The first match in Group C was the game to watch! It was a clash between two titans, a game that guaranteed edge-of-your-seat-almost-shit-your-pants moments! Team Season versus Team Meteor! A battle between North America and Europe. Two of the teams most likely to make it through to the next round. The winner of this game could very well cement their position as number one in the group! The crowd in the Wembley Arena was cheering. The casters were hyping up the game! And Su Xue tried to do the same with her viewers. “This is a super hype game, bois! A Midlaner who’s a King up against an Emperor Support! I really wonder how this game will go!”

Su Xue’s pathetic attempts at building hype fell flat. The viewers on the stream just ignored her. Besides, they weren’t here in this particular stream to listen to her. They were here for Lin Feng. His insights, his breakdown of the game. They knew he saw more in the game than they did. So they waited until he decided to chime in.  Lin Feng shook his head, disagreeing with Su Xue’s assessment. “I don’t think we should see this game as one between a King and an Emperor. The roles that each of them are playing, they’re too different to compare directly. I think. But… uh, let’s see what happens in champion select first, yeah? We can learn a lot from that. Then we’ll talk about who’ll win this game!”

Kings and Emperors weren’t only given the title for sheer mechanical skills. There were many other variables taken into consideration, such as showmanship both domestic and international games and their ability to build plays that substantially impact the team’s performance. Spoon from Team Meteor was Midlaner and a flashy-sort of King. People watched games with Team Meteor just to see him and his outstanding game mechanics! Autumn, on the other hand, was a completely different type of player. It really made no sense comparing the two. Autumn was much more of a team player. He wasn’t really flashy, nor did he ever do anything that focused the spotlight on him. What made him great was his ability to ward the map to maximize vision just where it was needed, the calculations he did to create opportunities for his team, and the plays that he called for his team. His presence alone made his team far better than they could be without him, all while he stood in the background. This skillset is what earned him the nickname of God Support and the title of Emperor.

For this first game of the day, Su Xue and the casters all focused on the idea of a titanic clash between a King and an Emperor, the rest of the players on both teams were afterthoughts. People there to round out the numbers. But Lin Feng thought this was ridiculous. This game was Season versus Meteor. Two strong teams, both talented in their own way. It was a fight for dominance between raw individual skill and perfect teamplay. Of course, this wasn’t to say one had no teamplay and the other no individual skill. They were both among the best teams in the world, skilled in all aspects of the game. It was simply a matter of what they excelled most at.

✹

The two teams entered into Champion Select. It was Season on the Blue team and Meteor on the Red team. Season banned Mordekaiser, a strong Champion in the current meta. There were other meta champions that were generally banned out in every game, like Gangplank, Azir, Darius, and Lulu. These Champions were too strong right now. However, instead of taking one of those Champions off the board, Meteor banned Thresh. Thresh wasn’t especially strong in this patch, but he was a frightening Champion in the hands of Autumn! Meteor showed their respect. They weren’t going to try and compete against the world’s best Support on his best Champion.

The Champion Select ended without any surprises or shocking twists. The teams loaded into the game while the fans and analysts were discussing the picks. More specifically, they were honing in on the King versus Emperor perspective. They couldn’t let this go. Spoon had picked Yasuo in the mid lane, while Autumn went with a support Morgana. One of Yasuo’s skills was a Windwall that could block Morgana’s skillshots. So the analysts argued that Meteor had come out with the advantage in the draft.

“Meteor is farming minions. Season is farming minions. Man, why are these European and American teams always so boring in the early game? All they do is farm and farm and farm even more. I wanna see them fight!” Su Xue complained. To which her viewers were quick to point out that this was just how Europe and North America played the game. They prefered to scale up into the late game and then win it through one big teamfight.

The Jarvan IV from Meteor did try to force a fight at bot lane. Several times, in fact. But the first two times failed miserably. Autumn had warded correctly and spotted the Jarvan IV before he was even close to lane. They backed away to their tower and didn’t even try to fight. That changed during the third gank. Autumn had his Morgana retreat a little, but not completely back to his own tower. There was just enough room to bait the Jarvan IV into jumping at him.

