Void Gate

Josh had imagined meeting the "acquaintances" of this world countless times, but he never dreamed that the first person he encountered would be Garen, one of Demacia's three best buddies—the dimwitted Garen!?

Although Garen was indeed synonymous with a reckless brute and a fool in the game, Josh did not think this guy was actually an idiot!

Garen was the descendant of nobility, the very image of Demacian aristocracy, and a model hero. Josh also remembered that this guy would later get a God King skin. He was not sure whether Garen would truly become a God King someday, but that alone showed just how terrifying this guy who looked like an idiot in the game really was.

Garen noticed Josh as well, or perhaps he had noticed him long ago and deliberately walked over. He looked at Josh in confusion. He was a young boy with short golden hair, seemingly around fifteen or sixteen.

However, Garen did not lower his guard, because he sensed a powerful force on the boy that did not belong to Runeterra—the terrifying Void Power.

What Garen could not understand was that, in his memories, although some creatures from the Void retained humanoid forms, they were clearly different from humans, and their magic was always purple.

Yet the boy before him radiated a faint silver light. That reminded Garen of what had happened last night. Though he had felt an intense Void Power last night, it had not been purple magical energy. Instead, streaks of silver had illuminated the night sky!

"Void creature?" Garen held his sword and stared solemnly at the boy. Though he could not be certain, he was ready to attack. If the boy truly began using Void Magic, he would show no mercy. Besides, he could clearly tell that this boy was no match for him.

What the hell? What is this guy talking about? And he wants to attack me? Why?

Josh wore a baffled expression, but he quickly realized that the natives of the Valoran Continent did not seem particularly friendly toward Void creatures. Even Kai'Sa, who had already fallen in with the Void creatures, still considered herself human and kept hunting Void creatures.

Cold sweat immediately ran down Josh's back. Was this what it meant to have rotten luck? He had tested a spell and blown himself from the Muya Continent to Valoran. Then, to make himself feel safer while saving some magic for meditation, he had drawn in countless Void magic elements and forced them into his body.

He had finally solved his magic problem, only to run into the guy whom players had jokingly called an idiot. Josh himself was starting to feel dazed. Maybe this was what people meant when they said that even drinking cold water could make you choke when you were unlucky.

"Um, is there some misunderstanding between us?" Josh stammered, but regretted it the moment he opened his mouth. He did not understand the language spoken here at all! Worse still, because he had spoken a language that was completely foreign to Valoran, Garen's expression immediately turned grave, and he raised his weapon!

"Void creature!" Garen held his greatsword with a solemn expression as he began gathering power. He had come to investigate, mainly to search for his missing soldiers, but he had also intended to find the person responsible for last night's strange phenomenon. Now, it seemed the one who had caused it all was right in front of him.

"Wait, can I explain?"

Josh was still struggling, but he could clearly feel that as Garen continued charging up, he was absolutely no match for this idiot! It was terrifying. On the Muya Continent, mage ranks were divided by numbers—simple and clear. The Valoran Continent was the same, except its scale went higher. Put simply, Muya was ranked from one to nine, while Valoran was ranked from one to eighteen. Josh's inheritance had explained this before.

Josh felt that his mage rank was around level two, nearly level three, by Muya standards. But the Garen before him was clearly level three—meaning he was already level six by Valoran standards! In other words, Garen was a level-six top-lane fighter, while Josh was a level-five mage nearing level six! He had no chance of winning!

As Garen drew closer and his gathered strength became more intense, Josh swallowed. It felt as though this was unavoidable. He immediately pushed his magic to its peak. Though it seemed to happen in an instant, he had actually been gathering his magic ever since spotting Garen, just in case. It now seemed Josh had made the right decision.

"For Demacia!"

Once Garen's power reached its peak, he immediately charged at Josh. He was so fast that he reached Josh in the blink of an eye! He leaped high into the air, raised his greatsword above his head, and brought it down at Josh with overwhelming force.

Josh had virtually no real combat experience, but he had played all kinds of online games before. He was no PvP master, but he at least knew how to respond to an attack with a counter. Josh immediately entered a focused state. Facing Garen's assault, he calmly cast Void Warp on himself, and a silver Magic Shield instantly appeared around his body.

