"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
Some people woke up in the morning to the sound of a ringing alarm.
Some people woke in the morning to the sound of an eager rooster.
Ares woke up in the morning to the sound of Tai being blasted off the sect master mountain via his runic annihilation magic trap. It was pretty harmless for the most part, it didn't have any danger associated with it or anything as it was merely a strong gust of golden energy... But the force behind that gust was considerable. It packed the power of a real explosion, it just didn't do any damage, so the force at which ne'er do wells who triggered it were smacked off the mountain was quite the sight. In recent times, curious onlooker disciples had gathered around the base of the mountain earlier in the morning and enjoyed watching the old pervert crash into the ground and get his just desserts. Many of the core disciples, specifically the females, had been here long enough to form a strong resentment to this oddly dextrous bastard of a man Tai so watching his bones break first thing in the morning was rejuvenating in its own way. Taking a small detour to watch something satisfactory in the morning had become something of a routine. Of course they all ran away disgusted when Tai flashed his shattered teeth and began asking for assistance in getting up... Or, well, actually, he asked for assistance in 'getting itup' but those who ran away tried to blank that part out of their memory lest they have nightmares about it later. Tai did get his comeuppance, though, when frustrated elders showed up and threw Shock Beads at him before reporting him to Rud. A very grumpy clone would then stop by and drag the idiot back to his cell before the scene was cleared and everyone could about their day again as normal... Though arguably things hadn't been 'normal' in this sect ever since Ares took over but people were getting used to these small changes over time. Tom Tom had become a staple and his game room was coming along quite nicely, actually. It was surprisingly popular and he was having a grand old time being the head honcho of his own little club. Credit with where credit was due, Tom Tom was like a sociable chameleon, able to blend in no matter where he ended up. Rather, he probably enjoyed playing with people who actually listened to the rules for once instead of having to put up with Dominus, and the other outcasts, doing all sorts of inexplicable crap like launching fireballs at kings unprovoked and causing national incidents during their sessions.
Ares peered over the mountain and spotted Dabble. The dwarf kicked Tai on the shins as he was being dragged away by Rud before turning up to face Ares and wave at him to grab his attention. It seemed the neon weaponry had progressed smoothly and now it was time for an update so Ares Voidwalked down and followed Dabble over to his smithy and forge. Julio wasn't around today but that was probably for the best given how off-rails things wound up whenever the dwarf and elf were in the same room together. Ares wanted a status report, not a bickering old couple's marriage report! For what it was worth, though, there hadn't been any random betrayals since last time and they appeared to betting along fine once more. It was always like this, and Ares had learnt to accept they would be at each other's throats once or twice a month, but as long as they worked properly afterwards that much was acceptable.
Arriving down in Dabble's secluded workspace, he whipped out a series of weapons that were each of respectable quality. Compared to Dabble's usual efforts they were definitely rushed but there was something about them that put a smile on Ares' face. "Neon weapons!" The next stage in interpersonal warfare for members of Heaven's Path. It's not like these neon weapons were the end-all be-all, they weren't greater than most treasures you would find out in the wild, but they were better than most artifacts and could even have runes added to them to further their lethality. They were a higher grade of weapon than most would have access to and Ares was more than happy to replace his lacking arsenal with stronger weapon variants. There was no reason to use a farmer's implement when he could swap to the glowing neon scythe before him. The metal handle looked easy to grip and the blade was buzzing with a tremendously lethal energy that could slice a person's neck clean off accidentally let alone wit a proper swing. It wasn't just a scythe, though, as Dabble had taken the time out to create a bunch of different weapons. An axe, a sword, a spear, a whip, a shield... The options were endless and Ares could spy at least ten to fifteen different weapons. Hed mostly stuck to the scythe and sword as of late but if he had weapons like these he would feel more comfortable broadening his options from fight to fight and silencing Dominus who'd been complaining about the lack of variety lately. He wasn't wrong, using a plethora of different weapons kept the brain active and the imagination flowing, which was important for the free flowing combat style Ares adhered to, but it was tough to feel any desire to switch things up when Ares' spare axes were rusty, his polearms were falling apart, and he didn't even have a shield din the first place. Why do any of that when he could just pull out his Protection Racket and blast a fairy's head clean off in one fell swoop? At least now, with these shiny new toys, he'd have an incentive to actually swap around on the go as he wouldn't be actively hampering himself each and every time. Again, these were prototypes, not of the best quality imaginable, but they were unquestionably better than any other alternative Ares could get his hands on right now. Plus a spot of pressurising would make these bad boys shine with hazardous potential. "You've outdone yourself."
