Chapter 445: Chalk It up to Ares

Swish

A small sandstorm kicked up around the roving Elliot as Ares broke through into the next stage of sensory enhancement. There'd never been any sort of world recognition of his increase in cultivation but this time the mana in the air grew restless and a small storm rattled against the windows. Ares was going to have to keep an eye out for his advancements through stages and realms in the upcoming future because his ascent to bloodline awakening was something even the universe had to respect. Sure he'd brought out Garmr before but this time it would be different as his majestic presence would be able to freely come and go without restraint. The stages leading up to his grand awakening were making a ruckus and Ares would have to give his cultivation location due consideration next time he was going to breakthrough. It started off small here today as he reached the 6th stage but the closer he drew to bloodline awakening the more rowdy the kickback in recognition of Ares' talent was going to get. Ares might even be the first person to ever experience a tribulation during a breakthrough to a realm so early in their cultivation journey.

Tribulations were essentially the manifestation of a person's own power backfiring to make sure they could wield said power appropriately without exploding. Talented cultivators with tons of mana, muscle and brute strength in their bulky frames, hundreds of treasures on their person, an ancient and powerful bloodline, etc... Would all face tribulations at some point. Eventually they became a culmination of energy and mana that would cause natural disasters whenever they further increased their power via cultivation. Ares, for example, had a metric ton of magical power, pressure, and strength with Garmr, at his disposal and it would run rampant whenever he reached a new realm, eventually, and fight back in a bid to prevent him from ascending his cultivation any further. It was the body's natural way of telling a cultivator to stop amassing power that was too much for them to control; a self-inflicted test of sorts for the safety of the individual. If a cultivator failed to convincingly live through a tribulation they would face a setback, the severity of which coincided with how big a failure it was. If a person was half dead on the floor at the end of their tribulation they might even lose an entire realm of cultivation, such a thing had happened before. On the flip side, not even a single stage of cultivation will disappear if the failure to breakthrough, and control the rampant power, was extremely close and they would simply have to try again at another time.

What form a tribulation took depended on the source of each individual's strength, and could come in many unpredictable forms as a result, but what remained undeniable was that only the truly talented would experience them because only they sought measures beyond the cope of their limits. This was something that came way later in the cultivation journey, though, and so the build up to a tribulation that Ares was experiencing now was unheard of for someone so young. Even the matriarchs of the four Vraizon clans hadn't all necessarily had a tribulation yet! The unsealing of Garmr, even though it still required an unchaining, was something his own body couldn't ignore and so there would almost definitely be a tribulation of some sort waiting for him to try and stop him in his tracks from achieving such a thing. His body just wanted to make sure Ares could handle the power before he crossed the realm of no return. If Garmr drove Ares berserk it would spell the end of days as well as the end of Ares so, in a way, his body was ahead of the curve and smoothening out Ares' own cultivation journey for him to make sure nothing went horribly wrong. Cultivators were incredible things that weren't truly well understood! That being said, Ares could not reach the next realm in a busy area or he might just accidentally kill off everyone for miles around him by dragging them into whatever his tribulation was going to be. An acquisition and consolidation of so much raw power was not going to be a minor matter and Ares' tribulation might be enough to blow up a small town or something equally ridiculous.

As an aside, it used to be commonly thought that the heavens were responsible for tribulations. when heaven became somewhat accessible to the general public, however, they confirmed it had zilch to do with them and they weren't so idle they would go around blasting and smiting cultivators all day long. The notion they were stalking every single person in the world at all times to drop lightning bolts on their head as soon as they started cultivating, like some kind of heavenly prank, was preposterous but it was a myth that had existed for millennia, as it was propagated often by the denizens of hell to tarnish their reputation, and needed clearing up. The existence that was a 'cultivator' was a pretty profound thing, and there was still plenty to discover about them, which is why research around cultivation society was booming even to this day. Sevorus and his master may have been stand outs but there were many just like them in the wider world, sequestered in caves and such, conducting all manner of experiments. Hell Ares only recently revealed the nature of stardust and that was a pretty major find. Sevorus' master had turned cultivators into unspeakable precious treasures that stood at the apex of cultivation society too. When the word 'God' was used it typically referred to the mightiest being who oversaw a pillar and its aspects but the truth of the matter was that every cultivator, in their own way, was a God. Even someone in mental accumulation, back when cultivation first became a well known thing in this universe, would have been considered a 'God'. Everyone's perspective on such a matter had shifted over time, as people grew ever stronger, but the truth of the matter was still that even the weakest of cultivators was an inexplicable being to mere mortals. It was therefore unsurprising cultivators were considered strange existences worth dissecting and exploring the nature thereof. Self inflicted tribulations to regulate unchecked power, turning into stardust in death, potential to become legendary treasures... Cultivators were truly a phenomenon! Who knows what other manner of undiscovered secrets they were hiding?

