Chapter Text
Arc One: A Champion's Inauguration
Zaun Alleys
"Huh?" I blinked as the scenery abruptly changed from my comfy room to a dark-looking alley.
My face automatically scrunched while I pinched my nose at the fetid odor in the air. Well, I suppose that shouldn't have been much of a surprise considering how unhygienic this place looked -and painfully enough, is me being kind in my sparse description.
And oh, I wasn't alone.
Situated some feet away from me was a gathering of people dressed in garbs that were most unlike anything I've ever seen before (except in Cosplay Gatherings or events relating to that sort), and from the looks of it, I don't think some of them are the good guys... Or at least, from what I can see.
They were a gathering of two different cliques. The ones who were dressed like thugs seemed to fight against—no, pardon me—seemed to be beating the hell out of the other clique who were as far as I can see, a group of ragtag kids.
Unfortunately, (kinda) it seemed as if my presence had been finally registered as one of the goons, who had a green gas mask growled out.
"Beat it, dickhead. Before I decide that you're next."
But to the threatening yap being thrown at me, I merely smirked in return.
"Yeah~ how about a no to that."
Silence immediately descended in the gloomy alley. Slowly, the thuggish group stopped their macabre handiwork as they all turned to look at me with not-so-good intentions in their eyes.
The man with the gasmask covered his face, while his shoulder occasionally twitched—he was laughing.
"Hah... Hahahaha—well, well, well boys. Seems like we've got ourselves a hero, eh?" The man with the gas mask paused, scrutinizing me as his eyes turned maliciously crescent. "And not just any hero. You're a topsider. So why bring you clean folks around this part of town."
"Clean?" I thought with a raised brow, before scanning myself. "... Yeah, compared to you idiots, at least, I'm clean. As for your question, I've got four words; none of your business."
I don't think the man could have made it more obvious as he tilted his head. The other 5 of his thugs trotted towards my sides, flanking and cutting me off from escape... Yeah, they wish.
With a flourish, a dagger -one that looked bloodied- appeared on the man with a gasmask's hand.
Skillfully twirling the bladed weapon, he said. "You know, Mr. Hero. Normally, I would ask if we're doing this the easy way or the hard way. But... Hahahaha... Let's do it the hard way and besides, I've always been hearing that the pilots all consider themselves to be blue-blooded. Well, now I figure is the perfect time to test the saying, eh."
"Ah~ gutting," I muttered as the man with the gasmask approached me while his henchmen moved menacingly in an enclosing manner.
Raising a hand, I said. "I feel like this is all a dream. That I'm in my bed imagining all this up... Even though, I'm quite sure I cannot do such a thing... But you know, doesn't this just feel quite suspicious to you, bastards."
Maybe there was something he had seen in my eyes because the man halted with faltering steps.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You see a lone guy looking so nonchalant despite being surrounded by distinguished gents like yourself and not once did you not ask yourself. Why isn't he quaking in his shoes or pissing his pants? Does he have some sort of hidden card or what?"
I raised a hand towards the others.
"I mean, come on. No one is that stupid... Unless those characters I used to read in storybooks. And I believe they were called 'Grade D mobsters'."
Gritting his teeth, the man with the gasmask gritted out.
"I don't fucking care what kind of card you got, I'm gutting you right here right now... Boys, hold him for me. I don't want him moving too much while I carve him up."
'Heh...' I chuckled, as my shadow whirred as if alive. 'How seriously cliché.'
*—*—*
Candidly speaking, I am afraid.
After all, unlike what most of you are suspecting right now, I was nothing special from the Reality I had originally come from.
I wasn't a super soldier or some secret service agent, I didn't possess any supernatural powers nor was I a part of some wizards hocus pocus society.
I was merely a normal 17-year-old teen; one born to a normal family (that I can no longer remember their identities due to a certain deal that I made), I loved watching animes and playing video games—especially, ones with multi-players.
Heck, even this whole badass attitude I'm pulling out from my ass is just me seriously LARPing my ass out.
Like the kind of tricking myself to feel like a badass kind of LARP.
I don't possess any sort of 'top of the cream' aptitude or ambition. I was average in all of the things that I've put my hands in (maybe except gaming) and I was proud of my averageness.
