Chapter 73: The First Gate

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: The First Gate

[Aeon’s POV]

It had officially been a full month since I first joined the academy, and I had to admit that my time spent here had been quite enjoyable.

The campus was constantly bustling with various activities to explore and an endless array of things to do. In particular, ever since I spent those centuries isolated within my Archive, I found myself discovering a deep fondness for reading and a profound desire to continuously seek out new knowledge.

As a result, whenever I had a few moments of free time, I would inevitably be found immersed in either the endless rows of my Archive or sitting quietly in the grand Academy library.

Of course, I didn’t spend all my time hidden away among ancient texts. I also made sure to spend quality time with our group, even though the others were mostly consumed by a frantic desire to cultivate day and night to increase their power.

Meanwhile, Sophia had finally returned to her normal behavior around me, with the minor exception that she had become noticeably more shy than before.

Whenever we were hanging out and I playfully attempted to bring up the subject of that sudden, intense kiss we shared on the plaza steps, her face would turn a brilliant shade of crimson and she would just... turn around and run away as fast as her legs could carry her.

After witnessing that same adorable reaction a couple of times, I decided not to pressure her any further and stopped bringing up the topic altogether.

Now, whenever the schedule allowed for just the two of us to head out together, we would go on what the I commonly referred to as a date.

Through these quiet moments, I could confidently say that we had really gotten to know each other on a much deeper level than ever before.

Day by day, I found myself genuinely liking her more and more, enjoying the unique rhythm of her presence.

But besides those peaceful domestic routines, today marked the one-month milestone, which meant we were scheduled to finish a very important milestone.

Today was our very first field operation—the day we would finally be entering a real gate to fight real, living Voidborns.

------

I stood completely still, staring directly at a massive, violently swirling vortex of dense blue energy that resembled a colossal, jagged crack torn wide open in the fabric of the sky.

This was a Gate—a literal harbinger of calamity and chaos, a dimensional rift capable of fracturing reality anywhere in the universe to unleash nightmarish monsters upon the Galaxy.

Standing a few paces behind me were two men. One of them was dressed in a crisp, professional black business suit, while the other wore a simple, unpretentious shirt and practical combat trousers.

The man in the black suit was an official field agent dispatched from the Galactic Order branch at the academy, tasked with monitoring the energy fluctuations and general stability of the gate.

The other man was an Academy professor, responsible for watching over my deployment and ensuring my safety should things go awry.

In our galaxy, Gates were divided into two primary categories. Blue Gates and Red Gates.

Blue Gates were classified as permanent dimensional portals. These rifts would not destabilize or disappear even after every single Voidborn monster inside them had been thoroughly exterminated by hunters.

Instead, after a period of time, a brand-new wave of Voidborns would emerge from the depths, replenishing the population and allowing the hunting cycle to repeat indefinitely.

The reason behind this phenomenon was that every Blue Gate contained another gate within its interior. In other words, they were literally gates within gates. The inner gate served as a passage through which new Voidborns entered the dimension.

Of course, over the centuries, various powerful figures and nations had attempted to directly destroy these inner gates, but unfortunately, their efforts were entirely in vain.

Due to their permanent nature and renewable resources, Blue Gates were valuable assets that various nations and powerful organizations competed to control.

They served as hunting grounds where registered hunters could eliminate Voidborns and harvest the valuable resources found within.

Red Gates, on the other hand, were far more dangerous.

Once a Red Gate appears, a five-hour countdown begins. If the Voidborns inside were not eliminated before the time runs out, they would emerge into the outside world, potentially causing widespread destruction.

For this reason, every nation and the Galactic Order closely monitored dimensional fluctuations to determine when and where Red Gates would appear.

As soon as one was detected, the necessary forces would be mobilized to eliminate the Voidborns before they could escape.

However, even after successfully exterminating every Voidborn inside, hunters still had to be careful.

Once the final Voidborn was killed, a thirty-minute countdown would begin. When those thirty minutes elapsed, the gate would disappear permanently. Anyone who failed to leave before then would be trapped inside the dimension forever, with no known way to return.

As for their rankings, gates were classified from F-rank to EX-rank.

F-rank through B-rank gates were classified as Blue Gates, while those ranging from A-rank to EX-rank were classified as Red Gates.

In other words, Blue Gates were primarily renewable resource zones, whereas Red Gates were dangerous dimensional threats that could become disasters if not dealt with in time.

------

As I stood there, quietly immersed in my own thoughts, the sharp voice of the agent cut through the silence. His fingers moved fluidly, tapping across the interface of a glowing hologram.

"Aeon Astaraeas, this is a standard D-rank gate. This means the Voidborn monsters inside ranges from F-rank up to D-rank. Of course, the highest Voidborn will be a D+ rank monster acting as the gate’s Boss monster."

He paused for a moment, executing a final sequence of commands on his hologram. He then lifted his gaze towards me.

"Your clearance is approved. You are good to go. Good luck out there, kid." With that, he dismissed the remaining holograms with a wave of his hand and reverted back to a strict, professional stance.

Once the official clearance was granted, the Academy professor stepped forward, offering a word of advice.

"Good luck, Aeon. Just maintain your focus on eliminating the targets and ensuring your own safety. If anything unexpected occurs, do not worry. I will be right there behind you."

