A few days passed, and Rui refused to take any missions out of fear that he would be missing out on whenever the Kandrian Empire decided to take action in whatever it decided to handle the matter of the dungeon war.
Frankly, Rui wasn't sure how things would pan out. Would the Martial Union be involved alone? Would the Kandrian Government or the Royal Family be involved or take control? He didn't know. He couldn't be sure about how the two hegemons of the Kandrian Empire would act.
His understanding of politics was still very vague and broad. He didn't understand the nuances that were involved in such matters that would ultimately decide the manner in which the Kandrian Empire would participate in the dungeon wars. It wasn't just a matter of intelligence or smartness; he just wasn't informed enough on international dynamics and foreign policy or the domestic decision-making protocols that the Martial Union and the Kandrian government engaged in when they processed the matter.
Eventually, an announcement was made. However, it wasn't the one Rui was waiting for or anticipating.
"A change in the Martial Apprentice grading system?" Rui frowned. "Really? At this time? But why? Wasn't it working just fine? What caused this change?"
He hadn't yet realized that he was the leading trigger to the updation of the existing ten-point grading system of Martial prowess evaluation.
Thankfully, the announcement that he had gotten both through his accounter and through a letter explained the reasons behind the change.
Each generation of Martial Artists was stronger than the previous generation of Martial Artists. This was due to higher-quality techniques and higher-quality growth and training resources that younger and newer generations had access to. Several of the techniques and training and growth resources that Rui had used over the years were actually recently developed products that the previous generation never had access to.
Over time, those differences accumulated too much such that the strongest of Martial Apprentices exceeded the limits of the ten-point grading system set by the Martial Union. At such times, the Martial union would scale most Martial Apprentices down by one point while the strongest of Martial Apprentices would become the new peak.
The message informed him that his new grade would remain the same as his old grade.
"Hm. Odd." He shrugged, tossing the letter away. It changed nothing for him, so it didn't matter all that much.
However, he could not help but wonder if this had something to do with the upcoming dungeon wars that had been forecasted for him. Were they readjusting the Martial Apprentice grading system in order to ensure only the most qualified Martial Artists participated in the war?
Rui strongly suspected that was close to the truth. He had contacted his friends via his accounter, asking them about their grading points.
"I remained at grade nine," Kane confirmed. "But Hever, Fae, and Nel fell to grade eight. Dalen fell to grade seven, while Milliana fell to grade six."
"I see... That's a shame for them." Rui admitted. "Good on you for staying at grade nine. You must be really strong right now, on the verge of reaching the previous grade ten, probably."
"Been working hard. Can't remain in the Academy forever." Kane replied.
They chatted a bit more before hanging up.
"I wonder at what grade Fiona and Ian are at." Rui wondered. They were also two of the strongest Martial Artists of his generation. He was curious as to what level they currently were at. It had been more than a year since the Martial Contest had ended, after all.
Particularly, he was curious about Fiona, she had an incredible rate of mastery that probably surpassed even his, now that his own rate of mastery had reduced significantly.
"I'll probably meet them for the dungeon wars then." He realized. If they were powerful enough, and they almost certainly were, he absolutely would run into them when the Martial Union and the Kandrian government came to a conclusion as to how to proceed with the dungeon conflict.
"Why are you so restless?" Julian asked with a suspicious look in his eye.
"I'm not restless," Rui replied blankly.
"You've been oscillating back and forth on the sofa for the past few days instead of going out there and completing some missions or training a new technique like you normally would. You constantly look at your accounter with eagerness, as if you're expecting something, likely an announcement of some sort." Julian told him. "Am I wrong?"
"Tsk." Rui tutted. "Alright, you got me."
"What is it that you are waiting so impatiently?" Julian asked, curiously.
"I received word of a conflict involving a large number of nations that will likely be limited to the Apprentice Realm," Rui told him, without revealing anything specific. "It's the perfect opportunity for me to test my prowess against the most powerful of Martial Apprentices across a tiny chunk of the Panama Continent!"
Julian's eyes widened at his words. "Are you absolutely certain of that? If that is the case, that's huge news!"
"Very sure." Rui nodded. "I'm just waiting for it because I don't want to be away on a mission when the announcement comes. If the announcement doesn't come within a week, then I'm going to take low-grade quick missions that can be finished in no time until it does come!"
"Are you sure you want to participate?" Julian asked with a worried expression. "It sounds extremely dangerous. You'll be competing against some of the most powerful Martial Apprentices and be risking your life against them."
"I know." Rui nodded. "It's not that I'm being overconfident. But not only is fighting other Martial Artists a core part of being a Martial Artist but also, I do need to become stronger at this point. I need experience against truly powerful Martial Artists in order to make forward progress on the road to Squire."
Julian felt a bit more reassured seeing the determination and confidence. "If that's how you feel, then I can only wish you good luck."
