GROAN
Ares was still exploding away like a supernova in the night sky, albeit far more tame due to the considerably smaller scale, but his head was back now at least and it appeared as though it were not going to explode anymore. It had already happened thrice up until this point, each as mind-shatteringly devastating as the last, but looked to be calming down. Ares was on the mend and had had gotten noticeably more rugged and his features somewhat more defined. in Sandy's humble opinion, one she was fairly certain was not biased despite her relation to the man in question, Ares looked rather striking. He would definitely stand out in a crowd now but not to the point that anyone would stop and stare or make a big fuss out of it. Irrespective of where anyone would put Ares on an attractiveness scale of one to ten it was pretty safe to assume he'd gone up by around two points maybe? One and a half point? But at that point you rounded up anyway. Still, the point was it was a noticeable improvement. Sandy was definitely not complaining!
Attractiveness was just a meaningless extra to Ares, though, as the real important details were the sturdiness of his cheek bones, the clarity in his eyes, and the sharpened nose. His senses, resilience, and possibly even brain functionality had all improved to a point it was visible to some extent. The fine grind had really done a number on Ares and was continuing to do so even now! Of course Ares himself was in misery all the while but he understood this was all worth it. He could control his mouth now, as the fine grind was no longer bothering with his fully upgraded head, but he held his tongue and toughened up. As more and more parts of his body finished their evolution of the flesh he became much more tolerant of pain overall even if the areas still unaffected as of yet were weaker. Mentally he felt like he could tolerate it better and that was plenty good enough. He really did feel like a new man but some old habits died hard as he looked up at Sandy from the floor and whined in a slow and croaky voice, "Sandy... If I don't make it... Tell my family..."
"You love them?" Sandy finished the cliche sentence for him but Ares' next response caught her off-guard.
"No. Tell them I have high expectations and they can always do better. What kind of man of the house am I if I don't inflict parental or spousal trauma on everyone at least once!?"
"Pft, idiot." Sandy shook her head and ignored the dumb side of Ares that she hadn't interacted with much but certainly knew of. Revenants were infamous for this sort of behaviour, amongst those who actually knew of them down in Sheryashka, so she was actually surprised it hadn't been relevant more often. Still, it was reassuring that Ares was doing well enough to make a mockery of the situation as it meant she didn't have to keep pitying him and could keep keenly spectating his suffering with pure fascination and not guilt anymore. Hooray! She was particularly interested in watching him squirm whenever a certain 'thing' downstairs blew up... She had a lot of questions... Did it get bigger? Firmer? Floppier even? Ares looked a bit too bothered and distraught to ask upfront, however, so she kept her questions to herself and decided to ask some time later after the trauma, both physical and mental, had faded somewhat.
Sandy didn't need to ask about what the effect fo the fine grind was on his chest, though, as he was still topless and the results of this fine grind devouring were right there for her eyes to feast upon. His muscles were well defined now and the abs were starting to take a very pleasant shape. Ares would still need more resources and or treasures / artifacts to fully rebuild his image but this was a perfect start so he was doing well himself. He looked strong enough to win a fist fight with an average cultivator a few stages above his current cultivation and that was respectable for someone who might have lost a no-dodging fist fight to someone below his cultivation base not even yesterday. Put simply, his strength was above average but only by a small fraction. It was basically nothing compared to any genius, prodigy, or body tempering obsessed cultivator and so he had a long way to go before his physique was impressing anybody more familiar with the heights of the field.
Ares was sturdy now and had even more of a masculine appeal so it was something that, honestly, the Redhome harem would perhaps, overall, appreciate more than Ares himself did. He liked the power and would appreciate the new ease with which he could wield his weapons the way he wanted to. Enyo would probably like to lick sweat off his new chest because she was a degenerate. Either way, regardless of the reason for appreciation, there was a considerable change that had taken place here in spite of Ares' adept trait which just went to show what a ten year fine grind could really do... Though it was still nothing more than a preview. In order to see how much this had improved Ares overall he would need to become Garmr once more... Though, really, was there anything to even test him against!? Tom Tom got his snot beaten out of him to the point that animal rescue services would probably like to have a word with Ares about his treatment of the cat. What did it matter if Garmr was 'stronger' now than he was during that fight?! How was such a thing even quantifiable?! Was he now capable of taking on ten Tom Tom's at once? He might have honestly been at that point already before the fine grind...
