God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

{Congratulations to the host... You have received the opportunity to create a [Body and Soul] contract}.

{Beast Contract}: Form a [body and soul] contract with a mutant beast. This contract allows the target mutant beast and the host to forge a bond that is governed by the following set of rules;

{Condition 1}: The beast's and human's involvement in the [body and soul] contract shall be bound by the laws of magic as long as both parties may live.

{Condition 2}: This contract can be initiated by either one of the parties involved, but can only be concluded if and only if the other party fully agrees upon the conditions involved wholeheartedly.

{Condition 3}: The agreement is built upon the law of equivalent exchange. A trade deemed to be of equal proportions by the system must be made for the contract to be enabled.

{Condition 4}: This contract is based upon the universal laws of mana, and cannot be broken.

{Does the host agree to all these conditions?}

Cain wasn't surprised to see these system prompts, as he had been expecting them. What he hadn't expected, was for Teddy to initiate it.

'This mutant is abnormally intelligent.'

Cain stared at the beast for a while, before he let out a chuckle.

"Sure. Why not."

{Processing response...}

{Response; Affirmative!}

SIZZLE!

The sound of flesh burning echoed in the silence, as the imprint of a bear's paw appeared on Cain's chest. It didn't bring him any pain, but he could feel the heat coming from the bear's paw onto his chest.

[Body and Soul Contract]:

Type: Mutant Beast

Details: Exchange of a grade 8 blood elemental mana shard for 6 months of servitude between the human, [Cain Lenosi], and the mutant beast, {Crimson Demon Bear}.

Note: This contract can be renewed.

{Congratulations to the host... The contract has been completed}.

{Host has been granted the hidden title, Friend of Beasts}.

{Friend of Beasts}: Increases charisma with all types of beasts by +1.

{+1,000 System points}.

The burning sensation stopped for a while, indicating that the contract-making process had been concluded. This allowed Cain to observe his environment.

'God Ash!'

Cain could see millions upon millions of these tiny crystals fall unto the surface of the world. They fell on the ground and were absorbed by the dirt. They fell onto rocks, and they were absorbed.

They fell unto the leaves of the trees, and they were absorbed.

They fell onto Teddy laying before him, and they were absorbed by the body of the beast as they fell onto its furry coat. The red runic symbols on the body of the beast glowed brightly as a small tornado of God Ash formed and was rapidly being funneled into the body of Teddy.

'The God Ash can be absorbed?!'

Cain was shocked to find out that the beasts and trees could absorb the God Ash directly like that. He became excited, then decided to try it out himself. He extended his hands forward, then tried to absorb the God Ash that fell towards him. However...

Nothing happened...

God Ash avoided his body and simply fell onto the ground without making contact with him. This odd occurrence prompted him to look up. This was when he discovered something important.

God Ash couldn't make contact with him. Rather, it avoided his body like it was some kind of hydrophobic dust, and he was water. It didn't even come close to the clothes on his body.

'System... Why can't I absorb the God Ash like the mutant beasts and mutating trees?'

{Replying to host... This piece of information can be purchased at the system store}.

Cain was quickly redirected to the system store, where he found the piece of information he was looking for.

'It's not that costly either...' Cain was happy that he wouldn't have to use too many of his system points.

'Purchase!'

{Transaction successful...}

{Replying to host; The reason the host, and most humans alike cannot absorb the God Ash, is because their physiology makes it impossible to absorb energy that is so concentrated and unrefined. It is impossible because humans lack mana shards.

Mana shards and Devil cores are the factors in mutants and devils alike that help them absorb the concentrated amounts of mana from God Ash without any sort of negative effects}.

'So only mutants and devils can handle it, huh?'

Cain finally understood why the mutants and devils were becoming strong so fast.

'Turns out that they have a natural advantage over us humans when it comes to mana. If I cannot find a way to bridge this gap, it is only a matter of time before these monsters become too powerful and intelligent for us to handle.'

'If that happens, it's game over.'

As Cain mulled over his thoughts, Teddy was curious as to why Cain was kneeling there without absorbing all the delicious and abundant mana that fell for them from the skies.

It was at this moment, that the one who controlled the threads of fate began to pull the strings...

{You have received the opportunity to create a Beast contract}.

'Hm?'

{The mutant beast, {Crimson Demon Bear}, desires to create a [body and soul] contract with the host}.

'What does he want from me?'

{The host is required to make an equivalent exchange for the ability to absorb mana like the mutant beasts}.

"Fuck!"

Cain couldn't help but exclaim out loud in pure shock.

'Is that possible?!'

Cain could recognize the worth of the mana absorption. And he greatly doubted it would come for cheap...

'What do I have right now that will be worth something so precious?!'

