First Steps in Ixialia

Chapter 2: First Steps in Ixialia

After finishing the dance and feeling the power of Water Element flowing around him, Yuan Chen had never sensed the joy of the elements so clearly...

'Your dance has forged a closer bond with the Water Element. Axiom of Water · Elemental Mage level UP! Raised to LV2!'

'You have deepened your resonance with the spirits of all things. Dancer level UP! Raised to LV6!'

'Your joy has been replenished. Oshirresh cast an approving glance your way, but it vanished in an instant. Your sense of emptiness has eased, and your mood has improved.'

'You have unlocked regional reputation in Ixialia. Level UP! Raised to LV1!'

Hearing the notification ring out in his mind, Yuan Chen exhaled a deep breath, then looked toward the distant shore, narrowing his eyes as he sensed that something was amiss.

One of the reasons Yuan Chen had managed to survive in this world was the cheat he had awakened at the age of three... It was something like a system, except unlike ordinary systems, it was a game program he had created in his previous life, one that could make hidden data visible.

After he had crossed over, this cheat had also allowed Yuan Chen to keep close track of his cultivation progress and use it to tell whether he was going astray. By sparing him the time wasted on detours, it had helped him grow far faster than his fellow disciples.

But Yuan Chen knew this was only a temporary advantage. In a place like Runeterra, gaining the highest level of power—like that of Aurelion Sol or Bard, or even beings who received only a few passing mentions in the lore...

That kind of power could not be attained simply by avoiding detours.

Talent, luck, and will were all essential... and luck accounted for more than eighty percent.

Judging from the system notification, he had drifted to the small server region of Ixialia... Damn it. Compared to Ionia, Ixialia was on the other side of Runeterra, on a distant continent!

It was called the small server region because the champions from Ixialia were favorites among game boosters. Nidalee, for example, and Gnar. Together with Ekko from Zaun and Elise from the Shadow Isles, they were known as the Four Great Kings of Boosting.

More importantly, an increase in regional reputation meant that he had definitely been discovered.

A regional reputation of level one meant he was a nobody, seen or heard of by only a handful of people. Even so, Yuan Chen was surprised... because level one at least meant that people viewed him favorably.

Unlike the city-states of Ionia and the Valoran Continent, Ixialia, on the continent of Shurima, was backward and steeped in tradition. To the tribal empire living in the primeval forests, all outsiders brought with them were disease and war.

This intense xenophobia was widespread, from the king to the common people. In such circumstances, an outsider like him should have been met with hostility and received a regional reputation of minus one. Yet somehow, he had earned a positive reception.

As he pondered this, Yuan Chen's brow furrowed. But rather than dwell on it, he decided it would be better to check his condition first.

With that in mind, Yuan Chen quickly opened his personal stats in the system, and details about his physical attributes and skill levels appeared before his eyes.

Name: Yuan Chen.

Status: Slightly fatigued, Demon's Curse.

Class: Dancer LV6/Elemental Mage LV2/Demon Agent LV1.

Equipment: Worn Ionian Shirt (Unranked)/Worn Ionian Shorts (Unranked)/Spiritwood Bracer (Superior).

Skill: Ethereal Echo (Superior):

An equipment skill from the Spiritwood Bracer. When worn, it causes the Dancer's movements to produce harmonious rhythms in time with the beat, increasing resonance with the spirits of all things. It is the mark of a master dancer from Placidium.

Trait: Joyful Blessing (Epic):

A Demon's Curse/Blessing from Oshirresh, the Lord of Joy. Your emotions will remain forever buoyant and cheerful. Increases your Axiom of Water level by 1. Once it reaches LV7, the level bonus will transform into Oshirresh's experience and knowledge of the Axiom of Water.

After checking his condition, Yuan Chen let out a sigh of relief--

Thanks to Oshirresh's Demon's Blessing, his understanding of the Axiom of Water had been greatly enhanced, allowing him to manipulate a Water Source directly, bypassing the restrictions of the elemental axiom.

Otherwise, with nothing but the battered little boat beneath him, his status bar would have been sure to include negative conditions like "dehydrated," "hungry," or "exhausted."

Just then, sensing the currents, Yuan Chen clearly noticed a small boat emerging from the bay in the distance.

It flew the flag of Ixialia, and a group of young people stood aboard, holding harpoons and watching Yuan Chen's little boat warily. Though it was only a small fishing boat, the undercurrents along its route shifted and changed in its favor.

The changes weren't strong, but they all helped the fishing boat move forward.

At the same time, one young person after another surfaced from the water around Yuan Chen's little boat. Their eyes were full of curiosity, wariness, suspicion, and surprise as they looked at the oddly dressed stranger.

The young people wore clothes with a distinct Ixialian style. Their upper bodies were bare, with leather armor covering them from the collarbones up to their necks. They wore similar leather skirts and waist guards below, leaving their chests completely exposed.

The leather armor seemed to be made from some kind of large deep-sea fish. Yuan Chen was confident of this because he had eaten plenty of fresh seafood from the depths during his time at sea...

Ixialia had no army, so they were probably ordinary fishermen. Their harpoons were proof enough: they weren't made of iron, but had bone shafts and sharp shell tips.

A man who looked like their leader stood at the bow of the fishing boat and fixed his gaze on Yuan Chen.

He wasn't particularly tall or old—probably only twenty-three or twenty-four, around Yuan Chen's age. He was well-built, and whether because of Ixialia's tropical rainforest climate or because he had spent so long fishing along the coast, the sunlight had darkened his skin.

"Who are you? Where are you from? Why have you come here?"

