"Ridiculous," said a woman with an artificial arm. Her gaze was so sharp that only the kind of academic expert who was accustomed to seeing the whims of her students and rejecting all ideas could have that. "The moment the crystal releases its energy, it's definitely too late to make any level of adjustment. Paraven had made the same attempt two years earlier, destroying almost half of the goldsmith's quarter. ”

"No offense, ma'am, but I have objections."

"It doesn't matter what objections you have, Student. Can you prove it? Can you demonstrate your theory? ”

"I believe so." Tamara replied.

"Science is not based on believing," the woman said, as if to teach some obsessive child. "We need evidence of practice."

"I can." Tamara swore by it.

The woman still looked skeptical, but she nodded and said, "Okay, you can get started." ”

On the workbench next to Tamara, a hatch slid open, and a carved shelf slowly rose with a small piece of cut crystal glowing with sapphire glow.

A Hextech crystal.

The crystal wasn't the size of her fingernails, but it was the future.

It could give the Piltovers the power to rule the world, as long as they wanted to. At present, they are the only ones who have the ability to efficiently produce Hex Crystals, without having to take years to produce a single piece. There is very little energy left in this crystal in front of you, but it still contains immeasurable potential and condenses unimaginable value.

She didn't expect it to be so beautiful.

"Well, please get started," said the man with the burn scar on his face. "Let's open our eyes."

She picked up the crystal from the shelf, and it was soft to the touch, with a subtle vibration that was extremely imperceptible. It's a lot heavier than it looks. Tamara carefully placed the crystal in the ball-shaped cabin, holding it in place with a slender chain. She checked to make sure everything was in place, and closed the hatch. At the top of the cube is a movable mechanical structure that rotates the interlocking parts inside the device. She adjusted the core touchpoints to the right place.

The device began to emit a muffled sound, and the wire loop picked up the energy inside the crystal, and a soft blue light diffused from within. Tamara grinned as she watched her device start turning. The muffled mechanical noise grew louder, and her mouth became more and more metallic. Now it's getting louder, a little worrying, and undulating like a wave.

The brightness of the small balls of light around the room fluctuated with the noise of the coils in her device. By this time, her device was already moving on the workbench. The violent vibration caused it to sway from side to side, up and down. Flashes of energy began to burst out of the sphere with a popping sound, shooting electric light from the top like retrograde lightning.

"Turn it off, Miss Rotali!"

Tamar reached for her device, but a blue whip of light drew out, leaving an angry red mark on the back of her hand. She took a few steps back, not daring to approach the device that was rapidly spiraling out of control.

"No," Tamara panicked. "It's optimized so fast!"

She had expected this to happen, but she hoped that at least her own improvements would not fail so badly. A blue arc of lightning shot out of the device, heading towards a small ball of light. The small ball of light exploded, and white-hot points of light fell from the sky like rain.

Another arc, followed by three more. Soon, all that was left in the room was the violently reacting blue light of the device on the verge of Tamara's collapse. The woman with the prosthetic leg stood up in a fist position, and with a sliding of metal, the entire workbench was lowered under the floor, and then immediately closed. A glimmer of light shone through the crack in the edge of the trapdoor, and a violent muffled sound came from underfoot.

"Safety room." Tamara muttered to herself, secretly glad her device hadn't exploded a few seconds earlier.

"Yes, Miss Rotali," said the woman, taking back to her seat, picking up the gilded quill. "Do you think you're the first student to make such a dangerous demonstration in front of us?"

"Probably not," Tamara replied. She was disappointed, but not surprised. This was to be expected, except that the arrogance of the experts almost made her forget her original purpose.

The man with the prosthetic eye continued to write on his handbook, speaking without raising his head.

"You know which door to go through."

The road out of Myrdada's mansion was far less fancy than it had been when I had just entered. Passing through the rightmost door, there is immediately an unadorned stone corridor, piercing the rock of the cliff all the way down, ending in a steel fence gate, strong enough to withstand the ram of a battering ram. A muscular janitor, fitted with a Hex-powered power arm, and wearing a helmet-mimicking augmentation or helmet mimicking a helmet. The man opened the door and slammed it shut before she could fully walk out.

Outside the door is a remote street below the city, leading back to the edge of the cliff. Not yet to Zaun, but not entirely belonging to Piltover. The streets were paved with stones of various sizes, and the air was filled with a light haze of Zaun. Gisber sat against a crumbling brick wall, his device shattered and lying at his feet.

He laughed when he saw her and asked, "Isn't it going well?" ”

"It didn't go well."

"What's wrong?"

"Exploded."

His eyes widened in surprise. He laughed out loud and quickly covered his mouth with his hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed. Blown up? ”

She nodded and smiled. Then he couldn't help but laugh again.

"Mine is just broken," he said. "But it doesn't matter. How could Myrdalda put a Zuan on an equal footing with them! ”

Instead of caring about his self-deprecation, she asked him, "Did you see Colette?" ”

Gisper's eyes lit up, and it seemed to be good news.

"Nope. I think she succeeded. ”

Tamara sighed with relief.

"Well, at least one person was chosen," she said. "So, how about drinking to drown your sorrows? After all, today is Evolution Day. Since we almost broke down those erudite experts, I think we should treat ourselves. ”

A figure comes into view, revealing a light and slender silhouette in the light of the distant street. She was surrounded by others, but none of them were as conspicuous as she was, for she was the only one with the long-barreled rifle on her shoulder. Now, the muzzle of this gun is motionless and aimed at Tamara's head.

"I'm sorry, Miss Rotali," she's the sheriff she had spoken to Tamara earlier in the day, "but I don't think you'll be able to drink today." ”

Gisper's protests were completely ineffective, and the sheriff and her men took Tamara away. He didn't have the courage to follow behind, and Tamara was relieved. She didn't want to get him involved. She was pushed step by step towards the edge of the cliff, and more than once she thought they were going to throw her down.