The Jarvan IV flashed forward and then used his flag-toss combo to dash at the Morgana and knock her up. Autumn was ready. He activated Dark Shield on his Morgana, blocking all crowd control effects. She wasn’t knocked up. The Jarvan IV found himself out of position, far ahead of his teammates. The Morgana binded him with her dark magic–Dark Binding! Then she used her ultimate skill–Soul Shackles! Wings unfolded from her back. She unleashed the full force of her Celestial power! Chains of suffering made corporeal latched onto the Jarvan IV, slowing him and dealing damage before stunning him. All the while the Tristana blasted the Jarvan IV with her cannonballs and Explosive Charge. They ended the Jarvan IV’s pitiful existence before the stun ended.

“Wow! Nice! Awesome play!” Lin Feng exclaimed, giving a thumbs up at the camera. The people watching Su Xue’s stream were quick to agree. They flooded the chat.

「HOLY SMOKES!!!! if only my support was that good. ez game then」

「teach me senpai!」

「what a support play! just goes to show you dont have to play a carry to carry」

「Did you guys see that reaction speed? Like fk dude. That was fuckign mental!」

“It really was a brilliant bait. Autumn knew there wasn’t enough space for a flag toss combo. He didn’t just get the Jarvan to jump at him, but also waste his Flash while doing so!” Lin Feng explained to the chat and Su Xue. “He also knew he didn’t have to worry about Jarvan’s ultimate. That was still on cooldown after the little skirmish Jarvan had with Elise in the jungle a little earlier. There were still at least 30 seconds left on that cooldown. Autumn knew all of this and made the perfect play for it. That really was great to see!”

「that’s some great insights lil bro!」

「see, maid? That’s how you cast a game! You should take a lesson from his book!!」

「You know so much lil bro! That’s really cool! Thanks!」

「this just goes to show: LIL BRO >>>>>>>>>>> the maid. GO BACK TO THE KITCHEN WHERE YOU BELONG!!!!!1!」

✹

While Autumn was making plays in bot lane, Spoon tried to do the same in mid. To no effect. Season’s Midlaner had picked Lulu, a defensive Champion who was hard to pressure in lane. Then there was the Elise, the Jungler from Team Season, who was also focused on shutting mid lane down and constantly hovering around it. Whenever the Lulu needed any help, she’d be right there to provide it. There was nothing Spoon could do, except farm the minions and stay even in CS with the Lulu.

“Heh. That Spoon isn’t all that great… Is he really a King?” Su Xue asked Chat. She chuckled and added, “Roundy is way better than him! Right, guys? Roundy should take his spot and become the new King!”

Su Xue’s viewers agreed. All of them. Without exception. Because they only remembered the last game. Their judgement was based solely on Roundy’s Hecarim and Riven game and Spoon’s Yasuo game. And then not even on the actual quality of their play, but rather how it looked on the screen. Lin Feng understood this and he knew how wrong they were. He thought for a second about arguing with the viewers over it, but then decided it wasn’t worth the effort.

Spoon wasn’t making flashy plays nor was he getting solo kills on the Lulu. But no one could reasonably expect him to. That just wasn’t how the game worked. Lulu was a strong pick in mid lane because of how defensive she was. It was really hard to get a solo kill on her, almost impossible. To this end, it was rather impressive how Spoon forced the Jungle Elise into mid lane to protect the Lulu. This was a testament to his skill. Something the viewers completely missed. And when the Elise and Lulu would make a mistake, and they would—people always did—he’d be there to make the outplay and pick up the kill. That was the skill of a King.

Lin Feng looked at the minimap, at the icon of the Morgana. It’s just… Autumn is just better. A lot better. Spoon is great, but it’s not enough. He really needs to do something special here, otherwise Autumn will walk away with the game on his Morgana. Autumn is playing super good!

At 14 minutes, the second Dragon spawned. Season had gotten the first. The game was slowly slipping out of Meteor’s hands. They really needed this Dragon if they wanted to stay in it. So they warded aggressively around the Dragon pit and tried to force Season away. It looked like a success. A few skillshots hit and Season retreated into their own jungle, around the edge of a wall. A wall they then used perfectly.

