God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

'Nothing you can't do without fire, huh...'

Cain could feel nothing but aches running down his body. The body of the dead shark began to float downward, carrying him with it. Taking a moment to rest, Cain filled his status screen open...

***

Name: {Cain Lenosi}

Level: 50.

Strength: 1,300.

Agility: 1,472.

Stamina: 499/883.

Vitality: 821.

Defense: 792.

Control: 79.6.

Perception: 78.8.

HP: 10,050/25,700.

MP: 17,000/31,800.

Magic: 1,676.

Ki: 57,274.

Spirit: 914.

Resistance: Poison- 90%. Fire- 30%.

Skills:: Golden Body, Mana Blade, Lightening Edge, Burst Step, Metal Creation Lvl.2, Golden Severance, Metal Manipulation, Blood Regeneration, Azure Burst, Mana Heart, Seal, Hollow Judgement, Devil's eyes: Eye of Clairvoyance, Elemental Body, Abyssal Dragon Blade Mastery Tier 1, Abyssal Crimson Slash, Spirit Sense, Gravity Defying, *Charge, *Pure Energy Strike, *Evil Devouring.

Spells: Art of Fire: [Flame Orbs, Imploding Star] Air Whip, Dark Cloak, Blue Lightning, Blink, Golden Halo, 7 Golden Stars, Frozen Paths, Frost Temple, Poison Arrows (Unavailable).

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

Free attribute points: 48.

System points 150,709.

{Inventory}. {Shop}.

***

Cain stared at his growth with satisfaction. Although he almost got eaten by a giant mutated shark, it was all worth it.

'Let's see what you can give me...' Cain thought, his eyes flashing with excitement as he moved closer to the beast's corpse. Cain could see a few objects shimmering around its body, so he knew didn't need to do much other than grab them before they floated away.

The creature didn't give him any mana shards, or potions. Instead, it produced two items only...

***

{Sea Demon}: Deadly (broken)

Strength: 50.

Agility: 60.

Control: 0.5.

Defense: 10.

Weight: 200.

Durability: 200/200.

Max Range: 200m.

Skills: Splitting Arrows, Ki Shot (locked), Gilgamesh(locked).

Description: Created by the ancient Blacksmith god, Prometheus, this weapon can pierce the heavens and shoot down celestial bodies. However, this once glorious weapon was destroyed during the infamous Thousand-Millenium War of the Celestials and has lost a majority of its power. To restore, pay a visit to the Blacksmith god...

Splitting Arrows: This skill works only on physical arrows. Uses energy to multiply the number of arrows shot once they are released. Each arrow deals 90% of the maximum damage. Consumes 50MP per arrow. The host can fire a maximum of three arrows per shot.

Ki Shot: Concentrate 500Ki points into an arrow of energy to deal a devastating blow. Deals 200% damage for every attack.

Cooldown: 5 minutes.

Gilgamesh: Fill the skies with a rain of arrows as you put your powers to the test. Sacrifice 50% of your mana to create a storm of arrows that will rain down on the enemy and turn them into corpses.

***

Cain stared at the details for a while, before looking at the ring on his finger.

'Could this just be a coincidence or...' Cain could only wonder.

The skill attached to the ring stated that it could only be activated when its conditions were met. And by conditions, it meant using a bow.

Cain stared at the sleek white body of the {Sea Demon} bow. It was covered in red runic lines and possessed corners that emphasized its deadliness.

Holding it in his grip, he felt like he had just discovered the ultimate killing tool. Its range was impressive, but it was heavy...

Its only flaw in Cain's eyes, was the damage it had faced. Cain could only imagine how powerful it had been during its better days...

Two out of three skills were locked, but the only one that wasn't was still good. Coupled with the {Poison Arrows} spell, he couldn't ask for more.

Cain quickly turned to graph the other object floating beside the mutant's corpse...

***

Steel Quiver: (Normal).

Weight: 100

Description: Used to store arrows.

Skills: Arrow Creation.

Arrow Creation: Sacrifice a grade 8 metal attribute mana shard to create a full case of arrows. The maximum capacity of the quiver is 100.

***

'Damn... This is supposed to be Normal-grade?'

Cain couldn't believe his eyes when he was the skill attached to the quiver before him. All he needed to create a hundred arrows was a single grade 8 mana shard.

Seeing that he had acquired all he needed from the beast, Cain made preparations to move ahead and find more creatures to defeat. He had made so many gains since diving into the ocean, but he was still eager for more.

Just as he was about to leave, an attractive force began to pull on him and the shark's corpse from below.

