This was a wooden cabin nestled deep in the mountains, surrounded by lush trees and clear streams.
The cabin looked like it had seen better days, but it exuded a simple, unadorned charm.
There wasn't much decoration, just some simple wooden furniture and everyday items.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the entire space. The air was filled with a faint woody scent and the fresh aroma of herbs, making one feel comfortable and relaxed. Though humble, it was full of life.
A handsome young man with brilliant golden hair was sitting on the bed, sighing, skillfully removing the white linen bandage wrapped around his head, bit by bit.
"I should've played Dragon King in that last game last night..."
"Why did I transmigrate as Ezreal?"
The young man rubbed his golden hair, complaining speechlessly.
"Hello everyone, I'm Ezreal, originally a noob AD youth who loved playing League but couldn't climb past Gold, then switched to mobile and got stuck at Master, unable to reach Challenger!"
"I woke up and found myself transmigrated, and I'd become the EZ who got stomped repeatedly last night."
"Question: How does an ADC survive in the Fairy Tail world? Online and urgent!"
In the empty cabin, no one could respond to Ezreal's complaints. The lid of the herbal pot on the stove in the corner rattled, making a crisp sound as if in response.
Transmigration, for young people in the new era who often read novels and play games, wasn't hard to accept. It was certainly better than a life where you could see the end from the start.
His current situation was that his consciousness was clear when he transmigrated, but he was molded into Ezreal's image by an unknown force, and the physical reconstruction process was quite painful, bringing him to the verge of unconsciousness.
Moreover, he was thrown down from a spatial rift that opened in the sky. Before he hit the ground, a short, white-haired, balding old man wearing a white fur-collared cloak appeared in his blurry vision.
The old man seemed very enthusiastic, completely unfazed by Ezreal falling out of a sudden spatial rift in the sky.
Just as Ezreal was about to be smashed to pieces, the old man's right hand swelled into the exaggerated hand of a giant, easily catching him and saving him.
Although he wasn't killed by the fall, the pain of the physical transformation was still too much for the lazy Blue Star youth to endure, and he promptly fainted.
However, before losing consciousness, Ezreal was absolutely certain: this was a sure win! The large, shiny Fairy Tail Guild emblem on the old man's cloak was exceptionally conspicuous!
The Blue Star youth, whose biggest hobby before transmigration was reading novels and watching anime, immediately recognized that the old man who saved him from danger was Makarov, the Master of the Fairy Tail Magician Guild!
A kind, good-hearted, powerful, and slightly verbose old man!
Fairy Tail, a hot-blooded slice-of-life anime, where not many people seemed to die! OK, this transmigration was a definite win! With that thought, Ezreal fainted.
Ezreal, who had just woken up in the cabin, had already adapted to the reality of transmigrating to the Fairy Tail world and began to familiarize himself with his new body.
After removing the bandage, Ezreal casually placed it by the bed and raised his left hand.
A bronze-textured gauntlet completely covered his hand from fingertip to near his elbow, providing excellent protection. From its thickness, it could even be used as a shield.
The scale-like structure at the knuckles and wrist allowed for unimpeded bending of fingers and wrist.
Five sapphire gems, long and slender like willow leaves, were arranged and embedded in the bracer, with the middle one larger than the ones on the sides. On the back of his hand, an egg-sized, light blue spherical gem was embedded, glowing with a misty blue light that pulsed rhythmically as Ezreal breathed, as if alive.
"The artifact of a Shurima Ascended..."
Ezreal stood up, clenching his left fist with force, and a powerful sensation surged through his left arm.
"Buzz."
Two light blue magical energy streams extended from either side of his fist, forming a light blue energy short bow.
Ezreal carefully examined the seemingly solid energy bow in his hand, nodded in satisfaction, then relaxed his left hand, and the energy bow shattered into fine, snowflake-like light blue glow that dissipated into the air.
Overall, this body was truly excellent: tall and muscular, handsome, with brilliant golden short, spiky hair, and came with an artifact.
If he remembered correctly, in Ezreal's lore, he also possessed extremely high magical talent, but later became too reliant on the artifact he obtained from a Shurima tomb, which slowed his progress in magic.
Such a setup was considered a good start in the large camp of transmigrators.
"Creak."
A tall, red-robed, stern-faced old woman pushed open the door, carrying a basket of unrecognizable herbs.