The players from Meteor had to walk around it to chase Season. The Morgana ran at the front of Season’s team, and the Jinx from Meteor at the back of their team. A wall separated them, but they could almost touch hands if it wasn’t there. The Morgana called upon her dark magic. No wall could stop it. She threw it at the Jinx and bound her–Dark Binding! Then she flashed over the wall and cast her ultimate–Soul Shackles! Wings unfolded from her back. She unleashed the full force of her Celestial power! Chains of dark pain lashed onto the Yasuo, Jarvan IV and Jinx, slowing them and dealing damage before stunning them.

The other four players from Season turned around as if they’d been waiting for this exact moment. They were ready and pounced on the three Champions that were pinned down. Yasuo and Jinx were blown up fairly quickly, since they were squishy, and the Jarvan IV barely managed to survive longer than those two. The remaining two Champions from Meteor knew what was coming and were already in the process of retreating. But Season didn’t chase after them. The second Dragon was way more valuable than an Ace.

“Nice catch!” Lin Feng exclaimed. “That was a great play! They got baited so hard! Haha!”

That teamfight turned out to be the one that decided the game. Season grabbed such a large advantage from it that there was nothing Meteor could do to turn things around. Not that Team Meteor gave up. No one ever gave up during Worlds. But they never really had a chance to claw their way back. Team Season methodically played it out, taking down every Red tower on the map. Finally, at 32 minutes, Team Season destroyed Meteor’s Nexus and ended the game.

“Autumn was amazing! He was really amazing! Wow! That was crazy! Did you guys see it? Can we see a replay? I want to see the replay!” Lin Feng couldn’t get enough of Autumn. From start to finish, he played a perfect game on his Morgana. He showed the world why he was the second Emperor and proved himself worthy of the title. He played like a machine, and didn’t make a single mistake.

Lin Feng stared at the screen, but had stopped watching what it showed. Watching this Autumn play made him recall his old Support. These two were polar opposites. One played meticulously. Like a machine. The other played full of style and passion. They were completely different approaches to the game. And both worked, when coupled with the right ad-carry. He grinned. The perfect bot lane. A duo that complemented each other’s plays perfectly into a tango. That was something special. Season showcased it this game, and he’d seen the Support and ad-carry in his old team do the same. His old teammates, they were great. Every single one of them. He smiled wistfully and rubbed his eyes. I miss those guys.

「you watching next round with us lil bro?」

「YAAASSSS QUEEN! ^^^^^^ WHAT HE SAYS!!! PLSSSSSSS,」

「That would be so cool! Please do it!」

「are you really good at shoutcasting too?」

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and grinned. You guys! He looked in the camera and said, “Of course I’ll be here for the next round! We’ll watch Worlds together and I’ll be your shoutcaster!”

「sswweeettttttt!!!! i can finally watch this stream with the sound on!!」

「finally a good caster! beats those three buffalos on the official broadcast」「Buffalos? Alright there, Chief Wigwam.」

「wowowwww Prophet Stone is awesome! But lil bro is definitely better! LEZ GO LIL BROO!!!!」

「I just wanna listen to lil bro!!! hes the best!!!!!!!!!」

“Yeah! You guys get it! We vibin’!” Lin Feng laughed. He gave a thumbs up to the camera and said, “I’m really good at shoutcasting too!”

“U-uh? What the fuck?” Su Xue muttered. She looked at the camera and then at Lin Feng. She saw his bright smile. He was talking to her viewers again. They were cozying up to him. Not her. Him. All he had to do was say a few words and they were all over him. They had completely forgotten about her! “Oh. I see how it is. If he’s shoutcasting and watching Worlds with you guys, what am I supposed to do?” she asked chat. That, of course, was the wrong question.

