Two weeks had passed since Valthor's head rolled in the dirt, yet Deadhollow no longer felt like a dying village.
It felt like a fortress that was slowly waking up — and Kai Ren was the one cracking the whip with a smile that never reached his eyes.
Every single day had been a brutal, non-stop grind.
Day 1 to Day 7 – The Grinding Hell
Kai woke before dawn and never slept more than four hours.
He split his forces like a machine.
Mornings belonged to the quarry and forest.
Weak Evil Warriors and the new Plaguebane Guardian cleared corrupted beasts while hauling stone and timber.
Afternoons were for training.
The forty-three Soul-Linked villagers drilled under Finn's command with the three Reaper's Handcannons.
Kai used Origin Forging every night to upgrade weapons — better barrels, faster reloads, crude bayonets that glowed crimson.
Nights were for hunting.
Kai personally led raids deep into Ashfeld Forest.
Corrupted beasts, bandit camps, hidden monster nests — everything died screaming.
The system notifications became his only music.
[BATTLE COMPLETE – 47 kills]
Level: 15 → 18
Souls +680
[SYSTEM ALERT]
New Blueprint Unlocked: [Blackroot Repeating Crossbow]
(Mass-produced for human soldiers)
[BATTLE COMPLETE – 62 kills]
Level: 18 → 22
New Summon Unlocked: Shadow Stalker
(Stealth reconnaissance summon)
He pushed harder.
By the end of the first week he had hit Level 25.
The village walls were now twice as tall, reinforced with blackroot and watchtowers.
Clean water flowed freely.
But Kai's face never softened.
One night, while the villagers celebrated the new well with weak cheers and shared bread, Kai stood alone on the wall.
Two weeks… and I'm already Level 25.
In the game it took months.
Here the system is hungry.
It wants blood.
He felt the old hesitation again — the same one that hit him when he saw Lira's sick baby. They're starting to trust me. If I keep pushing them this hard… how many will break?
He crushed the thought.
Better they break now than die later.
Day 8 to Day 14 – The Shadow Inside
The Minor Soul-Linked Watchtower had become Kai's most powerful weapon.
Every night he scanned loyalty pulses.
Most had turned steady green.
But one pulse kept flickering — red, then black, then red again.
Garrick's old apprentice — a quiet blacksmith named Thorne.
Kai didn't confront him immediately.
He wanted proof.
On the thirteenth night he sent his new Shadow Stalker to follow Thorne.
The invisible summon watched as Thorne slipped into the ruined storage room, pulled out a small crystal orb, and whispered:
"Lord of Ironreach… the gun-wielding demon has reached Level 25. The anomaly is awakening. Send the Iron Legion before he becomes unstoppable."
The crystal glowed.
A cold human voice replied: "Keep feeding us information. When the time is right, kill the lord and open the gates. Your family in Ironreach will be rewarded."
Kai's blood turned to ice.
So the Human Empire already has eyes here.
Day 14 – The Trap
At midnight Kai gathered only the people he trusted: Finn
He activated the watchtower at full power.
Crimson light flooded the square.
Every villager froze as their loyalty pulse appeared above their heads — green for loyal, black for traitor.
Thorne's pulse turned pitch black.
Two Shadow Stalkers pinned him down before he could run.
Kai's Reaper's Handcannon was already aimed at his forehead.
"You sold us to Ironreach,"
Kai said, voice dangerously calm.
Thorne laughed bitterly.
"You're just a bug from the Dark Origin. The Human Empire will crush this village."
Old Man Renn spat on the ground.
]"Family? You were ready to let Valthor burn us all, you spineless rat."
Kai's finger tightened on the trigger.
The hesitation hit him again — harder than ever. If I kill him publicly, fear returns. If I let him live, the spy network continues.
He lowered the gun slightly.
"Finn," he said quietly. "You wanted the right to kill traitors. This one is yours… but only after he tells us everything."
Finn pressed a dagger to Thorne's throat. "Talk. Or I make it slow."
Thorne broke in under two minutes.
He spilled everything — Ironreach had been watching for months.
They knew about the gun.
They knew about the anomaly.
A scouting party was three days away.
Kai listened in silence.
When Thorne stopped talking, Kai nodded once.
"Kill him."
Finn didn't hesitate.
The dagger flashed.
Thorne's body slumped.
The square fell deathly quiet.
Kai turned to the villagers, voice loud and cold.
"Two weeks ago you fought for water.
Today you fight for survival.
There are seven empires watching.
From today, anyone who betrays Deadhollow dies like this man."
He raised his hand.
The watchtower pulsed.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Loyalty Scan Complete. Traitor Eliminated.
Village-wide Loyalty +42%
[BATTLE COMPLETE –
Traitor Execution + 3
hidden Ironreach spies killed by Shadow Stalkers]
Level: 25 → 28
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Dark Origin Summoning System –
Major Milestone Achieved!
New Tier Unlocked: Level 25+
New Summon Available: Crimson Legionnaire (Elite heavy infantry summon – can be mass-produced)
New Skill Upgraded: Origin Forging II –
You can now create mid-tier modern weapons
(rifles, grenades, basic explosives).
Power flooded Kai's body.
His eyes glowed faintly crimson.
The First Mass-Produced Rifle
The very next morning Kai didn't rest.
He locked himself in the blacksmith shop with Finn and ten selected villagers.
Using Origin Forging II, he poured mana into the forge for six straight hours.
When the smoke cleared, fifteen sleek Blackroot Rifles lay on the table — longer than the hand-cannons, with iron sights, rifled barrels, and crimson runes that glowed when loaded.
