"A battle armor with Clockwork Technology and Hextech fused together, plus a magic system, is at least thirty years ahead of the current era. You actually only gave me a B++?! Go to hell, Tony Stark!"
As Duke roared at the waves, venting his emotions, he also slumped powerlessly onto the reef. His Clockwork battle armor, which he had been preparing for nearly two months, failed the evaluation. This was an unexpected outcome.
The Clockwork battle armor was his most perfect masterpiece at this stage. Not only did it utilize Piltover's Clockwork Technology as its framework and add rune sets for enhancement, but it also adopted Hextech Gems, which had not yet been fully introduced, as its energy supply. It was a culmination of two major technologies.
It also had external weapon access ports, which could further enhance the body's combat power and functionality.
"Why didn't it work?"
Duke calmed down and looked at the comments on the panel, noticing the flaws mentioned in Iron Man's critique. Looking at these few sentences, Duke's eyes paused slightly: "Is it because I overly imitated Mark I?"
"And 'lacking creativity'—does that mean that by overly imitating, the work itself lost the author's own spirit?"
Duke looked at Vali, constantly pondering countermeasures in his mind. He had to complete this quest.
"If this kind of design isn't good enough, what kind of work does he want to see?"
"Father, there's a life form approaching from the nine o'clock direction!"
Vali suddenly spoke, interrupting Duke's thoughts. Looking in the direction Vali indicated, there were indeed shadowy figures approaching.
"Let's go, we're going back!"
Having come with high hopes and leaving disappointed, Duke put on his battle armor again and quickly flew into the sky, departing.
And the figure approaching that location was none other than Jayce, whom Duke hadn't seen since his trip to Bandle City.
"Strange, I clearly saw Duke's figure just now. Why is he gone?"
Jayce held his notebook, standing where Duke had once stood, and contemplated the seawater.
"I alone cannot complete the development of the Hextech system. Professor Heimerdinger was right; for me, who lacks magic talent, magic is still too dangerous!"
Looking at the notes in his hand, Jayce's face showed strong unwillingness.
"But to just give up like this, I'm even more unwilling!!"
"I must find another way. Hextech is so excellent; it absolutely cannot be buried!" Jayce lowered his head, silent, then recalled the figure in his mind, and his eyes became firm: "I need a partner, a partner to help me through this difficulty!"
....
The next day.
Evolution Day, Exhibition Area.
"Happy Evolution Day!!"
In the bustling exhibition area, excited shouts occasionally rang out, and men and women in luxurious clothes strolled through the Evolution Day Exhibition Area.
The exhibition tents of various families and workshops were set up in the Evolution Day Park, which was specially opened for Evolution Day.
Brightly colored flags hung between the buildings, and the narrow streets were filled with festive joy and auspiciousness.
The streets were bustling, with people coming and going in decent, understated festive attire.
Messengers pushed aside the street criers, innkeepers, and hawkers, weaving through the crowd, and those pushed aside invariably yelled loudly and shook their fists in protest.
Zaun's gutter orphans secretly came up to the surface, hiding on the outskirts of the street, waiting for an opportunity to search for pickpocketing targets among the passersby.
Passing through the gilded signboard inlaid with Piltover Evolution Day, everyone from Piltover came here; in addition to the locals, high-ranking officials from various countries also came to visit and witness Piltover's most special and most brilliant day.
"Why not?"
Inside the tent with the Colin Workshop signboard, Duke was slumped over a table, playing with a golden sea in his hand. Orianna and Colin were not here. Orianna had taken Jinx sightseeing, while Colin had gone to other exhibition booths to socialize and network.
He was left alone, watching his own booth. From time to time, people came to congratulate, view exhibits, and interact with Duke to build connections.
However, noticing his gloomy expression, many people tactfully withdrew, no longer disturbing the young man.
"Duke!"
Councilor Mel, dressed in an elegant and dignified long gown, arrived at the Colin Workshop's tent, followed by a golden-haired young girl and two young men.
"Hi, Mel!"
Duke, with a gloomy expression, was completely absorbed in his designs and how to pass the Iron Man character mission.
He was determined to get that twenty percent integration and the Edith intelligent glasses!
"Why do you look so unhappy!" After making a casual gesture to the three young people beside her, Mel came to Duke's table. The golden-haired young girl and the two black-haired youths began to tour the tent.
"I have some technical problems that I haven't figured out yet!"
Duke ruffled his hair. Mel smiled at his action: "You should go out for a walk, see more other works. Staying cooped up is not right!"
"Craftsmen and scientists need a clash of inspiration!"
"Who are they?"
Noticing the two young men circling the clockwork copper hotpot, Duke straightened his back. Mel said with a smile: "Three young people from Demacia. Interested in meeting them?"
"I remember you were from Noxus, so how did you get involved with people from Demacia?"
Duke's eyes held a teasing look. Mel chuckled indifferently: "That's right, I was born in Noxus, but now I'm a Piltover native. This is my second home, so of course, I have to work for its development!"
"Besides, those who understand you are not only your friends but also your enemies!"
Mel winked at Duke, "I happen to meet that requirement!"
"How dirty!"
Duke sneered, then stood up from his seat and walked towards the three young people: "Want to know more about this?"
"Sir, what is this pot for? Why is its shape so strange?"
"This is a Clockwork Copper Hotpot. You just need to add Water, twist the switch, and the built-in device will continuously generate heat to cook things. I also have a recipe included. If you buy it now, for every ten you buy, you get a free maintenance device set!"
"How about a hundred or eighty?"
Noticing Duke's clumsy sales pitch, Mel covered her forehead helplessly. At this moment, a young man carrying a strangely shaped tube appeared at the tent entrance and timidly asked, "Hello, do you need any novel Alchemy products here?"
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