Ares knew his partners well enough to know Bellona was feeling motivated right about now so he didn't dwell on it. Bringing attention to it might only deflate her headstrong determination. She was the type to make decisions and act before her brain could stop her so putting up any kind of resistance to err advances, or asking her why, would completely stonewall her as she would find it hard to answer properly. Following along with her bold and brave moods without putting an unnecessary wrench into her plans was for the best so he'd gladly follow her around tomorrow and do whatever she wanted of him. He simply moved the conversation along and let Bellona sizzle and bubble away with that sharp look in her eye. Pretending not to see it was hard, he'd never get over how pretty her eyes were, and when she looked at him like this... Well there was something other than a present he wanted to give her, but patience was a virtue! In the meantime, Ares generated three balls of light via Past Present Polymerisation and held his memories aloft like they were some kind of holy scripture. Enyo lightly flicked his head and told him to stop playing around so he chuckled and handed out the memories. There was a lot to sift through, and it would take the ladies a while to go through everything, so Ares took his leave quietly to deal with some other miscellaneous matters before he returned. He did leave behind some mint honeycomb, bundevara, mango and cream popping candy, and warm hot chocolate though. They'd probably be tired going through that many memories all in the span of about ten minutes so those small tokens of love could tide them over somewhat.
As for right now... There were a few places Ares wanted to visit. Lizzie's technical area, the forging and runemancy buildings, though Julio might be at Dabble's if Ares was lucky and could catch them both at the same time, and the mission hall to go see buddy Ruddy. He also wanted to check in with Li Li and Dirk to set up meetings with their clans but that could wait for now. First order of business... Was to go to the mission hall. If anyone knew where all the elders where, and what they were up to, it would be Rud. Ares' chances of finding Dabble and Julio together where at their highest if he asked Rud politely for answers... 'Politely'. That aside, Ares found himself in the mission hall before he knew it and was already standing in front of a Rud clone whose face looked like thunder. He'd been smiling amicably towards a friendly disciple not even five seconds ago but his face soured to the extreme the second it caught whiff of Ares' presence. "Seems like you were getting used to not having me around. Oh how much fun you must have been having."
Grumble grumble
"Hand over proof of mission completion and get lost, bastard." Rud stretched out his hand and said nothing else. It seemed he now believed rapidity was the best policy when dealing with Ares which meant Ares' natural response was to gum up the works. He sat down on the chair in front of Rud and leant on the desk with a grin so broad it almost didn't fit on his face. "How's life been treatin' ya? Found a girlfriend? Gotten a raise? Cultivated up a stage or two?"
"I'm going to throw up in my mouth if you keep looking at me like that. Ares, you aren't so weak anymore than I'm unable to justify smacking you around!"
"Bwahahaha!" Ares laughed so much his sides nearly hurt and other disciples were avoiding this area like the plague. One individual was radiating unrivalled hostility and the other was borderline crazy! Creepy! "You? You think you can take me, old man? C'mon, let's not give you a heart attack yeah? How about I hold your arm and we get you into bed, hahahaha!"
Rud grit his teeth and held back because he was well aware of Ares' deeds. He had direct communications with other sects and knew from Drai's humble nature he wasn't lying when he stated Ares' objective accomplishments. News from other places travelled quickly too so Ares was not a foe he could win against realistically. Rud wasn't a pushover but seeing Ares grow from annoying but talented whippersnapper to his own superior a hundred times over in the span of a few months was disheartening. This guy was a freak! but more than that, he was a nuisance! "What will it take to get you out of my sight? Do I have to perform an exorcism?!"
"Hehehe, well, how about you fulfill Yulo's request of you and then I'll receive my reward and be on my way."
"Yulo's request... Oh for fuck's sake, I asked Enyo not to tell you this had anything to do with me! You've corrupted that lovely, innocent, upright girl already! Tsk, whatever, I should have known better than to trust anyone who's been infected by you."
"You make me found like some kind of plague."
"One without a cure! Whatever, I'm not above saying thank you. So there, are you happy now? Do you hold so much respect for me you're this desperate for a hint of my acknowledgement, prick?!" Rud snarled at Ares with a half smile but Ares just ignored him.
"If framing it that way helps you sleep at night. By the way, what's my reward for the mission?" Originally, the reward would be determined based on results. Bring back a rare artifact from ancient history? Good reward. Decipher the old languages written on the walls of the Riddlemyd? Great reward... Blowing it up...
