Kapitel 372: Chapter 372: Ares' No True Monksman Fallacy
With a sharp glare from Drai the disciple understood he wasn't going to be able to push things any further here and walked away in a huff. He stayed nearby to see if he could overhear anything juicy, and gleam the reason Drai had come down to the outer court personally, but wasn't expecting much. It wasn't customary for the sect master himself to greet a foreign aid disciple, unless they were an incredibly talented prodigy or something, but this time could very well be an exception given which sect the disciple belonged to. The winner of the international was a sect you'd want to get along with so being friendly with this Heaven's path disciple wasn't unreasonable. At least that was what the grumpy disciple assumed to be the case anyway. He was half right as, though they weren't publicly, readily available, some people in Xasca had forked over a pretty penny to get the international recordings and so Drai would bend over backwards not to piss off Ares as he was one of them. Apparently Ares even got stronger on his trip across the Federation and peak transition realm, legendary creatures couldn't' beat him anymore. Drai didn't think Ares would go crazy here and blow up the sect but, honestly, why risk it? Just be friendly with the walking nuke, the one who apparently made that massive explosion on the horizon back when he was still out in the ocean, and have patience until he leaves. Whether Drai liked the guy or not was irrelevant, tolerating him was the correct thing to do here and so having to end this fight before it happened nearly caused him to break out into an unrefined sprint earlier when he caught sight of the imminent showdown from afar.
"It's good to see you again Massai..." Drai gave greetings to person here he already knew before turning to the Heaven's Path duo. "And its a pleasure to meet you two as well. I've heard a great deal about you so please forgive the rudeness of our disciple just now..." Translation, 'please don't destroy our sect. We worked kinda hard on it ya know?'
"No worries, it's not a problem." Ares dismissively waved off Drai's unfounded concerns. Ares could be a rude revenant, and a bit of a vengeance seeker, but its not like Oasis itself had ever done anything to him. Even if Ares ended up in a blood feud with that disciple for whatever reason he still wouldn't ever take it out on this place. What kind of opinion did people have of him exactly!? Some kind of volatile and explosive monster?! Then again, 'destruction' magic didn't exactly sound like the kind of thing your friendly neighbourhood hero would use so it's not like Ares didn't understand the apprehension.
"Ah, wonderful. Also, it seems you and Massai are familiar with one another?" Either that or this trio had coincidentally arrived here at the same time. It was possible, as they could have just walked straight over here after the Federation docked but it seemed like they were standing close enough such that they'd arrived together.
"Regrettably. Tell it to me straight, is this faker really a monk?" This question confused Drai, and he clearly had not had the same experiences with Massai that Ares had, but answered honestly nonetheless.
"He is and a wonderful one at that. He has offered countless people a lending hand at no other cost other than his own time. A truly generous heart and a talented cultivator on top of it all."
"Hmm." Baloney! Ares wasn't buying it! He would pretend he didn't hear any of that just now and keep treating this monk the same way he always did. If a second opinion wouldn't cut it then he would one day dig up a third. Hell Ares would go through a hundred if need be to prove his point! Ares was making it one of his life missions to expose this fake!
"By the way... I heard rumours about Hunter's unfortunate demise... Are they true?"
Ares let out a forlorn sigh and that was indicative enough of the answer but he gave a short explanation anyway to clear the air and spread Hunter's good name. "He died heroically sacrificing himself to save the Federation. Though he is no longer with us, his final act will be remembered for a long time to come... Also there's this..." Ares whipped out Hunter's soul as letting people know it was still around wasn't a problem. It was 100% safe inside the Blade no matter what happened so this was fine. "It's his soul and he'll be back to normal in no time!.. Well, a couple million years if I'm unlucky but, you know, that's still better than never!" Drai felt incredibly baited by Ares 'normal in no time' spiel so he had a wry smile on his face right now as that number Ares followed up with was quite a shocking one. Still, if it could be done it could be done. That didn't help with Drai's immediate predicament, though, as he couldn't afford to wait millions of years.
"It's a shame Hunter lost his life. We here at Oasis were quite hoping he would help us deal with an issue we've been tackling for a while now..."
