While Logan was slightly weakened, outside, the principal and instructors stared at the screen with glowing eyes, shock etched across their faces.

"He... really killed them all..." Seraphina was the first to recover, though disbelief still lingered in her voice as she stared at the screen.

Daenerys wasn’t too shocked by Logan’s strength. Instead, as she stared at the little cat on screen, surprise flickered through her eyes.

’That little guy actually possesses an origin ability?’ she muttered inwardly, masking the disturbance in her expression.

The vice principal and the other instructors gradually recovered from their daze.

David glanced at Seraphina before finally speaking once she had calmed slightly.

"Did you see that, Principal? That little cat by his side..." his words trailed off heavily.

Seraphina nodded in silence.

She had also seen the exact moment the little cat saved Logan from an untimely death.

"This youth..." Her eyes lingered on Logan’s figure displayed on the screen.

"He is still a little too careless. You don’t charge into a fight so recklessly like that. He would have gotten himself killed if it wasn’t for his pet."

As the words left her lips, she paused briefly, her gaze shifting toward Daenerys beside her.

"Bring everyone back. He has practically killed all the beasts present already. This is no longer an entrance test."

She paused for a moment before adding,

"This test is canceled. He is granted a free pass into the academy. The others will have to conduct a written test to secure their spots."

After she finished speaking, David nodded slightly.

Then he quickly communicated with the origin rune embedded within the artificial origin gate.

Several moments passed in silence, and his brows slowly furrowed.

Suddenly, the screen ahead dimmed... before turning off completely.

David’s expression tightened as he tried once more.

"Is something wrong?" Seraphina asked, narrowing her eyes faintly.

"No... yes. Let me try one more time." As he spoke, he communicated with the runes again.

Finally, his expression changed drastically. A trace of solemnity entered his voice as he turned toward the principal.

"I’m sorry, ma’am... I can’t seem to reach them."

Pausing briefly, he continued, "The connection to the origin gate appears to have been disconnected somehow."

"What?" Seraphina’s expression shifted instantly, her gaze snapping toward the blank screen.

"What is going on?" Daenerys noticed the subtle change in everyone’s expressions, her brows knitting together.

"We... can’t seem to reconnect to the artificial origin gate." David explained grimly while continuously attempting to communicate with it.

"What?" Her eyes widened slightly, her heartbeat skipping.

"Try again."

"I’m... trying."

"Then try harder!" Daenerys shot him a deadly glare.

David felt a chill crawl down his spine the moment those words left her mouth.

The other instructors broke into cold sweats beneath the pressure of her stare.

They all knew Daenerys was insane. If she truly lost her temper, things would only spiral further out of control. Quietly, they could only pray things had not reached the worst possible outcome.

Seraphina glanced at Daenerys and sighed softly. She understood the reaction. She too didn’t want to lose such a monstrous genius.

’If he can participate in the inter-country competition...’

"Daenerys, calm down. I’m sure nothing will happen."

"I don’t need to hear something like that, Seraphina." Daenerys shot the principal a glare of her own before beginning to pace restlessly, already thinking of ways to force her way into the origin gate.

...

Inside the origin gate...

Logan panted lightly, trying to steady his breathing after the exhausting ordeal. Sweat clung to his skin, and the metallic scent of blood still hung thick in the air.

Suddenly, he felt a subtle shift.

The air changed.

"Watch out!" Ethan shouted.

But before anyone else could react...

A sharp arrow tore through the air.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Multiple metal rods shot forward and impaled several students, including Sylvana and Logan.

It happened so abruptly that nobody could react before the rods pierced through flesh.

From within the forest, a man dressed in black leather stepped out slowly. Two others followed behind him, similarly dressed, their expressions cold and detached.

Logan coughed out a mouthful of blood.

The exhaustion from the previous battle, combined with the rod lodged through his body, caused his aura to weaken drastically.

"Interesting... I didn’t think I would encounter such a terrifying genius here." The man in the lead spoke with a faint smile.

A scar stretched across both sides of his face, while long raven-black hair fell messily over his shoulders. A twisted amusement warped his features as he observed the youths around him.

At the same time, alarms rang continuously inside Logan’s mind.

Was this an attack?

There wasn’t supposed to be an attack on the academy. At least... not yet.

His thoughts raced rapidly before his eyes widened in realization.

This was a year before the novel officially began. Which meant there was a possibility the previous year’s students had also been attacked.

’That would explain the deaths of the two SSS-rank talents...’

Logan struggled to process everything.

It felt like... things were beginning to slip beyond his control.

Gordon snickered before raising a hand casually.

Instantly, the rods trembled violently. This was his origin path.

He belonged to the Potion Path.

By consuming specialized potions, he could deepen his control over nearly any type of metal.

Copper. Tin. Vibranium. Whatever metal existed, he could manipulate it.

That was the terrifying aspect of the Potion Path.

Although rare, they weren’t limited to a single branch of their origin ability.

And most importantly... they had no need for origin techniques.

"And you..." his gaze drifted toward the bloodstained cat.

"Little guy... I didn’t expect to encounter something this interesting here."

The rods trembled again with sharp metallic hums.

The students instantly fell into chaos.

Rods streaked through the battlefield as another wave of students was slaughtered.

Clang!

The sound of metal colliding against something hard echoed sharply.

Surprisingly, one of the rods was knocked flying.

Gordon turned in slight surprise and noticed Ethan charging straight toward him.

Ethan’s origin ability belonged to the Weapon category.

His mastery over weapons had virtually no limit.

As long as his proficiency improved, the rank of his techniques would continuously rise alongside it.

He still didn’t fully understand the true capabilities of his system and was currently limited because of it, but even then, an SS-rank talent like his was terrifying enough.

His ability also granted him the power to predict the trajectories of incoming attacks and counter them instinctively.

"You..." Gordon’s tone carried faint surprise. "I noticed you earlier. Didn’t think you’d actually manage to block one of my strikes."

He raised his hand again.

A fresh wave of rods emerged from his origin space.

The metal trembled eagerly, almost alive.

"I wonder if you can defend against this."

These rods were prototypes for a unique metal his faction had been developing.

They possessed traces of intelligence and could strengthen themselves by absorbing blood. However, because they were incomplete, they were extremely unstable.

Gordon didn’t care in the slightest.

Clang!

The rods exploded outward, blurring into streaks of metallic light as they shot toward Ethan.

Swoosh!

Ethan swung his sword, colliding with one rod, but three others had already shifted toward his blind spots.

Because of his relentless sword training, his physique had been enhanced tremendously, allowing his body to barely keep pace with the predictions flooding his mind.

’Left...’

He swung instantly, his blade intercepting one rod while simultaneously sweeping toward the right.

"Kill the others..." Gordon watched Ethan with growing interest as he gave the order to the two men beside him.

Their goal this time was simple.

Ensure every student participating in the entrance test died here.

No new students would enter the Origin Academy this year.