Pip released a slow, unsteady breath.
His gaze flicked between the silver coin trapped beneath Kage's fingers and the shadowed outline of the hooded man's face. In the Roots, power usually came wrapped in bruised knuckles, broken bottles, or cold steel. Orders were barked. Threats were shouted.
This man didn't threaten.
He asked — and paid.
"The Cobras ain't just some back-alley toughs," Pip whispered, lowering his voice as a merchant cart rattled past. "They're the unofficial tax collectors of the Roots. Everyone pays, one way or another."
Kage loosened his grip slightly. The coin caught the light.
Pip swallowed.
"Their boss is a guy called Vane. Word is he's a Rank D Awakened. Uses mana to harden his skin like iron. Knives bounce. Clubs crack. Only heavy hitters mess with him."
To the knights of the High Ward, Rank D was average.
To starving civilians, it might as well be invincibility.
Kage stored the information away calmly.
"And the blacksmith?" he prompted.
"Old Man Garrick," Pip replied. "His boy got hooked on dice at one of Vane's dens. Lost more than the forge's worth. Now Vane wants Garrick making cheap blades for border scraps. Garrick keeps refusing, so the Cobras are squeezing him slow. Broken ribs. Smashed tools. Quiet threats."
A soft pulse flickered in Kage's vision.
---
[Intelligence Log Updated – Oakhaven Power Structure ]
Faction: The Cobras (Local Criminal Organization)
Leader: Vane – Rank D (Iron Skin Enhancement)
Operations: Protection rackets, illegal labor coercion, gambling dens
Current Conflict:Forced seizure of artisan production assets
---
Kage released the coin.
It slid across the table.
Pip snatched it instantly and vanished it into a stitched pocket with practiced speed.
"Good," Kage said, rising to his feet. The Whisper Cloak flowed with the movement, dulling his outline in the fading amber light. "Now I need a place. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere forgotten. But with eyes on everything."
Pip's lips split into a crooked grin.
"I got you, Boss. There's a collapsed weaver's shop near the canal. Cellar's still intact. No one goes near it — smells like mold and bad luck. Back tunnel leads into the sewers, and there's a crack in the foundation that looks straight onto the market square if you know where to stand."
A blind spot.
Perfect.
"Lead the way," Kage said.
---
## **The Blind Spot**
The cellar was damp, narrow, and wrapped in the scent of dust and rotting cedar. Moss crept along cracked stone walls. Old wooden beams sagged like tired bones. It was invisible to casual patrols and too close to the sewer line for any noble mage to bother sensing.
A forgotten pocket inside the city's circulation.
Exactly what Kage needed.
The moment he stepped fully inside, the System chimed.
---
[ Objective Completed: Establish a Base of Operations ]
Reward Acquired: "Crow's-Eye Map" – Oakhaven Edition ]
[Skill Unlocked: Shadow Script – Level 1 ]
---
A scroll of parchment materialized in his hand.
Kage unrolled it atop a battered crate. As his fingers brushed the surface, black ink bled into existence by itself — streets, rooftops, alleyways, sewer veins, and structural layers assembling into a precise three-dimensional map of Oakhaven.
Tiny blue motes drifted across the layout.
Citizens.
Moving. Breathing. Living.
Kage's eyes sharpened with fascination.
"So this is the city's pulse…"
He lifted a shard of charcoal and wrote against the stone wall.
"Property of the Noir Network."
The letters glowed faintly — then vanished completely.
Only he could see them.
"Shadow Script," he murmured. "Invisible communication… perfect for safe markers."
He turned back to the map. A small cluster of faint red markers pulsed near the docks — an abandoned warehouse.
The Cobras' nest.
---
## **The First Move**
"Pip," Kage said without looking away from the shifting map. "I want three more like you. Quick. Quiet. Curious. Don't mention me. Tell them a new patron is paying for ears."
Pip nodded eagerly. "How much?"
"Copper for rumors. Silver for proof. Gold for secrets that move power."
Pip's eyes widened slightly.
"And what about you, Boss?" the boy asked. "What're you gonna do tonight?"
Kage traced a finger toward the red cluster.
"I'm going to meet a blacksmith," he said calmly. "If I'm going to build influence in this city, I need allies who create value. And Vane needs to learn that pressure works both ways."
He pulled his hood lower.
The Whisper Cloak drank the dim cellar light, swallowing his outline until his presence blurred into the shadows themselves.
Kage Noir wasn't a knight.
He wasn't a mage.
But as he stepped into the cooling night air, guided by invisible maps and unseen eyes, he felt more dangerous than either.
The first thread had been pulled.
Now the web would begin to tremble.