It wasn't much, but it was enough.
"Strong..." Rui uttered, grinning with raised eyebrows. His power was just a notch below Fae, his speed was a notch below Kane and his durability was a notch below Dalen.
('He's this strong without even having mastered any Apprentice-level techniques.') Rui was shocked. His physical body possessed such high natural attributes that it was like he was using Apprentice-level techniques permanently.
Rui realized he probably hadn't spent much time in the physical foundation stage at all. His physicals were as solid as anyone could ever hope they would be. He likely spent a lot of time in the Exploration Stage looking for his Martial Path.
Rui wasn't sure he could beat him. He could try to compare his evaluation of himself, but frankly, he didn't believe anyone's evaluation of themselves could be trusted when the answer wasn't obvious.
He glanced back at Nel's retreating form before getting up and walking away. The fight was over, he might as well go observe other fighters.
Just as Rui was about head to Kane's fight, a voice beckoned him;
"Apprentice Quarrier." A staff member called out to him. "Your first fight has been scheduled. Please come this way."
Rui did his best to contain his smirk, as he followed the staff as they guided him to his first fight. Rui glanced at his opponent once they reached the sparring ring.
('Gale Minskow.') He mused with a raised eyebrow.
Gale was the oldest Martial Apprentice of the Academy, and had spent one of the longest periods training in the Academy. He was a senior Martial Apprentice that everybody knew.
He was also one of the strongest Martial Apprentices before Rui's batch had joined the Academy. There was no doubt that he was in the upper echelons of the Martial Apprentices of the Academy.
"Rui Quarrier." He said addressed Rui once he had gotten onto the ring. "Let me give you a piece of advice. Resign now and you won't suffer much pain."
He was also very arrogant. His sense of superiority came from the fact that he had been in the Martial Apprentice Realm for far longer than Rui had. Although Rui's meteoric growth was well-known in the Martial Academy, he believed Rui was far too young and immature to challenge him.
"Your talent has earned my admiration and envy." Gale said solemnly. "But unfortunately, you are still far too young to challenge me. Perhaps if you had another two years. No no, if you had another three years would be able to beat me as I am right now. But currently I am certainly destined to be the representative of our Academy. So therefore I strongly advise you to-"
"Shut up."
Gale froze instinctively.
His eyes widened as he looked into Rui's eyes.
And they looked back into his.
They were pitch-black, sucking the very light out of the world greedily.
He felt naked.
Transparent.
Invisible.
They weren't looking at him.
No.
They were looking far beyond him.
A stone. A stepping stone. That was all he was reduced to.
All his years of dedication, discipline and perseverance. A stepping stone in the Martial Path of Rui Quarrier.
"Take your stances!" The supervisor broke Gale out of his reverie.
"Y-You..." Gale stuttered.
In just a few moments.
With just a few words.
With nothing but his gaze, Rui had crushed his confidence. Gale gritted his teeth as he felt boundless weight pressing down on him from Rui's singular concentration.
"Just how strong are you?"
Gale didn't understand. What separated him from the boy before him? Why wasn't he also... special?
"How strong am I?" Rui echoed softly, as the gentlest of smiles arose from his mouth as he pondered for a moment.
"Well, hopefully a little less weak than I used to be."
There wasn't a shred of arrogance in his voice. Only sincere earnesty. Gale could feel it. He truly believed every single one of those words.
Had one stared at those words written on a piece of paper, one would conclude they were ordinary.
Yet, they struck Gale harder than any attack from Rui ever could.
One moment, Rui had driven his mind into turmoil.
And yet, the very next moment Rui pulled him out of it.
A little less weak than he used to be.
Gale felt a sense of peace he hadn't experienced in a long time. He had long grown insecure about his paltry growth rate compared to his peers, most of whom had surpassed him by leaps and bounds. He had always wondered why he was weak, why he had to struggle for six years to obtain what other had in less than two. The arrogance and ego he projected were merely to hide this vulnerability in his psyche.
Yet here came this boy who shattered it in an instant.
"Yes... I see." He adopted his stance.
A little less weak than he used to be.
"That's right. I hope I'm a little less weak than I used to be too!"
It didn't matter if he was slower than his peers. It didn't matter if they raced ahead while he traversed forward step-by-step. Nothing mattered.
Not as long as he kept pushing forward. Not as long as he continued growing less and less weak than he used to be, to the best of his ability.
If this young man who raced down his Martial Path faster than everybody else could abandon sight of everybody else's Path and experience genuine satisfaction at being less weak than he used to be.
Then so could Gale.
('Yes, I can.')
In that very moment, after what felt like an eternity, he felt he had gotten stronger. Breaking past a shackle he didn't even know was chaining him down!
He exhaled, opening his eyes to meet Rui's, shining with gratitude.
Rui's head tilted slightly, intrigued at the change in his demeanor. "Well then, let's both continue growing less and less weak than we used to be." He said, chuckling.
The two solidified their stances, waiting for the fight to commence.
"Begin!" The supervisor commenced the fight.
WHOOSH
The two of them dashed towards each other.
The fight had begun.
