Li Ke Made a Difficult Choice

Looking at his simulated experiences, Li Ke didn't know what to say. Should he call himself a flirt?

He got dumped.

Should he say he wasn't flirtatious enough?

Yet, he somehow ended up in a love triangle, having intimate relations with both Ahri and Irelia.

Furthermore, because he joined the war, the conflict in Ionia—which had lasted three years—ended in just two because of him, which was truly absurd.

However, thinking about the current state of Ionia, Li Ke felt that if a professional political scientist or military strategist had come here, the speed at which they would have dealt with the Noxians would only have been faster.

As long as those powerful swordsmen were organized into an army and this strange tribal nation was reformed, this land full of mages would show Noxus exactly what it meant to create one's own nightmare.

There was no helping it; the strongest power in this world was still magic, and even Hextech only allowed ordinary people to use it.

But the Ionians were essentially all mages.

Except for him, Li Ke.

After a brief sigh, Li Ke chose to end this simulation and looked at his settlement panel.

Simulation ended.

Based on this simulation, you have received the following rewards. Please choose one to claim:

1. Maximum health slowly increases by 32 points; vitality 240 points.

2. A complete breakdown of the two-year Ionian war and post-war analysis.

3. Cause Irelia, Xayah, Ahri, Zed, Kusho, Akali, Meimu, Yasuo, Yone, Souma, Karma, LeBlanc, Mordekaiser, Darius, Jarvan III, the Noxian Emperor, Jarvan IV, Garen, Xin Zhao, Sivir, Lux, Swain, Gangplank, and Tianna Crownguard in the real world to have a strong impression of you and randomly dream of the experiences from the simulated life.

"Huh?"

Looking at the last item on his reward panel, Li Ke was somewhat surprised.

Because in the simulation, regardless of whether it was Zed, Kusho, or Akali and Meimu, he shouldn't have had much interaction with them, let alone this list that read like a menu; basically, anyone with any power would have an impression of him.

But after thinking about it for a moment, Li Ke roughly understood why.

"Is it because I effectively led Ionia with Irelia in the simulation and defeated Noxus from scratch in two years?"

Li Ke rubbed his chin; he really hadn't expected that.

"So, the targets for the third option are likely determined by the degree to which I influenced their lives? When I impact their lives to a certain extent, this third option includes them?"

"This is truly interesting. I'm becoming more and more curious about what the true nature of this ability is. It couldn't possibly be some 'Great Luo' mythology from a web novel, could it?"

He chuckled, casting that absurd and impossible thought to the back of his mind, and looked at the first two options.

He hadn't chosen to let Irelia receive the memories before because he wouldn't develop romantic feelings for a girl he hadn't personally interacted with. If he gave someone a memory of a passionate romance just because they were beautiful, it would be inhumane.

Free will still had to be respected.

And the reason he wasn't choosing it this time was also simple.

He was afraid of dying.

If it were only Irelia, Xayah, and Ahri, Li Ke—with his flexible moral compass—might have chosen it this time.

After all, three against one was an overwhelming advantage. It would also allow him to keep maneuvering and change the tragic ending of the simulation.

However, there was also Swain, who was currently the commander-in-chief of the Noxian invasion of Ionia, the future corrupted Zed, the Noxian Emperor, Mordekaiser, LeBlanc...

He didn't want to die yet.

And once these clever people knew his future tactics, it would essentially mean he was being unilaterally seen through.

He didn't think he was much smarter than Swain or Darius, who had climbed to high positions in Noxus. He felt he was only able to end the war a year early because they weren't viewing the war from the same height to begin with.

But that kind of advantage could only succeed once.

Because Ionia's foundation was still too thin.

So if he let them know these things, perhaps the outcome of Noxus being defeated wouldn't change, but he, Li Ke...

Would definitely die!

From the Emperor to the commanders, and even the shadow cabinet, all remembering you as an enemy—and you're just a lone swordsman—Li Ke couldn't think of any other word to describe his fate besides death.

In a game, that would be like someone watching hundreds of your gameplay videos, and then, just as you finally reached level three playing Nasus, the mid, top, jungle, and support all come to pay you a visit, while your jungler is farming in the bot lane. Your mid is AFK, and your bot lane is dead.

Top is Darius, mid is LeBlanc, jungle is Talon, and support is Swain.

And you're just a Nasus.

Oh, and the person coming to get you might, probably, possibly, also have an ADC Draven.

And reality would only be more desperate than that scenario.

"It seems I can't escape this war after all."

Sighing slightly, Li Ke looked at the records of his simulated life. No matter how much he resisted, he had been passively or actively drawn into the war in both simulations.

Therefore, he...

Firmly chose the first option: the vitality reward.

It wasn't that the second option—the detailed war analysis and his own successful case study—wasn't tempting, but Li Ke had the confidence that since he could do it once, as long as he didn't foolishly choose to spoil the plot, he could do it a second time.

Therefore, the most important thing remained his strength.

A sharp, agonizing pain surged through his body once more, followed by the sensation of warmth—the feeling of life force circulating through his entire being.

This sensation brought Li Ke immense comfort; whether it was the pain or the warmth, both served as proof that he was growing stronger.

An increase in his maximum life force undoubtedly strengthened his body in every aspect, so the more of it, the better.

Furthermore, the surplus life force could not only serve as energy to heal his wounds but also amplify the effects of his training, accelerating his recovery speed for both strength and stamina.

"So comfortable..."

Li Ke, trembling all over from the pain, uttered these words, but the very next moment, he heard another person's voice inside his room.

"What exactly is comfortable about that?"

He turned his head to find the young man with the topknot, Shen, watching him with a twitching mouth. Seeing the twisted expression of bliss on Li Ke's face, Shen couldn't help but speak up.

"Look, if you lack the talent for alchemy, you can just ask the disciples of the Balance Order. Don't go taking some strange medicine and getting addicted..."

Shen was convinced that Li Ke must have bought counterfeit medicine with a faulty prescription, or perhaps made a mistake in the preparation, causing a potent healing remedy to go wrong. That was the only explanation for why he would be muttering to himself after taking it, wearing a look of agony while simultaneously appearing to enjoy it.

This was clearly the behavior of a junkie!

And so, to ensure his sect's medicines didn't develop any bizarre side effects, he stepped forward.

Li Ke looked at the suddenly appearing Shen, then glanced at the simulation results that barely showed a trace of him, and sighed again amidst the other man's "you definitely took the wrong medicine" expression.

"Another variable has appeared."

He was bitter, he was tired.

His heart was utterly exhausted.