God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Sue stared at her status screen for a while before letting out a sigh...

"What a pleasant surprise..."

***

{Dust Devil} lvl 1: Permanently summon an earth elemental creature from the aether with the physical strength of the Titans, and the ability to control the essence of deserts. The dust devil has magic power equivalent to half of the host's magic stat, and physical power equivalent to three times that of the host's.

Cost: 3000MP to summon.

Requirements: The dust devil requires earth elemental mana shards to evolve further.

Note: The Dust Devil can be summoned and unsummoned from a magical space at any time, but once killed, its death will be permanent, and the skill's level will be reset to level 1.

***

Sue had been under the impression that she could only use the flame element. Unlike Cain that had already discovered the basics of elemental affinity, this was news to her...

'So you mean I can actually use various elements depending on the affinity I have for them?' Sue asked the system after she had been given a rundown on the basics of elemental affinity.

{Replying to host: Affirmative... Would the host like to discover their affinity?}

'Sure... I don't see why not.' Sue said as she stood up from her squatting position.

"Are you all right?!" Maya asked when she saw Sue coming back with a complicated expression on her face.

"The threats have been neutralized. You all can rest easy..." Sue ignored her question and went straight to the point.

"What about Stan? Aren't you going to go look for him or something?!" Maya asked in a worried tone. Although she was worried about Sue, her interest tilted more toward Stan and his well-being. After all, women often drifted towards strong men for protection in times of danger or need.

As Stan had proven to be strong and reliable, Maya and the other women in the group had thoughts of relying on him more than expected in exchange for their...

"Relax... He is fi-"

BANG!

Stan's tired and wet body plopped to the dry ground. He heaved heavily as he took on large gulps of air like a dying man.

"See? I told you he's fine." Sue said with an eye roll, but deep down, she let out a long sigh of relief.

"I'm still alive!" Stan yelled all of a sudden as he jumped to his feet, his eyes filled to the brim with life and energy, almost like what he had experienced under the water hadn't happened at all.

"Unfortunately..." Sue approached Stan and looked him up and down with a relieved expression on her face.

"You say that, but you look happy to see me," Stan said with a smug expression on his face. His face immediately turned sour when he saw the scene on the beach. It turned even darker when he saw the corpse of the man that had been killed by the disgusting {Mutant Sandworms}.

Stan spoke in a low dark voice, "What happened?"

"We were attacked by a nest of mutant sandworms. They live in the sand, so it was hard to spot them, especially since they are the same color as the sand." Sue explained.

Maya chimed in with a sad expression, "We tried to escape from them, but Jule wasn't able to make it to Sue's side in time..."

"Damn it!" Stan yelled in anger.

"Relax... What matters now is that we were able to keep the majority safe. That, and you returned safely as well..." Sue said.

"I guess..." Although Stan decided to drop it, the expression on his face told that the new information was eating at him.

"So what happened anyway? Why did you suddenly go underwater?" Sue asked curiously.

"A deadly-tier mutant beast tried to drown me... Fortunately, it couldn't handle the might of my saber. Hahaha!" The sad expression on Stan's face cleared up instantly when he heard that.

"Eh? Deadly-tier? Didn't think you could handle one by yourself?" Sue's eyes widened in surprise.

"Hohoho... You seem to underestimate me too much. In fact, the only reason it took so long to whoop its ass was we fought underwater." Stan continued to praise himself and stroke his own ego.

"Sure, sure..." Sue could only roll her eyes.

"Wait! Maya gathered everyone around!" Stan suddenly got serious.

"Eh?! M-Me?!" Maya stuttered to speak when she was confronted so suddenly.

"Yeah... This needs to be done as soon as possible." Stan said, still wearing a serious expression.

"I'll get to it right away!" Maya seemed to jump excitedly at the opportunity to showcase her ability to Stan. She quickly ran up to the group of people where she began to address them in a hushed voice.

"What's this all about?" Sue asked.

