Chapter 276: Exotin Erblim listened as Azel explained the mission, the crow’s golden eyes darkening by the second. "When I felt you summon me," Erblim said in a voice filled with indignation, "I didn’t think it would be for something so mediocre." He fluffed his wings dramatically and raised his left one to his beak. "Do you think I’m not capable of something greater?" Azel sighed and rubbed his temple. "The small parts of a mission matter," he said. He reached out and patted the crow’s head. "Now come on, do it." Erblim let out a groan. "Fine," he muttered, turning his head away like a sulking child. "So," the crow continued, "you want me to look for people carrying guns and terrorizing the citizens, right?" Azel nodded. "That’s right." "And I shouldn’t interfere when I find them?" Erblim asked, his beak tilting slightly as if testing his master’s patience. "There’s no need," Azel said, pulling out a pen and a folded piece of paper from his inventory. The paper glowed as he started to sketch on it. His strokes were fasr. Within seconds, a symbol that looked strangely similar to an eye appeared. Azel blew gently on it, setting the ink. "All you need to do is plant this rune. Once it’s in place, I’ll handle the rest." Erblim leaned closer, inspecting it with curious eyes. "You and your strange human tools..." Azel ignored the complaint, focusing instead on perfecting the marks. The rune was small... just wide enough to fit under a fingernail. ’It’s not the best method,’ he thought, ’but it’ll have to do. If they’re using mages, they might detect it, but I can at least get one reading before that happens.’ He folded the paper once and handed it to Erblim. "Here. Try to stick it somewhere they won’t find it." The crow took it delicately between his talons. "Understood." "Oh, and make sure it’s far from the wall," Azel added. "I don’t want the soldiers getting involved." Erblim rolled his eyes. "You’re making me do all the boring parts." "Think of it as reconnaissance," Azel replied, smiling faintly. The crow let out a sharp caw, then turned his head. "You’d better treat me to some human food when I’m done," Erblim said in a huff. His voice echoed directly in Azel’s head through their soul link. "Deal," Azel said. The air shifted. In the next instant, Erblim shot upward, wings cutting through the air like blades. The wind displaced violently around them before the bird vanished into the clouds, leaving only a ripple of pressure in his wake. Azel watched him disappear. "Don’t get distracted," he muttered, knowing full well that the crow would anyway. ... High above Karan Town, the world looked entirely different. ’I can’t believe the human world looks this beautiful,’ Erblim thought as he soared through the sky. From above, the city wasn’t a cluster of chaos and noisez... it was like a painting. He could see the outer slums... the small, broken homes made of uneven bricks and the inner districts beyond the wall, where everything was clean and structured. It was strange how one town could hold two worlds within its borders. ’So that’s how they live...’ he thought, flapping harder to gain altitude. ’No wonder Goddess Nyala complains about humans.’ Below him, the people looked like ants. He could see children running through alleyways, vendors shouting, and soldiers patrolling the streets with rifles slung across their backs. He adjusted his vision, letting his mana flow into his eyes. The world shifted. The horizon warped slightly, and everything beneath him grew clearer. He could see everything... ’I should make this first mission perfect,’ he thought proudly, puffing out his chest mid-flight. ’If I do well, Master might reward me with more freedom... or maybe even more food.’ He chuckled to himself. ’I’ll tell Ahrya about it when I get back.’ He hovered higher for a better view. The entire town unfolded below him like a miniature orb. He could see everything... the inner walls, the rooftops, even the narrow alleys that split into shadowed corners. But something was off. He scanned again. ’There are no gang members with guns,’ he thought. ’At least none matching Master’s description...’ He was about to move further north when something glinted near the edge of the slums... a flash of gold? Erblim narrowed his eyes and focused his sight. Down there, a middle-aged man dressed like a beggar was stuffing something shiny into a cloth pouch. The way his hands trembled and his eyes darted around made it obvious that he wasn’t supposed to have whatever that was. ’I remember Master saying something about debts,’ the crow thought. ’This might be connected.’ He tucked his wings in and dove. The wind screamed past his feathers as he descended, the city rushing up to meet him. In a few seconds, he landed silently on a broken roof beam overlooking the man. The man was sitting alone on the outskirts, atop a cracked slab of stone that used to be part of a building. He looked nervous glancing at the empty road, biting his nails, and muttering under his breath. Erblim folded his wings neatly and perched, watching. ’Patience,’ he reminded himself. He wasn’t particularly good at waiting. But Kyone had taught him how to wait... and now he could confidently say he could wait for multiple days on end... however this one was shorter since it stopped just after a few hours. A ripple spread across the ground suddenly. Erblim’s feathers rose. ’That’s not normal.’ A moment later, two figures materialized from the distortion. They wore black coats, faces covered with dark scarves. Both carried short rifles slung over their shoulders and moved with the confidence of men who didn’t fear being seen. One of them smirked. "Old man. Got the money?" The beggar-looking man nodded quickly and scurried toward them with the pouch clutched tightly in his hands. The first man snatched it and peeked inside. It was not only gold... but a syringe of blood? "Good," he said. "You’re only two days late this time." Before the man could respond, the second gang member stepped forward and kicked him hard in the stomach. The man fell instantly, gasping in pain. Erblim’s eyes darkened. "Haa... you really shouldn’t be doing this," the first said with a mock sigh. "Why not?" the second replied, kicking the man again. "It’s funny. These idiots give us all their money for a single dose of that stuff." The crow tilted his head. ’Stuff?’ The first one looked around cautiously. "Don’t talk about Exotin out here, idiot. What if someone hears?" Erblim’s feathers bristled. Exotin. He would remember that. The second man laughed. "And what if they do? Tell the city guards? This is the outskirts. They’ll get shot before they even reach the gate. Besides..." He leaned closer to the first and grinned, his voice lowering. "...there are already addicts inside the walls. It’s only a matter of time before the plan’s complete." Erblim’s claws dug slightly into the beam. The two men turned, clearly ready to leave. "Let’s go," the leader said, and the ripple in the ground began to shimmer again, expanding beneath their feet like a pool of black water. ’That’s it,’ Erblim thought, spreading his wings. In a single motion, he dove from his perch. The air screamed around him as he poured mana into his flight... his speed multiplied tenfold. The world blurred into streaks of gray and brown. Neither man had time to react. Erblim shot past them like a bullet, brushing against the first man’s shoulder. In that instant, his claw pressed the folded paper against the back of the man’s neck, just under his collar... a place no one would think to look.. And then Erblim was gone, pulling up sharply into the air. The two men stumbled slightly from the gust of wind he’d left behind. "The hell?" the second one muttered. "When did the winds get like this?" "Shut up," the first replied, not even looking around as the ripple beneath them swallowed their bodies whole. In seconds, they were gone leaving nothing but silence and the man writhing below. High above, Erblim hovered in the air, chest puffed proudly. ’Mission accomplished,’ he thought and felt on his soul link to relay it to Azel... only to hear the man snoring.