"Hmm, maybe I should test it out?" Mimi dangled the Biome Eagle V2 in her hand and jokingly pointed the barrel towards Ares with one eye squinted. Like a marksman lining up her shot, Mimi adjusted her grip and then mouthed the word 'bang' as she pretended to suffer from the recoil of an imaginary shot. Though she was playing around leisurely, she had to take a few deep sighs as breaking the domain-wide cultivation limit had taken its toll. Mimi looked like she could do with a nice lie down somewhere and a massage but, alas, she was stuck here explaining the details of Ares new and improved artifact instead. "Alright, so what do you think the main issue with this artifact was before I had my way with it?"
Though Ares didn't expect to be quizzed n his own gear's shortcomings he was dead certain he knew the answer. After all, it was him who had to use it all the time and so he knew precisely what kept him from using the Biome Eagle more than he typically did. "The sentient magic is insufferable!" Ok, maybe not. That was definitely not the answer... Though arguably it was an answer... Ares chuckled to himself before 'correcting' his guess and taking the question seriously as Mimi stared daggers at him. "Alright alright, the issue with the Biome Eagle is that it sucks as a weapon, right?" Mimi nodded, a sign of agreement, but she gestured with her head inclined as if to ask him to elaborate and give his reasoning. Ares was wondering if he was going to get graded for this and have to submit an essay later but he continued nonetheless.
"As an artifact, as something that allows me to use a bestowal aspect art, it's pretty great. I don't even use the mana absorption function, that let's me take mana in the air and imbue it into the Adaptive Shot, and yet the art itself is still great because I can pump my own destruction mana into it instead and that's almost always a better option. Though Adaptive Shot has drawbacks, notably the mana in the air that it absorbs corresponds with the environment, and so monsters that live there will probably be immune to whatever mana type I can absorb and use, the Biome Eagle is incredibly versatile and shines against humans because they won't resist the absorbed element like monsters will.
The Adaptive Eagle is sentient now, so that adds a layer of depth to what I can ask of it and combat isn't the only place it performs well as it can scout, suicide bomb, act as a beacon, and swap places with me after infiltrating secure locations. All of that is great, fantastic even, but that's it's capabilities as an artifact. As a weapon it leaves much to be desired. It's hard to remember it sometimes but the Biome Eagle is, originally, a gun that shoots bullets. It can use mana bullets instead of real lead, and that saves me a lot of hassle as I don't have to stock up or reload, but it limits tthe output of the gun by a significant margin. It's not really good for killing people so, despite the fact that I'm a weapons master to some degree, I rarely use this artifact as a normal weapon. As a gun, it's terrible. Its lethality is poor, the bullets are slow, the impact is weak, and it has no synergy with the art it can produce, which is far superior, whatsoever. It's a brilliant art attached to any regular old weapon, basically, and so I have little reason to bring it out aside from casting Adaptive Shot and, even then, I only ever really stick to absorbing destruction mana. As you've said, it's got real potential but, currently, it's lacklustre."
"Right." With a satisfied nod, Mimi gave Ares due props for neatly laying out every relevant shortcoming and upside in a succinct fashion. Before she discussed that matter further, though, she talked about the artifact side of the Biome Eagle instead just to get it out of the way. "The art has changed somewhat, that was the purpose of the feather and now that it and the artifact have merged together your sentient magic will have changed, and you'll have to check it personally to see the full extent of what's new." Ares hadn't noticed this initially but the Biome Eagle now had two small feathers sticking out of the hammer at the rear. They were hard to notice, and seamlessly blended in with the weapon, but they were integrated well which indicated the merging process had been a roaring success. "Sentient magic can change in a multitude of complicated and unexpected ways so I don't dare guess what became of the bird this thing summons. I'll leave exploration of that to you.
What I'm more proud of is the transformation this thing has undergone in regards to being a functional weapon. That second barrel I added isn't just for show as it serves a dual purpose. First off, I won't get into much detail here because there's lots of magic engineering and gun-toting terminology you might not be familiar with, but the chamber has been adapted to better align with the usage of mana bullets rather than ordinary bullets. The designer of this must have assumed the wielder would stick to real bullets but that feels outdated and inconsequential for a weapon like this. There isn't any real reason not to use mana bullets so I've adjusted a few bits of internal design to save space for the second barrel while improving the punch the weapon can output.
