Down to Dabble''s personal forge Ares descended. He was very familiar with this brick staircase as he''d traversed it more than just a few times since he''d first arrived at this sect... Actually, now that he thought about it, when he first arrived at the sect and he took the entrance trial... Rud used pressure on him! Ares should have squashed Rud earlier like a bug when he was here as payback! Ah well, too little too late. Rud could escape Ares'' wrath and revenge for today.


    As Ares reached the bottom step, Dabble put a few tables together as he asked him a question. "So laddie. Got any ideas ''bout how to make this work? Ne''er done anything o'' the sort before so I don''t know where to start. Figured maybe ye''d have an inkling or two ''bout...


    "Mana. MANA. M.A.N.A. ?? <---- This stuff!"


    "The hell was that noise ye just made?... Anyway... Mana eh?"


    "Yeah, trust me, if there''s one thing I learnt while climbing that damn pagoda, it''s that mana is required at basically every step whenever pressure is involved. It''s the fix to 99% of your pressure problems so don''t bother wasting your time on any other solutions. Also mana is how you merge pressure with your flesh for enhancement to begin with so if that isn''t the way to do it then it might as well be impossible." Ares hopped down off the last step of the stairs and moved over to the cluster of tables. To start with, Dabble whipped out a plain steel ingot and gestured for Ares to give it a shot... Whatever ''it'' was exactly. Briefly, Ares considered whether he should even bother attempting to use physical pressure but he decided that would be an exercise in futility. Physical pressure was very good at going through stuff, as in making holes in solid objects, but merging likely wasn''t in the cards. Instead, Ares brought about some ethereal pressure, the weight kind, and hovered it directly above the ingot.


    Now there were three options: Should he wield mana freely and push it down without any external aid, should he push it down with mana coating his hand, or should he turn the mana into magic and push it down that way? All three seemed equally viable so Ares just picked one at random and went for it. As for which route he chose, he started with option number three because he had a hunch and most of his guesses recently had been correct. He was on fire when it came to pressure!


    Ares shaped some annihilation mana into magic, even though it was a pain in the ass, because he assumed his bloodline might actually make this a bit easier. He couldn''t use disintegration as that might actually obliterate the pressure and nothingness might merge it accidentally the easy way. Ares was pretty certain nothingness would enable this idea without a sweat but he wasn''t doing this for his sake, it was for Dabble. This was something even Dabble could learn to do if Ares paved the path so cheating with nothingness wasn''t in the cards just yet, although he would absolutely do it that way in the future if ever he needed to. So no disintegration and no nothingness... Which left Ares with a hammer forged of annihilation mana after much hassle... This hammer was seriously going to explode the second he used it, wasn''t it? Ares was starting to realise that, if this method was correct, he would literally have to cheat and use nothingness because he couldn''t create an actual, non-exploding, or non-disintegrating hammer without it... Damn you destruction pillar! Que sera, sera. Ares dissolved the magic hammer and asked Dabble to do it in his stead after explaining his conundrum, to which Dabble chuckled at Ares'' misfortune before doing as asked.


    Dabble''s hammer looked almost real but, then again, he was a blacksmith and his pillar was pretty much born to do this so it was understandable that his attempt was leagues above Ares''. The hammer came swinging down onto the steel ingot as Ares kept the pressure steady ever so slightly above it.


    ...


    ...


    Ares had expected to hear a Clang of confirmation but all he got was the sound of a struggling dwarf huffing and puffing as he put his all into pushing down his hammer. Maybe Ares had used too much pressure? He did have pretty significant quantity of the stuff so maybe he should tone it down for Dabble''s sake... When he was doing it on his own later he could go hog wild thanks to nothingness, though, so he wasn''t too disappointed. If anything it was Dabble that should be regretful as it would be his creations that had lower quality overall than Ares''. Still, imbuing pressure meant his creations would be a step above what they were prior anyway. Complaining about lost efficiency when the average amount of quality he would be gaining was putting the cart before the horse. Also Dabble could improve his pressure control or his cultivation in his own time and have an easier time of things. This was something he needed to learn to do on his own without Ares'' pressure being readily available as the laddie was going to disappear from the sect often as he went on all kinds of adventures.


