I'm fucking here!

Lupe stayed silent for a long time. Yuan Chen didn't rush her or show the slightest hint of tension. On the contrary, he sat there looking relaxed and unbothered, with enough time to spare for a cup of tea.

Thanks to his knowledge of the champions' backstories, Yuan Chen knew that although Lupe claimed to have given up on the glory of the past, she had really only done so because no one in her family had the talent to give them hope. She had been forced to abandon it.

In truth, Lupe dreamed of the day her family could return to its former glory and once again become part of Ixialia's ruling class—the Elder Council of Yuentar.

Yuan Chen had been humble before because he had nothing of value to offer; he was, in the most literal sense, a complete outsider. But now he had proven that he did have something to offer... which meant it was Lupe's turn to show her worth.

Realizing the same thing, Lupe drew a deep breath. Then she raised her head and looked at Yuan Chen.

"What do you want?"

"Knowledge, power, and information."

Yuan Chen didn't hide what he wanted. He stated it simply and plainly.

"I can assure you that I have no ill will toward Ixialia. But I can sense a clear danger and evil lurking over our world... not just Ixialia, but all of Runeterra."

"I want to change all of this. But my foresight is incomplete. The only people whose fates I can see are the heroes who'll leave a lasting mark on this world. But as you know, not every hero can see the whole picture. Even Ryze, the Rune Mage, can't. I want to earn Ixialia's friendship."

If possible, it'd be even better if he could get Oshirresh's Blessing lifted while he was at it...

Of course, Yuan Chen didn't say that aloud. When all was said and done, Oshirresh was one of the ten primordial demons at the root of all things, and his dominion over emotions like "happiness" and "joy" made him far too strange.

At his most deranged, the demon had even dared to attack the Aspects in Immortal Heaven. Though Oshirresh was a tremendous help to Yuan Chen right now—especially his direct control over the Water Element, which let Yuan Chen unleash water magic beyond the limits of an ordinary elemental mage...

It came at a price.

The longer he used it, the greater the cost. Even if it was a huge help to him now, Yuan Chen still wanted to end this forced blessing and the bargain that came with it as soon as possible.

Fortunately, Oshirresh's attention was entirely fixed on Nila at the moment. The two of them seemed to be locked in some sort of tug-of-war. Otherwise, Yuan Chen wouldn't have dared to say anything about having foresight...

Hearing Yuan Chen's words, Lupe let out a breath of relief. She'd been bracing herself for him to make an outrageous demand. As it stood, all he wanted was her family's full support once they regained their former standing.

"Once Milio truly becomes a hero and joins the Elder Council of Yuentar, I'll give you my family's full support, whatever your position may be. But how can you guarantee Milio's future?"

Yuan Chen had proven his worth and stated what he wanted, so Lupe asked him:

"As you said, Milio may well have extraordinary talent and skill. But because of the charge of treason, even if he has what it takes to become a hero and an Elder of Yuentar, political considerations will still work against him in many ways...

You know Ixialia's traditions can't be changed by any one person."

Yuan Chen smiled faintly at Lupe's words.

"Lupe, it's been a long time since you've been in touch with the outside world, hasn't it?"

"..." She fell silent.

After a moment, Lupe nodded sadly. She didn't seem to mind that Yuan Chen had addressed her by name. She only closed her eyes and said:

"Ever since my family was exiled here, we haven't been able to leave this jungle...

Everyone in the family has been confined here. And my old friends on the Elder Council have had to stop speaking with me for one reason or another."

They might have been old friends, but Yuan Chen could guess that, apart from the Elders of Yuentar who were genuinely devoted to research, every family with political ties and interests had abandoned Lupe's family—and the so-called friend along with them.

In a conservative, xenophobic, isolated country that clung to its primitive social structure, treason was a grave crime. The fact that Lupe was still alive was probably thanks to her friendships with the other Elders.

"Ixialia may be conservative by nature... but not everyone is content with that."

"What do you mean?"

"People like Yuenale."

At the name Yuenale, Lupe's pupils tightened slightly. Then she nodded, thoughtful.

