God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Haru rolled out of the forge a few pounds lighter than he had been when he stepped in.

He was tired, exhausted and hungry. But he wore a large grin on his face.

Laying all around him were his fellow craftsman and brothers-in-arms, all equally as exhausted and drained as he was.

They had dedicated the bulk of two whole months to making a whole bunch of weapons and gear.

Their bodies were sore, and their minds had been tested.

Still, they all wore pleased and proud expressions on their faces.

Staring at the system prompt that had just appeared before him, Haru couldn't help but feel a bit giddy.

Before the old world had come to an end, he had been like everybody else. A mindless drone moving with the current.

Due to a few health conditions he had, he had been unable to practice martial arts like many others.

His life had been one disappointment after disappointment, a bleak, lifeless world.

Then everything changed...

He was given a second chance.

And when things had seemed bleak again, when he thought he would lose that second chance, he found something.

Something that made all the passionate cells in his body tingle.

Everytime he came up with a new design for the weapons he made, everytime he inscribed the runes into the still slightly hot metal, he was filled with indescribable joy.

The prompt in front of him was a congratulatory one from the system as both his weapons and runic craftsmanship had improved by leaps and bounds over the last two months.

'With this, making Epic grade weapons will be far easier.'

Taking in a deep breath to calm down, he turned his head to watch Cain walked out of the forge, his feet unsteady.

Haru quickly rushed to his feet to help Cain steady himself.

Out of them all, the only person that had not taken a single break throughout the entire period in the forge was him, Cain.

He had worked tirelessly for hours on end. And those hours then stretched into days. Then weeks...

It truly was frightening, seeing him work with singleminded focus.

Now, he looked rather terrible.

His skin was ashy, he had black circles under his eyes and his eyes themselves were bloodshot red.

Once he had adjusted, Cain stood up straight and took a look into his inventory.

Although he had already checked a few times before, he still didn't think he had done it.

He shook his head then turned to Haru.

He hesitated for a moment then spoke,

"We need more manpower in the forge."

Haru couldn't help but laugh wryly,

"That indeed we do."

Cain rubbed his hair then yawned,

"I'm going to go take a shower. You are free to do whatever. Well done."

The rest had already collapsed from exhaustion, so his words were only received with absent grunts, moans and snores.

Looking around, Haru couldn't help but shake his head and smile.

"Now then, where will I go looking for more hands?"

***

After washing up, Cain returned back into his room.

Haru and the others were nowhere to be seen, perhaps gone to go clean up as well.

'So tired...'

Although he was proper exhausted, Cain was determined to meet the deadline he had promised.

In silence, he walked to the anchor and poured mana into it.

Stepping through the spatial gate, he quickly arrived in the other side in Valestorm.

Not wanting to waste any time, he quickly made his way to the temple and subsequently, Gilead's office room.

When he walked in, he saw Gilead seated before the table, his gaze heavy with bags under his eyes.

He picked a paper off the table, ran his gaze through it, then leaned forward to make a few adjustments and write a few more details.

Then he sighed and placed it onto another pile.

Cain couldn't help but he surprised,

'He looks just as terrible as me.'

However, from the looks of it, Gilead was taking his own situation far better than he was.

Before he could say anything, Gilead finally seemed to notice him.

He wrinkled his brows,

"Is knocking just not a thing anymore?"

Then he paused, "I thought I had guards stationed outside. How did you?"

Cain rolled his eyes and took a seat,

"None of your guards would be able to notice me, much less stop me if I decided to come here."

He paused for a moment then added,

"Besides, aren't you excited to see me?"

Gilead raised his brows, "Not really..."

He looked him from head to toe and nodded,

"Yes, I'm not quite eager to meet with you. But if I do recall correctly, we have reason to meet today."

Cain nodded with a smile.

Gilead dropped his pen and folded his arms,

"So..."

Cain pulled out a ring from his inventory and tossed it at Gilead.

Plucking it from the air, Gilead gently caressed the ring.

Then his eyes widened.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Impressive..." He composed himself later.

