With the sudden appearance of a Void Gate, chaos erupted around the Mage Tower.
Of all places, it happened right in the midst of a large crowd.
“Evan!”
Rozi, staring at the Gate, called out to Evan in alarm.
“Count, please look after Ayra. I’ll handle things with the escort knights and return soon.”
“You’re being reckless, young master. The Crimson Oath is a dangerous place. We should leave this to the Order first…”
Evan shook his head.
“No. I think I need to stop it here. There are too many eyes watching, and besides, that level of Crimson Oath—I can handle it. Our family has the experience of dealing with Crimson Oaths many times before.”
The Gate that had appeared felt strangely targeted at him.
‘Is this about C-rank?’
It wasn’t a high grade, but being a persistent-type Gate, it would last for months if left alone.
Evan already had a strategy in mind for dealing with the Gate.
‘With these persistent-type Gates, the boss monsters usually endure inside, don’t they?’
But since people in this world didn’t know that, he had to come up with a plausible reason.
At that moment—
“Guaaagh! Uh, uh…”
“Kreeeeek!”
Monsters began to pour out of the Gate.
-Infected test subjects have appeared.
Undead-type monsters like Skeletons and Ghouls emerged.
Some wore old armor or tattered clothes.
“The appointed time, the appointed place, and the infected test subjects…”
Evan began to feel a sense of discomfort as he watched.
It was hard to dismiss them as just ordinary Undead; their outfits were unique.
‘They look like soldiers from some old kingdom.’
A sense of déjà vu struck Evan.
The issue of infected test subjects couldn’t be taken lightly.
Recalling the time he encountered the Goblin test subjects, he noticed similarities—they too shared common traits as experimental beings.
Of course, the connection wasn’t certain yet, but it was enough to raise suspicion.
While Evan was lost in thought, the Sacred Knights and priests of the City were quickly deployed into battle.
To block the monsters pouring from the Gate.
“Evil beings are invading the Sanctuary!”
“Block them for the pride of the Goddess!”
Just then, an Order official beside Evan spoke up.
“Young master, it’s dangerous here. Please evacuate! The sealing process will take quite some time.”
Evan prepared to move with Alan and Reynold.
“We’ll try to stop them. Just open a path to the Crimson Oath for us.”
“Stop them? No matter how capable you are, young master, it’s too dangerous.”
Rozi, folding his arms, nodded in agreement.
Evan smiled as he spoke.
“It’s all right. Times like these, I want to act for the Southern Region.”
“Y-young master…”
At that, she was filled with admiration.
Heroic in both deed and character—no wonder the people of the Southern Region hailed him as a hero.
She couldn’t forget the tales of his feats fighting cultists before—he was truly dependable.
“If the young master leads from the front, we’ll support you as well.”
With that, she changed her mind and decided to aid Evan.
“Yes. Just open a path for us. Leave the rest to me.”
“Don’t push yourself, young master. If it gets dangerous, come right back!”
Rozi drew a mace from a badge on his jacket shaped like Rozi coin.
It seemed Rozi had crafted the coin into a dimensional storage tool.
“Alan, Reynold. Get ready to move out.”
“Understood! Young master.”
Reynold followed behind Evan, and though Alan looked uneasy, he let out a sigh and followed as well.
Evan gripped his Elemental Sword and charged toward the Gate.
Immediately, support came from the priests and Sacred Knights behind him.
Whooosh!
When they attacked the Skeletons with holy magic, the Skeletons crumpled instantly, like puppets with their strings cut.
‘Undead are weak against Holy Power, so they should be able to handle them easily.’
Fortunately, the monsters from this Gate were especially vulnerable to the Order, who wielded Holy Power.
It seemed they would hold them off without issue.
‘I just have to deal with the Gate.’
Though the sudden appearance of the Gate was suspicious, Evan saw this as an opportunity.
He could build a good image in front of the crowds and use it to increase the success rate of his business plans.
‘For a Gate like this, that’s some cheap publicity.’
Evan activated the flame property of his Elemental Sword.
-Flame Sword activated.
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted from his blade.
Among the Undead, monsters were also weak to fire—second only to Holy Power.
Evan charged forward.
Shing!
He swung his sword at the charging Ghouls.
“Guaaargh!”
As the Ghouls were cut down, they were engulfed in flames and fell into a state of debilitation.
Like that, Evan swiftly cut through the Ghouls.
In an instant, Evan, Alan, and Reynold had reached the Gate.
A sky steeped in darkness.
Thick black clouds hovered above, and beneath them stood withered trees.
A place devoid of any sense of life.
When he inhaled, he could smell a dank, suffocating odor.
Evan turned his head and looked around.
Endless horizons stretched out, with tombstones densely packed in all directions.
‘A world like this… no wonder Undead monsters crawl out.’
It seemed like a Graveyard, but one so vast it dwarfed a City.
-You have entered the Gate.
-Gate clear conditions.