「just keep our cups topped off like the good maid you are!」

「we already suffered enough listening to your screeching excuse of a voice.」

「 please stop damaging our ears….」

「 ill have my lawyer come after your ass otherwise!!!!」

「FIRE HER! FIRE THE STUPID MAID! BAD MAID! BAD MAID!!!」

「his cup is still empty??? You guys seein htis? ITS EMPTY!」

✹

Su Xue decided that while Lin Feng was here, they should hold another fan in-house. Lin Feng agreed, which set off a buzz in the chat. Excited messages flooded in. They were more than a little excited at the chance to play a game with their favourite streamer! Lin Feng! Su Xue had timed this fan in-house perfectly. Her average viewer count had jumped up to 2,000. They were what was left of the people that found the stream when Lin Feng played with Nightsong and Hermes. However, though they stuck around, they couldn’t be considered loyal fans yet. There was still a way to go for that, and one way to do that was with this in-house! This was a great opportunity to make sure these people would keep coming back to her stream!

The custom game was created. Eight lucky viewers were selected through a lottery. Su Xue was the Blue team captain and decided to play Jinx. An ad-carry she’d come to really enjoy as of late. Lin Feng was the Red team captain. He also played in bot lane, but unlike Su Xue he was playing Support. His Champion of choice was Blitzcrank. A fast moving machine with an extendable arm!

At 4 minutes, Lin Feng looked up from his screen and at Su Xue. There was undisguised surprise on his face. “Wow, you’ve gotten better!” he exclaimed, shocked. He meant it as a genuine compliment, but to Su Xue and the viewers, it sounded like anything but. The chat flooded with messages making fun of Su Xue, while the person in question had her head burn red.

“Uh, no no!” Lin Feng said, waving his hands in front of his chest. “Not like that. I’m serious! She has gotten a lot better! Just look at how she’s positioning! And there, see? She hasn’t missed any CS yet! That’s so much better than it was. She’s really gotten a lot better!”

Su Xue had improved a lot. She still wasn’t at the level of a Diamond player, but she was better than the average player that just hit Platinum. Since the first day Lin Feng started coaching her, she’d worked overtime to try and soak up as much information as possible from him and apply it in the game. All that hard work was definitely paying off. Her reddened face warped from anger to joy, real quick. She laughed and said, “Of course! Who do you think I am? All I had to do was put my heart into it! Then nothing can stop me! Watch! Ima get to Diamond real lickedy-split-quick. But first. Tee-hee! I’m going to crush you guys!”

“Oh, I see…” Lin Feng nodded. His hands were back on his mouse and keyboard. He focused on the screen again. “Guess I should get a little serious too, then.” Graves, Malcolm Graves, was his ad-carry. A renowned mercenary with a big double-barreled shotgun! The Graves was last hitting minions and was just about to kill the one right in front of Su Xue’s Jinx. Lin Feng pushed down on his Q key as the last auto from Graves flew in the air. It was timed to perfection. The Rocket Grab passed over the minion in the millisecond after it died and grabbed the Jinx, then pulled her back!

Lin Feng hit the Jinx with a quick auto attack, then had his Blitzcrank charge up his fist and smash the Jinx airborne–Power Fist! He landed another auto attack while she was in mid air and also ignited her. The Jinx started burning, with every tick of the Ignite dealing true damage.

The Graves dashed forward, giving himself bonus attack speed–Quickdraw! The Jinx stood right in front of him. Point blank range. He raised his double-barreled shotgun and squeezed the trigger. Three large bullets shot out in a cone, all three smashing into the Jinx–Buckshot!

The Jinx was almost dead. One more auto attack would do it. The Graves was clicking on the Jinx, ready to kill her. But he was never given the opportunity. Lin Feng had his Blitzcrank go into Overdrive and raced in circles around the Jinx while the Graves peppered her with Buckshot, and then auto attacked her at the last possible second to take the kill.

《You have slain an enemy!》

《You have been slain!》

Lin Feng and Su Xue sat next to each other in Su Xue’s bedroom. The game sounds overlapped. One announcing victory and the other defeat. Lin Feng found himself with some extra gold, enough to buy himself something nice in the fountain shop, while Su Xue’s screen went grey. She stared at it, dumbstruck.