As for Ares' cultivation base, he was closer to bloodline awakening than he looked. Sure there were four more stages and a realm to cross first but Ares had been piling up achievements and daring feats of strength in battle for a while now. The only reason he didn't breakthrough sooner was because he stubbornly refused to sit down and cultivate like everyone else did. Truthfully he could probably reach the 7th stage too, and make decent progress through it, if he sat around and cultivated for another day or two. He still had a lot of cultivation juice left in the tank if he ever wanted to actually make use of it. All in all, Ares was expecting to be at least at the 8th stage of sensory enhancement by the time he left Xasca, maybe 9th if he could finagle some good opportunities. There were plenty of strong foes for dedication cultivation to do its thing and improve Ares' cultivation via combat so he wasn't starved for 'resources'. Regardless, Ares was done cultivating and it was high time he left the Elliot to go do his thing. It was dark out, most residents of Xasca city were probably asleep in their nice warm beds, and the black market was getting underway right this very moment.

Ares took a deep breath, clapped his cheeks and sandwiched his face between his palms, and stood up with a bold determination oozing out of his every pore. He turned to Sandy, delivered to her a spatial ring full of food for a late dinner he promised her, and said his goodbyes for now. He would return once the deed was done and get a good night's rest but it was high time he buried a monster who was living in the wrong era and had no business still living to this day. As Ares left and closed the door to the caravan, Sandy stopped chewing on some soup-dipped bread and stared at the entrance to the city... She was extremely tempted to join in the fray but ultimately she restrained herself. Ares was right and she knew there was a very real chance she ended up being a hindrance. Now was the time to not bother him and have faith he could sort this out on his own, even if she was admittedly worried for his safety...Oh well, at least the chicken noodle soup she was devouring left a nice and cosy feeling in her chest that assured her everything would be fine!

Ares walked down a few quiet alleyways and pulled the Zephyr hood up and over his face. He was tempted to use the Blackout rune and really go all in on the disguise but it would also bring attention to himself he really didn't want. It made his features impossible to discern but that also stood out in its own way and he would be doing a disservice to the black market goers who were trying to remain lowkey in a more natural fashion. Ares had never been to such a place before so he figured it was for the best if he just went with the flow and didn't go overboard. It was somewhat of a problem, though, because he was pretty recognisable given his rising reputation. He would have to keep his head down low and really avoid direct contact with people to the best of his ability... But that in and of itself was somewhat of an awkward task because Ares had come up with a strange plan he was going to try and enact. He wanted to set up something outlandish and risky but, if it paid off, and he wasn't spotted or stopped, he would have a massive advantage tonight... The real issue was how much attention he would bring upon himself if he wasn't extremely careful. His plan was bold but it was better than nothing so he rounded a corner and approached the dilapidated side of Xasca city while taking in the sights.

Every building here was dirty, decrepit, and borderline destroyed with some even missing roofs and multiple floors. They looked more like cracked black egg shells than buildings but there were rooms hidden in the back of them, tucked away out of view, for shady deals to take place in. Broken windows and shattered glass reflected moonlight here and there but it was well and truly dark for the most part with no street lamps to speak of. Any lamps that should have been lit at this hour were snuffed out and guarded by scruffy looking individuals who were ready to pick fights for even the smallest inconvenience. It was unsurprising, then, for Ares to feel the presence of many other people also lurking around corners and in shadows, waiting for vulnerable prey and other such opportunities while under the cover of darkness afforded to them by their collaborators. Ares was eyed up by hidden malefactors like dogs drooling over a juicy steak but was then subsequently ignored when a boundless, ancient and destructive aura was spied under his garb. He'd made his dangerous self apparent enough for even these idiots to understand and so they backed off to search for other unguarded prey to hunt down instead. There were guards around to try and prevent such unscrupulous acts but they all travelled in groups for their own safety and that made them easy to spot at a distance and avoid if one had a reason to.

