Setting Off Again

"I can only tell you that I have something very important to do in Ionia. What about you? What mission are you on this time in the real world?" Ryze asked the Four Little Ones.

"It's a reward for completing a mission! The mayor gave us a long vacation. This time, our mission is to play!" Tristana answered quickly.

"We discussed going somewhere we've never been before, so we chose Ionia!"

"But who knew Teemo, that idiot, would get the direction wrong when passing through the portal? He's been a scout for so long, yet his navigation skills are still so poor!"

Lulu glared angrily at a certain Mushroom Head with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Hehehe..." Teemo squinted, looking guilty, but didn't offer any explanation. It seemed his scout work had instilled in him a trait of being taciturn, which contrasted sharply with Lulu and the others.

"Our journey will last for more than ten days. Can I ask you to stay quietly in your rooms?" Ryze sounded like a strict parent.

"We are still on the dangerous Vast Sea. You can enjoy your vacation, but don't cause trouble for others."

"Got it!" Tristana rubbed her hands together, looking around. "Wow! What a huge ship! Can we explore it?"

"Yes..." Ryze was about to explain the precautions.

"Hooray!" The Four Little Ones scattered in four directions at once. The other crewmates couldn't avoid them, and even Ryze couldn't catch them.

"You now have four little devils on your ship," Mr. Ato said with a smile to Sarah. "I think more interesting things will happen next. I'm looking forward to it."

"Please don't tease me, Mr. Ato. How to arrange them is indeed a big problem."

"I'm going back to rest. If someone sneaks into my room, how should I scare them?" Mr. Ato seemed eager.

"...I really can't offer any advice on that," Sarah shook her head and chuckled.

Back in his room, Mr. Ato waited until the next day but didn't see any sneaky figures.

"Are Yordles this vigilant? Why do I feel like they are deliberately avoiding this place? What a shame."

"Your feeling is correct, little one," Aatrox said. "I can't see their structure clearly, but I'm sure they have a tendency to avoid all threats. This world won't let them get hurt, not even by being scared."

"So biased. Even if they deviate from their original direction, they just happen to fall onto a ship going to Ionia. Is this the power of nature?" Mr. Ato complained in a low voice.

Just then, he heard a faint rumbling sound from below the deck.

"'Leviathan' is about to start!"

Understanding what was happening, Mr. Ato quickly went to the cockpit.

The four Yordles sat in a row inside, eagerly watching the three pilots operate various instruments and press different buttons.

Sarah stood by, supervising with a serious expression.

"This is so novel! I have to tell Vex about this big machine! Tell her the outside world is wonderful, and she shouldn't stay alone in her room feeling down all day!" Tristana clapped her hands in delight.

"It's time to tell Vex." Ato walked into the cockpit and closed the door behind him.

"Whoa, you're... Big Monster!" Seeing Ato, the Four Little Ones immediately huddled together and trembled—this time, there was no Ryze's thigh to cling to.

"This is really a problem."

Ato raised an eyebrow. He had already decided that this trip to Freljord, he must find that Demigod and forge an unprecedented sword sheath for the Demonic Sword of the Dark.

The aura emanating from the demonic sword needed to be concealed, otherwise, it would be bad to scare the Little Friends like this.

That little thing must be thinking something dangerous... Aatrox shivered for no reason.

"Ryze should have said I'm a companion. Don't you believe Ryze's words?" Ato used Ryze as a shield.

"He did say that..." The Four Little Ones separated a little. "If you bully us, tell Ryze! Let Ryze deal with you!"

"Yes, exactly!"

"Mm-hmm."

Does Ryze know he's become your surrogate guardian? Ato could clearly hear what the Four Little Ones were muttering!

"I, I'm telling you, don't you dare scare us with your sword!" Lulu puffed out her non-existent chest.

"If you dare, dare to bully us, I'll become bigger than you, you, you!"

Pfft... Ato almost couldn't control his expression. It must have been hard for you to muster the courage to say so much to me...

"Okay, okay, I promise I won't scare you, or else let Ryze bully me."

As soon as Ato finished speaking, he felt something was wrong. This was really like coaxing a child!

Scaring them would make Ryze fight me! This was Aatrox's thought.

But then he remembered that he had lost control of his abilities, and whether they fought or not depended on Ato's decision, so he shrank back.

Why do I feel like that Old Man was stirring just now? Ato frowned. Maybe I'm mistaken.

"You guys sit properly first, I won't bother you." Ato said in as gentle a tone as possible.

The Four Little Ones quickly adjusted their postures, their lips pursed tightly. Their serious expressions were exactly like Ato's own in his previous life, when he was in elementary school and listened attentively in class.

I knew these guys were really troublesome...

He could still feel a faint vibration under his feet; the warship had indeed started.

"Are we setting sail?" Ato asked Sarah.

"Yes, Andrew will be leading this Voyage, with Raven and Sanchez assisting."

"The 'Leviathan' is too complex to master in a short time, but we're pressed for time, so this is the only way."

"I need another layer of insurance," Ryze said, pushing the door open.

Under everyone's gaze, he explained, "After all, he was once Gangplank's subordinate. I don't agree with Gangplank's philosophy."

"It's always better to be safe with his subordinates."

"I didn't want to use this spell, but now that your lives are at stake, I have no choice."

With that, he raised his right hand, making a casting gesture. The runes on his body and his eyes lit up as he chanted.

A stream of blue light, covered in countless runes, flowed into Andrew's body. Andrew clutched his head, his expression contorted in pain for a moment, but he quickly recovered and turned back to operate the instruments as if nothing had happened.

"This is a Mind Control Spell. It will last for three months and won't affect his intelligence. I'm only controlling him to prevent him from betraying us."

"Now, he can truly be trusted. He can still answer your questions and knows what he needs to do."

"You can do that?" Ato exclaimed, dumbfounded. This wasn't a skill he'd seen in games; it was just like Ahri's Charm!