Slowly, Faust opened his eye. Still groggy from falling unconscious, his mind wasn’t working as it should.

  Did I… dream?

  Faust didn’t remember what had happened. He had the impression of having dreamt something, yet he couldn’t recall what.

  At the same time, he wondered why he had fallen asleep. But he soon remembered. He hadn’t slept; he’d lost consciousness. It was curious why exhaustion could knock him out like that, yet he couldn’t sleep naturally. In any case, the wonders of the dungeon could be pondered later.

  Almost no light passed through the roof of dead branches overhead. In the dark, he turned his head and saw Chris seated right beside him.

  “How long… did I sleep?” Faust asked, still visibly exhausted.

  “A while, but apparently not enough,” Chris answered without shifting his gaze from the darkness. “In any case, I was thinking. You had no reason to hide your mana unless you wanted to die, so it occurred to me you simply don’t know how to use it. Am I right?”

  Faust hesitated, but saw no reason to keep veiling the secret of mana. It was obvious the secret wasn’t so secret anymore.

  “How do you know I have mana?” Faust asked. “And what did you mean by one circle?”

  Chris was caught off guard for a moment before letting out a soft laugh. “Hahaha… that’s unexpected. You somehow have mana, yet you lack the most basic knowledge about it. Very interesting, truly.”

  His words made Faust clench his fist. He didn’t like this guy one bit.

  But then Chris continued. “It’s interesting, you see. I watched you fight. You have no proper style, no knowledge of how to use mana, and yet you fight surprisingly well. Not to say your strength is exceptional, but you are decent. Though I must admit, your style is quite ugly to the eye. Something so inclined to violence doesn’t sit well with me… you remind me of someone.”

  Ugly…? That word echoed inside Faust's mind.

  Chris remained quiet for a moment, then spoke again. “It’s not hard to understand. One circle means you’re a novice. You can’t do much… maybe shoot a projectile or a simple reinforcement. From circles two to five, though, you grow exponentially stronger. Each step is a world of difference. You’ll only understand if you advance past your first circle, which most never do."

  Not turning his head away, Chris was in silence for a long time. Faust was about to speak, when the quietness was driven away.

  “Let me tell you, boy." Chris said, his blue eyes with a visible shine amidst the dark, "Do you know what the greatest lie ever told to man is? That hard work can get you anywhere. That’s a bloody lie. People without talent spread those lies to make others like them feel better, but that’s all it is: a lie.”

  Chris’s tone gathered genuine anger as he continued.

  “The talented, the ones who stand above everything else, they all know this lie… but they do not abide by it, of course. The ones who don’t know this lie, do you know who they are?” he asked rhetorically. “The weak. They will never be anything more than that while they believe and live by that lie. The ones who broke free from it, however, are strong.”

  Is he saying we are talented?

  I guess we are, to a degree... There were many more prepared than me inside this place, yet I am the one still breathing.

  Well, It doesn't mean I'm like you, Chris.

  Bastard...

  Faust listened carefully, answering only in thought. Meanwhile, he grasped some things clearly. Levels truly existed. If Chris’s information was not a lie, which circle would he be? Three? Four?

  Not only that, but Chris... the way he speak, he fight, he think... that man is a weirdo!

  Before Faust could think further, Chris kept speaking.

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  “Hey, kid. I’ve decided. Let’s make a deal, shall we?”

  Faust looked at him and asked immediately, “What kind of deal?”

  “Simple. I’ll be direct. What I’m searching for isn’t too far from here. Come with me; you can keep whatever you find there. I sense your potential. I want to train you and make you stronger. In turn, you will help me. It’s beneficial for both of us.”

  Chris continued, “However, if you betray me or break the deal, be aware you wouldn’t be the first. And there's a reason I'm alone.”

  From Chris’s tone, Faust knew he had no choice. And even if he did, Chris was right. This deal was far too beneficial, almost suspiciously so.

  But if that suspicion ever turned into something more, Faust would deal with it then. For now, learning about mana and gaining experience was invaluable.

  “I… I agree,” Faust said, forcefully extending his hand. Chris grasped it firmly, and they shook.

  Looking into Faust’s eye, Chris finished, “Do not be afraid of using that thing of yours. I will not impede you.”

  Is he talking about the sacrifice rune?!

