"Huff! Huff! Ah…"
The sky burned red… but something was off. Swirls of purple danced across it, strange and unnatural. Where was he?
He tried to look around. Trees surrounded him. Snow fell from the sky, melting the moment it touched his skin. In the distance, he heard a scream, muffled, as if someone was shouting with their mouth covered.
His vision spun. Everything was blurry.
"Hold on… don't stop."
A voice spoke beside him.
He turned his head. A young girl was helping him walk through the snow, his arm draped over her shoulders. Her face was a blur. She was talking, but he couldn't make out the words. A sharp ringing filled his ears, and warm liquid slid down his cheek. His ears were wet with it, too.
He reached up to touch it.
'Blood?' he thought.
He looked at the girl. The sight of blood didn't shock him nearly as much as the strange, dreamlike place he found himself in. Struggling for breath, he managed to speak.
"What is this? Where am I? Who are you?"
The girl opened her mouth, said something, but he still couldn't hear. Then, suddenly, a high-pitched, piercing shriek tore through the air. Time seemed to stop. The sound was so loud it made his ears throb.
The air grew heavy. Tense. Reginald couldn't explain it, but he could feel the girl's fear. Still, she kept moving, pushing herself forward. He knew this wasn't the time for questions. Wherever this was, it was dangerous. He told himself he'd figure things out later.
Right now, he had to survive.
'What the hell happened to me?'
But no matter how hard he tried, his body wouldn't respond. Everything below his neck felt numb. That shriek, whatever creature it came from, was getting closer. His heart pounded. He struggled to move, but it was useless.
_Fuck…_
The girl brought him under a tree and gently lowered him to the ground. Her small hands scooped snow and piled it over him, from his toes to his shoulders.
He looked up at her weakly.
She put a finger to her lips and whispered, "You have to be quiet, Regi… the monster will hear us. I'm going to distract it. When you're better, you have to run. Okay?"
Reginald gave a faint nod, but his thoughts were spinning. Why was she doing this? Who was she? So many questions, and not a single answer.
He stared at her, and slowly, his vision began to sharpen. Then, as if pulled from somewhere deep within, an unfamiliar word slipped from his mouth.
"Leb?"
The girl froze. She turned and looked at him.
And smiled.
It was the kind of smile that felt like sunlight breaking through storm clouds, warm, bright. Something inside Reginald stirred painfully as he watched her walk away.
"D-Don't leave…" he whispered, raising a trembling hand.
But she was already gone. And the light in his eyes faded with her.
...
Reginald opened his eyes as sunlight streamed through the gap in the window.
He yawned and rubbed his eyes before sitting up. With a quiet sigh, he muttered, "That dream again…"
He rubbed his forehead. For months now, Reginald had been having the same recurring dream. It was strange—too vivid. Sometimes, he wondered if it was even a dream at all, but no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't find any answers.
"Let's forget it… Today will be a good day. Hopefully," he said as he stood and opened the curtains, letting the sunlight wash over him.
The rising sun shone brightly over the city of Piltover. Tall buildings towered in the distance, and flying ships sailed across the blue sky. The streets below were already bustling with people, engineers and bakers, nobles and merchants, all going about their day.
A small smile crept onto Reginald's lips as he took a deep breath.
Knock, knock!
Reginald opened the door to find a woman with orange hair, blue eyes, and a pair of rabbit ears. She wore glasses and held a book in her hand, smiling warmly.
"Guild master, good morning."
"Good morning to you, too," Reginald replied with a smile. "Why are you here so early? Is something wrong?"
"Well, there is a problem… but also some good news."
As they walked through the hallway together, Reginald took the book from her and glanced through it. His expression grew a little serious.
"So… Zaun still won't accept our guild. There are too many troublemakers. But the good news is a new Gold-rank champion has appeared, and we can assign this mission to him."
"I see…" Reginald nodded slightly, deep in thought.
