Returning to the sect in a jiffy was a breeze for Ares thanks to his Voidwalk so he still had a bit of time to spare before going back home. He figured he may as well pay Lizzy, Dabble, and Julio all a visit to see how things were going. In his spare time he still contributed to all three departments but it had been a while since he last visited due to his busy schedule. It was only going to get more busy with the pagoda, though, so if there was anything he could assist them with he should really get it over and done with now lest they be made to wait for however many days until Ares was free again.


    First up was Lizzy in the technical department. He had an update for her regarding Echoes, after all! Being able to mix them with pressure was a pretty big deal even if only Ares specifically could also imbue his annihilation mana into it. It''s not something any of the disciples in this sect would be able to do, as they were still early on in their cultivation journeys and yet to even touch pressure, but some of the elders could maybe give this upgrade a swing. In particular Rud stood a decent chance of being able to utilise this art properly. He''d heard rumours that Rud had gotten really good with Echoes so buddy Ruddy would be overjoyed with this development no doubt. Still, first and foremost came Lizzy as she could help Ares write down the details and check for any flaws in his art. She wasn''t as well versed in pressure as Ares was though as he''d become an expert in the stuff and now outclassed most people in Red Sun in terms of knowledge about pressure. Still, no one knew their way around a technical like her so her input was valuable nonetheless.


    Ares entered the department and passed by some of the disciples he was familiar with, including the guy he''d sent to the infirmary way earlier. The snooty fellow still flinched the second he saw Ares but all of the hostility was long gone. After the incident he''d wisely taken a more docile approach to Ares. Every time Ares made the news in some way, and disciples went about whispering his achievements, this guy became more and more tempted to go dig a hole and become a mole man hiding under the earth. He''d made a huge mistake! Thankfully Ares didn''t give him any trouble afterwards but that didn''t alleviate the fear that he one day would.


    Ares eventually found Lizzy in her own room near the very back of the building. He hadn''t spent much time around her lately so he had no idea what she was up to or working on but she did seem invested in something. He waited patiently until she was done analysing something, and rather fastidiously at that, under a magnifying glass before he walked further into the room and gave a wave. He checked what was on the table in front of Lizzy and saw a glove with a runic inscription on it. Ares activated Omniscience and nearly did a triple take on the spot! Not because of the glove, it was, for the most part, a completely normal glove. The rune on it was a way to use Echoes without the cultivator themself needing to know it. For lack of a better term, it was essentially an Echo enabler. A clever invention and pretty valuable too. But no, that wasn''t what took Ares by surprise. What threw him for a loop was the giant lizard tail coming out of Lizzy! She was a skrank lizzle! A shapeshifting reptile! Hiding it made a lot of sense considering how utterly despised lizzles were. Enough to get beaten up on sight in some places, even. Ares was mostly surprised because he somehow hadn''t found this out before! With his Omniscience it was clear as day but, then again, since obtaining the Prisms he''d never used them around Lizzy. "Hey Lizzy, cool tail!"


    "Huh?!" Lizzy''s neck almost snapped in two as her head spun backwards to look down at her rear. She thought she''d accidentally been walking with her tail out and that would have been a real nightmare. She was confused, though, when she turned around and couldn''t for the life of her see it. Her disguise was up and running all right, she''d confirmed it herself just now, so how could this guy see it! "Yo! Arestotle, how''d ya see my taily?"


    "Omniscience. If anything it''s weird I''m only seeing it now, I''ve had this art for quite a while now... Let me guess, say nothing about this to anyone and keep my lips sealed on the matter?"


    "Wouldya? The elders are all up to speed on the matter but none of the disciples are aware. I think it''s better if as few people as possible know just cause my race is troublesome with a capital T. If the kiddos know there''s a shapeshifter out and about in the sect it''ll cause some real paranoia and I may be kicked out ''cos of it. Heh, would be kinda funny, though, watching everyone be on edge when talking to their buddies and neighbours. I mean I''d never actually transform into anybody else but people wouldn''t trust me anyway and I get it... Well, I tried messing around with people back in my hometown once but that was when I was a tiny lizzle and looking to play around, ya know? It didn''t really wok out for me super well ''cos everyone in the village was a skrank. People were quick to realise and they even started messing with me in return! Ah they were a funny lot. Could be a real buncha jerks sometimes but they were alright around fellow skranks for the most part."


    "I''ve heard a lot of negative things about lizzles but your the only one I''ve ever met. Can''t help but think the rumours are overexaggerated to an unreasonable degree."