  Faust controlled his reaction, forcefully staying with a neutral expression.

  So he did see it...

  Then he observed his own body and assessed his situation.

  I’m too injured; healing normally will take ages. I’ll use it.

  Faust promptly searched for a target, something he could use the rune on, and he noticed them: bodies. Many dog bodies, at least a dozen.

  Chris had killed all of these while he was unconscious. Well, why not use them? Chris already knew about it anyway.

  It would be no surprise if the former had inspected him while he slept, that scenario was almost a given considering Chris personality.

  Whatever.

  Faust approached a dog and began absorbing it. Chris didn’t shift his gaze from the dark horizon, as if he had not a single drop of interest in his new companion actions.

  …

  In only an hour, Faust had already healed quite a lot thanks to absorbing a few dog bodies, but the biggest one had yet to be sacrificed.

  Faust was gathering the courage to approach the dead furry monster. Though unrecognizable, its ruined head still made him afraid of the shadows.

  There’s no point in fearing a dead monster more than when it was alive… yet…

  No! Faust shook his head. This cannot be.

  Me, a mana user, afraid of a dead creature that I myself slew? What kind of foolish fear is that?

  Who fears the dead more than the living? Nonsensical!

  “Hmph.” Faust grunted as he approached the monster, his crimson eye burning with a strange resolve.

  Become the necessary step in my growth.

  Faust touched the monster. The sacrificial sigil on his forearm burned with unprecedented strength.

  In a moment, Faust was no longer in the swamp.

  He was somewhere dark, with no ceiling or floor, only infinite crimson shadows.

  There, rows upon rows of gray, decayed pillars stood against the ravages of time.

  Where am I?

  Faust moved, but didn’t walk; instead he floated like a ghost.

  Somehow, it felt natural, engraved in his being.

  On one of those pillars, Faust saw the furry monster from afar, cast in weak shadows that made only its outline recognizable.

  Unconsciously, Faust buckled back in fear.

  What is it doing here? Where is here…?

  Damn it.

  Faust cautiously approached the creature, one “step” at a time.

  When he drew closer, he noticed something that sparked his curiosity further. The beast was locked in place by dozens of chains, rendering it unable to move. Yet, truthfully, the chains seemed unnecessary.

  It… it’s empty.

  The monster was in a state of neither life nor death, something in between and yet nothing at all. Faust failed to comprehend what that meant.

  He moved closer and touched the monster. Its fur was resistant, true, but also soft. Its skin was pale and smooth; its mouth had strange teeth that indicated it couldn’t eat flesh.

  How had he not noticed that before?

  It was likely a herbivore, or at least something that didn’t exclusively eat meat.

  Why did you attack us, then?

  Faust emptily questioned.

  But then he was struck by a great pain, so immense it seemed to burst his veins and eyes, so intense he wanted to crawl out of his own skin to escape it.

  “Ahh!”

  He exhaled, falling to his knees as the agony quickly subsided, his hands still touching the monster’s corpse. It stared back at him… though it had no eyes, or even a head anymore for that matter.

  What… the fuck.

  Turning his head, Faust noticed Chris staring at him with cryptic eyes.

  But then, could he judge the man?

  In his vision, Faust felt was standing still for a while, then simply grunting and touching a dead monster, just to scream in the next moment... that could be viewed as weird from someone outside his mind.

  Let’s get this over with…

  …

  The absorption took only a few minutes. It took even less time than before, confirming his theory that each absorption reduced the time needed for the next.

  Not only that, but he could feel the sacrificial sigil being reinforced by something else.

  To no surprise, he couldn’t decipher what it was.

  That made him mad. Having so many questions, needing so many answers, yet knowing nothing?

  It felt like being trapped in a maze with no clear exit, only infinite dead ends that led nowhere.

  It was annoying. Irritating.

  But that would change. Hopefully, it would.

  Even if untrustworthy as a rat, Chris seemed to possess real knowledge he was willing to teach Faust.

  Information, now more than ever, would be necessary moving forward.

  “Are you done?” Chris said, starting to move deeper into the swamp. “We need to go.”

  Snapped from his daydreams, Faust simply glanced at Chris’s silhouette moving away.

  Seems resting time is over.

  “I’m coming,” Faust said, standing up and hastening his pace to follow behind Chris.

  Hopefully…