"D'aw shucks laddie. It's thanks to ye I even got me grubby hands on such fine tools to experiment wit' in teh first place." Dabble was being modest but his work was exceptional given the time frame in which he managed to explore foreign concepts and make them his own. His grasp of the neon weapons was extraordinary and he even managed to replicate smaller details like the ability to change the colour of the weapon based on the mana one put into it. Ares' neon scythe glowed a brilliant gold as wispy specks of disintegration smoke lingered around the sharp edge like a mist of imminent death. If Ares could freely pick his colour then naturally he would gravitate towards gold! Nothing symbolised his arrival more than a wave of golden energy, be it in the form of an explosion or his pressure. He couldn't deck himself in the colour, that would be gaudy, but a golden tinged weapon? That was acceptable and in line with the image he wanted to present. As a sect master it was his duty to have a discernable presence. People needed to see a hint of gold and remember him above all others, like a bug in their brain ever present. This was the basics of building up a reputation and so it was just for personal reasons he gilded his neon weapons. One day, surely, he would find a treasure to replace these weapons... But until then, he would make the most out of them and have them become synonymous with Heaven's Path! It wasn't just him who'd be using these, after all. The disciples would get their paws on them once mass production started, which was presumably the next step Dabble would take, so a new specialty was about to be born. A sect full of Bead and neon weapon wielding disciples was a scary thing indeed. All that remained was for Dabble and Julio to complete their work on the parasite armour and then the disciples would truly be leaps and bounds above their competition out in the field. Even an average disciple, fully equipped, could win cultivator competitions or legacy tomb exploration races just by virtue of the quality of goods given to them for cheap in the sect. Ares didn't want them relying on it but it was a good way to inundate them into the world of cultivation and keep them alive until they were self-sufficient. The goal was for the equipment to be highly usable but not better than treasures they should still seek out when they began to feel confident in themselves. Alas, the parasite armour wasn't ready yet, it's ability to replicate itself endless was great but took some time and currently Dabble and Julio were scientifically trying to speed that process up. Once they made a breakthrough the rest would fall into place; a prototype would be made and then mass production was right around the corner. In short, and no that was not an attack on Dabble's height, the dwarf was doing great work.
Ares shoved the weapons into Blade, giddy with his new toys and raring for a chance to test them, before thanking Dabble again, giving his regards to Julio, and taking his leave. Ares could spar with Sadie or Sandy later on and give his weapons a spin but, for now, he headed back home to check in on Allie. She mentioned to him the day before that her Mini Pillie would probably be up and running about today and Ares trusted her alchemy skills so he wanted to go see what the parasite had transformed into under her guiding hand. According to Allie, sometimes she wasn't able to immediately discern a Mini Pillie's specialisation at fist glance if the ingredients were unusual, so Ares wasn't expecting a full rundown of its abilities, he was mostly just curious to see the finished product. All the Pillies had their own uniqueness so Ares was dying to see what kind of Mini monstrosity Allie had cooked up this time. He entered the house and found Allie, Aejaz, and Trixie in the living room, crowding around a table and peering down at the centre of it. It seemed as though Allie made good on her deadline and now everyone was poking and prodding away the newest Pillie to grace Allie's arsenal. Ares couldn't see it from the corridor so he strolled in and gave a wave that went unnoticed due to how absorbed in the Pillie everyone was. He leant over Aejaz' shoulder and too a gander only to witness a half-melted, black, goopy pill have two tentacles rise up from out of is body and lightly flail around as if thrashing the air. The two tentacles retracted back into the melted body and two small, white eyes popped up out of the black goop and took a look around to get a lay of the land. The eyes were admittedly rather cute so it seemed the tentacle monster inhabiting this pill body was a tiny friend acting tough rather than an actual spooky new resident of the house. The eyes glanced at everyone before settling on Allie, at which point the two tentacles rose up once more and waved at their new master. Though the body of the Pillie was split in half and melting, it seemed that it was a success overall and this was simply how it was meant to look. It made sense, the parasite took over its host and this form bore resemblance to that idea. As for what it could do... Well Allie was just going to have to test it out but... Ares didn't want to be part of the experiment! Assuming this Mini Pillie, whatever Allie decided to name it, could really take a person over temporarily... It would be real troublesome if Ares' body and magic was hijacked! There probably wasn't anyone sane willing to let this Mini Pillie strut its stuff on so the most Ares could do was other a test subject. Namely, if Allie wanted to experiment on someone, she was free to go look for Rud and ask about a man 'Tai' who wasn't particularly busy. If he had time to relentlessly perv on women, he had time to be abducted and brain-wormed by an alien the world had never seen before! Regardless, this Mini Pillie was looking like a rare one. It would probably be one of Allie's stronger tools going forward so good for her. More tools to defend herself with was always a good thing. Ares would check up with her in Akarala to see how her testing went but for now he had other business to take care of. This was a nice distraction but now Ares had a meeting with Poniard and Li Fray coming up about the discussion he had with their respective kin.