There was also one more key factor about these slums, one Ares really appreciated, and that was a large square area directly in the middle of where Ares assumed the black market sellers were located. The open area served as a sort of hub that everyone could disperse from and travel through to reach the buildings dotted around the side. From there, each level of the building would house different sellers and shops and it was up to the individual to visit them all to find whatever they might have been searching for. If the guards came around then people milling in the square and walking back and forth was entirely excusable because this square led to a lot of different places within the slums and nothing could be pinned on their innocuous actions. It wasn't surprising there would be many people here trying to simply get to their 'harmless' destination. Furthermore, the merchants hiding in the buildings could either jump out the broken windows and blend in with everyone else or pack up their stuff and act like homeless folk with a large rucksack to sleep in if the guards broke in forcefully. Sure people had been caught before in the black market but that was why the location of the black market changed somewhat regularly. Each and every time, though, the location was perfect for conducting business as well as blending in. Still, if you travelled through the slums for long enough with a sense of purpose, understanding roughly what you were looking for, you'd find the black market eventually and all that was needed from there was to have the passcode. If you got it wrong then everyone around would become incredibly defensive and maybe even ambush you collectively so nosy guards didn't live long and cautious ones could prove nothing no matter how certain they were. Raids had happened before but with no proof of wrongdoing all the participants of the black market had to be let go. The higher ups of security in this city figured it was best to just let the black market happen but oversee it and make sure nothing got out of hand instead. Careless individuals would still get caught, though, so the status quo remained as it always had been despite being given non-explicit permission to be here and take part.

Ares was dead certain this square was the place. If he were wrong then he'd just keep searching but there was an unmissable ominous aura in the air and, if he were to guess, the stepper had been here at some point already. The stepper was a notorious visitor and guest of the black market, even if others were unaware of this fact, and so that was a good enough sign for Ares that he was on the right track... He just hoped there wouldn't be other 'signs' scattered around the place waiting for him to find them... Ares shook his head and didn't worry about that for now. Dealing with the stepper ought to happen later, once he was done with his own goals. The damn thing could wait its turn.

Ares walked towards the centre of the square, shuffling past some other hooded and cloaked figures, before bringing out a piece of chalk from his Primordial Blade and slashing it across a tarp covering an empty stand. Whoever ran the place during the day would not appreciate this mindless vandalism but, for now at least, Ares just looked like an unstable hoodlum to everyone passing by. His actions were incomprehensible but minor enough that they could be ignored without a problem... And then he did it again. He passed by a fruit stall and dragged his chalk over some empty boxes that must have housed somewhat fresh produce at some point earlier in the day. The line he drew was not straight and curved in unnatural ways but, again, his actions were seen as nothing more than punkish behaviour. Who was going to make a scene and call out to him, over something this unimportant, when everyone was specifically trying to blend in? That was suicide! There were some guards patrolling down a nearby street too so kicking things off and ruining the whole night was especially ill-advised. Plus Ares had jsut walked into a building now anyway so following him in and looking for trouble was pointless as he was likely done chalking up the place. As for why Ares had done this... Nobody knew other than him. Even Dominus, watching form the sidelines inside Ares' bloodstream, couldn't possibly understand what this guy was attempting to do.

As for the guy in question, Ares walked into the kitchen area of this rundown building and took a sharp turn to the right to find a man huddled in the corner, seemingly minding his own business as he stared at the floor with an empty gaze . "The desert asks many prices of those who venture through it and we're all no better..." Ares had hardly finished speaking his piece by the time a metal pin was chucked at him from the unassuming man. Ares caught it, pierced his ear with it, and kept it hidden under his hood so it wasn't visible at a glance but could be displayed easily enough whenever he found a merchant and wanted to make a transaction. It was better to do this than to flaunt the pin lest any guards had above average IQ and realised something was very obviously up. A mysterious figure walking around in the slums, at night, with a sense of purpose, and an identifying pin on their chest? That was asking for trouble, especially on black market night. If nothing else they might suspect Ares of being part of some kind of gang so it was better to just not run the risk.

