The Portal

The story begins with a cat.

But this isn't an ordinary cat; it knows magic.

In a forest north of Ixtal, the surface of a towering tree rippled with transparent, swirling distortions. Then, a cute cat emerged.

"Sigh, Master isn't here either."

Yuumi's whiskers twitched.

Right behind her, a thick book with a beautiful cover burst out of the portal.

Yuumi lay down on the open book.

The book's pages actually rubbed together—this was how it communicated with Yuumi.

"When do you think we'll find Master? She must be in danger right now!"

Chirp~ Chirp~ The sound of pages rubbing again.

"Alright, alright, we'll look for the next place."

Yuumi floated up. The book beneath her turned a page on its own, constructing a portal in the air.

The cat and the book went through it again.

Yuumi and this "Book of Doors" had been searching for their Master, Nora, for a long time.

The "Book of Doors" was one of Nora's magical items. Yuumi, meanwhile, was her pet.

Each page of the Book of Doors recorded a coordinate in Runeterra, allowing direct portal creation to that location.

However, Nora had disappeared after using a portal—she had torn out the page she traveled to before the "Book of Doors" could follow her through the portal.

So now, Yuumi and the "Book of Doors" could only travel back and forth across Runeterra, trying to find traces of their Master's presence.

But on the page they had just activated, there wasn't just the coordinate for the next location.

There was also a peculiar incantation.

Before Nora obtained the "Book of Doors," several other mages had been its owner.

This incantation was written by one of those Yordle mages.

The incantation held no astonishing power, nor did it hide any conspiracy.

It was merely a new idea for constructing portals, essentially a draft.

But when the "Book of Doors" activated just now, this incantation also lit up...

Earth, in an apartment in a city of the Celestial Empire, Jia Ruo was sleeping soundly in bed.

He didn't feel it at all as a vortex-like transparent ripple slowly appeared around him.

Then, Jia Ruo was sucked in.

As his body lightened, Jia Ruo felt as if he was falling.

At first, he thought it was just a falling dream.

Until he realized he was actually falling...

"Ah!!!"

This was followed by a muffled thud.

"Ouch, where... where is this?"

Jia Ruo was dazed. He sat up from the ground, still clutching his blanket, wearing only a pair of shorts...

Fortunately, the portal wasn't high off the ground, otherwise, the story would be ending here.

Our protagonist, Jia Ruo, only suffered some minor physical pain and fright. He was now hugging his blanket and leaning against a tree, contemplating life.

Looking at the towering trees and feeling the humid, hot air, Jia Ruo was certain this was definitely not his original city.

His original city had already turned cool, completely different from the current climate.

He looked up at the big sun in the sky.

Okay, even the time was different.

Jia Ruo surveyed his surroundings.

As someone who grew up in the city, his knowledge of Mother Nature was limited to Bear Grylls's survival shows.

So, he looked around but couldn't make heads or tails of anything.

Suddenly, Jia Ruo heard a "guji" sound.

He followed the sound and spotted a bird.

It was covered in blue-gray feathers, with only a ring around its neck being reddish-brown.

The bird stood on a raised tree root. It was about the size of a domestic chicken, but with a very large, brownish-yellow beak.

Jia Ruo thought about it. He had never seen such a creature before.

However, it did look quite like...

Thinking, Jia Ruo stood up, wanting to get closer to look at it.

But unexpectedly, this seemed to startle the bird. It turned its head and chirped as it ran away.

There was no other way. Jia Ruo decided to walk around and see if he could find any clues—he didn't know if anyone lived in such a primitive forest.

However, before he could even take a step, he heard the approaching footsteps of some animal.

Turning his head, Jia Ruo saw it.

It was a magnified version of the bird from earlier: not only as big as an ostrich, but also much sturdier than an ostrich.

Its thick, short, powerful legs and neck meant that it was not to be trifled with.

And when Jia Ruo saw a group of small birds like the one earlier following behind the large bird, his memories were instantly triggered.

This combination of large and small birds, wasn't it F6, the Rift Scuttler, from lol?

Jia Ruo had played lol for a long time. As an old jungler, he had killed enough Rift Scuttlers to circle Summoner's Rift a hundred times.

No wonder it looked so familiar just now...

Jia Ruo's mind raced: Was this Summoner's Rift? Or Runeterra?

Before he could think further, the large bird charged directly at him.

It... seemed very angry?

Did that little bird go and report him?

I didn't even bully it?

Jia Ruo turned and ran.

However, human stamina was ultimately limited. Not to mention Jia Ruo was just an ordinary person. How could he compare to this otherworldly raptor?

Before he could run a few steps, Jia Ruo felt the large bird behind him was already very close.

Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and fear immediately crawled up his spine.

The large bird was clearly targeting him.

Thinking of its large beak with sharp, serrated edges, he knew he absolutely could not withstand the bird's attack.

He was just an ordinary person. What should he do?

Jia Ruo's thoughts raced: Should he resist?

Don't be ridiculous. He's not one of the extraordinary and powerful heroes in League of Legends, and he doesn't have Smite in his hand. How can he fight a Rift Scuttler?

He had no way to harm the Rift Scuttler at all.

Suddenly, Jia Ruo recalled something he'd read online: if you encountered a wild beast, like a bear, you should try to make yourself look as big as possible, wave your limbs, and roar. That might just...

Jia Ruo felt a glimmer of hope. He spun around abruptly, flailing his arms and roaring wildly.

Even though he was naked and performing bizarre actions, looking like a complete fool.

It did, however, startle the big bird.

The big bird stopped abruptly and reassessed Jia Ruo.

The atmosphere grew somewhat strange, with the man and the bird facing off.

Jia Ruo grew more anxious, sweat pouring down his face.

He finally remembered the full content of the online advice: wave your limbs and roar, and that... would allow you to die with more dignity when facing a wild beast.

Oh, great.

Amidst the chirping of its young, the big bird determined that Jia Ruo, this creature who had trespassed in its territory, was merely bluffing. It lunged forward with a fierce peck.

Jia Ruo reacted too slowly and could only twist his body slightly.

The attack, which should have opened a bloody hole in his chest, instead carved a hideous gash from his chest to his right ribs.

Blood instantly gushed out, and Jia Ruo collapsed to the ground, thrown by the force of the peck.

However, he spotted a green figure in the nearby bushes.

It was a young girl with blue-purple hair and large green markings on her limbs.

She, she even had a tail?

"Neeko, save me!"

① Ixtal is a jungle on the easternmost side of the continent of Shurima in the official League of Legends map. It hides a city-state, Ixtal, ruled by Qiyana's family.

It is the region where Qiyana, Malphite, Rengar, Zyra, Nidalee, and Neeko are located in the official lore.

(It is recommended that everyone read the "Related Works" section of the previous chapter, as it can help improve the reading experience. Readers who have not been exposed to League of Legends can also treat this book as a fantasy, otherworld adventure novel.)