    "Nah, not really. I appreciate the thought but most lizzles are right cunts. My grandaddy was a good one though and he took care of me. Not sure if I should be mentioning this but, seeing as how it''s you and what not, I think it''ll be ok. My grandaddy came from the other side of the severed domain. He was born in Dueuer and lived there with my parents for a long while but something happened there that he didn''t like and, when he found out about it, he complained. Said the lizzles had really crossed a line in some way and he didn''t agree with it not one bit but they didn''t want to listen to him or undo it. He didn''t try and convince them ''cos they were stubborn as molasses so he left and snuck me out with him ''cos he thought I''d live a better life if I weren''t involved with their plotting and scheming. During his travels he got sucked up into the severed passageway but, luckily, he and I survived it. I was pretty young but I remember the twisting spiral of red space like the back of my hand. It felt funny drifting through it, like my whole body was ten times heavier and a thousand times lighter. I''m guessing that''s the nothingness you use, right? Real funky stuff. Trippy as balls! Anyhow, grandaddy made it and quietly swore to himself, and I quote, ''never to do that shit again''. As a kid I liked a thrill so I asked him if we could go through it again and the look on his face was priceless! But yeah, he put distance between himself and that passage, so much so he skipped an entire domain and wound up here in Sheryashka, He still lives in Red Sun but remains low key so as not to spook anyone. He''s from Dueuer so his cultivation ain''t no joke. Grandaddy''s basically as strong as the matriarchs of the four major Vraizon clans... Plus he makes a mean sandwich!"


    "Sandwich? Oh shit, is your grandad Fixer?!"


    "Oh? You know him? Sweet. he did mention some kid that had been helping him out here and there a few years back, I guess that was you then? Huh, small world Agares, small world."


    "You''re telling me that sandwich guy is as powerful as the matriarchs?! My worldview has been shattered... But his sandwiches really are good..."


    "I know right?! Maybe I should go and get one for dinner... It''s been a couple days since I saw the coot and talking about his food got me real in the mood for some. Yeah, methinks I''ll do that when I''m done here. Speaking of this place, it''s been rare to see you around as of late. Must be busy with training for the tournament and such, I take it?"


    "You ''take it'' correctly. Ah but things are only gonna get worse from here on out, and I don''t mean ''cos of my schedule. I''m challenging the fifth floor of the pressure pagoda nonstop until I beat it and I won''t be out for a while. I wanted to check up on the department elders that I''m familiar with, maybe dump some cool stuffs on you here and there, and let you all know I''mma be off the radar for a bit. No communication ''till I return. Nada. Zilch. Zero."


    "Fair''s fair. When ya gotta go, ya gotta go."


    "I''m not going potty Lizzy... Or are you taking the piss?!"


    "Hehe, who knows? Anyways, what good goods ya got for me this time? You wouldn''t get my hopes up by telling me you got some juicy info on your hands and then turn up empty would ya? never had ya pegged as a dud so spill it!"


    "We~ll, I may or may not have a way of improving Echoes!"


    "No?! For reals? Yo Rudge is gonna have a field day when his ears catch wind of this! You should see him practicing Echoes. He''s like a puppy with a new squeaky toy! If he learns he can improve it the old badger might actually wear a smile for the first time in his miserable life!"


    "No kidding... But yeah, I found a way of improving it! There''s also something only I can do but that''s just bloodline and fundamental pillar nonsense."


    "Ah I see. Saviour of the world privilege, yeah?"


    "Something of the sort. Still, the underlying principle is usable by anyone. So, you got some time to spare for a bit of testing?"


    "Do I? Do I ever! I was just fiddling with this glove but that can wait! Should I raise a brick wall for the demonstration?"


    "Uh, I think you''re gonna need a steal one at bare minimum. This thing hits H.A.R.D. Especially if I use my version."


    "Oh wowser, that strong? You ain''t been messing around these last couple o'' days, huh?" Lizzy smacked a few buttons on the underside of her desk and a steel wall raised up from a rectangular hole in the ground. Ares walked up to it and turned to Lizzy.


    "I''ll use the normal version for now and restrain myself a bit so as not to blow this wall to smithereens. I can demonstrate my unique version after if you''re interested but that will definitely need a stronger wall even if I hold back." Ares turned to the slab of steel, spun his shoulders, and clicked his knuckles. This wall was gonna get it! Ares had a bit of resentment pent up after having to let go of Candy and then getting his ass beat less than five minutes later so this was a good opportunity to fire off some stress relievers. "Echo!" Ares swung out with a silver coated fist and crashed his hand into the poor wall.