There was no use in thinking about Garmr right now because it was Ares who was having to actually endure the torment. In this sense, Garmr had it easy! He could sit back and reap the benefits while somebody else worked hard on his behalf to make him stronger! Ares sighed and went back to distracting himself via idle chatter with Sandy about Red Sun. He told her to live inside his home when she arrived at the sect but warned her he didn't know if staying there forever was possible. not because he'd be moving to the sect master's residence, and she'd have to move there as well, that wasn't the point. What he meant was that any residence of his could only ever be so big and if he had to make room for the prophesised wives at some point then, although it was extremely merciless, she would have to stay somewhere else. Of course Ares wanted as many family members by his side as was possible; he would still visit Sandy even if she wasn't in the main house as she'd be somewhere nearby at least, and her own residence would never be too far away, but it was a a warning that he felt he needed to say here and now long before it became relevant. It was simply polite to give her advance notice of the potential for this to happen.
Plus it was more so said so that Ares could remind Sandy to enjoy whatever time she did have in the main house and take advantage of the fact that she was early to the party before other women started arriving. If those who weren't the prophesised nine started showing up late they might not even have the luxury of ever living inside the main building. Not that they couldn't stay over or anything but, again, there was no such thing as infinite space. Maybe Ares could expand the sect master's residence, the core area it resided in, the sect itself, and maybe even the entire chunk of planet he was lifting into Vraizon... But that was all plans for the distant future, for now he would ruthlessly allocate whatever space he had and go about dealing with such trifles as they became relevant. Long story short, it was in Sandy's best interest to get settled in to the main house and enjoy every second while understanding it might not stay that way forever. In an ideal world Ares would have everyone reside in a massive building, maybe something like an expansive mansion or castle, but, again... A problem for future Ares! Future Ares was getting thrown under the bus again! It's ok, though, he was used to it!
Another few hours passed and finally Ares was fully reborn! Aejaz had already left by this point, and Sandy had chosen to take a nap, so there was nobody to celebrate his success other than himself but that was fine because he was over the moon! Ares quietly left the Elliot and flexed his muscles and limbs, getting a thorough grasp of the new power coursing through his veins. It was empowering and Ares felt like he could win in a bare-knuckle brawl against ten or twenty of his previous self at once! He'd knock 'em around like annoying little wolf cubs and smack the daylights out of 'em! Ares poked his muscles and felt them push back; his bumpy lads had grown up! Even years after he escaped living like a rat in back alleys he still felt just as scrawny at times but now he was different enough to warrant a wide grin and a feeling of confidence that was impossible stop from welling within him. He felt good, healthier than he'd ever been. He wanted to go pick a fist fight with a monster but ended up not doing it because he was going to have to do a little more consuming of resources before he was entirely done and that took priority.
The amplifier! He still needed to use it and multiply the effect of the fine grind... Which, actually, meant there was a fair bit more improvement to his physique in store for him. Five extra years worth of fine grind magnification meant a few more specks of definition would grace Ares' form, round out his frame nicely, and enlarge him here and there. By the time it was over he would look less like an amateur gym member and more like someone who'd been attending regularly and consistently for at least a solid few months. The fine grind had done more than Ares initially expected and so he once again thanked Tom Tom in his head before taking a seat in the centre of the Elliot. Utilising the amplifier wasn't exactly hard as all he had to do was place the cardboard around his body, like it was an abdominal machine, and have it squeeze him tight like a juiced lemon. It would eventually merge with his innards and become a sort of wall, an extra layer that benefitted highly from the existence of fine grind. The amplifier was like a whetstone of sorts and turned the body it inhabited into something similar.
Ares already knew this would hurt a bit but... Well... Compared to everything else this would be a walk in the park and there was no real reason to be afraid of what came next. In fact, Ares had already wrapped the amplifier around himself and activated it which was a stark contrast to his usual hesitation on such matters... And he barely felt anything. He either overestimated the hurt hurtling his way or severely underestimated the recent improvements to his toughness but, regardless, the process went a lot smoother than the digestion of the fine grind. The cardboard sunk into his flesh and Ares' flattened stomach region sprung back outwards once the process was done. He wondered if this was what it felt like for a woman to escape from an overly tight corset... Ares couldn't ponder that thought for long, though, as his body began changing again to accommodate this new resource and its own unique effect.
The fine grind in Ares' body, that had ingrained itself into his system, emerged from his flesh and began grinding away a the amplifier layer that was clinging to his insides. This didn't hurt as much because nothing needed to explode this time and the amplifier layer being grinded away at was perfectly designed for this process. Of course the amplifier couldn't nullify allthe pain, the fine grind was a ten year after all and that was not something that could be trivialised regardless of the circumstance, but it wasn't enough to put Ares out of commission and back in the foetal position. Rather, this time, Ares was able to freely watch his body transform in real time and even poke away at his upsizing muscle mass, feeling it grow and lift his resting finger. Perhaps Ares was a simple man but seeing his own body improve like this was satisfying, especially so considering the fact that it was literally impossible for him prior to this resource. He'd been denied the right to self-improvement for far too long!