That is until... That offer I received after my death.
⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙
"Alright, I'll spare you the drivel and get straight to the point. You've died when it isn't your time to die... And hold your thought right there, I didn't play a hand in your death or anything... It was merely bad luck. But luckily for the both of us -if you get what I mean. You get to start again in a world of my choosing. And as compensation for your untimely death, you get to choose any 5 abilities from infinite possibilities... Yes, anything."
Sited on the luxurious chair, the man who termed himself as [Omnipotence] smirked, "So tell me, what it is that you desire?"
⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙⸙
[First Gift: Annihilation Maker]
I could feel it stirring within me.
A monster created from my very imagination.
With a loud splash, my shadow erupted, spurting out a dark liquid substance, it whirled, taking form and shape. It grew to a height of over 10 feet and with a menacing gleam, 4 ocular orbs started out inducing a chilling terror in all who stared at it.
One of the thugs a bare-chested bald man, staggered back in terror. "What the FUCK is that?!"
I smiled as the dark ink sloshed down to reveal a Monster I had known from childhood. Although, technically speaking it isn't a Monster—more of an Alien.
Its four trunk-like arms flex intimidatingly, as the red skin Tetramand lets out a resounding roar that echoes far out into the city!
'Shit.' I flinched. 'Even that made me to almost crap my pants.'
Eyeing it, even I couldn't help but feel intimidated.
'Damn, it's scarier than how it used to be in the TV show.'
While it still had the iconic appearance of its TV counterpart. The magma-like veins trailing around its body and large exhaust that occasionally spurt out flames from its shoulders made it look like something out of a horror show.
Then again, the reason I made it like this isn't because of its prettiness... But yeah, next time I'll try to make sure that my imagination doesn't run that wild again.
With a mental command, I ordered the Tetramand to stand down and turned to the man with the gasmask whose eyes looked like he had seen his maker with a smile.
'Ah...' My smile widened, 'Here comes the best part.'
"Allow me to introduce my friend, here." I tapped at the Tetramand's chest—feeling even its breathing like a bear's growl. "He's from a Warrior species... A familiar of sorts. But well, I just call him, Four Arms."
"Fu-Fuck... You're a Mageborn." The man in the gasmask said shakily.
'Mageborn?' I raised a brow before, before mentally shrugging.
If that's what they call people who use magic then they're not wrong. But more importantly...
"I remember someone saying that they were about to gut me. The question now is what am I going to do about it?"
I took a step forward, and the scary-looking Tetramand copied my movement with an earthshaking stomp. Thankfully, the alley had quite the space for Four Arms to move without much lack of maneuverability.
"Luckily for you, bastards, I'm kind to the extent that I won't kill you—and unluckily for you, I'm still one to hold a grudge. Four Arms... Break all their limbs for me."
What followed after was like something out of a horror story…
The Tetramand stomped forward, each of its hands stretched and grabbed four of the thugs by their limbs -just one of its palm enveloping two of their limbs.
The ones who weren't in the monster's grasp saw it as an opportunity to run off. But Four Arms merely stomped its feet and the entire area rocked as if it were suffering from an earthquake flipping them to the ground.
Although, for me, it was not normal. I was easily able to remain on my feet. I took the opportunity to tear my eyes off the macabre act about to happen to the webbed earth and walls sporting new large cracks...
Four Arms was holding back, it seems. But then again, it might be for the best.
Collapsing buildings and a crater do not make for the best of sights.
Behind me were the sounds of bones snapping.
KrrRRrrk! (Snap!)
"Gah!"
"Fuck, my arms!"
"AaaarGggRrRRRrrhh!"
The man in the gasmask seemed to be on wit's end—that is until he paused as he noticed the children who were huddling at the end of the alley.
Before he could even make any move on his end, I said.
"Sure about that? Cause if you're about to do what I think you're about to do, then let me assure you this. You are going to regret it. Let me break your arms and you go on your merry way, but if you decide to go after those kids, then what I will be breaking next would be just some freaking pair of limbs."
The man with the gasmask froze, steps unsure of the next action to take. Though unfortunately for him, Four Arms was already done with the others—he was next.
