One month passed.
Faust spent his days training and exploring the left pathway from the cave. His eyesight had also improved significantly—he could now see quite well in the dark, a little over the eight meters range.
During that time, he had two more dreams. In one, he was in a desert, smashing a dark-green rock and carefully storing its powder. In the other, he lay in a dimly lit room, staring at the ceiling in silence. These dreams felt more vivid than before.
His physical condition had also improved. He could now do a little over twenty push-ups and over thirty-five sit-ups. His legs and stamina had strengthened from walking and running inside the cave—the left pathway alone stretched over thirty kilometers, constantly sloping downward.
Finally, after so much time exploring it, Faust reached the end of the left-pathway.
"Finally, I got to the end," he thought, looking around.
The structure of this place was peculiar. The small, shallow holes he had seen along the path had grown larger and deeper the further he traveled. Yet, at the end of the pathway, there was one hole that stood out from the rest. While the others had never exceeded half the size of a human body, this one was massive—at least six meters in height.
It was gigantic!
He threw a few stones inside the bigger hole, listening for any sound.
"This is too strange! The pattern makes no sense at all. First, the holes were hardly the size of a hand, then they kept growing at a stable rate… but now, this one is suddenly more than three times the size of others? It doesn't add up."
Faust was confused at this. It in fact made no sense logically speaking.
He decided to hold off on entering for now, spending two more days probing the area, watching, waiting—ensuring there was nothing wrong with the hole.
On the third day, he stepped inside.
The passage extended for over a kilometer. It was entirely made of stone, with no glowing moss like the earlier pathway.
Faust steps echoed into the silence. Then suddenly—
"This is…!"
His pupils narrowed as a faint dark-greenish blue light filled the space ahead.
The cavern had changed. The rough, damp stone gave place to a massive chamber shaped like a cube. The walls were completely covered in the glowing moss. This place was enormous, at least half the size of the left pathway.
The ceiling had the brightest concentration of moss, glowing like a field of stars. The ground, however, was different. There was no moss, only gravel. And on that gravel, scattered across the chamber, lay several grey stone rectangles.
Coffins.
Faust's heart shook for a moment. He hadn't expected this.
The sight brought memories of his village. Maybe he could bury them here? His mind drifted to two figures—a dark skinned man with dark red eyes and a pale woman with deep black hair. He stared into nothing for a moment before shaking his head, dismissing the thoughts.
At the center of the room, elevated above the others, stood a single coffin atop a dark stone monolith. Unlike the rest, this one wasn't grey—it was pitch black and gleamed under the light.
Faust mind raced, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
A ritual ground? No, that didn't explain the structure. A graveyard? But then why bury it inside a cave, and what about the holes? More importantly, stone coffins were expensive—commoners would never be able to afford it. They were simply buried in wooden boxes beneath the earth.
"A noble cemetery, maybe? But why in the middle of nowhere?" he muttered. "And the holes?"
He waited an answer from Red. But none came. Faust tried again, silence remained.
Faust had no use for wealth now—gravedigging held no appeal. But if survival depended on it, he was willing to do whatever it took. His focus hadn't shifted: Get out of this place. Find the people that ravaged his village. Kill them. Even though these were his thoughts, his expression was calm thinking about them. He had already decided to do it, he wouldn't change his mind.
But for now, the focus still lingered on understanding this place.
The holes.
The 'cemetery.'
The black monolith.
What did it all mean?
He started exploring the place. First, he checked the gray coffins. He approached one and pushed against the lid. It was heavy, but with some effort, he managed to move it—at least enough to peek inside. There was nothing, it was completely empty. No bodies, no items, no anything.
Frowning, he opened another. Empty. Another. Still empty. A few more. The same as before.
"What the hell…?" He muttered, he wasn't even frustrated, just confused. What was the point of a graveyard with no bodies? Had the corpses been moved? Stolen? Or had there never been any at all? He spent several more minutes searching, opening lid after lid, but the result remained the same. At this point, his eyes locked onto the black coffin.
Unlike the others, it rested atop the monolith—a four-meter-high slab of dark stone, with a circular staircase winding up its sides. It stood out in this barren gravel space.
Faust ascended the steps, his heart beating faster. Though he wasn't sure why.
Up close, the black coffin glistened faintly under the moss's glow. The lid bore an intricate engraving: two armored figures, one wielding a spear, the other a sword. Faust had seen similar images in books. Not exactly like this one, but the meaning was probably the same—a knight's coffin. According to what he'd read, the weapons depicted on the lid represented the weapons the knight was proficient in life. This one apparently had been skilled with both sword and spear.