"You're lucky enough as is I haven't already kicked you out fo the hall! Whatever, take this and get as far away from me as you can feasibly manage!" Rud slid a piece of paper across the table and Ares gave it a once over. This really wasn't what he expected but it was good in its own way and he was satisfied. Basically, Rud cleaned house. There was a lot of background work that would need to be done to transfer the sect master's position, and some elders needed to be brought in line even now, but Rud had gotten ahold of these matters personally while Ares was in Xasca. He even made note of Dascar's plot and what he was aiming for meaning Rud had done some pretty deep digging. There were also lists of elders, what they were good at, where they were stationed, how much they were paid, etc... Ares' workload upon becoming the sect master would be pretty minimal now thanks to this piece of paper and that was maybe the best reward for his time he could have gotten. It's not like he needed stardust right now and, even if he did, the amount given would be pitiful compared to how much he already owned. There was little the sect could give him he didn't already have so this reward was something actually beneficial to him.
"Aww, how sweet of you. Cheers Rud, you really are my favourite tsundere in this sect." Ares cackled and fled as Rud chucked pens at him, forgetting completely to ask him about the other elders and what they were up to... Fortunately, there were a million and one Ruds throughout the sect if one cared to look for them. The next one Ares saw was on patrol as a member of the disciplinary division, one keeping law and order amongst the disciples, and he wasn't exactly pleased to see Ares but he answered his question nonetheless before running off. A golden explosion on the horizon meant some idiot was using Shock Beads to causse trouble again. This was a semi-frequent occurrence that happened at least once or twice a week and the punishment for it was being ramped up every single time to deter people... But the pros of using one against an enemy more often than not still outweighed the risk and ensuing punishment. Thankfully Ares' Block Rocks were doing a fantastic job protecting people so the number of injuries was actually quite trivial overall. Ares was both the demonic source of pain and misery as well as the angelic guardian angel leaning over everyone's shoulder at the same time!.. For a price, of course! it was cheap to purchase his goods for a disciple but that didn't mean it was free. The sect had seen a sharp uptick in earnings as more and more disciples were completing tasks safer and then buying more and more goods from Ares' stall, creating a economic cycle that was booming to say the least. Throw in the sect's popularity after winning the international and things were looking really promising, actually. Sales for Echo tomes and Shock Beads to outsiders was at a peak as well so none of the elders were worried about getting their wages on time for once and people seemed generally happier... Most people. According to the now-departed Rud, the smithing and runemancy departments were having troubles of their own. What was the point of buying a runic talisman for defence if one could jsut buy a Block Rock? What was the point of buying a sword instead of a Shock Bead? This had become the common consensus and both Dabble and Julio were trying to wrap their head around how to overcome this issue. Arse owed it to them to help and he was planning on talking to them anyway so he made that his next destination. The two elders had been basically attached at the hip lately trying to come up with a solution so Ares didn't need to worry about only spotting one at a time.
Ares arrived outside the smithy and... There were definitely sounds coming out of it but not the kind he was used to. The grunting and hammering over anvils had been replaced by agitated shouting, crashing, and the sizzling of freshly fired magic. Ares narrowed his eyes and braced for combat as he opened the front door only to be met with a battlefield of mania. People were wrapped up in chains used to hang artifacts, runes had gone haywire and were flinging themselves around the room at anything considered a valid target, hammers were automating and whacking people in the legs, Dabble had hopped on top of Julio's back and was riding him like a horse while pulling his hair out and singing 'Fell the giant' in Dwarvish... Ares shut the door and took a deep breath... He banged his palm against the door, chanted both Quietus Edict and Genuflection Mandate, and waltzed right back in like it was his first time here. Things had calmed down, even if only because of the superior force weighing everyone down and silencing them, so Ares nodded and pat himself on the back. He had to smack aside a couple wayward hammers and talismans but, for what it was worth, things had calmed down at least. He was tempted to just walk away and let these bickering clowns sort things out themselves but he was the up and coming sect master and would have to deal with stuff like this eventually... He used telekinesis to separated the runemancers and blacksmiths, dragged Julio by the collar to one side of the room, and picked up Dabble by the scruff of his neck and placed in the the opposite corner. Ares dusted his hands off and sighed but before he could continue Lizzy entered the blacksmith behind him.
"Ah these lot were tussling again? Can never take my eyes off 'em fo five minutes or they get like this... Well good to see you again, Arese!" Her habit of abusing people's names apparently hadn't gone anywhere since Ares last saw her... "Ha, or should I call you sect master now? You're already takin' charge and whippin' the troublemakers eh?"
Ares could only smile wryly in response as he couldn't deny it. "Ah but, that aside, I have something for you and was wondering if you could work on it?" Ares handed over a spatial ring and Lizzy peered inside.
"Ooooh! This is pretty rad! Where'd you find these sweet things?" Lizzy was engrossed in the flame tanks Ares picked up from the Federation when dealing with the Firestarters. She even took one out of the Puny Prisoner Ares stored them in and got to feeling over its chassis.
