God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

After exchanging a brief conversation and more than a few details with Steve, he had to bid him and Blaze a temporary farewell.

Stepping through the {Spatial Gate}, Cain couldn't help but think that there was a lot to be done.

Still, he had a relaxed smile on his face.

The battle with the {Blackfist Ape} had done him more good than he had imagined.

To make matters even better, he had acquired a rather unique item from the system as a result of his victory;

***

{Congratulations to the Host. You have obtained the Legendary grade item, {Headhunter's Mockery}.

{Headhunter's Mockery}: (Legendary, Tier 2)

Description: The {Blackfist Ape} has the blood of the Monkey God, Celestial Ruler of the Black Mountains, and the God of Mischief, running through its veins. In a play of Divine foolery, the beast has been cursed, such that its features are forever twisted to reflect the visage of the Monkey God.

***

{Headhunter's Mockery}: (Legendary, Tier 2)

Spirit: 2000.

Magic Power: 2000.

Agility: 3000.

Durability: N/A.

Skills: Blacksmile, Blackfist Totem, The Grinning Fool.

{Blacksmile}: The horrifyingly twisted visage of the Monkey God remains forever. Creatures that gaze at it are afflicted with uncontrollable fear.

{Blackfist Totem}: With the power of the Monkey God hidden within the mask, a Totem of Trickery can be summoned.

{The Grinning Fool}(passive): The smile of the Monkey God contains within it boundless terror and evil. It is infallible and blocks out the whispers of madness.

***

At first, he had been a bit put off.

As it turned out, the {Blackfist Ape} was indeed no ordinary beast. From the looks of it, it had ties to a certain Celestial Beast or Deity; it was a bit unclear.

Perhaps it was his champion, so something else. He had no clue. But what he was certain of, was that its blood contained the divinity of the Celestial Ruler of the Black Mountains.

The item itself was also quite special as it gave him three added attributes; his spirit, magic, and agility stats, each one gaining two thousand free points as long as the mask was equipped.

The thing also seemed to be very durable.

And then, there was the odd part of it; the attached skills.

Just like the {Blackfist Ape} was a strange creature, the skills attached to this item were equally strange.

The least strange of all the skills was {The Grinning Fool}.

Although its description seems strange, he could easily interpret what it meant. It was a skill that protected against spiritual and mental attacks.

As he progressed further, Cain had no doubt that he would encounter a wider variety of enemies, many of which could include those proficient in attacks that could ignore or pierce through physical boundaries.

In that case, {The Grinning Fool}, although it seemed like a useless skill at the moment, could very well become a lifesaver.

Even better, was that it was a passive skill.

Then, there was {Blacksmile}.

This was clearer than the last skill in its description. However, Cain was having a hard time figuring out how one quantified this 'fear'.

And what sort of magic could inflict a feeling of fear?

He thought about it for a moment before stumbling on a conclusion.

'An enchantment.'

There were multiple types of enchantments, but the least popular ones were those that could afflict some type of mental imbalance upon a target.

An example of this was the whole ordeal with Stingè a whole back.

'A spell that can incite, or maybe even create fear, making something seem far more terrifying than it should be. How amusing. And horrifying...'

He couldn't help but smile a bit.

And then finally, was the {Blackfist Totem}.

Obviously, this skill was one that had to do with the {Blackfist Ape} the most as opposed to having ties with the Monkey God.

First of all, he had no idea what this is called Totem of Trickery was.

But whatever it could be, it didn't sound very safe, especially with the trends he had already seen..

Still, he was as curious as a cat and wanted to find out immediately.

But before that, he had to be certain.

'System, what is a Totem of Trickery?'

{Replying to Host: In the context the host desires, a Totem of Trickery might refer to one of the many spells conjured up by the God of Mischief and Celestial Ruler of the Black Mountains, Sindamin}.

{A Totem of Trickery, might be one of the many spells the God left behind upon its death. It is said that making use of them can grant the user a special ability, or a curse. Or a profane mix of body. The abilities granted by the Totem is mostly based on luck, and perhaps a little sprinkle of divine whims}.

Cain's eyes twitched.

'Such a thing...'

A thirty percent chance to acquire a gift, a curse, or something that was roughly in-between.

Weren't those chances too slim.

And considering all that had happened so far, he wasn't very confident in his luck.

He left out a sigh then threw the mask back into his inventory.

There was no need to rush it.

Besides, he wasn't really in need of any new gifts.

Or curses...

So even though it was a bit tempting, he wouldn't take his chances with turning into a frog for now.

The flashing lights and bending space around him finally softened out into tranquility.

Gently rubbing his eyes, Cain looked around.

Once again, he was back in Valestorm.

In his humble room located in a random building at the edge of the town.

Even though they didn't need sleep that often, most enhanced humans chose to do so anyways. It was better for recouping lost stamina and vitality.

It was also better on the spirit, as staying awake for long periods of time could negatively influence even the strongest of minds and wills.

As such around this time. In the thickest of the darkest hours, everywhere was still and silent.

Cain stretched briefly then walked over to his desk before plopping down.

Staring at the flat, wooden surface, his good mood was squashed almost instantly.

And that was because there was a small stack of papers seated directly in front of him.