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 slowly waking from a long nightmare — and Kai Ren was the one cracking the whip, his smile sharp as a blade 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 that only understood blood and results.
Mornings belonged to the quarry and the forest.
The weakest warriors and the Plaguebane Guardian tore through corrupted beasts while hauling stone and timber.
Afternoons were for training.
The forty-three villagers drilled under Finn's command with spears, axes, and hunting bows.
Kai moved among them, occasionally spitting a thin jet of his black venom onto the tips of their weapons.
The venom hissed, coating the steel in a slow-rotting curse that made every strike leave behind burning wounds.
Nights were for hunting.
Kai personally led raids deep into Ashfeld Forest.
Corrupted beasts, bandit camps, hidden monster nests — everything died screaming as his Venom Stalkers tore them apart and his venom ate away at their strength from the inside.
The system notifications became his only music.
[BATTLE COMPLETE – 47 kills]
Level: 15 → 18
Souls +680
[BATTLE COMPLETE – 62 kills]
Level: 18 → 22
New Summon Unlocked: Venom 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 black-veined stone and new 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.
A cold whisper slithered through his mind — the venom's whisper inside his chest.
They are still tools… 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?
The whisper came again, softer but firm.
Let them break.
Weak tools are useless.
Kai crushed both thoughts.
Better they break now than die later.
Day 8 to Day 14 – The Shadow Inside The Minor Loyalty 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 Venom 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 venom-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 Venom Stalkers pinned him down before he could run.
Kai stepped forward, eyes glowing faintly with venom power. "You sold us to Ironreach," Kai said, voice dangerously calm.
Thorne laughed bitterly.
"You're just a bug from somewhere else. "
"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 felt the hesitation hit him again — harder than ever.
If I kill him publicly, fear returns.
If I let him live, the spy network continues.
The venom's whisper returned: They are still tools… Kai lowered his hand 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 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.
As Finn stepped back, Kai knelt and searched the corpse.
From inside Thorne's boot he pulled a small iron seal — the sigil of the Ironreach Legion — along with a folded parchment. The message was short, written in fresh ink: "If the demon reaches Level 30, abandon the village."
"Burn it."
"The Iron Legion will arrive in force within the week."
"The anomaly must not fall into his hands."
Kai's eyes narrowed.
The Human Empire wasn't just watching.
They were preparing war.
He crushed the parchment in his fist.
Next chapter begins here.
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."
The First Venom-Infused Arsenal The very next morning Kai didn't rest.
He gathered Finn and ten selected villagers in the blacksmith shop.
Using Venom Control, he spent six straight hours coating spears, axes, and arrowheads with his black venom.
The weapons now hissed when they cut the air, leaving slow-rotting wounds that ate away at flesh and strength.
Old Man Renn whistled loudly.
"Lad, you just made the demons look soft."
"That black stuff looks like it could rot a dragon's guts from the inside!"
Kai handed the first venom-coated spear to Finn.
"Train them. "
"Hard."
" By tomorrow I want every man and woman who can hold a weapon to strike true even when their hands are shaking."
Finn took the spear, eyes complicated.
"You trust me with this?"
Kai met his gaze.
"I trust results."
" Prove you're not hiding anything else 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 brutal training ground.
The sound of steel and screams of practice dummies echoed from dawn till dusk.
Finn drilled them mercilessly — strike drills, venom application under stress, even night fighting.
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 .
On the evening of Day 17, the Anomaly Stability warning turned critical.
[WARNING]
Anomaly Stability: 41%
Premature awakening in 9 days if not stabilized.
Recommended action: Enter the Hidden Anomaly Dungeon beneath the square and destroy the three Anomaly 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 dungeon was alive — walls of pulsing black veins, corridors that shifted, monsters born from the anomaly itself.
Venom Stalkers scouted ahead.
Abyssal Legionnaires formed the front line.
Kai and Finn fought side by side.
Halfway down, in a chamber filled with whispering shadows, a massive Corruption Beast lunged from the ceiling.
