Chapter 4 - Possibly My Fault

While the world was undergoing rapid changes, within a medium-sized island, four people were finally starting to plan everything out. To be more precise, two people were talking about it in detail while the other two were causing trouble.

"Cain, how are you even going to handle transportation? Are we going to be a traveling merchant group or are we going to settle down? How about the employees, what's their wage going to be? Are you going to be hiring other artisans and warriors or are we going to do everything ourselves?" Helena was brutally grilling Cain about his entire plan.

"I… didn't think that through." Cain looked away in shame.

"You… didn't think it through?" Helena rubbed her temples in annoyance. "At least you know what you're going to sell right?"

"I was thinking of… selling things from time to time. You know, a few robes, some pills, possibly a few swords and spears. A little bit of everything."

"You don't know how to run a business, you don't know what you're selling, and you have no idea what money is. Cain, I think you should just think about becoming something else. I heard someone in your world conquered their land and became a king. You should just do that instead."

"Ooh, are we conquering lands? I'm in!" Nue appeared out of nowhere and interrupted the conversation. "I'm pretty strong!" Although Nue's appearance was that of a young adult making her seem extremely adorable, her strength truly was something to fear.

"Of course, Nue would want to dominate everything, that's just like her." Helena kicked her away sending her off to a faraway land. Helena didn't even hold back, trying to get rid of her before she diverted the topic even further.

"Now that she's gone, Master-" Helena also sent him away, directly where she sent Nue as well. No one liked Harry.

"Now that the nuisances are gone, how are you going to go about it?" Helena looked at Cain who was struggling to figure out what he was supposed to be doing.

"Well, I think I can set up a small shop for now. Selling some things that I made while figuring it out along the way." Cain lightly coughed and explained his thoughts.

"A small shop? That's fine for now." Helena conjured up a small blue orb in her hands. It slowly revolved around her hand before she immediately gripped ahold of it, expanding the entire world to the limitless expansion that it had grown to. "As for the location, I think this will be good enough."

Within the deepest valley of the furthest dungeon that humanity had uncovered, there lay a crystalline cave that was filled with numerous ores and dangerous ancient beasts. A search party clad in the strongest armor that they all had when they all reached their peaks was currently exploring the area.

"Keep formation!" A beauty donning a dress made out of mythril casually said aloud as she enjoyed the view of her hand covered in jewelry that would make any girl's eyes sparkle. "We still have quite a bit to go through!"

"Yes, captain!" Every single armored soldier responded in kind. The woman who was standing right behind them was one of the most terrifying individuals who had come back from the other world.

As the search party was slowly making their way, an unintelligible noise viciously roared out from the distance, causing the crystal walls of the caves to crack and shatter.

"That's unfortunate. Truly, unfortunate. Those crystals would've looked amazing lining up my mansion." The captain of this search party sighed and looked at the monster rising from the ground in front of them.

The walls seemed to have started to close in as it rose, seemingly coming out of the very walls themselves. The crystal walls became its skin and the dense rock and minerals became its flesh, this geo-monster sprouted out and came to face the fools that dared wander into its territory.

"R-Run! It's a Rank 6 monster! It's over!" One of the soldiers trembled in fear from the mana radiating from the crystal monster in front of them. "Everyone run for your lives!"

After hearing that it was a Rank 6 monster, everyone immediately lost hope. The strongest soldier within the search party was only a mere Rank 4, it was already a terrifying strength that could let them control a small country.

As everyone started to panic, the captain of this search party wasn't fazed at all. "Oh, I remember these cuties, I used to work them to the bone mining crystals for me. I wonder if I can still do it here…"

"What?" The search party members were finally getting a single glimpse of their captain's background. They were all significantly strong figures back when they were taken away but now it seemed as if they all worked for nothing. "Captain, can you handle that monster?"

"Handle it…" She glanced back at the crystal monster still growing as it ate up more and more of the cavern. "Haha, don't make me laugh. It's child's play. Watch this."

She finally stood up from her own throne and giggled, "I wonder if my hypnosis is back. Deprave Will." She tapped her finger and an unknown willowing purple light started to cover the crystal monster in front of them. These lines of light only served to confuse the monster for a little while before 

"Eh?" She was surprised that it didn't work. "Really, has my magic gotten that weak? That's really unfortunate. Nevertheless, you're blocking our way so might as well. Ice Shards." She conjured a frozen icicle out of nowhere, gathering up an insane amount of mana.

"Is this our captain's strength? Terrifying." A common soldier who was forced to look up at her insane amount of power.

"It looks like… she's at the peak of Rank 6. I get why the higher-ups just told us to listen to her. She's a true monster!"

Hearing such praises from her underlings she smirked, feeling the grandness that came alongside it. Seeing that she had gathered enough power, she unleashed hell, using this one point to break through the monster's heart in front of her, destroying its core.

As the brutally terrifying spell she had conjured was unleashed, it caused a shockwave so strong that it even knocked her subordinates back. These ragtag group of Rank 3 and Rank 4 soldiers were all struggling to even stand on their own.

