Chapter 70: Flintlock and Load

Ares rolled out of his bed and fell flat on his face onto the floor... Because he wasn't sleeping on his bed, he was on a hammock again and forgot about that minor detail. Ares groaned as he looked up and around the living room. There were a number of hammocks dotted around for everyone who decided to stay over, minus Sadie who got drunk and was lying half way off the sofa. Ares wasn't even sure where she got the alcohol, he certainly didn't have any lying around; not because he didn't drink, he just hadn't bought any recently. It was probably Sadie's own stash... Was this woman going to her house every evening and getting drunk alone?! Ares decided to do his best to keep alcohol as far away from Enyo as possible just in case. Legion women were strange creatures to Ares. Ares crawled through the mess and escaped the living room that was littered with mess and smelled like the curry he'd made yesterday. He would clean everything up later after everyone had left as there was no point waking them all up just so he could do it now. He could also maybe make Aejaz do it with his magic if he blackmailed Ahem... Asked him to do it nicely. Ares crept out of the house and decided to go for a walk and get some fresh air. The core disciples were participating in their regionals today and Ares figured he might as well go and take a gander. It had already started, and he wasn't going to stay for long when he finally got there, but he didn't really have any specific plans anyway. After closing the front door, he turned and spotted Charity and Gladius outside. They must have left a little earlier and were on their way back to their house.

"Hey, good morning."

"Morning." Charity replied while yawning. "Man, it was worth moving here 100% even if just for the food alone. Sorry in advance if we gate-crash here and there, but its really your own fault for making food that good. Even that Onno guy was salivating, and he's a pretty posh guy who gets served high quality food all the time 'cos of his upbringing. Although why you two were doing business at a party and discussing how you were going to divvy up the profits is beyond me... Not that this shmuck was any better..." Charity glared at Gladius. "... Asking Sadie to go out back with him and train... Honestly."

Gladius shrugged. "I was pretty pumped after the fight and I really want to get stronger, why not?"

"Sadie was DRUNK! Forget a spear, she couldn't even hold her vomit!"

"Excuse me, what did you just say?" Ares couldn't ignore that last part. 

"Erm, nothing?"

"She vomited in the toilet, right?!"

"Be careful where you step in your back garden..."

"Your fucking with me... She better clean that up! If she doesn't, I'm going to Grand Annihilation it! And when Rud comes complaining, I'll direct him to her and see how she likes having her wages cut!"

"Uh, well I wish you the best of luck."

"Yeah... Thanks. By the way, what's up with that..." Ares noticed Gladius fervently shaking his head and waving his hands in a feeble attempt to stop Ares' next question. "... Scratch mark on your face?"

…

…

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"THAT LITTLE FUCKER! I AM GOING TO PUNT THAT DAMN FURBALL THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIM!"

"Oh, I see..." Leo appeared to have had his own fun yesterday. "Well I'm off, see you around..." Ares hurriedly took his leave while Charity was debating whether or not to go back in the house and pick a fight with the tiger. Ironically, Gladius himself felt as though he was also wrestling with a tiger as he struggled to convince Charity to let the matter go. He did succeed in the end... Barely.

Ares dawdled as he observed everyone else going about their lives in the sect. Most disciples made an effort to avoid him like the plague, with a few even throwing valuables at him on sight in attempt to appease someone who wasn't even mad at them to begin with... Not that Ares was going to correct that moneymaking misunderstanding. Ares did wonder, though, if his reputation in this sect would ever improve. It seemed like no matter how many Shock Rocks he sold, he would still be more reputable as the demon who created them rather than the saint that gifted them. Oh well, they are violent in nature. Maybe people's opinions will slowly change when the Block Rocks go on sale. The experimentation period was over and they were ready to be sold, today was the first day they would appear in the stall so Ares avoided the market place that would inevitably be busy beyond belief. The most popular stall in the sect finally getting a second product to add to its line-up?... Yeah, that was going to be one hell of a mess, bigger than even the one in his back garden... Ares shook his head and eventually arrived at the training hall. The outside area was very much unusable after Ares let loose but, thankfully, there wasn't much of a difference between inside or outside other than the nice weather being wasted. At least, if nothing else, Onno's lackey wouldn't be working in the heat again... Ares looked around and noticed Teng waving him over, so he went to go greet him. Not being treated like devil spawn by an elder was a nice change of pace. Then again, it was mostly Rud that did that and a few other elders Ares hadn't interacted with. Ares raised his hand and waved as he drew closer. "Hey."

Teng waved back too. "Hello! Came to check out the core disciples?"