「hahhahaha lil bro >> maid knew it. always rated lil bro!」

「666666666666666!!!」

「serves her write for getting all cocky saying she gonna beat the lane」

「U TRIED BE A SIETSE THUNDERCOCK BT U TOO FLACCCCCCIIDDD!」

「that blitz was so sick lil bro. Like. so sick!」

Lin Feng leaned over a little towards Su Xue so he could read the chat. He grinned as he went through them and said, “I know, right? My Blitz is really good!”

Su Xue couldn’t take it anymore. First he told her she wasn’t good enough to learn Riven, after she’d made him dinner, and now he did this! It was too much! Too damn much! “LIN FENG! YOU BRAT!” she screamed, her nose twitching. “Would it kill you to go easy on me? Just once! Don’t try and run! This time I’ll get you! I’m going to teach you a lesson today or my name is not Su Xue!”

Lin Feng knew what this meant. He was a trained escape artist. A true master of all trades. He jumped up from his chair, putting it between himself and Su Xue. Then he ran to the far side of her bed. She ran after him, so he jumped up on her bed and held her off. She tried to run around the bed, to whatever side he was closed. But he’d just run to the other side. She jumped on the bed, and he jumped off, running back towards the computer and putting the two chairs between him and Su Xue. Su Xue almost fell down from the bed in her hurry to chase after him. A brief moment of lost balance. The short moment Lin Feng needed to escape her clutches and jump back on her bed.

“AARRGGHHHH! LIN FEENNGGGG!”

The perfectly calm fan in-house devolved into a game of cat and mouse. Jerry ran around the room while Tom tried to enact judgement! But Jerry was a slippery little bastard! And Tom never got to give his good slapping. The people watching Su Xue’s stream turned away from the game and only looked at the webcam feed, as did the eight actually playing the game. None of them cared for a game of League right now. This webcam feed was better entertainment than prime tv! Some viewers even started giving live commentary.

「xue xue has missed again! how many more times can she not catch lil bro! find out next time on DBZ!!!!」

「lil bro evading the maid with some sick positioning!」

「we can all learn from this! watch closely and apply it to your league games!」

「Oh! He’s going to jump through her legs again! They’re too long! It’s too hard to close them in time!」

「dang she almost had him…… COME ON SU XUE!!! I BELIEVE IN YOU!!! If anyone can do it, it’s you!」

✹

The second day of Week 2 at Worlds wasn’t anywhere near as spectacular as day one. There were no big upsets of any kind, nor were there any particularly great plays to watch. The teams who made it out of Group A and B were decided. In Group B, Hand of God did what their fans expected. They qualified for the next round with 4 wins and 2 losses. Both of these losses came against Fate. HoG couldn’t put up any resistance against this Korean powerhouse. A hard to accept reality for their fans. As for KG, they also did what was expected of them. They beat the wildcard team. It all came down to whether Legend would find a win over Flash. And they did. There was no suspension. They crushed Flash, which meant that Legend and KG made it through to the next round.

The final games in Group C and D were held at the end of the week. There was first a two day break at Worlds. The next part of the Shanghai 16 Schoul Tournament was also held over the weekend. This gave High School 13’s esports team a couple of days to work hard on their game. Every day after school, they raced down the stairs and across the road to the NetCow Cafe, where they would rent a private booth. Lin Feng did the coaching and the other seven did as he instructed.

The three consecutive wins in the first round of the qualifier had changed their minds. Where before they were full of doubt, now they were eager to play against the strongest teams in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Because they believed they could. They finally, after a lot of struggling, had enough confidence in themselves that they weren’t afraid to face off against the best teams in the entire tournament. Ouyang had explained why to Lin Feng, the others nodding to his words. “We beat Tonji Affiliated High. Tonji was a semifinalist last year. That means we’re as good as a semifinalist! And we’re still getting better every training! We work hard and are awesome! It can only go better for us! That first place trophy is ours! We just gotta go and take it!”