I looked back at the professor and gave a calm, reassuring nod. Today, the students who ranked within the top twenty of the academy were granted the rare privilege of heading out to subjugate a gate completely on their own, while the rest of the student body was divided into cooperative raid groups. ℯ𝐥.𝒄ℴ𝓶

And now, I was finally stepping out to participate in my very first real, live hunt.

Even though the documented monsters inside this gate were bound to be incredibly weak compared to my true power, I couldn’t help but feel a spark of genuine excitement at the prospect of hunting real Voidborns in an unsimulated environment.

Without further delay, I walked directly toward the shimmering blue gate. Within seconds, my feet crossed the threshold, followed immediately by the rest of my body.

The sensation of passing through the boundary was familiar, feeling exactly like teleportation, or the localized transit gates at the academy.

Following a brief, momentarily blinding flash of white light, my vision cleared, and I found myself standing in a vast, sprawling expanse of vibrant green land.

The grassy plains stretched out as far as the eye could see, punctuated by clusters of massive, ancient trees packed tightly into dense forest sectors.

But before I could even take a moment to properly survey my new surroundings, the terrain beneath my feet began to tremble violently.

A crushing, tremendous weight of pressure abruptly appeared behind me, immediately accompanied by the deafening, world-shaking sound of a devastating explosion.

Rumble! Vroooom!

BOOOOOOOM!

I spun around instantly, my eyes locking onto the portal. To my utter surprise, the tranquil, shimmering blue gate had completely transformed, turning into a deep, blood-red vortex of violent energy.

"Huh... a Red Gate? Don’t tell me it just underwent a spontaneous mutation," I muttered aloud, genuinely shocked by the sudden, highly unexpected turn of events.

Mutated gates were incredibly rare phenomena where a standard, low-tier Blue Gate suddenly evolved into a high-tier Red Gate without warning during a hunter’s entry.

No one knew exactly when these mutations would trigger, or why did they occur.

But if the gateway before me had truly shifted to red, it meant the ranking of this dimension had just plummeted into A-rank or higher.

"Ahh, damn it all. I’m certainly not worried about the Voidborns lurking inside a red gate, but it’s going to be a headache trying to explain how I survived this when I step back outside," I grumbled, running a hand through my hair as I scratched my head in irritation.

The worst aspect of a mutated Red Gate was its structural locking mechanism. The moment a mutation occurred, the space completely sealed itself from the outside world. The spatial barrier would only reopen its doors once the final, highest-ranked Voidborn boss inside the gate was successfully slain.

"Should I thank my personal luck for providing me with significantly better entertainment, or should I curse it for putting me in such a tough spot for when I exit? Well, whatever happens, I’ll just tell them that I happened to have a Divine weapon. I have plenty of those lying around in my inventory anyway," I complained to the empty air, turning away from the crimson vortex to face the wild plains.

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[3rd POV]

Back on at the academy, standing on the observation platform within the academy grounds, Professor Asher stood completely frozen before the red portal, his facial expression contorted into one of pure horror.

Just a mere moment ago, he had been actively preparing to step through the safe blue gate to quietly trail behind Aeon and monitor his performance against the Voidborn.

But without a single shred of warning, the entire gateway had trembled violently, emitting a deafening acoustic boom before shifting into a sinister, glowing red hue.

After a prolonged moment of paralyzing shock, a terrifying realization washed over both Professor Asher and the accompanying Galactic Order agent.

"No... it can’t be. A mutated gate? right now?!" Professor Asher stammered, his eyes wide with profound worry as he stared at the red gate.

To him, and to every within the Academy who knew Aeon, knew that he was merely a talented D+ rank warrior.

If a D-rank gate mutated into a Red Gate, it meant that even the lowest, weakest trash-mob Voidborn inside the dimension had just scaled up to an A-rank threat.

A monster fully capable of effortlessly vaporizing two or three entire islands with its full power.

Instantly snapping out of his daze, Professor Asher turned his head around toward the terrified agent, voicing his demand in a harsh, echoing roar.

"Hey! Agent! Snap out of it right now and tell me the exact energy signature of this gate!"

Hearing the professor’s thunderous shout, the agent shook himself out of his stupor, his trembling fingers frantically tapping across his wrist guard.

A bright blue scanning beam shot outward from the device, washing over the crimson energy of the mutated gate to measure its rank.

Seconds later, the data processing concluded, and a glowing holorsm manifested above his wrist.

The moment his eyes registered the rank displayed on the screen, the agent began to tremble uncontrollably, his pupils dilating in sheer horror.

Seeing the agent’s look so thoroughly broken, Professor Asher’s bad premonition intensified tenfold, and he grabbed the agent’s shoulder, yelling in his face.0

"What is the rank?! Spit it out, damn it!"

The agent lifted his terrified gaze toward the professor, his voice cracking and shaking violently as he managed to force the words out.

"S... Sir, it... it mutated into an SSS-RANK gate!"

Professor Asher’s heart instantly sank the moment the words left the agent’s mouth. For a D+ rank warrior cultivator, an SSS-rank gate wasn’t just a difficult challenge—it was a death sentence with zero hope of survival.

Professor Asher threw his hands over his head, his eyes widening in pure despair as he stared at the red gate.

"Oh, my God. This is bad. This is really, really bad!"

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