Janna Is With You (Seeking Recommendation Tickets~)

The discussion among the students had evolved to this point, even gradually turning into a science fiction exchange conference—something Viktor, as the lecturer and host, had never anticipated.

But what he could now confirm was this:

Compared to what and why, how was indeed a hundred times more difficult a question.

After all, the world was right there, exactly as it was, with no room for dispute.

And the method of understanding the world introduced in the article was itself a scientific theory, one that could withstand questioning and scrutiny, so everyone had little disagreement on the "why" issue.

Yet once they understood the world, knowing the what and why, the problem of "how to do it" became a massive headache.

Change or not?

By what means?

Into what form?

Who to unite, who to overthrow?

To what extent?

Change only Zaun, or the whole world?

The questions were too vast, the disagreements too many.

Viktor had only just thrown this question to the group when it sparked an uproar.

The students naturally split into various factions, each clinging to their own views without yielding—shifting from discussion to debate, from debate to hurling Zaunite curses at each other. They were just short of coming to blows.

This problem was simply too big, and there was no standard answer.

And Viktor himself didn't know the correct answer either, so he had no choice but to let the students freely debate.

Thus, the discussion grew increasingly absurd, and the proposed solutions became more and more fantastical—after all, this was a world where supernatural forces existed, so some ideas weren't entirely baseless.

But that said, for some reason, Viktor found himself oddly intrigued by the "turn people into robots" plan.

If he could fuse a Hextech core with the brain, it might just work. He just wasn't sure if the human body could withstand such evolution.

"Cough, cough." Viktor used reason to suppress his wild scientific fantasies.

He had no idea what to do now.

He needed someone to point him—and these students—toward the most feasible path, to help unify their thoughts and see the future clearly.

Otherwise, at this rate, all this arguing would tear apart these passionate students.

Just like now:

"What do you mean, focus on the scientist's job, focus on boosting productivity? Smart robots and infinite Hextech energy? By the time technology reaches that point, the Zaunites will already be dead!"

"Fuck off! Your plan is even more unreliable!"

"Armed struggle? The Enforcers killed how many Zaunites on the Sun Gate Bridge ten years ago—don't you have a clue?"

"I think you're a spy sent by Piltover, trying to lure everyone to their deaths!"

"Fuck you! Dying is better than lying around doing nothing! I think you just want to keep being a scientist in Piltover under the banner of 'developing productivity,' you Piltover lord!"

"..."

As they argued, it devolved from debating plans to slinging Zaunite curses at each other, even to revoking each other's Zaunite heritage.

Viktor knew that if this continued, all his efforts so far would be wasted.

But who could offer that most feasible path?

Who had the ability?

"Everyone, quiet down! I have something to say!"

Suddenly, the classroom door opened.

A young man in simple work clothes walked in.

His face still bore injuries, a blue bird perched on his shoulder, and behind him followed a delicate pink-haired young lady?

"Who are you?" Everyone was curious.

"Brother!" Lina called out, revealing his identity.

"Brother, why are you here?" Looking at Li Wei and Seraphine beside him, her heart was full of questions.

But now didn't seem like the time to answer them, because everyone present was focused on something else:

"Li Wei?"

"You're Lina's brother, the author of that article?"

"Yes." Li Wei stepped forward to the center of attention.

"You are Mr. Li Wei?!" Viktor, leaning on his cane, quickly walked down from the podium.

With a thirst for knowledge and a respectful attitude, he solemnly extended his hand to Li Wei:

"Hello, I'm Viktor, a professor at the Hextech Academy—"

"And of course, a devoted reader of your article."

"Professor Viktor?" Li Wei was slightly startled.

So it was him. A figure with three hands, constantly chuckling "hehehe," popped into his mind.

"Ahem." No wonder Janna had said his mental energy was extraordinary. So that was the reason.

"Professor Viktor, hello." Li Wei straightened his expression and solemnly extended his hand as well.

Just as their hands were about to clasp, under the gaze of the entire room, Li Wei seemed to be guiding Viktor into some sacred domain as he added in a grave tone:

"Welcome, my friend!"

With that, Li Wei grasped Viktor's hand.

And in that instant, through their joined hands, the intangible Faith Power flowed into Li Wei's body in a far more efficient manner.

Their Faith Powers resonated, granting him a temporary surge of greater strength.

The Blue Bird on his shoulder fluttered its wings slightly, and a gentle breeze sprang up out of nowhere, swirling softly around the two of them.

The wind was so faint it could only stir a few sheets of paper.

But it was clearly no natural draft born in this classroom.

"Is this... magic?"

Viktor showed a hint of surprise but quickly regained his composure.

Magic was nothing unusual in Runeterra. Such a weak breeze wouldn't frighten anyone.

Still—

"Brother!" Lina shouted in shock. "When—when did you become a mage?"

"No." Li Wei shook his head. "I've never been a mage."

"Then how did you—?"

"This is merely a power bestowed upon me by Goddess Janna."

"Janna?" Viktor was finally astonished, and the students seated around him were no different. "Wait. The Goddess Janna mentioned at the start of your article—she's actually real?"

"That spirit drifting through Runeterra for millennia wasn't just a literary device you used to voice your ideals through ancient figures?"

"Huh?" Janna was taken aback.

She realized with alarm that under this new system of faith, a believer could become her "follower" without even believing in her existence.

Was she now a goddess, or merely another follower of this grand faith?

Janna couldn't quite wrap her head around it.

And Li Wei had no time to discuss it with her just then. Meeting the eyes of everyone present, he announced solemnly:

"That's right—Janna is real!"

"The reason I could grasp those ideas comes entirely from the enlightenment of Goddess Janna. Otherwise, how could a barely literate Zaunite Apprentice like me have written such an article?"

"If you doubt it, ask Lina. She knows that just two days ago, I was still a muddled half-illiterate."

This drew another wave of astonishment, mixed with skepticism.

Li Wei's all-out effort to stir up that breeze and his public proclamation of a miracle—turning from illiterate to wise overnight—were no different from the tricks of any charlatan.

Except the god he was peddling was real, not fake.

And Li Wei had to do this.

From the discussions he'd just heard, he'd caught many voices calling for compromise, concession, reform, or even pure fantasies of solving problems through science and magic, utterly abandoning hope in real struggle.

At first, Li Wei thought the students were just too imaginative, their minds too wild.

But on reflection, the root cause behind this phenomenon was fear.

Yes, though they brimmed with enthusiasm, at their core they were afraid of struggle, dreaded conflict, and were deeply pessimistic about its outcome.

They didn't believe their own hands could change the world.

So they needed wild visions—mechanical ascension, psychic transcendence, technological leaps—things that seemed plausible in Runeterra but were nearly impossible in the short term—to answer their questions.

This wasn't the fault of these Zaunite students.

The enemy's power was simply too overwhelming.

The Zaunites hadn't been passive over the past two hundred years, but every rebellion had only invited merciless slaughter. The Enforcers of Piltover had never shown mercy, each time leaving fields of corpses and rivers of blood.

They had long been cowed by the killing.

So Li Wei had to show he was extraordinary.

He had to make these students believe they had strength, that there was hope.

They needed to know Janna was real. And Janna—

"Goddess Janna—"

Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, Li Wei slowly stepped up to the podium:

"Always stands on the side of the suffering!"