Ares looked over his shoulder at the ongoing fight, if it could really even be called that. Today's matches were going to be wrapped up pretty quickly thanks to Eagerton who was on a roll. "Just taking a stroll and figured I would stop by... Eagerton's really killing it... Literally." 

"He said something about being 'inspired'. I dared not ask because I didn't want to risk ruining his mojo... That and I wouldn't have understood his rambling anyway." Over in the Training Field, Eagerton's hand danced across the page, penning striking cursive that came alive and proved it was stronger than any sword. "How much do you know about Eagerton and his magic?"

"Not much, honestly. Just that it's an inferior version of creation magic... According to him anyway, I haven't really seen either, not that I don't believe him. Creation is a fundamental pillar, after all... Ah, fundamental means unique like mine, there's someone similar to me out there, but the magic is a little different. The creation pillar is like the technical pillar in that it has no aspects under it. It's a completely free pillar with no restrictions other than the user's own creativity. It's quite good at cheating out runes, gadgetry, and machinery, amongst other things. Then again, it can do basically whatever it wants."

"I see... that sounds like the complete opposite of your magic, no?"

"Pretty much. It comes down to whoever can do their own gameplan more. Can I destroy everything he can create, or will he summon more than I can destroy? It's a rather interesting debate. I'd rather find out with brute force though. As far as Eagerton's magic is concerned, it looks like he has to actually write down the thing he wants to summon, right?"

"Mhm, there are a few restrictions to his 'wordsmith' unique aspect. For starters, he literally can't use any other aspect of the forgery pillar; perhaps it's because he can indirectly do it with his own magic anyway, but he can't use any of it directly at all. Also, yes, he has to write it, but he also has to describe it if he wants it to be stronger." On the Field, Eagerton summoned a bolt of lightning that chained through the opposition. "See that? That's a good example. If he just wrote 'lightning', it would have spawned above them and had no extra effects. If he writes 'lightning that strikes with blinding speed', it will be quicker. If he writes 'lightning that strikes with blinding speed and bounces between foes', it will become fast, chain lightning. The strength of the art depends on how fanciful his writing is so, if he wrote something like 'A network of fleshy nodes connected by instantaneous voltage transmission' it would hit harder... Maybe, that particular example might even make it weaker; I wouldn't know as I have no talent in the written arts. It's a pretty difficult magic to use for a number of reasons. You have to be quick at writing, coming up with ideas to overcome the current situation, deciding your wording and evaluating how much time you have to do it, and then throwing in literary flare on top of all the above. It sounds like a nightmare to me, I really don't know how he does it. I would have just used variety cultivation and avoided it, but that loon is using dedication cultivation. He locked himself into that path so I guess he must have been confident... And he certainly seems to be good at it so who am I to judge? Oh! Look, that's his personal treasure." Eagerton had pulled out his very own personal treasure... A flintlock? "Haha, your face is pretty priceless right now, Ares. Yes, his personal treasure is a flintlock. It really fits his aesthetic eerily well, doesn't it?" Eagerton pulled the trigger and the opponents were shocked by the exact same chain lightning again. "The treasure's name is 'Plunder' and the art it comes with is called 'Plagiarism'. It lets the wielder copy the last art they used and fire it off again instantly. It perfectly covers up Eagerton's weakness by lowering the downtime between his spell casts. If he ever needs a breather to come up with, or pen down, a new art, he can default to plagiarism!"

"... I'm honestly surprised he's willing to even do that. Well, to each their own. The writing's kinda on the wall with this fight and I doubt he's going to lose even if he had to 1vs5. His teammates seem to understand that just as well... One of them is playing music and minding his own business, after all..."

"Ha, that's Eagerton's brother. It's a miracle he's even participating. It's actually quite hard to pinpoint which of the two is stronger... They're both incredible cultivators who are going to start overtaking the elder's soon enough..."

"He's that strong?" Ares raised his eyebrow as he watched Edgerton pluck away at his guitar.

"Yep, and without a unique aspect too. His use of the sound pillar is pretty simple, but devastating nonetheless. If you're interested in seeing those two go all out, you should watch their matches at the international. The other three are nothing to scoff at either and, at some point, these people will be your competition too. When you become a core disciple, these people will be going after the same treasures and missions as you. If you end up participating in some manner of event alongside them, knowing what they're capable of ahead of time would be wise. Still, it's up to you. The core disciple international final is the day after yours if you choose to watch it."

Ares chuckled. "You seem confident we'll make it to the finals of both."

"... Don't even joke about that. There's modesty, and then there's being an attention seeker. I'm not going to sit here and praise you... You know as well as I do you're making it to the finals, competition be damned."