He couldn't help but smile a bit,

"They are indeed quality, far better that anything those people have given us recently. I think the Valestorm will appreciate something like this."

Cain grinned, "Is that so... That should be enough for a thousand people, right?"

Gilead nodded, "More than enough."

He paused for a moment then added,

"Thank you."

Cain shook his head, "No need to thank me. I need you, you need me. This is mutual exchange."

Gilead shook his head, but nodded in agreement,

"Then, as agreed. I'll have these thousand Pilgrims outfitted and ready to move in the week. You have my word."

Cain nodded, "You can take your time. I have other things to deal with, so I'll leave you be."

He paused for a moment then added,

Experience tales with empire

"That ring is a precious gift I received. I'll come back for it when you're done sorting it out."

Upon saying that, the space around him became volatile. The next moment, his body was swallowed by the shifting space, and he was gone.

Left alone, Gilead couldn't help but chuckle at that.

He stared at the bubble of paper left before him. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, before he finally made up his mind.

Rising up from his chair, he grabbed his sheathed sword and holstered the scabbard to his waist.

Then he picked his shield and placed it in his back.

Then, without turning back, he walked out of the room and into the hallway.

Right in front of the hall were two guards armed with standard weapons wearing Duskkin Armor.

The moment he stepped out, they gave him a salute. With most of the other council members gone, he, as the guardian, represented the highest level of power in the entire Valestorm. It wouldn't be presumptuous to say he was the strongest in all of Valestorm.

He glanced them over.

Feeling the weight of his stare, the two maskless Pilgrims couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

They turned even more distressed when he suddenly made a request of them.

"You two... Strip."

***

Valestorm had grown to be rather large.

Since it had been built in the corpse of a portion of the City, albeit a rather small portion, most of the buildings were parts of skyscrapers and apartment complexes that had been refurbished to house the people of Valestorm.

However, there were a few exceptions...

Meaning there was prime real estate to create new buildings.

The craftsmen of the Iron Beetle were not just proficient in making weapons, tools, runes and potions.

They also were proficient in constructing structures. Obvious, it was still in its infantry stages, but it had gotten good enough to the point of them being able to make whole new buildings from the ground up.

These buildings were rather different from the buildings of the old world, making for a rather stark contrast.

However,n they were in no way inferior.

And thanks to the gift of magic, constructing these structures was far more efficient as well, requiring far less time to accomplish.

They were also more lavish...

With the fall of the old world, things like internal plumbing, water systems, electricity and what not, had ceased all functionality.

Hence, people were forced to rely on magic to assist in daily living.

These new buildings, however, were built with magic as their basis.

As such, they currently had access to far more amenities than the run down renovated buildings of the old world.

And since they ruled over the economy of Valestorm, the Iron Beetle held sole monopoly over these infrastructure.

Even if a regular Hunter or mundane human desired to purchase such housing, they would have to spend an egregious amount of mana shards or similar resources.

As a someone who held a ton of power in the Iron Beetle, Alvi also had what some would consider a mansion in Valestorm.

It was a large house with a large gate and a wide fence that outlined the vastness of the property.

It was beautiful, a stunning white with decorative ornaments that didn't seem to be of this world due to their unique nature and craftsmanship.

The interior of the building was even more stunning.

Staring at all this, Alvi didn't feel even an ounce of emotion towards all of it.

Seated on the balcony, he looked up into the dark night sky.

The oversized moon hung in a corner of the heavens, eating up an entire portion of the horizon, and in turn, letting the entire world bathe in its subtle moonlight radiance.

He picked the glass of {Beetvine Extract Wine}. The slightly amber liquid was the result of an alchemist's accident when trying to create a new potion.

In the end, the accident had been a blessing in disguise and it had now become one of the most popular beverages in all of Valestorm.

The alchemist in question has been captured, tortured and murdered for the secrets of his creation, which were them sold by his assailants to one of the other Chairs of the Iron Beetle.

Although, it was difficult to say if there had been really 'sold' or not.

Alvi closed his eyes and took a sip, savoring the complex aromas and flavors in his mouth.

He let out a sigh...

"You seem to be having rather pleasant day, old man..."