Eyes cranked shakily at me and said. "Co-C-Come on, sure we can't talk this out?"
I smiled. "Nope~"
KrrRRrrk! (Snap!)
"AaaaRRggghhh!"
ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ
"Stay on the lookout and if you see any... Bad-looking folks, chase them away—or bring them to me if they seem too stubborn to leave."
I said to Four Arms who nodded and trudged away like a lumbering giant.
With the man in the gasmask (I never really got his name in the end) and his henchmen dealt with and thrown out, I figure it's time I find out what's going on by asking the kids.
"Hey there—whoa, whoa, whoa... I'm not with those guys." I said, raising both my hands in a placating manner. "So how about you drop that glass down and let me see if there is anything I can do about the injuries you and your friends are sporting."
It was all too easy for me to seize the glass by force, but experience (particularly from school and home) has told me that for one to experience any sort of a peaceful discussion, one must hold a semblance of authority however small it may be.
The glass in the kid's hand is his semblance of authority. To take that away would only make the situation more annoying than what it originally was.
Besides, I can see in the kid's eyes that he doesn't mean any harm…Not like he could even harm me in the first place.
The boy looked at his injured arm and at the bruised children who gathered around a blonde girl who seemed grievously injured.
Gritting his teeth, he turned to me and said. "Just—just go and check up on her."
Nodding, I walked past him and slowly approached the injured girl, who seemed to already have a red blotch on her stomach.
'Yikes,' I winced. 'I'm certainly no doctor, but that looks nasty.'
"Can you do something about it?" Behind me, the boy with the glass asked.
Despite how mature he tried making his voice sound like, there was no denying the desperation I had picked in his tone.
"Yeah, I can," I replied affirmatively. "How about you all gather around? Let me heal you all at once."
Well, truthfully speaking. Simply healing was amongst the least of what I am capable of doing right now—regeneration, restoration, curing of diseases, curses, or whathaveyou. My second gift went beyond all that, breaching and surpassing the realm of Soul manipulation itself.
Yes, it might sound like I'm showboating, but that's simply an apt description of my second Gift.
[Second Gift: Sephiroth Graal]
A Soul Bound Item that allowed me to manipulate the very concept of Life and Death; to elevate it or to devolve it however I please.
I felt my eyes gain a little bit of warmth as the world as I knew it was gone—melded with the colors of different soul wavelengths.
"Glowing eyes... Cool." One of the children muttered.
I flashed a smile, chuckling internally at how fretful the boy who had just spoken looked like. Anyway, I've wasted more than enough time.
The instructions for using the Sephiroth Graal were in my head as if it had been there my entire life. Raising a hand shrouded in a golden aura, pointing towards the children, I commanded for them to be healed.
With a whoosh, the aura spread out enveloping the children and brightening a bit. When the light died down, the children could only look at themselves in wonder and happiness—they were healed.
"So how do you feel?" I asked.
The boy rubbed his shoulder testily before a smile bloomed on his face.
"Like the wound was never there in the first place... Thanks."
"You're welcome," I replied.
It seems my little good deed must have worked a tidbit too well as I could see the children who were weary of me were now approaching me.
To the boy who held the glass, I stretched a hand. "I'm Jax."
Eyeing my hand, the boy pursed his lips and roughly grabbed it.
"Owen... I can't believe I'm about to say this to a topsider, but thanks for the save."
And that broke the ice as the others eagerly introduced themselves.
"I'm Rudolf! Nice ta' meet ya'!"
"Mia..." Yeesh, seems like this one didn't fall in line with the others.
"Russ, so how do you work your magic?"
Meanwhile, the blonde girl bowed and demurely said. "Sasha, thank you for healing me."
Ruffling her head, I quirked my lips. "I only did what a normal person would have done."
"So, um," Rudolf asked with a bemused look. "What's a 'opsider doin' around 'ese parts of 'e lanes?"
'Now here comes the part I've been waiting for.' I thought to myself while scratching my cheeks.
Thankfully, from the sparse information I've gotten from the thugs, (seriously, seems like I owe them one) I have been able to put up a fake story of my own...
What? It's not like I can tell them that I am some dimensional traveler who had been transmigrated into this world by someone who calls himself [Omnipotence]...
