They had identified the massive gate that appeared in hidden quests.
The Void Gate.
Evan knew very well how dangerous this gate was, and how it invaded the world.
‘When this gate first appeared in the world… it was like looking into a horrifying hellscape.’
As soon as the gate opened, an entire city was destroyed in just a single day.
Since it was a persistent gate, it remained open until it was cleared.
And from within, Void Monsters would endlessly pour out.
‘It’s not just the scale… the Void Monsters themselves are hard to deal with.’
What made this gate most dangerous was how it lured people into a false sense of security.
Until it opened, the gate was barely visible.
‘Hunter Association detectors can sense it, but the gate itself cannot be confirmed visually.’
Humans tend to lower their guard unless they see something with their own eyes.
They would dismiss it as a sensor error or assume the faint afterimages meant nothing serious.
The outcome of that mindset was all too predictable.
‘At first, you can’t even see the Void Gate clearly.’
Although it seemed like a gate existed here, its actual body remained in the Void Realm.
Because of that, the gate couldn’t directly affect the world yet.
‘Of course, that doesn’t mean it stays that way forever.’
It simply hadn’t settled into the world yet.
Once the settling phase began, its form would gradually become clearer.
And by that point, the gate would be visible to the naked eye—
Like seeing a translucent hologram flickering in midair.
That moment was the most crucial timing.
‘The gate’s settling doesn’t happen automatically, so the moment afterimages start appearing, we’ll be able to track clues left behind by them.’
More precisely—by the Void Stalkers, creatures that travel across dimensions.
These stalkers come from the Void Gate and begin opening portal doors somewhere to anchor the gate to the world.
The more portals they create, the more solid the gate becomes.
Eventually, when the Void Gate fully settles and reveals itself, a hellscape will unfold—just as Evan remembered.
The worst part was that the Void Stalkers moved in secret.
In reality, stopping the Void Stalkers was practically impossible.
And as long as the gate wasn’t destroyed, they would continue opening new portals.
Which is why clearing the Void Gate itself was the more realistic approach.
‘By now, a portal should have opened somewhere.’
The key to conquering a Void Gate was to enter and destroy it before it fully manifested.
Of course, that didn’t mean the strategy was easy.
Finding the portal entrance wasn’t simple either.
It would be crawling with monsters lying in ambush.
‘But even so, I can’t just sit back and do nothing.’
No matter how hard it was to find, he had to.
***
“Marquess! We need to prepare immediately. Please organize an extermination force. We must depart right away.”
“Hm? What are you talking about?”
When Darwen asked why, Evan hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
“I’ve read through incident records from within the Count’s domain before.”
To convince the Marquess, Evan had to fabricate a plausible excuse.
He couldn’t exactly say he’d seen a gate like this in a previous life.
He tried to explain in a way that Darwen could understand.
“There was a similar dimensional rift recorded in the past. The detection was confirmed, but… ‘it couldn’t be seen at first,’ the record said…”
Evan recalled the distinct traits of the Void Gates he had encountered in his previous world.
“Over time, a transparent, blurry dimensional rift began appearing in the sky. It gradually became clearer until the rift fully revealed itself. Then monsters poured out… and countless lives were lost.”
Darwen stared at Evan, unable to look away, clearly shocked.
“Is that really true? This is serious.”
Seeing the Marquess’s reaction, Evan continued.
“That’s why we must act now. Form a dimensional rift subjugation squad in your name, and please tell Father that I’ll be joining it. We’ll go into the rift ourselves.”
Darwen’s expression twisted.
It seemed he didn’t like the idea of entering the rift.
But Evan remained calm and pressed on.
“However, the entrance will likely be hidden somewhere in the forest. If we mobilize the knights to search, we should be able to find it.”
“W-what? That’s far too dangerous! Entering a dimensional rift?!”
Though Darwen protested in horror, Evan explained steadily.
“There’s no other way to stop it.”
He paused briefly before speaking again.
“This is for your ears only, Marquess. It’s a secret. While on patrol today with a knight escort, I discovered a dimensional rift.
Because of the monsters, I had to go inside… and I found a way to destroy the rift.”
“Destroy it? There’s actually a way to do that?”
“Yes. I’m certain. A report will be filed soon about the rift I destroyed today, so if you don’t believe me, you can visit the knights and confirm it yourself.”
Darwen shook his head.
“All right, fine. What would you gain from lying to me about this? But still, a method to destroy the rift… what exactly is it?”
“There are catalysts that sustain a dimensional rift’s form. I… discovered them through…”
Evan stopped suppressing his mana and concentrated it into his palm.
Fwoooosh!
A glowing blue sphere of mana hovered above his hand.
“Through mana sensitivity, I was able to locate them.”
Of course, this was a lie crafted to convince Darwen.
Awakened individuals could see how to conquer gates thanks to the system.
But Evan couldn’t explain the system to Darwen, so he had to invent a believable method.