    BANG


    A massive dent formed in the centre of the wall and cracks ran along the entirety of the wall. If Ares had hit it it any harder this thing would have shattered into tiny pieces under the weight of his fist. Lizzy clapped her hands and her eyes sparkled in delight. She could see it! The silver pressure! Incorporating pressure was the answer!... Although it was hard. Not many people could wield pressure to begin with but mixing physical pressure with arts was no easy task... Still, this was good! Right out the gate Lizzy had already noticed a few key points and was excitedly jotting down her observations. It seemed like this would go on for quite a bit so Ares strapped in for the ride and prepared himself. Obviously he wouldn''t let this go on for too long as he had other places to be, and if Lizzy was dead set on her sandwich then so did she, but they could get everything important out of the way today at least. The process, the art tome''s first iteration, a few important adjustments to reduce mana cost and so on so forth. Although Ares would go on to show his own version there was no way Lizzy could help with that due to how far out of her wheelhouse it was. On the bright side, any changes made to Echo also directly affected Annihilation Echo anyway so Ares had no reason to complain!


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    About thirty minutes later and the clock was ticking for Ares to go back. He still had one more stop to make, two if he was unlucky, so he needed to wrap things up here. As they were done with everything they wanted to do this wasn''t a problem so Ares bid Lizzy goodbye and wished her luck on her tests with Echo as she would be experimenting on that from now on. There was a non-zero chance she''d make some big adjustments by the time he was out of the pagoda so it would be worth checking in with her again down the line. At minimum the elders would have learnt this new form of Echo without a shadow of a doubt.


    And with that, he took his leave!... Well he did also thank Lizzy for the cameras Enyo had gotten off her so she could capture ''all sorts of memories with Ares'', in her own words. To Enyo''s credit, Ares had yet to see the hidden cameras anywhere so they weren''t distracting or anything. When the woman had even set them up Ares didn''t know but she absolutely had. Enyo had 1000% recorded their first time. Hell Ares was pretty sure she still had the blood-stained covers in one of her spatial rings... He offered to clean it and she nearly bit his head off. At this rate he was worried she would stick the entire bed in there for posterity when they moved. Thankfully, though, she wasn''t that crazy and she''d promised him he wouldn''t... Although it may only have been because they would need a bigger bed in the future to enable everyone sleeping on it together. The bed would need to facilitate ten people sleeping on it at any given time and Ares had no idea what on earth kind of bed he was going to have search high and low for... He might even have to craft it himself at some point in the future... Actually, now that he''d thought that, he kinda wanted to make it an artifact if he could... Might as well, right? Anyway that was a problem for future Ares to deal with, right now he was headed to Dabble''s forge!


    As he arrived, Ares put his hands together in prayer. His prayers were answered not in the form of a Godly being whispering esoteric truths into his ear but rather the sound of a bickering elf and dwarf which meant Ares had been saved a second trip! He needn''t go to the rune department as Julio was already here and that was fantastic news! Ares went inside the forge while fanning himself to reduce the heat somewhat. It was a relatively hot day and being in here with all the furnaces was not helping. In fact, Ares even pulled out the Bane and used the Cold Caller rune to lower the temperature and that worked wonders for him. Some of the disciple forgers even tried forming a mini conga line behind Ares to catch some fresh air before they fainted from the overwhelming stuffiness in the building. They would have gone outside for fresh air but not only was it hot out there too, they also couldn''t very well leave their creations mid-construction! Some of them could depending on the stage of manufacturing but most were not in a position to leave their artifacts and experiments for longer than a minute or two. Pied piper Ares was easy to spot from a distance so Dabble and Julio knew he was coming... But there as a third elder here who smacked his forehead when he saw the gremlin that haunted him in his nightmares arrive. Ares saw this person and greeted him with a grin. "Buddy Ruddy!"


    "fuck off fuddy duddy." Rud spat.


    "Hahaha, it''s good to see you too! It really has been too long."


    "As per usual, not long enough. What do you want with me you foul demon?"


    "Oh wow, so mean. I come bearing gifts and this is how you repay me? Or rather I wasn''t even looking for you specifically to begin with! A chance encounter, and I have good news, and yet still you shun me? I must really live rent free in that brain of yours, huh?"


    "Regrettably, I must admit you do. I''m still trying to figure out what to do with that infernal mecha-dryad by the way. You just dumped that mechanical monster on me and I''ve found nowhere to put it since!"


