God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

'Hmmm... But how will I do it? The requirements to level up the {Golden Blood} skill haven't been met yet.'

{Golden blood level.1}: Upon activation, multiply all physical stats by 2. Consumes 100 MP, and costs 1 point of stamina per second to maintain. Puts the body of the user under great strain. (8000/10000 SP)

Cain used the {Golden Blood} skill regularly, so after almost five days, it was nearing the next checkpoint. In reality, he didn't know what to expect from leveling the skill up. He figured it would be a skill like his {Blade Mastery} that just gave him a slightly upgraded version of the skill when he leveled it up.

However, that wasn't what he wanted...

He could tell the skill was very special. It was the first skill he had acquired, which according to the system, was a result of the initial influx of mana reacting with his soul and body. A skill created like that would most likely have a lot of potentials...

'Should I try it out?' Cain thought to himself, uncertainty flashing in his eyes...

Playing with fire, he ran the risk of getting burned badly. He just learned the hard way that controlling Ki was very dangerous. Unlike mana which was easily controlled when he increased stats like his magic and spirit stats, he could only increase the volume of his Ki, but he couldn't control it, and therefore, couldn't use it.

'Risks are meant to be taken...' Cain decided to throw all reason out the window.

"Golden Blood!"

Streams of golden energy coursed through his body, increasing his strength by 100%. Cain let out a pained grunt as the violent energy ran through his veins.

'This never gets old...'

Cain had used the {Golden Blood} skill a fair amount of times when fighting, so he was able to handle the pain well.

However, nothing in the world could prepare him for the world of pain he was about to go through...

***

Dan watched Hunter in a state of semi-confusion...

"So let me get this straight, you want to lead the group, yet at the same time you don't want to lead the group?"

"Exactly..."

A brief moment of silence fell in between the two...

"Care to explain?" Dan said, his eyes truly questioning Hunter's sanity.

"Not right now. I'm busy..." Hunter said with his eyes closed.

The instant Cain, Jenny, and Evangeline went into the forest, everyone in the group had gone off to do their separate things. Although they were a group, there was no real binding force between them. They just had a single goal they were all working towards, and that was finding their way through the forest and towards proper civilization with more people...

"I don't get it... What exactly are you doing? Do you mind letting me in on some of your plans, maybe? Do you plan on killing anyone anytime soon?" Dan said, a trace of bloodlust leaking from his pores.

"Nothing like that for now... I'm still accessing the situation." Hunter said.

They were in a location that was far enough for anyone in the group not to notice what they were up to, or eavesdrop on their conversation...

"Assessing the situation, how?" At this point, Dan was getting fed up.

"At first, I thought you were going to kill someone. All of a sudden, you don't. Now, the dude's all strong and stuff. How are we gonna kill him now?!" Dan said something atrocious without even blinking, as though it was the most normal thing in the world to talk about killing people with a straight face.

"You have to understand, things have changed..." Hunter said with a dangerous look in his narrowed eyes.

"With these insane powers, nobody here can be downed with a single slash of the blade, especially Cain. You might not have noticed, but in our fight the night before, he would have had me beat. Even if I used my trump cards, it wouldn't make a difference as I know for a fact he had a lot more in the store he didn't use in our fight."

Turning to Dan who now had an understanding expression, he continued, "We need to move smart. You saw the aftereffects of the fight he had with whatever that monster was. Do you think we could take him on as we are right now?" Hunter said, referring to the fight between Cain and the {Devil-eyed White Primate}.

"Remember the number two rules of the No triggers. Stay hidden, do not let the light creep in u til you are sure there is enough darkness to consume it, and power above all. For now, there will be no attacking, nor will there be any ambushes or setups."

"He is stronger than us, for now... We will bid our time, patiently waiting until we gather up enough darkness... If we can never get stronger than him, then all we can do is live under his shoe." Hunter said in his usual monotone, which only further emphasized the bloodthirst in his voice.

"Keke... As expected of you." Dan said with a sinister smile.

"Now if you will excuse me, I need to get back to something..." Hunter waved his hand dismissively.

"Sure, sure... Before that, quick question."

"Ha... Go ahead." Anyone with functioning ears would be able to tell that Hunter was getting fed up.

"Do you not have the ability to destroy those things?" Dan said, referring to the grotesque plant-like things Cain had drained and got to the {Devil's Broken Claw}.

