The Martial Unity

"In that case, it's better to minimize the number of mechanisms and techniques you go for." She remarked. "There's no point in complicating things more than they need to be."

Rui nodded. "I think the head reshaping, the skin volume, and color-altering principles work for me."

"Only three?" She mused. "That may not be reliably enough."

"I have my own application in mind," Rui mused as he considered the prospects of developing his own appearance-manipulating disguises. "I will create a fourth of my own."

The application that came to mind was one based on Hypertrophic Surge. Hypertrophic Surge bloated his muscles, and if he could figure out how to selectively and partially apply it only to his facial muscles, then he would be entirely unrecognizable compared to his normal appearance when combined with the other three facial-altering mechanisms.

"It's not easy developing such a principle." She warned. "One reason that there aren't so many such techniques floating out there is that it requires an intimate general understanding of the mechanisms of the body. Although we still haven't peered past the depths of the cell much, if at all, we still have a remarkably detailed overview of the functioning of the human body. You require possessing that knowledge and understanding to develop disguise techniques."

Rui tried his best to suppress a smug smile that threatened to come on his face. He was far from a qualified biologist, but he did have an extensive education in the field of biology not just throughout school, but also in his bachelor's and diploma. Not to mention, the decades of combat sports study and research that came after, that did work with the human body.

Although this level of biological expertise was trivial back on Earth, that was not the case in Gaia. He would be surprised if there was anybody who could match his knowledge and understanding.

"I think I'll be fine."

"If you say so."

"Though I suppose just altering my facial appearance isn't enough. It's best to involve an element that changes my body figure as well." Rui mused. "That makes it so that there are little to no ways in which people can recognize me just by analyzing my body figure."

Something like the pelvic tilt and spinal extension and contraction sounded fine and easy enough.

It was easy for most people to make identifications based on body figures. In fact, from a distance and from many angles, body figure was the first thing that was used to recognize people.

The ability to no longer need his mask and to be able to freely travel without any worries about being identified was something Rui yearned for reasons beyond just the applications in assassinations and stealth operations.

The fear of being found by Chairman Deacon or Master Uma was always annoying, and the need to wear an annoying mask all the time that only drew more attention to him was also not pleasant.

This was a technique whose greatest benefit was increasing his daily quality of life. The fact that it didn't need the Martial Heart was quite good too. 

"Since you've made your choices, I won't delay the training any further." She nodded. "These principles altogether will take some time to master, but they shouldn't be too difficult, I will begin by explaining how the principles of these techniques work."

She paused for a moment before getting out a set of documents from a shelf outside of the section of the training chamber. They contained various anatomical diagrams of the body and the face, displaying several physiological systems of the body in the face.

"Let us begin with the flesh thickness manipulation principle. This principle is based on increasing the amount of water retained in the skin and flesh by increasing the amount of salt in your blood. There are broader templates for manipulating bodily functions by associating mental triggers to them, this can be applied to trigger the mechanism of increasing the amount of salt released in your bloodstream." She explained.

Doing such a thing was dangerous for normal humans since it increased blood pressure, and the rapid increase in salt without giving the body the time to acclimatize could be dangerous for the heart.

But such risks did not exist for the Martial Body.

Rui nodded. "That trigger mechanism works fine, though I could create physiological triggers rather than psychological triggers for the techniques if needed."

"That also requires a good understanding of the human body, so I would be careful if you did decide to go that route." She advised. 

Rui wasn't too concerned with that, but he did appreciate psychological triggers more since they didn't require him to alter his body too much. They were much cleaner than what he did with Thundercoil and Lightning Tap. 

"The skull shape-altering mechanism was something I developed after paying attention to skull structure and realizing how fragmented it it. They are held together by little stitches that can be changed at certain locations by rapid micro-damaging and healing, this particular technique does require the Martial Heart for the rapid healing part." She explained. "It will not be easy and the training can be dangerous if done incorrectly, thus I will supervise the most dangerous parts myself."

Rui nodded. The mechanism sounded rather fascinating, but he didn't find the danger amusing. Manipulating the fibers that held together the skull that protect the brain was obviously dangerous, and not something that one ought to embark on lightly.

"The pelvic tilts and the spinal extensions and contractions are centered around muscle manipulations and alterations to fascia, the connective tissue that binds the entire human body together." She explained. "The various principles are simple and as are the outcomes. However, when put together, they can allow you to disappear into the background such that nobody can find you."

Rui nodded. The entire continent opened up to him now that he had access to these techniques. Entire parts of the continent that he had constrained himself from visiting because they were too close to Chairman Deacon or Master Uma were now open for travel.