"During my trip a group of problem children tried to weaponize them against me. Obviously they were light work but I'm me so that's not a surprise..."
"Ooh wow, someone's ego's gotten a bit big lately eh?"
"Heh, it's always been big unfortunately. Not what I was trying to get at though. What i mean is that for me these things are a joke but, for others? Not so much. When I'm in charge of the sect I'll be raising the bar somewhat and making it harder for people to become core disciples. I wanted to revamp these tanks and have them be the trial for the core disciple examination." Ares could hear the shattering of hopeful hearts behind him. Some of the people in this very room were inner court disciples looking to make their way up n the world but seeing that massive fire spitting tank sitting there, and understanding there was more than one based on how Ares used plurality in his little discussion just now, all hope had vanished and / or died in a ditch.
"Bwahaha, that's evil!" Lizzy, however, thought it was hilarious. "Makes me wanna spice them up even more to give our cute disciples a bit of a scare!" Ares wasn't sure if leaving the tanks in Lizzy's care was a good idea or not but he trusted her not to make the tanks... Too invincible, at least. She looked eager to get cracking on the tanks so Ares thanked her and she left after making Ares promise to stop by the technical facility more often. He had no reason to refuse, and hadn't been there in a while anyway, so he agreed and then went back to dealing with the smiths and runemancers still tied down by his pressure and magic. The fact he was able to subdue everyone from outside, and in the background while he chatted merrily with someone else, was not lost on those he'd locked in place. Ares was strong before but now he was untouchable but, in a way, that was maybe a good thing. This matter they were dealing with needed outside arbitration or it would go nowhere. They could all only hope Ares took their side in the argument and enforced the law favourably to their preferred cause...
"Ok, chump A, I choose you; explain what's happening here." Ares unsealed Julio's mouth by lifting the Quietus around him.
"It's all their fault!" Julio, with a bald spot on his head where Dabble had gotten particularly vicious, waggle his finger at the smiths like a maiden who'd just been taken advantage of. "We were trying to come up with ways of keeping our talents relevant what with the increased popularity of Shock and Block Rocks... But they betrayed us! Their morals are as upright as their leader is tall! I would spit on him if I could accurately aim that low!"
Sigh
"Yes yes, you've been wronged. Now please tell me how exactly." Ares wisely moved things along because he knew if he didn't the short jokes wouldn't actually ever stop.
"They came up with a 'plan'..." Ares was handed over a diagram of a potential creation that Dabble likely drew up. "See? See see see? Betrayal!"
"Hmm, a Bead launcher?" It wasn't a bad idea. The result of a Shock Bead was incredible but that relied on hitting the other person in the first place. One of the biggest drawbacks was that Shock Beads were hard to throw accurately at longer ranges so a launcher was actually kinda clever. Plus it capitalised on the fad rather than trying to fight it. It went to show how much of a genius Dabble was for coming up with this idea in short notice... But the problem with it was also noticeable. "It doesn't really need runes. I mean they can help, sure, but the runes would be pushed to the sidelines and not be really relevant, huh?" The runes, at best, would increase the velocity of the beads but not by much as the design was pretty solid without them. Basically the smithing department would get all the credit, and have basically all the work. so the runemancy department would become pretty irrelevant. "Alright, that's your side of the story..." Ares zipped Julio's lips before moving over to Dabble and repeating the questioning process. "Chump B, you're good to go."
"Ah laddie, don't be fooled by that th're mean green lanky machine. 'E complains 'bout treachery but what did 'e do in response? Only go an' design a runic launcher that does nay even require smithin'' at all. We came up with a rough draft, they were already working on a product that was basically teh same as ours but even morespecialised!" Ares was looking at another diagram and this one was basically a direct copy but with way less parts and shaped slightly differently. It was effectively a ball of talismans with a hole in it that the Beads would fly out from. This was less portable but could be used as a stationary artillery to defend a position from further away than the other launcher. Dabble's invention was more aggressive whereas Julio's was more defensive. Julio thought Dabble was trying to screw over the runemancy department so he fought back and came up with basically the inverse of Dabble's product to spite him and, now, they were arguing which path should be pursued. Either or would reduce the reputation and standing of the other department by a considerable amount so it was safe to say the fate of them was in Ares' hands now based on his ultimate decision. He could further arm the disciples with Dabble's launcher or secure the sect's land with Julio's...
