Yordles

"We should keep an eye on how things are progressing. After all, we're the ones who left Sarah with a huge mess to deal with."

Over the past few days, Ato had felt the inconveniences of being transported to another world: no phone! No computer! No internet! No games!

Life aboard the ship was far too healthy and orderly! Once they were far from land, the sailors had so little entertainment that they were like a well-trained army.

As soon as night fell, everyone except a few people on watch returned to their rooms to sleep. What Ato found hardest to accept was that Runeterra didn't even have a game of Dou Dizhu!

Ryze and I could call Sarah over, and we'd have just enough players. If we added the guy behind me, we could even get a mahjong table going...

Should he introduce the game to Sarah and the others? The pirates would definitely love it.

Although he himself was living in the world of a game, he still couldn't get used to going without all those things.

He remembered waking up in his previous life and never taking his eyes off a screen until the early hours of the morning, when they grew so dry he had to close them—then doing the same thing all over again the next day. Life now was so disciplined, he felt like a machine!

Sarah had greeted the guards at the door and made her way to the wheelhouse. When she reached the entrance, she caught a whiff of an indescribable smell.

The three men were huddled around a piece of equipment, muttering to each other. Food trays, a few empty wine bottles, and half-eaten bread littered the floor.

The stench of spoiled leftovers mingled with sweat. It was easy to imagine how awful the wheelhouse must have been.

"Captain, you're here..." Raven shot to his feet, his expression stiff. Having the captain see what his daily life was really like made him wish he could crawl into a hole.

For the past few days, the three of them had eaten and slept in the wheelhouse, leaving only to use the bathroom. They never cleaned up after meals, let alone bothered with personal hygiene.

But Andrew hadn't wanted any of this. Raven and Sanchez had practically dragged him along, showing him all the equipment in the room until he was exhausted and parched.

"How far have you gotten?" Sarah asked, fighting through her discomfort.

"This is incredible, Captain! With this ship, we can defeat Gangplank even without Mr. Ato's help!"

At the mention of the warship, Raven grew excited. They had gained a basic understanding of it over the past few days, and their spirits were high.

You think you can do that without relying on that monster? You have no idea how terrifying Gangplank is... Andrew thought to himself.

"Tomorrow at the latest, we'll be ready to set off again. We're still not very familiar with how everything works, so we need some hands-on practice."

"So once we've finished learning the last few things, we'll start the ship and get underway. Andrew will take the helm, while Sanchez and I assist him. We'll get the hang of it while we're sailing."

Sarah gave a slight nod, then furrowed her brow. "Can you put this room back the way it was?"

"Yes, Captain!" Raven and Sanchez chorused. Raven gave Andrew a look, and the three of them immediately got to work.

"Haha, I knew it. The living conditions of shut-ins are the same in every world."

Ato couldn't help laughing when he saw the mess in the wheelhouse from the doorway.

"Mr. Ato, what does 'shut-in' mean?" Sarah wondered over the strange word, but couldn't make sense of it.

"Uh... never mind." Ato was just about to make up an excuse when he turned around, his gaze sharpening. "There's a magical disturbance."

"A magical disturbance?" Sarah looked confused. Ryze was the only one on the ship who could use magic. Was he doing some kind of experiment?

"It's not Ryze. He's already here. The disturbance is on the deck. Let's go see."

The two went to the middle of the deck. Ryze had arrived half a minute before them and was examining the magical symbol that had appeared there.

The symbol was about a meter across and yellow. It consisted of roughly symmetrical branches and leaves extending out to either side, with a swirling mark in the center.

"This symbol..." Ryze stroked his chin. "I feel like I've seen it somewhere before. I don't sense any danger."

But when Ato got a good look at it, he slapped his forehead and muttered, "The troublesome ones are here."

"Are they enemies?" Sarah grew wary.

"No. By 'troublesome,' I mean troublesome in a different way..."

Before he could say more, the yellow symbol burst into brilliant light. An oval portal gradually took shape above it, filled with a riot of colors.

Accompanied by startled cries that grew louder as they approached, a strange creature fell out of the portal and landed in the center of the symbol.

The commotion drew the attention of the nearby crew, who gathered around.

They saw a small, furry creature lying in the center of the symbol. Its body was shaped much like a human's, but it had short limbs, a large head, a small pack on its back, and a soft green cap on its head.

But that wasn't all. A few more cries rang out as three more mysterious creatures tumbled out of the portal in quick succession. Including the first one, there were four of them, piled on top of each other.

The one in second place wore a safety helmet with goggles and sported a bushy beard.

The two above him looked very much like human women, with hairless faces and skin that ranged from blue to purple.

The short one in third place was almost completely hidden beneath an enormous red wizard's hat. The one on top wore a practical, close-fitting outfit, with a cannon on her back nearly as tall as she was.

The sailors exchanged glances. Suddenly, someone shouted, "They're Yordles! Walking Silver Serpent Coins!"

Ato glanced at the sailor and reminded him, "If you recognize them, you should know what else people say."

"...Don't mess with Yordles." The sailor gave an embarrassed smile.

As nature's favorites, Yordles were protected by fate in Runeterra.

Anyone who dared harm a Yordle would inevitably come to a bad end, while the Yordle would walk away without a scratch.

"Teemo, Kog'Maw, Lulu, Tristana... I know them."

Well, he knew them one-sidedly.

Even though he knew their waking up would bring trouble, Ato was delighted. Familiar game characters had just appeared right in front of him!

"Mr. Ato, what should we do with them?" Sarah asked, relieved. She knew Yordles existed, and also knew that most of them were friendly, if a little mischievous.

"Let's wait for them to wake up and ask them. They must have a reason for coming into the real world."

Ato was looking forward to talking with some new Game Heroes. The only question was whether they'd listen...

They were small, and their minds were like children's, with only a few exceptions. They loved to play, and could cause a huge mess without even meaning to...

As he recalled what he knew about Yordles, Ato pondered how best to get along with them.

"I've met a few of them," Ryze said. "A hundred years have passed, but they've hardly changed."

"Hahahahahaha!" Aatrox began cackling again. "A bunch of furry hamsters?"

For a moment, the deck was filled with cheerful laughter—Aatrox's alone. No one else dared laugh.