Old Man Renn whistled loudly.
"Lad, you just made the demons look outdated. That thing looks like it could punch a hole through a dragon's arse!"
Kai handed the first rifle to Finn.
"Train them.
Hard.
By tomorrow I want every man and woman who can hold a rifle to hit a target at two hundred meters."
Finn took the weapon, eyes complicated.
"You trust me with this?"
Kai met his gaze.
"I trust results. Prove you're not hiding anything else about your father and we'll talk about real trust."
Finn's jaw tightened, but he nodded.
For the next three days the village square turned into a shooting range.
The sound of rifle fire echoed from dawn till dusk.
Finn drilled them mercilessly — reload drills, aiming under stress, even night firing.
Kai watched from the mansion, noting every pulse.
Finn's loyalty was green… but there was still a tiny black thread hidden deep inside.
He's hiding something about Garrick.
The Underground Dungeon Dive – New Arc Begins
On the evening of Day 17, the Dark Origin Anomaly warning turned critical.
[WARNING]
Anomaly Stability: 41%
Premature awakening in 9 days if not stabilized.
Recommended action: Enter the Origin Abyss Dungeon beneath the square and destroy the three Corruption Cores.
Kai gathered only his inner circle.
"We go down tonight,"
he told them.
"Finn, you're with me. The rest guard the entrance. If I don't come back… burn the village and run."
Finn's eyes flickered.
"You really think I'd run?"
Kai activated the hidden entrance.
A black spiral staircase appeared in the center of the square, leading into darkness that seemed to breathe.
The dive began.
The dungeon was alive — walls of pulsing black veins, corridors that shifted, monsters born from the anomaly itself.
Shadow Stalkers scouted ahead.
Crimson Legionnaires formed the front line.
Kai and Finn fought side by side.
Halfway down, in a chamber filled with whispering shadows, Finn finally spoke.
"My father… Garrick… he didn't just betray the resistance.
He was the one who sold the location of the anomaly to Ironreach years ago.
I knew. I've known for months.
I didn't tell you because… because I thought I could handle it myself."
Kai stopped mid-step, Reaper's Handcannon still smoking.
"That's the black thread I've been seeing,"
he said quietly.
"You were planning to kill him before I could use him against you."
Finn's hands shook on his rifle.
"Yes."
Kai stared at him for a long second.
The old hesitation returned — kill him now or trust him?
Instead he lowered the gun.
"Finish this dungeon with me.
Prove you choose Deadhollow over your blood.
Then we'll talk about your father again."
Finn exhaled shakily.
"Deal."
They reached the final chamber.
Three massive Corruption Cores pulsed like diseased hearts.
Kai unleashed everything — new Crimson Legionnaires, Origin Forging grenades, the upgraded Reaper's Handcannon.
Finn fought like a man trying to wash away his own guilt.
When the last core shattered, the dungeon trembled.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Anomaly Stabilized!
Stability: 89%
Reward: +3,200
Souls Level: 28 → 30
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Dark Origin Summoning System –Major Milestone Achieved!
New OP Summon Unlocked: Void Titan (Legendary single-unit summon. Size: 15 meters. Abilities: Absolute darkness aura, reality-tearing claws, can devour enemy magic. Cooldown: 7 days. Mana cost: Extreme.)
A towering silhouette materialized behind Kai — a colossal knight made of pure void and crimson lightning.
The ground cracked under its feet.
Old Man Renn,
waiting at the entrance, nearly dropped his crossbow when the Titan stepped out.
"Sweet merciful chickens… you brought a walking apocalypse upstairs!"
The Elf Scout
Before anyone could celebrate, the Minor Soul-Linked Watchtower screamed a new alert.
[ALERT: Single hostile signature detected 800 meters north.
Race: High Elf.
Level 22.
Class: Shadow Weaver Scout.]
The elf appeared at the tree line — tall, silver-haired, cloaked in living leaves. She froze when she saw the village.
Her eyes locked on the Blackroot Rifles being carried by villagers.
Then she saw the Void Titan standing behind Kai like a god of darkness.
The elf scout's face went pale.
She whispered in shock, voice carrying on the wind:
"By the Eternal Grove… they have a unknown weapon. And that thing… that is no summon from this world."
She turned to flee.
Kai raised one hand.
A single Shadow Stalker appeared in front of her, blocking her path.
He didn't order her killed.
Instead he called out, voice calm but carrying power:
"Tell Sylvandar this: Deadhollow belongs to me now.
We have no quarrel with the Elf Kingdom… yet. But if you spy on us again without permission, the next thing your queen receives will be your head in a box."
The elf scout stared at the rifle in Finn's hands, then at the Titan, then at Kai's cold eyes.
She vanished into the trees in a blur of leaves.
Kai turned back to his people — his growing army of humans and summons.
Finn stood beside him, loyalty pulse now solid green.
Old Man Renn cackled.
"Well, lads, the elves just shat themselves.
What's next?
Dwarves?
Vampires?"
Kai looked at the stabilized anomaly warning,
the new Void Titan,
the rifles, and the seven empires that now knew his name.
He allowed himself one small, tired, dangerous smile.
Level 30.
First mass-produced rifles.
A stabilized anomaly.
One elf spy running scared.
And Finn finally proved his loyalty… for now.
The real game had only just begun.
Status Window
Name: Kai Ren
Level: 30
Title: Lord of Deadhollow
Souls: 8,110
Resources: High
Active Summons: 13 (New: Void Titan – Legendary)
New Skill: Origin Forging II (Active)