That aside, Ares watched as the man opened up his jacket, revealing an array of goods neatly tucked inside. The merchant spoke no words and would only do as such when it came time to demand a price. If someone wanted to know what his goods were they weren't meant to have it in the first place, that was the attitude a lot of these sellers took. They weren't the type that was up for friendly conversation. The main reason being that someone who didn't know the item didn't would also not know the worth and a lot of sellers didn't want to haggle with ignorant idiots that needed everything explained to them. As Ares looked over all the goods, mostly herbs, flowers, grasses, and other such alchemical ingredients, he could feel the presence of another person staring daggers into his back and silently threatening him. He paid it no mind, though, because this was likely the merchant's security detail who would leap into action the moment Ares pulled any funny business. The goods circulating through this place would naturally be incredibly rare and nobody wanted to get robbed here. Hell the presence baring down on Ares seemed to be near the peak of transition realm so it was clear everyone here took their safety very seriously. Ares could have responded in kind, and blasted away the gaze with a bolt of annihilation pressure, but why pick a fight over something so trivial? The seller had nothing Ares was interested in so he just shook his head and walked away while the gaze on him abruptly disappeared, ready to move onto the next customer who dropped by. It was probably going to be like this every time he sought out wares so Ares figured it was better to get used to it and tolerate it instead of demanding privacy from these unknown third parties. They were either the people who ran the black market or people hired by the merchants and, either way, they ought not to be an issue. they were simply upholding the integrity of the black market.

Ares left the building, as there was only one floor and one seller in it, and started walking clockwise to begin his route. He would check every merchant's wares one by one but, more importantly, he wanted to circle around the entire square at least once, preferably multiple times. Why? Well... He'd brought out the chalk again... His actions prior to this point could be ignored but this time things were even stranger. If he just painted a wall, or some random objects, then people would treat him as a simple nuisance but, this time, he crouched down and started drawing lines along the floor as well... Whatever this 'idiot', in the eyes of the fellow shoppers anyway, was doing, he was really standing out and not in a good way... Ares could feel multiple people staring at him but he refused to budge on this matter and begun chalking another stall on his way to the next building. He was getting somewhat sick of the staring, though, so this time he did fire off pressure to retaliate against his observers. He also followed it up with divine sense combined with an Echo to create the feeling of being watched by a constant, overbearing sonar pulse in those that had been targeting him. The pressure combined with the ever watchful retaliation had put his onlookers on notice and they were forced to retreat their stares lest he come pick a fight with them personally. His actions made it clear he was far stronger than them, as he'd silenced every single person by his lonesome, and had the power to repel anyone and everyone being nosy. Multiple transition realm cultivators had just had their senses forcibly retracted and restricted, weighed down by irresistible pressure, and then been forced to sit there as Ares' own vision appeared in their territory and dominated it like an immovable mountain. Every attempt to remove his divine gaze was blocked off and blasted away by the pulsating Echo so they all took the hint and left well enough alone as anyone this strong was not to be trifled with. Ares was thus free to keep chalking the place up but why he was doing such a thing was lost on everyone. All they could do was hope he wouldn't draw attention to this place...

Meanwhile, there was one person who was slowly figuring out what Ares' plan was. It took a while, because the chalk seemed random at first, but now Dominus was starting to put the puzzle pieces together and work it all out... Holy crap... No way... Dominus, in all his years, had never seen a strategy this bold and unleasable before. He was stunned stupid that Ares weas attempting such a petty and stupid thing but he had to admit the guy had some serious balls. This was an underhanded method that not even Dominus could have ever come up with in his countless millions of years of existence and so he had to hand over the crown of deviousness to Ares for the silly nonsense he was trying to pull here. Anyone who saw and understood Ares' plan involving this chalk would be flabbergasted at the brazenness of it but it was admittedly extremely clever if he could pull it off. Dominus felt like slapping himself for not noticing what this guy was up to sooner, and he might have even fallen for it himself if he was in the stepper's shoes, but it was honestly a brilliant plan that he had to give some respect to. Ares had some brains on him alright and the stepper was in for a rude awakening when the battle kicked off... Only Ares would do something this unpredictable...