By the time it was all done, and the amplifier had run out of steam and was fully integrated with him, Ares was left bewildered that the thing he was piloting was actually his own body. It felt surreal to him that he'd changed this much in so little time and could now permanently keep these changes. His strength increase in the last twenty four hours was more than every other year of his existence combined thanks to the adept trait! If it weren't for his cultivation base he would have been roughly as strong as he was as a kid! Now, though, he was leagues above that but still he craved more power! Not necessarily much more, though, as his next goal was merely to cultivate up to the ninth stage of sensory enhancement. It wasn't as sizeable an increase in power as anything else he'd done / accomplished recently but it was an important part of his cultivation ascension nonetheless. He wasn't yet sure if he would be able to make it to the tenth stage before he arrived at Isasz but it would be close at least. For now he'd settle with ninth stage, though, so he went outside the Elliot this time and found a place not too far away from the city the Elliot was parked outside. His cultivation going up a stage meant another small prelude to his realm crossing tribulation and it had been getting progressively worse each and every time he cultivated. It was for the best if he didn't begrudge the Xascan people by summing a natural disaster right outside their doorsteps as he'd already done enough natural disaster summoning in the Riddlemyd region that was now a semi-permanent sand tornado hazard to everyone's health.
Ares began cultivating and, as soon as the ninth stage was within reach, he could feel the world around him siphoning some of his own destruction mana from his body to wield against him. Prior to now these mini tribulations had just kicked up sandstorms, been relatively general in terms of the offensive measures taken, and hadn't caused much of a fuss or dealt much damage to Ares himself. This one seemed like it was going to be different, though, as Ares' disintegration mana, specifically, was being funneled directly upwards into the sky. A straight black line appeared directly above Ares, one that slowly fashioned itself into a an arrow, and looked ready to deliver a massive blow right to his cranium. Ares was unbothered by this, however, as his recent acquisition of the fine grind meant his body could probably take this even without needling to rely on his affinity for the disintegration aspect to reduce the effectiveness of this incoming attack. It's not that this arrow wasn't doom and gloom personified, it was daunting and absolutely a colossal threat. People in Xasca city could see a giant black sword of Damocles type existence hanging in the sky and warping the air around it... But Ares refused to care. What was it going to do exactly? Make him go 'ouch'? Couldn't be any worse than the fine grind was! Maybe if Ares had cultivated to this stage before he took the fine grind would he have some concerns but now? Bah! Bring it on! Hell throw up another arrow or two just to make him feel something!
As if spurred by Ares' dismissiveness, the arrow shot straight downwards and wasted no time in grandstanding above him. Ares made no effort to dodge because tribulations like this were supposed to be impossible to avoid and would track down the recipient even if they fled to another dimension. They were born of the body so it was only natural that tribulations could endlessly follow the body no matter how far it ran or whatever other measures it took to get away from its fate. Tribulations had to be taken head-on like a man! This was why a lot of people were usually hesitant to cross some of the more major realms in cultivation because not being ready for the tribulation could be a lethal affair sometimes and outright kill those who went in blind. It was better to wait until you were confident you would at least survive the tribulation even if a backlash was still a possible risk. Generally speaking, improving the foundation of a cultivation base, by cultivating more and training any affiliated aspects, before a major realm was highly encouraged even if the cultivator had already hit a wall and all but the most foolish adhered to this line of thinking. You never knew when you might discover something important and overlooked that could be necessary to breakthrough and survive the tribulation. Tribulations were born of the person's own talents so the more they understood about themselves, and their affiliations, the better they would fare in resisting their own specialties and advantages made manifest.
With a thunderous crash the arrow burrowed into Ares head and knocked him over. To any bystanders it would have looked as though Ares died on the spot but he soon sprung to his feet, right as rain with nary an injury present across his whole body, and dusted himself off. The arrow was forceful, and blasted him backwards, but the damage was completely resisted and he felt good. It was less like being penetrated by a sharp object and more along the lines of being hit by an invisible blunt force that he couldn't fight against. Being pushed around by an oversized pillow, essentially. Ares was now at the ninth stage of sensory enhancement and there was undeniably more in the tank that could push him up another stage. If Ares spent a few days cultivating the tenth stage would be his to achieve but he wasn't in any rush right now and could do that later. He just wanted to go pick up his reward from Drai and use he Primordial Blade to cut up and store Sandy's house / parts of the desert for her and her people to live in back at the sect. The former of these two tasks would be quicker so Ares went to pay the Oasis sect one last visit.