{Replying to host; The only things the host currently has, that are of equivalent value to the ability to absorb God Ash, and can be traded, are;

[The ability to create skills].

[Martial Arts techniques].

'Hahaha! A bear performing a flying kick?! I'd love to see that!'

The comical scene played a few times in Cain's head before he decided to ask the more important question.

'Just to be sure, will I lose these things if I decide to trade them with the {Crimson Demon Bear}?'

{Replying to host; Since the things involved in the trade are intangible, they will not be lost by the host, but they will be shared in the form of data to the {Crimson Demon Bear}, the same way as the ability to absorb God Ash will not be lost by the {Crimson Demon Bear}, but will merely be shared to the host}.

'Deal! I choose to transfer knowledge on the ability to create skills to the mutant beast, {Crimson Demon Bear}.'

He didn't even hesitate...

He didn't know what this could lead to, but he was more than ready to take the risk. And to him, the price he had to pay was more than worth it. He didn't know what he was going to create in the process, but as long as he could get stronger, he didn't care about the method.

This time, both Cain and Teddy lay their hands on one another. He could feel a steady, but small stream of energy flow to his brain, before leaving out of his body through his hand, and into the body of Teddy.

Cain could feel a hot stream of energy enters his body through his paw of Teddy.

{Congratulations to the host... You have acquired the ability to create a mana shard}.

{A mana shard can only be created by a creature with the physique of a mutant. The host should please note that if this process should occur, there is a 100% chance, that an irreversible mutation will occur}.

{Will the host like to proceed?}...

***

Within the science and technology department complex...

The downstairs hall was lit with a few battery-powered torches that provided the place with a bit of illumination.

'Where the hell did that son of a bitch run off to?!'

Blaze was fuming, his hair like strands of flames standing out in the dimly lit hall. Anyone looking at him could tell he was pissed.

Since it was already midnight, the others had all met up in the hall to discuss their next course of action.

All except Cain...

"Calm down. We don't know for sure whether he ran off on his own or not." David explained to the agitated Blaze.

"Then how do you explain his disappearance?" Blaze said.

"For all we know, something bad might have happened to the boss... What if some sort of monster sneaked into the classroom he was in and kidnapped him?!" Vincent said in a scared voice, his fatty cheeks trembling from exaggerated fear.

"That makes little sense. If it was a mutant beast or devil, there is no way he could have been taken without any noise being made. With how strong Cain is, there is no way he would be taken without a fight. In the rare occasion that he was, then I doubt whatever wanted him would have spared us."

"He does make a point, you know? But all these are just assumptions. We can only wait and see..."

Steve said in a lazy voice as he slumped over his chair sleepily.

"This isn't the time for jokes and games. Every single member of this group is a vital part to ensure our collective survival. The more people we have on this team, the greater our chances of survival, and the greater our ability to save those who need our help." Blaze said with clenched fists.

Dan and Hunter had simply kept themselves out of the conversation...

"What's your deal anyway, man? Why do you care so much?" A suspicious grin appeared on the face of Vincent who had been shivering in fear just a second ago.

'This guy knows how to put up a front...' The eyes of Steve that were already almost closed narrowed even further.

"I... I..."

"You what?" The grin on their face of Vincent widened even further.

'He's expecting something outlandish...'

Steve thought with an eye roll.

"I don't want what happened yesterday to happen again. It's our fault all those people died." The light from the dim illumination cast a shadow on Blaze as he said this.

The entire hall became silent, as the face of the fatty froze at the unexpected answer.

"It's not our fault. We gave them an out, but none of them took it due to cowardice. We couldn't force them. Besides, they were all just unfortunate." David said with a letdown expression.

"But if we had been there, maybe we would have been able to prevent it from ever happening," Blaze said with a hard expression on his face.

"If we had been there, we would be dead."

Hunter, who had been silent up till now said out of the blue.

"What do you know? I don't expect a coward like you to understand!" Blaze said as he gave Hunter a nasty look which he didn't respond to.

"Hah... Can you guys stop arguing for now? Even though Cain isn't here, we can't wait for him."

"Hmph!" With a snort, Blaze sat back down in his seat with a dark expression.

"Susan? You still with us?"

"Huh?"

"We are about to start discussing where we will go from here on out," David said.

"We aren't waiting for Cain?"

"He's gone AWOL on us. We can't keep waiting because of him."

"Oh... Let's carry on then." Susan said with an unperturbed expression.

'Hmmm...' Maybe by coincidence, but Vincent and Steve just happened to have the same thing in mind as they both stared Susan down for a brief second simultaneously. In the process, their eyes met, but they quickly chalked it up to what it was. A coincidence...

"Alright... Let's begin the discussion."