Panic has a smell. It smells like burnt ozone and nervous sweat. The morning after our heist, the Babel Academy cafeteria reeked of it.
I sat at a corner table in the Commoner's Hall, slowly stirring my nutrient paste. Opposite me sat Zane. He was eating. Actually eating. Usually, the clatter of spoons against wooden bowls in the cafeteria would make him twitch violently, causing him to spill food or crush utensils. But today, he was calm. The Ring of Whispers on my finger was doing its work. I was projecting a constant, low-level filter into his auditory cortex. To him, the cacophony of five hundred students sounded like the gentle rustling of leaves in a forest.
"It's quiet," Zane murmured, looking at his spoon with fascination. "The guy next to us is chewing with his mouth open. I can see it. But I can't hear the smack-smack-smack."
"Don't get used to staring," I whispered, taking a bite of the grey sludge. "Act normal. Today, everyone is a suspect."
The rumors were already flying. "Someone broke into the Faculty Tower." "Professor Vex was attacked." "I heard it was an assassin from the Dark Guilds."
Nobody knew what was stolen. Vex was too proud to admit that two first-year students had gassed him and stolen a precious artifact. Admitting that would destroy his reputation. So, officially, it was a "Security Breach."
Suddenly, the heavy double doors of the cafeteria slammed open. Silence fell over the hall instantly. Even the Nobles on the upper balcony stopped talking.
Professor Vex strode in. He looked terrible. His skin was paler than usual, his eyes were bloodshot, and there was a lingering tremor in his hands—likely the aftereffects of the Nightshade poisoning. Behind him marched four Stone Golems, massive constructs of enchanted granite, their heavy footsteps shaking the floor.
Vex didn't speak immediately. He stood in the center of the room, scanning the students like a vulture looking for a dying animal. His Killing Intent rolled off him in waves.
"Last night," Vex's voice was a rasping hiss, amplified by magic so it echoed in every corner, "a rat scurried into my tower."
He began to walk slowly between the tables of the Commoner section. "This rat... used cowardly tricks. Chemicals. Tricks of the gutter." He stopped right next to our table. My heart didn't skip a beat. I forced it to maintain a steady rhythm. The Mirage archetype allowed for minor physiological control, perfect for beating lie detectors—or paranoid wizards.
Vex looked down at a student two tables away—a boy named Jory, who was known for being good at alchemy. "Stand up," Vex ordered.
Jory stood, shaking so hard his knees knocked together. "P-Professor?"
Vex grabbed Jory's hand, sniffing his fingers. "Sulfur," Vex muttered. "And... ink." He threw Jory's hand away with disgust. "Useless. Just homework stains."
Vex turned. His eyes swept over me. Then over Zane. He paused on Zane. "The Ogre," Vex sneered. "You look remarkably calm today. Usually, you look like you want to murder the air itself."
Zane didn't flinch. He looked at Vex with dead, flat eyes. "I'm tired, Professor," Zane rumbled.
Vex narrowed his eyes. He stepped closer, invading Zane's personal space. "Are you? Or are you hiding something?" Vex raised his wand. The tip glowed with a harsh, invasive light. A Mind-Probe spell. Illegal to use on students without cause, but Vex didn't care about laws.
If he probed Zane's mind, he would see the memory of the heist. He would see the silence I was feeding him. 'I have to deflect him,' I thought. 'Now.'
But before I could intervene, a voice rang out from the Noble balcony.
"Professor Vex!"
The tension broke. Everyone looked up. Standing at the railing, bathed in a shaft of morning sunlight, was Kaelen Valorius. The Hero. He looked perfect. Golden hair, pristine white uniform, a confident yet respectful smile.
"Kaelen," Vex's face softened instantly. The bias was sickening. "What is it?"
"With all due respect, sir," Kaelen said, his voice carrying effortlessly, "you are frightening the first-years. If there was a security breach, shouldn't the Headmaster handle it? Interrogating students during breakfast seems... beneath a mage of your stature."
It was a polite rebuke. But because it came from a Valorius, it was a command. Vex grimaced. He couldn't attack the Golden Boy. The Valorius family funded half the academy.
