Seraphina stared at Daenerys for a long moment.

Then she exhaled through her nose and turned back to the holographic display.

"Fine," she said simply. "We’ll see."

Daenerys smiled and said nothing more. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

...

Inside the origin gate, the world was a different thing entirely.

The sky was a bruised shade of violet, thick clouds pressing low overhead. The ground beneath Logan’s feet was dark, cracked earth split by roots the size of tree trunks.

The air was heavy and warm, carrying the distant sound of things that hadn’t noticed the students yet.

Hadn’t.

Logan glanced around briefly, taking in his surroundings with calm eyes.

Other students had landed scattered across the terrain. Some had already formed loose groups out of instinct before remembering the rules and stepping apart.

A few were visibly shaking. One girl was gripping the front of her uniform so tightly her knuckles had gone pale.

Logan didn’t blame them.

A rank 1 origin beast was still a beast. Claws. Weight. The particular kind of hunger that didn’t negotiate.

He rolled his shoulder slightly, and Snow shifted its balance without being asked.

The next moment, a line of glowing words materialised before everyone’s eyes.

[Welcome to Artificial Origin Gate #47 – ’Ironwood Labyrinth’

Time Limit: 6 Hours

Objective: Accumulate Points]

They glanced at it, briefly shocked. The next instant, the holographic screen vanished, displaying a new line of words.

[Points: 0.]

Logan glanced around. As he had expected, a silvery panel glowed above everyone’s head, displaying how many points they had accumulated. Zero.

This only made things more difficult. Normally, if one could hide how many points they had gathered, they would be able to emerge alive, but now... without sufficient strength, it was impossible to maintain their safety.

"Your points." A lady’s face turned pale as she pointed at the screen above her friend’s head.

Logan didn’t pay any attention towards them any longer.

It was time to gather points.

The use of points didn’t just end at the entrance examination, rather points could be used to purchase equipment at the academy.

Logan’s steps were light and even. The moment he started walking, his daggers appeared around him, materialising like shadows. They numbered up to twenty. Logan didn’t want to take any chances.

He walked for a few meters, approaching a clearing before his eyes landed on a beast nearby.

Sensing its aura, he realised it was a rank 1 beast.

A hulking Ironfang Wolf stepped into the clearing. It was a rank 1 origin beast, nearly two meters tall at the shoulder with rippling obsidian muscles covered in jagged, metallic fur that shimmered like oiled iron.

Its eyes burned blood-red, and four oversized fangs protruded from its powerful jaws, dripping corrosive saliva that hissed upon hitting the ground.

Logan’s expression remained indifferent as the daggers around him danced, letting out a vibrating hum.

The Ironfang Wolf turned instinctively towards the direction of the sound, however, in that instant, more than ten daggers filled its field of vision.

Before the wolf could react, it had been pierced repeatedly, all over its body.

Above Logan’s head his points jumped from 0 to...

[Points: 5]

Seeing as he had dealt with the beast so easily, Logan was about to continue deeper into the clearing when Snow’s movements stopped him.

The cat waved its paws lightly, pointing at the wolf, then back at Logan.

"Hmmm?" Logan raised a brow, now understanding what the cat meant.

He thought of something and said with suspicion, "you want the origin core?"

Normally, beasts possessed origin cores. They were similar to origin stones, only purer, and extremely useful in absorbing. They could also serve as a means of currency.

The cat nodded.

Logan was a little taken aback. Still, he waved his hand, letting two daggers crisscross around the wolf’s skull.

Moments later, a clang resounded and a crystal ball rolled out from the wolf’s head.

Before Logan could even react, Snow vanished and appeared in front of the ball, which was the size of a tennis ball.

It placed its paw on it and a wave of flame blossomed across it, like flower petals spreading outwards.

’So it knows about its fire origin element?’ Logan wasn’t too surprised by this as Snow seemed to possess intelligence.

The fire lasted for a while, even incinerating the corpse before the cat finally stopped.

Then, Snow picked up the crystal using both paws and began to lick it, salivating as its saliva dropped onto the ground and its surroundings.

Logan was dumbfounded.

’What?’ He had never seen anything like this. In fact this wasn’t meant to be possible. Consuming an origin core would cause one’s energy to be blasted apart.

However, that didn’t apply to Snow. Instead, as the little cat licked the crystal, it reduced in size almost akin to a lollipop, and its aura began steadily climbing.

Logan watched with wide eyes as the little guy finally consumed the crystal whole.

After it was done, the little cat began gesturing wildly, eager excitement appearing on its face. Clearly, having been starved for more than a week, it wanted more.

Logan’s lips twitched repeatedly as he glanced at the cat.

Still, knowing that this little creature was his made a feeling of pride surge through his heart.

Just as the cat was still urging Logan to find more, a slight rustle echoed.

The stench of blood had drawn other creatures here. Particularly the creatures who were most sensitive to blood.

Ironfang wolves.

The stench of fresh blood had drawn them.

From the shadows of the massive roots, ten Ironfang Wolves slowly emerged. They prowled low to the ground, moving in a wide circle around Logan.

Their bodies were covered in dark metallic fur, eyes glowing blood-red, long fangs dripping with corrosive saliva. They didn’t rush. They simply kept circling, tightening their formation step by step.

Logan stood in the middle, expression calm. His twenty daggers floated around him, humming with power.

Snow stayed quietly on his shoulder, watching but not moving. This fight belonged to Logan.

One wolf suddenly lunged from the right.

Logan flicked his fingers. Seven daggers shot forward and pierced the beast’s head and body before it could even reach him. It dropped dead instantly.

[+5 Points]

The other wolves attacked at once.

They came from every direction, growling. Logan moved smoothly, controlling his daggers with precise hand movements.

The daggers danced around him like a storm of shadows, stabbing into throats, eyes, and chests.

A wolf jumped toward his back. Logan stepped aside and sent ten daggers straight through its side. Another tried to bite his leg, only to be shredded mid-air.

In under a minute, all ten wolves lay dead on the ground.

Logan lowered his hand. The blood-covered daggers returned to orbit around him.

[Points: 55]

Snow’s eyes lit up with excitement. It jumped down from his shoulder and started pointing at the dead wolves, then back at Logan, meowing repeatedly.

Logan understood immediately.

"You want their origin cores?"

Snow nodded quickly, looking eager.

Logan shook his head slightly but still waved his hand. A few daggers moved and cut open the wolves’ heads one by one. Ten small crystal cores rolled out onto the ground.

Snow immediately pounced on the first one. It placed its paw on the core and flames bloomed around it.

After burning it for a while, the little cat began licking the crystal like candy, its tail swinging happily. With every core it finished, its aura grew a little stronger.

Logan watched for a moment, a small smile on his face.

"Greedy little guy."

He turned his gaze deeper into the Ironwood Labyrinth. More beasts were waiting. And somewhere out there, the other S-rank users were also moving.

"Let’s go."

Snow quickly finished the last core and jumped back onto his shoulder, looking satisfied. Logan continued walking forward, his daggers still floating protectively around him.