Back at the Scorched Grounds.

Enyo, Aejaz, Esme, and Li Li entered the arena to the sound of roaring applause... At least there were cheers up until the spectators gradually realised a person was missing from the team, at which point things quietened down at the drop of a hat. Only the sound of faint whispering could be heard as well as a few people kissing their teeth in frustration. Just because you were capable of winning without your full team that didn't mean it was looked favourably upon. It was still a risk at the end of the day and unforeseen accidents could occur; not bringing all five members was anxiety inducing for the supporters and would make them antsy without fail no matter how strong the team was. Even in spite of Enyo's dominant performance during the last match the Central Land spectators were all wearing deep frowns and inwardly cursing out Ares. Nobody blamed the members that were here, they'd actually showed up and looked ready to do their country proud, but Ares... His reputation was like a rollercoaster. Up and down, up and down. Maybe next time he showed up and did something the rollercoaster would do a loop de loop, who knows?

The crowd started cheering again when the other team showed up, though, and their cheers had no reason to stop partway through as everyone had actually bothered to be here for the fight. The Neo Gear team was an interesting bunch as the animosity between the two different types of robos should have really been problematic when creating the team. It was no secret that gear folk and neo droids never got along so how was this team, consisting of two neo droids and three gear folk, seemingly not at odds? Well the answer was simple, Roboworks academy was working overtime to change the relations between the two races. Or sub-races, anyway. It was an institution open to everyone and just about every part of the building was accessible no matter which robo race you belonged to. Mingling with one another wasn't exactly optional when your racial counterparts were everywhere. Naturally there were still a few brawls that took place regularly over their political differences, and this was exacerbated by the fact that it was a prestigious school in which the kin of important robos frequented, but impartiality was always the name of the game in settling disputes. To that end, most of the robos on their national team had no qualms with one another. There was one neo droid who wasn't particularly thrilled about the situation he was in but he also wasn't so petty as to gripe about it and turn it into a bigger issue. At the very least, everyone on the team was capable of putting aside their differences for the duration of the tournament. One thing was true no matter which type of robo you were dealing with, and that was they were all patriotic... They simply believed it was the other half of their robo brethren that were ruining their homeland.

It should be mentioned, however, that things never used to be like this. Even a few years back the Neo Gear land officials would pretty consistently send a team full of either neo droids or gear folk with no leeway for the other. This was because tensions were at an all time high for a period of time but now things have quietened down a bit. Not in the sense that everyone is getting along, no, God no, but rather that something big seemed to be brewing beneath the surface and now was the time to prepare for what was to come rather than engage in petty squabbling. The calm before the storm. It wouldn't be shocking if they didn't participate next year because an all out war was underway. Still, most of this was a result of decisions made by the ruling class and powerful politicians. Those in the academy were slowly actually getting used to their not-so-different neighbours. And yet they were a minority in their own city. A beacon of a potential future, perhaps. But a minority nonetheless. In that sense, this competition actually mattered a great deal. If they could defy the odds and function together as a powerful group, overcome their grudges and succeed in a big way, they could maybe send an important message to their homeland that things didn't need to be the way they currently were. So despite understanding implicitly they stood no chance against the absurdity that was Enyo, they stood resolutely in the face of fear for the sake of bringing about change. They needed to believe it was possible because any doubt would weigh heavily on the team as a whole. Plus if they failed the odds of their grudges worsening was not non-existent. Obviously it depended on the manner in which they lost, and the team members might not blame one another, but the same couldn't be said with certainty about the spectators and/or citizenry back home. Arm chair analysts wouldn't hesitate to point the finger of blame without thinking about the long term consequences and that was doubly true for the politicians looking to eke out whatever small victories they could. They would sooner divide the country, by blaming the team's 'lacking' members, for their own personal gain than just accept the loss in good faith.

Long story short, Neo Gear land was a mess of a country and in a real sorry political state right about now. They were technologically advanced but civilisation was not defined by advancements in any one specific area. Culturally and socially they were at a stand still, if not outright regressing because of all the nonsense they were dealing with. As was mentioned prior, robos had a tendency to be stronger than usual thanks to the way their magic worked. Their rapid cultivation negatively affected them directly, yes, but not their magical summons which operated at full efficiency regardless of the drawbacks their masters faced. This meant Neo Gear land was full of powerful punks, bandits, and various other criminals prowling the streets. Gear folk security made no effort to deal with criminal neo droids unless they encroached on their turf, and vice versa, so crime was at an all time high. 100% of the criminals were being dealt with by 50% of the police force. You had to be a strong individual to walk the less travelled streets safely regardless of what time of day it was. Funnily enough though, if you were a foreigner your chances of having a painful run in with these crooks was drastically lower because they really only cared about beating up robos that weren't of the same sub-race. You weren't exactly guaranteed to be safe, absolutely not, but if you and a robo were walking side by side the chances of you getting jumped over the robo were infinitesimal.

