God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Blinking, Steve replied seriously, "Boss, I doubt I possess anything that would be of use to you. If you want, I'll offer you my undying loyalty!"

"Ha! Don't think you can trick me. I know you have more than a handful of hidden aces." Cain said with a predatory grin. If Steve wanted anything from him, he would have to cough something up. He wasn't a charity agency after all.

"Tch! Fine..." With a pout, Steve's eyes glazed over as he began ruminating through the contents of his inventory.

Cain knew that everyone on his team was special in one way or another. And Steve was no exception...

Even though he seemed eccentric at times, Cain knew that behind the facade existed an intelligent, cunning, and inquisitive person.

His progress in magic research was just as impressive as Cain's.

"Aha! This is something I have been working on in my free time." Pulling a piece of paper out of his inventory, Steve placed it in Cain's hands with a look of triumph.

"What is this?" Cain asked with a frown.

"Hehehe... Well, as you know, I am an avid researcher of the magical arts. The world of sorcery has never ceased to amaze me since my inception into it.

'That was just a few weeks ago...' Cain rolled his eyes at Steve's theatrics.

"This is a small breakthrough I made in my research. I call it, 'Battle Skill Evolution'." Steve said, looking extremely proud of himself.

"Ho..." Cain was immediately interested.

Seeing that he had his attention, Steve continued,

"I will not bore you with too many details. I think I might be on the verge of a breakthrough with my skills. I think with this, we can remove the trivialities within our battle skills and spells, evolving them into techniques that don't just deal damage, but also possess individuality."

Staring at Steve, Cain realized he had just hit a jackpot...

'This guy is a genius. Of course, not as genius as myself...'

"Right now, I believe that most of your skills, the skills you use directly in battle, are meant to just deal damage in battle. However, have you ever thought of skills that might not increase your damage and attack speed, but possess special traits?"

Cain replied to the best of his ability and knowledge,

"Now that I think about it, I don't have any battle skills that are not just dealing damage."

This was not entirely true...

Cain had skills like {Seal} and {Eye of Clairvoyance} that didn't increase his damage but provided him with utility and randomness during battle.

Randomness that could prove fatal for the enemy...

"Exactly! These days, the feeling that the enemies we are going to face aren't just going to be strong, they will also possess a frightening level of strange skills and intellect, has been growing stronger and stronger. Be they man or beast, we can't change the reality that we do not know what skills our enemies will possess in the future.

Hence, we will need to increase the malleability of our skill repertoire to adjust to the unknown."

Understanding the underlying tones in Steve's words, Cain fell silent. He knew he would have to clash with other humans eventually. He just tried to avoid that line of thinking as much as he could.

If he wasn't ready for strange circumstances, all the strength he had been accumulating would be useless, and he would end up being killed in the worst-case scenario...

"So are you saying you have figured out how to give battle skills individuality?"

"Almost... This manuscript has all the necessary details." Saying that Steve heaved an exhilarated sigh.

Cain tilted his head down to stare at the contents of the paper...

The first thing he noticed, was an annotated diagram of the human body complete with all the organs, as well as a network of veins, and arteries. Beside it, there was a very detailed drawing of a brain complete with complex neurological pathways.

Cain noticed there was another structured network that was different from any internal network system of the human body he was familiar with.

The thin lines were scattered all around the body, tracing complex patterns until they finally reached the brain and became one with the neurological patterns within it.

"What is this?" Cain asked.

"These thin lines are the carriers of mana and other forms of energy within our bodies. I didn't know they existed until recently when I improved the power of my {Devil Eye}. According to the system, they are called Ley lines." Steve said.

"Hmm... Alright. I'm convinced. It seems like I really underestimated you." Cain said with a smile as he placed the manuscript into his inventory.

With a flick of his wrist, he summoned the [Records of Akasha I] from his {Armament Armory].

Cain had long since read the book from cover to cover. Although he did refer back to it from time to time, he now had other things he could use as source material.

He felt that giving it to Steve wouldn't be a waste, but rather a boon. He had always considered Steve a part of his crew, and helping him with his research wasn't something he was against.

As long as it didn't turn unethical in the future...

"Eh? What is this?" Steve asked as he grabbed the tome.

However, Cain didn't have to say anything, as he knew the system would be quick to answer any question Steve had. Two seconds later, Steve's eyes became as wide as bowling pins...

"I'd like to make you an offer, Steve..." Engaging with a fellow magic enthusiast was something that made Cain feel the urge to smile, but he held it in through sheer willpower.

"A... An offer?" Steve stuttered out, a bit flabbergasted.

"I will be able to get my hands on a whole bunch of magical literature for us to study through together. They will boost our understanding of magic exponentially. In exchange for access to these books, I ask that you share the fruits of any of your research with me from now onwards." Cain said with all seriousness.

"Deal!" Steve said without hesitating.

"Aren't you going to think about it a bit?" Cain said, a little amused.

"Boss Cain, I have long since thought of you as a Messiah. You've had most of my trust and loyalty for a long time, but now, now... You have it all!"

Steve looked as though he was one step away from bowing down to worship him. Cain had to hold him firmly to prevent him from doing embarrassing.

"It's just a book. There are still many more to come. We will spearhead the future of Magic research and Sorcery on this planet!" Cain said with burning vigor.

Staring at Cain with tears firming at the corners of his eyes, Steve simply nodded his head without saying a word. The look of gratitude on his face was impossible to fake.

"Well, I will be off. I'm going to devoid the contents of this book!" Saying those words, Steve practically sprinted away.

'That will keep him occupied for some time.' Chuckling internally, Cain pulled the manuscript out of his inventory and began studying it.

From what Cain could glean from the book, the Ley lines within his body transported all forms of energy throughout. The reason he could draw mana from his surroundings to activate spells was because the flow of mana created mana flow patterns.

Mana flow patterns influenced the activity of mana in the surroundings. The arrangement and alignment of the Ley lines created a complex path for the mana to flow, creating a suction effect on the surrounding mana.

However, thanks to his {Mana Heart}, he was able to do this more efficiently than most humans.

However, this wasn't the main focus of the manuscript. Rather, it applied the concept of the mana flow patterns to the activation of skills.

According to Steve, skills, unlike spells, were produced from an internal phenomenon as opposed to an external one. When a skill was activated, the mana flow patterns within a person changed...

The change could be small, or large. Simple or complicated. However, a change had to occur. By studying the varieties of these changes with the use of his {Mana Heart}, Steve was able to draw one conclusion.

The system was limiting their progress...

Helping them activate skills automatically didn't do them much good as understanding the flow of mana within their bodies and how to manipulate it would be rather difficult.

Not only that, but the skills the system helped to create were very rigid. Most of them were just used to deal direct damage and didn't allow for a more cunning and innovative approach to battle.

That is why Steve had proposed something...

Something that could revolutionize the very concept of skills, battle skills, and how they could be applied in and out of battle.

It was simple actually...

It was by creating and activating skills with their minds and bodies working in tandem as opposed to relying on the system.

This caused Cain to frown a bit, 'I've tried this before. It doesn't work...' Recalling the night he had tried to create skills by using physical actions, he was about to become skeptical when he suddenly remembered something.

'Hold up... Isn't this how I created my {Lightning Edge} skill?'