Without waiting for the students to ask, Viktor took the initiative to introduce himself.
After all, this wasn't the first time this had happened.
He knew he had little reputation; outside the laboratory, no one would recognize him.
Even though he, Viktor, was actually the great Professor Jayce's most capable partner and the co-inventor of the Hextech Core.
In fact, as Jayce's fame had grown over the past few years and he became increasingly engrossed in high-society social events, it was Viktor, the man behind the scenes, who had contributed far more to the subsequent applied research phases of Hextech.
Yet, he remained a nobody.
Firstly, Viktor was naturally introverted; he disliked socializing and had no desire for the limelight.
Secondly, it was because...
He was a Zaunite.
Yes, even though he had immigrated to Piltover over a decade ago and had even been hired as a professor at the University of Piltover, in the eyes of others, he was still a Zaunite.
Whenever Piltover's propaganda machine heavily promoted the greatness and miracles of Hextech, they would always, intentionally or not, remove Viktor's name from beside Jayce's—
Piltover's hero shouldn't come from Zaun.
Gradually, Viktor had grown accustomed to living behind Jayce's halo, keeping a low profile while conducting his scientific research.
It was fine on ordinary days, as he never wanted to be famous anyway.
It was only in public settings like this, where he needed to make an appearance, that things became slightly awkward—no one knew who he was.
Thus, Viktor took the initiative to introduce himself:
"I am Jayce's friend."
"You may call me Professor Viktor."
"Professor?" The students' expressions varied.
Viktor could tell at a glance the students hadn't expected him to be a professor—he had been mistaken for Jayce's lackey teaching assistant once again.
"Hahaha." Jayce, however, didn't sense the subtle awkwardness in the air at all.
The golden boy flashed a radiant smile and playfully patted his friend's shoulder, "Viktor, I told you that you need to get out more."
"Look, even the students at our own academy don't recognize you."
"Mhm," Viktor shrugged nonchalantly.
Jayce then turned his head, introducing him to the entire student body, "Professor Viktor is my most important friend and a premier expert in the fields of Hextech and mechanical engineering. It is no exaggeration to say that without his help, I would never have been able to break through the research on the Hextech Core."
"In fact, in the Hextech Mechanical Engineering research group you are about to join—if any of you are lucky enough to be selected—I am the group leader, and Viktor is the deputy leader."
With Professor Jayce speaking up for him, the students finally realized Viktor's extraordinary status.
"So he's Professor Jayce's deputy!"
Upgraded from a lackey to a deputy, the respect Viktor received instantly multiplied.
However, he still maintained a listless demeanor, indifferent to it all.
Just then, Jayce slowly walked up to the podium and wrote a title on the blackboard:
"Power Flow Optimization Strategies for Augmented Steam Golems. This is the topic I will be testing you on today."
Jayce tapped the blackboard and addressed the eagerly waiting students below, "Treat this as a course design thesis. Using this topic, comprehensively state all the optimization strategies, design principles, and experimental steps you can think of. Finally, submit a thesis outline right here on the spot."
"Professor Viktor and I will review your thesis designs on the spot and grade your assessments."
"The single person with the most perfect design and the most outstanding performance will be allowed to join our research group, becoming a student of myself, Professor Viktor, and perhaps even Principal Heimerdinger."
The grand promise Jayce painted was highly enticing.
Yet, the students present were no longer as excited as before.
Because the assessment topic he provided was unimaginably difficult.
The scope of the topic was simply too broad, and they had to finish a thesis outline on the spot. This demanded an excessively high level of scientific literacy, far exceeding the capabilities of ordinary university students.
Even though the students who made it here for the assessment were the brightest talents of the Academy of Hextech, many of them turned pale the moment they heard the topic, ready to back out before even starting.
The few remaining who still had the confidence to take on the challenge cautiously asked Jayce, "Professor Jayce, is there a time limit for this assessment?"
"What is the maximum amount of time you can give us?"
Jayce replied, "There is no time limit. Take as long as you need. Just hand it in for us to review when you're done."
"But you must understand that the decision for that single spot relies on Viktor's and my subjective judgment."
"The speed at which you complete your thesis outline will directly impact our evaluation of you."
"Huh?" The students were universally startled.
So this assessment was actually a race?
The topic was already difficult enough. Having to write it well and write it fast meant that very few people in the room still had the confidence to pass.
However, Kaya Ferros, the eldest daughter of House Ferros, happened to be one of them.
"I understand. As long as I'm the first to finish the outline, I'll get 'bonus points,' right?!"
Kaya was brimming with confidence. She unhurriedly took out a gold-carved fountain pen engraved with the Ferros family crest. Before putting pen to paper, she shot a provocative glance at Lina not far away.