Put simply, the regular shots will fire slower but hit much, muchharder. As in, a single bullet to the head ought to execute anyone below the peak of transition realm and, even then, this thing can kill for a good while after that too depending on the resilience of the victim. Even when it can't kill in a single shot anymore, any bullet from this will be capable of throwing someone off their game wherever it hits and can lead to a decisive victory if capitalised on. It's more like a one-in-the-chamber hand cannon now and so a well aimed shot will send a person packing. You have to be a bit of a sharpshooter, and precision matters way more now that follow up shots will be delayed, and the recoil puts bucking horses to shame, but if you can sneak up on someone, lock them down for an easy shot, or just limit their options enough then this weapon will finish a fight quicker than you can start it. The regular shots having their own barrel made this rise in lethality possible as now it no longer has only a single barrel to facilitate the Adaptive Shot as well as normal shots so it can be tailor made to fit its purpose way better. That's part one of its improvements and, now, this is where things get interesting.
There is no reason the imbuing of mana has to be tied to Adaptive Shot specifically. There's a funnel in this weapon that absorbs the mana and then stores it for the Adaptive Shot but, by adding a second pathway that leads to the extra barrel, you can now choose where to send that absorbed mana. If you're in a frosty cave, for instance, you can either summon an icy Adaptive Shot or you can now fire ice bullets. The regular bullets already hit hard but throw in some elemental boosts and they'll really start to do some catastrophic damage. This is already pretty fantastic but, in your case, you can imbue the bullets with destruction magic. I don't really understand your pillar, I just know gold means everything explodes, so I won't comment on how your aspects interact with these bullets... But the underlying point should be obvious. This is going to be a deadly weapon in your hands no matter how you slice it.
Oh and, one more thing, the unimbued bullets might not seem that attractive, as using plain bullets when you can add mana seems pointless, but there is a use for them! The normal shots pack much sharper piercing power and are generally more silent. The elemental imbuement process makes a bit of a racket so it's good if you've already gone loud but, otherwise, the normal bullets can incapacitate quietly. Of course, if things are dead silent then don't bother, but if you're on a busy street or something a quick pop might go unnoticed. Maybe while you're fighting someone, and you're setting off explosions all over the place, you can assassinate your target with the regular bullets before they know what hit them. Also, as someone who was trapped inside that Armillary art earlier, it will be hard to dodge bullets while stuck inside your golden magic because senses are heavily dulled and swamped. What I'm saying is, you've got options now. Normal shots, imbued bullets, and your new Adaptive Shot. Thrice the options you had before and every single one of them is infinitely better to boot... Though I don't know for sure about the Adaptive Shot, I don't want to test it because my mana is turbulent after the backlash and using it recklessly will just make me even more sleepy..."
"Damn... You really do talk like a normal person when it comes to blacksmithing, huh?" Ares chuckled at Mimi who was kissing her teeth at him. "I'm kidding... Kinda... Anyway, the artifact looks great. Thank you. I'm sure this will come in handy often going forward. Might even save my life here or there."
"Tsk, don't say that, you'll make me wish I hadn't done such a good job. I practically reinvented that thing and for what? Just to help some mouthy junior live longer? I'm regretting it already."
Ares used his telekinesis to bring the gun over and slowly lifted his hand to grab it. Mimi thought nothing of this action as his innate healing must have finally brought about some minor control over his limbs. As far as she was concerned, he'd still be stuck to the floor like a human doormat for a little while longer. She watched as Ares struggled to aim the Biome Eagle skyward and chant his Adaptive Shot. There was some curiosity about what would be summoned, Ares had briefly mentioned the sentient magic was annoying, but more than that she wanted to see what kind of power her work brought forth. It was a personal pride thing and it was reasonable to want to know just how well her efforts panned out. The Adaptive Shot Ares used fired off a black bundle of feathers, meaning he'd used his disintegration mana to summon Garuda, but there was something immediately off about this scene. The feathers were far darker than usual and the quantity of them was staggering. Garuda was originally just a normal sized eagle but evidently his body mass had more than tripled as a result of the artifact's integration with the feather.
