The Nameless

Without waiting for the students to ask, Viktor introduced himself.

After all, this wasn't the first time this had happened.

He knew he had little renown—outside the lab, no one would recognize him.

Even though he, Viktor, was actually the most trusted partner of the great Professor Jayce and the co-inventor of the Hextech core.

In fact, as Jayce's fame had grown over the years and he'd become increasingly absorbed in high-society socializing, Viktor—the man behind the scenes—had contributed even more to the subsequent applied research phase of Hextech.

Yet he remained utterly unknown.

One reason was Viktor's own introverted nature; he disliked socializing and shunned the spotlight.

The other reason was that

he was a Zaunite.

Yes, even though he'd immigrated to Piltover over a decade ago and had even been hired as a professor at Piltover University, in others' eyes, he was still a Zaunite.

Whenever Piltover's propaganda machine trumpeted the greatness and wonder of Hextech, they would deliberately or inadvertently remove Viktor's name from Jayce's side—

Piltover's hero shouldn't come from Zaun.

Gradually, Viktor had grown accustomed to living in Jayce's shadow, quietly pursuing scientific research.

On most days, it was fine—he didn't want fame anyway.

It was only in public settings like this, where he had to show his face, that things got a little awkward—no one knew who he was.

So Viktor introduced himself:

"I'm a friend of Jayce's."

"You can call me Professor Viktor."

"Professor?" The students' expressions varied.

Viktor could tell at a glance that these kids hadn't expected him to be a professor—they'd mistaken him for Jayce's assistant again.

"Haha." Jayce, however, didn't sense the awkwardness at all.

This Mr. Sunshine flashed a bright smile and teasingly patted his friend on the shoulder:

"Viktor, I told you, you need to get out more."

"See, even our own academy's students don't recognize you."

"Mm," Viktor shrugged indifferently.

Jayce then turned his head on his own and addressed the entire student body:

"Professor Viktor is my most important friend and a top-tier expert in the fields of Hextech and mechanical engineering. It's no exaggeration to say that without his help, I would never have broken through the Hextech core research."

"In fact, in the Hextech engineering and mechanical development research group you're about to join—if any of you are fortunate enough to be selected—I'm the group leader, and Viktor is the deputy leader."

With Professor Jayce's words, the students finally grasped Viktor's significance.

"So he's Professor Jayce's deputy!"

Upgraded from assistant to deputy, Viktor suddenly received much more respect.

But he still looked listless, as if nothing mattered.

Just then, Jayce slowly stepped up to the podium and wrote a title on the blackboard:

"'Power Flow Optimization Strategies for Enhanced Steam Golems'—that's the topic I'm testing you on today."

Jayce tapped the blackboard and said to the eager students below:

"Treat this as a course design paper. On this topic, lay out as thoroughly as you can the optimization strategies, design principles, and experimental steps you can think of, and then hand in a paper outline on the spot."

"Professor Viktor and I will review your paper designs on-site and grade your performance."

"The one with the most complete design and the best performance will join our research group, becoming a student of mine, Professor Viktor, and even Headmaster Heimerdinger."

The promise Jayce painted was enticing.

But the students present weren't as excited as before.

Because the test topic he'd given was dauntingly difficult.

The topic was too broad, and they had to write a full paper outline on the spot. This demanded a level of research literacy far beyond what ordinary college students could handle.

Even though everyone here was among the best talents from Hextech Academy, many turned pale at the topic and wanted to back out before even starting.

The few who still had the confidence to take on the challenge cautiously asked Jayce:

"Professor Jayce, is there a time limit for this test?"

"How much time can you give us at most?"

Jayce replied, "No time limit. Take as long as you want. Hand it in when you're done, and we'll look it over."

"But you should know that the final choice comes down to Viktor's and my subjective judgment."

"The speed at which you complete your paper outline will directly affect our evaluation of you."

"Huh?" The students were all startled.

So this exam was actually a race?

The questions were already difficult—you had to write well and write fast. By now, few people in the room still had confidence in passing.

Kaya Ferros, the young lady of House Ferros, happened to be one of them:

"I see. As long as I finish the outline first, I get 'bonus points,' right?!"

Kaya was brimming with confidence. Unhurriedly, she pulled out a gold-embossed pen stamped with the Ferros family crest, and before writing, she shot a provocative glance at Lina not far away.

Lina, however, had no mood to bother with her old rival.

She had already picked up her crooked-nibbed pen, writing with tense focus.