    Ares slowly kept lowering the pressure he was leaking and he could tell Dabble was getting closer to smacking the stuff into the ingot. Dabble was also sweating buckets but Ares didn''t blame the guy what with the roaring forge in the background practically spitting fire like a magma demon. Eventually Ares brought down his pressure to about 10% and, finally...


    CLANG


    Dabble collapsed on the spot and Ares couldn''t help but look on over with a smug grin. This was precisely what he''d gone through in the tower, with extra agony sprinkled in, and the guy couldn''t even handle 1/10th of it for a fraction of the time Ares had suffered! Comparisons were odious but man did they make him feel proud of himself! Sucks to suck, little man! A bit of ego here and there never killed anyone so Ares celebrated his accomplishment in his head while Dabble struggled to his feet to scrutinise and analyse his handiwork down to the last detail. Sure enough, the pressure was now trapped inside the ingot, which meant Ares 1-in-3 guess had been correct! What a day today had been! Although, to be fair, Ares had just gone with the approach that cost him the most mana... Was Ares lucky, or was he just really good at noticing extremely obvious patterns... On a related note, he also seemed to be the only person in this universe even slightly bothered by how strikingly thematically accurate most people''s names were! Everyone else kept dismissing him whenever he brought it up! Seriously! Even the woman who turned Ares'' heart into a gem was called Gemma for Christ''s sake! Whenever Ares tried to bring it up, and he was promptly ignored, he felt like he was living in a mad-world so he just stopped caring about it all... Even if it was incredibly hard not to notice.


    Eventually, Dabble looked up from the ingot and gave Ares a big thumbs up. "Laddie, this ''ere is incredible! This steel ingot, if I sold teh thing, would be worth ten times its usual asking price! It''s solidity is mind-blowing compared teh usual! If I made an artifact outta this ''ere bad boy it would become something extraordinary, I''m sure of it. I cannae do it quickly, ''cos I gotta work on teh pillows and this would take a while anyway, so feel free to come back in a week''s time or so. I''ll let ye know what'' I''ve discovered then. I''m guessing ye wanna add pressure to yer own artifacts but I would recommend holdin'' on ''till I understand this process entirely. Would nae wanna break yer precious items now would ye?"


    "Fair enough. I feel like nothingness would allow me to merge it safely but there''s no reason to take that risk if you''re willing to do a deep dive into what this entails. Sorry to drop this on you when you''re so busy and all but I figured it might help you create better gear in the long run."


    "Aye, yer right laddie. No need te apologise, I''m truly grateful. This''ll likely spur me on to start learning ''bout pressure again. Teh sect will appreciate this in due time, I''m sure of it."


    "As am I. If it works I''ll be sure to incorporate the technique into the gear I make for the sect later on. Speaking of which, how''s that all been coming along anyway? I''ve made a lot of weapons and armour over the last month or so but I haven''t really kept up with the disciples to see if they''re satisfied or not... Well I could always hazard a guess. Not to brag but that gear was all high value."


    "Yea, you''re right laddie. Nothin'' but nonstop praise as far as I''m hearin''. Lots of disciples talkin'' ''bout life and death situations ''n'' how yer gear saved their hides. course not everyone''s so lucky but that''s their fault te begin with. Generally people respect yer work a great deal and are appreciative. Yer gear and Shock Beads have raised our sect up a tier in the overall standings; that''s the consensus anyway. Lot o'' people who are startin'' out in their cultivation journey wanna start here for all teh benefits you provide. Other sects wouldn''t have the safety guarantee for younger cultivators that yer stuff does. We''ve seen an uptick in requests to join since the international started and that''s only teh start o'' things. With every passing day, and e''ry match won, we get more ''n'' more potential disciples. Even some possible elder and core disciple candidates showin'' up to our doorstep. Rud''ll ne''er say it but he''s grateful to ye laddie. We all are. ye might be a bit of a devil e''ry now and then but me thinks ye''ll make a good sect leader one day."