Looking downward, Cain couldn't help but feel his heart stop as he came face to face with the creature he didn't want to encounter with all his might.

The Tier 1 {Alabaster Leviathan}...

At first, it was just a slight tug, but it quickly changed to a wicked suction. In just a few moments, he was being dragged straight into the pits of hell.

The mutant creature had its mouth wide open as it sucked the surrounding water in. The poor mutant shark's corpse had long since disappeared into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Cain pushed with all his might as he attempted to escape from death. Many smaller mutant beasts surrounding him were all sucked into the whirlpool created by the suction. Not even a drop of blood was released as the creature simply moved up in a leisurely manner, as though it found joy in the chase.

At this moment of life and death, Cain knew he had only two options...

'I can't outrun this thing. And if I keep running, I'll just bring it to the surface, which will cause problems for everyone.'

'The only thing I can do right now is try to fight and see if my attacks can work on this thing!'

Although Cain had made up his mind, he was sure he wouldn't be able to penetrate the creature's defenses if he didn't go the extra mile...

Turning around, he pulled his trusty blades from his inventory...

'Golden Body...'

His body was completely covered with a layer of golden Ki. It was also filled with glowing red cracks, each crack sizzling with boiling blood. He remained the same height, and the length of his hair had doubled in the least. His eyes looked like hollow shells, and a short horn was growing out from the center of his forehead.

Despite his terrifying transformation, he still managed to retain a bit of intelligence...

He spun around, his glare like a demon...

With his stats multiplied, Cain believed he could stand a chance. If he couldn't fight it, then he could try his best to escape...

A silent growl ran through his vocal cords as he dove straight at the {Alabaster Leviathan}. The creature sensed the spike in Cain's power and vitality, causing a bit of interest to appear in its eyes.

It suddenly increased its suction force, dragging Cain down with more force.

Cain's body glowed black and red as he placed his blade across his shoulders, readying his most devastating attack. Thick Ki and devil essence burst out of him in waves. The {Alabaster Leviathan} also swam up faster as well...

In a moment, both beings clashed...

BANG!

The waters split apart and the waves trembled in fear as these two creatures threw their energies at each other. Soon enough, Cain realized he was no match for this behemoth. It was like an ant trying to stand against an elephant. Very soon, he could no longer sustain {Golden Body}. Losing all his strength, he found himself falling into the abyssal maw of the {Alabaster Leviathan}.

***

Somewhere across the Ocean...

The gradual shortage of supplies was also adding to the tension in the air, creating a lot of trouble.

This fear of their unknown fate made the crime rate in the base increase by a fair margin. Cases of stealing, assault, mugging, and sometimes, even molestation were becoming more and more rampant as people gradually gave into their dark desires and unleashed the true demons lurking within their hearts.

"Have you heard?"

"Heard what?!"

Two middle-aged men, one older, and one younger, who were assigned to guard duty sat in a lax manner at their posts, clearly unconcerned about their safety, due to the effects of the hard work of Cain's team.

"Ol' Pete's son was just pronounced MIA today. He was devastated.

Things are getting dangerous these days."

"Sigh... We old men should be thankful we can just stay back here, with our lives intact. Better to leave the fighting to the youngsters."

"Well said... well said... " the other man said as they both exhaled a puff of white breath.

"Even the weather seems out to get us. Our days are numbered huh?" One of the men said as he rubbed his palms together to generate some heat for momentary warmth.

"Here... Take a swig. I only have a little of this good stuff. It's getting harder to find some booze in this god-damned world." The other man reached into his coat and pulled out a bottle of what looked like alcohol, most likely whiskey due to its light brown hue.

"Thanks... "

They both began taking small sips of the alcoholic drink, as they stared into the distance, most likely reminiscing about the old world.

"Prolonged periods of peace create weak-minded individuals, but seasons of war create crazy people. We can't have the best of two worlds, as it doesn't exist."

One of the men began a monologue after they had drunk a moderate amount of alcohol.

"What was that all about?"

The other man turned to stare at him, a bit perplexed.

"Sigh... Don't mind me. Just the ramblings of an old man. Don't take it too seriously."

Eyes slightly glazed over, the man said this as he stared into the distance, his thoughts unknown.

"Tell me. Do you think we can win against this? Against these terrifying monsters?!"

The other man said to the older one in a worried voice, clearly uncertain about the future.

"There has been no adversary that we, mankind, have not been able to defeat since the beginning of our journey as a species. However, these creatures aren't beings that conform to common sense, and so is our present situation, so I'd say 50/50?"

"Meaning?"

"There is a high chance we will win, but an equally high chance we are fucked!"