"I'm coming, Orianna!"
Duke swept the scattered coins into his drawer, tidied up his clothes, and opened the door. Standing outside was a young girl, probably just past ten years old.
Her light blond hair was tied into a neat bun, and her bright eyes seemed to reflect the soul. A sprinkling of freckles danced on her cheeks, adding to her playful charm. The sky-blue mechanic's overalls she wore didn't take away from her looks, if anything, they made her seem even sharper and more capable.
"What are you spacing out about now?"
Hands on her hips, Orianna leaned forward, eyeing Duke suspiciously. "Don't tell me you were up all night working on your communicator again?"
"Nope!"
Duke laughed sheepishly. He really hadn't stayed up, because the original owner of this body already died from sleep deprivation. That had nothing to do with him.
"Good. You've been pulling all-nighters for days. Father's getting annoyed. Keep slacking off and he might throw you out."
Orianna shook her little fists in mock threat. Duke didn't feel the slightest bit offended, in fact, he found her absolutely adorable.
Still, something about the name "Orianna" tugged at his memory, like he'd heard it somewhere before, but just couldn't place it.
"Alright, enough daydreaming. Granny Noreen's mechanical prosthetic is acting up again. Father wants your help!"
"Got it. I'll be right down."
Knowing it was time to put his skills to the test, Duke didn't hesitate. He grabbed a few tools and followed Orianna down from the attic.
In the main workshop of Colin's Forge, Duke saw the owner, Colin Levik, speaking with a dignified older lady at the workbench. Her face radiated kindness, but her right arm was clearly mechanical, built from brass and intricate gears.
"You're here?"
Colin glanced up as Duke came down the stairs. Duke quickly clipped his tools onto his belt and nodded with a grin. "Sorry, Mr. Colin, overslept!"
"Make sure you get proper rest. Don't forget you're just an apprentice. Don't bite off more than you can chew. That communicator of yours…" Colin frowned and shook his head. "Better to drop it for now."
"This is the apprentice of yours?" Lady Noreen nodded toward Duke with a warm smile. "He's quite the handsome one."
"Looks won't put food on the table," Colin said flatly. "If you want to survive in Piltover, you need real skill."
He was examining her prosthetic under a magnifying glass, carefully checking every gear and joint.
"Come here. Pass me the #3 wrench."
"Right away, Mr. Colin."
Duke shrugged at Orianna and stepped forward. The old woman beamed at him. "I hear you're from Zaun?"
"Yes. My parents died during the Twin City Riots. If Mr. Colin hadn't taken me in, I'd probably be just another street rat by now."
Duke spoke without hesitation. It was the original body's story, after all, not his. Thankfully, there were no parents or relatives to complicate things.
While watching Colin inspect the gears, Duke stayed focused. Lady Noreen, meanwhile, kept chatting.
"It's good that you're grateful. I heard one of the towers got bombed today, some street punks from Zaun again. Terrible, really."
"Madam Noreen," Duke asked, "why do people from Zaun resent us so much?"
"What do you think?" Colin snorted. "They're sewer rats with no ambition. Stirring up trouble is what they do."
Duke glanced at Colin in surprise. He hadn't expected such blatant disdain. But given his Zaunite background, he wisely held his tongue.
Zaun and Piltover, two sides of the same coin. Neither could exist without the other.
Colin used the #3 wrench to open the prosthetic. The mechanical linkage seemed fine, yet Noreen insisted something was off, there had to be an issue.
But where?
Duke looked at her outer knitted sweater, then back at the intricate gears powered by the spring coils. He had a sudden realization.
In fact, the moment Colin started disassembling the arm, Duke noticed he'd unknowingly solved a problem that had troubled the original owner for a long time.
Hextech... actually seemed kind of simple.
"Mr. Colin, mind if I give it a shot?"
Feeling confident, Duke grabbed his screwdriver. Colin looked a bit surprised at Duke's enthusiasm, but stepped aside. "Be careful not to misalign the gears!"
"No problem!"
Duke took Colin's place, supporting the prosthetic with one hand and using the precision screwdriver with the other. His eyes scanned the gap between gears, mentally constructing a 3D model of the mechanism.
With a gentle flick, he dislodged one gear, just the right one, and the entire arm stopped.
Colin looked stunned.
That gear was crucial. By shifting its position, Duke had intentionally halted the prosthetic's motion. But this knowledge... Colin hadn't taught him that yet. How did he know?
Did Orianna give him tips behind his back?
He glanced at his daughter, but quickly dismissed the thought. Orianna was gifted, but she hadn't been taught this level of engineering either.
Could it be… this kid had finally had a breakthrough?
Duke, oblivious to Colin's thoughts, was fully immersed in taking the prosthetic apart. In the short time Colin spaced out, Duke had already completely dismantled it.
Now only the connection joint at the shoulder remained.
"Duke! What the hell are you doing?!"
Colin's voice roared through the room. But Duke didn't flinch. He set the parts on the table by type and function, switching tools fluidly and dissecting the arm into smaller components.
Within a minute, the entire prosthetic was disassembled.
Colin held back his fury. Duke had taken apart the client's arm without permission. That was completely out of line.
Still, he kept his cool. Criticism could wait until the client left.
"My apologies, Lady Noreen. He was out of line. If your prosthetic is beyond repair, I'll personally build a new one free of charge."
Lady Noreen chuckled. "No worries. I barely felt a thing. Who knows? Maybe the boy will surprise us."
"Please, that's a bit much. He's only been apprenticing a few years, he couldn't possibly, "
"I fixed it," Duke interrupted, wiping sweat from his brow.
He pointed at a clump of sweater lint on the table. "The problem wasn't with the mechanics. It was fabric fuzz from your knitting that got caught inside the gears, making the rotation sluggish."
"I've cleaned it out. Just be more careful in the future."
As he spoke, he swiftly reassembled the parts, applied lubricant, and reattached the prosthetic. Within minutes, it was good as new.
"Try it out. How does it feel?"
Lady Noreen moved her arm. The fingers flexed gracefully.
"Wonderful! Even better than before!"
She placed a handful of coins on the table as payment, smiling at Colin. "Looks like your apprentice has finally bloomed. Congratulations!"
Colin still looked dazed, but bowed slightly. "You flatter him. The boy still has a long way to go."
"Haha, of course." With a smile and a nod, Lady Noreen left the workshop, escorted by Orianna.
As soon as she left, Colin's expression darkened. "Duke. Inside. Now."
Orianna slipped up beside Duke, eyes wide with awe. "That was amazing! When did you get so good?"
"Good?" Duke raised an eyebrow. "You think so?"
"I just watched and figured it out on the fly."
He glanced at the closed door, sighing. "Still… I did go overboard. I wonder how Mr. Colin will punish me."
"I think he won't," Orianna said confidently. "You proved yourself today."
She patted him on the shoulder. "Keep it up, little apprentice!"
"Pfft."
Duke shook his head and entered the workshop. Before closing the door, he took one last glance at his system panel, his [Hextech] had already upgraded from Beginner to Expert.
"Hextech..." Duke closed the door behind him, lips curling in a smirk.
"That's it?"