Chapter 512: Signs Everywhere

Inside or outside the barrier, what remained true was that most planets had checkpoints set up in space near the atmosphere to prevent unknown dangers or those with criminal records from passing through. Ares technically was problematic, he didn't have any sort of identification other than the mug he was born with, but thankfully the group he was travelling alongside were well enough known that their name allowed them to function as a guarantor on his behalf. Put simply, they'd be held accountable for Ares' behaviour... Which made him very tempted to act out of line! He wouldn't, mostly because he'd be too busy exploring, but there was a very real temptation gnawing away at him to chuck a Perish Armillary somewhere and spook everyone on the planet. This planet seemed to be smaller than Sheryashka, roughly half the size, so any sort of devastating art would be twice as cataclysmic. This was a planet Ares could destroy if he put his back into it, the musing and mumbling of which horrified the group he was with. Hugo, with twitching eyes, delicately asked if Ares was kidding or not but his response of 'obviously I can' seemingly broke the poor man. His hands took the form of cramped claws that shook violently and his posture sunk as he realised he'd picked a fight with a literal demon earlier. If it weren't for the mercy Ares had shown, for no reason other than he was lost and wanted directions, Hugo would have been in a world of hurt. He was temporarily hired by this family and thought it would be a quaint and pleasant outing in which no real harm befell anyone and yet he almost got turned into a firework in the night sky...

"SPACIAN!"

Ares heard a frenzied shout coming from behind so he turned to take a look and see what all the fuss was about. The checkpoint security were all lining up to face some strange monster stampeding about through space and it seemed like these guards were finally going to earn their pay. Apparently a 'spacian' was code for a race of monster that was fairly typical except for the fact that they were genetically tied to space. In this case, there was a star-laden bull held together by spatial mana. Its see-through body almost perfectly blended in with the space around it but the twinkling eyes and the stamping of its hoof, that rippled and echoed through space, gave it away. If Ares were to hazard a guess, spatial aspect mana gave birth to these 'spacians' and, from there, they weren't much different to normal monsters except for the fact that they patrolled outside planets. Perhaps they offered their killer different resources compared to their normal counterpart, and obviously fighting them in space would be different to fighting them on land, in the sky, or in water, but other than that it didn't seem like they were notably special? This bull had a high cultivation base, it seemed to be at least transition realm, maybe a realm higher, but whether that had anything to do with it being a spacian or not Ares didn't know. This was all a series of rough guesses so he decided to help speed up the murdering of this bull and then get answers from his tour guides who were all trying to sneak down towards the planet and not get involved with this monster.

DOOM

No matter how proud this bull was there was no way it could hold its head high in the face of annihilation pressure and war aura bearing down on it. It was strong enough to warrant concern, and would need multiple high cultivation experts to work together to take down, but Ares was still Ares and he was unquestionably superior to this monster in every way. Whatever method this spacian used to get it's cultivation so damn high it had clearly skipped out on building up its foundation properly and so didn't appear to be too much for Ares to handle. Whatever spacians were they didn't seem to cultivate in a way that was proper and thorough, prioritising rapid gains over stable improvement. Of course their cultivation base, as a result, was high enough to bully weaklings but against someone who was actually strong, and earned their cultivation the hard way, that fake 'strength' would crumble. Spacians were basically just playground bullies who took advantage of helpless cultivators roaming the stars without backup plans or safety nets, that appeared to be the gist of it. Perhaps hey were numerous but not enough to ruffle tthe feathers of experienced cultivators. Regardless, Ares took centre stage and summoned his war aura flag. He clutched it firmly and it lit up in a brilliant gold and, after being lightly thrown, it swerved through space with a will of its own. The bull barely had time to blink before the flag pierced its neck and dragged it towards a nearby floating rock.

