In the United States, in an apartment in Manhattan, New York, a young man with black hair lay on the desk in his bedroom.
"Ah, my head hurts so much. What happened?"
A sharp pain shot through his head. Noah clutched his forehead, using his other hand to support himself as he sat upright. It felt like his head was about to explode.
"Where am I?"
After a while, the pain began to subside. Looking around, he saw an unfamiliar room and realized he was sitting at a desk. He glanced at the computer screen in front of him and noticed that he seemed younger. While he was trying to figure out what was happening, a voice suddenly rang in his head.
[Ding~ Summoner's memory fully restored. System booting.]
"What is that sound?"
He hadn't yet grasped why he was in this place, and the sudden voice startled him. It seemed like he heard the word "system."
A system? Could it be that, like the protagonist in a novel, he had transmigrated to another world? But his appearance hadn't changed... Still confused and in pain, Noah heard the voice again.
[Summoner, be prepared. Memory is loading!]
"Memory? What memory? Oh no!"
"Bang!"
As Noah tried to figure out what the system meant by "memory," he suddenly felt a flood of memories crash into his mind, and the intense pain overwhelmed him. His body collapsed onto the desk, and once again, the room fell into silence.
"Ugh..."
In the moonlight spilling across the bed, Noah came to, clutching his head. The lingering pain felt like a bump had formed on his skull.
"Parents... car accident... Captain America? Iron Man? Ugh... I still can't quite figure it out. It seems I've been reborn into the Marvel universe?"
During the fainting spell, Noah had learned everything from the memories that flooded his mind. It turned out that he had transmigrated long ago into another world—specifically, the Marvel universe. Today, he had finally regained his past memories, and the system connected to him had also activated.
In this life, he had been born a Chinese-American. His parents had died in a car accident several years ago, leaving him only some savings and this apartment.
After their deaths, he had lived alone, attending high school. Noah recalled several familiar names: Captain America and Tony Stark. Weren't these characters from the Marvel films he had watched in his previous life?
Recalling these names, he realized that he truly had ended up in the Marvel universe. But he didn't know if this was the movie or comic book version of the world. This worried him a lot, as in his previous life, he had only seen some of the films and picked up information about Marvel through videos—he had never read the comics. From online posts, he knew that the comic characters were far more powerful than those in the movies, so he hoped he was in the cinematic universe.
Additionally, he now had a system to rely on.
"System, are you here?"
Not knowing how to activate it, he began calling out to the system both aloud and mentally.
[Greetings, Summoner. Welcome to the League of Legends Summoning System.]
"The League of Legends Summoning System? That's its name? Does that mean I can summon heroes?"
Noah recognized the name immediately. League of Legends was a game he wasn't particularly good at in his previous life; he had preferred watching the tournaments. He remembered that he had died while playing the game, accidentally spilling water on the power outlet near his feet, which had led to his transmigration to another world. He'd seen such scenarios in many novels, but he hadn't expected to experience one himself.
His memories were interrupted, and shaking his head, Noah continued questioning the system.
"System, what are your functions?"
[Summoner, this system allows you to summon the powers of heroes, granting you the abilities of characters from the game world.]
[Summoning requires essence, which can be obtained by completing tasks.]
[The summoning can include champion templates, skins, various gear, items, and world runes.]
[When summoning a champion template or skin, the Summoner gains the power of that hero from the game world.]
[For additional information, the Summoner can explore the system on their own!]
"The power of champions and skins?"
Upon hearing the system's functions, Noah immediately thought of champions like Aurelion Sol, Bard, and Kindred, who are among the most powerful in the game's universe. Besides these champions, there were also demigods, entities, demons, Darkin, Ascended, and Voidborn, all possessing immense power.
Noah also heard mention of skins, which in their universes hold even greater power, like the Dark Star series or Shan Hai Scrolls. If he could summon such champions or skins, he would be able to live in this world without fear. But first, he needed to figure out if this was the movie universe or the comics universe.
"System, do you know if this is the movie or comic universe?"
[Scanning... This universe is the Marvel Cinematic Universe known to the Summoner.]
"Oh, good, now I can relax."
Noah's heart finally calmed down. The MCU, although full of dangers like Thanos and the Celestials, was still better than the comic world with its absurd villains. If he could summon Aurelion Sol or someone similar, he'd be unstoppable.
[Summoner, please open the panel. You have access to a starter pack with ten free summoning attempts.]
"What? A starter pack too? How generous!"
Just as Noah was about to ask the system how to complete tasks, he received a notification.
After learning how to open the panel, he mentally commanded, "Open panel." A flash of light, and a blue interface appeared before his eyes.
[Inventory] [Summon] [Tasks] [Personal Information]
The panel had only four options—neat and clean, without a hint of the pay-to-win features so common in Chinese mobile games.
"System, I'm the only one who can see this panel, right?"
[Yes, Summoner.]
Noah tapped the "Summon" icon and saw two options.
[Summon x1] [Summon x10]
Beneath the summoning option, it was indicated that one summon cost 600 essence, while ten consecutive summons cost 6000 essence. However, at the moment, the icon displayed a free attempt.
"System, what's the difference between Summon x10 and ten single summons?"
[There is a difference, Summoner. Summon x10 grants an additional free chest, from which you can receive essence and other items.]
"A free chest? It's not like those chests that only give you 10 essence a day, is it?"
[A game is a game, and reality is reality. Summoner, do not confuse them!]
"Alright, I believe you."
Noah was a bit skeptical of the system's words but decided to trust it and pressed the "Summon x10" button.
After pressing it, the interface began to change, turning into a blue vortex. The vortex spun rapidly, and then, with a powerful jolt, ten glowing orbs and one blue chest shot out, coming to rest in front of Noah.
"Haha, I'm getting a little excited! System, do I need to touch these orbs?"
Noah asked the system, then reached out and touched the first orb. The light dissipated, and before him appeared a red vial. It was the familiar item for all League of Legends players—the Health Potion.
"A Health Potion? How do I take it out, system?"
[Summoner, you can place items in your inventory or take them out by touching them.]
Noah reached out and grabbed the ethereal image of the Health Potion, and it immediately materialized in his hand. The cold glass of the bottle sent a wave of excitement through him.
"Here it is, the Health Potion I used in every game. What a miracle, it actually exists."
Noah carefully examined the potion, the clear liquid inside resembling red amber. After finishing his inspection, he set it on the table and moved on to the other glowing orbs.
[Health Potion] [Health Potion] [Mana Potion] [Tear of the Goddess] [Stealth Ward] [Health Potion] [Health Potion] [Mana Potion]
"Potions, a Tear, a Ward... but where are the champions?"
After eight orbs, he had received several potions, one item, and a stealth ward. Noah began to worry—would he get a champion at all?
Looking at the final glowing orb, Noah crossed his fingers and whispered a prayer from his past life:
"Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Jade Emperor, Buddha, Lord, please help me, give me a champion, give me a champion!"
After these prayers, Noah touched the last orb.
As soon as his finger made contact, it flared up brightly and shot directly into his chest. Noah didn't have time to react before he was engulfed by the light.