Rui found it to be quite refreshing. Heading out and exploring of his own volition rather than the commission of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment or the Martial Union was something he hadn't done much of.
He had to admit, that this mission had given him a taste for independence. He had complete control over the diplomatic approach to the G'ak'arkan Tribe. And he also had complete control over the settlement.
He had to admit, the freedom was relieving, although it certainly came with its fair share of responsibilities and burdens. Since he was taking care of others.
However, this venture would most likely come with all of the freedom of the former, and few of the responsibilities that had come with this diplomatic mission.
The only people they would be responsible for were themselves.
"Well… Now that you mention it, that does sound interesting," Kane admitted. "It will be very dangerous though."
"Oh come on, we're Martial Artists. That is par for the course," Rui shrugged.
Neither of them was wrong, of course. Considering that the dungeon would be attracting Martial Squires from all over their section of the Panama Continent, it was no doubt going to be fierce in competition.
"Regardless, that's not happening any time soon," Rui shrugged. "It's just an idea I threw out there. We could choose to do something else. Or if you have your own plans, that's fine too. We can talk about it when the time comes."
The two parted ways after talking some more. Rui had students to mentor, after all.
In the past six months since Rui had begun mentoring his two students, they had made a lot of progress. It had been grueling and brutal. But he had managed to get his students to work hard and get past a lot of the hardest parts.
Senior Ceeran faired better for the earlier part of the education session, but Senior K'Mala not only caught up to him, much to his dismay but also surpassed him.
This was very impressive considering he had already been studying it for quite some time by then. He simply needed to get her up to speed. He had suspected that this would happen, K'Mala was quite bright and while the culture shock and a drastically different worldview had held her back at first, it had begun to grow on her as she immersed herself in studies. The only concepts of mathematics that both of them studied were ones that were necessary for the execution of the ODA system.
He did not even go one hair beyond what was necessary. He knew damn well that being able to master what they were learning at the given moment was going to be difficult as all hell.
"You're late," Senior K'Mala grumbled.
"Sorry, I was caught up with my own training," Rui smiled.
"Working on that new technique, are we?" Senior Ceeran's eyes twinkled. He had noticed that Rui was using the long-range facilities quite frequently. It was entirely clear that he was working on something new.
"Perhaps," Rui shrugged it off. "I am not relevant at the moment. But what is relevant are the elementary first-order differential equations you solved." Rui handed out papers to both of them. "You both did decent, congratulations."
At that moment, one would find it hard to believe that these were both vaunted Martial Seniors. The feeling of cracking an exam was a universally good feeling.
"I think you have reached the proficiency that I require you to have," Rui remarked. "Your calculation skills have grown better as well."
Rui had them do their calculations on an abacus. Abacuses were great means to improve mental math calculation capabilities. The instrument allowed for quick calculations, and once they reached a high level of mastery, they would be able to essentially envision the abacus in their mind and solve large calculations instantly. This was a modern method of improving mental calculations back on Earth that had very promising results.
He didn't need it himself, compared to the Mind Palace that serves could serve as RAM, Random Access Memory, for him. He could complete even greater calculations extremely rapidly through means of processing that resembled that of computers. Abacuses were primitive to him, but they were just what the two Martial Seniors needed.
Their growth was appreciatable when considering that they were elder adults. Younger adults and adolescents would not have taken nearly half a year to get to where they currently were. Rui in his previous life as a student would have completed it in less than a month.
Still, it wasn't bad, all things considered.
"Alright," He smiled. "It's time."
"For what?" Senior K'Mala raised an eyebrow.
"To learn the ODA system," Rui's smile remained unchanged.
Senior Ceeran's expression grew more solemn and yet more enthusiastic. He had seen the ODa system before since Rui had submitted all the data to the Longranger Sect. However, he had to admit, that its complexity greatly surpassed his wildest imagination. He had immediately come to learn that he was vastly unfit to learn the so-called ODA system. Looking at the equations and protocols, he may as well have been reading languages that he didn't understand.
He could only laugh at how unworthy he was of the technique back then.
('Things are different now, however,') His eyes narrowed. His understanding of algebra, exponents, trigonometry, calculus, and differential equations was much better than they were when he had first attempted to try and master them. Maybe, this time he could pull through.
He couldn't help but gaze at Rui with respect and admiration for having created such a technique. The more Senior Ceeran had learned about the relevant math and physics in the past nine months, he had to admit, the more he found it absurd that an eighteen-year-old Martial Squire had come up with that technique. It was mind-boggling and simply didn't make sense. Yes, Rui had a proven mind that was extremely capable in any endeavor of the human intellect, but Senior Ceeran had a nagging suspicion that that alone was not the whole truth.
There had to be something else, something Rui was hiding from everybody.