"Grand Annihilation." The magic Ares stored inside the flag shot out like an unleashed hound and bombarded the bull at point blank range, blasting it head first into the rock and leaving it basically half dead and flattened on its side. It tried to raise its head but the flag had chased it down and wedged itself firmly into its brain, pinning its corpse to the rock, so the fight was actually already over. Either spacians were weak, Ares was overpowered, or monsters in Sheryashka seriously needed to take their foot off the gas. To be honest, it was probably a combination of all three but Ares wasn't going to dwell on it because he was already Voidwalking back towards his group. The guards were left stunned. Thankful but stunned because that was tthe fastest they'd ever personally seen a spacian dealt with and it was some random guy in sensory enhancement who did it. That bull really was slightly above transition realm and yet it just got turned into roadkill by an fully autonomous flag. Then again, Ares looked highly unnatural from the start anyway as he appeared flying through space without the flight art that signified someone was in the transition realm. That alone was strange but now this? And golden magic? It seemed like some of the more up to date guards were figuring it out but Ares had basically already left and wasn't in the mood to sign autographs. "I know I'm incredible but can you stop looking at me like that? I'm going to blush..." Ares stuck his tongue out at the group of four who were all taking turns looking at him with a mix of reverence and awe. "Anyway, what's a spacian?" Hopefully this question would bring these lot back to their senses as they all slowly flew towards the biggest city on this planet.

"Spacians... They're annoying..." Hugo took charge to give this explanation which made sense. He was a hired bodyguard who frequently spent a lot of time escorting people through space. Given the nature of the monster being discussed it was to be expected he'd come across his fair share of them. It seemed he was implying they were common enough that someone like him would feel agitated at the mere mention of their name and it was understandable. How much easier would his life be if these nuisances didn't exist and constantly pester him while he worked? There probably weren't many monsters flying around through space so this one race was singlehandedly keeping everyone occupied on their journeys and preventing people from letting their guard down. One thing Ares noticed about spacians was that the monster was hard to detect and even he only really noticed it after the guards called out. Sure he wasn't expecting anything to show up so close to the planet but, given how numerous they supposedly were, journeys through space might actually not be that safe after all as spacians were likely to pop up here and there.

The guard continued his spacian lecture. "Because spacians are effectively born in space they're really hard to spot. That bull had noticeably bright stars on its body but sometimes they're barely visible at all. That tends to happen with more stealth oriented beings like snakes or panthers, or smarter spacians that can control it at will, but its troublesome regardless. Anyway, spacians are a mixed bag. They can really be anything, any shape or size, and there's nothing stopping them from being sentient either. Some spacians are mindless, hazardous and belligerent monsters that pick fights with everything that moves. Some are wise dragons residing in large asteroids and hoarding treasures or pretty star ladies living ordinary lives on planets like the rest of us. You never really know what you're gonna get so it's best to keep your wits about you until you understand roughly what type of spacian you're dealing with. If you see a spacian walking through civilisation, though, they're almost definitely not a threat so don't attack every single one you see either. Humanoid spacians have integrated fairly well into society, along with some other types, so don't be surprised if you happen to see them wandering around from time to time.

As for spacian combat potential... Well most spacians use space magic, obviously. Higher level spacians will typically not rely too heavily on that aspect, and instead use it as ancillary magic, but that's for high level spacians which don't tend to crop up in lower domains. Also, spacian cultivation is usually higher than the average because they gorge on spatial mana to soar through the stages faster than is humanly possible. It's efficient but not effective so the rule of thumb is that a cultivator at the same cultivation as a spacian will always win. Of course some smart spacians don't cultivate in this self-destructive manner but you'll have to gauge that yourself. Again, what makes them really insufferable is that you never know what you're getting with a spacian until you actually get into a scuffle with it. A spacian puppy could be more dangerous than a spacian tiger and there's really no rhyme or reason to it, just remain alert constantly is all the advice I can give."