"I am merely... investigating, Mr. Valorius," Vex said, forcing a smile. "Ensuring the safety of the students." He glared at Zane one last time. "This isn't over," he whispered to us. "I can smell the filth on you."
Vex spun around, his robes billowing, and marched out of the cafeteria, his Golems trailing behind him.
The hall erupted into whispers. "Kaelen saved them." "Did you see Vex? He looked insane."
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I looked up at the balcony. Kaelen was looking down. Not at the crowd. At us. He gave a small, friendly wave. Then he turned and went back to his breakfast.
"He helped us," Zane said, confused. "Why?"
"He didn't help us," I corrected, stabbing my spoon into the bowl. "He was being a Hero. Heroes need to protect the weak. To him, we are just helpless commoners being bullied. It feeds his ego."
"I don't like him," Zane decided.
"Good. Because he's going to be a problem."
Later that afternoon, the reality of Vex's "investigation" became clear. He couldn't prove who stole the ring. So, he decided to punish everyone.
Combat Training Grounds. The entire first-year class—Nobles and Commoners—was gathered in the massive dirt arena. The sun was beating down. Professor Vex stood on the podium, alongside the Combat Instructor, Professor Gorm a muscular, retired war-mage who looked like he ate boulders for breakfast.
"Due to the recent... lapse in security," Vex announced, "we need to reassess the combat readiness of the student body."
"It's a chaotic melee," Gorm barked. "No teams. No rules. Last ten standing get an A. The rest fail."
A murmur of protest went through the crowd. A melee? Nobles against Commoners? The Nobles had wands, armor, and family training. We had rags and basic mana cores. It wasn't a test; it was a massacre.
"Begin!" Gorm shouted.
Chaos erupted instantly. Spells flew through the air. Fireballs, wind blades, ice shards. The Commoners were decimated in the first ten seconds. They ran, screamed, or were blasted off their feet.
I stood near the edge of the arena, Zane beside me. Three Noble students noticed us. They were led by a boy with red hair—Ignis, a fire mage from a minor noble house. He had been glaring at us since the cafeteria incident.
"Look," Ignis smirked, creating a fireball in his hand. "It's the Ogre and the mute. Vex hates you two. If we cripple you, maybe he'll give us extra credit."
Zane stepped forward. The Auditory Void was still active. He was calm. "Orders?" Zane asked quietly.
I looked at the three nobles. They were C-Rank. Decent firepower, zero tactical awareness. "Don't kill them," I whispered. "Just... break their confidence."
"With pleasure."
Ignis fired. "Incinerate!" A roaring ball of fire hurtled toward us. Zane didn't dodge. He didn't block. He charged.
It was terrifying to watch. A two-meter giant running through a fireball. The fire hit his chest. His cheap grey robe scorched, but his skin—toughened by his Berserker Arche—barely reddened. He burst through the smoke like a demon.
Ignis's eyes bulged. "W-what?"
Zane was on him. He didn't punch. He grabbed Ignis by the face. One hand. Palming the boy's entire head. Zane lifted him off the ground as if he weighed nothing. "Fire is hot," Zane stated simply. "You are not."
He threw Ignis. He didn't throw him at the ground. He threw him at the other two nobles. CRASH. The three of them tumbled into a heap of tangled limbs and groans.
The arena went quiet in our sector. Zane stood there, smoke rising from his chest, looking bored. He turned to me. "Too much?"
"Just right," I said.
But we had attracted attention. Across the arena, Kaelen Valorius was watching. He had just disarmed five students with a gentle wave of wind magic. He saw Zane's brutality. His eyebrows furrowed. He didn't look impressed. He looked... concerned. And next to him, Elara (the sharp-eyed Wind Mage) whispered something in his ear.
I felt a prickle on the back of my neck. Vex was watching from the podium. His eyes were narrowed, fixated on Zane. He wasn't angry anymore. He was calculating. 'He suspects,' I realized. 'He knows a dumb brute shouldn't be that calm in a chaotic battle. He knows someone is controlling the dog.'
"Zane," I said softly. "Defense mode. We need to fade into the background."
"Why? I can take them all."
"Because the predator is watching," I nodded toward the podium. "And he's setting a trap."
The melee continued, but the dynamic had shifted. We weren't just students anymore. We were anomalies. And in Babel Academy, anomalies get purged.