Yuna watched the black-feathered crow circling above them with clear intrigue.

Arthur followed her gaze, then raised his arm. The bird descended obediently, its talons gripping his forearm before hopping up to his shoulder, ember-like eyes studying him.

"Now that you’re my pet," Arthur said, "I have to give you a name too."

The crow tilted its head.

Yuna crossed her arms, equally curious, watching his expression as he thought.

Arthur tapped his chin.

"How about... Black?" Arthur said. "Isn’t it good?"

Both the crow and Yuna stared at him.

Their expressions shifted at the exact same time—from interest to pure disappointment.

Yuna’s lips flattened.

The crow slowly looked away, as if ashamed to be associated with him.

Arthur’s mouth twitched.

"So, Black," Arthur said anyway, pretending not to notice, "go and find a gold or mana stone mine for me. You must know this forest thoroughly, right?"

Yuna’s mouth fell open.

The crow just blinked, dumbfounded.

"Are you serious?" Yuna asked.

"Of course I am," Arthur said.

He took a piece of gold and a small blue-colored mana stone out of his storage ring and held them up so the crow could see.

"See this?" Arthur said. "Gold. Mana stone. Find more."

The crow started cawing loudly.

"Caw! Caw! Caw!"

Arthur stared back without flinching.

Yuna let out a long sigh, but then she paused. Arthur and Yuna both noticed it at the same time—the crow flapped into the air, circled once, then flew a short distance ahead, hovering and looking back at them.

As if it wanted them to follow.

Arthur and Yuna exchanged a glance.

"Alright," Arthur said.

They nodded and started after the bird.

Black flew deeper into the forest, weaving between towering trees and over tangled roots. The canopy grew thicker above them, filtering sunlight into thin green beams. Birds and small beasts scattered out of their path as they followed the crow’s erratic but purposeful flight.

The deeper they went, the quieter the forest became.

Eventually, a pale fog began to appear—thin at first, then thicker, curling around tree trunks and coiling along the ground like living mist.

Arthur and Yuna stepped into it.

Within seconds, visibility dropped. Shapes blurred. The trees around them stretched and twisted strangely, as if the fog itself were bending the world.

Arthur slowed.

He could feel it.

A presence.

Something was watching them from somewhere inside the fog.

"Stay near me," Yuna’s voice came from his left, low and calm. "If you wander too far, you’ll get lost."

"Don’t worry," Arthur said. "I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

He smirked and turned his head toward where he heard her voice—

But instead of Yuna’s face, he was met with two huge yellow eyes staring directly at him.

They were so close that he could see his reflection in them.

A chill shot down his spine.

His body locked up.

For a moment, his thoughts scattered, wiped clean by instinctive terror. He couldn’t move, couldn’t even twitch his fingers.

A roar slammed into him.

It was less a sound and more a force—hot, wet air blasting into his face, covering him in foul, slimy snot.

Arthur gagged.

’Disgusting...’ he thought.

The enormous shape looming over him grew clearer as the fog shifted.

A giant snake towered above him, its body as thick as a tree trunk. Dark scales reflected the dim light with an oily sheen. Rows of curved, needle-like fangs glistened with venom inside its gaping maw. Coiled muscles rippled beneath its scales, and a long tail flicked lazily from side to side.

Embedded in the center of its head, just above its eyes, was a large, gleaming gem—deep red, with flickers of fire dancing inside.

Arthur’s blood ran cold.

’Fuck... I can’t move my body at all...’ Arthur thought.

Paralysis.

The snake’s huge mouth opened wider.

Heat gathered inside it, a swirling mass of crimson and orange light condensing between its fangs. The air around Arthur grew hotter, tinged with the sharp smell of burning mana.

"Fuck," Arthur thought, his eyes narrowing even though he couldn’t move. ’If I get out of here alive, I’m definitely roasting that stupid crow.’

The blast built to its peak—

BAM!

Something slammed down from above with earth-shattering force.

A shadow blurred past Arthur’s frozen field of view.

A devastating strike crashed onto the top of the snake’s head, slamming its jaws shut so violently that the gathering flame detonated inside its own mouth.

The explosion blew the back of its skull apart.

Flames and flesh burst outward in a messy spray. The massive body convulsed once, then crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud, making the earth tremble beneath Arthur’s feet.