CAW
The bundle of feathers burst and a spread-wing crow emerged with a soul stirring cry... Yes, not an eagle, but rather a crow. Apparently Garuda underwent a drastic evolution and had changed his entire species... Which was awkward for various reasons Ares would mention in a bit, but more importantly he was massive now! His presence was imposing, like a dark lord's pet perched upon a nearby crooked lamp. HIs feathery wings folded around his body like a cloak of night and the sharp glint in his purple eyes gave off a mystic air. The feather used to merge with the Biome Eagle had psychic traits so it wasn't unsurprising Garuda had developed in this direction. He looked powerful, as though he possessed many new abilities and secrets, but Ares would have to figure them out in due time as right now he was simply admiring the obvious mutations. For better or for worse, Garuda had grown into something entirely different but there was still yet more to see as a bunch of tiny crows materialised around him, took refuge on his broad shoulders, and showed deference to his large form. Apparently he was the head honcho, the kingpin, of these little minions and now he was starting to look more like a mafia boss with a calm but wicked disposition. Those crows were probably somewhat illusory in nature but Ares couldn't outright tell without using his Omniscience so he assumed they were and paid them no further mind... At least he tried not to but every single one of them, and Garuda included, all turned to face him with smug grins forming around their beaks... This was hell! It was bad enough when Mimi was the only one looking at him like that but now there were multiple cocky faces beaming down at him from above! This was a nightmare! Bullies everywhere! Ares instinctively new what came next and wriggled in a desperate bid to avoid his fate. Unfortunately, this was futile and Garuda and his minions hopped on over to his prone self and started pecking at him as if seeking revenge for all the times he'd slighted them in the past.
Peckpeckpeckpeck
"Will you get lost?!" Ares cried as his face was poked and bruised by the stupid birds!
Peckpeckpeckpeck
"Hahahaha." Mimi giggled as she watched in jubilation while Ares got what he deserved! "I like this bird."
"Keep him then! I don't want him!" Ares moaned as one of the tiny crows perched its feet on his head and started pulling out his hair.
Peckpeckpeckpeck
"Tsk, you don't even look like an Eagle anymore! The name of the artifact is all wrong now because of you!" This was the main point that aggravated Ares about all of this. He could tolerate a more brazen Garuda taking advantage of his incapacitated state to mess with him a bit but how stupid would Ares look if he used his Biome 'Eagle' to summon a murder of crows?!
Caw (Then change it, idiot.)
"The hell did you say to me you stupid piece of poultry?!" Ares resented his draconic bloodline enabling him to speak with animals because this damnable bird was never going to be polite with him no matter what form it took. Annoyingly, it did have a point. Changing the artifact's name was for the best as it was almost an entirely different weapon now. "Fine... In keeping with the old artifact's naming scheme... From now on, the Biome Eagle shall be called the Turf Crow... Actually, no, you know what? I know exactly what to call this gun. 'Protection Racket'. Because God knows you'll only listen to me if I feed you or else you'll throw a temper tantrum and sick those dumb little birds on me again!" Ares was adamant about the name change so, hence forth, the Biome Eagle would be known as the Protection Racket. It was worth changing the name as it might even benefit Garuda or shape his development in the future. of course Arse could have called it the 'Dumb Bird Summoner' but he was only willing to pick so many fights with Garuda before he got fed up and disappeared entirely. There was a fine line Ares shouldn't cross. it didn't mean he couldn't fightback or bully Garuda himself a bit but being overly negligent could and would bite him in the ass. Anyhow, Garuda seemed satisfied with the fitting new name given to his artifact home so, with one final peck to leave his mark, he retreated all of his baby crows and disappeared like a shadow avoiding the sun. As though he were never even there, Garuda vanished, leaving Ares and Mimi alone with the latter still snickering at Ares' avian misfortune. Unbeknownst to her, though, this had all been a part of Ares devious plan. Her guard was thoroughly down, her mana empty and exhausted, and her psychical state poor. She didn't know it but she was currently in a worse position than Ares and the only way to defend herself from him would be to break the domain wide limiter a second time but it wouldn't be worth it. A second backlash would maybe knock her out so she was effectively at Ares' mercy. He'd been faking his inability to move for quite some time now and it was about time he stopped acting!
Mimi, still seated on her chair, had tears in her eyes and had to wipe them. This was the start of having the tables turned on her as her now dried eyes could no longer spot Ares. Instead, she felt a strong presence immediately behind her that she couldn't react to or stop from doing as it pleased. She'd fallen for the dastardly ruse. Ares self-imposed humiliation, the tolerance he had for all her wicked games and charades, as well as summoning Garuda to make him appear even more helpless than Mimi thought, It was all a calculated gamble. He'd endured and, now, as his arms wrapped around her front, and he leaned on her shoulder with a demonic grin, it was his turn to bring about all manner of fierce retribution.
"Y... You... How long?" Mimi's confidence shattered and her voice was laced with fright as it became clear to her this was all one big game she'd lost soundly. She was accustomed to leading men around but now one had infiltrated her personal domain and was even somewhat intimately touching her, She was used to being a freely frolicking deer but now the headlights had tracked her down and she was unable to even so much as lift a finger.