"I'll be taking his place." Ares gave a small thumbs up. "You don;t have to pay me or anything as I have a personal interest in figuring things out with your problem. I don't know if you've heard these rumours but the Torchbearer was primarily responsible for just about everything that happened to the Federation as of late so now im interested enough in these developments to see them through to the end and get myself involved. I don't know what you needed Hunter for but I'm not a bad substitute by any means and ought to be able to do his job in some way or another."
"Oh? Excellent! The sect is grateful for whatever help you can offer us. I'm afraid I don't have anything planned in regards to payment but I could always just give you the stardust we would have given Hunter. That or fine grind from the quarry once its fixed?"
"Thanks but its fine, really. I wasn't expecting payment of any kind. That being said, if there are any good fine grinds then having priority to buy them would be nice? I got a lot of stardust from various events on the Federation and could offer a decently competitive rice for them. I only need about three or four..." Ares was thinking of picking up some fine grind for the people in the household that didn't yet have any. Rox, Allie, Trixie, Aejaz... Although Ares wasn't sure if Rox could take a fine grind... Probably he could. It was worth experimenting with as, of the people that hadn't taken fine grind yet, he would probably benefit the most actually. Rox was physically stronger than Aejaz and was actually packing some monster muscle under the human façade he was rocking. It would help him massively and his weapon wielding / bite attacks and hand to hand technicals would hurt a hell of a lot more. Of course fine grind benefitted everyone but Ares was always objective in terms of who got what and it wasn't just a matter of personal preference as giving his 'summon' a boost would do him more good than anyone else, more so than even Rox himself.
"It feels wrong not giving a benefactor anything but I'm sure we can work out the specifics at a later date. Unfortunately right now the quarry is in a bit of a pickle so we can't really talk about rewards involving it with any kind of specificity. There may not even be any good fine grinds in there at the moment for all we know as the supply isn't accessible. Still, if you're looking to purchase from there once the issue is sorted then you're more than welcome. A friend of Yulo is a friend of ours. Speaking of Yulo, it's been a while since I last had a face to face meeting with him. How is he holding up anyhow?"
Ares shrugged. "Retiring soon to go and live life the way he always wanted so quite happy I would imagine."
"Ah. That's big news but not entirely expected given some of the stories making the rounds..." Ares was very obviously the replacement as his feats of strength during the Federation saga were incredible, to put it lightly, and none of that even touched on Garmr which shouldn't even be usable for him yet. It was well enough known now that revenant true-forms required bloodline awakening so, for Ares to be as powerful as he was before reaching that realm, it made it clear as day to Drai why he was taking up leadership of the sect upon returning form this outing of his. It was also abundantly clear that Ares was saying this for Drai's own good because it clarified Ares' current position and was a subtle reminder that Ares was not just a disciple, He was a sect master in his own right. Ares wasn't just dangerous, he was tricky now too.
Offending Ares wouldn't just mean a potential rampage, it would mean destroyed relations permanently with not just him but with everyone he was affiliated with such as seemingly the C.O. It didn't much matter in this specific conversation but, later on, Drai might have trouble dancing around this annoying status. For instance, if Dai tried hiding anything from Ares and he found out then Ares could abuse that freely. He would not be a wronged disciple, he would be a wronged sect master with a lot of power at his fingertips, be it actual strength or sect-politics wise. one of the rumours floating around indicated Ares was Enyo's lover and he might have her lie detector too which was a nightmare that just added fuel to the fire that was already burning bright. Drai's options for dealing with Ares were extremely limited and his hands were tied. If there was anything Ares wated to do, he could do it. If there was anything he wanted to say, he could say it. If there was anything he wanted to take, he could take it. And, worst of all, if there were any questions he wanted answered, Drai would have to bend over backwards and spit out the truth through gritted teeth. Thankfully there weren't many secrets he was hiding, and none of them were a big deal that would complicate anything, but Drai didn't feel comfortable knowing these cards were just going to have to be laid out on the table if Ares was interested enough to ask. 'Do you have any secrets?' was a question that would, on its own, bankrupt Drai and this sect's entire privacy. And all of this came from Ares casually mentioning Yulo's retirement... He was clearly putting effort into the art of conversation from the perspective of a sect master who's every word could potentially come back to bite him in the rear. He had to be careful with his promises and statements but he seemed very prepared for it if this short back and forth with Drai was any indication. Put simply, Drai had a headache and just wanted to get rid of Ares for the time being.
