44.

I was organizing the memories that flooded in my brain, it told me the basics of my current background. I was picked up by Elder Deluci of the Monastery since I was a child and trained me because he believes that I am talented, unfortunately for him, the talent he is speaking of didn't show as I grew older. But now that I took over, I can change all of that.

"Aegis, what are you doing here? Elder Deluci's been looking for you." A disciple of the monastery told me.

"Where is Elder Deluci?" I asked him. I received the basic memories of my body and know about where my room is and the outline of the monastery.

"He's in the main hall, it seems like its serious so be prepared for it." The disciple said and I nodded at him.

'I need to change my clothes first, I stick out like a sore thumb. No wonder he was looking at me weirdly.' I thought as I looked at my clothes. Its the clothes I wore before I entered the shadow world.

I returned to my room as quick as I can and changed my clothes into a monk uniform. I'm honestly relieved that the monastery was open-minded and doesn't have a rule of shaving the head since I took good care of my hair, it came from my parents after all.

I quickly made my way to the main hall. Many disciples would nod at me on the way and they gave me a very good impression which makes the urge to protect this place even stronger.

As far as the memory goes, even though I didn't show the talent, I trained harder than anyone else and earned the respects of the disciples. They believed that training yourself to overcome your limits is the best.

"Elder Deluci." I bowed to him with my fists in my palm. Its a basic show of respect to people.

"Ah, Aegis. You've come." He said to me and motioned me to sit down. I sat down at the spot he pointed at and looked at him and the other Elders in the monastery.

"Aegis, I have a mission for you." Elder Deluci looked at me solemnly. The elders looked serious as well.

"What is it, Elder Deluci?" I asked him for instructions.

"I want you to bring the disciples away from this place. A Noxian army is coming to this place, you and the younger generation is going to be the future of Ionia and we don't want the younger generation be bathed in blood and war. That's not how we, the monks of Hirana Monastery, do things. We focus on enlightening ourselves to be closer to the spirits of the land." Elder Deluci said to me. I looked at him in the eye for a few seconds before I spoke.

"Elder Deluci. I know that you want me to lead the younger generation away from this place, but this is our home too. The disciples grew up here, I'm sure they won't follow my lead and retaliate against the Noxian army. I'm not going to leave and will protect this place alongside others." I said. The information I just received made me realize that time is not on my side.

"AEGIS!" Elder Deluci shouted at me with rage.

"Elder, the times have change and we should change to accommodate the changes happening around us and adapt to it." I said firmly. The Elders were looking at me with serious faces but I sat in front of them unnerved about their presence.

"Aegis, don't be stubborn. We know that all of you wanted to defend the monastery but this is just hopeless massacre. We old fogeys would like to sacrifice our lives for the future, why are you throwing it away?" Elder Deluci continued to convince me.

"Elders, I just don't want to live with regret. That's all. If we all leave this place, the guilt would cloud our minds and we wouldn't be able to practice your teachings." I said. Its a weak argument but I need to convince them to at least let me stay and fight.

"Aegis, the Noxian army outnumber us all and they have those weird weapons. You won't be able to do anything. Why are you so stubborn? I don't remember you being this stubborn." Elder Deluci sighed as he looked at me. I didn't say anything and I just stared at them.

"Fine, we'll pick someone else then. Aegis, I'm disappointed in you." Elder Deluci said with a sad face.

"I know, Elder." I bowed one last time and left the main hall.

Once I left the room, one of the elders, Elder Kaci spoke to Elder Deluci.

"You said you're disappointed but your face doesn't show disappointment at all." She said and Elder Deluci just smiled weakly.

"He might not be as talented as he turned out to be, but I'm proud of what he's done over the years. Although he didn't have the talent, he would show the new disciples the way around and take care of them until they can handle themselves which earned the respect of many. Its just that, he's more stubborn once he set his mind to it." Elder Deluci said.

*

After leaving the main hall, I went to the training hall, picked up a training staff and started practicing while forming plans in my head. There's a few points that needed to be put in the priority list or we wouldn't be able to defend the monastery.

What I had in mind is to hold out until those 'two' returned and help us in defeating the incoming army.

One of the things that needed to be put in the priority list is dealing with Zaun's biochemical weapons. Those madmen of scientists made weapons of mass destruction and it is because of that that the Noxian army were able to win every single fight. I need to think of a way of sealing those weapons, either by stealing them or destroying them.

I'm not worried about the monastery being outnumbered, the disciples here are strong enough to hold out against many.

What I'm worried about is who's leading the charge, if its someone I know then its going to be a hard fight. You can't underestimate the generals of Noxus. If Jericho Swain was the one leading the army, then we are f*cked. Not only is Swain a great commander, he's also strong so sneaking on his back isn't going to be an option, its just a death wish.

I was absent-mindedly practicing when I heard a voice beside me.

"Your moves look sharp even though you're thinking so deep. The basics are polished to the peak. Even if you haven't been able to activate internal energy, you could still face those who have it." The voice said to me which brought me back to reality. I turned around and stared at the person who just spoke.

"Elder Hagu." I greeted him. And he smiled at me.

"How are you, child? Is there something on your mind? To be able to keep your calm and practice like you don't know what's going to happen." Elder Hagu said to me.

"Elder Hagu, can we really not win against the invasion of the Noxian army?" I asked him.

"No, child. We can but we would have to pay a great price to win. Lives of everyone in the monastery are in danger. Can you understand me?" He said and I nodded to him. Many disciples were also curious about what the elder and I was talking about but our voices are small enough only to be heard by the two of us.

"Follow me, child. This is not a place to talk about serious topics." He said and led the way. I then followed him to the back of the monastery where the only thing that was there was a small little pond under a gazebo and the cliff.

