1 Chapter 1 - I'm just a mechanic

In the northern area of ​​Piltover, people are flocking to the most prestigious area of the upper city, where houses and wealthy people live.

With less than a month until Piltover's annual progress day, the streets are already full of lights and decorations.

Traditionally, the families of the houses set aside time to interview prospective apprentices in the city.

If the invention of a certain student is favoured by the family, then they will become the subject of investment and sponsorship of the family, leaving poverty and become, at least a cog, in the upper class.

In the waiting room of a luxuriously decorated mansion in the middle of the upper city, an Ionian face, a young and lean-looking teenager and dozens of other students of different ages looked around, stunned at all they see.

The family they are interviewing for today is Piltover's wealthy and powerful Hextech crafts family, Kiramman, and the head of the family, Cassandra Kiramman, is also one of the members of the Piltover's ruling Council.

The waiting room is very spacious and can accommodate about a hundred people.

The brightly polished marble tiles decorated with delicate patterns, polished enough to reflect the awkwardness of the students and apprentices.

A mechanical clock, invented by the famous Corwin Reveck, is located in a corner of the room. The sound of the pendulum reverberates in the silent waiting room.

A wooden bench, with grain patterns of the lands of Freljord, calms the boy and more than a dozen other students with the faint but piercing scent that indicates its place of harsh origin.

After a while, a middle-aged man with a black cane in his hand, wearing a brown double-breasted button-down coat and a tie, with slightly grey hairline, walked out of the quaint and solemn door.

He appears stern, wears a pair of pure white gloves on his hands, and pays great attention to etiquette in every move.

The middle-aged man walked over to the bench and tapped the floor twice with a stick, gathering everyone's attention.

"I'm the steward of the Kiramman family, and I'll tell you about the interview procedures." He said slowly, "First of all, the one whose name was called enter through that door."

The butler pointed to the door that he had just walked out of.

"There are 5 judges in the interview room, introduce yourself concisely, present your device and give a brief explanation. The craftsmen will evaluate your invention.

"If you disagree with the results of the assessment, I advise you not to contradict the craftsmen, in keeping with the tradition of the Kiramman family, they are to be fair, and without prejudice.

"If you are successful, exit to the room on the left, and arrangements will be made for these candidates. If you are unsuccessful, there is a small door on the right side of the room. From there, you will be escorted out."

The voice faded, and the butler glanced at everyone's faces, "If there are any doubts, please ask now."

No one spoke.

After a while, the butler nodded, "Very good, let us begin..."

He took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket and opened it. It was the list of candidates for the interview.

"The first will be, Lilin."

"Yes sir." Hearing his name, the Ionian boy raised his hand and stood up.

"Ionian? May the gears turn in your favour."

"Thank you for your blessing." Lilin bowed to the housekeeper.

As he walked to the door, he took a deep breath to calm down his slightly nervousness, then slowly pushed open one of the wooden doors and walked in.

Compared with the waiting room outside, the interview room is quite intimate.

The room is in the shape of a semi-circle, and four men and one woman are sitting behind a long table in front of the door.

They also wore dark brown double-breasted coats with white linings.

A man and woman who looked to be in their thirties or forties, dressed more elegantly than the others, sat in the middle.

Two men, grey-haired, at least 60-year of age sat on the left.

Sitting on the very right was a young man, who had an inexplicably familiar face.

Hearing the sound of the door, the judges looked at Lilin, which made his scalp tingle with numbness.

He walked to the center of the room, and before he could speak, the young man with a gold-plated quill at the edge asked, "Your name?"

"Lilin, sir." Li Lin replied humbly.

The young man lowered his head and wrote something in the notebook, and continued to ask, "What contraption have you prepared for us?"

"A mechanical watch."

"A watch?"

The middle-aged man with a beard sitting in the middle raised his eyebrows when he heard this strange name, glanced sideways at the woman beside him, then cleared his throat,

"Hm... Tell us more."

Lilin took out a round object with two rope straps from his somewhat worn satchel.

"As the name suggests, a watch is a clockwork device that can be worn on the wrist. Compared to a bulky pocket watch, a watch is smaller, more portable, and more accurate."

Lilin raised his left hand, fastened the watch strap on his wrist, and quickly unfastened it to demonstrate its convenience to the interviewer.

The two old men both put on their monocles, and looked curiously at Lilin's wrist, while whispering through the person in the middle:

"what do you think?"

"Well... a novelty, it looks more convenient than a pocket watch."

"I think it's a revolutionary improvement! Why didn't I think of doing this?"

"Let's not mention the accuracy, just to be able to shrink such a pocket watch into such a small piece, this kid has talent."

"But it's just a little ugly, if only it look more appealing... What do you think, Mr. Kiramman?"

Both old men turned to look at the middle-aged man.

"Indeed, but if it is improved a little more, it may be able to replace the pocket watches among the nobles..." The middle-aged man stroked his beard, "Dear, what do you think?"

When he asked about the middle-aged woman in the middle, the room instantly became quiet, and even the sound of breathing could be clearly heard.

Lilin's throat could not help squirming.

It was obvious the woman is the head of the Kiramman clan, and she is also one of the members of Council, who has the highest power in Piltover!

"Your name is Lilin, right?" Councillor Kiramman asked slowly, placing her hands folded on the table and leaning forward slightly.

Being stared at by those azure blue pupils that showed no emotion, Lilin felt an unprecedented pressure.

"Yes, Councillor Kiramman," he replied slightly nervously.

"You recognize who I am." Councillor Kiramman smiled slightly, "Are you from Ionia?"

"Yes, my hometown is Placidium, Ionia, and I came to Piltover 4 years ago."

When Lilin said the name, he noticed that the expressions of the four men changed slightly.

"Four years ago... Well, it was a wise choice to leave that area as soon as possible." Councillor Kiramman sighed softly.

Then, she stood up, and the four men beside her immediately got up.

With the crisp sound of the high heels touching the marble floor, Councillor Kiramman walked to Lilin, took the watch from his hand, and examined it carefully.

"It is remarkable, I approve of the design. Go to Jayce and get a patent application contract. After all the interviews are over, we will discuss your sponsorship and contract."

She pointed to the young man, and returned the watch to Lilin, and said to the standing men "Gentlemen, I will leave the rest of the interviews to you. I have other work to attend to."

Jayce?

Lilin glanced at the young man who had seemed so familiar, but his eyes did not stay on him for too long.

He hurriedly stopped her: "Please wait councillor, I still have a few more designs!"

"More?" There was a surprised expression on the face of Councillor Kiramman.

Walking around the table, the Mr. Kiramman came to her side, looking at the young Ionian boy.

Lilin took out a few more sketches from the bag and handed them to Councillor Kiramman and her husband.

They first glanced at the schematics, then their expressions immediately became serious. Seeing this, the craftsmen also came around. to examine the drawings.

Bicycles, hand generators, flashlights, printing presses…a plethora of devices never seen in Piltover.

Time ticked by, and after reading the drawings carefully, astonished, and in unison:

"You designed these? How have we never heard your name!?"

Lilin paused for a while, then said, "I'm just a mechanic..."