God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

It would be fair to say that his body was no longer that of a human. His evolution had begun...

Hence, he couldn\'t be judged using human standards. Even though his strength was outrageous, so was the mass content of his body. The amount of force a blow could produce relied heavily on the mass behind the punch, as well as the acceleration of the fist.

Making use of the Magic Square, he could further increase the mass content of his body. Increasing the gravity acting on this increased mass would create an exponential increase in the weight he would have to bear. And all this was taking the fact that all this mass was concentrated in a small area into consideration.

Right now, just standing was equivalent to carrying about twenty times his current body weight.

His legs trembled as beads of sweat poured down his face. Ruby had collapsed on the floor outside the Magic Square\'s area of influence. Judging by the frothy saliva pouring out of her mouth, it would be logical to conclude that she was out of commission for the time being.

\'This is manageable, but...\'

For the past hour or so, Cain had been going through the process of enduring this crushing weight. Every time he failed, he would rest for a few minutes before continuing the process.

The results were outstanding. His rate of Ki Plundering had increased more than threefold.

Breaths of hot steamy air blew out of his mouth. His bones creaked and his muscles and blood vessels ruptured.

\'...at this rate, I\'m going to die.\'

As the system had said, the Magic Square was very dangerous. Due to the immense weight he was enduring, he was currently experiencing organ failure.

He had difficulty breathing as his lungs were being compressed. His heart and blood vessels weren\'t capable of circulating his blood properly as well.

\'Some things can\'t be beaten with just brute strength.\'

Despite the pain he was currently facing, his mind was tranquil, and his thoughts were as clear as the surface of a lake.

Right now, he couldn\'t use his mana to do anything other than turn the Magic Square on and off. As such, the only thing he could realistically rely on was his Ki.

\'I can try using it to support the weight.\'

Controlling Ki was far harder than controlling mana for him. Ki was usually used straightforwardly to attack. Now, he was trying to use it to support his failing organs.

Exhaling another steamy breath, he began...

His vital energy surged forward from within. The Ki rolling through his veins began flowing faster. The first thing he tried to do was support his rapidly failing blood vessels. That way, blood and other bodily fluids would be able to circulate properly.

Another exhale...

His brows furrowed as he concentrated his mind. Trying to stabilize such vigorous energy was like trying to hold onto a mad bull with a piece of string. Still, he tried his best.

\'Just a little at a time.\'

Eventually, he managed to stabilize his blood vessels. However, that was where the easy part ended. Now, he had to use it to support his failing organs.

Hours passed as he continued to make continuous attempts. Each attempt nearly killed him, but he learned more and more about his body with every failure.

After an unknown amount of time had passed...

***

"Ha..." Cain collapsed to the ground.

A tired smile hung on his lips as he stared at the dark skies.

\'It should probably be nighttime right now.\'

He didn\'t know how long he had been training. The skies were a bit darker than they had been earlier in the day, plunging the world into a thicker shade of darkness.

\'I didn\'t notice it before, but the skies do get darker the closer it is to nighttime.\'

With his perception stat growing, Cain\'s perception of the world became more and more aware of the world around him. He could see more vividly now, and the grey skies no longer seemed as grey.

He was also finally able to notice the difference between night and day. Although it was a bit difficult to tell, it wasn\'t impossible anymore.

\'Ruby... Let\'s go.\' Cain called out to the lingering Mutant Beast.

All this time, Ruby had been with him as he trained. Her company was much appreciated.

Cain mentally called out to the {Dark Soul}. The creature of darkness bled out of a nearby shadow. Cain could see that its dark body was far more vivid than it had been earlier in the day.

\'Has it finished absorbing all the mana shards?\'

Cain checked its description...

***

{Dark Soul}: Level 100 (Legendary).

Strength: 0.

Agility: 6,500.

Defense: 0.

HP: 0.

MP: 70,000/100,000.

Spirit: 3,000/9,200.

Skills: Dark Spirit Bond, Darkness Elemental, Dark Diving, Spirit State.

