Chapter 357: Chapter 357: Break’s Over
Peck Peck
Ares kissed his teeth as he watched the damn bird scarf down some honeycomb. The stupid eagle was about to start a brawl with him if he wasn't fed within the next five minutes give or take so Ares just dug deep into his Primordial Blade and found something to satiate the dumb animal lest it get more moody than it already was. No ruining the mood and the good vibes allowed! Ares, Aejaz (who was taking a short break from stealing), and Rox were all kicking back and wallowing in the sun's rays on rented deck chairs behind their house. It had been a peaceful and quiet relaxation session, watching the ocean pass them by with not a care in the world... Until this damn feathered freak made an appearance. Ares originally felt a bit guilty keeping the bird away from all the fun so he mistakenly brought it out and expected it to behave... It started demanding food without hesitation, unfortunately, and Ares very nearly picked the thing up by the beak and chucked it into the water...
Ares made the choice to have bird seeds on his person at all times from now on otherwise this thing was going to get agitated every time it was summoned and not fed. Then again, would this eagle even accept standard bird feed or would it turn its nose up at the stuff?! It was getting awfully comfortable eating home cooked meals from Ares or restaurant quality stuff whenever it got a taste of fresh air. Actually, now that Ares thought about it, the Biome Eagle was an artifact... So that meant he likely wouldn't have to put up with this bird forever unless he kept upgrading the artifact to match his current strength. He hadn't done it for the Bane and, right now, he wasn't seeing a reason to do it for this greedy guts either! Ares did feel a little guilty contemplating throwing a summon away but it wasn't his fault this thing gained sentience and became annoying! Better yet, what would upgrading the Biome Eagle even really do? Was the eagle going to get even stronger? It was actually decently powerful as is and Ares had barely even been using it to its fullest potential as of yet so maybe it was worth doing. The Biome Eagle could absorb mana from the nearby environment to change the eagle's form upon creation into something that wasn't destruction based, like how Ares always used it, and that was valuable in some situations. For instance, had the Firestarters been a bigger problem than they were, Ares could have summoned a water eagle and used it to fly around and spew water jets at fires and put them out, aiding in the defensive department in a way that Ares normally couldn't.
The bird was useful... Ares just didn't want another mouth to feed! And definitely not such a grumpy one either! Worse still, he would start understanding it soon thanks to his bloodline that allowed him to talk to animals. Up until now it was still more magic than 'real creature' so its cries were garbled but, as its sentience took leaps and bounds to becoming fully actualised, it was getting closer and closer to forming decipherable sentences and Ares wasn't so sure that was a good thing. As is, Ares could only make out one word that it kept repeating ad nauseum and he was already not looking forward to what this bird would say if it could spout more words than just 'FOOD, FOOD' at him over and over again. Leo was a mouthy animal already and there was no need for two such obnoxious creatures to be hanging around the house simultaneously! Though, to be fair, the eagle didn't come out all too often. Leo was a pet, the eagle was a summon. As for Rox... He was a little bit of everything and he was both far more tolerable and far more friendly so he was going to be allowed to wander freely in due time. Ares was already getting him used to the world outside his tomb / the Primordial Blade by letting him out of his confinement here and there. Rox was allowed to walk around but never too far lest there be a massive misunderstanding that it couldn't solve on its own. The mimic enjoyed disguising itself as new people sometimes, to add to its collection for future use, and if a person happened across their doppelganger that would become a whole incident Ares didn't want to deal with.
As for the area Ares was resting in currently, the 'back garden', it wasn't private, and was somewhat open, so anyone could come by but it was close enough to the house he was staying in that nobody dared venture anywhere near here and thus it had become pseudo private. It had been a few days since the Scylla incident and Ares' name and abode were both very much well known so the only idiots that showed up here were those looking to try and steal his Primordial Blade. Ares very quickly sent them packing and threw them to the sailor guards or, in certain situations, simply chucked them into the ocean and left them to drown. It was really dependant on what kind of people he was dealing with, and what their intentions / methods were, but Ares was not going to be lenient to anyone who was really going all out in their attempt to get the Blade. Anyone who wanted to burn the house down, and everyone in it, for example where promptly dumped off the side of the Federation and hit with an Esoteric Compression that sunk them like an anchor real quick.
If Ares was minding his business in the back garden, and someone had patiently waited for Aejaz to disappear or for Rox to go back into the Blade, then those people could be spared because they weren't trying to involve any innocent bystanders and Ares really didn't care too much about the minor hassle they ultimately all were. They could have very well just been trying to increase their odds of success by lowering the number of people nearby, and not actually taken the others into consideration, but, regardless, nobody was beating Ares anyway irrespective of numbers so from his perspective they were just being 'kind'. People could ambush him in his sleep and he would still win with one eye closed and one hand behind his back so he treated it like a game almost and made bets to himself regarding how long it would take until another bandit showed up.
