8

After a moment of hesitation, Ray followed the trail of blood.

The blood was light pink, so it was easily trackable against the brown floor. The unique color of the blood also matched Ray's information about Blood Rabbits.

Each time Ray took a step, he checked his surroundings for an ambush. He was unfamiliar with the forest, so he had no clue where he was being led.

This type of situation, where you could be attacked at any moment, would make most magi feel extreme stress. However, Ray's face didn't show any nervousness. He was used to dangerous situations, so he could handle his emotions well.

One lesson that all experienced magi learned was to keep their minds calm at all times. Only in this way could their abilities be used to their full potential. When an unexpected situation occurs and your first reaction is to panic, there's a much higher chance of miscasting a spell.

While Ray was following the trail of blood, a small flower next to a tree caught his attention. Its small stature and green color made it close to indistinguishable from other vegetation, but it didn't escape Ray's hawk-like perception.

'A Rejuvenation Clover?' Ray thought to himself.

The main reason he recognized the flower was because of its common use in alchemy. It was a staple in the recipes for countless antidotes and Healing Potions. Because of this, there was also a universal demand for the flower that was never satisfied. In case one had an injury in battle, the flower could also be used on the spot to provide a small amount of healing power. This method was crude, but its convenience couldn't be overlooked.

Ray carefully plucked the flower using his expert technique. He was an avid alchemist in his previous life, so he was experienced in all aspects of herbology.

'I'm not sure how much this is worth in the school, but it'll be handy to keep around.'

After walking for another 30 minutes, Ray reached the end of the trail. The blood ended up leading into a medium-sized burrow, which was where most Blood Rabbits made their home.

Ray didn't start attacking the burrow immediately since he was confused about something. He had no clue why the rabbit brought a corpse back to its home since Blood Rabbits only drank blood. They didn't eat meat like other monsters, so there was no reason for the rabbit to drag a corpse around.

'Maybe it didn't suck the blood on the spot?'

Ray thought about it for a moment, but it didn't seem like a big deal.

He threw a rock near the burrow to attract the attention of the rabbit. He couldn't attack the rabbit underground because of the limitations of his spells.

A second later, a pitch-black snout stuck outside of the hole. It was sniffing so intensely that Ray thought that it had detected him, but that didn't seem to be the case.

After Ray threw another rock, which made the rabbit stick its face out of the burrow's shadows, Ray realized something was seriously wrong.

The rabbit's skin was sickly green, and its eyes were hollowed out. Its body was decomposing in several places, and its body moved robotically.

Ray's eyes widened in surprise; he was shocked to find a zombie in such an area.

The Human Empire bordered the Undead Empire, but the Pantheon never had any contact with them. Only the Mage's Alliance had to deal with undead, so Ray rarely encountered undead creatures.

'What is a zombie doing in Human territory?'

Humans hold deep hatred toward zombies—more than any other race on this planet. If zombies were spotted, they were usually wiped out on the spot.

'Is this province bordering the undead empire?'

If this were the case, Ray would have to rethink his stay at the school.

Before the rabbit could go back to its hole, Ray cast a wind blade. The rabbit seemed to notice something was off, but its reactions were far too slow.

Its rotten head glanced at Ray's figure, but the Wind Blade was already cast.

The rabbit wanted to leap toward Ray, but it found that it could no longer move its body. The last thing it saw was a human with a surprised expression inspecting its body. Then, for the second and last time, the world went black.

'Truly, you have got to be joking.'

Ray stared deadpan at the zombie's heart, a feeling of dread rising within.

There were two types of zombies: Natural Zombies, and Created Zombies. Natural Zombies were created through natural means, while Created Zombies were artificially resurrected by necromancers or liches.

If the rabbit was a Natural Zombie, there would be no issue. The vast majority of stray zombies were natural, so that's what Ray expected the rabbit to be.

Once Ray saw the rabbit's pulsating zombie core, he knew it was created by a necromancer.

Necromancers could sense the death of their minions, so there was a good chance the necromancer was already heading toward his location. Although Ray didn't know how far away the necromancer was, he didn't take any chances.

While he did gain some power over the past months, he was still a rank 1 Apprentice. Even the weakest necromancers were not something Ray could deal with. Once he became a rank-3 apprentice, there might have been a chance at fighting back. But for now, he has to tuck his tail and retreat.

Ray reached into the hole and grabbed the Blood Rabbit's corpse, which had previously fought with the zombie. He needed to escape, but he couldn't forget about his initial target.

With the Blood Rabbit's corpse in one hand and the Rejuvenation Clover in the other, Ray sprinted toward the forest's border.

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