-Eliminate boss monster (0/1)
-Destroy Gate Core (0/1)
Basic information about the Gate appeared.
Evan glanced over it and began assessing the Gate.
‘Defeat the boss monster and destroy the Gate Core.’
Just as expected.
Persistent-type Gates had a Gate Core that kept them active.
Destroy that, and the Gate would no longer be sustained.
At that moment, Alan, alert, asked Evan,
“Young master, I don’t sense anything around us. There should at least be mana, but I can’t feel a trace.”
Prompted by Alan’s words, Evan sharpened his mana sensitivity.
Indeed, there was an eerie absence of mana.
“A strange world indeed. A world with no mana…”
It was nearly unthinkable.
Every world contained mana.
Whether in nature or otherwise, mana could always be felt.
Such a place existed only in the old, peaceful world—before the Awakened ever appeared.
“The graves are odd! Something’s moving!”
Reynold said, gripping his greatsword tightly.
Evan and Alan turned their attention to the surroundings.
Rustle!
The ground began to bulge up in little mounds, and tombstones toppled one after another.
Something was about to crawl out of the graves.
Evan thought he had an idea what it was.
If this Gate was related to the Undead, and especially if this was a Graveyard—
“Everyone, get ready. They’re coming.”
Zombies burst out, tearing through the earth.
Scattered bones all around rose up to form Skeletons.
With so many graves, the number of monsters was impossible to count.
“Damn. Are we completely surrounded?”
Evan clicked his tongue; already, Undead monsters were swarming in an unending circle.
‘First, the boss monster and the Gate Core…’
He decided to focus on the Gate’s main objectives.
“From now on, ignore as many as possible and search for the boss. Keep your Aura Blade’s density as low as you can.”
While conquering the Gate, he would also use this as a training opportunity for Alan and Reynold.
Maintaining a low Aura Blade density required considerable control.
“Understood!”
“Yes.”
As Evan commanded, Alan and Reynold drew out their aura.
The group began slicing through the hordes of zombies, pushing forward with their swords.
“Hyaaaah!”
With a shout, Reynold swung his greatsword with full force.
Whoosh!
Slash—!
The massive blade split several zombies in two at once.
The combination of Reynold’s strength and aura control made for overwhelming destructive power.
Like a tank, Reynold barreled forward, crushing zombies in his path.
Alan followed, assisting from behind; faintly, his sword radiated Aura Blade.
It was slight, but being able to use Aura Blade at all was a huge improvement.
Mastery of Aura Blade varied immensely by skill.
With all the travel and constant training, Alan seemed to have just crossed into the mid-rank of Sword Expert.
‘If he can become more adept with Aura Blade, he’ll make it to high-rank Sword Expert soon.’
Watching their growth, Evan scanned the surroundings, searching for signs of the boss monster or the Gate Core.
With zombies continuously rising from the graves, they needed to act fast or be overwhelmed.
Moreover, the scale of this place surpassed that of a City.
If exaggerated, it felt as though the whole world was one vast grave.
‘Why are there so many graves here?’
Suddenly, he spotted a building in the distance.
A massive palace amidst the sea of graves.
It was safe to assume the boss monster would be there.
After all, it was the only building in a place otherwise filled with nothing but graves.
Even if the boss wasn’t inside, they needed to head there first to escape this place.
Evan gave the order.
“Alan! Reynold! We’re breaking through to that place, now!”
“Leave it to me! I’ll smash through in one go!”
Reynold mustered more strength and charged toward the front.
Alan matched his tempo, swinging his sword rapidly.
In the end, Evan’s party broke through and reached the palace entrance.
Fortunately, there were no monsters inside the palace.
Only slow-moving zombies were gathering behind them.
“Let’s head in for now.”
Evan took the lead and entered the palace.
A message window popped up before his eyes.
-You have discovered the ruined palace of the Estia Kingdom.
‘Estia Kingdom?’
Evan narrowed his eyes at the message.
Estia—wasn’t that the force that led the Death Knights and invaded the royal capital before?
‘Estia is now a guild, and currently one of our enemy factions.’
Was the name simply a coincidence?
With that thought, Evan stepped into the palace’s garden.
The age of the place was evident in every trace—cracks in the walls, moss creeping along the stone.
“This is seriously creepy.”
Reynold rubbed his arms, shrinking back a bit.
Alan, unable to take his eyes off the palace, asked Evan,
“This is the first time I’ve seen a palace inside a Crimson Oath.”
Evan nodded casually.
He’d seen palaces inside Gates more than once in his previous world.
But what interested him was the Estia palace.
‘Could there be a secret here?’
As Evan reached the palace entrance, he placed his hand on the door and pushed.
Creeeak!
With a creak, the palace door opened, revealing a large hall—and someone standing inside.
A corpse the size of a grown man, gripping a massive greatsword, wearing a rusted crown.
-The boss monster, King of Estia, Death Knight Abaddon, has appeared.
The King of Estia’s eyes flashed with a white, chilling light.