Lina, however, was in no mood to pay attention to her old rival.
She had already picked up her bent-nib fountain pen, beginning to write with nervous, intense focus.
'First place. I have to get first place!'
It wasn't about competing with some noble heiress.
It was simply about winning her own life.
Her thoughts drifted to Levi. Although her brother had told her not to worry and that he had a way to pay the rent, speaking so casually as if he already had a plan.
But Lina knew very well that things weren't that easy for her brother. Things were never easy for him.
Therefore, Kaya could afford to lose, but she could not.
If Kaya lost, she would merely miss out on an icing-on-the-cake honor.
But if she lost, she and her brother would have to continue struggling in fear every day beneath the boots of the Piltovans, bleeding and sweating for a few pitiful scraps of black bread.
And so, one minute passed, then ten minutes, then half an hour. As the one-hour mark approached...
While most of the students had already given up or were still agonizing over the task with aching heads...
"I'm finished!"
Lina was the first to stand up.
"I'm finished!"
Just a few seconds later, Kaya Ferros also stood up.
Their gazes collided in mid-air, both seeing sparks in the other's eyes.
"Finally, someone finished."
"One hour, not too bad."
Jayce yawned and chuckled at Viktor beside him, "Viktor, I heard that when you passed Principal Heimerdinger's admission assessment, it only took you half an hour. It seems no one will be breaking your record this year either."
"The thesis topics are different, so there's no comparison," Viktor replied in a flat tone. "Besides, speed doesn't necessarily equate to quality. We still have to evaluate them comprehensively."
"True," Jayce agreed, smiling down at Lina and Kaya. He offered words of encouragement to the two genius girls, "Bring your thesis outlines up here."
"Viktor and I will provide an objective and fair evaluation."
"Yes, sir," Lina and Kaya nodded in unison.
Holding their respective notebooks and draft papers, they approached Jayce and Viktor.
"Professor Jayce."
"Please take a look at mine!"
Kaya preemptively handed her thesis outline to Jayce.
Jayce took it smoothly and read the name, "Kaya Ferros?"
He then looked up at Kaya's highly distinctive silver-gray hair.
"You're from House Ferros?"
"How are you related to Lady Camille?"
"She is my great-aunt," Kaya smiled confidently.
House Ferros controlled the synthesis technology for artificial Hextech gems, and the Hextech Core that Jayce was researching had been developed from those very artificial Hextech gems.
Now that the Hextech industry was booming, there were naturally many mutual interests and dealings between the two parties.
Sure enough, upon hearing Kaya state her lineage, Jayce's attitude grew noticeably warmer.
He held up the thesis and began to review it earnestly, his expression as gentle as if he were one of Kaya's elder relatives.
"This..." Anxiety surged through Lina.
She had only focused on competing with her skills, forgetting that her opponent's power extended far beyond the pen.
"Don't be nervous."
At some point, Viktor had walked over to her side.
He lowered his voice to comfort her, "Jayce is a righteous man. You don't need to overthink things."
"Okay," Lina nodded pitifully.
"Let me see your thesis outline. As long as you are excellent enough, you have nothing to fear."
"Mhm!" Lina looked at Viktor with a hint of gratitude, flipped her notebook to the page with her thesis outline, and carefully handed it to him.
"What is your name?"
"Lina."
"And your surname?"
"I..." Lina suddenly grew tense. "My ancestors were immigrants from Ionia, so my surname should be Li... However, you can just call me Lina... No one uses my surname, and I didn't register one when I enrolled... You could say I don't have a surname."
Viktor's movement of flipping through the notebook paused.
Only one kind of person would lack a surname: a Zaunite.
Because nearly seventy percent of Zaunites were orphans. Either their parents died early, or they were abandoned because their parents couldn't afford to raise them.
Having both parents alive was a luxury only children from well-off families in Zaun could enjoy.
Thus, imperceptibly, surname culture had vanished in Zaun.
Zaunites could take whatever surname they wanted, regardless of who their parents were.
Or, like Lina, they didn't base their names on surnames at all. As long as the name rolled off the tongue, surnames and the like were simply discarded.
"Mr. Viktor..."
Lina nervously lowered her head, anxiously gripping the hem of her shirt.
To Zaunites, Piltovans were generally divided into three categories: those who discriminated openly, those who discriminated in their hearts but kept their mouths shut, and those who discriminated in their hearts without even realizing it.
She was deeply worried that her identity as a Zaunite would affect Professor Viktor's evaluation of her.
"You don't need to be afraid," Viktor sighed softly.
He gently patted Lina's shoulder and spoke in a soft voice, "My name is Viktor."
"Huh?" Lina's head snapped up.
"Just Viktor—"
"No surname."