Rui returned to the Kandrian Empire in the span of few hours. He didn't feel the urge to travel back too quickly. The scenery was unique and beautiful. The fauna and flora were different from Earth thus it gave an exotic and alien feel to someone like Rui.
Eventually, he reached the Kandrian Empire, it took him a few more hours to eventually reach the Mantian Region and finally, the Town of Hajin.
"Ahhhh..." Rui sighed comfortably as he took in the cool weather. "There's no place like home!"
He immediately headed back to the Martial Academy. Swiftly completing the annoying post-mission protocols before heading to his dorm.
He took his time as he relaxed a hot water tub, looking into what he'd missed.
"Oh?" His eyes lit up. "Nartha got back to me."
The next Martial Games was going to be held at the DiViliers Hall, where it was held the very first time had attended it.
He couldn't wait. The Martial Games would allow him to test the pattern recognition system of the VOID algorithm against diverse set of Martial Art.
Several days passed as Rui simply sparred with his friends to pass time, and the day had finally come. This time, Nartha had finally resigned to his request and allowed him to wear a normal sparring garb.
"Ready?" She asked him.
"Absolutely." he replied.
"Still not willing to take that mask off?" She probed.
"Absolutely not." He replied.
She shrugged, sighing. It was worth a try.
"It's been quite some time since you last participated." She told him. "And the grade on your profile has gone from eight to ten." She said with raised eyebrows. "Gotten stronger this quickly?"
"Just a bit." He said cryptically.
Soon they arrived at the resplendent DiVilliers Hall. Rui got off the carriage first, as he escorted Nartha down. They were surrounded by guests and their fighters, and all of them recognized Rui's mask.
"Lady Nartha." The chairman of the Gregolion Company told her. "I see your champion has returned. Today's Martial Games are going to be most interesting haha!"
"Indeed, I'm looking forward to him whipping up a storm." Another said.
"Apprentice Falken, I can see you've grown stronger." The matriarch of a small Martial Family greeted him.
Watching all these elite members of society express goodwill to him made him realize that he had inadvertently engaged in a lot of connection-building by simply doing what he did best. Although this was never his intention when he signed up with Nartha Freier, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps one of these connections could help him in the future. Besides, earning their goodwill was vastly better than earning their bad will.
In the two months that Rui had served as the representative fighter of Nartha, he had gained a lot of respect and goodwill from many of the guests of this elite social circle. Although many of the more serious competitors who treated it as a competitive sport disliked him because of how annoying he was. The large majority of the more casual guests who simply attended the Martial Games for recreation or networking had come to appreciate him.
His fights were incredibly interesting and entertaining to watch, largely because they were never the same. With almost all other Martial Artists, their combat style rarely fluctuated much and eventually their fights grew monotonous and boring. There were only so many times one could remain entertained watching the same thing over and over again.
Yet with Rui, they soon came to discover that this wasn't the case. The more he fought, the more entertaining he became!
Every fight, it was as though he had become a different person.
They were mesmerized.
Normally, participating guests never kept one fighter for more than too long, largely because things got boring. For them as participants and for the audience. But even at the end of two months, no one was tired of Rui. When he left the Martial Games for training, they had all been disappointed.
But now, he was back!
A small crowd formed around Nartha and Rui as many came to speak to the two.
Yet suddenly, the crowd parted as a man walked by. He had long flowing white hair that reached his neck, while a thick white beard adorned his face. He had the bearing of majestic lion.
"Lady Freier, Welcome." Charles DiVilier smiled, as he bowed mildly at Nartha's curtsy. "I'm so happy you could join us today." He said before turning to Rui with a twinkle in his eyes. "And with an old face, no less, or an old mask I should say."
"Lord DiVIlier." Rui bowed to greet him.
"How do you do? Apprentice Falken." He emphasized Rui's alias with a knowing smile.
"Just fine, thank you."
"I'm happy you could join us today. Today's Martial Games will be interesting indeed." He chuckled. "Come, let us not stand outside any longer."
Charles led his guests into the circular hall within the building that overlooked the fighting arena down below. The guests settled in their luxurious seating accommodations as the maids and butlers of the DiVillier Family tended to them.
"Ladies and gentlement." Charles DiVillier's voice boomed across the hall, drawing everyone's attention. "I hope you're all feeling good today. We have an exciting session of games ahead of us."
He turned towards Rui. "I'm sure everyone recognizes our old friend Apprentice Falken. He has graced us today with his attendance, we look forward to his interesting and entertaining fights."
Rui's eyebrows knitted. Even if he was liked, wasn't Charles going too far putting him on the spotlight in front of all these guests?
Rui could suddenly feel the intense gazes and pressures of all the Martial Artists in the hall on him. Unfortunately, he didn't recognize most of them. It had been seven months since he last participated in the Martial Games. Most of the old fighters had been cycled out, only a few mainstays were still present after that long a period.