    "Thanks for the vote of confidence. I''m not sure I can handle official legislation and documentation and stuff, but if it''s just a matter of making the sect stronger overall, safer, and boosting its reputation then that I can do at least. And the sooner I start the better so knowing things are already in motion is wonderful news. Thanks for keeping an ear to the ground." Ares gave a small salute as he started to walk back to the staircase. "I''ll be seeing you around but not for a while. When I''m done with the pagoda I''ll come check in with you if you aren''t still busy, so see you then."


    "See you laddie. OH! And also, thanks fer gettin'' Julio new runes te play wit''. He was feelin'' a bit down in the dumps ''cos ''e wasn''t chosen to make the training field for teh competition. He was last year but they ''pparently found another guy for it this time around and so teh pointy menace cried like a wuss. Felt bad ''cos I''ve a use this year and ''e doesn''t. Not really anyway. You should maybe check in with him too when ye come back, he''s got nothin'' else to do and might make some interesting discoveries what with all the time he''s got on ''is hands."


    "Huh, poor guy. Well I''ll pay him a visit too then... If he isn''t already here when I get back anyway. I tend to run into him at this place quite often so we''ll see. Anyway, goodbye for now!" This time for real Ares went to leave the building but not before having the Black Ice Bane cool it down a bit for the disciple forgers upstairs. One of them even got down on both knees and started worshipping Ares which was funny for all of two seconds before Ares felt awkward and wanted to leave. It was starting to spread that Ares would save the world and be a God in the future thanks to his fundamental pillar and this loon had clearly taken it too literally. Ares wasn''t in the habit of granting wishes, no sir! He was a revenant in a human body, not a genie in a lamp! Granted the guy was mostly just thankful for the cool air but Ares could tell there would be actual religious worshipers in his future at some point. Quite frankly, he had no idea what to do about these people... At least Ares could kill his cultists in peace... If the worshippers were harmless then at most he could disappoint them and try to get them to leave his ''faith'' by being a waste of space... That or making endless amounts of puns, that would probably get rid of most them... But what about the people who remained? What if his religion turned into a bunch of people going around ''spreading laughter'' with shitty dad jokes?! Wouldn''t that be even worse?! People might actually detest his worshippers more than his cultists if that came to pass... What a nightmare...


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Ares left the building to the cheers of the still-sweaty-but-not-nearly-as-much disciple forgers and started walking home. He could Shift but he still had a few minutes until everyone was expected to start arriving and so he figured he would enjoy some piece and quiet until then. Ares was a smart cookie who knew that if he returned know Enyo might actually seriously try and squeeze him dry in the few minutes available to her... His own home had become a death-trap of debauchery! Though he had no one to blame for that other than himself. He did leave Enyo high and very dry in the morning so it was really just a mix of karma and comeuppance coming back to bite him in the ass... Knowing Enyo, maybe even literally!


    Ares strolled back and watched other disciples scrambling around to do this or that. Running around to complete sect missions, help prepare for various international related tasks, or just get to their respective lectures on time. Ares hadn''t gone to any from his sect tier leader but, then again, what was really the point? Because of his unique situation he really didn''t get anything out of them and he was typically learning way more by going out and doing his own thing. The pressure pagoda was more valuable to Ares than anything Alaine had to teach and, most importantly of all, Enyo would chew him out if he dared going anywhere near that, quote unquote, ''homewrecker''. Ares was still receiving some stardust weekly thanks to his fifth tier status but it was spare change when compared to the amount Enyo spent at My Fair Lady... Ares being poor as dirt was unfathomable considering his talents and skillset but that was fine. The most important things in the cultivation world tended to be free. Tombs, events like the pressure pagoda, and dangerous lands typically housed the best treasures and resources you could find so stardust be damned!... Not that he wouldn''t mind having some to spare but that was where his earlier bet with the betting brothers would come in and tide him over for now.


    As he was nearing his house, Ares came across Fate who was also on her way there. He walked up behind her and covered her eyes. "Guess who!"


    "Ugh, dumb dog Ares?" Although it couldn''t be seen, Ares could feel in his bones that Fate''s eyes were rolling underneath his hands.