"First place—I have to get first place!"

It wasn't about competing with some spoiled heiress.

It was about winning against her own life.

She couldn't help but think of Li Wei. Though her brother had said he had a way to pay the rent and told her not to worry, speaking as if it were no big deal, like he already had a plan.

But Lina knew he wasn't that relaxed. He never was.

So Kaya could afford to lose, but she couldn't.

If Kaya lost, it was just one less honor to gild her already perfect life.

But if she lost, she and her brother would still have to struggle every day under the boots of the Piltovans, bleeding and sweating for a few pitiful pieces of black bread.

Thus, one minute passed, ten minutes passed, thirty minutes passed, and when nearly an hour was up—

While most of her classmates had already given up or were still agonizing over the questions:

"I'm done!"

Lina stood up first.

"I'm done!"

Just a few seconds later, Kaya Ferros also rose to her feet.

Their gazes clashed in midair, sparks flying from each other's eyes.

"Finally, someone's finished."

"An hour—not bad, I suppose."

Jayce yawned, then smiled at Viktor beside him:

"Viktor, I heard that when you passed Headmaster Heimerdinger's entrance exam back then, you only took half an hour. Looks like no one's breaking your record this year either."

"The essay topics are different—no point comparing." Viktor's tone was flat. "Besides, speed doesn't guarantee quality. We'll have to evaluate them comprehensively."

"True." Jayce smiled as he looked down at Lina and Kaya on the floor, encouraging the two gifted girls: "Hand in your essay outlines."

"Viktor and I will give you a fair and objective evaluation."

"Yes." Lina and Kaya nodded in unison.

Carrying their notebooks and draft papers, they approached Jayce and Viktor.

"Professor Jayce."

"Please take a look at mine!"

Kaya rushed to hand her essay outline to Jayce first.

Jayce took it and glanced at the name: "Kaya Ferros?"

He looked up at her distinctive silver-gray hair:

"You're from House Ferros?"

"Lady Camille—what is she to you?"

"She's my great-aunt." Kaya smiled confidently.

House Ferros controlled the synthesis technology for artificial Hextech Gems, and the Hextech core Jayce researched was developed from those very gems.

Now that the Hextech industry was booming, the two sides naturally had plenty of mutual interests.

Sure enough, as soon as Kaya mentioned her family, Jayce's attitude warmed noticeably.

He picked up her paper and began reviewing it seriously, his expression as gentle as if she were some relative of his.

"This..." Lina couldn't help but tense up.

She had been so focused on competing with her skills that she forgot—Kaya's strength went far beyond the pen.

"Don't be nervous."

At some point, Viktor had come to stand beside her.

He lowered his voice to reassure her: "Jayce is an upright man. There's no need to overthink it."

"Yes..." Lina nodded pitifully.

"Give me your essay outline. As long as you're good enough, you have nothing to fear."

"Mm!" Lina shot a grateful look at Viktor, then flipped her notebook to the page where she'd written her thesis outline, and finally handed it to him with careful hesitation.

"What's your name?"

"Lina."

"And your surname?"

"I—" Lina suddenly grew tense. "My ancestors were immigrants from Ionia, so I should have the surname Li, but... you can just call me Lina. No one ever uses my surname. It wasn't even registered when I enrolled. I suppose you could say I don't have one."

Viktor's hand, flipping through the notebook, paused.

Only one kind of person had no surname: Zaunites.

Because nearly seven out of ten people in Zaun were orphans—either their parents had died young, or they'd been abandoned because their families couldn't afford to raise them.

Having both parents alive was a luxury only children from well-off families in Zaun could enjoy.

And so, without anyone noticing, the culture of surnames had vanished in Zaun.

Zaunites took whatever surname they pleased, regardless of who their parents were.

Or, like Lina, they simply didn't bother with surnames at all. As long as the given name sounded good, the surname was discarded entirely.

"Mr. Viktor..."

Lina lowered her head nervously, fidgeting and twisting the hem of her clothes.

To a Zaunite, Piltover residents fell into only three categories: those who openly discriminated, those who discriminated silently, and those who discriminated without even realizing it.

She was terrified that her identity as a Zaunite would affect Professor Viktor's opinion of her.

"Don't be afraid." Viktor let out a soft sigh.

He gently patted Lina on the shoulder and said in a quiet voice:

"My name is Viktor."

"Huh?" Lina snapped her head up.

"Just Viktor—"

"No surname."