enough to be more or less eligible to undertake missions of those classes. However, the same could not be said for the shadow class of missions. It was most divergent from standard combat, and thus, it wasn’t as simple for Martial Artists to get into this field.

One needed a foundation in stealth, sensory capabilities, and assassination capabilities to enter this field.

(‘Thankfully, I should be just barely passable.’) Rui noted.

While he didn’t have stealth, he had the ability to disguise himself as a normal human being even to the senses of other Martial Artists. This gave him the ability to infiltrate places under the guise of being a normal human, it wasn’t something an overwhelming majority of Martial Squires could do. Even people who had mastered the Mind Mask technique couldn’t use it as well as Rui because their imaginations weren’t as powerful as he was.

He had pretty good sensory abilities thanks to his three sensory techniques. Primordial instinct was mainly a combat-oriented sensory technique whereas the rest of his sensory techniques were broadly applicable and had a wider range.

As for assassination, he certainly did have the tool to do so with his newly developed Pathfinder. Furthermore, with how far he could assassinate targets, he didn’t particularly need stealth capabilities. Stealth was more relevant when he needed to be in the vicinity of his target or within a surveilled area.

He went to the shadow class of missions, having chosen to take a mission from there.

(‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’m taking a shadow class mission.’) Rui mused.

It couldn’t be helped; the high barrier of entry prevented him from entering this field when he was a Martial Apprentice. Furthermore, assassinations didn’t guarantee having to engage in combat against Martial Artists of the same class, thus Rui, who had always been in pursuit of real combat experience, never felt driven to go for this particular class of missions.

He sauntered across as he skimmed through the many mission bills that were placed there, before running into something that caught his eye.

[Shadow class mission: Assassination mission.

Client: Fauche Viril

Target of assassination: Hergusen Meine

Target location: Republic of Menrea

Difficulty grade: 4

Remuneration: 7000 Martial credits.

Mission summary: The target is one of the directors of the board of directors that the client is the vice president of. The target is guarded by two low-grade bodyguard Martial Squires at all times, estimated to be adept sensors and defensive Martial Artists. The client has special conditions for the assassination.]

“Interesting,” Rui murmured. “Two defensive Martial Squires with sensory capabilities is actually an excellent opportunity to try out Pathfinder in the field. Furthermore, it will help me gain some credibility as a Martial Artist entering the Shadow class of missions for the first time once I succeed.”

Rui was not unaware that even if he was truly capable of some incredible feats, it was difficult to gain recognition for those feats right off the bat. Ultimately, the best proof of his ability to assassinate in the field was a good track record, and nothing could truly replace a good track record. He needed to start from scratch and build up a good reputation as he piled up achievement after achievement.

Only then would he truly be able to get his hands on missions and commissions that truly tested his limits that effectively no other Martial Squire could possibly complete?

(‘This is a good start.’) Rui nodded.

He plucked the mission bill out of the slot as he headed over to the registration counter.

“Excuse me, I’d like to accept this mission please.” Rui offered her the mission bill along with his Martial license.

“One moment please.” The staff member took both of them before tapping on her terminal.

“I’m afraid the client has applied for a conditional-approval commission; he would like to meet with the Martial Artist who seeks to accept the commission before allowing them to accept it.” The staff member smiled apologetically. “I’m afraid you can only accept this mission after the approval of the client.”

Rui frowned. “That’s a thing? I didn’t know clients could do that.”

“It costs an extra fee as it delays the rate of completion of missions, hence clients of missions in the Apprentice Realm generally don’t apply for them, however, this is not an uncommon sight for many Squire-level missions.” The staff member informed him.

“I see…”

Rui had only completed four Squire-level missions, he didn’t have much experience with dealing with Squire-level missions. However, he could see how clients who were wealthy enough to afford Squire-level missions on a regular cared about the Martial Artist fulfilling their commissions that they did the fee needed to obtain that benefit.

“Alright then,” Rui nodded. “I don’t mind meeting with the client. How does this normally work?”

“The client applies and pays for a timeframe after a Martial Artist seeks to accept a commission before which they approve of the Martial Artist or reject them.” The staff member explained. “The client of the mission you’ve applied for has set a time limit of twenty-four hours. They will most likely contact you privately, or they can also choose to immediately accept or reject you based on the information available in your alias profile.”

“I see…” Rui murmured. “So I just have to sit doing nothing until the client chooses to accept or reject me?”

“That’s correct, if the Martial Artist does choose to reject you, then half of the fee paid for the conditional-approval contract will be deposited in your account to compensate for the loss of time.”

It seemed that the Martial Union did understand that Martial Artists didn’t enjoy having their time wasted. Even if Rui wasted time only to be rejected, at the very least he would earn money doing so.