Unknowingly, they had reached the exit. Aurora smiled and opened the door.
As the door swung open, the lively sound of chatter filled the air. The guild hall buzzed with voices, footsteps, and laughter. Sunlight poured in through the large windows, bathing the room in warmth.
Seeing it all, Reginald couldn't help but feel a deep sense of satisfaction.
...
Twenty years ago, Reginald had been transported into the world of League of Legends as an ordinary human. He wasn't reincarnated or transmigrated, he simply appeared here, retaining his original body and memories.
Life in Runeterra wasn't kind to the weak, especially not to strangers from another world. Reginald went through hard times. He had no cheat skills, no special powers, nothing to give him an advantage. But sometimes, opportunities appeared when he needed them most.
Eventually, he chose to settle in Piltover, a city of innovation. That's when he had an idea, there were no guilds in this world. So, he decided to create one.
The idea quickly took off. The guild offered missions where members could earn money and gain ranking points, which they could use to exchange for items and rewards. As more people saw its potential, the guild grew rapidly in popularity.
Of course, many tried to interfere with his business, but Reginald always managed to resolve those problems with the help of his trusted assistant, Aurora.
They had met in Freljord during one of his early explorations. After hearing about his dream to build a guild, she chose to follow him, determined to help bring his vision to life.
Aurora was a quiet young woman with a strong obsession for knowledge. One of the reasons she followed Reginald was to learn more, especially stories and information from the Champions. She was also naturally caring, which was one of the things Reginald liked most about her.
"Oh... wait," Reginald stopped and turned to Aurora. "Have you looked into the person I mentioned?"
Aurora tapped her chin in thought, then opened her mouth slightly in surprise. "Oh, you mean Silco? I heard he's a dangerous man. He was one of the revolutionary leaders who started a war a few years ago. Are you sure you want to hire him?"
"Indeed. But I have my reasons. What about the other two?" Reginald asked.
"Piltover and Violet? Yeah, they're under the care of a man named Vander. Why do you want to know about them, Master? I'm curious—wait..." Aurora's eyes suddenly widened, and her mouth formed an "O" shape.
Reginald chuckled and shook his head. "It's not what you're thinking. I have a reason…"
"You always say that. 'Reason this, reason that.' Are you living inside a reason?" she said with a playful huff.
Reginald sat down at the counter, smiling softly. Ignoring her teasing, he asked, "How many Champions do we have now?"
When Reginald started the guild, he decided to shape it in a way that matched what he liked. Instead of calling them adventurers, he used the word Champions, just like the heroes in the game League of Legends. He preferred it that way, especially since he was now living in that world.
He also changed the ranking system. Instead of the usual F to S tiers, he used ranks like Iron, Bronze, Silver, and up to Challenger, just like in the game. Each tier, except for Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger, was divided into four parts: IV, III, II, and I.
It might have been strange to others, but to Reginald, it felt right. It was his way of bringing a piece of the familiar into this new world.
Aurora sat beside him and opened a book filled with information about the Champions. "We currently have over 500 Champions," she said. "Only five of them are ranked Gold."
Reginald nodded. Five hundred might not seem like much, but for Piltover, it was already a significant number. He had already begun expanding the guild into Zaun to increase their Champion count. Unfortunately, there were many obstacles, especially the Chem-Barons.
However, it wasn't just the Chem-Barons. The Council of Piltover was also keeping a close eye on the guild. They understood its growing influence and potential. Fortunately, Reginald wasn't powerless, he had his ways of dealing with them.
After finishing his work as Guild master, he slammed his hand on the desk and stood up. But suddenly, everything began to blur. The room spun around him, and a heavy dizziness set in. His eyelids grew heavier by the second.
"Master?" Aurora noticed his strange movements and quickly rushed to his side. Her eyes widened in alarm as she saw him collapse to the floor. "Master? Master, are you okay?!"
...
"Where… am I?"