They quickly chalked out the first agreement on paper and both sides signed it, making it official.
After that, the dominoes fell one after the other. Rui and Senior K'Mala haggled over the exchanges a lot.
Most of the trades were one technique for another. However, like the first technique, there were techniques that were valuable enough to warrant two techniques from the other side.
However, none of the remaining techniques on either side ended up being exchanged for three techniques.
After a few hours, each of the techniques that both sides wanted and were willing to give had all been traded off in the agreements.
"Huff…" Rui fell back in his seat after the final set of contracts had been drafted and signed. "Finally… It's done."
It had taken a long time to reach here, but finally, he had completed his mission.
('In fact, if not for the fact that I have to pass on my Pathfinder technique, I might have been sent back home,') Rui noted.
After all, Martial Squires were not deployed in areas where their mission was completed and their objectives were satisfied.
"You sound tired," Senior K'Mala snorted mirthfully.
"You have no idea how much we have gone through to obtain this result, K'Mala," Rui sighed, before turning to his two assistants. "Finish all the protocols and the due process surrounding the contracts."
"Yes sir," The two assistant diplomats obediently collected all the documents carefully before leaving the room.
Rui turned back toward K'Mala.
"I still can't believe you're just an immature rank-two Martial Artist," She murmured.
In her mind, Martial Squires who hadn't even spent five years in the Squire Realm were still immature children as far as Martial Squires, the fact that the martial Squire who was so powerful he seemed like he was on the verge of becoming a Martial Senior was actually just one such immature Martial Squire was quite the shock.
"Well, I'll take that as a compliment," Rui shrugged with a wry smile.
"It is a compliment," She insisted. "I'm looking forward to learning that technique of yours."
Rui raised an eyebrow. "You are going to be my student?"
"That's correct," She nodded with a blank expression.
"…"
"…"
Rui wasn't sure whether he ought to laugh or smile.
"Why are you willing to become the student of a Martial Squire?"
She smiled at that question. "Why, did you assume that I was too proud and egotistical just like the other rank three Martial Artists to lower my head to a rank two Martial Artist?"
"…"
"Hmph," She snorted. "I thought so. I am not as block-headed as my brother and the chieftain."
Rui was impressed. He had to admit, that she was definitely more rational than her brother who had dealt with Rui the last time.
"After all, becoming stronger is already so difficult once you reach the third rank… If I want to step into a higher rank, I cannot afford to allow things like pride to get in the way," She sighed.
Rui raised an eyebrow.
This was not an insignificant thing for her to say. This was the first confirmation that Rui had heard from the Martial Tribes of Vilun island that they were aware of the existence of a higher Realm of power.
Rui remained silent as he considered how to respond. He did not want to reveal anything that could potentially give her more information about the Master Realm. Even though he probably knew way less than she did due to her being closer, he had met a few Martial Masters in his life, which she hadn't
If she truly was aiming for the Master Realm, she would definitely try to pry out information surrounding it from him.
"Be honest," She began as she turned toward him. "Your world… has rank Martial Artists, doesn't it?"
"…"
"You don't have to be so wary. It isn't that difficult to conclude." She sighed. "Less than one out of ten rank-one Martial Artists becomes a rank two Martial Artist, and less than one out of ten rank-two Martial Artists becomes a rank three Martial Artist. You said your world was large. It would logically follow that, given your size, you most likely have many rank-four Martial Artists, maybe even rank five Martial Artists. After all, why else would a rank three Martial Artist like that of yours be dispatched by superiors?"
Rui smiled. "Well, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that I cannot answer your questions surrounding this topic. The good news is that you are intelligent enough to potentially master the Pathfinder technique. Probably never as good as I have, since I am the creator of the technique who created it to suit my strengths. But still, you will definitely make good use of it as long as you are willing to put yourself through the wringer."
"This isn't the first time I have persevered past a hurdle," She snorted. "I did not reach the third rank by being a quitter."
"I admire that, but do not be too overconfident, I can absolutely assure you that you have never ever come across a technique like this in your entire life, K'Mala."
Rui earnestly warned her about the challenge of mastering the ODA system. He had already laid out the difficulty of the technique more extensively in the documentation that he had provided them, but he was worried that it would perhaps not be enough.
After all, the reason for the difficulty of the Pathfinder technique had to do with the ODA system which was probably unlike anything that they could possibly fathom.
Rui was unable to put into words to explain to someone with zero background in science how difficult it would be to master the ODA system.
On top of that, he had to teach her this in the Vilun dialect. That was torturous. He wasn't sure if he could possibly handle the sheer amount of effort and tutelage that it would require to teach her and ensure that she has mastered it to an adequate degree.