Ares appreciated the rundown but he wasn't entirely convinced he had to go into meetings with these spacians as blind as everyone else did. between Omniscience and nothingness Ares could probably grasp the essence of any given spacian with utmost certainty which was neat. Would it matter much? Maybe, Ares still didn't really understand the full scope of spacians. Seeing one here now meant nothing by itself but, still, if these were going to be the main obstacles in space going forward then it was good to know all of this. Actually, Ares had heard back in Sheryashka that there was a checkpoint around the planet that frequently held off assaults from spatial entities and it was highly likely spacians were involved in that. He'd been planning on taking a look when he ascended to Vraizon so getting a sneak peek here with these monsters now was beneficial. He wouldn't be confused later on so it was handy that bull came charging over... Ares was thinking such things until his mind quite literally froze as the city he was headed towards finally came into view... The largest building in Sheryashka, excluding the C.O headquarters still being built, would barely even be considered average height here! Why was everything made of glass!? Why where there so many lights?! Why did the cars all look so radically different to Ares' only other frame of reference, the Roving Elliot?! Ares gripped the nearby young master's shoulders, leaving him frightened out of his wits, and shook him back and forth with a solitary tear in his eye. "I'm having an existential crisis!"

"No you're not! Stop shaking me!" The young master, dizzy now, was correct. Ares was mostly jsut messing around and aggerating his shock. It's true he was left winded and somewhat speechless by the sight but he wasn't going to curl up into the foetal position and cry or anything. There was a lot to take in despite not even having entered the actual city yet but it wasn't too much to handle. So many people were cramming themselves into skyscrapers and could be seen through the glass panels around their offices if one could be bothered to look hard enough. Citizens walking the street wore radically bright clothing, at least compared to what Ares was used to, and the noise was at a level that was unfathomable to Ares who lived in relative peace and quiet comparatively. Horns honking, idle chatter on phones, buskers playing various instruments, street preachers of various faiths. Everything was happening everywhere all the time but it had a strange appeal to it too. For Ares it was unusual but the people here weren't fussed by any of this and treated it like this was the norm. For them it was but for Ares? Even with all the graceful footwork in the world he still felt like he'd stumble into a person accidentally if he was dropped in the middle of a place like this without prior warning. Honestly, if he used visitation to hide his presence, he could genuinely train his footwork here by avoiding people on the pavement for a few days if he had time to spare.

It wasn't all bizarre, though, as there were things even Ares recognised. Certain food types were common enough no matter where in the world you lived and Ares could spy a burger and milkshake shack that was undeniably the kind of place Bellona would visit each and every day if she could. Actually, the more Ares looked around, the more he realised Bellona would love everything about the outside world. Ares spied a 'cinema' and recalled that she loved films. The vehicles that were absolutely everywhere would catch her fancy too, no doubt, and food and fashion were all in line with her preferences also. Bellona could be teleported to a random city outside the barrier and blend in like a fish in water so Ares really had to get her out here at some point because there was no way she'd be happier in a place like Sheryashka compared to this. This was most definitely her preferred life style and these were most definitely her people.

As for Ares, it's not like he didn't see things he was interested in either and various food stalls caught his attention. There were plenty of old classics, like pizza and noodles, as well as new dishes to try!... Though he did spot a ridiculously overpriced sandwich shop and nearly cried at the prices. There was no way he was leaving a high-grade stardust sized hole in his wallet for a damn sandwich and a drink! That was highway robbery no matter how he sliced it! Why weren't the owners of that business being arrested and taken away to a dungeon for running some kind of fraudulent cover for money laundering?! For a single high-grade Ares could get a lifetime supply of sandwiches from Fixer's Sandwich Bar back home! Plus they probably tasted better and were way bigger too! Scam detected! Better yet... Why was that shop even selling truffle and caviar sandwiches to begin with!? Why on earth was anyone buying into this nonsense!? That was arguably the greatest culture shock Ares experienced in the last minute or so and the thig that offended his sensibilities the most. There was more to see, however, so he entered the city and kept his eyes peeled to try and catch every single detail of anything not par the course. 