"Yes... Those things are covered with a weird fluid that makes them nearly invincible to my flames. Most of the wolves I can summon are also unable to do anything to those things. If I used stronger summons, I'd be able to rip them apart, but the cost wouldn't balance out with the effect, so I'll let that kid steal the spotlight for now." Hunter said with a light chuckle...

'Why do I feel like he has been showing more expressions these days?' Dan couldn't help but wonder.

"Now leave me alone." Hunter instantly went back to his usual self.

Ignoring Dan who was in the background, he activated a summon skill.

Placing his thumb into his mouth, he bit down hard with enough force to break the skin and draw blood.

Hunter watched as blood dripped down his thumb.

"Summon Demon Wolf, White shadow."

The blood that dripped down onto the ground traced itself into a complex runic pattern on the ground. Once the pattern was formed, it shone with a faint white glow. A second later, a snow-white wolf without any blemish on its fur stepped out of the summoning circle. This wolf was about half the size of his usual summons but looked more unique.

Apart from its snow-white fur, it also had an eye at the center of its forehead.

Hunter gave it a pat on the head before an intelligent light flashed in its eyes, and it ran off into the dark forest in the distance. Dan watched in amazement as a white flame consumed the wolf, turning it either dead or completely transparent the next second.

He watched as Hunter's eyes lit up with a faint white light similar to the one he had seen in the eyes of his summon...

Suddenly, it clicked in his head, causing him to let out a soft chuckle, "Seems like things are about to get more interesting, aren't they, Hunter?" Dan said as he let himself reminisce about old times...

'Don't worry, Cain. I'm coming for you.'

***

"Hmmm, so, your plan, essentially, is to go into the forest and kill some devils?" Vincent stared at Manny who had pitched him this awfully simple yet ridiculous idea.

The two had gone off on their individual when Cain, Jenny, and Evangeline had gone on their stealth mission.

"Yes... That's it. Neat plan, right?" Manny said a proud smile on his face.

"Hmmm... That just might work. There's only one problem..."

"What's that?" Manny asked genuinely.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because if we go in there trying to attack those devils, we will get killed in under a minute. At most, we could last a minute before we are either ripped to shreds or poisoned to death." Vincent said with twitching eyebrows.

Manny: "..."

"Don't look at me like that you freaking idiot!" Vincent nearly spat blood, to which Manny responded with an eye roll,

"Stop overreacting, will you? Don't you want to get some action as well?"

"I'd rather not lose my life, thank you very much. We should wait for the boss to finish his mission." Vincent raised his nose aloofly.

"He might be your boss, but to me, he is someone I must surpass! Did you see how strong he is?!"

The fight between Cain and the {Devil-eyed White Primate} was by no means silent or dull. It was so loud and bright, everybody fighting at that time could see it thanks to their enhanced stats.

They watched as Cain delivered the terrifying {Hollow Judgement} onto the strong mutant, severing it in two with a single attack.

"That attack was so strong. I want my power to surpass that, and the only way to do that is for me to push and put my life on the line. I might be strong now, but I'm not strong enough to create such a terrifying work of art." Manny said, stars shining in his eyes.

"Eh? I see..." A smile crept unto Vincent's face as a look of realization appeared on it.

"If you want to do that, then going into the forest to fight right now wouldn't be such a bad idea. Alright. I'm in!"

"Really?! Sweet! It will be good to have someone watch my behind while I murder those devils" Manny said with a pure smile. Spitting outlandish statements wasn't anything new to anyone in the group anymore.

"Hehehe, we don't want to waste any more daylight, then. Off we go!" Vincent said with a grin.

"Yeah... However, being stealthy is still necessary, so we have to make sure none of the devils can spot us even if we kill a bunch of them. Fortunately, I have a skill that fits the job perfectly..."

Vincent raised his hands, then clapped them together. A magic circle appeared above his palms, before quickly spreading into a 10-meter bubble that covered both of them.

"What is this?" Manny said as he touched the bubble and found out that it didn't obstruct his movements at all...

"Hehe... This is a skill of mine that will allow us to kill those devils without being noticed by them. Now, you can kill to your heart's content, and not work about getting swarmed to death." Vincent said with a thumbs up.

"Hmmm... Why didn't you mention this earlier when Cain asked about those who had skills that would be useful in a stealth mission?" Manny asked with narrowed eyes.

Vincent's response was just a smile and a simple wink...

"Well, I guess it isn't any of my business. Let's get going..." Regardless of how lousy he might seem, Manny was smart enough to know when to keep his mouth shut.

Together, they dashed into the forest, totally invincible to normal detection methods...