Yuenale were the ten daughters of the King of Ixialia. Blessed with an exceptional bloodline passed down through generations, the girls had received the finest elemental education in Ixialia from the very beginning. From birth, they had also trained to face the trials of the Vidalion.

But Ixialia was far too conservative. Of the ten daughters, only the eldest had the legal right to inherit the throne. Yet being born first didn't mean having the greatest talent... and in this generation, the most talented of the Yuenale was the youngest of the ten daughters.

A girl named Gnar... I mean, Qiyana.

As the last in line to inherit the throne, Qiyana had elemental magic skills without equal. You could see that just by playing the game...

As the ruler of the Ixialia region on the CN server, this busted champion had four skills and a passive that gave her multiple dashes, engage, ranged poke, burst damage, stealth, crowd control, area damage, and area crowd control. People called her overpowered, and she absolutely butchered squishies.

And this girl's ambition went far beyond ruling a county or a city-state.

The same was true in the game. Aside from ADC, this busted champion could be played in the top, mid, jungle, and support positions, and she was strong in all of them. She could even build Divine Sunderer, Black Cleaver, and Death's Dance for a bruiser setup in ARAM, dishing out damage while taking a beating.

After a moment's silence, Lupe said thoughtfully, "You mean some of the Yuenale are dissatisfied with the status quo too?"

"People with ability always want to rise to the top, not be stuck beneath mediocrities, don't they?"

Yuan Chen replied as if it were obvious. "And even if she fails, her extraordinary talent and noble status as one of the Yuenale would still be enough to make her governor of a major county. Either way, it would be enough for your family to regain its former glory...

She might even go further."

At the future Yuan Chen had promised, a troubled look crossed Lupe's face. After a moment, she nodded, seeming to have made up her mind.

"I'm willing to make a deal with you...

Milio will go with you to study, but you'll still have to complete the trial. Otherwise, the others in the village won't accept you."

"Also, beware of the Elemental Drake in the mountains. He's in heat and especially irritable."

A helpless look crossed Lupe's face.

Even she could only barely hold her own against an Elemental Drake, one of the most powerful creatures in Ixialia...

"Of course. I'll find my own way to learn about this land and its people~"

As he spoke, Yuan Chen winked at Milio, who was standing nearby, looking lost.

Milio hadn't fully understood what their conversation meant. All he'd heard was that he could go out and play with the big brother in front of him—and that was enough to keep him happy for a long time.

Perhaps because Lupe valued Yuan Chen, or perhaps because she wanted to observe him more closely, he ended up staying in the guest room of her large house.

The bed was woven from vines and lacked the softness of a spring mattress, but to Yuan Chen, who hadn't slept well in a very long time, it was already incredibly comfortable.

He didn't fall asleep right away. Lying in bed, Yuan Chen simply let his thoughts wander and began sorting through the information and intelligence he had gathered so far.

In his previous life, on the CN server...

Or rather, the Riot Games server, the League of Legends universe had been in a state of neglect. The latest champion backstories still stopped at Nila and the Ruined Curse. The many threats and related characters in the lore that Yuan Chen knew about came not only from various story analyses but also from the League of Legends card game, Legends of Runeterra.

But the stories in LOR and the League of Legends universe didn't take place on the same timeline. They were "a series of possible events imagined and developed by LOR's writers based on the League of Legends universe."

Like Star Guardian and Odyssey, they were parallel universes to the main League of Legends universe... They could serve as a reference, but weren't absolute.

Even now, League of Legends still had no clear, official timeline or order of events...

Even the only official League of Legends setting book, League of Legends: Stories of Runeterra, consisted of more than ninety percent simple summaries of the League of Legends universe. There was very little paid content, and almost none of it had any real substance.

That included the chronology...

The writers were certainly good with words. The chronology was written from Noxus's perspective and based on the "Noxian Calendar." It was the official history of the Noxian Empire, not Riot Games' or Runeterra's.

In other words, as the story developed, the timeline would almost certainly stop lining up. When that happened, they could just blame Noxus for getting things wrong. Nothing to do with Riot's writers.

And if anyone kept digging, well, it was just an easter egg.

Milio was twelve now. And according to the story, when Milio was twelve, he had grasped and mastered an Axiom Constraint beyond the traditional ones: his own unique "Fire Axiom."

