A Legend in the Leage

Registering ID

Rágnar took a step forward into the thick forest beneath the two moons, ready to advance and explore this new environment, but the air in front of him distorted completely once again. A familiar, heavy vibration shook the surroundings, and the imposing portal of light materialized out of nowhere, blocking his path with golden flashes. The floating lines of code flickered rapidly in his vision, displaying an inscription directly into his mind that stopped his steps and froze his thoughts.

Do you wish to log out of the system, or do you prefer to keep advancing?

The young boy stood completely frozen, staring at the options with deep confusion reflected on his face. Everything that was happening defied any trace of logic. Could he just leave and pretend none of this had ever occurred? The fear of the unknown, the weight of uncertainty, and the fresh memory of the end of the world pushed him to make a quick decision. With his heart pounding hard in his chest, he selected the option to log out of the system, seeking refuge in what was familiar.

In the blink of an eye, the digital forest, the two moons, and his ice mage robes vanished completely. Earth's gravity hit him all at once, and harsh reality dragged him back to the exact spot where the initial chaos had broken out. When he opened his eyes, the scenery around him was devastating and bleak. The sky maintained a grayish, opaque, and heavy color, and the ground of the streets was covered by a thick blanket of ashes and scattered debris. Looking at the evident destruction around him, a mixture of anguish, sorrow, and despair overwhelmed him. Thinking about the horror he had just witnessed in the streets, and with his mind in an absolute whirlwind because of that strange virtual experience, Rágnar began to run with all his might toward his home.

The journey was long and tense, evading the marks of a disaster that seemed to have erased everything in its path. However, as he turned the corner of his block, his legs stopped dead. Arriving at his house, he discovered something that defied all odds: the structure stood firm and upright. By some inexplicable and miraculous luck, the house had no visible damage. There were no cracks in the walls, no broken windows, no fallen roofs; only a thick, grayish layer of dust covering everything, as if time had suddenly stopped in that very place while the rest of the world fell to pieces.

He pushed the main door open carefully, feeling the creak of the locks, and entered in silence. In the living room, with their faces distorted by anguish and fear, but completely unharmed, were his parents. Upon seeing him walk through the door safe and sound, time seemed to freeze for a second before they both rushed toward him in desperation. They merged into a long, tight embrace filled with tears; a silent reflection of absolute relief at finding themselves all okay in the midst of such a global catastrophe. It was a moment of peace among so much madness.

After the sighs, the crying, and the comforting words to calm their spirits, Rágnar said goodbye to them and headed to his bedroom, urgently needing a space alone to process the storm he carried inside. He sat on the edge of his bed, looking at the palms of his hands, searching for any mark or trace of the magic he had felt minutes before. In his mind, he wondered, amazed and with his eyes fixed on nothingness:

—Was what I experienced real?

With a mixture of skepticism and hope, he raised his head and tried to stare fixedly at the air in his room, looking for any floating sign, trying to see if what his mind had shown him manifested in real space. But there was no result. His room remained just as silent and ordinary as always. Letting out a long sigh, he lay back down on the sheets and closed his eyes, trying to rest.

But the truce lasted very little. As soon as he closed his eyes, the darkness of his mind was abruptly interrupted by a bright, bluish flash. In the middle of his head, the system's holographic interface snapped open, projecting a new glowing text that began to dictate the precise instructions for use.

The message was clear and direct. To access the menu at any time, he only had to utter the word "system" aloud, and the screen would open before him. To access the digital world, he had to say the word "portal," which would cause the immediate opening of a mystical rift exactly one meter away from wherever he was at that moment. Upon touching that portal with any part of his body, he would be instantly entered into the League's environment. However, the system warned him of a strict rule: you cannot leave the platform while a tutorial or an active adventure is underway. Only upon completing each action or mission, the user would have the option to open the menu to decide whether to stay inside the environment or exit to reality. By pronouncing the word "system" during those moments of truce, the corresponding options would appear on a floating interface, and he would have the opportunity to select his next step.

Just below the instructions, a line of red light blinked brightly, showing a crucial question.

Do you wish to register your identity right now?

Two large floating options appeared on the mental screen: "I accept" and "I do not accept." Rágnar, seeing that what he had experienced in the tutorial had truly transported him to a tangible and detailed reality, felt a tremendous curiosity. Wanting to test the limits of this and check if he really remained connected to that power, he concentrated and selected the option to accept.

Immediately, a line of green light crossed his vision from top to bottom. The system began to scan Rágnar's body, analyzing his vitals and his spiritual signature. After a few seconds of flickering, the interface emitted a digital chime and formally identified him, assigning a unique user ID number on the screen. Right after, the neutral voice of the system echoed in his head.

—To guarantee the security of your account and ensure that no one else enters with your ID, we will register an alphanumeric PIN that only you know.

At that instant, a transparent and glowing computer keyboard materialized in the air of his room, floating subtly over his chest, reflecting letters and numbers with a bluish glow. Rágnar raised his hands in astonishment and, pressing the virtual keys that emitted slight clicks of energy, typed a secret combination that only he would remember.

Finally, upon confirming the PIN, the system extended a very long statement of terms and conditions of use across his screen. The text was filled with complex clauses and legal warnings about the use of magic and the risks of the digital environment. At the very end of the document, two buttons could be seen: "I accept" and "I refuse." Rágnar, doing exactly what everyone does in the digital age instead of reading the endless pages of conditions, barely read the first three lines superficially and quickly swiped the screen down, going straight to the end of the contract to press the accept button without wasting any more time.

The interface emitted a golden flash of confirmation.

—Identity registered successfully. From this moment on, all your data, progressions, bonuses, and earned items will be permanently saved.

Following this last message, the holographic screen and the transparent keyboard dissolved into the air like stardust, leaving the room in dim light once again.

Just as the process finished, a warm and familiar voice broke the silence of the room. From the ground floor, Rágnar's mother called him with a sweet and nostalgic tone, inviting him to come down to have an afternoon snack together at the family table—a beautiful custom that, due to the rhythm of studies and the daily obligations of life, they hadn't shared in a very long time.

Rágnar sat up in bed and opened his eyes as wide as a toad, frightened and amazed at the same time. His heart was taking violent leaps inside his chest and he began to breathe agitatedly, feeling the cold sweat running down his forehead. He looked at the empty space in front of him, assimilating that the rules of his life had changed forever. He placed a hand on his chest to calm his breathing and, as he listened to his mother's footsteps in the kitchen, he thought to himself with absolute certainty: then it was real, what I lived.