"How about I show you to your private quarters and you can rest there without any interruption? We have a rather comfortable arrangement in the core area for important guests that should be to your liking. We can discuss matters regarding the quarry tomorrow as there isn't any rush in the short term to solve this issue." In other words, 'go hide in a corner of the sect somewhere we can't see you and won't have to put up with you!' Still, if Ares was being offered a high quality bed to sleep in and good service he wasn't going to say no! The temporary house on the Federation was functional but having something a bit grander every now and then wasn't something Ares would turn his nose up. He was like a dog being guided by treats so, although this was what Drai wanted, Ares agreed with a simple nod.
As for the crowd that were 'dispersing', and by dispersing that meant they were slowly walking away from the scene while eavesdropping on the conversation, they were shocked to hear about this treatment. The place Drai had in mind was somewhere that no disciple, not even one from this sect let alone any other, had ever stepped foot in. Calling it paradise was an understatement as it was easily one of the top three possible accommodations one could have across the entirety of the country and was even well enough renowned domain wide. It was a place where only the most elite of guests could be permitted to stay and that included peak transition realm cultivators or above, any of the sect masters who were in charge of a top three sect and nothing below that, or anyone of equivalent standing to any o the aforementioned people. This might have been the first time in history a disciple was allowed to go and rest there and everyone was jealous! Of course they were also curious about who these two disciples were exactly as Ares and Aejaz' names still hadn't been dropped yet. Were they really that big a deal? Was the quarry issue really problematic and so these two offering a hand was enough to warrant letting them stay in such a place and not have them leave due to subpar accommodations?
It was impossible to tell what Drai was thinking but he rarely if ever made any kind of mistake in terms of judging the best course of action and so his current actions, though bizarre, were seen as the kind taken by someone with more information than the disciples who were incredibly confused. Of note was the one disciple that tried picking a fight with Ares as he wasn't sure if he should be regretting his earlier actions or not. Even the Fellahin Juggernaut wasn't allowed to stay in the place Ares was going to, despite being a peak transition realm cultivator, so either the sect master had lost his mind or he'd bitten off way more than he could chew in picking a fight with this foreign aid disciple... This disciple had an information network so he would do some digging and see if any bigshots arrived in this country recently... For now, though, nobody could do anything other than watch Drai lead the trio of newcomers away while whispering amongst themselves about their conjectures regarding the foreign aids' identities. They would likely have an answer by the end of the day, as Ares being here with Aejaz was well enough known to the public by know, and that would be a rather awkward development given everything that had transpired. Plus the sentence about Yulo retiring would make a whole lot more sense and the implications of everything that transpired would be leaving the pushy disciple with a fair bit of regret for his actions. He wouldn't back down, though, because this, in some twisted way according to him, was even better. He was annoyed about his brother's loss but there was someone even more pissed and that was his sister, the Juggernaut. The person who won the international, the event her brother failed at and couldn't even come close to scratching the surface of victory at, was here in he flesh and blood... Plus the brother that lost would not stop harping on about Ares because he left that much of a mark, seemingly a bigger one than his own sister, and that was not going to fly with this hot-headed and competitive Juggernaut at all.
As Ares was being led to his quarters, Drai turned to Massai and started a conversation with him. "Forgive me benefactor... But the sect and I did some digging into your past after the last time you helped us. We originally wanted to send you gifts via Transmit..." Ares was now aware that there was definitely a Transmit here in Xasca too which would be useful for sending the wives some stuff for fun down the line. "... And so our goal was just to find out if you had any sort of permanent residence in this domain. We stumbled across information about your religious sect from a few years back and are sorry to hear about the loss and devastation you must have lived through..."
What the hell?! This fake monk lived in a real temple with other real monks and was never sniffed out? Also, this guy seemingly had a sob story.. Although honestly everyone had one nowadays. Hell there's a sharkdog a few miles away from here with a sad story to tell as well so Ares was not going to pity this fake, no sir!