Darwen’s eyes went wide.
“That’s mana! You can use mana?!”
“Yes. I’ve been hiding it until now, but I thought this time, I had to show you.”
To clear the hidden quest, Evan needed Darwen’s help.
That meant he had to show a certain level of skill to earn Darwen’s trust.
Darwen couldn’t take his eyes off the blue orb floating above Evan’s hand as he spoke.
“Well, I get your point… but how did you do that? I couldn’t sense any mana at all.”
“Because I controlled it.”
“Controlled it?”
“Let me show you again.”
Evan began suppressing his mana.
In that instant, Darwen looked at him in shock.
“Wait, are you saying this is possible through control alone?”
Evan nodded, though this wasn’t a skill just anyone could replicate.
The level of mana control he had reached in his previous world was beyond imitation.
Even Evan himself wouldn’t have been able to do it without those memories, his past experiences, and the new power he’d gained from his soul.
“Let’s just say this is my trump card. What really matters is that I can eliminate the dimensional rift.”
Darwen clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“Ahem. Understood. We’ll talk more about your technique later. Leave the subjugation force to me—I’ll gather some skilled mages. I’ll also speak to the Count and try to sway him in your favor.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
After finishing their conversation, Evan stood up.
“Well then, I have some preparations to make. Please contact me once the subjugation force is ready.”
In any case, it would take some time for the subjugation force to be organized and for the knights’ patrol units to discover the rift’s entrance.
Evan couldn’t afford to waste that time.
‘The Void Gate is beyond my current abilities.’
He needed to fully adapt to his transformed body and push its limits to the max.
Evan vowed to clear this hidden quest, no matter what.
***
The capital of Count Kerten’s domain, Valles.
It was the largest city within the count’s territory and ranked among the top five cities in the entire kingdom.
Right now, heavily armed knights were stationed all throughout the city.
In preparation for the gate event, Clyd had issued an emergency summons to the capital.
All guilds, adventurers, and mercenaries within the city were being mobilized.
If that wasn’t enough, every available combat force would also be deployed.
It was Clyd’s strategy to minimize casualties.
Sitting in his office, he reviewed the incoming reports.
They described frequent appearances of dimensional rifts across the count’s domain.
He hoped it would end there… but in his heart, he knew an even greater disaster was looming.
‘Everything lines up. This disaster won’t end simply.’
There was still no word from the Magic Tower…
Clyd recalled his recent conversation with Darwen.
—“Count, we must prepare for the dimensional rift at once. I sensed a large-scale rift emerging in this region. I couldn’t just sit back, so I came here myself.”
Darwen had personally come to deliver the news.
He even brought a map marked with every dimensional rift that had appeared in the count’s domain.
This was information only Clyd, who received reports from across the territory, should have known.
The Magic Tower might’ve been able to detect it—but no one else.
Even more startling was that Darwen had identified the locations of rifts Clyd himself didn’t know about.
After ordering his knights to verify them, the intel had proven accurate.
‘But the fact that we’ve heard nothing about this from the Magic Tower or the Mage Guild…’
He didn’t know whether it was due to factional interference or some other reason.
Regardless, he now knew they couldn’t be trusted.
‘To think my connection with the Marquess would lead to such assistance…’
But this wasn’t simply luck.
It was only possible because of Evan—he was the crucial link.
The Marquess had even made it clear that any future information of this kind would only be relayed through Evan.
A firm declaration of his support.
As a result, Evan’s presence was becoming increasingly significant.
Yet Darwen hadn’t stopped there—he made one more astonishing proposal.
—“Don’t worry too much. I’ll take responsibility for this rift. Count, you focus on dispatching your knights to find the rift’s entrance. I’ll form a subjugation team with the young lord and enter the rift to eliminate it myself. I also want to demonstrate the young lord’s impressive skills.”
He was saying he’d personally handle the situation.
What moved Clyd most was the claim that the dimensional rift could be destroyed.
Darwen wasn’t one to speak lightly.
“Could there really be a way…?”
For the first time, a sliver of hope appeared.
Clyd had no choice but to leave that part to Darwen.
After all, letting the rift vanish naturally had been their only option until now.
If there was a way to end this faster, then anything was welcome.
Still, he couldn’t quite understand Darwen’s last remark.
“Evan’s skills are exceptional…”
He’d assumed Evan was decent, given that Alan had acknowledged him.
But the idea that he was skilled enough to earn the Marquess’s recognition?
That was hard to believe.
The Marquess wasn’t just anyone—he was the leader of an elite mage faction.
To hold that position meant being among the best of the best.
Had it not been for his obsessive personality, people said he could’ve easily claimed a prestigious seat within the royal court.
‘Though he does seem a little different now.’
In any case, the Marquess himself had volunteered to join the battle alongside his son.
With someone that dependable involved, there was little to worry about.
Clyd believed this could even become a valuable experience.
“Evan…”
He softly said the name and set the documents aside.