Merun stepped out of the hut to see Iro standing to the side. She was still maintaining her professional posture, though he noticed a certain tension in her shoulders.
He wondered to himself if she had heard the last part of that conversation. The Sage hadn't exactly been quiet about his plans for "candidates."
Iro turned to him, her expression unreadable. "Has the Beggar Sage traveled elsewhere?"
Merun nodded slowly. "I guess? He just kind of went limp."
She closed her eyes for a moment, as if processing the information. "I see. Follow me."
As they began to walk away, Merun sensed a group of people moving toward the hut. Their footsteps were synchronized and purposeful. He started to get suspicious, his hand drifting toward his side, but Iro spoke before he could ask.
"They are part of the Sect. They need to take care of the Sage's vessel."
"Oh, okay," Merun said, relaxing his posture.
He looked at Iro more closely as they walked. Her face seemed to be a bit red, and he could see a faint shimmer of sweat on her cheeks despite the shade.
Merun gulped and thought to himself: She definitely heard.
———
They eventually reached a different hut, one that looked more reinforced than the others. Inside, a strange piece of boxy equipment sat in the center of the room.
Iro motioned for him to sit in front of it as she began clicking buttons and flicking several metal levers. The machine hummed to life, and a hyper-realistic 3D hologram of a village suddenly floated in the air between them.
"Woah, a hologram," Merun said, leaning forward to inspect the flickering blue light. He recognized the layout almost immediately. "Is this Odani, right now?"
Iro smiled with a touch of pride. "Yes, it is. This machine was made using your alien technology as a reference. Though we already have similar technology made using Esoteric-powered materials, your gear showed us a completely different, 100x times more efficient way of implementing our own systems. At least, that is what the scientists told me."
Merun raised his hand. "Question. By esoteric, what exactly do you mean by that?"
He already had a general idea of what esoteric materials were, as they were one of the core differences Gaia had from Earth. From what he remembered of the Novel, they were materials with almost magical properties that allowed Gaia to have some technology similar to what he had in the 21st century during his past life. These materials were even as common as iron in some regions.
Iro looked up thoughtfully, wording her explanation carefully. "The way it was taught to me, here in our world, esoterics are the pillar that allows human civilization to survive. Normal materials are those whose properties are understood and predictable. In contrast, esoteric substances are reality-defying. For example, things like coal are considered worthless trash because esoteric resources provide exponentially more energy and utility."
Merun clapped his hands. "Woah! You're very smart, teacher!"
Iro rolled her eyes, though she couldn't hide her smile. "Don't patronize me, my student. If it weren't for the Beggar Sect, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn all these things."
It made sense to Merun. In a martialocratic society like the Sekigahara Confederate, many brilliant minds were likely never found simply because they lacked access to education.
She continued as the 3D hologram shifted from the village into images of foreign materials and substances. "There are all kinds of esoteric materials: plants and fauna, ores and minerals, and even some liquids. Even the esoteric material used in your scouter is powered by esoteric ores that absorb energy from the user."
Merun tapped the sensor on his scouter, watching the numbers flicker over Iro's head.
[IRO: 3 - NON-MARTIAL]
"By the way, as a fail-safe, the esoteric battery in your scouter is bonded to your specific energy signal," she said casually. "If someone else tries to access it, the device will explode with enough strength to kill a Martial Senior."
Merun's smile went blank. "...this is a bomb on my head right now?"
She reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "You're safe. Just don't share it with people you care about."
She flicked another switch, and the hologram zoomed out to show a map of the entire Panama Continent, dotted with several glowing red markers.
"These esoteric resources are procured in specific spots in the continent, with some only appearing in certain places. It is one of the main factors that drive wars between kingdoms and empires. These materials allow even our non-martials to create Esoteric Siege weapons that allow us to fight against Martial Artists. Most factions have their own version of Esoteric military technology."
Iro looked at the map with a serious expression. "Human civilization as a whole maintains its power by identifying, gathering, and weaponizing these mysterious substrates of reality. Esoterics are not just science. They are the tools that ensure the common man is not left behind in an age of gods."
Merun remained silent for a long moment as he took in the information.
He looked at the glowing map, watching the red dots pulse like distant stars. It made sense now. The world of Gaia wasn't just a playground for people with high power levels; it was a complex machine fueled by these reality-warping resources.
His Saiyan biology was a natural engine of destruction, but the humans of this world had built their own engines out of the very ground beneath their feet.
Iro seemed deep in thought. She stared at the hologram, her brow furrowing as if she were debating with herself.
Finally, she looked back at him. "I guess I should also tell you about this."
"Esoterics are inseparable from the lives of martial artists, specifically when it comes to developing one's martial path."
She gestured toward the hologram again, and the image of the village flickered, replaced by a detailed rendering of a jagged, metallic ore. "It can be used as weaponry. I'm sure you're quite familiar with the Kinzoku clan, as their members utilize the esoteric ore known as Kinzoku steel. It is an extremely tough material capable of enduring the full strength of a martial artist without shattering. Without it, most high-level combatants would be fighting empty-handed because normal swords would turn to dust in seconds."
Merun nodded.
"It can also be used to train conditioning techniques," Iro continued. "For example, you can temper your resistance to fire with ores that emit incredibly high temperatures. It makes it so you don't need to find a volcano or somewhere hot for that. Some esoterics can even be incorporated directly into your own body. They allow for the creation of poison-based styles or advanced body-forging techniques that turn skin into something harder than diamond."
Then, she paused. Her voice dropped to a whisper and she looked toward the door of the hut before leaning in. "Finally, there is the secret of the Squire realm."
Merun perked his ears. He already knew the secret from his knowledge of the novel, but he was curious to see if she was truly going to be honest with him. He kept his face neutral, playing the part of the curious student.
"The Squire Breakthrough is the turning point," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "The evolution from an Apprentice to a Squire is a man-made process. It isn't just about hard work or talent. It relies on esoteric technology and specific types of radiation to trigger biological changes within the body."
Merun leaned back, letting out a slow breath. He watched her carefully. This was the information that countries guarded with their lives.
"A long time ago, martial apprentices were the peak of martial power," Iro explained, her eyes reflecting the dim light of the hologram. "Back then, they were powerless to resist the control of sovereign states that used esoteric weaponry. A thousand men with esoteric rifles could bring down a peak martial apprentice. But with the birth of the first Martial Squire, everything changed. With the creation of the Martial Body, they essentially created the first instance of a one-man army."
She began to pace the small area of the hut. "As soon as it became clear that one Martial Squires was enough to deter a whole country from going to war, the world entered a race. Every nation scrambled to create as many Squires as possible to maintain the balance of power. It changed the world from the 'warring states era' to the current Age of Martial Arts. The focus shifted from massive armies to the cultivation of elite individuals who could decide the fate of a province with a single strike."
Merun looked down at his own hands. He thought about his power level of 10,500. By this world's standards, he was already at the Senior level, but he hadn't gone through any "man-made" radiation process.
His growth was purely biological. If the Beggar Sect could bridge the gap between his Saiyan traits and their esoteric technology, he wondered just how far that number could actually climb.
"So the nobles aren't just families," Merun said, finding his voice. "They're the ones who own the machines and the radiation. They're the ones who control the bottleneck."
Iro nodded solemnly. "In Sekigahara, yes it's true. But it also inadvertently created balance of not having too much Squire level power at once."
She reached out and turned off the hologram. The hut went dark for a second before the natural sunlight from the doorway reclaimed the room.
Merun broke the silence. "Tell me about the Beggar Sect. What is its true purpose?"