Parallel World, January 2000, University of London Dormitory, England.
William Devonshire raised his hands and drew a hexagram in the air, causing a golden magic circle to appear.
With a swift pull, the golden magic circle transformed into a golden magic rope. He flung it out, and the rope encircled the back of a chair a few meters away. With a tug, the chair flew towards William, who caught it effortlessly.
This was reminiscent of the magic seen in the Doctor Strange movie, but the difference was that his power source was a system.
He didn't need to borrow power from dimension-dwelling gods; his magical power was provided by the system and came without side effects.
With his eyes closed, he used his mental power to sense everything in the dormitory, even detecting items under his bed, including a few coins.
Attempting to use telekinesis, he was surprised when it actually worked, and the coins, as if lifted by an invisible hand, floated towards him.
William excitedly waved the magic rope in his hand, occasionally causing shoes and chairs in the dorm to crash into the walls.
Suddenly, a loud knocking sounded at the dorm door.
A furious shout came from the hallway, "Damn it, mate, are you on drugs? What time do you think it is? If you don't quiet down, I'm calling the police!"
Hearing the complaints from the dorm next door, William hurried to the door to apologize, spending quite a while calming his neighbor down.
After closing the door, he lay on his bed, reflecting on the past few days' strange experiences, his feelings shifting from confusion to excitement.
He had been in this parallel world for nineteen years, until three days ago when a beeping sound woke him from his sleep.
"Energy charging complete, Marvel Universe System initiating, granting basic magical knowledge on first activation."
Charging? What kind of system takes nineteen years to charge?
Suddenly, a vast amount of knowledge and memories flooded his mind, knocking him unconscious within seconds.
The next morning, William rubbed his still-dizzy head and sat up, realizing his mind was filled with strange new knowledge.
Magic?
How could there be magic in this world? He had lived here for nineteen years without ever hearing of magic. Was he drunk?
Rubbing his eyes, he blinked and found himself still in his dorm room.
In this world, the King of England was a man named Philip, the President of the USA was named Benjamin Arthur, and the previous president had been a British-born woman.
This was a world entirely different from his previous one.
In his previous life, William was named Chen Mo, a 22-year-old office worker from Xijiang Province, China, in 2019. On the day of his cousin's 20th birthday, the whole family gathered at his second uncle's house for a celebration.
He and two cousins, along with a brother-in-law, drank with four uncles, finishing four bottles of Wuliangye and then continuing with a drinking game until 10 PM, finally stopping when the uncles were all drunk.
Back home, surprisingly sober despite drinking a lot, Chen Mo drank a large glass of water, lay on the balcony enjoying the early summer night breeze, and started watching the newly released Avengers 4 on his phone.
Halfway through the movie, a thunderstorm began. As he was about to head back inside, a flash of lightning shot towards him, rendering him unconscious.
He awoke in the body of a mixed-race baby named William. However, due to the baby's brain development, memories of his past life in China only slowly resurfaced as he grew older.
His mother, Lena Devonshire, met his father during a ski trip to Switzerland 20 years ago. A romantic and pleasant seven-day trip ended in disaster on the seventh day.
While skiing down from the mountain, they were caught in an avalanche. Lena and William's father were separated by the snow. Lena was fortunate enough to be buried shallowly and rescued, but William's father, Chen Jing, was never found.
Returning to England with a mixture of grief and relief, Lena discovered three months later that she was pregnant.
Information from Switzerland only revealed that William's father was named Chen Jing, a 25-year-old from Shanghai working in Hong Kong.
Lena sought out William's paternal family in Shanghai through her father's connections but gave up after years of fruitless searching.
Thus, William grew up without knowing if he had any relatives in China.
Fortunately, Lena had her parents' support, who, despite their resentment towards Chen Jing, doted on their unexpected grandson and helped Lena raise him.
However, being a single mother raising a child was tough, and after William's grandparents passed away when he was ten, life became even harder. Lena bore all the hardships alone to bring up William.
Being from a single-parent family and of mixed race, he had few friends.
With little playtime, young William turned to studying for solace, excelling academically as he couldn't relate to his peers.
His grandfather, Henry Devonshire, a nobleman, had taught him many things from a young age. As his memories of his past life gradually returned in his teenage years, his intellect seemed to double, making learning much faster than average.
The only problem was the 1980s England, rife with chaos, discrimination, and conflicts.
One day, discovering that he and his mother were being secretly watched, he chose to disguise himself as an unsociable bookworm for safety.
By the time he got into the University of London, one of England's best schools, he was known as a reclusive academic with no girlfriend, living in his own world.
The sound of an alarm clock woke him from his slumber.
"Marvel Universe System fully charged, initiating. Welcome, host William Devonshire, to the Marvel Universe System."
System? William was stunned. A real system? Did getting struck by lightning while watching Avengers 4 grant him access to the entire Marvel Universe?
"System, are you there?" William thought silently.
After a long wait, there was no response.
What kind of system doesn't have a guide or even an assistant? And what kind of system takes nineteen years to charge?
Focusing his thoughts, he realized it was a user-friendly, beginner system.
He could learn all kinds of technology, magic, and abilities, provided he understood them.
Understanding technology was one thing, but studying magic gave him a headache.
Fortunately, the system provided a consolation prize: a magic training system.
William decided to secretly practice, ensuring he kept a low profile until he confirmed whether this world had magic or superpowered individuals.
But it was magic! Who wouldn't want superpowers or magic after watching so many superhero movies? He decided to learn first and worry later.
The basic magical theory was thorough and simple enough for a novice like him to understand.
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he began practicing according to the basic magical theory. Before long, lights appeared in his mind, and various magical theories and methods surfaced.
This is magic? William realized, wondering how he suddenly understood it without question, as if he had always known.
With a soul combined from two complete adults, he naturally had a more agile mind and quicker thinking ability.
Excited by his first encounter with magic, William spent the next few days practicing non-stop, mastering his first spell, the Magic Rope, by that night.
This spell had many uses: it could cut someone in half, bind people, and the telekinetic Mage Hand was even more useful—he could fetch a pen from his desk while lying in bed with it.
With this golden finger, he felt on the verge of a breakthrough.
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