A mist of pure chill appeared in front of them, a by-product of their captain's full power. This mist may have obstructed their view but they all knew that the monster had no choice but to be destroyed.

"Our captain truly does deserve to be our leader. So terrifying!" Even more praises were sounded out as they slowly came to go see the result of their captain's strength.

As they all brought each other up to check on the aftermath, they saw an odd red splatter on the ground. Slowly walking over, they finally saw the aftermath of the attack.

"Agh… hah… run…" Their captain whom they all thought of as a supreme being was currently on the ground. Her body was cut through by the waist, her upper body was losing its color as her blood started flowing out uncontrollably. Her lower body wasn't even visible anymore but there was an extremely thick dense pool of shattered bone and meat just in front of her.

Her cyan eyes were losing their glare as the jewelry in her body was dissipating into smoke. "Send… send the word… Rank 8 monsters have appeared within the dungeons."

She started to tear up, "Dammit! If only… if only I was at my peak…" Her body turned ice-cold as the light from her eyes finally disappeared. Her body was cut in half and her insides were crushed to a paste. A monster that had once ruled the world was nothing more than a corpse on the floor.

Seeing their captain lifelessly bleeding on the floor, everyone immediately ran away for their own safety. One of the most promising search parties made up of the current world's public upper-tier strength has failed.

The reason?

"So this is… Earth…" The crystalline monster morphed itself as it continued growing bigger. "Our world has merged with Earth to form a greater entity. The war for supremacy will now begin… Earth, I wonder how long before it falls apart from the countless worlds that will invade it."

Within a random nameless island, Helena's senses noticed something off, she gritted her teeth and stared back up at the skies in pure malice, her smile seemed to have contained pure unadulterated rage, "That's one god on my kill list. Oh? More? Hahahaha! Alright, I've been quiet for far too long. Ten years was all they all needed to forget just how terrifying I am, huh? So be it. Those fakes need to start learning their place."

In the Land of the Gods, he appears. He carefully watched Helena's reaction, "Did you really think those ten years were the punishment? Haha, you're far too naive, Helena. Let's see what you will do when faced with the onslaught of countless worlds."

"Lord, why are you going so far?" Another god steeled his nerves and raised his voice.

