Simulation Analysis

Kusho's death had definitely been suspicious!

Li Ke looked at the results of his simulation, absolutely certain of it.

"Looks like there's definitely something wrong with Kusho. Otherwise, Zed wouldn't have reacted like that!"

Li Ke was certain. In the hero stories he'd seen, Zed had killed Kusho and taken the Kinkou Order's treasure, which could awaken the darkness in people's hearts. That was how he became Zed and founded the Order of the Shadow.

But there was a problem: in Zed's backstory, no one had actually seen him kill Kusho! Zed was simply the only one who came back out.

Li Ke remembered that clearly, because he'd always enjoyed playing Zed.

If that was the case, then things got interesting.

Kusho might not have died at all.

And if so, a lot of things made sense.

Of course, it was possible that Zed had been corrupted by power, but honestly, Li Ke didn't think that was very likely.

Though it was a classic trope.

But if he'd been completely controlled, why would Zed have cried when he killed him?

And the simulator's wording was interesting too. When Zed had pretended to join him, it called him Zed, but when he'd betrayed Li Ke, it called him by his old name. Li Ke could easily believe that Zed had been in agony when he killed him in the simulation, but had no choice but to do it.

So why would someone willing to kill his own master to seize power and status do something so thankless?

Even if he wanted to betray Li Ke for power, there was no reason to do it at that moment.

Given their relationship in the simulation, Zed could have joined him, then staged his death to look like the work of Noxians. As Li Ke's comrade and close friend, Zed could then have inherited his forces without raising suspicion.

Instead, just as in the simulation, he'd killed Li Ke outright!

That would do nothing but plunge Ionia into chaos and allow a power belonging neither to him nor Li Ke to rise. He'd gain nothing from it!

Unless Zed had become a madman, acting without any reason or method.

So there were only two possibilities: either Zed really had gone mad, or there was something wrong with Kusho.

Li Ke didn't want to believe that the world-renowned Kusho was a bad person either. But after ruling out every other possibility, the least likely one was the most likely.

"Now I have a general idea of what's going on. I can use my remaining simulations to improve my strength."

Li Ke narrowed his eyes. That final simulation had all but determined the path ahead. With Shen accompanying him, he clearly didn't need to worry about trouble along the way.

Shen was far stronger than he was. All Li Ke had to do was stick close to him.

As for Irelia, Xayah, and Ahri, they were all fleeting encounters. From the simulations, it was clear that these three women...

Had actually helped him quite a lot...

Irelia could help him build a force, Xayah could bring in an army of Vastaya, and Ahri could absorb the excess memories in his mind to keep him from losing his sanity.

Li Ke had been choosing the vague memories with the least benefit for a while now, because his mind couldn't handle much more.

Memories were an important part of a person. Many of their little preferences and quirks existed because of them.

But a simulation could suddenly give him someone else's memories.

The way his swordsmanship had felt wrong before was because of those memories that had appeared out of nowhere.

If it was a simulation of the future, that was one thing. But if he kept simulating a life spent training with a sword in Arad, after enough simulations, would the person living here be the transmigrator Li Ke or just an ordinary swordsman from Arad?

What if he accidentally became another race?

What if he accidentally turned into a woman?

What if he accidentally became a character he hated?

What if he fell deeply in love during a simulation?

Ahri's ability to consume memories could help him hold on to himself. He wouldn't let her eat any important memories, of course, but useless ones—like eating, sleeping, and playing games—could be fed to that fox.

"Though it does make me look like I'm living off a woman."

Sitting in his room, Li Ke decided not to dwell on it and looked at the results of his latest simulation.

Simulation complete.

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

1. Maximum health slowly increases by 20; vitality: 180 points.

2. Ionia Five-Year Plan (Li Ke, Xayah, Zed, Shen—verified Version 2.0)

3. Cause the following people in the real world to form a strong impression of you and randomly dream about events from your simulated life: Irelia, Xayah, Ahri, Zed, Kusho, Akali, Meimu, Yasuo, Yone, Souma, Karma, LeBlanc, Mordekaiser, Darius, Jarvan III, Noxian Emperor, Jarvan IV, Garen, Xin Zhao, Sivir, Lux, Swain, Gangplank, Karma, Ryze, Leona, Diana, Zoe, Soraka, Pantheon, Aurelion Sol.

Li Ke didn't give it much thought. Just as he was about to choose option two, he noticed the last few names in option three.

"Pretty much the same as last time... Wait, what's with those names at the end??"

Aurelion Sol.

The Star Forger.

Leona, Diana—the Aspect pair officially announced by Riot Games.

Zoe, the Aspect of Twilight, and Aatrox's only enemy.

Soraka, the Starchild.

Pantheon, the Aspect of War.

Ryze, bearer and protector of the World Rune.

"What have I done to deserve the attention of all you big shots?"

Li Ke's face nearly turned green. Setting aside whether the Star Forger could even sleep, was the fact that he'd stopped the Noxian army for a year really that significant? Enough for these big shots to take notice of him, to the point that he'd changed their destinies?

He could understand Pantheon. He was the Aspect of War, so of course he'd take notice of someone who fought well.

But what about the others?

Was this world really that small?

After thinking it over, Li Ke was tempted to run another simulation, but after considering it calmly, he decided against it.

There was no need.

In all the simulations so far, his only real shortcoming had been a lack of strength. He hadn't noticed any particular lack of wisdom or direction, so strength was still the most important thing.

"Except..."

Looking at the spiritual energy he'd nearly accumulated for another simulation, Li Ke's face darkened.

He could wait a little and run another simulation, but there was one important thing he still had to do.

So he immediately pushed open his door and went to Shen's room. Shen had only just gone to bed. While Shen stared at him in bafflement, Li Ke kicked his door open.

"Get your ass up! Let's party!"

Shen wanted to kill Li Ke again.