Chapter 3: WTF? Garen?
Josh regained consciousness—again. At this point, he'd lost count of how many times he'd woken up in just the past few hours. Honestly, he was surprised he was still alive. He had genuinely thought he was done for.
His head was pounding like it was about to explode. He reached up and rubbed his temples, grimacing. His mind felt like someone had force-fed it a whole encyclopedia—no, several encyclopedias' worth of knowledge. Information he didn't understand just kept flooding in, uninvited.
It took him over ten minutes just sitting there on the ground, dazed, before he could finally process what the hell was happening. And once he did… things kind of made sense. Sort of.
Apparently, the place he was now in was called Runeterra. Yep. That Runeterra. Sounded ridiculous, but Josh remembered it vividly—it was the setting for one of his favorite games of all time: League of Legends.
And as absurd as it sounded, he had somehow opened the Void Gate, landed smack in the middle of Icathia, and absorbed some kind of Void inheritance.
Those strange silver magical elements from last night? That was pure Void energy. And when he showed up and started absorbing magic like a sponge, it caused a surge of Void magic that completely flooded into his body like it was waiting in line for the chance.
Void magic, by its nature, rejects all elemental affinities. That explained why, all these years, Josh had a massive mana pool but couldn't cast any real spells—just cheap tricks. No affinity, no real magic.
Now? He had Void magic. But the catch was, Void magic could only be used for Void spells. If he didn't create his own spells someday, he'd remain a flashy loser with a ton of power and nothing useful to do with it.
"Wait a second… Void magic? And… interdimensional travel?"
Josh twitched at the thought. This didn't line up with his memory of Void magic in the game. In his memory, the most "powerful" Void ability was Kassadin's Riftwalk, and even that didn't involve jumping between dimensions.
"Hold on… Void Summon? Could it be that one?"
He suddenly recalled something—Malzahar had an ability called Void Summon. In the game, it summoned a little portal and silenced enemies. But now, it seemed way more intense in real life.
"Maybe the in-game version is just… a dumbed-down representation?"
He couldn't be sure. But in his mind, he now had that spell—and not just that one. He also had Void Swarm, Starspawn Mirage, and the legendary Grasp of the Nether and Void Traverse.
Weirdest part? These spells were totally different from how they worked in the game. Well, Void Swarm was kind of similar. But the rest? Completely reimagined.
Also, what the hell were Null Sphere, Void Blade, and Riftwalk doing in his memory bank?
Josh was beyond confused. If he had those, where the hell was Nether Pulse? Not that he was complaining. Honestly, these spells were crazy powerful.
Take Void Traverse, for example. In the game, it was just Malzahar's passive, a one-time spell shield. But now? It was like a magical barrier constructed from pure Void energy, scaling with his mana pool. The more mana he had, the longer the shield lasted.
Yeah. It had duration. It wasn't just a pop-once-and-you're-done thing. And while it now required mana to sustain, it was probably better than the original.
Other spells were similarly upgraded. Void Blade, for instance, wasn't about drawing power from the Void anymore—it was Void energy, shaped into a dagger that bypassed all defense, invaded the enemy's body, and shattered them from the inside. Brutal.
Null Sphere was still a silence spell, but way more vicious. It infiltrated the enemy's body, severed their connection to their inner power, and could literally kill them.
"Damn... this is peak Kassadin, huh?"
Starspawn Mirage felt more like a deadly curse than an illusion. Josh figured it was probably the strongest spell of them all. It used Void magic to attach itself to a target and could piggyback on any other spell or attack. Once attached, Josh could choose whether it dealt damage over time or blew up in a single, massive burst.
"You mean… I can tag it onto a Null Sphere or Void Blade, and then I decide when and how it explodes?"
Josh gulped, watching the shimmering, swirling Void magic form in his palm. Now this was what a power-up felt like. Just 24 hours ago, he was a glorified magic battery with no spells. Now? He had a whole arsenal of overpowered magic. His feelings were… complicated.
Unfortunately, the spell in his hand quickly fizzled out.
"Guess I still need to level up or practice to use these properly."
That made sense. It wasn't an instant win. Still, Josh was thrilled. At least now he had a direction—something he hadn't had before.
As for the other two "R" skills—Grasp of the Nether and Void Traverse—those were just… there. He couldn't touch or study them yet. Probably because his level was too low. But that only made him more curious—and excited.
"So what… I'm some kind of Malzahar-Kassadin fusion now? Weren't those two mortal enemies or something?"
He remembered now—before he passed out at the internet café, he'd been playing Malzahar against a Kassadin midlane and totally stomped the poor guy. Was that the reason this was happening?
No idea. Didn't matter.
He had their powers. That was all he cared about.
Shaking his head with a smirk, Josh stood up and stretched. But then he froze.
"Wait... where the hell am I?"
He looked around, confused. This definitely wasn't the same place he'd passed out in. Sure, it was still kind of creepy and gloomy, but at least there weren't corpses everywhere or dead trees sucking the life out of the air.
"Did I teleport again?"
That thought was unsettling. Random teleportation wasn't exactly fun. But he quickly realized he was still in a Void-heavy environment—Void magic was everywhere, unlike in his own territory, where he could meditate all night and get less magic than an hour here.
"Must be the outskirts of Icathia…"
He sighed. If only he'd paid more attention to League of Legends lore back then, maybe he wouldn't be lost as hell right now.
Josh didn't recognize anything around him. All he really knew was the Summoner's Rift map. Lore? Backgrounds? Totally ignored all that. Shaking his head, he glanced at the sun and the surrounding terrain, picked a direction, and started walking.
He wasn't about to wander back into the heart of Icathia, even if he was technically a Void mage now. That place had scared the hell out of him.
"And what if I run into Kassadin or Malzahar? What do I even say? 'Hey, I got both your powers, please don't kill me?'"
He chuckled nervously. Not funny.
Even worse, what if he ran into Cho'Gath, Vel'Koz, or Kha'Zix? He'd be dinner.
Still, he found himself thinking about one particular Void creature—not Rek'Sai, though.
Kai'Sa, the Daughter of the Void.
She'd survived by becoming one with the Void, wrapped in a living suit of Void flesh, clinging to her humanity. If anyone might spare him, maybe—maybe—it was her.
Then again… she might just see him as another Void threat and kill him on the spot. Even if he looked human, his magic radiated the purity of the Void. He was practically screaming "I'm from the Void!" at all times.
As Josh walked deeper into the forest, mind wandering but senses alert, he reflected on something he'd read in a mage's journal: Never drop your guard. You're not a warrior—no armor, no brute strength. Your magic is your only defense.
Rustle…
Josh stopped dead in his tracks. Something was moving in the bushes. He immediately focused, gathering magic into his hands. He still wasn't great at casting his new spells, but he could manage a decent attack if needed—even if it left him exhausted afterward.
A figure stepped out from the trees.
Tall. Muscular. Clad in armor. A massive sword on his back.
Josh blinked. Then his eyes widened.
"WTF? Garen?!"
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