Garen's sword strike did not harm Josh at all. Taking advantage of the opening, Josh condensed a Void Blade and thrust it at Garen. Unfortunately, Garen's reaction was just as fast. A shield-like object visibly appeared around him and directly blocked Josh's Void Blade!

Is that his W, Courage?

Josh was too drained to complain as he quickly widened the distance between them. A mage should never brawl with a fighter in close quarters. Naturally, some close-range mages had no choice but to get in their opponents' faces, but for everyone else, getting close meant becoming meat on the chopping block. Josh had played plenty of mages in online games before, so he understood that well enough.

Garen was not anxious when he saw that his strike had done nothing. He immediately launched another charge. He could tell that this Void Mage seemed to have extremely poor control over his magic—or perhaps no control at all. Like someone casting magic for the first time, he could only pour out his maximum magic power without any precision.

Josh naturally knew his own situation, but he had no solution. All he could do was keep wearing Garen down. He could also tell that Garen had noticed his weakness and changed tactics, constantly draining Josh's magic with feints and false attacks that still forced Josh to defend himself.

If I drop this Void Warp shield, those feints will probably turn into real attacks.

Josh was miserable. Who the hell said Garen was an idiot? This guy clearly had incredibly high combat intelligence and rich fighting experience. Damn Riot Games—if they had not designed Garen's skills that way, and had made him like the real Garen, he could probably pull off flashy moves like any assassin.

Oh, no wonder people said Garen was the cure for all fancy tricks?

Gradually, Josh's magic began to run dry. Garen had taken some damage from Josh's high-output magic, but none of it was fatal. The most dangerous moment had been when Josh ambushed him and drove a Void Blade into his abdomen. But Garen was a fighter, and he reacted quickly, immediately kicking Josh away.

Of course, that kick had struck Void Warp and did not harm Josh, but it shattered his Magic Shield once again. A fighter's strength was no joke, especially someone like Garen, who could wield a greatsword one-handed. Josh had no choice but to pour what little magic he had left back into Void Warp.

"It seems you can't hold on any longer, Void creature."

Garen saw through Josh's condition at a glance. From a game perspective, Josh still had full health, but his mana bar was empty. Garen gathered his strength once more. He believed his next charge would finish this guy with a single strike, and he began to do just that.

"Damn it! This bastard!" Josh was in terrible shape. Garen truly intended to kill him, this being from the Void, but Josh had no way out. Now that he finally understood how to use his magic, he was even less willing to die like this.

Think of something, think of something. Josh's mind raced. He had to find a way out of this predicament, or he might really die here on the Valoran Continent. Wait, I'm such an idiot! How did I get here? Why not try using the same method to go back? Even if I can't return, I can at least try throwing this guy in there!

In a crisis, people could indeed think of many things. Josh suddenly recalled an issue he had long overlooked: how had he gotten here? He remembered testing whether his magic had any destructive power, only to accidentally create Void Summoning. Then, in an even worse stroke of luck, he had stepped directly into the Void Gate he had summoned and arrived in this world.

So why could Josh not use the same method to return? Or rather, even if casting Void Summoning again did not send him home, he could at least try throwing this guy into the Void.

Having thought of a solution, Josh took a deep breath and silently dispelled his Void Warp Magic Shield. It was a huge gamble, one that could easily get him killed—but if he did not gamble, he would certainly die. Taking another deep breath, Josh slowly gathered his remaining magic into his hand.

"Have you given up? Or are you planning to make a final stand?" Garen naturally noticed Josh's movement, but he remained unmoved. He was ready. Then he began his charge, just as his close friend Xin Zhao had once said: Once you charge into battle, there is no thought of survival. Besides, he did not believe he would lose!

"Die, Void creature! For Demacia!"

Garen arrived before Josh almost instantly and leaped high into the air. The greatsword in his hand came crashing down at Josh once more. This time, Josh had no Void Warp protecting him.

At almost the same moment, Josh's spell was complete. He raised the silver orb in his hand high and met Garen's greatsword head-on. When the two collided, silver light engulfed the entire forest!

Um, please give this new book a favorite and a recommendation... It would mean a lot.