Chapter 53: They Feared The Beast, But He Was An Even Bigger Monster

In the outside world...

Seraphina had long since fallen silent, watching the terrifying display of strength Logan had shown.

Daenerys chuckled lightly, her gaze still fixed on the screen.

"Head instructor," the vice principal asked cautiously, "is that the space element?"

Daenerys casually nodded and said nothing more.

Instantly, everyone sucked in a deep breath. No wonder Daenerys had been confident enough to make the bet.

"The bet’s still not over..." the principal stated lightly, her gaze drifting to a particular corner of the screen. "Although he possesses the space element, I doubt he can contend with Ethan. Remember, Ethan possesses an SSS-rank origin path?"

The other instructors nodded as well, including the vice principal.

Daenerys wanted to tell them that Logan’s space element was similarly at SSS-rank, but she ultimately chose to keep it to herself. It would be far more interesting to see the shock on their faces at the end of it all.

Her gaze drifted back to the screen, settling on the youth they were talking about. Ethan.

...

’The goal is to enter the Origin Academy this time...’ Ethan gripped his rapier tightly, his eyes filled with resolve.

If Logan had seen the youth called Ethan, he would have been shaken to his core.

After all... this youth was the original protagonist of his novel.

Naturally, he had no business crossing paths with the novel yet. Not now.

But one day, just after training, a red line of text materialised before his eyes.

[Detected that your fate is being tampered with. Please proceed to the Origin Academy and eliminate the person responsible.]

Ethan had carried the system for as long as he could remember. Mostly, it was a status screen that displayed his stats and tracked his progress. Nothing more.

So when it suddenly changed, Ethan knew to take things seriously.

Even though he was just seventeen, he faked his age and managed to enter the entrance examination.

’Could it be him?’ His thoughts drifted to that mysterious youth who had arrived atop a dragon. The moment he sensed him, a familiar threat had settled in, the kind he hadn’t felt in a long time. A suffocating pressure that made him feel slightly oppressed, and instinctively, he couldn’t help thinking it was him.

But on second thought... they had never met before.

’The best way to know the truth is to have a fight with him.’

Ethan mumbled to himself and continued eliminating the beasts around him.

Above his head, his points glowed.

[Points: 30.]

...

Unaware that a few changes had already shifted the novel around him, pulling the protagonist one year forward into the story, Logan continued heading deeper into the forest.

With light steps, he walked for a few meters when he suddenly sensed something.

He quickened his pace.

Ahead, a few students were gathered, fighting desperately against two massive creatures.

They were Ironwood Venom Apes. Rank 2 origin beasts.

Standing over three meters tall, their bodies were wrapped in thick, bark-like armor that blended perfectly with the ironwood trees around them. Their arms were long and powerful, ending in sharp claws that dripped steadily with purple venom.

One of the apes had glowing green eyes and could summon thorny vines from the ground. The other spat corrosive venom that melted anything it touched.

The five students were working together, but they were clearly struggling.

"Keep it busy!" a boy with a fire origin ability shouted, throwing a weak flame ball at one ape.

The beast barely felt it. It roared, slammed its fist into the earth, and forced them to scatter.

A girl with a wind origin tried to slow them with gusts, but the apes’ thick armor resisted most of the damage.

Another boy with a sword origin charged in and was swatted away like a fly, crashing hard into a tree. Blood leaked from his mouth.

"Damn it! These things are too strong!" one of them cried.

The vine ape drove its palms into the ground. Thick thorny roots burst upward, wrapping around the legs of two students and dragging them down.

"We’re finished..." a girl whispered, her voice shaking. "This is where we die. There’s no escaping something like this..."

The venom ape opened its mouth and launched a large glob of purple liquid straight at them. Every face went pale with terror. They had no strength left to dodge.

At that exact moment, Logan stepped out from behind a cluster of thick roots, his expression calm as ever. Twenty daggers drifted silently around him.

He didn’t stop walking. He didn’t even look particularly interested.

The daggers shot forward like black lightning. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Swish! Swish! Swish!

In an instant, more than fifteen blades tore through the first ape’s neck and eyes, punching through its thick armor as though it wasn’t there.

The beast had no time to roar. It collapsed, shaking the ground beneath it.

The second ape spun toward Logan with a furious roar, massive arm swinging wide as vines erupted from the earth toward him.

Logan simply waved his hand. The remaining daggers spun violently, shredding the vines mid-air before driving deep into the second ape’s head and chest.

Both Rank 2 beasts were dead within seconds.

Logan didn’t break stride. He walked straight through the clearing like nothing had happened, daggers returning calmly to orbit around him.

[Points: +20]

The five students stood frozen, staring at the ground where the beasts had been.

"T-That... was he even trying?" one boy muttered, eyes wide with disbelief.

"He just... killed two Rank 2 beasts like they were nothing..."

The girl who had already made her peace with dying watched Logan’s back with pure fear in her eyes. Her legs were still shaking. "Who... who the hell is he?"

They had never seen dominance like that. The gap in strength was too vast to fully absorb.

For a long moment, none of them dared to speak, or even breathe too loudly, as his figure disappeared deeper into the trees.

On Logan’s shoulder, Snow yawned lazily, completely unbothered.

Logan didn’t spare them another glance. His goal was deeper inside.

Along the way, Rank 2 beasts began appearing with greater frequency. The Ironwood Venom Apes had only been the beginning.

Logan moved through the forest at the same unhurried pace. Snow sat comfortably on his shoulder, looking full and satisfied.

Soon, two Steelback Boars burst out from the bushes, charging straight at him with their metallic tusks lowered. Logan didn’t slow. He flicked two fingers, and ten daggers shot forward, spinning rapidly as they drilled through the boars’ skulls and thick hides. Both crashed lifelessly to the ground.

[+20 Points]

Not long after, three more Rank 2 beasts appeared. Two Thornhide Lizards and one Ironwood Venom Ape.

The lizards fired volleys of poison spikes while the ape pounded the ground, sending shockwaves rolling toward him.

Logan’s daggers formed a spinning wall around him, shearing every spike from the air before any could reach him. Then the blades scattered outward, slicing the lizards apart and driving into the ape’s joints, dropping it with a pained roar.

[Points: 125]

He kept moving.

Then the ground trembled.

A Bloodcaller Gorilla stepped out from the treeline, filling the path completely. Peak Rank 2. Nearly four meters tall, dark red fur bristling, runes pulsing across its broad chest in slow rhythmic waves. Its eyes found Logan and locked on with open hostility.