Teh last major task to tackle before setting off for Akarala. Well that and choosing who was actually going, though likely everyone other Rox who was heading to Bhorashka for a mission instead, but in terms of sect master business this was the last major hurdle to take care of for now. With this sorted the seeds for the future will have been sown quite nicely and Ares could take a week or two off and have a breather. Initially he assumed he'd have more work but his HQ trip alleviated most of his worries and he ended up with way more freedom than he was expecting. More work out in the field but less to do at home. That was ideal given how many products he was manufacturing nowadays, simple armour and weapons until the neon and parasite stuff was done, Beads, euphoria, etc... He'd have time to mess around with One With The Universe while spending quality time with his family so he couldn't complain about things ended up. Still, this meeting with the Li and Nick clans was mandatory due to how important their loyalty would be in the long run. It was mostly a done deal already, Ares had made them an offer they couldn't refuse, but getting off on the right foot with the right attitude was meaningful to fostering a good relationship.
The meeting was held at the Li residence and Dirk and Li Li came along too because this matter was relevant to them as well. Rather, they brought it to their respective patriarch's attention and promised them this investment was worth their time. Poniard would be disappointed if it wasn't true but Li Fray might actually beat up Li Li on the spot if he felt her decision was incorrect. Fortunately they'd already seen samples of Ares, or more importantly Garmr's, 'resources' and were impressed by the quality. Their opinion did sour somewhat upon learning where the source of the meat and blood came from but the value it provided couldn't be ignored so now the five way meeting was taking place in a well lit room with mats on the floor for everyone to kneel-sit on. Ares was unfamiliar with this type of position but he used it to train his passive cultivation anyway because why not! He would have received some rather odd looks were it known he was cultivating right now but he'd gotten so good at passive cultivation it was nigh impossible to tell when he was doing it. Maybe if someone checked the flow of ambient mana in the room they'd realise where it was all gathering and piece together the clues but nobody had any reason to check. It was usually the kind of thing you'd do if you were paranoid there were assassins in a room silently casting an art but there was no chance of such a thing happening unnoticed in the presence of five powerhouses anyway.
Fray kicked off the conversation and got right down to business. Poniard was efficient and to the point but Fray's straightforwardness brought about similar results. Perhaps because neither liked wasting time they got along even though they had different personalities? Maybe it was because their kin were together? Ares didn't know but he paid attention to Fray either way. "The Li clan is more than willing to accept your terms but I have one of our own I'd like to throw in if that's alright with you?"
"We feel the same." Poniard nodded and spoke up before Ares could ask for details.
"That's a good start but what is it you two want from me? I like to think this is already a great deal and favours you heavily so don't be too unreasonable..." Demanding base line level loyalty for the greatest resources these two clans could ever dream of was an exchange that was hardly fair so to ask for more...
"Ah it's nothing major." Fray waved his hand dismissive as if to brush away the budding tension. "Every now and then, when you have time, we just want you to spar with our clan members personally. In Garmr form, I mean. Yes I know it's not a fair fight but it should be good motivation and a unique method of training against a physically tougher, and larger, opponent. I've thought about it ever since I saw Garmr's debut at the international but sparring with that thing would be really beneficial for training, even for someone like me." Li Fray was maybe the second best hand to hand combatant in all of Sheryashka but even he wouldn't dare throw a fist at Garmr without a Training Field to save his sorry hide.
"Sure, that's manageable. I'm not always going to be at the sect, I may disappear for even years at a time, but I can set aside some time for sparring when I am here so long as you understand that." Ares was ok with this arrangement, it's not like he was ever going to find people who actively wanted to train with Garmr after all. It would be good to get him some fresh air and allow him to flex his muscles every now and then. Maybe the clan, as a whole, would be able to become something special via his meat and at least partially keep up with Garmr to some extent.... Maybe... "And what about the Nicks? I take it you don't want me to beat up your disciples so I'm guessing you want something similar but functionally different?"
""Correct."" Though Ares asked Poniard, Dirk also gave the exact same response. Like father, like son.
Poniard shot Dirk a sharp look and snorted when his son looked away and whistled to himself. "We aren't muscle brains like the Frays but a live demonstration would be helpful to us as well. Simply put, our training method would have you sit still, inflict minor wounds on your own body, and let us try to control the blood that flows from you. Sitting around for a while might be boring but we won't ask for any more of your time than the Frays receive. Is that acceptable?"
Ares nodded as he would just spend that time passively cultivating. He'd much rather do it at home but a deal's a deal and a small obligation was worth it if it meant ending these talks on a positive note. "Sure, but I expect good things in return. I already did but if you're pushing for more benefits then I expect comparable performance from you both should the need ever arise."
The meeting progressed smoothly enough, and ended with Ares transforming into Garmr so the patriarchs could get a closer look, and finished on a high note. Mission accomplished so now Ares could return back home and become a lazy bum for a while. He still had various things to do, studying under Bahru and Shu for example, but otherwise? Otherwise he could lie down on the couch and nap to his heart's content. For the first time in months he felt like he could lean back and not worry about anything! Soon he'd be heading towards Akarala for the next leg of his journey but for now he was getting some well earned peace and quiet... For the most part. He did still have to keep booting Tai off his mountain every now and then... Ares would have to improve his home defence system to automate itself while he was gone.