As of late, people had stopped taking more drastic measures against Ares, because rumours had spread about what happened to those who were indiscriminate in their approach, and so would-be robbers had become a lot more straight laced in their approach with some even challenging Ares to a duel in broad daylight... Maybe these people were hoping Ares wouldn't send them to the guards after? They were being polite and upfront but if he said no they'd just attack him anyway so who did these people think they were fooling?! Off to the guards with you! Their sentence would be light but they couldn't avoid it completely by playing these silly games and pretending they were upstanding citizens! Anyway, Ares had beaten a lot of people senseless as of late but it was actually somewhat cathartic due to how easy and repetitive it all was. Like whack a mole and knitting had a baby and this hobby of beating back weaklings and swatting them away like flies was the result.
All this to say that the knock knock at the front door just now was either a new challenger, although that was unlikely as they could have just walked around the back and been rude about it like they always did, or it was the model car for Blo Blo. Ares assumed it was the latter so he got up and walked through the house to check because he was rather excited to finally have that thing in his possession. He opened the door only to find Onno standing there instead, however, and Ares remembered that this was a 'meeting' that he'd signed up for a few days ago mostly for his own sake. Onno was here to deliver two things. First of all, the reward for defending the Federation and killing the Scylla. A decision must have finally been made regarding what to give Ares for his valiant deeds and so here was Onno, serving as the representative for convenience's sake because he was already familiar with Ares. That was reason number one, reason number two was that Onno had gone out to buy the seeds and farming gear that Jebben was going to need for his future career change. Ares had no idea where to find this stuff but there was apparently a 'booming' agriculture industry on the Federation and so this stuff was easy to procure provided you knew your way around the country.
Being in the middle of the ocean meant local supplies would sell for great prices because there was literally no other competition for weeks, sometimes months at a time. If you were hungry and needed food you could go to a supermarket or a restaurant but it's not like the food they had grew in the ocean! Unless you were buying fish, of course, but that was a different industry and an entirely irrelevant point. The real point here was that they got their goods from farmers who set up complex irrigation systems that were fully integrated with the Federation boats. This was an industry that had been around since the very beginning so the roots were firmly planted and it was really hard to get into the business if you weren't already an insider. It was a good, extremely well paying job that the few families who had a vice grip on the industry never let go of because of how convenient it was for them. One of the rulers of the Federation had originally been a farmer so it was generally understood to be a profession that was respected by even the elites because you never knew who was going to rise up from the proverbial, and sometimes literal, mud to claim a spot above their heads and look down at them. Wouldn't want to sling mud, again sometimes literally, at these people only for them to become your boss one day.
So agriculture was actually something that was technically both booming and non-existent. You could find farms easily but starting one of your own? Nope. You could buy seeds, you just wouldn't have anywhere to plant them so, more often than not, it was mostly food the farmers had an easy time selling. To that end, machinery could go for respectably cheap prices because only a handful of people could even use them. You had to know where to look, because it didn't go on sale in the typical places due to their lacking demand, but that was where Onno and his connections came in. He hadn't gone whole hog in his acquisition of farming apparatus, though, because this was supposed to be a difficult challenger for Jebben and not a walk in the park. He wasn't going to get a tractor, he was going to get a ho and be damn well happy about it. Maybe if he was good for a couple of years then Ares would consider upgrading his crappy gear free of charge. Hell if he begged on both knees Ares might even teach him a teensy bit about how to properly utilise a scythe!... Actually, using it for combat was most definitely not 'proper' usage and Jebben might actually be able to teach him a thing or two if he really stuck with it... Now that Ares thought about it, maybe he should buy a book about farming and look specifically at the sections regarding scythes? It might be helpful... Anyway, that was a different problem and not particularly relevant to the current discussion he was having with Onno.
"So your reward..." Onno dug into his spatial ring and pulled out another space ring, a sack of some kind, as well as a folded piece of paper. "You'll be receiving five thousand high grades..."
Whistle
Ares hadn't heard the second half of the goods but he was already feeling pretty damn fantastic about his haul here! He would basically never want for money in these domains ever again! Unless he ran into another hyper valuable auction item but what where the chances of that? Surely this five thousand would last him until he left the Primordial Blade's barrier, right?... Right?
"... As well as a handwritten note of apology from Cash for the trouble he gave you earlier outside, and inside, the auction house... Honestly, I'm genuinely shocked you got this. Knowing him, I'm surprised he didn't offer to quintuple the reward if it meant not having to do this... Bort and Shold must have pushed really hard for this for their own amusement and to give Cash a slice of humble pie. It's not really a reward for you but it's definitely making me feel like laughing like a hyena so I personally think it's brilliant. I haven't seen the note myself yet, though, so could you read it out to me? I want feel the regret and agitation seep through his words as I imagine it will bring me a unique joy all unto its own." While Onno fantasised, Ares opened the note and raised an eyebrow...
