The sun appeared. Faust stretched out and went to the same spot in the forest where he had killed the beggars the day before.
He climbed a tree and sat on a high branch, waiting. He was waiting for the surviving beggar to return.
"Either he will come back alone or with others. He'll probably return with others; it's safer if he actually thinks there are wolves. In that case, I can use them for another ritual," he thought.
A cold wind brushed against his face as he waited, until eventually, he saw something.
Across the snow, a sunburnt white man wandered around. His clothes were ragged, and he was clearly unbathed. "The beggar! But why is he alone?" Faust thought.
The man moved slowly, looking at the ground. "The money should be around here… somewhere…" he mumbled as he bent closer to the snow, searching.
The beggar was alone, searching for the supposed coins. That meant he hadn't told anyone else about his plan, otherwise other beggars would have been drawn by the promise of wealth.
He wanted all the money for himself—the more, the better.
As he searched, a shadow suddenly darkened the ground he was examining. He looked up and saw a gigantic black creature, full of scars and drooling viciously—it was Faust's bear.
The man's face paled. He fell onto his back, scrambling backward in fear.
"A-ah… ge-get away!" he stammered as he tried to distance himself.
Faust, hidden in the woods, circled the area. He was testing something.
The bear did not attack. The beggar turned to get up, but as he did, Faust appeared before him.
"Wh—" Before the beggar could finish speaking, Faust punched him.
The man collapsed onto the ground. "What are you doi—" Again, his speech was cut off as Faust's fists struck him. The beggar tried to fight back, but Faust easily dodged his clumsy attacks and kicked him in the face, rendering him unconscious.
Faust then dragged the man to a deeper part of the forest and tied him to a tree.
He took a small stone knife and began carving on the man's forehead. The pain woke the beggar almost instantly, and he started to scream, disrupting Faust's attempt to draw the obedience rune.
"Damn it..." Faust's face twisted in frustration, both because of what he was doing and because he had failed. He didn't enjoy inflicting pain, but his curiosity outweighed his morals.
He had no poison left and couldn't subdue the man otherwise. Turning around, he ordered the bear to smash the beggar's head.
Afterward, Faust dragged the body to the ritual area and began the ceremony again.
This time, it was easier—partly because he had already experienced it, and partly because there was less to consume.
"What to do now?" Faust thought.
"I still don't know who destroyed my village... and even if I did, I doubt I could take all of them on. Maybe one at a time, but even that isn't guaranteed... I have to get stronger."
"But I also need information. I'm sure the innkeeper knows something, but she refuses to tell me. Maybe I can force her?"
He sat down after the ritual, resting and reflecting on the matter. He also began accumulating more mana. His talent with it was abnormally poor, so he had avoided focusing on it, preferring runes and other skills instead. But now he had no choice; he couldn't afford to run anymore.
A few days passed. Faust trained his mana until he could now fire one more mana bullet than before.
"It seems faster now... maybe because of the ritual? Or am I just imagining things?"
Faust stood up, already having decided what to do next. He would attract more beggars and use them in his ritual—they were the easiest way for him to grow stronger. Once he was strong enough, he would capture and interrogate the innkeeper. If he tried now, he would be stopped. He was strong, but not stronger than a trained adult man. His bear could kill many people, but if the hunters caught on, they would eventually kill it too. It was strong, not immortal.
Red had warned Faust not to use runes within the city, as they could cause problems. However, Faust had already drawn and charged many detonation runes onto the pages of his journal. If necessary, he could use them as an emergency tool. He always kept the journal at his waist.
He ventured deeper into the forest to hunt and sell pelts. Hunters weren't very active during this season, but he remained cautious. Although rare, it was still possible to encounter them near the village.
Days passed. Faust's hunting strategy was simple: he would use meat as bait, and when wolves or other small animals approached, he would send his bear to kill them swiftly, always aiming for the head to preserve the pelts.
He had only encountered one duo of hunters so far. They sensed him but never spotted him, allowing him to avoid them easily. Having lived in nature for over a year, Faust had skills most winter hunters lacked—they were usually just after food, not experienced trackers.
