## CHAPTER 30: Rabbid
The horizon was a jagged wound of violet and bruised orange, the sun dipping low beneath the canopy of the Forbidden Sector. This was the Golden Hour, a time when the world above was painted in ethereal beauty, but the world within the forest grew teeth. The light that managed to filter through the thick, interlocking branches didn't illuminate; it cast long, distorted shadows that looked like grasping fingers against the charcoal bark of the ironwood trees.
Zerav walked at the back of the line, his footsteps heavy and rhythmic. On his shoulder, the massive obsidian scythe rested like a sleeping beast, its weight a comfort against the irritating chatter of his "teammates."
Things had not been going well.
He was paired with three nobles: two boys, Ben and Kael, and a girl named Diane from Lily's class. Diane was striking, with light pink hair that seemed to glow in the twilight and eyes with deep black pupils that held a constant look of weary intelligence. Unfortunately, Ben and Kael were less interested in the mission and more interested in a primitive display of courtship that made Zerav want to walk directly into the jaws of a predator just for some peace and quiet.
They had found their first stone—a deep cerulean blue—three hours ago. Zerav had been the one to spot the faint shimmering mana-vein hidden behind a curtain of toxic ivy. He had been the one to navigate the shifting terrain to retrieve it. But as soon as the stone was in their possession, Ben had snatched it away, tucking it into his belt with a triumphant smirk, acting as if he had tracked it through the brush himself.
"The sky is so beautiful," Ben remarked, stopping in a small clearing and looking up through a gap in the leaves. He turned toward Diane, putting on a voice he clearly thought was charming. "But not as beautiful as you, Diane."
Diane stopped. She looked at Ben, then at the sky, then back at Ben. An awkward, strained expression flickered across her face—a mixture of polite dismissal and genuine discomfort.
"Thank you, Ben," she said, her voice tight as she forced a polite smile.
Zerav didn't stop. He walked right past the budding romance, letting out a long, loud yawn of pure, unadulterated boredom. The sound echoed through the clearing, sharp and dismissive. He was exhausted by the social theater and the sheer inefficiency of their progress.
Ben's face instantly shifted from a "lover" to a "tyrant." His pride, already fragile, shattered at the sound of the Ordinary's yawn.
"Hey! What was that?" Ben yelled, his voice cracking with indignation.
Zerav paused. He slowly turned his head, his dark ash hair shadowed by the coming night. "What did I do?" he asked, his voice thick and resonant. He kept his expression neutral, his face a mask of feigned confusion.
"You think I'm boring? You think you're better than me?" Ben stepped forward, his chest puffed out.
"Ben, let's go. He didn't do anything," Diane intervened, her black pupils darting nervously between the two. She could feel the tension in the air, a coldness that seemed to emanate from Zerav's stillness.
"Stay back, babe. I'll deal with this," Ben said, puffing himself up even further.
Diane's brow furrowed in a mixture of confusion and genuine disgust. "Babe? Are you serious?"
Ben ignored her. His focus was entirely on Zerav, who stood there looking like he was about to fall asleep again. Zerav let out a long, slow sigh, the sound of a man who had reached the limit of his patience for children.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Zerav said, his voice flat. "But I don't have time for this. We should be setting up camp."
"Wrong answer," Ben hissed. He let out a devilish grin and stretched his hand toward Zerav. A sphere of orange flame erupted in his palm, the heat singing the nearby ferns. "Know your place, trash!"
He hurled the fireball. It was a fast, aggressive strike meant to humiliate. Zerav, maintaining his "Ordinary" facade, didn't dodge with the supernatural speed he possessed. Instead, he raised his forearms in a cross-block, bracing for the impact.
*BOOM.*
The fire bloomed against his activity sleeves, the concussive force knocking Zerav back onto his knees. The heat was intense, but Zerav didn't cry out.
"Know your place," Ben repeated, looking back at Diane for approval. "Commoners should keep their mouths shut and their heads down."
"It's enough!" Diane snapped, grabbing Ben's hand and pulling him away. She looked back at Zerav with a flash of pity before Ben dragged her further down the path, Kael following behind with a mocking snicker.
Zerav remained on his knees for a moment. He looked at his sleeve. It was emitting a faint trail of grey smoke, but the reinforced fabric of the academy gear hadn't torn. He let out a long, relieved sigh.
"Kinda thought this would be fun," Zerav murmured to himself, looking at the massive scythe on his shoulder. "But playing the victim is getting exhausting. Well, I can just..."
**"MONSTER!!!!!"**
A blood-curdling scream tore through the forest. It was Diane.
The sound wasn't the annoyed yelp of a girl being flirted with. It was the raw, jagged screech of someone staring into the eyes of death.
Zerav's face didn't pale. It didn't tighten with fear. Instead, his eyes—usually dull and bored—ignited with a sharp, predatory clarity. A slow, dark grin spread across his face.
"Finally," he whispered, standing up with a fluid, effortless motion. "Things are getting more interesting."