Ares came to understand traffic lights, the prevalence of phones, and even 'barcodes' which Tom Tom mentioned way back during a riddle in the Riddlemyd. He saw the latest fashion trends through shop windows, and didn't understand any of them, as well other pieces of foreign technology like music players and earphones, watches that could do more than just tell the time, and extremely large TVs. Ares had never imagined in his wildest dreams that TVs could get as large as some of the ones he was seeing. Obviously the widescreen and curved ones were fascinating but the jumbo ones on the side of buildings, advertising all sorts of beauty and food products, was another matter entirely! The only thing keeping Ares sane was that these large TVs were occasionally advertising cultivation resources, treasures, artifacts, and auctions too. This was still the world he knew! Cultivation society was, deep down, the roots of all of this even if they'd been buried somewhat and were now hard to find!

Actually, the undisputable easiest way to see cultivation related topics in this city was to keep an eye out for anything sports related. Cultivator sports were really taking over in popular culture so many shops were selling sports gear that weren't dissimilar from the sorts of rune-engraved armor Ares created for his disciples back in the sect. Of course they were structurally weaker, and had runes that were mostly for cleaning and minor defense rather than anything suited for real life combat, but it was still familiar territory that grounded Ares. There was even a sports stadium that reminded Ares of the scorched grounds coliseum and apparently they held all sorts of competitions there. Football, swimming, bullet hell matches. Even things like magical engineering contests, cultivation theory seminars, and dance tournaments with judges were all events booked and ready to take place in a month or two whenever there was a free slot available. According to the group Ares was with that stadium was the real highlight and money maker, raking in all the cash on this planet, that attracted tourism from other planets and, in some cases, even other domains. This city wasn't just the largest on this planet, it was well known across the entire Lowe domain and a real hub for everything and anything trendy. Ares had been thrown in the deep end of modern culture, basically, and he was taking it all in so he could relay his findings to his loved ones back home and clue them in to what kind of life awaited... To some extent anyway. They'd all still live in the sect but these places would be within arms reach, and they could enjoy them freely, as soon as the barrier was down. Ares could also steal some aspects of this and integrate it into the sect back home too if it was worth doing. Something like a giant jumbo TV to make announcements with in each of the disciple areas might be useful.

There was a lot going on... But there was something that was really unnerving in the midst of all this. Marvels caught the eye and every single person Ares passed seemed exuberant and filled with life, aside from those in suits looking glum as they waddled to work anyway... It was great... But there was something unnatural, something really out of place that Ares just had to ask the young master about because, of everyone, he should surely know what was up with this strange phenomenon. "So, uh, this is wonderful and all. I can get used to his if given enough time and all... But what's up with those shoddy signs everywhere?" Ares was looking at, at least, thirty different wooden signs all with the word 'tryouts' etched onto them in lazy and messy handwriting. These signs were crooked, made of partially snapped wood, and didn't exactly blend in with everything else around. Plus they had some strange and ominous aura about them that was rather off-putting. That word' tryouts' had made a return and in ugly fashion too. Those signs really weren't meshing well and they stuck out like a sore thumb to Ares. On the sides of buildings, at crosswalks pointing towards a dark alley, attached to parked cars... They were everywhere and nobody seemed to bat an eye at them which was almost unsettling...

"What signs?" The young master was classless, much like everyone else appeared to be.

Ah. Ares was now really interested in whatever these tryouts were because this was all clearly not normal even for the world outside the barrier. Why could only Ares see these signs? Well he was using Omniscience right now to get a feel for the modern world. He was curious about how certain things worked so using omniscience to understand anything complicated was a given... But it seemed like he caught sight of something that was supposed to remain hidden... Or at least only visible to those with extraordinary means at their disposal. "Ok, never mind for now. I'll tell you later. Let's find your mother first and then you can explain those tryouts to me and we'll take it from there." Ares wasn't in any rush to deviate from the plan... But now he was really interested in these tryouts, whatever they were!