That's one thought I don't want to figure out the kind of reaction it could bring and the kind of eyes it would attract.
Straightening up, I replied. "Truthfully, nothing."
"Nothing?" Owen said, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
'God, how does a 13-year-old even do that?' I thought to myself, but outwardly, I shrugged.
"Yeah, nothing. And topsider? I think you're all fundamentally mistaken, I'm not a topsider, because I don't even know what that means or even where this is."
Mia, the one I'd pegged as the silent type, scoffed. "That's plain bullshit. How did you get here and not know what a topsider is? ...Guys, he's lying."
My eye twitched as I felt the nagging itch to give the girl a piece of my mind and a spanking as a plus... Hah, now I can't help but feel depressed that a kid of less than 15 years could make me feel this way.
But Sasha interrupted Mia with a sound of audible reprove. "He's not lying, Mia. I saw him appear out of thin air—and some sort of hovering scribbled circle. I don't think he knows where this is."
"But that's impossible." Mia refuted, turning to point a finger at me.
"Even if you did appear out of some magic circle, how can you not know about Zaun? We're amongst the most famous cities in Runeterra!"
'Zaun, Runeterra... Interesting, so that's where I am now.' I thought, eyeing the area, I nodded to myself that this place did seem Zauny to me. 'Heh, nice one if I do say so myself.'
Coughing to gain attention, I willed a teleporting circle and vanished, appearing a few steps away from the kids who jumped up in surprise.
Owen, who was the biggest of the bunch, squeaked out. "Alright, we get it. You can teleport. Just stop doing that, it gives me the creep..."
Clapping my hand, I looked at Mia who raised her hands in surrender,
"Same here. After all, it's none of my business why you're here in the first place. So long as it doesn't hurt my family I couldn't care less."
"Good," I said, happy that the customary questions had been done. Now it's my turn to ask the question. "So now, how about in exchange for my healing, you guys tell me all that you know about this place... This Zaun. Of course, in a safer location."
I feel like I've taken the pleasantries far enough. It's time for me to get what I want and for now, what I want is information.
I'm in a whole new world where the new shits I'm capable of doing aren't some Harry Potter mystery. If I want to start somewhere, the first thing I would need is information about my current location.
As soon as we prepared to leave the alley—earth suddenly tremored as my Tetramand roared which was promptly followed by horrified screams.
'Well, what do you know, seems like Four Arms must have chased away some ruffians—'
I halted as I watched the Tetramand come back with human luggage tucked under its trunk arms.
'Or brought back the more stubborn ones.'
Cracking my fingers, I figured this time I would taste my combat power and these ruffians would be the perfect test subject. Like Four Arms, I too would have to hold back if I didn't want to turn my surroundings into a wasteland.
… … Is what I would have done, if it weren't for Owen's happy voice of recognition (?).
"Red, Rungs…What are you two doing here?"
"Owen... Owen is that you?"
A tuft of red hair struggled from the Tetramand's grip -not like she escaped it- to reveal the face of a pretty-looking woman around my age.
"And what's with that question. That's what I'm supposed to be asking you all. Why the fuck did you all go out without any supervision even though Boss said that now isn't a safe time to do so? Silco's men or the Pilts could have caught you!"
For the first time (which wasn't that long, to be honest), Owen's face born a childlike look as he replied in a pouty tone.
"You and the Boss aren't the only ones who want to take the fight to Silco. We too can fight for Zaun!"
"You..." Red gritted out but paused as she turned to look at me. "Hey Mr. Topsy, care to tell your big scary friend here to let us down. I feel like we might have gotten off on the wrong foot, and seeing as the kids are alright with you, we can at least hold an amicable discussion."
'Why do I feel like I've transmigrated in an important story arc?' I thought, but that couldn't stop the rising bubble of excitement within me.
Yeah, I'm quite sure I could gain something nice if I stay with these folks. After all, they all smell like minor main characters in a story.
Clicking my fingers, Four Arms vanished with a dark inky splash. After waiting for Red and Ruggles to get on their feet, I moved towards both of them and said, "I'm Jax, a wandering Arcane User. Nice to meet you."