"Don't use magic casually right after waking up. Your body is still very weak. Are all young people this reckless nowadays?" The old woman's tone was as stern as her face, speaking with great authority, yet one could discern concern in her voice.
Ezreal looked at the old woman's expressionless face and felt a powerful aura wash over him, like his mother possessed. He immediately apologized: "Ah, I'm so sorry, thank you very much for saving me."
"I didn't save you. I hate humans! Drink this medicine and you can leave." The old woman remained expressionless. She entered, put down the herb basket, and without a word, picked up the brewed pot from the stove in the corner, casually pulled out a wooden bowl from the wooden cabinet by the stove, and poured a full bowl of light green medicinal soup, handing it to Ezreal.
"Porlyusica, don't scare the young man."
Before he appeared, a hearty and aged laugh came from outside the door. An old man, about 1.3 meters tall, with white hair and a kind smile, walked in and greeted Ezreal, who was holding the bowl of medicine awkwardly.
Porlyusica saw the old man enter, gave a simple nod, then picked up her basket and sat on the other side of the bed, organizing herbs, exuding an aura of 'do not approach strangers'.
"Young man, you seem to be recovering well. I am Makarov, and this cold-faced old woman is Porlyusica. Don't mind her, she's actually a kind person despite her stern appearance." The old man named Makarov greeted him very familiarly.
"What's your name, where are you from? And why did you appear here?"
Ezreal bowed gratefully to the kind old man in front of him, politely replying: "Thank you for saving me. My name is Ezreal. You can call me Ez or EZ."
"I'm from... another world." Ezreal hesitated for a moment but still revealed the truth to the two old people.
The world of Fairy Tail had the concept of other worlds, and even if few knew about it, for Makarov, one of the Ten Wizard Saints at the pinnacle of Mages, it was certainly not a secret.
As for Porlyusica, she herself was a transmigrator, originally a human from the parallel world of Edolas.
There was no need to lie about his identity, which might displease the two who had saved his life and played crucial roles in the original story.
"Ezreal, a good name. Is the abbreviation EZ? Can I call you that?" Makarov's face showed a kind and gentle smile.
"Of course, EZ sounds more familiar." Ezreal nodded, speaking truthfully. If someone suddenly called him by his full name, he might not even react; he was used to calling himself EZ or 'Blondie' from playing games... Makarov nodded in satisfaction at the honest young man in front of him, pointed to the clean, folded clothes on the bedside, which also included a pair of old-fashioned bronze goggles, and said: "Your clothes look ordinary, but the material is surprisingly precious."
"Porlyusica said your clothes have self-repairing properties. When you fell out of the spatial rift, your clothes were in tatters, but they returned to their original state after you were unconscious for a day."
"They also have some kind of cleaning magic attached, ensuring the clothes don't get dirty. This magical material is very rare, and the manufacturing process is very ancient and luxurious."
"The same goes for your goggles. They have the same indestructible properties as your clothes, and they seem to have special magic attached, providing night vision, life detection, and enhanced observation."
"EZ, would you mind telling me about your identity from another world?"
"Ah..." Ezreal was a bit bewildered. He knew nothing of what Makarov was saying. He had been unconscious for two days and two nights after being rescued from transmigration, and had only been awake for less than ten minutes.
The old, loose robe he was currently wearing must have been changed by the two old people while he was unconscious.
After waking up, he had only just started to get used to his new body and hadn't even had time to check the neatly arranged personal items on the bedside.
Who would have known that the default clothes and goggles from his original League of Legends skin would be precious magical items? It wasn't written in his lore!
Didn't it just say he was a tomb raider who stole the Shurima Ascended's artifact gauntlet!
But on second thought, it was reasonable.
In Ezreal's League of Legends lore, both his parents were top archaeologists who later mysteriously disappeared. With the help of his uncle, Ezreal ventured out to find his parents, becoming a somewhat famous explorer across Runeterra.
Runeterra was not a safe place; Shadow Isles, demons, Aspects, Ascended, Void creatures... everything existed.
In terms of danger, it was more than one magnitude higher than the Fairy Tail world! The rewards would naturally not be small!
Living on Runeterra, working as a relic explorer, and earning a reputation as an adventurer without gaining any magical artifacts would be unrealistic.
As for why there were only clothes and goggles and no other items, it was probably because the artifact gauntlet from Shurima on his hand was too practical, and other magical artifacts were most likely sold. An adventurer needs to earn money, not just hoard magical artifacts and risk his life.