{Dark Spirit Bond}(passive): Born from Darkness, this creature thrives within Darkness. Hence, it does not rely on light to perceive the world and can share these traits with its master.

{Darkness Elemental}(passive): A being of darkness does not fear the darkness and possesses near-complete resistance and affinity to it.

{Darkness Diving}(passive): Can travel through darkness unnoticed without being affected by material objects.

{Spirit State}(passive): This creature is a living soul, and as such, can not be harmed through physical means.

Darkness Shards: [980/1000].

***

Cain raised a brow as he stared at the Dark Diver,

\'The shards weren\'t enough?\'

The Dark Diver shook its head. Cain was confused,

\'They why didn\'t you...\'

Cain was a bit surprised to see the Dark Diver gesticulating dramatically. He had always thought the dark guy was quiet.

Still, he could feel the thoughts it was trying to convey enter his head.

Cain nodded in understanding after some time,

\'I have no problems with that. In that case, do what you must.\'

Cain then dismissed the creature. He let out a sigh once again. Although he hadn\'t managed to achieve a noteworthy goal today, he had made a substantial amount of progress. He now had a way to absorb Ki faster, as well as train his body.

Standing to his feet, his body was incredibly sore. However, he also felt as light as a feather now that the load bearing down on him had reduced significantly.

Clenching his most, he could sense the power lying dormant in his bones and muscles.

\'That\'s enough for today...\'

With a. Sigh, he walked over to the Magic Square and ddecaticated it befire placing it back into his inventory.

\'Let\'s go...\'

Calling out to Ruby, he got on her back, then rode away. Despite the darkness, the world as no longer as cold as it had been before.

The majority of the island was destroyed. However, a small portion of it was undergoing some changes.

With Hunter and Floki leading the Beastmen, and Leah leading the Beastwomen, who were now free from the enchantment, the process of making the Central Island more habitable was in full swing.

The others did their best to assist as well. The people that had followed them from the Northern Island also helped out as well with Blaze and David supervising them.

They cleared rubble out of the buildings, used magic to mend walls, and got rid of rotten corpses and blood stains. As there was a lot of work to do, nobody was allowed to rest until they were done.

Seeing everyone so hard at work, Cain got off Ruby with the intent to help...

"There he is..."

However, a voice that came from behind stopped him in his tracks. Standing behind him was Jenny who was waving her hands at him, alongside Susan, Sue, and Roselle, as well as the rest of the Beastwomen in Leah\'s cohort.

The area around them was illuminated by a magic lamp. They seemed to be busy with something. Cain abandoned his initial plans and walked towards them.

"Hey...." He greeted.

Susan nodded at him, while Jenny gave him a small smile,

"Where have you been? Eva said you were busy..."

Cain raised a brow, "Eva?"

Susan snorted, "She meant the Ice Princess..."

A look of realization appeared on his face,

"I see..."

Feeling a sharp glare from the side, he turned to see Sue staring at him with angry eyes. Unsure of ow he offended her, he chose to pretend he didn\'t see her.

"Oi! Don\'t ignore me, you Scarface!"

Cain\'s eyelids twiched, but he refused to acknowledge her, causing her angry glare to intensify.

Cain turned back to Susan. Judging by how they were gathered, he could tell that they were having an important discussion.

Understanding the intent behind his stare, Susan explained,

"We are organizing search squads."

"Search squads? For what?" Cain couldn\'t think of a reason they would need to search the Central Island.

"Items that are essential for daily usage. Food is not going to be a problem for now, as the Hunting Squads will take care of that. However, if we want to stay here comfortably for a while, we will need to live like humans."

Roselle continued from where she stopped,

"We decided to organize Squads that will be in charge of scouring the Island to find anything that might be of use."

Cain nodded, "That doesn\'t seem like a bad idea. Then..."

A strange smile appeared on Susan\'s face,

"But that isn\'t why you are here..."

Cain couldn\'t help his confusion.

Susan smiled, "It would be best to let them do the talking.", then said as she nudged her head slightly towards the Beastwomen.