A Legend in the Leage

The summoner’s name

Rágnar woke up in the morning with the first rays of light filtering timidly through his bedroom window. Although the sky outside still carried the grayish, opaque tints of the catastrophe that had unfolded the previous day, his mind could not focus on the destruction of the city. All he could think about, with his heart pounding at a thousand miles an hour, was the incredible virtual experience he had lived inside his head. As he stretched and sat on the edge of the mattress, he looked at the worn walls of his humble room. His family had always been very hardworking, but financial resources were scarce in the household; with a lot of luck and effort, his parents managed to gather enough money to fund his studies and school supplies.

For years, Rágnar had kept a deep, silent calling: he wanted to learn how to manipulate computer systems, understand how coding worked, and master advanced technology. However, in his reality, that was almost an impossible dream. Therefore, discovering that he now had an entire digital interface running through his veins, a system that responded to his own will, was without a doubt the best thing that had ever happened to him.

While silently having a warm tea with a piece of bread alongside his parents for breakfast, the young boy reviewed his duties. He remembered that on this particular day, he had a basic computer class at school. For him, that subject represented a constant mix of enthusiasm and frustration. Since he did not have the financial means to buy a real computer at home, all he did in the classroom was write pages and pages of pure theory in his old paper notebook. Not having the chance to practice on a real keyboard or review the software at home, his practical grades were not the best in the class, but he worked twice as hard writing algorithms by hand to maintain the necessary averages and pass the subject.

He walked to school, dodging the remnants of dust and the marks of disaster on the sidewalks. During the first hours of the day, the teachers spoke at the front of the classroom, but Rágnar was thousands of miles away. His mind was an absolute whirlwind of ideas, reviewing over and over the amount of things, mechanics, and possibilities that opened up before him thanks to the portal and the "SYSTEM". Every now and then, imagining ice spells and floating interfaces, half-smiles formed on his face. His classmates looked at him sideways with total confusion, not understanding what the shy boy in the corner was smiling about in the middle of a school lesson.

Finally, the time for the computer class arrived. The urge to understand what was happening to him was consuming him from the inside, so he decided to seize the moment to try to clarify his theoretical doubts without raising any suspicion. He raised his hand, and when the professor gave him the floor in front of everyone, he asked with a slightly trembling voice:

—Professor, is there a technological possibility nowadays to create a computer with absolute virtual reality? Something that uses advanced chromatic images floating in the air, recognizes voice commands, and connects directly to the user's senses.

The professor stopped his explanation on the blackboard, looked him up and down, and, letting out a mocking smile that provoked whispers and giggles from the rest of the classroom, replied in a condescending tone:

—It seems to me, Rágnar, that you are watching too much television and wasting your time with science fiction stories. You have to learn to differentiate real life from imagination. That technology of floating interfaces and brain reality you are talking about is an absolute impossibility for our time. Focus on the theory in your notebook, which is what will give you a passing grade.

Rágnar felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. He blushed completely and slouched in his seat, pinning his eyes to his notes to avoid the mocking stares of the others. However, inside, a spark of pride and wild excitement ignited in his chest. "Of course," he thought with a smile hidden between his lips, "this technology is barely being implemented on an ultra-secret level in the world, or maybe I traveled to the future without realizing it and nobody in this town has the slightest idea about this." Far from feeling down about the teacher's comment, he kept the biggest secret on the planet to himself.

The school day ended, and Rágnar walked at a fast pace back home, with adrenaline rushing through his arms. Crossing the main door, he said a quick hello as he passed and went straight up to his room without losing a second. He locked the door behind him, threw his backpack and binders onto the bed, and, driven by the accumulated anxiety that had been burning inside him all day long, he did not think twice. He looked into the center of the empty room and exclaimed with a firm voice:

—System!

The air seemed to vibrate with a subtle electric hum, and immediately, the floating, semi-transparent screen unfolded before his eyes, illuminating the dim light of the room with its bluish tones. The menu flickered elegantly, showing only two clear options in the center of the interface: "Enter the Abyss" and "Close System." Without hesitating for an instant, he concentrated all his willpower and selected the first option.

In that exact second, the space one meter away from his bed ripped horizontally open, revealing the majestic mystical portal that released bursts of celestial light and lines of floating digital code. Surprised by the speed and accuracy of the command's response, Rágnar held his breath. He slowly stretched his right hand toward the bright rift, feeling a tingle of static energy in his fingertips. As soon as his skin touched the surface of the portal, the gravity of his room vanished completely, and his body was instantly sucked into the interior of the interface.

When he opened his eyes, he was no longer within the walls of his house. He was floating in the vastness of the immaculate white platform of the League. The system emitted a crisp chime, an ascending digital echo, and a holographic notification unfolded floating right before his eyes to give him an official welcome in golden letters:

—Welcome, User. Registered ID: A95064764R. The system has detected a new active account in the database. Please, before moving forward and beginning your true journey within the Rift, answer: do you wish to create a definitive summoner name?

Rágnar nodded, feeling that this was the moment he would leave behind his old life of limitations to become a legend. With a confident smile, he responded firmly toward the voice of the environment:

—Yes, I've had one in mind for a long time. MDLuffy. That will be my summoner name.

The system processed the information for a brief millisecond, making the codes around him flicker before emitting a confirmation light.

—Done. Summoner name successfully saved and encrypted. What do you wish to do now, MDLuffy? The current options for your rank are: Do you wish to continue with the advanced tutorial, or perform a few field tests with small experience rewards?

Rágnar clenched his fists, remembering the computer teacher's words and feeling an enormous urge to prove to himself what he was capable of in this new world.

—I want to continue with the tutorial —he sentenced with determination.

Immediately, the entire white platform began to shake and transform. The digital data intertwined to give shape to a new reality, transporting the young boy's body into a gigantic, dense forest enveloped in mythology—an imposing setting that opened up before him, showing three main paths covered in vegetation and mystery.