✹

It was Friday. Worlds was back on. Today it was all on Group C and D to show the world what they had! Lin Feng came home early from training with the esports team at the NetCow Cafe to gobble down some dinner before helping Su Xue with streaming. But Su Xue had something else in mind. She’d decided to hold a mukbang! They would turn on the stream and eat in front of the camera. Maybe the viewers could eat with them from wherever they were! She’d laid out all sorts of delicious dishes and turned her stream on, smiling at the camera. They’ll love this!

「wtf…. friggin maid makes food for herself but not for us??? im out」　

「Can you also send me some food? I’m always here and nice to you, Xue Xue.」

「You should be honoured by my presence and send me some of your homemade food!」

「did you cook the rice in your bathwater??? can i buy some???」

「FINALLY! The maid is taking care of our lil bro…」

「 now if only she could also take care of us.」

「WE HAVE NEEDS TO YOU KNOW!」　

「ddaannnggggg that looks delliicciiiouuussssssss」

「so hungry. my mom is a shit cook. Pls come cook for me, love <3」

“Bathwater? Make for you guys? What? NO! You should’ve eaten before the stream! It’s already past 7! Not my fault you can’t cook.” Su Xue tried to hide a smile behind faked anger, but the joy in her eyes was hard to miss. They were practically shining. She turned to Lin Feng and said, “Come, sit! Let’s eat!”

Lin Feng didn’t need to be told twice. He picked up his bowl and chopsticks and made himself at home. There was nothing better than a good dinner! Not right now, at least. He smacked his lips and said, “Alright! I’m digging in!”

While Su Xue and Lin Feng were enjoying dinner and the viewers were enjoying watching their host devouring his food, Worlds began. The Chinese fans were most excited to see what’d happen in Group D. That was Dust’s group. But the first match was one in Group C. So they turned their attention to that.

Su Xue picked up a morsel of cabbage and said, “Group C seems pretty evenly matched up, huh?”

Everyone agreed that Group C had three strong teams and that any of them could make it out of Groups. Each of these teams had at least a King on their roster. The Assassins from Taiwan’s LMS had Read XIII. He was their Jungler, a master on Lee Sin and Evelyn. The pressure he could put on the lanes and the opposing Jungler was second to none! Then there was Spoon, a strong Midlaner. He played for Meteor from Europe’s LCS. However, the best player in Group C belonged to the third team. He was the second ranked Emperor and played for the North American team Season. Autumn. A God-tier Support.

Lin Feng rubbed his nose as he looked at the lineup for team Season. His eyes were locked on the name of their support. A name that brought back memories from four years ago. He pursed his lips and shook his head. It was a name that he knew intimately. The God-tier Support on his team back in Season 1 had the same summoner tag. Autumn.

Chasing red. Su Xue charged after Lin Feng. She wouldn’t let him off. Not this time. He’d really done it now! She’d worked so hard! She’d done everything he taught her! All those sleepless nights where she was working behind her computer, trying to get good enough to pass his training. He’d started giving her compliments. A few of them. Here and there. And now he did this. They were back where they started. He dared to tell her she wasn’t good enough! He was siding with her viewers again! She grabbed his shirt, but he pulled free and slammed the kitchen door shut behind him.

Su Xue slammed on the door. “Lin Feng! You little shit! Open the door! NOW!” And he did. Just as she asked. But he didn’t give himself to her. Instead, he slipped through the gap between her legs as she was trying to block him and ran into the living room. She was breathing heavily, a sharp pain in her side. Why is he so fast! He was on the couch. Jumping around. Trying to keep her away. Back and forth. And she kept running after him, always a step too late.

She clutched her stomach, wheezing and gasping. Lin Feng was still jumping around, full of energy. He wasn’t even sweating! She leaned on her knees and said, “E-enough! W-w… Dammit! I-im done! So fast. Why? I-i thought esports… not track and field!”

Lin Feng jumped down from the couch and struck his victory pose. He clenched his fist and threw it up in the air, grinning like a fool, and shouted, “That’s because I’m really good at running too!”

Su Xue rolled her eyes. “Of course you are. You’re good at everything. How could I have forgotten?” She breathed in deeply and then let it all out. “Alright, alright. Enough fooling around. The food is getting cold. Let’s go eat.” 