"Because…" He looked at a certain human creating a small store on his own. "There's something that caught my eye."

~~~

"Man, Helena, you really outdid yourself this time! This is such a cozy place." Cain was happily looking at the newly constructed shop that he had made. It was a simple two-story building with a basement. The basement was where Cain would have to personally create his wares.

The first floor was where all the magic happened, this was the storefront where customers could buy his wares at any time they wanted. The second floor was their rooms, of course, due to Helena's demands, Nue and Harry also pitched in what they wanted it to look like.

Helena's room was quite a delicate-looking place, everything was carved out of marble and had statues showing off her figure and grace. It was a very narcissistic place that clearly showed her priorities.

Harry's room was a lot more normal than the others, at least comparatively. He had asked for his room to be a workshop where he could practice on his own. Of course, there was still a place for him to sleep but it wasn't as cozy as the others.

As for Nue's room, Cain was a little confused but decided to go along with her whims. Her demands were actually very simple but it was the most expensive one, even causing Cain to dip into his own personal savings. Whatever Nue wanted to do in her room, everyone just collectively decided to let her be.

As for Cain's room, it was as simple as simple can be. His room was what any normal person would have in their room, a single bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a bookshelf. It was a very humble room but that was all it needed to be.

Cain finished up everything and finally let the hounds loose. Helena was completely in love with her own room, even forgetting the burning anger that was raging in her heart. Harry was genuinely happy, constantly thanking his master. Nue, on the other hand, just said, "War, war, war, war, war, must protect."

Cain smiled and went to his own room. It was finally something that he personally owned for himself. Back when he was in the other world, he had lived a nomadic lifestyle as he followed right behind Helena the entire time. For once, he could settle down and take control. He was very satisfied.

[Quest Complete

Reward: Exchange]

"Oh yeah, that quest…" Cain felt himself feel a little bit more free. "Apply." 

[Analyzing… complete]

A sudden wave of drowsiness made Cain weak. He hadn't felt this way in years so he was extremely surprised. It was finally time to sleep well for once.

Cain slowly drifted off to sleep. "Even if it wasn't a quest… I still would've done it. Goodnight, system."

[Host, congratulations on finding your own place in the world.]

Cain drifted off into sleep. Quietly enjoying the peace of the night. Fortunately, Cain had installed sound-proof walls otherwise with Helena's shrieks of shock and amazement, Harry's furnace burning at high temperatures and him hammering down trying to create his own weapons, and Nue's questionable grumbling noises, he wouldn't have been able to sleep.

The following morning finally arrived and a sudden knock on the door woke Cain up. He rubbed his eyes and slowly got up. He almost felt tearful at how amazing a single change made his life that much better.

"System, what's my status?"

[Host: Cain Ex

Power Level: Super Weak

Mastery: None

Body: None

Points: 100,000

Note: Due to the sudden influx of Points, the account has been subject to manual review due to suspicion of foul play. To ensure the user's safety, a deposit of 100,000 Points has been given.]

"Wait a minute…" Cain rubbed his eyes and almost felt his soul shatter. "System… what happened to my stats?"

[Exchange lets you exchange your stats and items for points. You exchanged everything last night for Points which disturbed the system's automatic detection system and is now under review.]

"No… that cannot be right. When did I…" Cain immediately recalled when he said to apply. "What about-"

The knocking on the door turned extremely louder which made Cain's spine tingle. "Cain, open this door right now! Cain!" The banging got even stronger than ever before. Cain recalled this voice and it was something Cain was terrified of hearing right now.

"Cain! Don't think this door will keep me out forever! Cain!" A familiar high-pitched voice kept on slamming on the door.

Cain felt his heart drop as he weakly opened up the door, "Hey… Helena, you look… different…"

"You think?" Helena's previously pristinely bountiful figure was now reverted back to a child. All her curves turned straight which no longer held any appeal. "Cain, what did you do?"

A door suddenly opened from the side, it was Nue. Fortunately, she was still a black-haired girl with golden eyes, nothing about her physically changed. That was when she dropped down on the floor with a look of pure agony and despair on her face, "Noooo! It's all been taken away!"

"H-Hey Nue… what's wrong?" I tried to ask her as calmly as possible despite also freaking out. "Did you eat something bad?"

"My… power… they took it." Nue tried to grab ahold of a decorative sword by the side and tried to raise it up high. She puffed her cheeks and finally managed to bring it above her head but her noodle arms failed her and now she was stuck under the crushing weight of that sword. "Those eldritch… how dare they! Argh! Once I get my hands on those eldritch… I'll rip them apart and eat them!" Nue was throwing a tantrum and was flailing as hard as she could.

For some reason, Cain's ears stopped hearing what Nue was saying. It was as if some cosmic force was preventing him from hurting himself.

Helena looked at Nue struggling and laughed, "Hahaha! You're just a waste of space now, aren't you? Hahaha! This almost makes it worth it."

"Hmph! You think just because you are a True… means that you can make fun of me?! Have at you!" Nue got out of the decorative sword's weight (with Cain's help) and rushed at Helena, both of them came down rolling down the stairs.

The last door finally opened up, "Master… I… cannot be your disciple anymore! I have failed you!"

"Truthfully, I didn't really teach you anything." Cain blatantly said that. "I didn't even know you wanted to be an artisan until now."

"B-But…" Harry felt as if there was something inherently wrong here. "Ahem! Nevertheless, being by your side is more than enough! Please, let me stand by you as well!"

"Harry, I don't know what to tell you. I've also… lost my skills. Everything's gone as well." Cain truthfully explained.

"I see… but with your natural aptitude and talent, you can surely come back with ease! Master, let me experience this journey with you!" Harry begged and kneeled in front of Cain. Left with no other choice, Cain brought him up and accepted.

"It might be a long journey. If you want to stand by my side then I don't mind you coming with me." Cain grabbed Harry's shoulder and nodded.

"Master, I promise I'll be an artisan that will make you proud!" Harry slammed his chest and roared out his ambition.

Cain was about to go downstairs when he realized something he forgot to ask a while back, "Why did you want to be an artisan?"

"Well, Master, I recalled back in the other world, countless women were swooned by your skills, money, and wares. I wanted to be just like you." Harry blatantly explained.

"So you're telling me… you're a womanizer." Cain painfully uttered the last word.

"Yes!" Harry smiled and proudly exclaimed.

"Weren't you a noble?" Cain was baffled. "Didn't you have a giant mansion with countless people under your rule? I think I saw you being treated with countless gifts back when I first saw you."

"I… I was?" Harry immediately felt something was off.

"You were. I recalled that there was a tradition where you would graduate from your virginity. Didn't that happen? Or did you leave too early?" Cain was struggling with recalling his memories.

Harry kneeled down in realization, "Y-You mean… I already had everything before?"

"I think so? Yeah."

Harry then curled up into a ball and started crying.

"Hey, hey, it's fine now. There's still Nue and… Helena when she regains her power." Cain tried to comfort Harry.

"Oh no. Hell no, have you seen Helena when she gets angry? She's terrifying! I saw her burn three generations to dust! Much less Nue, I've seen her do things that no mortal man should see! She isn't a comic being for nothing!" Harry's teary mood immediately turned to fear. "Last time I saw her die… never mind me."

Cain felt that there was something completely wrong with the situation but since he was the sole reason why they all lost their abilities then he had to man up and take responsibility.

"Hah… I hope I can still make good food. You like pancakes?" Cain took Harry downstairs.

"Those sound good…" Harry weakly muttered as he fearfully looked at two women fighting downstairs. "Should we stop them?"

"I kind of want to just… let them be preoccupied for now." Cain honestly said.

"I agree..."