    "Correct! We have a winner! Your reward is a bunch of head pats!" With a smile, Ares lightly pet Fate who bit her lip in order to prevent herself form smiling in public at such a ''silly'' gesture. Her pouting did nothing to make anyone believe she wasn''t having fun though but that just made her all the more cute to every onlooker. Ares chuckled to himself as he walked around to her front and knelt down a bit while jutting out his back. "Climb aboard my cute sister, I shall carry you!"


    "..." Fate narrowed her eyes as she stared at her brother''s back... The temptation or the embarrassment, which feeling inside her would win over the other? It was a gruelling battle and victory seemed to sway in both directions from moment to moment... Eventually, with a gulp and a flushed face, she hopped onboard the Ares train and leant on his back. As he stood her world view shifted upwards by a couple of feet and now she knew what it was like to be tall! It was worth it for just this alone if nothing else! Not that she''d ever admit to it though. Admit to that and/or having ''fun'' with her dumb dog brother. Not that she needed to admit it for Ares to know; he wasn''t psychic or anything it''s just that Fate was not as subtle as she thought she was. Of course the irony that she was an excellent spy with an atrocious poker face was not lost on Ares as he carried her around. Ares even took a detour to make the trip last longer but Fate started steering him by gripping his hair and pulling him in the right direction before long.


    When they reached the house, Ares opened the front door, went into the living room, and paraded Fate around while jokingly yelling that he''d picked up a lost child. Calla took many photos while Fate banged on Ares'' head with her balled fists in an attempt to get him to put her down! Ares was called many names by the time Fate''s feet were finally on the floor again, all of which seemed to insinuate Ares was not highly intelligent. That seemed to be a specialty of Fate and her vocabulary was quite astounding when it came to calling Ares a moron.


    Ares had a look around the living room but, surprisingly, a bunch of people were missing. He thought he''d heard a commotion in the back garden when he arrived earlier but it settled down so Ares had stuck to annoying Fate. Now that he was done with that though he could still hear some faint arguing from the rear side of the house and thus he decided to go take a gander. No arguing in his house!... Technically they weren''t in the house but that wasn''t the point! Happy family only! Dysfunctional was acceptable but happiness was required!


    Ares opened the back door and tacitly understood the cause of the kerfuffle. Aejaz was getting his just desserts. See Zhang had shown up for the first time in a while and, evidently, he''d sniffed out the fact that Trixie''s intentions in this household were not pure. It was painfully obvious to him which just made Zhang want to beat Aejaz for being so woefully oblivious. Then again Zhang wanted to beat Aejaz for a multitude of reasons and he had a list ten miles long of excuses to validate his current actions. While Aejaz was being throttled by his father in law, Trixie and Allie were actually getting along somewhat as they watched it all happen. They must have agreed that Aejaz deserved this even if he''d only unintentionally brought about this situation. Nonetheless this idiot would probably finally learn today what all the fuss was about when Zhang calmed down and explained it to him in the simplest terms possible as though Aejaz were a five year old. Ares got a good laugh out of watching his brother get kicked around by Zhang, especially after he''d been in this exact position himself back in the snatcher town at one point. What goes around comes around! Hahahah...


    DOOM


    ... Hahaha? Ares'' gloating was cut short when devil incarnate appeared behind him. Ares had incorrectly assumed Enyo''s wrath had been quelled fully earlier but clearly there was still a ''tinge''... Just a ''smudge'' still remaining... To think he''d been laughing about his brother''s woman woes just a second ago and now this... What goes around comes around?


    "Uh, dear dearest? Sweety sweetest?" Ares turned around only to find out it wasn''t Enyo behind him... It was Bellona!... Why were their ''I''m mad auras'' identical?! Ares decided not to dwell on it because right now it seemed like he had explaining to do and he didn''t even know why! Ares had come to understand that having a wife meant this would be a common occurrence, and with two wives it would happen twice as much... He looked Bellona in the eye, bowed his head, and apologised with insincere sincerity. "Bellona, I have no idea how or when I wronged you but I am deeply sorry for the things you think I''ve done that I may or may not have actually done."