After accumulating over thirty pelts, he returned to the village and sold them. He earned twenty silver coins—slightly under market value, but the best he could manage. His total savings now amounted to sixty-one silver coins. This value was about what an entire family would take around three to four months to get, the merchants didn't care, Faust was basically giving them money anyway.
His plan had worked. That night, when he returned to the forest, a few beggars followed him. For now, he had abandoned the idea of capturing anyone alive; he simply killed them and performed the ritual. Step by step, his strength was growing. Everything was going well.
He could now fire eighteen mana bullets. With each ritual, the efficiency of the 'Consume' ritual decreased. Additionally, fewer beggars followed him after the first time—initially five, but later only two or three.
A month passed in this fashion. He performed the ritual two more times during that period. Winter was nearly over—it was warm enough that Faust could wear normal clothes instead of wolf fur.
Throughout all this time, Faust had accumulated money but barely spent it, aside from purchasing an oil lamp.
This time, however, he returned to the village with another purpose: buying supplies.
He visited a clothing store and bought a fully black outfit, gloves, and a belt, costing him five silver coins.
He then went to a material store and spent over fifteen silver coins on a large quantity of herbs.
He also bought more oil for his lamp, spending twenty copper coins.
In total, he spent fourteen silver and twenty copper.
The village was limited in what it could offer—it was, after all, just a village. A city would have offered much more, but Faust had never been to one.
As he left the market and moved toward the forest, unknown to him, he was being observed.
A man leaned against a wall in a dark alley, watching Faust leave the village. Another stood nearby. Neither had any remarkable features. The two were armed, one with a sword and the other with an axe.
"This kid," one of them said. "He spent the last week selling so much stuff, and now he's decided to spend a lot too."
"He's always alone, but always selling pelts. Also, he's not from here. Maybe his parents are hunters and live in the forest?"
"Probably. But don't worry. It's like you said: he's always alone. If we catch him before he's too deep into the forest, his parents won't be able to do anything. He probably has some experience, though, so don't get too close. A hunter's son would be able to hear us."
"Fair enough. Well, we've observed enough. We already know he has a nice amount of coins—no need to wait anymore. Let's go."
They began following Faust from a distance. They were experienced; they made almost no noise while moving. The amount of money Faust had with him was tempting.
While Faust was walking back to the area where he had been resting, he suddenly felt something amiss. He turned back but didn't sense the men. He could hear normal beggars, but these men were experienced.
They were watching Faust from the shadows of the forest, moving closely together. When they felt they were close enough, they looked at each other and nodded.
They rushed at Faust from two different directions.
CRUNCH!
One of them stepped on a stick while rushing at Faust. He turned around quickly. When he saw the two men, his eyelids shot open.
"Shit!" he thought as he turned around, shooting a mana bullet from his finger.
The mana bullet flew toward one of the swordsmen, but he dodged it. "What the fuck?" he thought. The time Faust spent turning around and shooting was enough for him to be surrounded by the two men.
One of the men said, "Was it mana that you just used?"
Most mages never went around small villages, so for one of them to be there—and a kid, on top of that—was weird. They had no way to be sure, they were dumbfounded.
Faust looked at the two of them and grabbed his cleaver from his waist.
"Alright," the swordsman said before rushing toward Faust and slashing at him. Behind him, the other rushed too, attacking with a vertical cut.
Their speed was the same as Faust's; they were clearly trained. His money would be easy money.
At the moment the cuts were about to connect, Faust ducked down and slashed toward the axeman with his cleaver. The axeman stepped back and dodged it easily. Faust's attack gave space for the swordsman to make a cut toward his head. Faust jumped back, and while he was retreating, the axeman appeared again, not letting him breathe.
Faust was cut in the arm by the axeman; the new clothes he had just purchased were damaged.