Ares would be officially checking out of the palace today and stay in the Elliot overnight henceforth so a proper goodbye was in order. Tomorrow he would say his goodbyes to those who were heading to Red Sun and then head off to Isasz himself. Before then, however, Ares arrived at Oasis and came across the one twerp he first met back when he arrived here at the sect. Ares had passed through the Oasis sect gates and come face to face with the fellahin who tried picking a fight with him and promptly immediately gave up upon realising the disparity in strength. Though Ares didn't pay him much attention, he was still technically Sandy's 'brother', one of two even. Sandy's mother was with another man before her father and these two of Sandy's half brothers were born from that relationship. Sandy's mother left that previous relationship for Sandy's father when she sniffed an opportunity to get into power within the clan. As for her two children from the previous relationship, the one currently at the sect was ostracised, due to his relatively weak bloodline, until he eventually self isolated and left the fellahin base never to return.
Sandy was able to see this brother of hers rarely, only whenever she visited the sect and she wasn't permitted to particularly often with the cadence of said stays here becoming less and less frequent as time went on. It's a shame too because she still considered them family, loosely, but had basically only spoken to them a few handful of times over the years. She cared enough about them to investigate Ares when he was mentioned to her so it's not like they meant nothing in her eyes. Maybe she wouldn't have been so hung up about not having a family if she'd been able to interact with them more so it was quite aa shame. As for the other brother, the one Ares didn't really recall seeing at the international but knew he was there, ironically, he wasn't really permitted to talk with Sandy for the opposite reason of this brother at the sect. He was too talented! He showed actual promise, unlike this brother, and having an up and coming powerhouse fellahin like him be led astray, by Sandy's values and support of the impure bloodlines, was worrying. That brother was isolated from her too by the other elders in the clan. Again, meetings between them couldn't be avoided forever, it wasn't good optics to constantly hide them so blatantly either anyway, and so they saw each other from time to time but there was only really a vague sense of kinship. For what it was worth, both brothers were leaving with Sandy's lot to escape Xasca so now she'd maybe get to spend some more spare time with them and catch up properly. They'd also indirectly be Redhomes now too so Ares would take care of them in whatever way they needed. The brother Ares met in the sect, the one that he was standing in front of right now, had been helpful in getting information on the black market so Ares appreciated that. "You. The hell is your name?" Ares still didn't know! He only ever indirectly referred to him as the 'guy that picked a fight' but, if he was going to be, for lack of a better term, banging his sister... Well he ought to at least know this guy's name, right?
"Jack... Why are you even asking? You never cared before... Is it because I'm going over to Red Sun?" This guy had no idea about Ares' budding relationship with Sandy but Ares decided to not be too vulgar in his wording fo this fact.
"Sandy... Your sister I mean, we're close so... Let's get along from now on."
"Ah... Makes sense, I guess. Two cultivation geniuses are suited for each other, I get it. Whatever, big sis is an adult, she can do as she pleases."
"Big sis? Isn't she younger than you?"
"Well yeah but she's... Bigger? I mean they don't call her 'juggernaut' for nothing..."
"I guess. Though she's really not that big under all the clothes..."
"Too much information! I don't wanna know and I don't care about that crap!"
"That's not what I meant but fine. I was actually meaning to ask you if you knew where the sect master is right now? I don't really know anyone else in an official position in this sect, and you happened to be right here at the gates, so... You got any clue?"
"Today's your lucky day because I do happen to know. He's having a meeting with some of the fellahin elders right now. He just came over from the quarry as Massai, that monk you came with, finished up his job there and he was checking in prior. It was there I overheard Drai mention something about rewards for Massai and you, specifically, before going to the usual meeting room. I'm guessing Massai took his reward and left the sect but I don't where he is."
"Alright, thanks. After all the information you've given me I guess I owe you something in return... When you get to the Heaven's Path sect tell a guy called Rud that I sent you to him. You should be able to get some decent artifacts, that I myself crafted a while back, for free so long as Rud isn't feeling grumpy for whatever reason. Consider us even afterwards but don't be a stranger if you need anything else within reason." Ares said Goodbye to Jack, as he probably wouldn't see him again before he left for the Federation, and then headed over to the meeting room. Ares knew where it was already as he'd crashed it once before the last time he came here... Ares really shouldn't do it twice but oh well! What was the point of a party if the life of it wasn't there anyway?!