God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 78: Steve ...

Cain's eyes widened in shock...

"I understand..." Susan had a soft gentle smile on her face as she said this.

'Eh? What's going on?!' Cain could feel a strange heat bubbling within his heart. The heat slowly crept up towards his cheeks.

His hands trembled as he acted on instinct. He withdrew his hand from her grasp as quickly as he possibly could.

"Ehem! Yeah... That's pretty much it. So don't be too worried.

Since that's settled, I'll be taking my leave. Farewell!" Cain spat out a few sentences all at once rapidly, as he made his escape.

Like a gust of wind, he dashed away, leaving Susan with a confused expression on her face.

'Damnit! What was that?!' Cain was not very experienced in many aspects of life, especially when it came to dealing with the opposite sex.

As such, his gift of wisdom left him almost instantly when he made contact with one during a period of emotional instability. That warm feeling was something very foreign and distant to him, and he subconsciously tried to run away from it.

'Who knew women could be so dangerous.' Cain had finally grasped one of the fundamental truths of life...

***

Although the gymnasium was big, it still didn't change the fact that it was just one big building with a bunch of rooms connected to it.

Cain only had to walk a little before he saw who he was looking for...

"Well, well... Look at what the devil dragged in," Steve said with closed eyes before Cain could come any closer to him.

He was seated cross-legged on the floor, his magic staff sitting on his lap horizontally. All sorts of magical lights flashed across the surface of his body.

Blue, red, green, yellow, white... All sorts of colors that indicated different mana attributes circled his body in dense amounts.

Cain was intrigued by this, 'His magic stat must be very high... His mana is also very pure.'

"Devil eyes: Eye of Clairvoyance."

Cain acted in a heartbeat...

As soon as he did this, he was greeted with a magical sight. Numerous elemental specks formed an ever-moving, ever-changing river of very pure elemental mana. It looked like Steve was drifting within a sea of rainbows.

'Impressive...' Cain was greatly impressed.

However, before he could see any further, he heard a finger snap.

"Magic Break."

{Host is under the effects of a debuff... For the next three seconds, all magic skills are unusable}.

Almost instantly, his spell was broken...

'What?!' The shock within his eyes instantly turned into skepticism.

"What did you do?" Cain asked the extremely calm Steve.

"Hoho... I just activated a skill that stops others from seeing me undressed. I have to protect my innocence after all." Steve countered with a slight smirk.

'This guy isn't simple.' the impressed look on his face deepened even further.

The smile on Steve's face widened even further, "However, who's to say I can't spy back?" All this time, his eyes remained closed. However, as soon as he was done speaking, his eyes snapped open.

"Devil eyes: Eye of the Magi."

His right eye released an enchanting purple glow. Cain was able to see numerous tiny runic inscriptions bouncing within his eyes.

'Devil eyes as well? Since I got this skill from a creature as strong as the {Devil-eyed White Primate}, he possibly could have gotten him from a mutant of similar rank that possesses similar powers!'

"Hehehe... What do you think of my skills?" Steve said with a smug grin on his face.

"They are not bad at all," Cain responded with a laugh of his own. He was both amazed and amused by this...

"Well then, let's see what you are hiding." Steve blatantly began using the skill on Cain. The magic runes that floated around in his eyes spun to form a complicated magic circle, as the purple light within his eyes glowed even brighter.

"Sorry, not today pal..." Although Cain wanted to see how it would play out, because he didn't understand the nature of Steve's skill, he decided to play it safe to protect his secrets.

"Seal."

BANG!

The currents of magic surrounding Steve shattered it to its specks like broken glass and drafted away instantly. The purple in his eyes fizzled out as well, and his eye returned to normal.

"What the hell?!" The look of shock on Steve's face made Cain almost burst out laughing.

"My good sir, why do you make a mockery of me?" Steve said as he ruffled his black hair dejectedly.

Cain noticed that although it had been a while since they had proper bodily care. They all seemed to be in good condition.

"You brought it on yourself," Cain said with a smirk.

"Nay! T'was you who decided to sky upon my nakedness in the first place," Steve said as he pointed a finger at Cain, accusation dripping from his voice.

"Hahaha... Well, let me make it up to you then." Cain said as he withdrew a few things from his inventory.

"Here." Cain tossed them through the air, forcing Steve to catch every last one of them utilizing his super flexibility and reaction time.

"Hoho..." Steve opened his clenched palms, only to be greeted with the sight of numerous sparking mana shards.

Without even waiting for Cain to say anything, they all disappeared into his inventory in a flash...

"Remember the favor I owe you? This is me repaying it." Cain said.

Cain had once employed Steve's information services when he wanted to know more about Hunter.

"That's 10 grade 8 earth attribute mana stones. Don't you think that's a bit much?" Although Steve said this, the fact that he was so quick to pocket them was an attestation of his shamelessness.

"I'll give you even more if you can do something for me," Cain said, his eyes flashing with an uncanny light.

"Deal!" Steve said without any hesitation.

"You aren't even going to ask?" Cain rolled his eyes at him.

"No need. If my services are needed, I'll deliver without fail, no questions asked. You request, I deliver. Simple..." Steve said with a thumbs up.

'Damn... So shameless.'

Since Cain had no use for the earth elemental mana shards in his possession, he decided it would be a good idea to make use of them in another way. Besides, the mana shards were all Grade 8 and 9 mana shards, so he wasn't bothered by losing a few.

Mana shards were divided into 9 grades. The mana shard of the {Crimson Demon Bear} was a grade 7 blood elemental mana shard, while the one of the {Devil-eyed White Primate} was a grade 6 spatial attribute mana shard.

The grade of the mana shard wasn't determined by the level of the mutant beast or devil but was dependent on the grade. However, once a creature surpassed legendary rank, its mana shard would mutate into a mana core.

Normal - Grade 9.

Elite - Grade 8.

Special - Grade 7.

Deadly - Grade 6.

Legendary - Grade 5 to 1.

As for mana cores, they were a more advanced form of mana shards preserved only for entities of higher tiers. Cain knew this because he had read it from the time granted to him by Ashur. However, now wasn't the time to dwell on that...

Cain had had his suspicions from the beginning, but he wasn't sure. However, after all, he had seen so far, he decided to bite the bullet.

"Alright then. I wish to purchase some information from you."

"Go right ahead," Steve responded.

He wasn't sure of what Cain wanted to ask, but he decided to answer to the best of his ability.

"What do you know about the underground."

Silence...

"Sorry, what was that? I didn't get you the first time..." Steve said a clueless look on his face.

'He knows what I'm talking about.' Cain knew he had hit the hammer on the head, spot on.

"I'm asking you to give me all the information you have on the underground..." Cain said, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Although Cain wasn't a part of that world, he had seen bits and pieces of it when he was searching for information on his master.

'Two worlds coexisting, one within the other, but must never meet. If they do, it will be the cause of the destruction of the latter.'

He had an inkling that Steve might have something to do with that world, so he asked him not just out of curiosity, but because he had another purpose at heart.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Steve continued to play dumb. Although he was still acting a fool, Cain could see it in his body language. So he decided to stop beating around the bush and go straight for the kill.

Cain let out a dark laugh, "Are you sure you know nothing, Culver of the shadows?"

Silence descended once again, but this time, there was also a dark and ominous atmosphere surrounding the both of them, with Steve directly at the center of it.

"Where did you hear that from?" Steve said in a voice so quiet it was almost a whisper.

"That's not important. Tell me what I need to know."

Steve grasped the staff in his hands even tighter, bloodlust pouring from his body like tidal waves.

"My friend, if you know anything, now will be a good time to speak up. Where did you hear that from?" Steve asked again.

The currents of mana that surrounded him previously had come back, but this time, they rolled around violently like a torrent.

"If you try anything stupid... I'll kill you." Rather than saying anything else, Cain laid down his terms straight up. Although he knew Steve was strong, he was confident in his strength as well.

Silence reigned for a while longer before it was broken by Steve...

"Tch! Such a bully..." Suddenly, the dark atmosphere was gone in the blink of an eye.

"Sit. If you need to know, you'll want to sit down, as it's going to be a long story..." The sinister aura that enveloped Steve was gone quicker than Cain could blink, making him doubt if it was even there in the first place.

Cain responded with a smile, "Sure..."