"Are you sure you want me to read this aloud? It might ruin whatever illusion you're currently expecting to become reality..."
Onno narrowly stared at Ares and deliberated over whether it was worth it to give up this rare opportunity but made the mistake of being too eager to see what was on the note. "Yes, go on..."
Ahem
Ares coughed to himself, held up the note, and began. "Sorry."
...
....
...
"And?" Onno stared at Ares in disbelief.
"And? What 'and'? That's literally it..." Ares turned the note around and, sure enough, there was just one normal sized sorry written on it and nothing else. No justification, no excuses, no reasoning, no greetings, no farewells... Just the one word... This didn't really feel like a victory at all even for Ares who hadn't expected such a thing to begin with, and was the direct recipient of it, so Onno must have been truly bummed... And if the way he was clenching that sack of seeds was any indication, then yes, he was incredibly unhappy right about now... In all fairness, Ares did warn him! Onno's obsession with one-upping his father was unhealthy! Just give up and ignore the muppet! Distance yourself, fool! "Uh, moving on..." Ares swiftly redirected the conversation lest it got stuck here forever with Onno going on a long rambling rant... "... About the stuff for..." Ares was about to say the name Jebben but, actually, that would also probably set Onno off... "... Farming... About the stuff for farming... I'm guessing the procurement went smoothly enough?"
Sigh
With a deep breath, Onno calmed himself down. He was telling himself some kind of business mantra, something to do with having patience for even customers straight from hell, and that looked like it was doing the job well enough. He honestly looked more monk like than Massai right now but that fake wasn't here so Ares wasn't going to go on a rant like he'd been trying to avoid having Onno do. The hypocrisy would have been truly ironic. "Yes. I've gotten nearly a thousand seeds of different types as well as fertilisers, farming equipment, and various other relevant knick-knacks. It's basically all beginners stuff so he'll be fine. Just in case he's stupider than I remember, I also put a few 'farming for dummies' books in there so he won't starve at least. If he ever actually makes himself useful, and expands the farm, you can come looking for me at any time and I'll go on the lookout for farming tools and seeds even if we're not in Sheryashka anymore.
My priority is to make sure the sect is well connected as soon as we enter a new domain. To that end I'll be on the lookout for all sorts of opportunities regarding businesses and try to establish relations pretty quickly. Give me a month or two after ascending to a new domain and I'll be able to get you whatever you need for decent prices so long as its a reasonable request. That's my goal for the sect in return for being given freedom to operate within it, and within Red Sun, as I please. Of course if you're looking for anything rarer then I can point you in the direction of specialists but they might be a little harder to find. At that point you'd be better off relying on scouts like the betting brothers to get you reliable and trustworthy intel. I'm good for finding common things to purchase in bulk for acceptable prices, anything else and I'll admit its not my field of expertise. Of course I can also do negotiations but the negotiator of the round has probably got that covered... Though she might be leaving later?" Onno figured Windsor would skedaddle as soon as she possibly could and he was half right as in that was her goal but whether she'd be able to leave was another matter entirely. Ares had been trying to piece together the C.O's intentions and he had a rough idea of what was going to happen regarding them. It was a strange expectation he had for them but if the strategist of the round was thinking as far ahead as Ares was right now then all it would take was one incident and the C.O would be setting a new course for the future.
"Kinda. It's complicated and we'll have to wait and see how things go in the future. I don't know what the C.O is waiting for, exactly, but when I stumble across it I'll just need to take advantage of it to get the ball rolling and then it might just never stop. Momentum is a powerful thing and I believe the strategist is looking to take advantage of that and complicate things for the C.O"
Onno looked a little confused and had to ask, "Make things difficult for the C.O?... That they work for? Why?"
Arse shrugged. "A small pain point now for a better future. It doesn't always take a genius to see the best course of action but, rather, they're sometimes needed to enable it."
"And that means what exactly?"
Ares dismissively waved his hands with a sly smile on his face. "Don't worry about it. Leave it to me and the strategist. I'll admit they beat me to the punch, and came up with the idea first, but everything they've done up until now, regarding the C.O's interactions with me, make a lot of sense if I look at it in a certain way and so I'm onboard now too. Better late than never I guess. Basically the strategist is force feeding me my greens. Cornering me for my own good so that I can fight back and corner them. Sending Windsor to the international, making Lex keep working at the tournament even after getting his shenanigans found out, building a C.O headquarters in Red Sun. All of it points towards a string of events that im pretty sure will be beneficial to the both of us. Of course one of us two groups stand to gain more than the other when all is said and done but, now that I've figured out the game plan, it ought to be me coming out on top. I don't know when but I fully expect two things to happen at some point. A, I'm going to run into the force of the round and, B, I'm going to run into Lex again.