"See for yourself." Stan retrieved the {Vitality Coral} from his inventory and chucked it at Sue.

Sue caught it deftly from the air and focused her attention. Her facial expression slowly morphed from the usual grumpy look, to shock, then even more shock...

"Is it really possible for something like this to exist?" Sue said, shock still written all over her face.

"Well, it is in your hands now, so it definitely exists..." Stan said with a chuckle.

"If their bodies cannot contain mana, how is it possible for this to be real? I think we all understand the very fundamentals of this mysterious energy, and how it is not to be messed around with!" Sue said sharply, her eyes flashing with an intelligent light.

As people who used magic, it was only natural for them to understand the basics of mana and its nature. Although it was soft compared to other forms of energy, it was still incredibly lethal to those who couldn't handle it.

The system enabled one to get through the initial process of integrating mana into the host's system before the would be strong enough to endure more intense forms of energy.

If one didn't have the system, they wouldn't be able to go through this step, unless they were assisted by a miracle. Should they attempt to invest mana without the aid of the system, the best-case scenario would be instant death...

"The description of the skill did say they would have to pay a price to obtain this power."

"And what is this cost?" Sue asked suspiciously.

"I have no idea..." Stan embarrassedly scratched the back of his head as he replied.

'System, what is this cost that needs to be paid?' Sue decided to ask.

{Replying to host: The cost of attaining power from a remnant depends on various factors. However, most of the time, these factors might be irrelevant, and the host might be completely blindsided by the price that is to be paid... But, since certain laws in the universe regulate the exchange of power, as long as they are willing to give up what is necessary, they will gain the correspondingly}.

"In short, it is useless to try to find out now?" Sue said with a deadpan expression.

{Replying to host: Affirmative...}

"That means we have to wait and see..." Stan said with a contemplative look on his face.

***

Standing before the group of people, Stan was able to see that although they all still looked hopeless and destitute, there was a bit more light in their eyes.

"I don't want to waste any time, so I'll go straight to the point... How many of you want the ability to live again?"

There was a loud silence that overcame the group for a few seconds before Maya spoke up,

"What do you mean? Aren't we alive right now?"

"No... None of you are alive right now. In fact, your fates might actually be worse than death." Stan said coldly.

There was a bit of murmuring in the group as they contemplated what Stan said.

'I've never seen him look so serious...' Sue had a flabbergasted look on her face as she stared at Stan speak.

"I think you all should have noticed by now. This world is becoming more and more hostile to normal human life. The things we could do, like running, jumping, even breathing, are all becoming more and more difficult as the days go by."

Immediately, Stan had their attention, as he had just addressed exactly what had been their greatest concern for the past week.

"The fact is none of you will be able to survive another week should these conditions continue to change."

An air of depression and gloom fell on the group of people instantly when they hear his words. After all, it was the hard truth they were unwilling to accept. They still held on to the faintest of hopes that they would be able to live and survive the hell they were trapped in...

"However, all this can change if you want it to..." Stan cast the line once he saw they had drifted close to the shores of despair.

There was another bout of murmuring, this time lasting longer than the previous. After all, they had just been told they could survive in a world that was becoming hostile towards them.

Their eyes once again began to fill up with the light of hope...

"I have something with me that can change your fates. Something magical..." Stan could tell they had bitten the hook. All that was left was to carefully reel them in...

"If you are prepared to take the risk of the unknown, then here you go."

Stan's hands shone with light, and numerous {Vitality Coral} flew out of them and into the crowd of people.

"These are called Vitality Corals. They will grant you a chance at survival. It is up to you to grasp it with your own hands..."

There was a brief pause followed by a violent scramble for the numerous {Vitality Coral} that Stan had thrown at them. Inside the water, there was enough {Vitality Coral} for more than a hundred people, and Stan had taken every single one he could find.

A man dying of thirst would never refuse water offered to him. Just like how desperate such a man was, those who wanted to survive would grasp at any opportunity they could lay their hands on.

Even if it meant sacrificing their very nature as humans...

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