    "Why not shove it up your ass?"


    "You''re a roach, you know that?"


    "Not the first time I''ve been called a cockroach, so yes actually I do know that. Anyway if you want my suggestion, Serene might be interested in the mecha-dryads and she''s been hanging around the sect fairly often. I overheard her mentioning the creatures at a banquet that I was hosting the other day so you may be in luck."


    "I wouldn''t need luck if you didn''t exist, brat."


    "Ah but, if I didn''t exist... How would you have ever learnt Echoes? Or better yet, how would you have ever have had the chance to learn the upgraded version of Echoes that I just invented earlier today?"


    "... You''re fucking with me... I don''t believe you!" Rud folded his arms and glared at Ares because he genuinely believed the runt was messing with him.


    Ares shrugged and walked over to a nearby wall. "Annihilation Echo." His fist shot straight through the wall and even the building next door wasn''t spared as a giant hole formed in the wall of that too. "Oh and that was me holding back. If I used my full power I would have been able to topple the next door building. Of course that''s my version of it, the standard upgrade isn''t quite as powerful. Still, even an old, whiny codger with one foot in the grave such as yourself ought to get some mileage out of this bad boy."


    "... Shit, alright you dastardly brat, you got me. I''m in. What is it and where can I learn it."


    "It''s manners and you can learn it here and now."


    "... P... P..." Rud almost bit his tongue in frustration but eventually caved because the art was more important to him. He''d dedicated a lot of time and effort into mastering this art and he was probably better at wielding it than even Ares. It had become a staple part of his approach to combat so learning this was non-negotiable. Also he really should have said these words from the start but seeing Ares'' smug smile made him want to bang his head against a wall instead... "Please... And tha... Thank you... Fuck, where can I learn it? I''ve given you what you want, you sick bastard, so hold up your end of the deal."


    "Alright alright, don''t get your knickers in a twist I''ll tell you. It''s a trick that imbues Echoes with physical pressure. I can imbue it with annihilation mana but that''s my own unique bloodline so don''t even waste your time trying to recreate it. You can go learn it from Lizzy as she''s working on the tome. I think she''ll have the basic, first go around, done already if you go look for her now. She''s still got room to improve upon it though and she''ll have a better version by the end of the week if you''re patient. Still, learning the basics for now ought to be helpful so you should go do that."


    "Oh believe me I will. The sooner I get away from you the better." Rud turned to the other two elders, who had gone back to their own argument a short while ago, and stopped their fight by calling out to them. "Dabble, Julio! I appreciate you working on this request. I know it''s last minute but it''ll be good publicity for the sect. Once again, thank you. If you need any assistance... Well you''ve told me good things about that brat so put him to use... And maybe sew his mouth shut for everyone else''s sake while you''re at it. Anyway, I look forward to your results. Until then gentlemen. Goodbye for now." Rud said his piece and then left... While making sure to smack Ares'' head as he walked by. His evil laugh could be heard as it faded away into the distance and Ares just sighed. He and Rud got along like cats and dogs...


    Ares walked over to Julio and patted him on the shoulder. "Julio! Boy have I got some good news for you!"


    "NO!" Julio swiped away Ares'' hand and took a kung fu stance. "NUH UH BUCKO! I remember your last piece of good news and that stupid Omniscience has been haunting me since! It was terrible news. Terrible!"


    "Man, why are all you elderly folk all so on edge today? I just got to learn some runemancy from a woman who lives in the realm of Gods, or at least close to it anyway. She has such profound runemancy talents compared to anything I''ve ever seen before and I here I figured I could share it with the number one elf currently residing in this sect!"


    "... You mean it?"


    "Yeah, of course! I mean the only other elves here are Serene and Mako. You''re easily the favourite. I don''t know Serene well and I do know Mako well so I can say it with certainty. Come o~n, free runes? No strings attached? Going once? Going twice?"


    "I''m sold! Gimme gimme! I''ve been bored outta my skull lately ''cos Dabble''s been dabblin'' in some weird garbage and babblin'' ''bout it too instead of forging me some good old artifacts. If you''ve really got some incredible runes tucked away it''ll be something for me to distract myself with until my services are needed by tiny and grumpy over here." Julio pointed his finger downward and poked Dabble on the top of his skull.


    "Hmph." Dabble gruffly snorted as he swiped Julio''s finger away. "Ignore ''em laddie. Julio''s goin'' a wee bit loopy ''cos I''ve been busy with what Rud asked of me. Julio''s involved too ''e jus'' ain''t involved yet until I hand over my end of teh work. Those runes o'' yours ought to keep ''im quiet like a baby with a brand new dummy. Tho'' in this ''ere case I''m pre~ety sure ''e''s the only dummy."