He circled the little pond and sat down near the edge of the cliff.

He motioned for me to sit down in the opposite side, and so, I did.

"Child, tell me. What do you think of the Hirana Monastery?" He asked me a question. I have just arrived at this place so I didn't know how to feel about this place yet. I just wanted to stay here to complete my sub-missions. I used the memories I gained and told him about the experience from the memory I received.

"Its a wonderful place. Its the holy land for people who seeks to better themselves, to challenge their limits and break that said limit. It contains the knowledge of those who walked the land way before us. The traditions and knowledge of the people who paved the way for us, the younger generation. It would be a shame if we were to lose those because people wanted to take those knowledge for themselves and stir troubles in the land of Runeterra, not just Ionia." I said my honest opinion from what I know from the pieces of lore I've known.

"Indeed. This place, besides the Placidium, holds the ancient texts that spoke about the way of living of ancient Ionians. But is the traditions that have been passed down really that important? You said it yourself, times are changing, so people must too." Elder Hagu said and it hit the nail.

"No..." I said and was about to continue but Elder Hagu cut me off.

"Then why did you refuse to lead the younger generation away from the war?" Elder Hagu said and I really don't have anything to say to him.

"Child, there's no shame in running away. It just means that you live for another day." Elder Hagu said.

"But I don't want to live in regret." I said my honest feelings.

"Then train, get stronger, and come back to redeem yourself." Elder Hagu said with a wide smile.

"Others might've been disappointed in you, child, but I haven't lost faith in anyone in this monastery, and that... includes you. You have been here way earlier than most of the disciples but they are slowly leaving you behind. You must be frustrated at yourself. Stand up child, I'll help you train." Elder Hagu said as he stood up and gave me his staff.

"The range between me and you is the perfect spot for the staff or any spears we have. Attack me." He said and I stared at the staff and him for a few moments.

I am not sure on what he's about but I decided to do what he asked me. I entered my stance and attacked with stab.

'I could limit his movements with a stab and follow it up with a slice or a slash depending on how he dodge.' I thought to myself as the slash neared the Elder.

Elder Hagu lightly leaned his body to the right so I followed up with a slice which made the Elder lean his head backwards, avoiding the spear. I had to retract the spear back since the power behind the swing was gone. I attacked him as much as I could and even attacked in tricky angles but Elder Hagu just evaded it like it was nothing.

"Child, you're thinking too much. Know when to plan an attack and know when to let your body do the work." Elder Hagu said while evading a slash from the staff.

I continued attacking him and Elder Hagu started guiding me. I would keep on attacking him, attack, attack, attack, until finally, I was exhausted. It was frustrating to see my spearmanship that I polished for so many years being evaded like it was easy.

"How are you *huff* evading all of it? I thought *huff* my setups were perfect and I thought I would get a hit at least once." I said in frustration and regained my breath. Elder Hagu didn't even use the internal energy he was talking about earlier.

"Child, your basics have been polished but there are a lot of unnecessary movements that convey your intent and allows me to know what you're going to do next." Elder Hagu said and I didn't get it. Seeing my confusion, Elder Hagu smiled and before he started the lecture, he praised me.

"Your attacks are splendid. I could see that instead of a staff, you are more proficient with a spear. Looks like Elder Deluci was right, you are indeed a talent. I haven't seen your spearmanship in the records of the Great Hall. Was it self created?" Elder Deluci asked me and I nodded at him.

"I practiced different spearmanship, some flashy, some are practical, but I was enlightened and learned that any kind of spearmanship will always return to the basics so I polished them to the best as I can and would attack in different angles to disturb my opponents rhythm and create an opening." I said to him about the essence of my spearmanship. Elder Hagu's eyes lit up when he heard about the essence of the spearmanship that I created.

"Simply brilliant. To realize the truth at such a young age, I'm impressed. Now, child, listen carefully. Great Masters would know how an opponent would attack because of their experience and senses. Those Great Masters could feel, hear, and sense the twitching of your muscles and with that information, they could limit the attacks that you are going for. If you are going for a stab, a horizontal swing, or an overhead swing." Elder Hagu said and it honestly amazed me. This guy dodged my attacks because he could feel the twitching of my muscles? How cool is that?

"Then how do I improve it? Do I have to diversify my attacks and add more than the basics?" I asked him a serious question. I was hungry, thinking of improving myself makes me hungry. Elder Hagu chuckled after seeing the look in my face for he knew it all too well.

"Why? I thought that the essence of your spearmanship circles all around the basics, if you added more then wouldn't it destroy the essence of it? Think, Child." Elder Hagu said and I thought hard on what to do to improve myself.

I sat down and constantly pondered about how can I improve my spearmanship. An hour and a half has passed by but Elder Hagu didn't leave me, he just turned his body to the cliff and enjoyed the scenery in front of his eyes. He was waiting, he could feel the child in his back is entering an enlightenment and he didn't want to break his opportunity.

I was thinking about it then thought about making it simple but unpredictable then it all clicked in my mind.

'If they could hear, feel, and sense the twitch of my muscles, then I simply needed to remove the twitching of my muscles before I attack. Its a crazy idea but I think it is doable.' I thought to myself as the light returned in my eyes and looked at the back of Elder Hagu.

Sensing that I have returned to my senses, Elder Hagu turned around with a smile on his face.

"Looks like you have found the answer." He said and I happily nodded at his words.

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You don't have to be that knowledgeable about League of Legends because I'm going to provide the information through the characters interactions. If you don't see me posting the character in the comment section, it means that its an OC.

Also I've provided the map of runeterra in the comment section as well as the key figure Irelia.