Things didn't end there though as there were two other major problems dragging Neo Gear down. First up, the scraps were really ramping up their efforts to piss everyone off. They were adding fuel to fire on both sides and repeatedly targeting anyone even remotely important. Though their end goal was peace they were acting like accelerationists seemingly because they believed a complete country reset was necessary. War. War was what they wanted and, the more they intervened, the more they seemed to be getting on the path to achieving their goal. Nowadays it was impossible to tell whether a bigwig was assassinated by scraps or a political enemy which lead to a lot of strife that may or may not have even been correctly aimed in the first place. For every scrap assassination attempt that failed and was made obvious to all, another would succeed and then shit would hit the fan in the headlines for a few days. Being a politician to any degree in Neo Gear land was slowly becoming a death sentence as the three way battle was already underway. For now, most deaths were being correctly blamed on the scraps, and one particularly legendary assassin they had in their ranks, but that was slowly changing. Even if their side's people were murdered irrefutably by the scraps, both the gear folk and the neo droids were starting to outright lie and blame one another to take the moral high ground. It was to the point politicians were subtly hoping their own co-workers would be next on the chopping block so they could benefit from their death. Some even went as far as to manipulate their close friends into travelling to shady locations by themselves which had resulted in more than just a few 'coincidental' deaths. 'A secret meeting about the direction of our party', and so on so forth would lure out the few politicians that still had a shred of trust in their co-workers. As such, it was hard, if not completely impossible, to trust anyone so a lot of politicians only ever looked out for number one which, in turn, created a vicious cycle. This didn't yet affect the populace, which was why things were relatively quiet in places like the academy, but that would only be true until the fuse was lit and things went too far.

That didn't mean the public were safe currently though. That was just one major problem, the other was one that couldn't quite be explained because not much was known about the situation other than a few rumours here and there with no substantial evidence to prove any of them. People were going missing. That was definite, everyone knew it, they just weren't sure of the cause. The common scapegoats were the scraps but, for once, they were dead serious when they refuted the claims. This was rare as they typically took credit for a lot of their actions, only ever denying accusations of assassination to stoke the flames. But kidnapping citizens? They had no reason to that as targeting the normal people in the Neo Gear land was never their goal. In fact the whole point was to operate in a way that would benefit the citizenry in the long run and they essentially never messed with the public. More often than not they even lent a helping hand where they could... They still weren't liked, mind you, but that never stopped their proclaimed 'righteousness'. So no, very few people believed the scraps were truly responsible for the missing persons. The scraps were generally detested, yes, but blaming them for something they clearly had no hand in was stupid when people were losing loved ones and wanted actual answers.

The rumours that the ruling political class were involved also didn't make much sense as it was happening to both sub-races equally. There was no evidence either and, given the lengths the politicians would go to in order to oust their opponents that could only mean it really wasn't them. If it was, someone would have leaked the information years ago in order to be 'the hero that solved the case'. Actually, as this achievement was still in the cards, this was something the politicians were all actively working to figure out regardless of which side they were on. So no, it wasn't them either. Something else was lurking in Neo Gear land, disturbing the population for its own goals. There were whispers about some strange, oily black entity feeding off the energy that fuelled the city and absorbing the essence of robos, regardless of race, but it was treated akin to that of a story used to scare kids at bedtime. Unfortunately the more time passed, the more the story grew in popularity as more claims were made about sightings here and there rather than less. The story didn't die down, it practically grew wings and soared. So much so that it became a common talking point and people were actually starting to believe it. This, in turn, led to a lot of fake sightings that only complicated any actual efforts into digging out the truth of the matter.

Stolen novel; please report.

So to sum it up, Neo Gear land was visually a stunning place, filled with unique traits that couldn't be found anywhere else in the domain thanks to its status as a duality land. It was all marred, however, by the numerous issues that plagued the country. Political subterfuge and betrayal. A war on the horizon with a suspicious amount of funds disappearing into nameless projects. A neutral party tearing at the seams and further dividing the country via their actions. And last but not least, some kind of make-believe creature feeding off the machine that was the complex country it was readily taking advantage of. Negativity was spiralling out of control in the country and it was entirely possible it had merged with the mana in the air to birth some kind of monster. It wouldn't be the first time something like this had happened as monsters could very well be born of constant strife or, in some cases, extreme joy too. If that monster truly did exist, which was looking all the more likely with every new missing citizen, and it could benefit of the hostility of its surroundings, then the seemingly inevitable war would only serve to turn it into a disaster class being that would bury the country for good. Without a shadow of a doubt, Neo Gear land was the most precarious place in Sheryashka at the moment. Put simply, it really needed this win here today at the international to stymy the advancement of a number of these issues... But that required a win.

No matter how much Enyo felt sorry for these people, let alone even knew the full details of their plight to begin with, she had her own goals. She wasn't going to steamroll these robos like she did the other team, because Aejaz was testing something and so was she, but she wasn't going to let this team win even if it killed her. Ares had entrusted this match to her, and to a lesser extent Aejaz, so she was going to do her part. Plus the benefits from winning this tournament would not be small either so she wanted them for herself and for Ares. Raising their cultivation and strength was necessary for the trials yet to come and she would spare no effort in making sure they were both as ready as they needed to be. In particular, Major would need to be 'dealt with' at some point. In what way? Enyo didn't yet know but she did know it was an unavoidable confrontation. Also, to some degree, she agreed with Mako in that the fundamental champion's reputations needed to be immaculate. A loss here would be rough for Ares going forward even if it wasn't his fault. If he lost to Mako that was acceptable, although highly unfortunate, but some random joe-shmoe robo? When he wasn't even here? Unacceptable. He was currently working hard, as opposed to when he was usually hardly working, so Enyo took it upon herself to make sure things went smoothly here in his absence.

The four Red Sun members, and the five Neo Gear robos, all took their places and waited for the horn to signal the start of their match. Usually each person would stand opposite an opponent from the other team but due to the lopsided teams it was a little awkward. It meant the robos would have an advantage when racing towards the talisman as one person on the team would be completely unimpeded so that helped them feel a bit more confident... Although, realistically, if they lost it would have nothing to do with the talisman or the time-based rules. The Red Sun team was one that was clearly out for blood and they had the means to do it reliably too... Not that robos had blood but the point remained.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The horn blared and the match began. Esme took off with a sprint to pick up the talisman while Li Li followed behind to act as backup and give her a safe retreat. Enyo started summoning barriers to prevent the robo team from arriving at the talisman... And then there was Aejaz. This match didn't really mean much to Aejaz but there was something he'd been wanting to try for a while now. His new art was, honestly, silly. Effective, probably, but silly. He was probably the only person who had ever had an idea like this but a part of him was convinced that this art had some serious potential if certain conditions were met. Rather than get involved with the rat race for the talisman, Aejaz directed all his attention to one of the three gear folk who was summoning a monster via his oil core aspect.

"Gear Gorilla!"

The robos voice was mechanical and Aejaz could hear the gears in his throat turning even from here. The mana used to aid his chanting propelled the robos voice and made Aejaz kiss his teeth as it was a grating voice to say the least. As for the art, it was a common one amongst gear folk... And a few other people. See the oil core and spark box aspect weren't actually unique to robos, otherwise they would have come under the racial pillar, so others who really wanted to use them could provided they had the right tools. If a mechanic built an oil core by hand they could dabble in this aspect with no problem. For aspiring summoners that wanted to dip their toes into gear folk magic, Gear Gorilla was the 'baby's first steps' art, similar to what Water Bullet was for the water pillar. Simply put, it summoned a bulky, mechanical gorilla that packed a respectable punch. Mana animated it but could also be burned to make the gorilla go berserk. This sped up the rate at which it ran out of mana but could be worth it in tough situations. Normally a summoner would fight alongside their summons in some fashion but robos from Neo Gear were heavily reliant on their summons and not much else as they rarely trained. Cultivation upgrades allowed them to skip the more tedious aspects of cultivation, and raise their realm fast, but it also meant they weren't well versed in combat themselves. While their powerful summons were certainly their greatest strength, it was also arguably their greatest flaw due to heavily reliant on them they were. That being said, this robo seemed to have a weapon handy, a bow, and that made sense to Aejaz. This was the highest level of competition available for people with low cultivation so it was only natural to see some of the more talented people crop up. Wielding a weapon was uncommon for a robo, yes, but all the stronger robos typically did even if the rest didn't. Take Slick for example. He relied on Flare a great deal but he also got his hands dirty by jumping headfirst into fights with his fists. Anyway, what mattered here, and what Aejaz was really happy to see, was that the robo was wielding a weapon. It really didn't matter which. Wielding literally any weapon was the condition to activate his new, unusual art so, now that it had been met, it was time to do some testing! Aejaz pointed at the robo and, subsequently, the Gear Gorilla before chanting.

"Equivalent Exchange."

The robo's bow and arrow was transferred straight to Aejaz' hands... And he had no idea what to do with it! The crossbow he stole from Oat last time was fairly self-explanatory, point and shoot. This weapon, however, was not something Aejaz had any clue where to even begin with so he just tossed it on the floor. Stealing it wasn't the point, that was only half of the art. If he just wanted to steal it, Relocate would have done the job for a lower mana cost. His goal had been a little different. See, just before activating his art, Aejaz had pulled out his own weapon! Aejaz was a conman and a crook but he wasn't a liar, no sir! If his art was called 'Equivalent' Exchange, then his opponent could rest easy knowing he would only give them the finest tools in his arsenal to make up for stealing theirs! The robo may have lost his bow but Aejaz had oh-so generously gifted him a weapon in return, and an artifact no less! If anything, clearly the robo had gotten the higher value product. If the trade wasn't 'equivalent', it was only because he'd gotten the better end of the trade deal than Aejaz... Or that was how Aejaz marketed it, at least. It was true that the weapon the robo was now holding was an artifact, and it was worth a decent bit of stardust... But there was one more important titbit Aejaz hadn't mentioned... The artifact was a backfire gear... And, actually, surprise surprise, there was a second important titbit Aejaz had forgotten to mention. The robo was forced to use the backfire gear immediately upon obtaining it. Equivalent Exchange allowed Aejaz to dump any backfire gear, in this case the backfire gear he'd obtained from Vargaraad's tomb, on his opponents and make them go haywire in their possession, forcing them to be used at least once before the victim could drop them. Additionally, Aejaz could control the direction of the misfire and force his opponents to either aim at their teammates or, depending on how strong Aejaz was, themselves. This was, conditionally, quite a strong art. It required Aejaz to have a stash of rare garbage, the opponent to have a weapon, and for them to not block the magic. If it worked though... Well, the robo had just unwilling fired off a shot of Cupid's Harp-oon and struck the Gear Gorilla with it so the answer to 'how potent is it?' was about to be answered...

The Gear Gorilla roared as it was pierced in its spine before turning around in confusion. It should have only had allies behind it so why it was being attacked from the rear it didn't know. What it saw when it looked behind itself was its creator running towards it with his arms stretched wide and an apologetic, sad face. The gear folk wrapped his arms around the dumbfounded Gorilla and started crying while apologising repeatedly for shooting it. The gear folk kept patting the Gorilla as it tilted its head while also trying to disentangle itself from the maniac that was clinging to it. Cupid's Harp--oon made the shooter fall in love with the target but it didn't necessarily mean romantic love, it could also be familial love as was being displayed here. Thank God it wasn't romantic... Aejaz would have felt a little bad if he made some random robo irreversibly fall in love with a mechanical Gorilla... Although technically it's not bestiality if they're both machines... Right?... This was a strange conversation Aejaz was having in his head so he decided to stop worrying about it, effective immediately. The lovestruck effect the gear folk was experiencing would wear off the second he died so Aejaz prepared his own weapon to go and the guy's misery. It would be a quick and easy kill because the gear folk was preoccupied with the hurt Gorilla and the Gorilla couldn't make any movements lest it accidentally injured its clingy master. As far as Aejaz' satisfaction with the went... Well he didn't really know... This situation was a little too odd to come to any conclusions about how effective the art truly was... Still, if he could find more 'powerful', and that word was used lightly, backfire gear, then he could force all kinds of dodgy effects onto his opponents. Most cultivators would typically search for only the best treasures available and yet Aejaz was about to become a glorified trash panda, seeking out the absolute worst of the worst backfire gear he could possibly find... His thievery aspect had taken somewhat of a strange turn with this art but, then again, it was a highly unorthodox aspect to begin with. It had its moments in which it truly shined as really powerful aspect... And then there was whatever the hell this was... There were probably not many people that had won a fight by making a robot fall in love with its pet gorilla before... And it's not like this would be the last time he did something of the sort. He could always retrieve the Harp-oon and use it again but, more importantly, there were all sorts of highly ineffective weapons out there for Aejaz to get his hands on. It was truly impossible to tell what kind of non-sensical fights Aejaz would get into in the future...