    "Who you callin'' dummy, dummy? That''s it! From now your name is Dumb Dummy Dabble!"


    "... Yes..." Ares decided to interrupt this argument so as not to be forced to sit here forever listening to these two go back and forth like a married couple. "... Well, if dumb and dumber are done dumbing it up, I''ve got some runes with your name on ''em."


    Julio looked at Dabble and stuck out his tongue. "You''re definitely dumber!"


    With a kiss of his teeth and a short growl Dabble fired back with a perfectly salient point. "''ow can I be dumber if I''m Dumb Dummy Dabble, you stoopid elf?! Laddie was clearly calling you the moron ''ere ya blithering nincompoop!"


    "Alright Dumber Than Dumb Dummy Dabble. I''ve heard enough outta you! Ares, let''s put the grumpy gremlin aside for now. Mind if I take a looksie at them there runes?"


    "Sure thing." Ares had made a copy of the runes in preparation for this so he could hand them over without needing to fret about getting them back from this manic elf down the road. Getting his plate back from Sadie or his runes back from Julio... Ares wasn''t sure which was the harder task... Either way he passed over the notes and Julio took one look before scurrying away while yelling ''WOOHOO'' at the top of his lungs. Dabble bowed his head to Ares, thankful the laddie had found a way of removing the pointy menace from his abode.


    "Good job laddie. Peace has returned to my realm ''n'' ye are its saviour."


    "Surely you jest, my liege? Anyway, fantasy aside, whatcha cookin'' up? What''s Rud got you slaving away over?"


    "Ah that? Tis some goods for teh international. See I was toyin'' around with that one pillow design you and me worked on a while back. One o'' the disciples in this ''ere forge is teh son o'' a nobleman who took an interest in teh pillows, so I made some to order... Without teh images on ''em tho''. Jus'' teh hot ''n'' cold runes. Rumours got out an''now all teh other nobles ''ere for teh competition also want in on teh action. Some o'' ''em even want images o'' famous celebrities on ''em... Not my job to question it but I do still gotta make ''em. Rud managed to sell me services for a high price so tho'' it''s a wee bit demeanin'' it''s good for the sect''s coffers. I woulda made multiple batches by now if it weren''t for teh nobles having personalised requests each. Som'' want duck feathers, som'' want memory foam. List''s never endin'' I tell ye. Good practice tho, so it ain''t teh end o'' the world."


    "... I''ve been gone from this place for a week and you''re making body pillows for nobles... Maybe Julio was right... Maybe you really are a pervert... Gotta keep those dummies away from you WAIT! YOU ARE A DUMMY! IT''S TOO LATEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"


    Sigh


    "I see ye''ve been infected by Julio''s stupidity. Teh pointy menace has transcended and is spreading his idiocy to those in ''is proximity... Look laddie, business is business. Might as well get som'' extra stardust at this time of year, eh?"


    "Oh for sure, I''m not judging. Where there''s a product, there''s a market. I guess I''m just surprised you aren''t making artifacts. I would have thought they''d be in higher demand. Guess not. Who can tell what rich people are thinking... Hell I had a decent chunk of stardust once and I went to an auction and bought a seed with it so I''m not one to talk... I even almost spent the rest of it on lingerie... Wait a minute... Am I the rich spendthrift? Oh no! I''ve lived long enough to see myself become the villain!"


    "Laddie, ye were always teh villain."


    "Oh... Yeah. Good point. Anyway, got a bit side-tracked there, as for why I''m here... Well tiny man, I have a theory!"


    "For teh last time, I ain''t tiny! I''m a dwarf!"


    "Whatever you say Mr Tiny Dwarf. But in all seriousness, have you ever done pressure enhancement?"


    "No, I''ve not. Why?"


    "''Cos I noticed something when I was learning how..."


    "Ye know pressure enhancement?! That''s incredible laddie! Congrats!"


    "... Ah, thanks. It was quite the pain but I got it in the end. Anyway, my point is that in order to enhance yourself with pressure..., You have to merge it with your flesh... Catch my drift?"


    "... Aye! I see. Ye''ve already been doin'' mergin'' so if this is linked ye could maybe imbue artifacts with pressure?! I''ve ne''er heard anything quite like it so let''s give it a go, eh?"


    "Sounds good to me, beardy. Sounds good to me."