He opened the development menu in the Village Center:
[Available Upgrade: Shadow Wall (Level 1 – 18 Magical Energy]
[Prerequisite: Follower Level 2 or higher]
[Warning: This structure will permanently alter the nature of the village]
Shaun smiled lightly and said to himself, "If the virus started here… let's give it a fortress to live in."
He pressed the activation button.
In the next moment, a faint pulse of black light emanated from the Village Center, transforming into a vortex of ash swirling around the buildings. The ground itself began to crack, but instead of collapsing, pillars of smooth, grey stone emerged, slowly rising to form winding ramparts that encircled the village.
The shadows swimming in the air converged at the base of the walls, as if consecrating the new construction.
A notification appeared on the screen:
[Congratulations! The first unique structure has been created: "Shadow Wall"]
[Reward: +10% Dark Follower Loyalty Rate / +15% Village Durability against Magical Effects]
"Good… very good," he muttered, watching the wall slowly complete itself.
He knew that what he had just done was absolutely forbidden. Any modification of the village's magical values from outside the system was considered a breach.
But the system itself did not object. On the contrary… A cryptic notification appeared at the bottom of the screen:
[The System is watching you… with interest.]
"Huh?" He raised his eyebrows. Then he let out a soft laugh. "Great… at least I'm not alone here."
He looked at the statistics of his newly summoned troops:
[Name: Undefined]
[Type: Human Follower]
[Level: 1]
[Grade: E]
[Classification: Summoned Shadow]
[Profession: Soldier – Black Iron Tier Fighter]
[Loyalty: 89%]
[Status: Stable]
He stood in the middle of his plaza, watching his silent, dark army move among the shadows, and a new wall encircling him like a ring of safety….
BOOM!!
The first explosion was enough to shake Shaun's heart before the ground itself trembled. Dust rose like a grey wave, and the system blared a sharp warning in his ear.
But the real sound wasn't from the system… it was from outside.
There, on the boundary of his protected zone, stood something.
A black wolf, twice the size of a horse, its fur patched with grey spots like charred ash. A bony blade extended from its back, glowing faintly as if it were part of its skeleton.
It struck the wall again, only to be thrown back ten meters by an invisible force.
Then… it rose.
The beast didn't retreat. It growled softly, as if mocking the laws that prevented its entry. Its eyes burned with a deep red color—the same color Shaun had seen when he summoned the "Hollow Council."
"Impossible…" Shaun muttered, opening the analysis interface.
[Evil Black Wolf – Level 7]
[Type: Mutated Magical Beast]
[Affiliation: Unknown]
[Status: Aggressive – Confused]
Level Seven?! Damn, this wasn't a starting mob, this was a disaster at Level 1!
He looked around quickly—his Shadow Soldiers were lined up before the wall, motionless, just observing. Even the shadows that usually writhed around them had stopped. Perhaps they sensed something he didn't.
The beast rebounded again after a third strike, but this time it didn't fall completely—it dug its claws into the ground to steady itself, then roared with a sound that momentarily darkened the atmosphere. Shaun shivered involuntarily, while red lines flashed across his screen:
[Warning! Aggressive entity detected attempting to breach protection boundaries.]
[Warning! Wall is under magical stress exceeding the allowed limit.]
[Time remaining until protection expires: 6 Days, 20 Hours, 51 Minutes.]
"If this thing stays here the whole time, it'll tear me to shreds the second the protection ends!"
He breathed slowly, looking at the wolf again. Each time it recoiled from the wall, it got up faster than the last. And there was a glint of intelligence in its eyes… awareness.
"Oh no… you're not a regular monster, are you?" Shaun whispered bitterly.
But instead of the beast replying with a sound, it was the wind that answered. A whirlwind of dust and ash crossed the barrier before vanishing.
A new notification appeared, this time in a pale grey color:
[Energy Analysis: The Black Wolf contains fragments of "Corrupted Essence"]
[Magical energy can be extracted upon defeat]
Shaun smiled coldly. "Corrupted Essence… that means it's a power source, right?"
He lowered his head slightly, then raised his eyes, saying in a low voice: "In other words, I can exploit it."
The idea began to form in his head, slowly, but clearly. The wolf was unable to penetrate the barrier, but it could receive an attack. Therefore… he could turn it into a training target.
"Quickly!" Shaun shouted loudly.
The Shadow Soldiers moved with strange slowness, their heads bowing in almost terrifying mechanical discipline. "Hollow out the fallen tree branches… turn them into spears!"
Strange grinding sounds echoed from the soldiers' mouths. And they began to move.
They headed toward the edges of the small forest surrounding the village, their hands gradually transforming into black thorns, cutting the branches with precise strikes, like metallic blades.
Within minutes, the village plaza was filled with dozens of crude wooden spears. They were primitive, but… sharp.
Shaun took a deep breath, then clicked on the training interface.
[Field Command: Group Training – External Target (Outside the Wall)]
[Participants: 23 Dark Followers]
[Target: Evil Black Wolf]
Shaun smirked cunningly. "Beautiful… a little loophole. Thank you, stupid system."
He raised his hand and pointed toward the beast. In the same moment, his soldiers moved with steady steps and lined up behind the wall. They raised their spears simultaneously, the shadows around them slowly undulating as if ready to leap.
"Volley attack!" Shaun shouted.
The spears shot out one after another, piercing the space between the barrier and the beast, and rebounding with a flash of black sparks. The wolf roared with fury, its eyes burning brighter.
Then it leaped.
Its head struck the barrier, and a massive red light erupted, the wave recoiling toward the sky like the flash of a huge fiery sword. The beast fell to the ground, but it didn't die—it grew even more frantic.
Its fangs began snapping at the air, and the shadows enveloping it started winding around its body like liquid smoke. Between its teeth, a strange sound emerged… as if the beast was speaking:
"The Lord… The Shadow…"
Shaun froze.