Its claws tore through Finn's shoulder and chest in a single brutal strike.
Blood sprayed.
Finn screamed and dropped to his knees, venom-coated spear clattering away.
The venom's whisper roared in Kai's head: He is weak.
He is a tool that has served its purpose.
One less loose end.
Kai froze for a heartbeat.
Hesitation burned hotter than ever.
He hid the truth about Garrick… but he fought beside me.
The whisper hissed again: They are still tools… Kai spat a jet of his black venom directly onto Finn's wound.
The liquid sizzled, sealing the gash and burning away the corruption.
Finn gasped, eyes wide with shock and pain.
"You… saved me,"
Finn whispered.
Kai's voice was ice.
"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 Anomaly Cores pulsed like diseased hearts.
Kai unleashed Venom Control.
Black venom spread across the floor like living oil, climbing the cores and eating into their shells.
He spat directly onto the largest core, the venom hissing as it bored deep.
Finn fought like a man trying to wash away his own guilt, Abyssal Legionnaires tanking blow after blow.
When the last core shattered, the dungeon trembled.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Anomaly Stabilized!
Stability: 89%
Reward: +3,200 Souls
Level: 28 → 30
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Summoning System – Major Milestone Achieved!
New Summon Unlocked: Venom Drake
(Rare single-unit aerial summon. Size: 8 meters wingspan.)
Abilities: Venom breath that spreads as corrosive mist, fast flight, powerful tail strike that leaves lingering burning wounds. Cooldown: 5 days. Mana cost: High.
A towering winged silhouette materialized behind Kai — a sleek Venom Drake with scales that dripped black venom.
Its wings folded as it landed, the ground cracking slightly under its weight.
When they emerged into the square, the villagers had gathered.
Some fell to their knees in awe, eyes shining with hope.
Others stumbled back, faces pale with terror, whispering, "That thing… that huge creture… it's not from our world…"
A mother clutched her child and wept.
Fear and loyalty clashed in every pair of eyes.
Old Man Renn, waiting at the entrance, nearly dropped his axe.
"Sweet merciful chickens… you brought a flying beast upstairs!"
Later that night, after the square had emptied, Kai stood by the well.
Lira approached with little Mira in her arms.
The baby — now healthy and pink-cheeked — reached out with tiny hands.
Lira's voice trembled.
"You could have let us all die… but you didn't.
Thank you, Kai."
For a single second, a memory from his past life flashed before Kai's eyes — a small sister in another world, dying in a hospital bed while he could do nothing.
The same helplessness.
The same cold rage.
He gently touched the baby's forehead.
The venom's whisper returned: They are still tools… even this one.
Kai said nothing.
He simply nodded and walked away, the memory burning like venom in his chest.
The Elf Scout Before anyone could celebrate, the Minor Loyalty 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.
froze when she saw the village.
Her eyes locked on the venom-coated spears glinting in the hands of villagers.
Then she saw the Venom Drake standing behind Kai, wings half-spread, venom dripping from its fangs.
The elf scout's face went pale.
She whispered in shock, voice carrying on the wind: "By the Eternal Grove… they have a unknown creature that does not belong to this world.
And that thing… that is no summon from this realm."
She turned to flee.
Kai raised one hand.
A single Venom 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 venom dripping from a nearby spear, then at the Venom Drake, then at Kai's cold eyes.
As she blurred into the trees, her fingers flicked open.
A single glowing leaf slipped from her palm, carrying her whispered report straight toward Sylvandar: "Deadhollow has awakened a power that does not belong to this world.
A Venom Drake walks beside a venom lord. T
he anomaly is his.
We cannot let this spread."
Kai turned back to his people — his growing army.
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?"
But deep in the forest, the glowing leaf was already flying toward the Elf Kingdom… and the real war was only hours away.
Kai allowed himself one small, tired, dangerous smile.
Level 30.
A stabilized anomaly.
A Venom Drake at his command.
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: Venom Drake – Rare)
Skills: Black Venom Spit (Active) | Venom Control (Active)