The young leader standing aboard the fishing boat watched Yuan Chen warily. But despite his caution, there was surprisingly little fear in his eyes. Instead, Yuan Chen spotted a hint of curiosity... and quickly realized something.

Ixialia might be xenophobic as a whole, but that didn't mean everyone was. Curiosity was human nature.

At least, Yuan Chen sensed no hostility from these young people... but the same might not be true of the elders and the powerful in this country.

As people grew old, they tended to become conservative and resist change.

"I was shipwrecked! I'm from Ionia, and I hope you can help me!"

Yuan Chen spoke with an expression of helplessness. "I'm a... scholar from Ionia. I was on my way to Sudaraya Island to study, but I was attacked by a Sea Beast. I went through hell to escape, only to run into a damn shipwreck afterward.

"A dark fog swept across the sea, filled with ravenous undead! Luckily, I was near the edge of the fog and had mastered the Axiom of Water. Otherwise, those undead might have torn me to pieces!"

"Ha! You really have had a run of bad luck."

At first, there had been a trace of wariness in the young fisherman leader's eyes. But when he heard that Yuan Chen had mastered the Axiom of Water, most of that wariness quickly faded, replaced by curiosity. With an amused look, he said:

"This is Fuguang Island's Harrowing season... No, now it should be called the Shadow Isles' Harrowing. During the Harrowing, the undead attack human settlements around the Shadow Isles and devour their souls.

"We've been attacked before, too, but the elders of Yuentar protected us! You really weren't lucky. You must have drifted into Bilgewater Bay during the shipwreck, and the Harrowing attacks Bilgewater every year!"

With that, the young fisherman leader cleared his throat and said:

"My name is Audan! I'm willing to take you in, but the village elders might not agree. You know how people get when they're old—they become unbearably old-fashioned. So if you really want to stay on land, you'll have to earn their approval. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to drive you away or throw you into the Miasma Jungle."

As he spoke, a troubled look crossed Audan's face. It was obvious that, as the leader of the fishermen, he had taken plenty of flak from the elders. But there was little to be done about it. In isolated Ixialia, society was still organized much as it had been thousands of years ago.

Audan's open and cheerful nature might have been due to his status as an elemental mage—a clue Yuan Chen found in the adornment on his shoulder, woven from magical Threads.

These magical constructs were unique creations of Ixialia: material objects woven from magic. Students and apprentices usually received only a single ornament to mark their status. Only the elementalists of Yuentar could wear a full outfit woven by the Magic Loom.

Yuan Chen shrugged. "No problem. I'd be happy to face the test."

"Ha! Good!" Audan smiled at Yuan Chen's reply. "But I'd advise you not to get your hopes up. Even if you pass the elders' test, they might still refuse to let you stay."

With that, Audan invited Yuan Chen aboard the fishing boat. Not long after Yuan Chen left his own little boat behind, it silently sank beneath the sea.

Only then did Audan notice that the bottom of Yuan Chen's boat was riddled with damage and holes, and even its Dragon Bone had snapped. He must have kept it moving by controlling Water Element through the Axiom of Water...

Realizing this, Audan looked astonished.

According to Yuan Chen, he might have been drifting at sea for a month or even two. To keep the Axiom of Water running all that time and carry such a damaged boat along the surface... A skill like that would be more than enough to make him an elemental master in Yishuaoken, wouldn't it?

Thinking this, Audan couldn't help glancing a few more times at Yuan Chen, who was resting beside him with his eyes closed...

Although this elemental mage from Ionia seemed powerful, Audan wasn't too worried. He knew that Grandma Lupe in the village was a true former elder of the Elder Council of Yuentar.

She had been exiled here for crimes Audan didn't know much about and made to live as an ordinary villager. But Grandma Lupe was a true elementalist, capable of facing even an Elemental Drake head-on.

In fact, it was precisely because Audan trusted Grandma Lupe that he had brought Yuan Chen into the village without a second thought.

When they reached shore, Yuan Chen saw a dense forest not far from the coast. A narrow path ran through it.

The bushes and weeds parted on either side of the path. The ground was smooth and even, without a single loose stone. Though it had just rained and drops still clung to the leaves, there was hardly any water on the ground. Even the branches grew away from the path, so they wouldn't disturb anyone walking along it...

"Come with me. The village is a bit far, so if you don't keep up, you might get lost."

Then, as if remembering something, Audan added, "You'd better really stay close. Don't try sneaking off on your own or anything. Mane Beasts and Elemental Drakes live in these woods. Even we can only travel through areas covered by the elemental axioms. Otherwise, we'll be attacked too!"

Yuan Chen nodded without hesitation.

Mane Beasts were a kind of large carnivorous beast found only in Ixialia. Even so, Yuan Chen didn't know much about them, and he hadn't even seen the Original Painting. He only knew of them because they often appeared in the backstories of Ixialian champions as cannon fodder for the heroes to kill.

But the fact that Mane Beasts were strong enough to serve as cannon fodder in a champion's backstory proved how formidable they were. Even skilled hunters like Rengar had to fight hard to bring them down. And Yuan Chen had only just arrived in Ixialia. He didn't know the area, and if he were ambushed on unfamiliar ground, it was hard to say who would win...

Besides, how long could he keep avoiding them? He would have to deal with the village sooner or later. He might as well be proactive and get a chance to rest sooner.

As they walked behind Audan, Yuan Chen soon reached a village nestled in the forest.

Yuan Chen wasn't sure whether to call this place primitive or advanced. The villagers had no sophisticated machines, yet they were all adept at using simple elemental axioms in their daily lives.

And then...

'Influenced by Ixialia's traditional xenophobic conservatism, your regional reputation has fallen to -1.'