"Is it inconvenient to say?" Makarov asked when Ezreal remained silent for a long time without responding.
The old man's gentle tone interrupted Ezreal's rambling thoughts. He quickly waved his hand, explaining: "No, it's just that I'm thinking about how to explain it. I don't know if there's a similar job in this world. My identity in the other world is an explorer."
"Um... that is, running all over the world, looking for treasures or lost ruins, and occasionally taking on commissions to help wealthy people find valuable items and such."
"Sounds like a good job." Makarov smiled.
"You believe it so easily?" Ezreal was a bit surprised. He himself felt he needed to digest his current identity.
"Why not?" Makarov looked up into his eyes. "I trust my judgment of people."
"I..." Ezreal felt a bit awkward and touched by the old man's direct trust.
"Relax, EZ." Makarov comforted him softly, then pointed to the medicine bowl in Ezreal's hand and said: "If you don't drink your medicine soon, it'll get cold. I don't want to hear Porlyusica roar."
Beside them, Porlyusica, who had been acting as a background character on the other side of the bed, snorted in response without lifting her head.
"Ah, sorry." Ezreal quickly downed the medicine and placed the bowl aside.
"Given your identity, your appearance in our world must have been an accident during an exploration. Can you still return to your world?" Makarov pulled Ezreal to sit on the bed and asked softly.
"Probably, I can't go back..."
Ezreal obediently sat back on the bed, silent for a moment, then raised his left hand, looking at the faintly glowing gauntlet and the new, neatly folded clothes on the bedside. Through the reflection on the goggles placed on the clothes, he saw his golden hair and slightly dazed eyes.
The person in the reflection of the goggles was both familiar and strange.
"Don't be discouraged, young man. I've met many homeless children, some who couldn't even explain where they came from. They were as lost and uneasy as you are now." Makarov gently patted Ezreal's left hand, which glowed with magical light, comforting him. "At least you're still alive. You can have a new beginning in this world."
Ezreal nodded silently, unsure what to say for a moment. His mind was a little muddled. Even though he had accepted the fact of transmigration, being alone in a completely unfamiliar world, a sense of alienation and unease filled his heart.
"What are your plans for the future?" Makarov asked again.
"None for now, I haven't thought it through."
"EZ, you can use magic, right?" Makarov pointed to the sapphire-embedded gauntlet on Ezreal's hand.
"Roughly, a little bit..." Ezreal hesitated for a moment, then nodded. This gauntlet from Shurima was essentially just an amplifier; its main purpose was to enhance the power of magic. The energy arrows EZ shot with it were actually his own innate magic.
"That's great! Are you interested in joining a Magician Guild?" Makarov clapped his hands happily and jumped off the bed.
Huh? Was this surprise so sudden? Ezreal was stunned. He thought there would at least be some kind of test or something. Did he just get to join because he was picked up?
Speaking of which, aren't Fairy Tail's admission standards a bit too casual!
But... that's right. Natsu, Gray, Erza, and others all seemed to have joined this way.
"What is a Magician Guild?" Even though he already knew some of the plot, Ezreal suppressed his inner joy and asked with feigned surprise.
"People who wield magical power are called Mages here. And a Guild is a place where companions gather, and also a place where jobs are introduced. For kids who have no one, it's a warm home."
"A Guild is built on mutual trust and morality, and it has become a bond stronger than anything else."
"Whether it's happy things or sad things, though not all, at least to some extent shared—that's what a Guild is."
"One person's happiness is everyone's happiness."
"One person's anger is everyone's anger."
"And..."
"One person's tears are everyone's tears."
The old man's aged yet passionate voice echoed in the small cabin, truly warming Ezreal, who had been pretending to adapt to transmigration but was actually lost and helpless deep down.
Such a sincere and earnest answer hit Ezreal's heart hard.
He stared blankly at the short old man in front of him. In Ezreal's eyes, the old man's image was incredibly tall at that moment, and his aged yet benevolent face was truly etched into his heart.
"Perhaps, transmigration really is a good thing."
Makarov extended his hand to Ezreal, his eyes sincere, "Losing the past is indeed painful, but one should not always dwell in painful memories and stop moving forward. That is irresponsible to your own life! You can find new life here, find new friends, companions, family, and your own meaning in life!"
"Before the heart stops beating, a person's path should not stagnate!"
"The strongest Guild in the Fiore Kingdom, Fairy Tail!"
"Welcome to join us!"