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*****
"Thank you, Uncle George!"
Under George's guidance, Vi and Powder stored the gauntlets and heavy machine gun within their bodies. The awkwardness they had felt when calling him "uncle" instantly lessened by more than half.
The gifts were simply too precious and too perfectly suited to them. At this point, forget calling him uncle—if they had to call him father, they might even have agreed.
"George, you're a mage?"
Vander couldn't hold back his question.
The incredible ability George had just displayed could only be explained as magic.
"To tell you the truth, I wasn't entirely honest with you all at the start."
George raised his head toward the sky beyond the shattered wall and began weaving a story:
"I was an orphan from Demacia who, by chance, learned magic. But as everyone knows, magic is dangerous. My body was damaged in the process of researching it, leaving me permanently in the form of a child.
In reality, I'm already over thirty years old.
But Demacia strictly forbids the study of magic. I didn't want to be arrested for my practice, so I left Demacia and began wandering the world.
When I arrived here, I hoped to find new magic tomes in the black markets of this trade city, to continue my studies and perhaps one day restore myself to normal."
"No wonder… no wonder."
Vander suddenly understood. It explained why George, who looked no more than eleven, spoke and acted with such maturity.
And his overwhelming strength—that too now made sense.
"George, you needn't worry. As the Prince of New Zaun, you can continue your magical research here freely. No one will hinder you.
And since this is the center of global trade, once we abolish the old restrictions, many magic-related books and artifacts will flow through this city. You may well find the means to restore yourself."
In the past, Zaun—when it served as an outpost of ancient Shurima's trade empire—had no ban on magic.
Only later, after Zaun split and Professor Heimerdinger founded the academy in Piltover, did the prohibition come into effect. Heimerdinger, having witnessed the horrors of the Rune Wars, had pushed for restrictions on magic.
Yet compared to Demacia's deep-rooted hatred of magic, the people of Piltover were far less opposed—especially those in Zaun, who hardly cared at all.
When you lived every day breathing toxic gases and corrosive chemicals, what danger could magic really pose in comparison?
Still, Heimerdinger's advanced technology had propelled Piltover's rapid economic rise, bringing enormous profits to the upper city's merchants. The councilors had thus supported him.
Later, when runic studies birthed Hextech, which combined magic and technology, Piltover reaped immense profits. The councilors ignored Heimerdinger's opposition and quietly abandoned the anti-magic decree.
It was all for profit, nothing more.
"That's wonderful. Thank you. In return, I'll protect this city as best I can. It's become my second home."
Seeing Vander's promise, George offered a reassuring pledge of his own.
This was exactly the win–win arrangement he had aimed for.
For him, protecting Piltover posed little difficulty. Wars between ordinary nations couldn't threaten him.
But through this trade city, he could discreetly gather runic magic and study it in peace, steadily advancing his magical strength.
When no more could be gained here, he could then turn his sights to greater beings—the demigods, Ascended, Celestials, and true gods—to see what further power he might obtain.
"Restore as before!"
With a repair incantation, the shattered wall reassembled itself, leaving Vander and the others in awe.
"By the way," George continued, "last time I noticed that blue crystal contained runic magic. Could you help me find the person who created it?"
That crystal—the Hex crystal—had been made by Jayce through runic study. The rune itself had been given to him by Viktor, who in the future would undergo mechanical ascension and travel back through time.
Thus, the core rune of Hextech carried within it countless magical laws of this world—an invaluable key for George's studies.
Three days later, at Piltover Academy.
"So, you're the one who created this mana crystal?"
George, seated casually, smiled as he addressed the young man brought in by New Zaun's guards.
Jayce nodded nervously.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Before this harmless-looking boy, he dared not relax for a second.
Three days earlier, Jayce had seen it with his own eyes: this very child leading the undercity's dangerous rabble, tearing through Piltover's enforcers and storming into the council hall as if nothing could stop him.
Now, with New Zaun established, the boy was second only to the king himself.
One word from him could mean Jayce's head rolling on the floor.
And in recent days, quite a few prominent figures who had opposed New Zaun had already been executed.
"Good. I like your work. I hear you want to use technology to control magic. I think that's an excellent idea.
Tell me—would you like to continue your experiments?"
George stood and approached Jayce.
Hextech—the fusion of technology and magic—was itself a new avenue of magical study. Naturally, George was deeply interested.
Besides, only by developing Hextech could he fully unravel the magic rune that future Viktor had gifted.
And with Hextech, Piltover's strength wouldn't remain at the bottom of the continent.
"Truly? You mean you'll support me continuing my research?"
Jayce's eyes widened, his voice trembling with excitement.
Three days ago, after the Hex crystal explosion, he had been summoned before the council to explain himself.
He had presented his theory—that technology could harness magic for the benefit of all.
But Professor Heimerdinger had declared that no technology could ever truly control such dangerous forces, and Jayce's right to pursue his research was revoked.
"Yes," George said, "and I've even found you a partner."
He clapped his hands. The guards escorted in a young man leaning on a cane, his face filled with confusion.
"What are you doing? I'm only an assistant at the academy—I had nothing to do with opposing New Zaun!"
"Your name is Viktor, isn't it? Don't worry—I mean you no harm. I've brought you here so you can assist this man, Jayce, in his research into Hextech."
George gestured toward Jayce.
Viktor turned and froze.
"It's you?"
He remembered. On the day Jayce had been interrogated, he had been present as Professor Heimerdinger's aide.
Jayce's words then—about Hextech, about using technology to control magic for the good of the people—had deeply moved him.
He had even been planning to approach Jayce privately. But before he could, the world had been turned upside down. All academy staff had been ordered to remain confined within school grounds.
"By the way, I hear you suffer from congenital ossification of the muscles. That's no good—it will only hinder your work."
George stepped closer, his hand glowing with crimson qi. He pressed it gently to Viktor's head.
What he cast at that moment was the legendary Shuangquan Healing Hands, capable of curing any disease.
(End of Chapter)