Chapter 784: Ignite the Fires of War in the Summoner's Rift!

"Welcome to Summoner's Rift." A group of elves, donning their virtual reality visors, found themselves in a setting quite distinct from the original interface; upon entering the game, each summoner stood within a chamber teeming with mystical apparatuses.

It felt as though they had stepped into an ancient... Hall of Summoners.

"The people of this continent have been accustomed to conflict since time immemorial."

(The original background lore can be found on the official website.)

Light of an intensely magical hue began to swirl, and upon the walls ahead, which were etched with highly systematic magical runes, there appeared a vision of a devastated and scarred land.

Though it was but a virtual projection, it appeared remarkably vivid, as if it were the actual world lying just outside this ancient hall, or perhaps... a chronicle detailing the past history of this world.

Flames of war scorched their way from the plains to the distant snowy peaks, beneath a darkened sky heavily draped in the shadows of the Void.

A purple meteor streaked across the firmament, and it was only when it receded, crashing into and collapsing half a mountainside, that one realized it was a blinding radiance of pure magic.

The fires of conflict consumed villages and swallowed nations whole, spilling the lifeblood of countless souls across the vast expanse of the earth...

Until at last, a colossal earthquake and an unimaginably terrifying magical storm were unleashed!

"Mankind finally realized that the world... could no longer endure the devastation wrought by the Rune Wars."

"The archmages of Valoran, rallying together with innumerable powerful summoners, reached a consensus to bring all conflicts under controlled and systematic management, and thus, the League of Legends was established."

"All disputes shall be resolved by summoners of differing political factions, who will summon a great champion to duel within this arena."

"With more and more summoners and champions joining the ranks, none were foolish enough to provoke so many formidable entities; therefore... even as certain hostile regimes continued to clash, order was restored to the continent once more."

...

"Is this how the wars of this world... are to exist from now on?" As the Elven Queen, Kelanbell, endowed with a long lifespan, naturally understood the horrors of war, and was consequently filled with ever-growing wonder, "To think that warfare... could evolve into such a state!?"

To think that wars could actually be fought within virtual reality!?

Having finished watching the background introduction, two options quickly manifested upon the virtual projection before them: one for beginners, which would naturally guide them into a novice training camp to learn basic maneuvers and strategic thinking, and the other to dive straight into the game.

As a free-to-play title, most players were naturally more than willing to give it a try, and with the painful lessons of Dark Souls III fresh in their minds, the majority of them now possessed a realistic sense of their own limits; they dutifully chose to review the tutorial first to grasp the fundamental rules—such as purchasing equipment and the division into top, middle, and bottom lanes—before opting to play this more advanced Matchmaking Mode for player-versus-player combat.

The number of players within the shop...

Was swelling by the moment.

In the Canglan City branch alone, the players numbered in the tens of thousands.

And this was merely the early morning, far from peak hours.

Furthermore, since only the Ionia server was available at present and everyone started at the baseline level, almost everyone found a match instantly upon entering the queue.

...

At this moment, Nalan Mingxue was also queuing for a match while broadcasting her livestream.

She had also formed a party with an elf to queue together.

Naturally, Penguin Voice chat was an absolute necessity.

"Oh... we're in, we're in!" This was a private Penguin chat channel named "Elder Su's Tianji Palace," where Sera and Nalan Mingxue stayed in a small sub-room, joined evidently by several others such as Su Tianji, Lanyan, Xu Zixin, and a few other elves dropping by for a visit.

Evidently, it was a gathering comprised entirely of young ladies.

Meanwhile, the likes of Nalan Hongwu and An Huwei were clearly waiting for their matches to pop within their own respective Penguin channels.

"We're in too!" Inside the new Dongxuan Cave-Heaven branch, a crowd of Haotian Sect disciples had also been matched with suitable opponents.

Prompt: "You may choose to summon a champion of your liking; however, within Summoner's Rift, any champion can only exert a fraction of their true power, maintained in a state of relative balance."

Prompt: "Should your champion perish, they will reconstitute after a brief period of recovery and respawn at the starting point, for what you summon is merely a physical projection imbued with a portion of the champion's strength."

Prompt: "You may utilize the magical map in your hand to discern the positions of all individuals who are not obscured by the Fog of War."

"..."

Following a succession of prompts, the majority of the players had entered the game.

"Xuexue, who do you plan to choose?" Still inside the room where she had entered the game, the only difference now was that the virtual projection displayed a simplified, three-laned map before her eyes, upon which a diverse array of champions was listed alongside their three-dimensional virtual likenesses.

"What is broken can be reforged!" A resounding, resolute female voice rang out through the Penguin chat channel as Nalan Mingxue selected a warrior woman wielding a colossal broken blade.

(Just like the original game, there are free champions as well as a weekly rotation of random free champions.)

(The system's version is a relatively early build, though not the earliest version.)

"Oh wow! I wanted to pick that one too...!" Seeing that Nalan Mingxue had claimed her first, Sera had no choice but to select another.

"I choose... this one! The Frost Archer!" Archery is a specialty of us elves, after all!

...

"My sword is yours!" Inside the Dongxuan Cave-Heaven shop, upon the screen of the black-robed Elder Dugu Xiao, a face weathered by time and hardships could be seen beneath his visor.

Evidently: "This old man's journey into esports has begun!"

Begin!

Accompanied by the stirring, heavy strains of the music, they gradually began to step into this world, carrying with them... the power and the souls of those champions.

A vast land unfolded, where tiers of magical nexus crystals and turrets stood stern and majestic, and a verdant forest, stretching as far as the eye could see like an ocean of green, blanketed the entire rift.

"Those who follow me shall prosper, those who oppose me shall perish—this is... destiny!"

"The unseen blade is the deadliest!" From within the shadows, a pair of narrow eyes slowly opened.

"Brothers and sisters, let us fight side by side!" The banner of war was raised high into the air.

"Let me show you true magic, Summoner!" A magical storm from antiquity crackled with the most perilous colors!

"They will welcome you as heroes." Blood dyed the earth crimson!

"..."

Echoing by their ears were voices either low and sinister, or laced with a deadly allure!

Behind them, it felt as though grand and monumental souls were slowly awakening from their slumber; they had been summoned here, the greatest heroes, the mightiest warriors, the most legendary mages!

And also... the ultimate—weapons!

Yet at this moment, they were gathered together under one sky.

The sky seemed to be illuminated by something magnificent, casting its light across the entire realm: "Welcome to League of Legends!"

At this very moment, the war began.

.