God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 322: Heading back to the Forest.

Cain had a dream...

However, the moment he woke up, he couldn't recall the slightest detail of it. Cain couldn't help but frown at this. He felt like this dream contained vital information. Why he felt this way, he had no clue...

"Ha..."

He let out an internal sigh as he turned around and pushed his upper body off the ground.

Evangeline was nowhere to be seen, so it was very likely she had left already. Although he was a bit concerned she would ditch him and try to run away, he didn't worry about it too much. He had already made up his mind not to force her to give the heart up.

'Even if I have to fight that bastard...' Cain thought to himself.

Shaking his head free of useless thoughts, he sat up and opened up his status screen...

***

Name: {Cain Lenosi}

Level: 99.

Strength: 2,976.

Agility: 3,177.

Stamina: 2,589/2,589.

Vitality: 2,727.

Defense: 2018.

Control: 157.2..

Perception: 171.4.

HP: 40,050/50,200.

MP: 52,000/57,500.

Magic: 3,712.

Ki: 180,790.

Spirit: 3,090.

Resistance: Poison- 90%. Fire- 50%.

Skills: Golden Body, Burning Spirit, Burst Step, Divine Essense of Metallurgy, Blood Regeneration, Azure Burst, Mana Heart, Intermediate Seal, Devil's eyes: Eye of Clairvoyance, Elemental Body, Abyssal Dragon Blade Mastery Tier 1, Spirit Sense, Gravity Defying, Nexus Tether, Draconic Transfiguration, Neophyte Mage,

Spells: Infernal Celestial Arts: {Flame Orbs, Imploding Star, Vampiric Star}, Infernal Wings, Wind Weaver, Sigil of Darkness, Blue Lightning, Spatial Jump, Golden Halo, 7 Golden Stars, Frozen Paths, Frost Temple, Poison Arrows, Flames of Darkness.

Abilities: Elemental Vault, Ki Fire.

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

Free attribute points: 97.

System Points: 1,151,199.

{Inventory}. {Shop}.

***

There was now a new line of text located on his status screen that had not been there previously.

'Abilities, huh...'

Cain wondered where the difference between skills, spells, and abilities lay...

'System, what exactly is the difference between these three?'

{Replying to host: While the difference might be a thin line, it is there nonetheless. As you can imagine, the greatest difference between skills and spells is in the magic circles that are manifested. The magic circle of a skill does not need to be manifested physically. Rather, most of this information is engraved into the host's soul once the skill has been acquired}.

{Spells are different because the magic circles need to be called out, either by manifesting them physically or using hand seals, drawing sigils, or even incantations and chants}.

Cain absorbed all this information and digested it. This was nothing he hadn't figured out already, but it felt reassuring to hear confirmation from a reliable source.

'Still, how is an ability different?'

{Replying to host: An ability is a skill or spell that does not have the potential for growth or change}.

Cain frowned, 'Isn't that a bad thing?'

{Repkying to host: Not necessarily. An ability has no potential for growth because there is nothing to grow. Its limits are defined the moment it is created. What this means, is that for the most part, they are very strong, and will be useful to the host even when the host has reached higher Tiers}.

{For example, the ability, Elemental Vault, will never become more than what it is. This doesn't mean its capacity can not change as long as the host is willing to make a few sacrifices. This is completely different from any other skill and spell, as they are subject to change. They can become weaker, stronger, or even completely obsolete as the host advances}.

Cain nodded with understanding, 'So an ability is a fixed spell or skill that cannot be changed or influenced in any way, while skills and spells can evolve into something different from what they originally were right?'

{Replying to host: Affirmative...}

Cain fell into deep thought...

There was so much to think about. What direction he was to take as he advanced, the troubles surrounding the false heart of the Primordial devil of Chaos, the fates of Hunter, and the men that had been captured from the central island...

'So much to do...'

He had made up his mind when coming here that he would rescue Hunter. Despite how rash it had seemed, since he hadn't really put in much thought when he jumped through the chasm that tore through reality, he had a feeling that he had made the right choice.

Sure, it wasn't very wise to base his actions on his feelings. However, there was something about that being called Angel that had thrown him off greatly. In the moment, he felt like if he didn't do something, Hunter's fate would have been worse than death.

For now, all he could do was get stronger and try his best...

'Once I get back, I am not leaving Urbus for a while. This time, for sure...'

Since Cain had learned about the existence of other worlds and planes, he had been spirited away to two. Both experiences had been anything but pleasant. That was not a good sign...

"I'm back!"

Cain heard an exclamation from the darkness behind him. Without thinking much about it, a metal blade had appeared in his hand and was shooting towards the neck of the entity that was attempting to sneak up on him.

"What the hell?!" Evangeline exclaimed as she pinched the tip of the blade.

Cain watched in disbelief as the fully materialized blade of metal crumpled away from existence, dissipating into motes of fine golden sand.

'What was that?!'

Cain couldn't sense anything wrong with what had just happened. All he knew, was that he had materialized the blade using the {Divine Essence of Metallurgy}, and it had been successfully executed.

However, as soon as Evangeline made contact with the blade, it crumpled down completely...

'Could it be a skill from the Heart of Chaos?'

He could speculate all he wanted, but nothing could beat asking the source directly.

"What was that?" Cain said, retracting his outstretched arm.

Evangeline placed her hands on her hips,

"That is no way to talk to someone you almost killed, is it?"

Cain shrugged, "That wouldn't have even grazed your skin."

Evangeline shrugged, "That's not the point."

Seeing that Cain was still staring at her earnestly, she finally caved,

"An ability that awoke after my body assimilated with the Heart of Chaos." She said with a small smile.

"An ability?" Cain asked again, just to be sure.

Seeing her nod, he was a bit short for words.

"It passively creates a field of energy disturbance around me. Energy below a certain magnitude will be unable to break the field." She said, a strange smile on her face as she spoke.

A shiver ran down his spine,

"A passive defense against all magic attacks?"

Evangeline shook her head excitedly,

"Not just attacks. This can include binding spells, restriction spells, or even spells that can see through camouflage. It is the pinnacle of magic defense!" She proclaimed proudly.

Cain felt his head throb,

"Damn..."

"Damn is right..." Evangeline replied Cain with a silent chuckle.

Cain shrugged, "Hmph! You aren't the only one with an ability, you know?"

Saying that Cain activated his [Ki Fire]. A layer of vibrant red flames with hints of a deep violet color appeared on his arms. Since he was not wearing his armor, he was only dressed in a single layer of torn clothing. However, the flames didn't ignite the sleeves of the clothes. Instead, they made Cain look incredibly menacing.

Evangeline rolled her eyes, "Show off..."

Cain showed a satisfied smirk as he extinguished the [Ki Fire]. In his mind, he couldn't help but be impressed. With his latest discovery of abilities, he did not doubt that while some of them could be really weak, others could also be very strong. Evangeline's ability undoubtedly fell under the very strong category.

A serious expression appeared on Evangeline's face all of a sudden,

"I think we should get moving."

Cain agreed, but was put off by how she brought it up,

"Okay. However, we can still afford to waste some time, no?"

Evangeline shook her head, "The sooner we get on the road, the sooner we get to go rescue your friends, and the sooner we can leave this place. I'm starting to really hate it here."

Cain couldn't agree more...

A deep rumbling sound came from the ground as Cain pushed their underground hideout towards the surface.

Once they had gotten above the ground, he dispelled it and pushed all the dirt back into the ground.

Evangeline spoke up, "If we move quickly, we should reach that forest in three days."

To the normal eye, Evangeline would have been. pointing at nothing. However, She and Cain had very high perception stats. This meant that seeing past the horizon was an everyday activity.

Cain nodded, "Let's get going. Although I came from the forest, I didn't have any time to explore the surroundings, as I was teleported straight to the mountains."

Evangeline revealed a small smile, "In that case, this means there is more fresh ground to cover."

Maybe it was because she wasn't satisfied with their recent adventures, or she was looking for more opportunities to make use of her repertoire. Cain felt it was both...

Cain chuckled, "Sure."

In his heart, he prayed nothing too bad would happen on their way to their destination...