Milio

Chapter 5: Milio

'Battle victory, but your victory was too easy, and you did not gain any valuable experience.'

'Oshirresh sensed your slight joy, but this joy was so minuscule that she couldn't even be bothered to glance at it.'

'Your reputation in the Ixialia region has increased slightly, but your level has not been raised.'

Yuan Chen felt no surprise at the system's report in his mind... After all, for Yuan Chen, it was too difficult for a Level 2 Elementalist to inflict effective damage on him.

Level six against level two, and moreover, due to Oshirresh's Demon's Curse, he had absolute suppression over the opponent's specialty, the Axiom of Water. Under such circumstances, letting the opponent touch Yuan Chen's clothes would be an insult to Yuan Chen's past twenty-plus years...

Even so, due to the Demon's Blessing, Yuan Chen still felt his inner indifference being forcibly transformed into a sliver of pleasure. Fortunately, Yuan Chen promptly suppressed this pleasure and stepped forward to help him up.

"I concede. Fighting you has benefited me greatly."

"Don't try to comfort me."

Hearing Yuan Chen's words, Audan gave a wry smile. "I didn't even touch your clothes. If that can benefit you greatly, then there's no justice in the world."

Hearing this, Grandma Lupe, standing nearby, also nodded and said, "Yes... Speaking of which, although I'm not entirely sure, in the recent battle, you seemed to have used different magical styles, didn't you?"

Although she wasn't very familiar with the styles of Ionia, the people of Ixialia, through the Yuan Chu Axiom, had a far greater understanding of Elemental Magic than the rest of Runeterra.

Under these circumstances, Grandma Lupe, as a former member of the Elder Council of Yuentar, could sense that Yuan Chen had switched between different styles during the battle. This could be seen from the form and direction of the water flow...

The former was tenacious, the latter sharp.

Yuan Chen did not hide anything in response. He nodded and said:

"Yes, when I first started fighting, I used the Battle Dance, a traditional dance from the Vastaya Tribe. It's splendid, grand, and dazzling, but not inherently suited for combat.

What I used later was the traditional Silk Dance of Prestation. Although neither was created for combat, I've always believed that the prosperous Ionia will one day face the invasion of the Valoran Barbarians, so I've been continuously modifying my martial arts."

Hearing Yuan Chen's words, the farmers in the crowd subconsciously nodded--

Although they didn't know much about Ionia, through Grandma Lupe's descriptions, it was left with an impression of a reclusive civilization similar to Ixialia. And the people of the Valoran Continent, in the eyes of the Ixialians, were a bunch of uncultured nouveau riche and barbarians with invasion on their minds.

What was that saying about how to quickly bond with strangers? The answer was to find someone you both dislike.

Especially since the Noxians had never been peaceful...

Seeing this, Grandma Lupe nodded and said:

"You have proven with your strength that you are indeed a scholar and an Elementalist from distant overseas. I also acknowledge that you have passed the first round of trials. However, you still need to complete two more trials to gain the acceptance of everyone in the village."

Yuan Chen was not surprised to hear Grandma Lupe's words-- this could be seen from his regional reputation.

Although his regional reputation had slightly increased after winning the battle, it was still at -1, indicating rejection. This meant that even though the villagers had a better impression of him and acknowledged his identity as an Elementalist and a scholar from the outside world, they still didn't recognize him as one of their own.

"Then what else do I need to do?"

"Come and do something for our village," Grandma Lupe pointed to the primeval jungle outside the village and said:

"During this time, an unknown fierce beast has come near the village, and it has been hunting creatures in the surrounding areas wantonly. All the traps we set were easily destroyed by it, and the hunters were attacked and threatened by it, and even the crops were destroyed."

"If you can help us drive it away, then all of us will be grateful to you."

Hearing Grandma Lupe's words, the strong man, the Stone Mason, nodded and said in a gruff voice, "That's right! Recently, that beast seems to have been roaming near the stone mountain again, making us brothers have to be very careful when quarrying stones. If you are willing to accept this trial, then whether you succeed or fail, I will accept you!"

"Me too!"

A bearded man wearing heat-resistant gloves and holding a pipe in his mouth said:

"Without enough ore, my blacksmith shop is about to close down! It's all that damned guy's fault... If you're willing to help us drive him away, then I'm willing to provide you with weapons and shields for free! Of course, you have to return them to me afterward, after all, my craftsmanship isn't cheap..."

Hearing the villagers' words, Yuan Chen nodded, then looked at Grandma Lupe beside him and said, "If that's the case, I am willing to challenge the fierce beast for the village. But before that, can I rest for a while?"

As he spoke, a look of embarrassment appeared on Yuan Chen's face, "I've been drifting at sea for a long time, and I've been living on raw fish every day. To be honest, I haven't eaten anything proper for over a month."

Upon hearing this, Grandma Lupe gripped her cane and looked at the villagers beside her, "Then, what does everyone think?"

"Haha! No problem!" The strong blacksmith man laughed heartily, tapping his wooden pipe, "The kid is willing to challenge the beast for the village! It's just some food, I'll take care of it!"

"Ha, a scholar from Ionia, just in time for you to taste the unique delicacies of our Ixialia!"

"That's right! The honey fruit of Ixialia is the most delicious fruit! And the stewed Sharp Beak Bird is too! Speaking of which, what's delicious in Ionia? I'll trade you honey fruit for it!"

Hearing this, Yuan Chen also showed a smile, "In my hometown... Five Flavor Soup and Plum Jerky are very good. I'll see if I can make some when I have time!"

"Haha! It's a deal then!"

A woman who looked like a farmer smiled and said, "If it's delicious, you can also sell it at the market in the Prefecture. There are many people there, and maybe you'll meet some people from other places like you!"

