The Martial Unity

Rui's eyes widened with shock. "…Normality?"

Indeed. That was what he sought from me.

"He what…?" Kane stared at the Elder Tree, astounded.

Rui, on the other hand, felt increasingly certain about the absurd idea that had popped into his head regarding who the Divine Doctor's patient was. Yet simultaneously, he couldn't help but wonder if he was sane for even considering the idea.

But it made sense, unfortunately.

"He's looking for an anomalous anomaly among anomalies because non-anomalous anomalies are not anomalous among anomalies."

Kane and the Elder Tree stared at him, speechless.

"If a patient contracts an illness, then they will manifest symptoms atypical of their body." Rui's tone was patient. "In other words, anomalies. However, what can possibly be considered anomalous in the Beast Domain, where every region experiences some abrupt change in the environment or the ecosystem? Be it demographic or population changes, topographical or geological changes, changes of different scales and permeation, and of endless causes. Something or the other is constantly changing."

Rui recalled their time in the Valley of Prisms. They had taken complete control over the region, not allowing anything to go wrong, but every week, sometimes every day, some abrupt disruption of some kind or the other continuously happened.

It was actually a wonder that the catoblepas lasted as long as they had. Pure sheer luck, actually. Just one stroke of bad luck and Rui and Kane would have never been able to find the Garden of Salvation without referring to their memories.

"The answer is a normal, banal, and mundane region that has never experienced anomalies," Rui informed them. "After all, if anomalies are the state of normality and the way things are supposed to be, then something that isn't anomalous is atypical. It is wrong and not the way that it is supposed to be. It is… unhealthy."

"Huh, that makes sense," Kane admitted, "if he's looking for an anomaly in the Beast Domain to identify his patient's condition."

"He must have come to the conclusion that this was the only way he could find any clues on the illness ailing his patient. To look for the true anomaly in a world of anomalies that could potentially be a symptom from his point of view," Rui calmly elaborated.

"Wait…" Realization finally dawned on Kane. "Doesn't that mean that his patient is…"

Kane, too, was unable to utter the idea aloud with how absurd it was.

Rui's expression grew severe. "I don't know. All I know is that I need to find him. Thus, I need to find the anomalous normality that he sought."

Rui turned to the Elder Tree with sharp eyes. "Where is it?"

…The Mellow.

Rui raised an eyebrow. "The Mellow? The Adventurer's Guild's data does not contain any region or place whose name matches that."

It is no wonder that the Divine Doctor said that the Adventurer's Guild was incompetent if so.

"Well?" Rui demanded. "Go on. What and where is the Mellow?"

It is a sub-Apprentice-level danger zone within the Master-level belt of the Beast Domain. In the millennium-long life that I have lived, it is the one region that has never once changed. Its flora and fauna demographics and dynamics have never once undergone even a one-percent change of any kind. Its environmental parameters have never been disturbed. Its ecological variables have remained steadfast without any measurable shift of any kind. Its weather is also identical over time, day in and day out. While the Master-level regions around it are perennially fluctuating in chaos, the Mellow is a beacon of order and constancy across the entire Beast Domain.

"What…?" Rui stared at the Elder Tree, flummoxed. "There's no way. There's no way that a sub-Apprentice-level zone can survive in the Master-level belt."

It is considered the Master-level belt because the average danger zone is Master-level. Your surprise is still very much understandable. I, too, have been unable to understand how the Mellow has been able to survive and not change for as long as it has.

"And you're sure that's where the Divine Doctor went?"

I'm certain that's where he said he would be going.

Rui heaved a sigh as he grew immersed in deep consideration.

"We're definitely going to the Mellow, but…"

He turned to the Garden of Salvation. "…not before we "We're definitely going to the Mellow, but…"

He turned to the Garden of Salvation. "…not before we complete our agreement."

I am pleased to hear that. Let us begin at once.

"Yeah."

Rui immediately began preparing the information package that contained all his scientific and mathematical knowledge without any further ado.

He was not doing the venture of finding the Divine Doctor any favors by taking yet another training break.

Yet, the very thought of finally being able to adaptively evolve to all fauna in the Beast Domain made his excitement rev to an entirely higher dimension. It would be a massive boost to his adaptive evolution power.

'Even if the Elder Tree cannot help me with upgrading the Yggdrasil System, I can still rely on Master Gurren to help me elevate the Yggdrasil System to a much higher level and into a lesser version of the Garden of Salvation,' Rui realized.

Of course, he knew that the Garden of Salvation was undoubtedly an entire Realm above Master Gurren at the bare minimum. He didn't mind that. He always knew that hoping for the Yggdrasil System to be on par with the Garden of Salvation was a fool's errand.

Rui also knew that he probably could not even dream of reaching such astounding levels of adaptive evolution domain bending until he was, at the very least, a Martial Sage. Until then, he could only keep striving to reach what he bore witness to within the Garden of Salvation.

He carefully began gathering every ounce of science and math he had ever learned his entire life and began comprehensively organizing them into a large information package within his Mind Palace. He hurried quickly, for even in his excitement he remembered that he didn't have too much time. He only had twenty-one months left before his father succumbed to the Eternal Dream Disease.

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