    THWACK


    Bellona gave Ares a headbutt and that seemed to alleviate most of her anger. Why this woman resorted to physical violence when mad was beyond him but Ares knew better than to question it. Bellona poked Ares in the chest repeatedly as she went on her rant. "Ares! So glad you finally came back home after finding another wife! And here I thought you were just going to spend all day and night with her. You''re in a real good mood so you must have had fun with her right? Yeah no I''m not jealous at all, after all we''ve spent so much time together OH WAIT! NO! We haven''t! We haven''t spent much time together at all you idiot!"


    "Oh boy, look, Bellona it''s not what you''re thinking. We didn''t sleep together or anything... But yes we did have fun playing around with one another during the course of the trial. I''m sorry to have to tell you that I enjoyed my time with another woman but I won''t lie to you, I had a blast with her. I''m not saying what I''m about to say to try and smooth things over but I''ve sworn to myself to dedicate some more time to you whenever I''m able. Things have been busy lately, and they likely still will be because of the tournament, but any spare time I have belongs to you from now on, ok? I''m also not trying to make it up to you just because I feel guilty but rather because I understand now that all my relationships going forward will be important to me and that includes ours. Ours not reaching the point it should have already is a failure on my end and I accept that. Make no mistake though I do still love you, that wasn''t a lie. I meant it when I said it and I still do. I would never have progressed to the point I did with Candy if it hadn''t been a matter of circumstance. My time with her was limited and things had to move quickly in that small window we had together. I hate that it had to happen that way because of the situation it put you in, but I don''t regret it either because it needed to go down that way. You have every right to be annoyed I ''prioritised'' Candy but please understand none of this was planned. Don''t feel left by the wayside just because I''m an idiot. I''ve yet to fully grasp what it means to be the head of this harem. I don''t know how to properly spread out my attention and time and I know I need to figure that out before I make you feel any worse. I get it and I''m sorry but please show me some leniency? If I could choose, you know things would never have even gotten to this point."


    "Tsk, yeah yeah. Fine. For the umpteen billionth time I''ll be the tolerant and patient one and go back to waiting by myself while every other woman gets to have fun with you... I''m sorry... I know you''re trying and my sarcasm is unnecessary but it sucks, you know? I said I''d be ok with not being the favourite and I am but I never thought it would entail being ignored to this extent... Ah shit I''m sorry again... I didn''t mean that, I know you aren''t ignoring me either. It''s just hard not to be upset about it all! You''re trying but you''re an idiot so how hard you try doesn''t even matter!... Ah crap I''m sorry again... Man I don''t even know how to speak to you anymore. My emotions are a mess and the only thing on my mind is headbutting you again! I mean seriously, our longest interaction was in the bed that one time! It lasted even longer than our dance for fuck''s sake! Not that I''m not flattered you found my flat self attractive for once, instead of constantly bashing it, but really?! Where''s the romance damnit!"


    Thwack


    Bellona headbutt Ares again and made him see stars.


    Thud


    This time it was Enyo who attacked Bellona! A swift palm to the top of the dome brought Bellona back to her sense, quelled any remaining desire for violence in her, and helped her clear her thoughts. She scratched her ear, the motion of which got quicker as she grew more frustrated. "AH! This is annoying! Screw words! I want you to make it up to me with your actions Ares and I don''t care how you do it! That''s all, you''re forgiven in advance!"


    "No I''m not." Ares shook his head... And saw some more stars as he probably should have recuperated before doing that... "Don''t make leeway for me, I don''t find it helpful. We can go back to normal, and you don''t have to be mad about this situation anymore, but don''t forgive me until you have a reason to. I don''t know how I''m going to make it up to you just yet but I''ll find a way, I promise you... In a week''s time!"


    "Are you fucking kidding me?!"


    "Wait, lemme explain!"


    "NUH UH! You know what? I''m done playing nice, it''s time for you to really regret your actions for once!"


    Ares had no idea what was in store for him but, based on the way Bellona was stomping into the house, it was not going to be pleasant...