Faust narrowed his eyes.
He had never seen a knight before. He was curious. Knights were a symbol of respect and strength.
Legends spoke of them splitting seas and heavens.
Bracing himself, he pressed his hands against the lid and pushed. It was significantly heavier than the rest. He forced his body, sweat dripped from his forehead. The dark metal lid barely moved. His arms strained, his breath grew ragged, and after a few more minutes, he finally managed to shift it—just a few centimeters. A tiny gap.
Then—
THUD!
His breath caught. His pale skin turned colder. Pupils shrank. A violent shiver tore through his body.
Something had moved.
The black metal lid launched into the air.
Faust's instincts screamed—he bolted, quickly getting down from the monolith and rushing towards the left pathway.
From the coffin, a figure began to rise. Blackened hands gripped the edges, pulling it up. Its body was like abyss, pitch-black. Its mouth and eyes were stitched shut. It had no nose, only two hollow cavities where air should pass.
It gripped a spear in one hand. Its head snapped toward Faust.
Faust looked behind. His heart sank.
The creature threw the spear.
FWOOSH!
Air split as the weapon rushed toward him. At the last second, Faust threw himself to the ground. the spear sliced past, grazing his left thigh and painting the gravel with blood. He barely felt the pain—his blood pumped too fast.
He scrambled to his feet and ran. He didn't look back. He didn't dare to. He sprinted toward the left pathway—the only exit.
Behind him, the creature reached into the coffin and pulled out a black sword. It leapt from the monolith, landing with a bone-rattling impact. Gravel exploded beneath its feet. Then it ran. It was fast.
Faust glanced over his shoulder. It was closing in. He pushed his legs harder, his muscles were burning, his breathing barely stable, a metallic taste spreading in his mouth. A month ago, he'd be dead already.
The creature slashed toward him. At the last moment, Faust jumped, rolling into the left pathway. The sword nicked him, a shallow cut along his back, from shoulder to shoulder. Blood seeped out.
He got up again and ran even more, he risked another glance at it. The creature had stopped. It stood at the left pathway threshold, motionless, before turning around and vanishing from his sight.
Faust didn't stop, not until he was back to the main chamber and eventually the light area.
His wound bled, his skin turned paler. After two hours, exhaustion took over, forcing him to sit. He removed his thorn shirt and washed it, then bandaged himself, flinching as the cloth touched his back.
"What the fuck…?"
His mind raced. He had brushed death once again. Powerless once again.
And yet, he grinned.
"That thing is on my list." His breath was still uneven. "Once i learn mana, I'll kill it. Only then I'll be safe."
He laid down, eyes fluttering shut. Adrenaline finally wore off. He still stayed awake for one hour before falling asleep.
***
The wind howled.
Red strands of hair flew in front of his eyes.
Faust stood atop a mountain. Above him, only sky and clouds. Below humanoid shadows climbed, reaching for him.
In front of him, a massive formation, drawn in red and black, covered the mountaintop. At its center, carved into the ground, lay a colossal metal cauldron—at least four meters deep. Spanning a huge area of the peak.
Surrounding him were dozens of materials—colored leaves, bloody meat, animals horns, bags full of powder, viscous liquids of varying hues, from black to pale pink. There were over a thousand materials.
He began tossing them into the cauldron. Liquids first. Then leaves. Then meat.
The shadows shrieked.
He ignored them.
The cauldron stirred. Liquids formed a floating sphere. Leaves sprouted into a miniature tree. Meat molded into the shape of a small cow. He threw some of the other materials in set intervals of time. He moved them in a beautiful sequence.
Some shadows neared the peak but were repelled, as if by an invisible barrier.
"Hehehe…" He chuckled lowly, paying them no mind.
Then, he extended an arm and grabbed one of the shadows. The others screamed louder.
Faust tore off its limb and threw it into the cauldron. Then, he tossed the entire shadow inside.
Lightning cracked through the sky. Clouds parted. A bolt struck the cauldron. The ingredients glowed. Blinding white light consumed his vision—then blackness.
***
Faust slowly opened his eyes.
"Another one…" He thought to himself.
He looked around, as he scanned the area. No sign of the creature. The left path remained open, he had no way to seal it. For now, it was dangerous, he would not enter it for some time.
"The left path is blocked to me for now," he muttered, hoping for a response from Red. "I have no way to deal with that thing yet. My body should be ready for mana soon… if not, it's probably almost there. Since I'm injured, I'll have to tone down training for a few days."
"Almost."
Faust nodded at Red's answer. His dark red eyes stared at the worm-wall, cold and collected.