A few more days passed as Faust finally managed to partially revitalize the wall into a proper barricade. It could now stop most creatures from simply walking across it, unless they tore it down.
But he doubted that would happen. From what he could tell, most of them were just feral beasts, hunting for food or wandering toward places that caught their attention. As long as he didn't make too much noise, didn't light fires, and didn't make the settlement attention-worthy, he would probably be left alone. Still, it was just a probability. If he truly wanted to be left alone, he had to get stronger.
Getting stronger was something Faust had realized long ago. The world belongs to the strong; if he remained weak, how could he possibly survive in it?
In one of the smaller houses, he built a training area. He turned a bedframe into a dummy for practicing with the sword. He made makeshift weights and cleared an area for meditation and mana training.
He trained his stamina by running laps around the settlement until exhaustion. When not training his body, he engraved runes across the settlement, slowly transforming it into his domain, just like he had done with the cave.
The idea of owning his own space, being his own master, holding all the power—even if confined to a small corner of the world—excited him.
And so, a month passed.
Faust trained daily with the executioner's sword, striking it against the wooden dummy until the movements began to feel natural. In truth, he hadn't made much progress, but he had improved slightly. He had never used a sword before. He didn't know how. And there was no master to teach him.
To make matters worse, the weapon he wielded wasn't even meant for battle, as it was an executioner's sword. It wasn't sharp at the tip but rounded, the sword was purely designed for decapitation. That meant it couldn't be used for stabbing—only slashing. And it was heavy.
Ironically, Faust preferred it that way. Why? Simple. With no pointy tip, it served fewer purposes, so he could focus on just one technique: slashing. And being heavy meant it would be harder for it to break or chip.
A lighter sword might have been faster, but it would also be more fragile. In a normal situation, where one could get a weapon repaired, that wouldn't matter. But here, without a blacksmith and no skill of his own, a sword that could endure was infinitely better.
His mana, on the other hand, had grown considerably. He could see far more mana particles here than he ever had before. He was still a one-circle mage, but with his current pace, reaching the second circle didn't seem impossible—perhaps even the third was within reach. Despite having terrible talent for magic, he was advancing.
His physique improved too. Slowly but surely, he was gaining muscle. Yet his stature remained short, and his face still resembled that of a child. Now, however, he truly looked like a beggar—a title once falsely thrown at him. His hair had grown long and unkempt, his skin pale and scarred, his hands rough, and his feet worse. He hadn't removed the shackles either—he had no way to.
He'd also been working to reduce his rune-drawing time, and in this, he was excelling. Through repetition and practice, he had cut the time in half. Sometimes, he even drew runes that were useless for his situation just to practice—runes like obedience and heal.
At present, Faust knew six runes. Detonation, rest, obedience, and heal were basic. Bind was intermediate. And devour was advanced. The latter he had never actually used, but he still practiced drawing it. It was incredibly complex—it had taken him almost two hours the first time, and the result was a complete mess.
Little by little, Faust was growing stronger in every aspect he could.
And his theory had proven right, he hadn't been bothered a single time. He even ventured out of the settlement to fish a few more times and encountered no trouble. It was just like the forest all over again... maybe even safer.
But of course, it was too good to be true.
That safety wouldn't last for long.
Another two months passed while Faust meditated and gathered mana particles, until a loud noise erupted outside. He grabbed the sword and quickly prepared himself, sliding the door open slowly. The moment he did, a shivering cold invaded the room.
"What th—"
His reaction was cut short when he looked above. The never-mixing gray, white, and black sky was now completely black.
It was abyssal black. The land had also become much darker—so dark that even Faust couldn't see more than a foot in front of him. Then, nine gray spirals appeared in the sky, each one majestically impossible; a vision Faust couldn't have dreamed of. Each spiral was colossal, yet somehow, they were all clearly visible, as if they wanted to be seen. His mouth hung open in awe, but before he could even process it, something else happened.
From each of the nine gray spirals, a shining white castle descended. They floated slightly below their respective spiral, yet remained in the heavens. These castles were pure white, perfectly contrasted against the abyssal sky.
Each castle had towers on its structure—ranging from one to nine. These towers shone with a brilliance far stronger than the castles themselves, making them easy to spot.
Faust gripped the executioner sword even tighter, an eerie feeling twisting in his gut.
"What is this? Where the hell did Red take me?"
He hadn't given much thought to where he was. He had simply assumed it was a different region of the world, one he would explore gradually. But now, he was sure: this was no part of the world he knew. This wasn't a worldly event. It was something far greater.
Every village he had visited, everything he had ever seen, felt insignificant in comparison to the event unfolding before him.
Then, in a fraction of a second, a fog composed of the same three colors from the sky—gray, black, and white—completely enshrouded him. It looked like an egg, and he could barely see through it. He tried to resist, but his body felt locked in place. The fog was solid.
At this point, he couldn't even be surprised anymore. Too much had already happened. It was clear that if this fog wanted to kill him, he wouldn't be able to stop it. So, he hoped it was meant for something else.
Slowly, he began to levitate. His feet no longer touched the ground. Breathing became harder. Peering outside, he noticed other fog-eggs drifting through the sky toward the white castles. The more towers a castle had, the fewer fog-eggs drifted toward it.
Looking above, he saw the one he was being taken to: the castle with a single tower. Dozens of other fog-eggs floated toward it as well, each emitting a faint glow that stood in great contrast against the black sky.
Gradually, the speed increased until the air grew so thin that Faust could barely breathe. As he approached, he realized the sheer size of these castles—easily over a hundred square kilometers in size.
The fog entered through the main gate of the castle, which, unsurprisingly, was colossal. Thousands of diamonds adorned the gate, their value inestimable. Finally, once inside, the fog began to dissipate and he could see where he was.
It was a room resembling a massive bookstore, with over a thousand bookshelves, each filled with hundreds of books.
Chandeliers illuminated the space. The interior walls weren't white, but stony and beautiful. The floor was made of lustrous wooden planks, giving the place a noble aura.
Faust stood in the middle of a crowd. In that moment, his doubt about whether the people in this place were human was answered with a yes—over a hundred humans surrounded him. Men and women, children and the elderly. Some looked strong, others weak. Some were crying and muttering to themselves, others remained stoic, and a few wore grins, proud of themselves.
The murmurs were silenced by a figure that appeared before them—a woman. Her eyes were covered in bandages, and her curves were hidden beneath an abyssal black dress. Her skin was pure white; her hair, abyssal black. A voice emerged from her, though her mouth didn't move.
"Welcome, all, to the Castle of Trials. Prepare yourselves, for your test shall soon commence."