As Teng and Ares were chatting, a bright beam of light shot up into the sky a few miles away from the sect. Ares noticed this and asked Teng if he knew what was up with it. Ares was going to investigate regardless, how could he not?! But if there was any info on it, it would make his life easier. It seemed like it wasn't anything people were unfamiliar with though as no one paid it much heed.

Teng scratched his chin. "Ah, that would be the tomb that was discovered about two weeks ago. It's the strangest thing, a massive clearing appeared in the forest where there hadn't been one before. Amidst the wreckage of the forest's collapsed trees, a cultivator discovered a tomb of inheritance. The Mayor has been working on opening it up since. They must have made a bit of progress."

Ares thought long and hard about what he'd just been told and, as his thoughts drifted back in time... He recalled an explosive rampage he went on back after parting ways with Aejaz, Allie, and Enyo... Hehe, whoops. It seems I've caused a fuss... Naturally, he decided not to spread the fact that he may or may not have been responsible for the 'sudden clearing' that appeared out of 'nowhere'. "I see, but why is the sect not bothering with it? Isn't this a good chance to get some treasures and rare medicine?"

"For sure... If we could get in... It's been established already that only those below sensory enhancement can get in. Anyone else is just repelled from the area near the entrance. We notified all the disciples about it back before you returned to the sect from your mission. There's also a note detailing everything I've just told you in the mission hall, but I'm guessing you haven't been there recently? Either way, if you're interested, feel free to go take a look. The mayor originally wanted to swallow it up himself, but Hans went and smacked some sense into him. If you want to get in, you'll need either permission from the mayor or from Hans, both of whom will be standing outside the entrance when it eventually opens... Try not to get too involved with their squabbling if you can, they're pretty dangerous fellows. Still, I'm sure you can get in if you sweet talk them a bit. They'd be pretty stoked to give permission to a talented cultivator who would then owe them in some manner." Of course Teng was blissfully unaware that Ares was already pally pally with Hans, but he didn't need to know that.

"Sounds like a good opportunity, I don't have any treasures other than the Zephyr after all. The artifacts I have are nice, but having more options is never a bad thing, and I just so happened to be thinking about searching around for some anyway. Do you have any idea when that tomb will open?"

"Exactly? No. But that light must mean they're close now. If I were to hazard a guess, based on their rate of progress, tomorrow afternoon sounds about right. Still, you should show up earlier. The sooner you get in, the better. Oh, and do be careful? I know you're strong, but dying in a place like that would be pretty disastrous for us... I know that's selfish, but hey, it's true." Teng gave a wry smile as he had nothing else to say about the matter. Ares didn't blame him though, what he was saying was fair. It's not like Teng had any reason to care about him personally, they'd only spoken a few times after all.

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye out. Thanks for the information." Ares bid Teng adieu and blew the joint... Thankfully not with his explosives. He went back home and found the place had been deserted by pretty much everyone... At least everyone who didn't have a hangover, anyway. This time, it was Sadie's turn to fall off something and plant her face into the floor. Unlike Ares, she didn't get up after.

"Aym? Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyym. Help me up Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyymmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."

Yeah, this woman has lost it. Ares went and found a certain something, came back into the living room, and held the 'thing' in question aloft. "Do it."

With an adorable giggle, the 'thing', also known as Appa, summoned roughly a bucket's worth of water above Sadie.

Splash

"HUH?! whOZZat? Whut? Where em I?" Sadie's hangover was causing her to slur her words which made Appa laugh and Ares shake his head.

"Oi! Get up vomit girl. Go clean yourself and your unwanted garden bile up and leave."

"Ughhhhhhhhhh. Gimme ten minutes..."

Ares sighed and left the bedhead monster to her own devices. He rounded the corner and came across a haggard Aejaz. "The hell happened to you?"

Aejaz smiled weakly. "Uh, turns out Allie is a feisty drunk..."

"Seriously?!" Ares unintentionally blurted out his first response as he couldn't imagine Allie being like that at all. He was also shocked that she got drunk in the first place, Sadie was clearly a bad influence! "It's always the quiet ones... Well, good for you. I was looking for you 'cos we're going on an adventure tomorrow, and I'm not taking no for an answer. Consider it a part of your training."

"Eh? What about our actual training with Sadie? That's been going well for me... Can't I just do that instead of going on one of your stupid adventures?"

"Nope. Also it's likely only going to be a one day thing so you won't be missing out on much. Plus..." Ares dangled the Black Ice Acrimony like he was a hypnotist swinging a pendulum. "... If you go, I'll give you this bad boy!"

Aejaz watched the knife rock back and forth. He was tempted to steal it, but Ares would just beat him up and take it back so, if he wanted it... "Fine. But it better just be one day! I don't wanna spend too much time away from Allie."