'Thanks to the attitude you've shown, your reputation in the Ixialia region has slightly increased, Level UP, increased to LV0.'

Seeing this, Yuan Chen smiled and nodded—Yuan Chen didn't have much thought about the increase in regional reputation. Because in the past, Yuan Chen knew very well that the current regional reputation was because he had only explored this village in Ixialia.

Once he went to a Prefecture, which was larger than a village, the reputation bonus brought by the village would be swallowed by the size of the Prefecture, and he would once again retreat to -1.

Prefecture was the way Ixialia referred to "big cities." In Ixialia, apart from the capital Yishuaoken, other big cities were collectively called "X Prefecture," characterized by having a large Elemental Tower Base and a large number of Elemental Apprentices studying there.

The officials of Prefectures and large villages were often members of the Elder Council of Yuentar. It could be said that Yuentar was both the intellectual elite and the ruling class of Ixialia, with extraordinary status.

Ordinary minor mistakes should have been harmless to them, but Grandma Lupe was now directly demoted to a commoner... This could only mean that she or her family had committed some unforgivable great sin.

This led to her being demoted to such a small village far from civilization... There wasn't even a small Elemental Tower Base here.

It was a pity that the description of Ixialia in the League of Legends universe was too brief, so even Yuan Chen didn't know why...

As for the increase in regional reputation levels... it was just like when I was in Ionia. When I went to Prestation to study, the regional reputation I had accumulated in my hometown was connected to Prestation's regional reputation, and my reputation instantly dropped from LV3 to LV0.

If I truly want to make a name for myself in Yixialia and solidify my regional reputation, I still need to go to a big city and achieve enough accomplishments. Otherwise, no matter how well I do in a small village, it's like a drop in the ocean or a drop in the bucket compared to the entire Yixialia Empire.

However, considering the special nature of Yixialia... if I were to rashly go to a prefecture now, the most likely outcome would be being captured by the Yixialia Road Protectors, and then either exiled to the Primordial Jungle to fend for myself or directly sent adrift at sea on a grass boat.

Hmm, due to the isolation of the terrain and the jungle, Yixialia doesn't have a traditional army. Instead, they have special "Road Protectors" for management--

The duty of the Road Protectors is just as their name suggests: they are responsible for maintaining the roads connecting various prefectures within Yixialia, which are located in the Primordial Jungle. In this process, they face all sorts of risks, such as extreme weather and ferocious beasts, so they are highly respected.

Overall... in a place with such unique customs as Yixialia, if you want to gain people's recognition, you must start from small things. Only in this way, when your identity as an outsider is discovered, will people vouch for you and guarantee your status... Otherwise, discovery means exile.

After the first round of trials concluded, Grandma Lupe brought Yuan Chen back to her large house.

Sitting on the bed, somewhat tired, she placed her cane aside.

Looking at Yuan Chen, who had already taken a seat behind her, Grandma Lupe's eyes revealed a touch of emotion: "Do you hate me?"

"Hate? Why?"

Yuan Chen was a little confused, looking at Grandma Lupe while eating, "—"

"Because I added some unnecessary trials for you."

Grandma Lupe said, "I believe you can see that if I wanted to, I could have let you stay in the village and not drive away that beast."

"How could that be? If that were the case, I'd probably always be an outsider, wouldn't I?"

Hearing Grandma Lupe's words, Yuan Chen smiled and shook his head, saying:

"Although I'm not the first outsider to set foot on this land, as a scholar, I hope to understand more about the stories and wisdom nurtured on this land. If I were to stay here merely through your reputation, I fear I would never be able to shed my outsider status..."

"Yes, scholars are all like that."

Hearing Yuan Chen's words, Grandma Lupe smiled with relief and said, "There were some outsiders who wanted to stay here before, but they were too eager for quick success...

They didn't know that for simple villagers, only when you truly contribute your sweat will they remember your name and achievements, and truly accept you."

As she spoke, Grandma Lupe's eyes showed a hint of emotion.

Yuan Chen nodded in response—to be honest, it was a bit embarrassing, but Yuan Chen hadn't thought that deeply.

The main reason Yuan Chen decided to undertake the second trial was that he hadn't felt any Joy from the villagers...

Oshirresh's blessing allowed Yuan Chen to be in a state of Joy forever. Although the price was immense, it also allowed Yuan Chen to feel the "Joy that arose because of him." In this situation, Yuan Chen hadn't perceived this Joy... meaning the villagers hadn't acknowledged him.

On the contrary, when he agreed to eliminate the unknown beast for them, Yuan Chen felt a surge of Joy, which directly caused the village's regional reputation to rise from LV-1 (rejection) to LV0 (indifference).

Although the regional reputation of LV0 had merely shifted to an indifferent attitude, the fact that they didn't reject him already proved it was a good start.

In fact, even though the vast majority of people still treated him with indifference, his very act of expressing willingness to help them drive away the beasts had already earned him some recognition.

Just as Yuan Chen was contemplating this, the nearby door was suddenly pushed open by a youth.

A handsome youth with a bright smile on his face, short hair, and reddish-brown skin ran in like the wind.

As he ran, he called out, "Grandma Lupe! I'm back! I heard we have a guest! Can I meet them?"

Upon seeing the youth, Grandma Lupe's face showed a hint of a smile, but quickly, as if remembering something, a trace of sorrow flashed in her eyes. Yet, she ultimately said with a gentle smile, "Milio, don't be so hasty, be careful not to fall!"

Looking at the youth and hearing Grandma Lupe say "Milio," Yuan Chen's hand, holding a piece of bread, froze mid-air, forgetting to bring it to his mouth.

Then, with his thoughts in a slight flutter, he said with surprise in his eyes, "Your name is Milio?"

Grandma Lupe sensed the deep surprise in Yuan Chen's voice.