"I mean, why not both?" Ares shrugged. "They both seem like fine inventions and you two don't have to work on everything together all the time anyway,, you aren't a married couple right? Well not that it matters, that could just be a side product if you really want to chase after production of it. Rather, I have some other stuff you guys can work on that would sell pretty well I think. No need to stop creating weapons or armor, all that's needed is better quality materials and people will flock right back to reliable classics. Beads are great but when you're struck by surprise a Block Rock isn't going to be more useful than armor. You can only carry around so many Shock Rocks too so people will run out eventually and need to fall back on their weapons. The Beads are a fad for now but if there are decent pieces of gear for sale they'll use their new spending power on it eventually."
...
...
Ares thought the silence was everyone contemplating his words but, actually, he jsut forgot to remove the Quietus edict... "Ahh whoops, my bad. You're all so weak I didn't feel any pushback and didn't realise it was still up." Ares snickered to himself as he watched everyone groan at him for calling them weak.
"Doesn't your plan depend on scarce materials though?" Julio chimed in now that he could speak and his point was valid. Someone would need to supply the materials constantly to enable constant creation via them and thus it might not be a sustainable option...
"'N' even then laddie, new materials means new craftin' methods. I only know so many techniques. I'd need to see an example of teh kinda product yer looking to produce at bare minimum..."
Ares nodded. "All of that is fine. Here." After swiping off some dust from a nearby workbench, Ares laid out the shark corpse he got from Isaz alongside the neon weaponry he stole from the Nu Kings. The former, Ares learnt recently, grew back over time. The corpse was parasitised to hell and back and even developed regenerative properties so it was a replenishable source that would never run out. There wasn't enough to maintain constant production without needing to take breaks here and there but they could create armor out of it for the rest of time if need be. As for the neon axes, Ares was sure Dabble could recreate them as even Ares could now. He'd looked them over with his Omniscience and understood the inner workings to some extent thanks to his prior knowledge about smithing. if Dabble really needed help figuring it out Ares might honestly be a bit disappointed. He'd still lend a hand but it shouldn't be needed. Also, the axes were made with relatively common materials, surprisingly, and it was more so a product off crossing wires correctly and clever use of interconnectivity with specific materials. It could be copied and applied to a wide variety of weapons with minimal effort, the doing so of which would put the sect at the forefront of weapon technology across most of Sheryashka. Only Neo Gear, the place this originated from, would have anything superior. If the disciples didn't buy neon weaponry, or armor made from the parasite shark, then they were arguably too stupid to keep in this sect to begin with. Ares didn't ave to worry about that, though, because he was fairly certain the gear that the two departments before him could produce would be enough to make any sane cultivator drool on sight. High quality materials, a sufficient supply, new blueprints for the future, and a vision of sellable products. It didn't take Julio and Dabble long to figure it out themselves and they'd regained their harmonious, but still grouchy, relationship from before. They were crowding around the shark and fiddling with the rubbery exterior. Or, well, Dabble was, Julio was in his own happy world swinging around the axes with a murderous gleam in his eyes that admittedly freaked out Ares somewhat. Never underestimate the bloodshed and carnage an elf would be willing to inflict if let loose! "So... We're good?"
"Aye, this'll more than do. Heh, I told that old git Rud having a proactive sect master'd be a good deal. Tis nice knowing whenever you come back, laddie, I might get som'thin' new to toy around with. Ah but ya probably want somethin' specific outta me right?"
"Correctamundo. A scythe." Ares brought out his currents scythe and wore a pained expression. "No but seriously, please, the scythe has become my main weapon and I'm carrying around this putridly plain thing..." It was still just a farmer's scythe he bought from the sect's local workers. He pressurised, it sure, but calling it a weapon was an insult to anything made of proper metal with expert craftsmanship. "I don't mind if you take your time, I'm not going to be leaving the sect again for a short while, but I'd appreciate it if you could at least get the scythe done before I head over to Akarala. I want an arsenal of neon weaponry at some point but I can wait until you've gotten the hang of creating them first."
"Will do." Dabble nodded and went back to inspection duty.
"Ah and Julio, there's plenty of room to get creative when it comes to runes with the neon weaponry and the shark skin. I don't want anything specific so you can go buck wild and have free reign over the process." Ares had to shake his leg to get a crying Julio off it but if the elf was happy then that meant Ares wouldn't need to look over his shoulder constantly and make sure he was working. Julio sort of jsut gave up on life when anything didn't go his way so crying with joy was infinitely better than moping in a corner somewhere. Given that both him and Dabble weren't at odds anymore, and people were tidying up the smithy properly, it looked like Ares' job here was done... Though for how long was another matter. It felt like every time he left the sect he came back to these two shmucks arguing about something! This ought to sort them out for a long while but Ares could see that, in the future, he would need to be babysit these guys again... Oh well, they produced good results and Ares wasn't going to ignore his own elders. They were vital to the sect's continued smooth operations in their own way!... Even if they were already arguing again for whatever reason...