Chapter 83: Combat Training {Mass Release}

BOOM.

Suddenly a student collapsed heavily onto the floor nearby.

His face had already turned pale white.

"I-I can’t..."

Before he could finish, Selene appeared beside him instantly.

Her crimson eyes looked down coldly.

"Pathetic."

The student’s expression stiffened.

Then suddenly, she kicked him directly in the stomach.

BANG.

The boy’s body flew several meters across the floor, skidding hard before coming to a stop.

Several students’ expressions froze.

"Get up."

Her voice remained calm.

"But instructor—"

"Get up."

The pressure in her voice became heavier.

The boy trembled slightly before forcing himself upright once more.

No one dared speak again after that.

The academy wasn’t a school.

It was a grinder.

And they were being crushed inside it.

---

An hour later—

many students looked half-dead already.

Sweat soaked the training hall.

Heavy breathing echoed everywhere.

Several students lay sprawled across the floor after finally receiving permission to stop.

Meanwhile Logan calmly exhaled once before glancing at the timer again.

[21:08:13]

It was still manageable.

Then suddenly, Selene spoke again.

"Pair up."

Groans immediately echoed throughout the hall.

Several students looked ready to collapse already.

Yet nobody dared complain openly.

The next moment, massive metallic weights rose from the ground beside every student.

The surrounding freshmen stared blankly.

"What the hell..."

Each weight looked absurdly heavy. However, Selene’s gaze remained indifferent.

"Carry them."

Silence.

Then—

"You’ve got to be kidding..."

BOOM.

The student who spoke was instantly slammed into the floor by overwhelming pressure.

Selene calmly lowered her hand.

"Anyone else?"

The hall immediately became deathly silent.

Meanwhile Logan casually lifted the enormous metallic weight onto his shoulders.

The surrounding students’ expressions shifted slightly.

Too easy.

Even Ethan noticed.

Their gazes briefly met across the hall.

Ethan’s eyes were cold, filled with hostility.

Then Ethan silently lifted his own weight as well.

Kaizen gritted his teeth and followed shortly after.

One by one—

the students began moving again.

And slowly—

the atmosphere inside the hall began changing.

The arrogance from yesterday disappeared further with every passing minute.

People stopped looking at one another like rivals.

Now—

they looked at each other like survivors.

Meanwhile, Logan’s thoughts drifted elsewhere entirely.

He was still internally planning how perfectly he was going to steal the S-rank space technique.

The thought lingered quietly within his mind until—

[Ding!]

[08:00 - Combat Theory]

The physical conditioning session finally ended.

Several students nearly collapsed from relief.

Meanwhile Logan calmly placed the metallic weight back onto the platform before walking toward the next building alongside the others.

The combat theory hall resembled a massive amphitheater.

Thousands of holographic displays floated overhead.

At the center platform stood an elderly man wearing a black academy uniform.

Unlike Selene—

his appearance looked completely ordinary.

Yet the moment Logan saw him—

his eyes narrowed slightly.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

One shouldn’t underestimate the ordinary elderly man, after all, he was the one who’d created him.

The old man slowly adjusted his glasses.

"My name is Instructor Rael."

His voice sounded calm and soft, yet strangely oppressive.

"Today’s lesson..."

The holographic displays above the lecture hall flickered.

An enormous battlefield immediately appeared overhead.

Ruined buildings.

Collapsed highways.

Burning corpses.

Several students instinctively frowned.

Rael calmly adjusted his glasses.

"Combat theory."

His voice echoed softly throughout the hall.

"Most of you believe battles are decided by talent."

The holographic battlefield suddenly zoomed inward and two awakened individuals appeared onscreen.

One possessed overwhelming Origin output while the other looked painfully average.

"Usually..."

BOOM.

The stronger awakened instantly attacked and violent flames swallowed the battlefield.

Several freshmen nodded instinctively at the obvious outcome when suddenly—

The flames dispersed and the stronger awakened collapsed onto the ground dead.

Silence filled the lecture hall instantly at the shock of it.