Ares' voice took on a charming and melodic, soft tone as he leaned even closer. "Since Finnian left." The depths of Ares; trickery were not small. His revenant regeneration was far more considerable than everyone had expected but his feigned suffering and weakness had distracted them from his actual state. Those three haunting words, that slithered into Mimi's ears, mocked her as she was made aware that Ares had been in control from the very start. He was lurking like a predator and she, like an innocent bunny, had stumbled into his multi-layered trap... No, even worse, she'd set up the trap herself by offering him that bet in the first place. Maybe even his initial reluctance to guess her race was part of his bait to condition her into thinking he was hesitant and wary in his 'weakened' state. He'd planned this to a degree that was scary. In her revelling, in her self-assured victory over his ragged body, she'd stumbled drunkenly right onto his palm and then danced for him for nearly an hour straight.
"What... Do you want from me?" He could do nearly anything. She had the ability to defend herself but the price would be steep so, provided he wasn't going to kill her or do something unthinkable, he had complete control. It was as though getting her to suffer a backlash from the limiter was his plan from the very start and that also meant he'd done this with a specific goal in mind. Nobody would go so far as to set this all up and then not take advantage of the situation he'd created. She could only meekly tremble in his firm grasp and try to reduce the blush in her cheeks as her mind raced in a bid to find a way out.
"Hmm..." Ares raised the Protection Racket and flipped it upside down, revealing a mark Mimi thought she'd hidden well. It was a shade with a tongue stuck out that she'd etched into the artifact as a small prank to mess with Ares when he discovered it later. It changed nothing about the artifact but would give him something to remember her by. Every time he used it he'd be reminded of the symbolic shade at the bottom and she hoped it would rile him up. Tragically, he'd located it and riled him up now while he was in a dominant position to do whatever he pleased as payback. She'd messed up big time and he was looking to really hammer home the mistakes she'd made and repay her in kind. Though his disposition seemed friendly enough there was an unexplainable evil embedded in his every movement that warned Mimi something irreversible was going to happen. "Well..." Ares' finger ran along Mimi's exposed collar bone as he started toying with his destruction mana. He imbued his finger with all three aspects under his control and then slowly traced Mimi's flesh in the shape of the letter 'A'. Mimi could feel layers of flesh being gently seared but it whatever Ares was doing wasn't painful. Ares was being considerate and not harming her but something far worse was happening, she was being marked. "You left your mark on something of mine that you worked on..." Ares was referring to the shade symbol on the bottom of his artifact. "... So I think it's only fair I mark something that I'm working on as well..."
Ares dextrously finished his own engraving and appreciated his masterpiece near Mimi's neck. The outer layer of the 'A', the outline, was a glossy black, representing his disintegration, while the inside was a deep void red. Small golden specks flickered amidst the turbulent red void, swaying within the confines of the disintegration border, and Ares had officially left his calling card with this. A mark that couldn't be removed easily. Even if Mimi regained her powers and cultivation this mark would take considerable time to get rid of, multiple years, due to how deeply it was engraved into her very being. The disintegration layer alone would cause her immense struggle as any attempts to remove it with magic would be met with obliteration of the intruding foreign substance. It would also make the annihilation and nothingness trapped within the disintegration layer become manic and lash out at whatever was trying to remove it. Put simply, it was here to stay for the foreseeable future as Mimi didn't even know what these magics were. She was only really familiar with annihilation and even then didn't know the extent of it.
"What have you done to me?" Mimi's voice was quiet and her eyes trembled as she glanced over her shoulder at her tormentor.
"Nothing. That mark does nothing... But what it represents is another matter. See, I've been thinking about something as of late... You can think of me as the head of a harem. Not a role I intended to take on, mind you, but that's just how fate has played out. It's called the 'Redhome Harem' and I want people to fear the name, to know who they're messing with before they even have to be told. The obvious method is to have some sort of symbol denote our arrival on any given scene and I've used you as practice for it. I'll let you figure out what my intentions are though..." Ares' lips glided over Mimi's neck and stopped short of her ear as he whispered, "... I'm sure you can figure it out. This is the first time I've ever had to chase a woman but I'm feeling pretty confident." Ares' deep breaths and quickened pulse betrayed his excitement. He'd become almost beastly in his successful entrapment of a woman he wanted and felt confident he could make his. "I'm possessive. That mark means you're mine. I'm not like that Legion man, I willhave you. I'm not someone you can toy with and escape from like all the others. Your actions have consequences and I will make you experience each and every one of those blissful consequences one by one when I next get my hands on you. So, until then, wear that mark, let everyone see it, and be ready for my return. Your days of taunting men are over, prepare for what happens now that one has finally caught you. It's going to be rough."