God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

BOOM!

The sound of the blade vibrating echoed loudly in the silence. This time, the entire weapon was enveloped with pale blue colored mana. It wrapped around the {Bloody Katana} like silk threads waving in the breeze. The threads of mana were being created from Cain's mana pool.

Cain took a step forward and swung the blade horizontally at a nearby tree.

RING!

The blade disappeared and appeared at the other end of the tree. Cain began doubting his senses, as the blade just seemed to vanish and reappear.

CRASH!

The tree was severed cleanly in half. The cut was made so smoothly, he didn't even feel any resistance when the blade passed through the tree.

Satisfied, Cain sheathed his blade, then proceeded to look at the other important benefits he had just received. Because he learned {Lightening Edge}, he was given a +1 to all his stats.

'System, what does this perception stat represent.' Cain asked curiously.

{Replying to host: The Perception stat can only be unlocked after the host completes certain requirements...

Perception: Metric for quantifying the power or strength of the five senses of the host. It influences how fast the host can formulate and comprehend new skills as well as improve old ones, by the method of observation and comprehension}.

'Well, this changes everything.' Cain thought to himself.

When distributing his attribute points, Cain was considering the future. With the addition of this new stat, he would be forced to reevaluate his current plans.

'But on the bright side, I have another skill!' Cain clenched his fist, his heart full of excitement. He had no idea that the martial arts he had learned would be so useful. With this, he had an edge over anything that would come his way.

Suddenly, his ears twitched...

He felt his heart rate speed up, as though the scythe of death hung above his head waiting to claim his life. He pushed his agility and control stats to the limit as he put power into his feet and jumped away from his initial position.

Upon landing, he rolled behind a tree while he observed his surroundings.

WHIZZ!

THUNK!

The sound of something cutting through the air at high speeds rang in Cain's ear. It was a thin, but long metal spike that already embedded itself into the trunk of a large tree.

The metal spike was buried almost completely into the tree's trunk. Cain felt a few beads of sweat roll down his face as he imagined himself being in a place of the tree. If he hadn't reacted in time, he would have been the one impaled by the metal spike.

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He looked in the direction the metal spike had come from, and was shocked to see a huge creature rushing at him with oddly quiet steps. It looked like a humongous porcupine.

***

{Mutant Spiked beast}: Level 10 (elite)

Strength: 50.

Agility: 70.

Defense: 10.

Magic: 15.

HP: 1000/1000.

MP: 750/750.

Skills: Metal creation, Silent steps.

Cain was surprised, to say the least...

'System... what the hell is that thing?'

{Replying to host: That is a creature that had been affected by the mutative properties of the God Ash and has been turned into a Mutant creature.}

'This God Ash stuff again? What the hell is it?'

{Replying to host: Information on the God Ash can be purchased in the shop.}

'For how many system points?'

{Replying to host: 5,000 system points will suffice'

'What the fuck? Why ?!' Cain was shocked by the number of system points he would need just to buy information. The number of system points he had gathered for over 2 hours didn't even reach 1,000.

{Replying to host: The more precious the knowledge, the more it will cost. Information on God Ash isn't very valuable, hence the cheap price.}

'Cheap?! You call that cheap?!' Cain gritted his teeth. This system was very greedy. He would have to hunt monsters for more than 10 hours before he would be able to accumulate so many system points.

'Whatever! Let's just deal with this problem first'

The mutant porcupine was very fast, with 70 points in agility. It came to a stop about 30 meters away from Cain and observed him with bloodshot eyes.

The eyes of the mutated beast contained a bloodthirsty light, but oddly enough, it also contained a hint of humanlike intelligence that wasn't affected by its bloodlust.

Cain's pupils contracted in shock. He knew that this battle was going to be a tough one. Without hesitation, he drew his blade.

Before he could even cover ten meters, The porcupine let out a loud squeak and a metal needle about 1 meter in length was launched at Cain. Although Cain was expecting it, he didn't expect it to travel so fast.

With the aid of his control, agility, and perception stats, he tilted his body slightly out of the way as he continued his charge.

The monster had the range advantage, so shortening the distance between them would work to his advantage.

However, the creature was not done yet. The area where the metal needle had been launched from shone with a silver luster, as a new needle magically appeared.

The initial shot was a test. When it was that Cain was a potential opponent, it didn't hold anything back. The creature began launching numerous metal needles from its body by the dozen.

Cain was forced to continuously dodge these needles. A single mistake would result in him losing his life. He could not afford to make any mistakes.

He moved as quickly as the wind, avoiding them by a hair's breadth. Slowly but surely, he was moving closer to the mutant porcupine. However, things were not going to be so simple. The creature began taking a step back for every step Cain took forward.

'Shit!'

Cain had not expected the creature to be that intelligent. If he couldn't close the distance between them in time, he would soon become exhausted. If he was exhausted, he would not be able to dodge properly.

He would die if things went on like this. Cain knew he could beat this monster. Although the thing was fast, its body structure skill made it difficult for it to make sharp turns or smart movements.

If he could find a way to get out of the thing's line of fire, he would be able to close the distance rapidly and get the advantage.

The problem here was that he couldn't do that. The creature had him locked up. If he didn't use {Golden Blood}, he would not be fast enough to dodge the needles that were approaching if he made such an attempt. He knew that if he activated {Golden Blood}, he could end the fight very quickly.

However, where was the fun in that?

"This is so much fun!" Cain laughed out with a grin on his face as he ducked his head, dodging another attack. He would occasionally use his blade to knock some of them out of the air as well. This was the excitement he had always wanted.

This feeling of thrill, of living life dancing on the edge. It made his heart beat faster. He could feel his vision becoming clearer, his mind sharpening.

He could feel his muscles contract every time he attempted to dodge. He could even feel the influence of the mysterious and ethereal energy that had been influencing his body and soul on a cellular level.

He could feel this energy making contact with his body and soul, influencing them in ways he couldn't understand.

Suddenly, he had an epiphany...

He could control the flow of this energy. Although it was only for a brief while, he was sure of what he felt. Without any hesitation, he acted upon that feeling. He directed the flow of that energy into his legs.

He could feel it travel from his thighs to his knees, to his feet.

One moment he was on the ground trying to dodge attacks that could claim his life, the next, he was suddenly in the sky, flailing his limbs about.

Both Cain and the mutant creature we're shocked, for different reasons of course. Cain winced in pain as he landed on the ground with his butt, but a moment later, he burst out laughing.

{Congratulations to the host, you have acquired a new external active skill, Burst Step.}

{+1 to agility}

{+1 to Control}

{Burst Step}: Expell mana from beneath the feet, creating propulsion that allows the host to change trajectory abruptly when in motion. Increases movement speed by 30%.

Costs 5MP per activation. No cooldown.}

Cain let a dark chuckle escape his lips as he stood up from the ground. The mutant creature had been watching him all this while, not knowing whether to attack or not.

"Weren't you so cocky a moment ago? What are you waiting for? Attack me!" Cain shouted at the creature as he held his blade horizontally, excitement seething from his body.

SQUEAK!

The creature could understand that Cain was taunting it. Its eyes turned even more bloodshot from rage as it launched a barrage of metal needles at Cain.

Taking a deep breath, Cain began moving forward. Before the rain of death needles could reach him, he activated {Burst Step}.

BANG!

His figure flashed to the side, about 5 meters away, completely avoiding all the metal needles. The eyes of the mutant creature opened wide, as one moment, Cain was there, and the next, he had appeared somewhere else.

"Playtime's over."

Cain charged at the beast again. The beast began retreating as it fired more and more metal needles at Cain, but with the aid of {Burst Step}, he simply moved out of the way before they could even get to him.

The skill was even able to push him forward in large strides, greatly shortening the distance between them, until Cain was directly in front of it.

In a panic, the creature bloated out, and launched all the metal needles on its body indiscriminately all at once, hoping that it would be enough to put Cain down.

"Not a chance! Lightening Edge!"

Like lightning, his blade flashed, knocking them all down. In a split second, he swung his blade diagonally.

A clean cut...

The blood of the creature spewed out of its now dismembered corpse, painting the ground before Cain a beautiful red.

{Congratulations to the host. You have slain the Mutant Spiked Beast.}

{Level up!}

{You have acquired the skill, Metal Creation}...