The weaker awakened calmly removed a blade from the man’s throat.

Poison.

Several students’ expressions shifted slightly.

That was a shameless but effective tactic.

Rael’s gaze swept across them.

"Power matters."

"But intelligence decides survival."

The holographic screens changed once more.

This time—

a team of awakened individuals appeared inside an Origin Gate.

"There are four major causes of death inside Gates."

The old man raised a finger.

"Overconfidence."

A student charged ahead alone onscreen.

Moments later—

he was torn apart by creatures hiding beneath the ground.

"Panic."

Another image appeared.

A girl froze after witnessing her teammate die.

Three seconds later—

a monster crushed her skull.

"Exhaustion."

The scene shifted again.

An awakened collapsed while trying to conserve Origin energy incorrectly.

His teammates abandoned him almost instantly.

"And finally..."

Rael’s voice became quieter.

"Trust."

The entire lecture hall became silent.

The final holographic scene appeared overhead.

Two teammates fighting side by side against monsters.

Then suddenly—

one stabbed the other through the back.

Several students visibly stiffened at the sight.

"Inside Origin Gates..."

Rael calmly clasped his hands behind his back.

"...people become desperate."

"There are no laws. No surveillance. No consequences. Fear."

The holographic battlefield slowly darkened around him.

"And fear..."

His eyes swept across the freshmen.

"...turns humans into monsters faster than Gates ever could."

Silence filled the lecture hall.

This time, nobody looked relaxed anymore.

Even Kaizen’s expression had become noticeably serious.

Back at home the clan had taught him none of this. If it wasn’t for coming to the academy, he wouldn’t have found out these valuable pieces of information.

Meanwhile Logan silently watched the holographic footage calmly.

Everything Rael said was true.

In fact—

the reality inside high-level Gates was far worse.

The old instructor slowly walked across the platform.

"You are not heroes."

Several students frowned faintly.

"You are awakened."

His voice remained calm.

"And awakened die every day."

The holographic screens shifted once more.

This time displaying dozens of combat recordings simultaneously.

Different abilities. Different environments. Different deaths.

"Combat theory is not about fighting fairly." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Rael continued.

"It is about increasing your survival rate. Positioning. Environmental awareness. Origin conservation. Reading hostility. Killing intent. Psychological warfare. Team formations. Retreat timing and decision-making under pressure."

The students gradually fell silent listening to him.

Because unlike ordinary lectures, everything about this felt real.

Brutally real.

Suddenly one of the recordings paused.

A group of awakened individuals stood within a narrow corridor.

Rael pointed toward the screen.

"Tell me the first mistake you can spot here."

Several students stared carefully.

Then Ethan spoke calmly.

"The formation is too compressed."

Rael nodded once.

"If an area attack appears, all of them die simultaneously."

The footage resumed.

Exactly three seconds later, the corridor exploded into flames and the entire team died instantly.

Several students felt chills run down their spines.

Rael continued the lesson calmly afterward.

Every example felt practical, direct and efficient.

There was no inspirational speech.

No heroic nonsense.

Only survival.

By the time the lecture finally ended—

the atmosphere inside the hall had changed completely.

The students no longer looked like gifted freshmen entering a prestigious academy.

Now, they looked like people slowly realizing how terrifying the awakened world truly was.

[Ding!]

[10:00 - Origin Gate Survival]

The students were immediately escorted toward another enormous facility.

This time, the atmosphere felt completely different.

Cold, dark and dangerous.

Massive steel doors slowly opened before them.

Beyond the entrance, an artificial ruined city stretched endlessly beneath dim crimson lighting.

Several students froze.

"This is..."

"Simulation zone," Selene answered calmly and stepped into view. She was also their instructor for this lesson.

The moment they saw her, a wave of pressure instantly clouded most students’ minds.

"Today’s objective is survival."

As soon as Selene’s voice faded, a bright red notification flashed before everyone’s eyes.

WARNING.

WARNING.

HOSTILE ENTITIES RELEASED.