Standing atop the snake’s ruined head was a woman with pink hair and gray eyes.

Yuna.

She hopped lightly down as the dead serpent’s body finally stopped twitching.

Arthur felt the paralysis fade, his limbs gradually responding again.

He wiped at his face with obvious disgust, smearing off as much snake snot as he could.

Yuna looked at him—covered in snot, stiff, and glaring at the corpse behind her—and tried very hard not to laugh.

"Are you alright?" Yuna asked, her lips twitching.

Above them, Black hovered in the air, flapping his wings and cawing repeatedly.

"Caw! Caw! Caw!"

It sounded suspiciously like laughter.

A vein pulsed on Arthur’s forehead.

He opened his mouth, ready to hurl insults at the crow—

But Black dove down first, ignoring him completely.

The bird landed on the snake’s corpse and immediately started tearing into the flesh with its beak, digging deeper and deeper into the charred hole where the head had been.

Black-feathered crows specialized in eating dead carcasses.

Within moments, the crow’s head disappeared into the ruined skull.

Then it emerged, clutching something in its beak.

A core.

A fire-attribute core the size of a child’s fist, gleaming hot red and still faintly warm with residual energy.

Arthur’s eyes widened.

"That black bastard is more intelligent than I thought," Arthur muttered. "It’s the first time I’ve seen someone use me for their own benefit... and it had to be a crow I tamed myself."

Yuna couldn’t hold it in anymore.

She burst into laughter, doubling over slightly as the sound echoed through the fog.

Black hopped back, tossed the core into the air, caught it again, then stared at it for a moment.

After a brief hesitation, it threw its head back and swallowed the core whole.

[ Flame Attribute Core Consumed ]

[ Analyzing Evolution Requirements... ]

[ Requirements Met ]

[ Evolution Initiating... ]

The crow let out a sharp, piercing caw as crimson flames erupted around its body.

Arthur watched, arms crossed, as fire wrapped the bird in a blazing cocoon. Its black feathers began to shift color, streaks of fiery red spreading along its wings, tail, and chest. Its wings stretched wider, bones lengthening and muscles strengthening beneath the burning light. Heat pulsed outward in waves.

[ Evolution in Progress: 25% ]

[ Evolution in Progress: 57% ]

[ Evolution in Progress: 100% ]

[ 1st evolution has been completed ]

The flames dispersed in a burst of sparks.

Hovering in front of Arthur now was a larger crow—its feathers a striking mix of black and crimson, its eyes glowing like tiny embers. Faint wisps of heat rose from its wings every time it flapped them.

[ Evolution Complete! ]

[ Blackfeather Crow → Flame Crow ]

Rank: F-Rank → E-Rank

Strength: +5

Agility: +8

[ Fire Affinity Unlocked ]

The Flame Crow flapped its wings, scattering tiny sparks into the fog as it hovered proudly around Arthur’s head.

[ Your contracted beast is pleased. ]

[ Loyalty Increased: 50 → 65 ]

Arthur glared at it, watching the notifications.

"Come down, you bastard," Arthur said.

The bird ignored his tone and circled him again, clearly delighted with itself.

Yuna sighed and walked over.

"Don’t be too mad," Yuna said.

She held something out to him.

In her palm lay the large gem that had been embedded in the basilisk’s head. Up close, it was even more beautiful—firelight seemed to swirl inside the stone, shifting shapes as if a tiny flame lived within.

Arthur’s mood shifted.

"Well," Arthur said, taking the gem and turning it in his fingers, "I guess I can eat him some other day."

He slipped the gem into his storage ring with practiced ease.

Yuna shook her head.

"I didn’t expect you to be so reckless," Yuna said. "That was a Flame Basilisk. An S-Rank monster. If I hadn’t been here, it would have roasted you alive after paralyzing you."

She cracked her knuckles.

"Looks like I need to train you again," she added.

Arthur swallowed hard.

He glanced at her knuckles, then at the dead basilisk, before quickly changing the subject.

"Let’s go," Arthur said. "Erica will be looking for us right now. And worrying too."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and started walking back the way they’d come, a bit faster than necessary.

Yuna watched him for a moment, then shook her head and followed. The newly evolved Flame Crow fluttered after them, leaving faint trails of sparks behind as the fog slowly closed over the dead S-Rank monster lying motionless in the depths of the forest.