He tried to dodge two more attacks, but he was overwhelmed. At that moment, a shadow lunged from the woods toward the swordsman. He was distracted by Faust, and when he noticed, it was too late. The bear smashed his head with its paw, killing him instantly. He couldn't even react.
The axeman, on the other hand, saw it and immediately began to run. Faust ordered the bear to go after him. He was ahead for a few seconds, but the bear was faster and slashed his back, sending him bleeding to the ground.
Faust walked alongside the bear. The man opened his mouth, about to say something, but before he could finish, his head was squashed open by the bear too.
"Damn it! It's still not enough... Without preparing the environment with runes and without the bear, I can't fight properly—shit, I can barely fight. I noticed their presence at the last second. I have to improve, a lot," Faust thought, frustrated.
He mounted the bear, with both men's corpses, and went back to the ritual area. He would perform it again.
Another week passed like that.
******
In the village hall, two men and one woman sat at big wooden thrones with cushions. At the center was a strong man, his throne was bigger and had more details. with an old man and a beautiful woman at his sides.
Close to them, a young man was kneeling. He looked poor and wore ragged clothes—a beggar.
"So? What's taking so long? Be fast," the old man said. His voice was crisp, his hair gray, and he had a stubble beard. He looked to be in his mid-forties.
"Calm down, Hugo. Let the young man take his time; he looks worried," said the man sat on the central throne. He had short black hair and beard, thick brows, and a strong body. He looked upright and carried an air of authority. He was the village lord.
The woman kept quiet. She was beautiful, with light brownish skin, deep black eyes, and long black hair. Her features were delicate and feminine. She was the lord's wife, Klara.
The young man was sweating cold, visibly nervous.
"Ahem… your lordship, I want to report something."
"Say it already!" Hugo said loudly.
"Al-alright, sir. A few of my friends have disappeared recently, and I'm worried that they… died."
The lord of the village sat still, a curious gaze in his eyes. Stroking his chin, he asked, "I heard that, in fact, a few beggars have disappeared, but that is not rare. They usually leave the village for others nearby. Why are you reporting this?"
"My lordship… the problem is, I saw them following a kid into the forest. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but then more did it—and they all disappeared," he said, before continuing, "That's why no beggars even go near him now. We think he may be a de-demon servant," he added nervously.
"A demon servant!?" The gray-haired man jumped from his chair, his face red with anger. "Don't speak such nonsense, fool! The Light Order Church is here exactly to prevent this! They would have sensed if he was a demon servant!"
"Calm down, Hugo," the lord said in a calm tone.
"But Lord Kain, that young man is being foo—"
The lord looked at him, his expression still serene.
"Al-alright, sorry, my lord," Hugo apologized.
"Alright, young man, we will take a look into the situation. How does the child you're talking about look?"
"He is short, has black hair and white skin… he also wore wolf pelt clothing… I think that's all," the young beggar replied.
The lord nodded.
"You can leave now."
The beggar stood up and bowed toward the lord, then left accompanied by a guard.
"My lord, you can't really think we have a demon servant here, do you?" Hugo asked.
"No, I don't think so. But I heard from the merchants about a child who has been selling a lot of materials recently. Maybe it's worth looking into. Mobilize a few guards to investigate the matter."
"Alright, my lord!" Hugo stood up and left the hall.
"Klara, what do you think about that?" Lord Kain asked his wife.
"I don't know, my lord. But I think you are truly humble and wise, taking the time to listen to that poor beggar."
"Haha, alright," the lord smiled, but his eyes were puzzled while he touched his temples.
Nothing usually happened in the village; it was strange for something to begin the moment a new person arrived — that person being Faust. The lord was wary of anything that could threaten his ambitions.
His village was a pseudo-town at the moment; with a little more time and funds, it would become a full-fledged town, earning him new benefits from the regional duke and allowing exponential growth. He had spent years reaching this point, and he wouldn't let anything interfere.
Of course, a few travelers passed through the village, but they usually stayed for only one or two days. Lord Kain had been hearing about Faust a lot lately, especially from the merchants. Even though he didn't know his name, he would look into this matter.