That meant Milio had already gained enough experience. All he needed was the right opportunity to awaken his one-of-a-kind gift and set out on his own adventure.

Qiyana was probably already trying to claim the throne, aiming to become queen of all Ixialia despite being last in line.

And judging by what Yuan Chen had learned so far, Shurima hadn't yet awakened, Noxus had just begun a new wave of expansion abroad, and the rulers were still Emperor Braum Darkwill and the Black Rose, which secretly controlled the empire from behind the scenes.

Jarvan III was still king of Demacia. Lux, that homewrecker, hadn't yet met the guy who'd steal her away, Senas. He didn't know how isolated Freljord was, but Zaun and Piltover had probably already achieved peace on the surface. Gangplank was still in charge of Bilgewater, and the lovesick fool on the Shadow Isles hadn't officially awakened yet...

As he thought, Yuan Chen clenched his fist without realizing it.

Ionian dance could help him barely protect himself amid the chaos, but human beings had their limits. Dancing alone, even for a lifetime, wouldn't free him from Oshirresh's Demon's Curse, let alone protect Runeterra.

Never mind anything else. Just the crises he knew were bound to erupt would be enough to grind him to dust a thousand or ten thousand times over... Even if he died, his soul might end up in Mitna Rachnun, one of the realms of the dead, where Mordekaiser could toy with him.

Thinking about it, dying in Ionia might not be such a bad thing. At least the spirit realm in Ionia could send him straight to the afterlife through the reaper's guidance... And if he was lucky, he might even be able to remain in the mortal realm as a spirit. Like Yone, for example.

Oh, right, he still had Oshirresh's curse on him. If he died, he'd probably report straight to the Lord of Joy... Joy Apostle number 9527, report for duty!

Picturing himself as a dog for that lunatic demon, Yuan Chen couldn't help baring his teeth.

Damn it, if he got the chance, he'd cut ties with that lunatic as soon as possible.

At the very least, Yuan Chen didn't think the Aspects would spare him, an apostle of the demon who'd once tried to devour the heavens.

Join forces with the friends he could, seize the power he could, learn what he could, and uncover the secrets he could...

For Runeterra, the coming age would surely be one of turbulent change...

It made sense. Nearly a thousand years had passed since the Rune Wars ended. The old systems had long since been battered by the tides of change, left tottering on the brink. Ixialia was a perfect example: even the family of Lupe, a member of its ruling class, had joined a conspiracy and rebellion.

Heroes, thugs, schemers, ambitious climbers, avengers, enforcers, collaborators, madmen, ancient warlords, idealists... One exceptional figure after another was emerging from every walk of life. Faced with an era of change, the traditions Ionia still clung to seemed almost laughable.

Thinking of Milio, who was about to set out on the path of his own destiny, and of what was about to happen—or might happen—in this world, Yuan Chen felt the danger closer than ever before... like a thorn in his back.

He couldn't go back to Ionia.

Yuan Chen thought to himself—Ionia was too peaceful, too gentle, too comfortable. Once, that had made him feel at ease and at peace. But now...

Compared to the turbulent changes sweeping the world beyond, that peace and comfort felt like a pot of warm water, with him as the frog sinking into it.

Perhaps it was the first time he'd realized the danger was this close. He hadn't had a proper rest in a long time, but even so, he slept fitfully.

He dragged himself out of bed, tired, still feeling his spirits low... As he registered his unsettled state of mind, Yuan Chen seemed to remember something. Though he hesitated, he still tried to strengthen his connection to Oshirresh a little.

In an instant, all his unease, urgency, confusion, and even fear were forcibly turned into happiness by the demon's power.

Yuan Chen knew this happiness was a rootless weed. Joy conjured out of thin air would only make someone fall faster. But for a miserable guy like him, as long as he could be happy, that was enough!

Yuan Chen's lips curled into a grin. Though he'd lived in this world for more than twenty years, now that he thought about it, this might actually be the first time he'd felt so carefree, so happy...

It was just drinking poison to quench his thirst. It wasn't as if he was about to die!

Runeterra, I'm fucking here!!