"I'm not sure what this is worth to you..." Drai continued. "... But we have managed to come across an old relic that once belonged to your sect. We figured it might be valuable to you, and potentially even help you piece together some clues regarding what happened back then if you don't already know, so we want to hand it over to you." Drai pulled out a spatial ring, presumably with the relic inside it, and dangled it in front of Massai who wore a complicated expression. "I'm also aware that your sect practiced the idea of 'letting go' above all else, and so you may have reservations about accepting this, but perhaps you can treat it as nothing more than a mere trinket or gift. We never did pay you back for your timely assistance last time you were here and we really would like to pass this on to you." This seemingly did the trick and, although still not entirely happy about this situation, Massai took the ring and tucked it away somewhere in a back pocket or something. Whether he inspected it in detail or not was up to him and he could do that in his spare time... But Ares was pretty sure he already knew the answer! Creed? What creed? Like the one about him not speaking?! How terrible was he at keeping that one!? Why not break this one and all! Not like he'd lose a monk status he only ever pretended to have anyway!
Ares was led through the inner court which was like a swankier version of the outer court. There were tiki bars dotted about and small buildings instead of just tents that could actively keep sand out on windier days. The general quality of life had visibly improved for everyone living here and, though the outer courts were happy, this place was definitely a superior living experience. There were still some tents pitched here and there, as some disciples might actually prefer that lifestyle and they were allowed to do as such, but it was mostly not the case. Some people even had small farms or other such projects near their residences which made sense given the amount of space everyone had. It wasn't like Heaven's Path were all the houses were cramped right next to each other as there was a lot of space between each building here. It was set up like a temporary military encampment in a desert environment but, as violence and combat weren't right around the corner, had a very lax and peaceful atmosphere to it. Anyone would be content to live here for the rest of their lives if it was the kind of place that was to their tastes to begin with. If you liked an outdoorsy camping lifestyle then this place really was a kind of heaven, maybe even more so than the core area Ares had just arrived at given how tailored it was.
There were actual Houses here in the core area, bungalows with a more exotic aesthetic to be precise. Each building was gated all around and the area within the gates had a personal river flowing through it for each and every disciple. The river was one that passed through multiple different housing areas, so you could technically dump something in it and have it flow down to a neighbour if you were gifting them something, good or bad, but it was well taken care of and clean enough to drink out of for the most part. Greenery was also rather common here as every single disciple had a personal gardener, a low paid sect worker who would go out into town and buy flower seeds to grow according to the disciple's preferences. There were also some solar panels on a couple of the roofs and they were expensive artifacts no doubt. The sect probably hadn't provide those but it was a good enough indication that there was a decent bit of money flowing around these parts as needing energy in the first place signified the owner of the panels possessed some kind of technology that needed charging. That alone meant stardust out the wazooo but then the panels themselves weren't exactly cheap either.
As for the buildings themselves, they were large and took up roughly as much length as a bus and a half. They were thinner than they were wide, so it's not like these were mini mansions or anything, but they were still respectably big all things considered. For a sect that wasn't too high up in the rankings this was an impressive size. The houses had straw roofs that looked bundled together by hand and were sturdy enough to weather even the most troublesome of storm as they were infused with mana to anchor them down. There were a couple of balconies on the second floors of each building but the main attraction, for those looking to enjoy some fresh air from the comfort of their residence, was a veranda on the first floor hanging just above the integrated river. The house Ares was looking at had a rather pretty veranda with floral arrangements decorating it and lily pads in the water below. It was an oddly serene house compared to the rest and almost looked like it had been dropped here from some hidden rainforest paradise as the greenery was abundant comparatively. Ares didn't know this but that particular abode belonged to the Fellahin Juggernaut. She wasn't permitted to enter the residence Ares was being taken too, as she was a bit of a questionable person with regards to her etiquette and general disposition bothering the other guests, but she couldn't just be given a crappy building in the middle of nowhere either. As such she was allowed to personalise a house in the outer court to her liking and, despite her brutish nature, went with this. She had an eye for aesthetic certainly... More so than whoever was responsible the gaudy all-gold building a few doors down... Whoever designed that one must have been a bit of an idiot. Even Ares wouldn't go that far and he was basically gold incarnate! Still, all this paled in comparison to the place Ares was just now arriving at, his new temporary residence in this land of sand, as it blew everything prior out the water. Aejaz and Ares were both gobsmacked but still had a smile on their face because living here was going to be good!
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein