God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Two weeks went by in a flash...

As the days went by, Cain found himself busier than ever.

With the Golden Asura formally entering Valestorm, there were a lot of details to hash out.

For one, there was the very tiring obligation of allocating tasks to each arm of the Golden Asura.

Not much changed from within. Lukas was still the leader of the Lightslayers, and Hunter headed the Beastmen alongside Floki.

Most of the Beastwomen besides Leah's squad were not combat oriented, even the ones with access to the system. Instead, they had a knack for creating equipment and items using materials harvested from Mutant Creatures and Aether Beasts.

As for the weapons and equipment he had poured into Valestorm, they vanished faster than he imagined.

The equipment he provided was many times better than what the Iron Beetles sold. It was very obvious to see.

The solo Hunters and even Pilgrims that were in need of better weapons and equipment quickly rushed to get their hands on them even though they were a bit more costly to procure.

Cain had no doubt that the chairs of the Iron Beetle were stressing over what to do. However, that was of little consequence to him.

As far as they didn't do anything too drastic, he would allow things to take their natural course. If things comtinued as such, it was only a matter of time before the Iron Beetle were either forced to up their game, or get run into the ground by him.

Either way worked for him...

In the meantime, he continued to work everyday, spending a few hours each day crafting equipment with Haru and his men.

He spent almost every hour of every day inside the forge, and when he was not crafting, his head was buried inside a book, or he was meditating.

At least that was how it appeared on the outside.

Letting out a deep breath, Cain slowly opened his eyes.

As his eyes fluttered open, he exhaled again, and a murky breath flowed out of his lungs and escaped from his parted lips like an arrow.

As the days went on, his body continued to change slowly.

Although it wasn't noticable externally, he could sense that it was indeed happening,non a more foundational level.

His blood became denser, his bones harder, his teeth was able to shear through mutant beast meat like it was butter, when it would take him a few solid chomps to get a mouthful in the past.

His joints and tendons were now more flexible, and every movement he took was packed with power, like a loaded spring.

Even his horns seemed to have grown by a few centimeters.

'I wonder if I look weird.' Cain said to himself, a bit worried as he lightly touched them.

With a sigh, got up...

Haru and the others were more than a bit busy, hammering away at slabs of glowing metal, or branding runes into magic leather and steel with Mana shard tipped brushes.

He mentally opened up his status screen;

***

Name: {Cain Lenosi}

Level: 199.

Strength: 17,074.

Agility: 20,434.

Stamina: 10,570/11,570.

Vitality: 11,900.

Defense: 11,501.

Control: 1,005.5.

Perception: 2,510.5.

HP: 210,000/210,000.

MP: 190,000/190,000.

Magic: 25,012.

Ki: 971,520.

Spirit: 21,000.

Resistance: Poison- 90%. Fire- 140%. Lightning- 50%. Ice- 90%. Blood- 10%.

Skills: Burning Spirit, Hell Step, Divine Essence of Metallurgy, Blood Regeneration, Azure Burst, Mana Heart, Intermediate Seal, Devil Eye: Eye of Clairvoyance, Elemental Body, Spirit Sense, Black Dragon of the Crimson Sky, Gravity Defying, Nexus Tether, Golden Wyrm: Asura, Beginner Mage, Tier 1 Advanced Blacksmith, Red Shift, Bloodflame, Spirit Weaver.

Spells: Infernal Celestial Arts: {Flame Orbs, Imploding Star, Vampiric Star, Supernova}, Infernal Wings, Wind Weaver, Summon: Soul Deity of Darkness, Blue Lightning, Spatial Jump, Golden Halo, Falling Stars of Orion, Frozen Paths, Frost Temple, Poison Arrows, Flames of Darkness, Iron Flesh Puppet.

Abilities: Elemental Vault, Ki Fire, Fiend Counter.

Titles: Champion of Ashur (locked), Sorcerer's Mind, Blessed by Mana, Pioneer, Devil Hunter, Loved by the Spirits, Beastmaster.

Free attribute points: 0.

System Points: 50,000,870.

{Inventory}. {Shop}

***

Over the weeks, he had not just been crafting and reading. He had also been combat training, going out to battle mutant creatures and the likes.

As such, he had not only gathered a tremendous amount of free attribute points which he had already distributed to all his stats, he had also acquired an unimaginable number of system points, more than he had ever had at a single time.

Fifty million was a scary amount, but for what he needed it for, it seemed too little.

Dreading the inevitable, he scrolled past the system prompts and a few other tabs before arriving at the bottom of the holographic page.

'There.. '

With a heavy heart, he mentally clicked on the button.

***

{Totem of the Order}:

Description: Opens up a Second Order Trial Rift.

{Totem of the Order}: (Celestial)

Skills: World Instance.

{World Instance}: Opens up a rift to a Second Order trial, for Tier 1 beings to ascend to Tier 2. The rift can support no more than five participants.

{NOTE}: The Totem of the Order is a one-use item and will be destroyed after it has been utilized. It is also advisable that the host reaches his current maximum potential before challenging the Totem of the Order.

Cost: 30,000,000 system points.

***

'Damn...'

Although he didn't use his system points a lot, when he did, the system had a way of draining him dry in just a few purchases.

'Thirty million all at once.'

Suppressing the feeling of pain in his heart, Cain quickly clicked the button before he had the time to change his mind.

Ignoring the series of prompts filling his vision, he closed the status screen and closed his eyes and let out another sigh.

The time has come...

He couldn't help but chuckle,

"Why do I feel a bit excited?"

***

Valestorm had experienced drastic changes over the past few weeks.

Perhaps as a show of food faith, Gilead had given Cain and the rest of the Golden Asura a portion of Valestorm to call their own.

Compared to the area the Temple's Pilgrims and the Iron Beetle had control over, it was rather small. However, it was more than enough to accommodate their needs.

There were dozens of old buildings that needed renovations, with some so badly damaged, they had to be destroyed altogether.

In the end, Cain had managed to make something work. Looking around, Cain couldn't help but feel a bit disconnected.

Leaning against an old building wall, Cain couldn't help but stare out into the empty sky.

The magic lantern he stood above spread its warm, comforting light in an attempt to push the cold darkness away.

It all felt heavy, unreal perhaps, for a moment. He shook his head vigorously.

He felt a presence appear behind him suddenly.

He smiled wryly and turned around.

There, Evangeline stood, tendrils of shadows dripping down her body and returning to the ground. It was obvious she had just arrived from the shadows cast by the magic lantern overhead.

"You'll kill me before I get the chance to kill myself of you keep sneaking up on me like this."

Evangeline shrugged and tapped his chest lightly,

"Your heart is strong. It won't give out so easily."

Cain could only shake his head and smile. Then he looked behind her. Raising his brow, he asked,

"Where are the rest?"

Evangeline smiled softly, the edges of her crimson lips rising and her dewdrop eyes sparkling,

"They should be here soon. Why don't we chat a bit before they get here?"

Cain nodded. He had made a lot of preparations for this day, gathering the obvious potions and necessities like food and water, enough to feed an army.

Nevertheless, he was still a bit worried.

That day, Evangeline had told him that a few others desired to challenge the Second Order Trial besides herself. However, she had refused to tell him who, saying it was a surprise.

It had left him perplexed, but he chose not to inquire further.

Now that the big day had arrived, he couldn't help but feel skeptical.

They spoke for a while before Cain felt someone approaching.

Dressed in a stainless white robe that did nothing to hide her voracious curves, Susan walked towards them a slightly annoyed look on her face.

Cain's eyes widened. He couldn't help but ask,

"Susan... You are Level 199?"

She shrugged, her expression nonchalant,
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"Of course. Levels aren't gotten only from defeating beasts. What, are you surprised?" She said, smugly.

Then she turned to Evangeline who wore a slight smile on her face. The two women stared at one another for a few seconds. However, no words were said. It was as though they spoke with their sharp gazes.

Feeling rather terrified, Cain made the wise choice of not saying a single thing.

In the meantime, the fourth member of this growing posse arrived.

Sensing a slight distortion in the space up ahead, Cain was quick to identify the individual approaching.

He couldn't help but shiver.

Dropping the camouflage, Jenny adjusted the leather strap on her rifle positioned across her back then gave Cain an awkward smile.

Cain sighed then glared at Evangeline.

Pretending not to see him, she cleared her throat,

"Seems like the last member of our little group is running late. Should we head on without her?"

'Another one?!' Cain couldn't help but feel an undefeatable exhaustion creeping up on him already.

Suddenly, the sound of feet lightly but rapidly hitting the ground filled his ears.

A split second later, a girl with a head full of flowing silver hair appeared before him, her cheeks flushed red.

"I-I am here!"

Locking eyes with Roselle, Cain couldn't help but realize he hadn't seen her in a while now.

She was not the only one.

He hadn't seen any of these girls in quite a while.

Susan was always busy. She had taken an interest in alchemy, and was usually busy perfecting her magic, or healing those who were injured in combat.

Then, there was the ever elusive Evangeline, who only appeared when she felt like bothering him if she felt a bit bored.

Jenny was even worse, as she was always out doing her own thing, hunting down strong mutant and Aether Creatures.

Roselle on the other hand, was usually with Leah, Kai, Lin Lin, and Sisi. It was odd seeing her away from the pack of aether mutated girls.

Seeing the slightly shy expression on her otherwise serious face, Cain couldn't help but lament the fact that he was always surrounded by beauties.

'Ah, what a life!'