"Oh? What happened to checking out the world at large?"

"I mean yeah, but me and Allie are getting closer you know? I don't want to interrupt that... We've still got the tournament to worry about anyway, so let's wait and see where we stand when that's over. I think me and Allie are gonna end up going all the way before then... You were right about it only getting easier the more we do, hell she even tried last night but I felt like it was wrong taking advantage in that state, so I said no."

"Oh? Good on you. Not many people have that level of self restraint... I know Enyo wouldn't... That aside, I'm just letting you know to get yourself ready. I'm going to be putting you to work because you didn't do anything during the regionals. I'm not blaming you for it, the circumstances were just as such, but I'm not letting you off the hook either."

"Greaaaaaaat. Say, is there any leftover curry? I'm hungry and Allie probably will be too."

"Yeah, go wild." Ares tossed a spatial ring full of food to Aejaz. "Give me the ring back when you're done with it, those things don't grow on trees..." Ares had invested in a few just so he could hand out food easier... Considering how pricy the rings could be, and how little actual value they had for Ares, it was almost definitely a waste, but he really didn't care if it meant people could have a better time enjoying his meals. "... Also, before you give it back, make sure to clean up the mess in the living room with your magic... If you don't, I'll have Appa randomly burst into your room multiple times every day for the next week without knocking." Aejaz was speechless as his evil mastermind brother walked away snickering to himself.

Ares' next stop was the cultivation rooms. He would do some forgery and runemancy work, make some beads, and work out the kinks of some technical tomes he had on him. On the way there, however, the door to his room swung open and Bellona came out stretching her arms straight up into the air, making her look like a rugby post. "Good morning, Blo'na"

"Fuck off bastard."

"Eh? What did I do?"

"Tsk, 'what haven't you done?' is a more appropriate question... Idiot."

"By the way, are you ok? Enyo told me not to bother you, but you're family if you live in this house and I have an unwritten obligation to make sure you're alright. You know if you need anything I'll do what I can to help no matter what."

Thud

Ares found himself laid flat out on the floor with a fist mark on his cheek. He lay there, perplexed as to what exactly he'd done wrong to deserve this. "You know, most guys don't like it this rough." 

Enyo poked her head out of the room and took stock of the situation. She shook her head and gave Ares the 'I told you so' treatment. "I told you not to talk to Bellona about it..." Enyo rubbed Bellona on the head as she grumpily turned away. "... She's like an angry pet. You have to wait until she comes to you."

Bellona Hmphed and stormed off into the living room without another word.

"Ah, Ares do you have a minute? There's something I want to talk to you about."

Ares tilted his head as his lie detector was on full alert right now. "Ok?" Ares made the foolish mistake of setting foot in the lion's den. He heard the door slam shut behind him and, before he could turn around, he'd been rugby tackled onto the bed. Enyo was lying on top of him and he could feel all of her... Assets pushing up against his back, not that he would ever complain about this. Enyo pulled his head back by the hair and wrapped her other hand around his neck. She leant over and kissed him.

"You've escaped me for two whole days. Now I've got you all to myself!"

Ares, not one to pass up on a good time, let the tides of fate take him... And boy were the tides rough sailing. All of his plans for the day went out the window as he struggled not to drown under Enyo's borderline insatiable lust. His mast stood tall in the face of adversity, however, and he did right by his seamen.

Night rolled around and quiet descended on the house. Although Ares was fine with staying in the living room, he did miss sleeping with Enyo which was why he was understanding of Aejaz' earlier concerns and didn't give him trouble about it. Sleep was pleasant that night as Ares intimately spooned Enyo who smiled contentedly from ear to ear. Well, it was pleasant up until morning came and Enyo tried to make Ares go on another day long voyage... But he had other plans today, so they satisfied each other a few times before he got up and escaped with a Shift to get past the barrier Enyo had laid out on the door. Sneaky woman! Ares was going to have to be watchful around Enyo, especially after they went further. She was not to be trifled with when she was in a very specific mood. She would 100% overturn haven and earth to get her way. A horny Enyo was far scarier than even a mecha dryad, and she seemed to have a habit of being horny often. How did a steadfast, proud knight devolve into this... Ares knew he was technically responsible so he apologised inwardly to the Legion clan who's ace was no longer the person they thought she was. Still, the apology wasn't genuine, Ares had absolutely zero qualms with the person Enyo was now compared to before, and not just because he got to get his rocks off regularly. Seeing Enyo smile, even if she was unashamedly a massive slut in the bedroom, meant whatever it was he'd done throughout the Baja saga had been net positive. He'd do anything to keep her happy... Anything except be a glorified meat pole for the rest of the day because he had a tomb to raid!