I stared at the green, pulsing icon of Grasp of the Undying and let out a jagged laugh. "Guess I'm a Top-laner now."
In the game, people usually debate between Conqueror and Grasp. Conqueror is the flashy choice—it gives you adaptive force and healing the longer you scrap. It's the "carry" rune. But here? In a world where I don't just respawn after thirty minutes?
Grasp was a godsend.
Every time it procs, it grants five permanent health points. Five! In a video game, that's a minor buff. In real life, where I'm living day by day, month by month, year by year? I could stack this into the thousands. I could become a literal raid boss just by getting into enough bar fights.
But I couldn't celebrate for long. The system pinged with my next objective:
Main Quest: Save Jinx. Objective: Prevent Powder from falling into Silco's hands. Reward: One Summoner Spell.
I felt a pang of conflict. The internet used to debate this endlessly: Was Silco a monster, or the only father who could actually love the broken girl Powder became? He truly loved her, in his own twisted, Shimmer-soaked way. But saving her meant keeping her "Powder"—keeping her from the madness, the trauma, and the blue-haired carnage of Jinx.
"If I save her, Silco doesn't have a weakness anymore," I mused. "And maybe, just maybe, I can keep everyone else alive too."
The Demacian's Warning
I trudged back to Clockwork Sundries. The shop owner, Halde, was hunched over a music box I'd put together. Halde was a rare breed in Zaun—a refugee from Demacia who'd fled the Noxian invasions decades ago. He'd survived war only to end up breathing industrial poison in the Sump.
He looked up as the bell jingled, his mechanical eye clicking. "You're back. Good. Stay inside for a few days, Chen."
He sighed, shaking his head. "Word is those kids from the Black Alley went Topside. They blew up a mansion in Piltover. Now the Enforcers are crawling all over the Sump like maggots on a corpse. Be careful."
My heart hammered against my ribs. It was happening. "Where is the Black Alley, Halde? Where's 'The Last Drop'?"
Halde slammed the music box onto the counter. The gears groaned. "Why are you asking about that place?"
I flinched. Halde had been the closest thing to a father I'd had since I woke up in this world. He saw me as more than cheap labor; I think he saw the grandson he'd lost to the Noxians.
"Stop it!" he barked. "Stop thinking you're a hero! You're not going out there while the Enforcers are hunting. For people like us, simply staying alive is the ultimate victory."
He grabbed my shoulders, his forehead pressing against mine—a rough, Demacian gesture of affection. "I watched my son get torn to shreds by Noxian steel. I'm not losing you to an Enforcer's baton because you wanted to play adventure."
"I won't do anything foolish, Halde," I whispered, hugging him back.
I wasn't lying. I wasn't going to do their foolish things. I was going to do mine.
The Glimpse
For the next few days, Halde turned the shop into a fortress. He locked the doors and barred the windows every time he left. I was trapped. I spent my time shadowboxing a mechanical dummy I'd rigged up, wearing a makeshift Teemo hat I'd found in the trash for luck.
Jab. Cross. Hook.
Nothing. No green pulse. No health gain.
"Damn it. The system knows this thing isn't 'alive.' I can't cheese the stacks on a dummy."
Just as I was about to kick the machine in frustration, a commotion erupted in the street outside. I lunged for the window.
A group of kids was sprinting through the smog, weaving through the crowds. I saw the pink hair first—Vi—leading the pack. And there, trailing behind, was the blue braid.
"POWDER!" I screamed, rattling the locked door.
Powder turned her head for a split second. Our eyes locked—her wide, panicked blue eyes meeting mine. She didn't stop. She couldn't. A squad of Enforcers in their stiff blue uniforms were hot on their heels, heavy boots thudding against the metal grates.
I knew exactly what came next. Vi would try to turn herself in. Silco would launch his Shimmer-monster ambush. Grayson and Benso would die. Vander would be taken. And Powder... Powder would try to help, only to blow up her own family.
The internet called her a "team-killer," a "menace," the "best sixth man for the enemy." But she was just a kid who wanted to be useful.
I couldn't let it happen. Not the way it did in the show.
As I moved for the door, Halde's heavy hand clamped onto my shoulder. "You're staying here, Chen! I won't let you throw your life away for those Black Alley strays!"
I spun around, and for the first time, I didn't look like an "obedient apprentice."
"I want to live an exciting life, Halde! I'm not leaving them behind!"
I wrenched myself free and bolted out the door before he could grab me again. Halde stood there, his hand reaching into empty air, his eyes filled with a crushing loneliness. He'd done everything to protect me, but you can't protect a Zaunite from Zaun.
I hit the street, my lungs burning, my 320 Movement Speed pushing to its absolute limit.
"Hold on, Powder. I'm coming to ruin the plot."