If those two things happen, likely at the same time, then I'll know I'm in the right ball park with my expectations. The only issue is when such a thing will occur as the requirements to get everything kicked off are pretty strict. Pushing the force of the round into action is not something that can be done with just a wave of the hand so things are going to have to get serious first. Afterall, the Scylla just showed up to wreak havoc and that was apparently not deemed worth his time... Whatever, I'm getting ahead of myself here. It's not something you need to be worrying about. Windsor will probably be staying in Red Sun for a long while so don't worry about losing her skills at the negotiation table. You can stick to what you're good at and leave everything else to the other people I'll recruit. I want unbeatable experts in every field and I've already got you and Shold / Bort for business related matters. Speaking of, do you think you'll work alongside them or no? I don't particularly care, I'm just curious is all. Regardless of the answer I would rather not have two business world titans bickering with each other twenty-four seven. At the very least Id prefer non-interaction but I think there's room to get along in a perfunctory way if nothing else?"
Onno nodded. "I haven't spoken to them too too much but they are very talented individuals and so I'll feel at ease knowing I'm not expected to be a one man army. I've no qualms with working alongside them. I'm an expert, sure, but I'm not 'unbeatable' and there's still a lot for me to learn. I don't know much of anything about businesses or tactics outside the domain we live in now so there'll be times when I'm blindsided, that's unavoidable. Having more than one pair of eyes to try and spot these traps, be they in deal making or contract signing, will come in handy however and I think they feel the same way. With our three brains combined we'll be able to keep the sect's coffers safe, at the very least, and not have it go to waste on scams or business betrayals. Of course they care a lot more about cultivating than business but they'll be there when I need them, I'll make sure of it and wrangle them back should the need arise. They might crave a change of scenery but some things can't be forgotten no matter how much time you spend frolicking away from your home field and so their business instincts ought to not waver." After handing over the sack of seeds, as well as a space ring full of other farming goodies, Onno bid Ares adieu and left to go shopping with Esme like he originally promised her. Things had finally calmed down, including his temper, so it seemed he was going to follow in Ares' footsteps and get some R@R. He'd been through a lot, mentally, so just dismissing al his cares and enjoying life for a while was needed!
wooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Or not! That ramping alarm was a sign the Federation had run into trouble and, at this point, there was only really one thing left to even cause pandemonium... The krakyrn was back! The onset of the final fight had just interrupted Onno who was looking just about ready to explode as it felt like the world was conspiring against him at this point. After days of working overtime to fix everything up and clean up his workload schedule, he was about to have a whole lot more work to do! He was going to have to fight and then sort the mess Ares made after yet again to boot! No rest for the wicked, it seemed, and this poor guy was being run ragged. At least it probably couldn't get any worse than this? It was the homestretch, after all, and he'd be free of worry after today at least! No more monsters! Just smooth sailing until the Federation docked at Xasca! Plus, apparently, he wasn't getting off there either so he would have the return journey to get some proper rest during. He was just taking a vacation aboard this country and going to and fro while showing Esme around, that was the extent of his travelling plans. He hadn't even planned on lifting a single finger but the Firestarter mess complicated things and his natural business instincts to right obvious wrongs kicked in like an OCD. Then there was Ares who was willing to be directed around to deal with problems, making Onno's life in solving these issues tha much easier, it's just more so that the twists and turns that came one after another were tiring and there had been enough to last a small life time already! Onno heaved yet another sigh, shut his eyes to dream of more peaceful times, and started taking off to go look for Hunter and take orders. Ares was about to do the same when some flustered store clerk came sprinting into view and it seemed like his model car delivery was finally here too... Awkward timing but better late than never? Ares treated this like a morale booster and happily put the car inside the Blade for safekeeping before taking off with Voidwalk to go head in the direction of the approaching monster. His Federation trip, or at least the difficulties associated with it, were coming to an end so all he had to do was go and win this fight. It ought not to be a complicated one either as the only nuance was the water pillar enabler but, realistically, how much of an issue could some random treasure be? As it would turn out, it could be quite a considerable issue due to the nature of the treasure. The reason the krakyrn had been attracted to the treasure from so far away was also the reason it was going to be way more powerful in its 'hands' than anyone else's... There was a soul inside the Deep Blue and it was one that had a vested interest in keeping the krakyrn alive. Maybe Sheryashka really was cursed after all? Nothing in this damned domain was ever as simple as it should have been...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone