God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

"Can you tell me about the Aether Beasts in this place?"

Gary was taken aback, before answering,

"Ah, of course. Well, there are numerous lone Aether Beasts on this floating island, but the most dangerous and the ones that move in packs are quite few."

"The {Blackmane Greyhounds}, and the {Toxin Ironweb Spiders}. Those are the pack beasts that prowl this island." Haru said in a serious voice.

"Hmm... What about the more powerful lone beasts?"

Haru laughed and scratched his head, "Well, I\'m only going off of what Miss Jenny told me. We were told not to even go near its territory. It is called the {Collosal Stone Cyclops}. There is currently only one of them found on the island."

As they continued walking, Cain kept asking questions about the floating landmass and the Aether Beasts.

There were various other Aether Beasts he was told about, including how their powers and attack patterns worked. Apparently, Susan and Jenny had been keeping a detailed journal on the Aether Beasts on the island. They had also kept a journal for the various magical herbs.

He was not shocked to find out that they had managed to harvest a ton of magical herbs.

\'Well, can\'t really call them magical, can we?\'

Although they were called magical herbs, these plants didn\'t have a shred of mana in them. Instead, they were saturated with Aether, making them very beneficial to the Aether Beasts, and unsurprisingly, the beastmen. However, the effects they had on the beastmen were different from how the Aether Beasts were affected.

While the beastmen thrived in places that had Aether, aside from some special cases like Hunter, they couldn\'t control this energy.

However, this wasn\'t the time for wordplay. They could get to that later...

After walking for a few hours, they were now very far away from the beastman camp. Cain looked up. To the far left, was the area Haru had said belonged to the {Blackmane Greyhounds}.

It was a rocky basin at the center of the floating landmass filled with numerous caves and boulders.

\'According to what the boar said, these {Blackmane Greyhounds} prefer ambushes and swarming their prey, devouring them until nothing is left. Almost like they have a hive mind or something...\'

Staring into the eerily quiet basin, Cain chanted in a low voice,

"Eye of Clairvoyance..."

His left eye morphed. The black of his eyes disappeared and was replaced with numerous white magic circles and sigils floating, revolving, and rotating around one another.

"Hmm..."

The ten beastmen stood quietly around Cain. They all had different expressions. However, there was not a shred of confidence on any one of their faces.

"Boss, what is the problem?" one of them asked.

Cain observed for a few more seconds before turning off his observation skill. Then he turned to the beastmen,

"Let\'s retreat and regroup for now."

Although they were confused, the beastmen decided to follow him without question. Soon, they had retreated far from the basin.

Once they had settled down, Cain spoke up,

"None of you are powerful enough to challenge that place yet."

A silence of acceptance floated around the group.

One of the beastmen spoke up,

"Well, that\'s because we normally don\'t go into the basin to hunt. Instead, we look for wandering patrol Aether Beasts and take them out. No one ever goes there. There was once this guy who did so arrogantly. He never came back..."

Judging from their expressions, it was clear that these men were very scared of the creatures within the basin. Not a crippling type of fear, but one that showed they would rather avoid confronting the harrowing beasts.

Cain shrugged, "What kind of cowardly approach is that?"

Another beastman scratched behind his ear,

"T-that\'s because we aren\'t as strong as you, boss. To us, those things are terrifying. I bet you can sneeze them away though."

"Hmm..."

Cain couldn\'t help but reluctantly admit that he was right.

\'Wait. Strong, huh...\'

Suddenly, an idea formed in Cain\'s head. He suddenly let out a snicker, scaring the entire group of beastmen.

"B-boss!"

Clearing his throat, Cain waved his hand dismissively,

"Don\'t worry. Just give me a second..."

His mind was already spinning,

\'System, what are the best runes you currently have?\'

{Replying to host: The best runes that can be found in the store are the Titan\'s Mark, the Touch of Lightning, and the Beast Heart runes}.

\'Give me more details...\'

He was then provided with a menu for the three runes...

***

{Titan\'s Mark}: +100 to Strength. Comes with added skill, Steel Fist, increasing attack power by 50% for ten minutes. Effects are stackable to a limit of three.

Cost: 10,000 system points.

{Touch of Lightning}: +100 to Agility. Comes with added skill, Speed Boost, increasing movement and attack speed by 50% for ten minutes. Effects are stackable to a limit of three.

Cost: 10,000 system points.

{Beast Heart}: +100 to Stamina. Comes with added skill, Beast Spirit, increasing HP and energy recovery by 50% for ten minutes. Effects are stackable to a limit of three.

Cost: 10,000 system points.

***

Cain had been mindful of the runes he put on his body. This was because physical runes were permanent. There was also a limited number of runes a person could apply. Those who put a ton of runes on their body during the beginning stages of the apocalypse were sure to regret it, as there would be no way for them to exchange the terrible runes with better ones.

As such, he had decided to only apply special runes to his body...

However, the same couldn\'t be said about these beastmen. Although it could have adverse effects in the future, as long as they could become more powerful, it wouldn\'t really matter much.

Besides, these runes that the system had just offered him were absolutely amazing, to say the least.

Although they were expensive, they were truly worth it. Not because of the staggering amount of stats they gave, but purely because of the added skills. Just like the rune that gave him {Gravity Defying}, these runes came with added skills as well. Not only were these skills powerful, but the effect of one rune could be added onto another preexisting rune.

This meant that if a baseman got three of the same rune, it would only count as one. This alone made them unmatched runes.

\'The only issue I have with these things is their price. Why does everything have to be so expensive?\'

Either way, Cain didn\'t hesitate much before he turned back to the bewildered beastmen.

"Alright boys! Who would like to become more powerful?"

Seeing their eyes turn wide like saucers made Cain snicker to himself once again...

***

After explaining the process as well as his intentions to these beastmen, he finally dropped the question,

"The moment you accept these runes, you will be indebted to me indefinitely

Are you aware of that?"

He didn\'t like mincing words together in situations like this. He didn\'t want to force anyone so he made sure they were aware that this wasn\'t a charity, but a business deal.

"We are, Boss!" Haru said, his expression filled with passion as he stared straight at Cain.

"We are not ingrates who do not know how things work. From now on, we are yours to order around, Boss." Another beastman who had gotten the memo spoke his stance as well.

Slowly, Haru, as well as the other beastmen got onto one knee. Although it was a bit embarrassing, Cain decided to play along, just for the fun of it.

With a stoic, expression, he nodded,

"Very well. You lot have tact! Then... I think it\'s about time we get started!"

"You can only choose three..." Cain began.

"This one here will greatly increase your strength. It also comes with a skill that boosts your attack power. However, it can only be used for ten minutes. However, if you get three of these, then not only will you be able to use the skill for thirty minutes, but the increase in attack speed will also be greater. The maximum number a single one of you can get is three..."

As he explained, he could see the expressions of the beastmen change as they fell into contemplation.

\'At least they are thinking about it.\'

Since he was investing in their future, there was no way Cain would treat this half-heartedly. Combined with their Ki Plundering Techniques, and weapons, these beastmen would definitely be powerful enough to single-handedly go up against level 60 rare-grade beings.

After some time, they each came to their respective conclusions...

Haru had a strained look on his face,

"Boss, the only Ki Plundering technique I\'m good at is the Garment of Chains. What runes do you recommend for me?"

Cain raised a brow, "Is that so..."

\'Hm? He\'s a rare talent if he really is good at that Ki Plundering Technique...\'

Ki Plundering Techniques required not only understanding but talent. An individual might be completely unable to practice a certain technique. However, that same individual could experience godly progress when practicing a different one.

Cain walked up to him and placed a hand on his chest. He wanted to see how dense his Ki was.

\'Hmm... As expected.\'

The quality and quantity of Haru\'s Ki was certainly miles above average. However, it was nowhere near Cain\'s.

\'He should have roughly three thousand Ki points.\'

Cain took his hand away from the beastman\'s chest,

"I suggest you get all three."

Haru raised a brow, "All three?"

Cain nodded, "I also suggest that you make the Garment of Chains the only Ki Plundering Technique you practice from now on."

"I see..." The beastman said with a joyous smile.

"Boss..."

Seeing that Cain had helped Haru, the other beastmen shamelessly came forward for assistance as well. If Cain could guide their growth personally, they had no doubts that they would become stronger very quickly.

Although it consumed a bit of time, Cain calmly helped and advised them. He wasn\'t in too much of a rush any way.

During this period, he got to learn all their names. Because of the way he interacted with them, the loyalty and respect these beastmen had for him grew by leaps and bounds...

***

A/N: Special Mass release of chapters incoming!!!! Just like last month, special chapters will be released till the end of the month. If we can meet the goal by the end of the month, I plan to release an extra chapter every day for the first ten days.

Conditions: GIFTS!

Yes, people... Your gifts and active use of coins motivate me to write more and more of this book I\'ll seem to enjoy so much. So... Here\'s how we are gonna do it

Gifts worth 1000 coins: 3 extra chapters.

Gifts worth 2000 coins: 6 extra chapters.

Gifts worth 5000 coins: 15 extra chapters.

I really appreciate the continuous support. From the bottom of my heart. These gifts go a long way. Cheers!

P.S: Gifts higher than 5000 will also be factored in depending on if I have the time or not. For gifts below 1000, I\'ll try to sum up collective gifts to make it up. If it doesn\'t reach the mark, I\'ll still release an extra chapter by the end of the month...