The two returned to the dining room and resumed their dinner. Lin Feng did, at least. Su Xue still had something she wanted. To learn how to play Riven. She looked at Lin Feng, hopeful, and asked, “Hey hey, do you really think I can’t learn Riven?” She was desperate to prove her viewers wrong. But she needed Lin Feng to do so. If he taught her Riven, she could! She just had to change his mind! Or maybe he already had and he was just having some fun with her! Either way, if she convinced him to teach her Riven, she could prove her viewers wrong! Then it’d all be worth it! Plus, when she made the flashy plays God Roundy had shown at Worlds, that would definitely attract new viewers. Learning Riven was a win win!

“I fink ish bttchur if chu keep pracishing yur ad-kary,” Lin Feng replied. There was too much food on the table and not enough time to eat it all before it went cold. So he couldn’t bother to elaborate or even slow down the speed at which he ate to reply to her.

“Hmm. Maybe you’re right.” Su Xue rubbed her chin. He had a point. There was no good reason to change course right now. Her hard work and practice were paying off. The improvements in her skills as an ad-carry were noticeable, and she saw herself climbing up the ranks in Platinum. Even Diamond seemed feasible! Diamond! When she got that rank, she would finally shut all her viewers up! Then she could finally call herself a good player! Just the thought of showing off her rank on stream made her smile. Evening Snowfall. Diamond ad-carry! Her viewers wouldn’t dare to make fun of her again! She would be making fun of them! She started grinning as she rubbed her hands together, and then broke out in full laughter!

Lin Feng ate his fill. He rubbed his stomach and leaned back in his chair. Satisfied. He was in a much more talkative mood now. “Hey, did you watch the match between HoG and COG? Who won?”

Su Xue looked at Lin Feng, dazed. She blinked a few times as the words registered in her head. Oh! Worlds! She snapped out of her daydreams. If the topic was Worlds, she was always happy to talk! She was watching Worlds all day these last two weeks. And when there wasn’t a game on, she was watching reaction videos! She loved everything Worlds related! “Oh! Yeah, of course I did! HoG won that big! You should’ve seen it! It was awesome! COG thought that now that they had Seven, they would suddenly win. He was their super-duper trump card, or whatever the analysts called it. He got really hyped up. And then he totally bombed! Hahaha! It was hilarious! He couldn’t get anything done! HoG kicked their asses!”

“Oh, nice! Sounds like HoG is going to make it out of Groups too!” Lin Feng nodded, excited as ever. This match was supposed to be a great game. A battle between Kings! That was why he was curious, though it helped that HoG was from the LPL. But the prospect of Hermes and Seven facing off was the far more exciting part of this match! It looked like it’d be a close game on paper. One full of excitement and battle! But it sounded like none of that had come to pass. It was just a one sided stomp. Though Lin Feng wasn’t too surprised.

Many people expected that HoG versus COG would be a close matchup. However, the only reason they thought this was because it was a match between Kings. They never stopped to think who the Kings were, nor what the teams around those Kings were. HoG was the better team. One player couldn’t change that. HoG reminded the hopeful North American fans that there was a lot more to League of Legends than putting a strong Toplaner into a team. They beat COG and now COG was in danger of being eliminated from Worlds!

COG did great in the North American LCS last year. They’d had some skirmishes against other teams around the world and won. Those few wins gave them far too much confidence. They decided it was best to hide their full strength at Worlds. To say a player wasn’t available in Week 1 and have him chill in London. For even with their substitute, they believed their group would be easy. It proved to be anything but. Conceit was not rewarded. Due to their own stupidity, they were now at risk of being eliminated before even reaching the quarter finals. This was a good reminder to all other teams. Only the 16 best teams in the world qualified for Worlds. None of them could be underestimated!

“Worlds this year is really competitive! It’s like it doesn’t even matter if your team has Kings or Emperors. Anyone can win! It’s so nice! The games are crazy exciting! Wouldn’t it be super weird to not see COG make it to the next round? What do you think?” Su Xue asked, lost in her own excitement.

“Yeah, I suppose some Kings and Emperors have lost. But those are just a few games. I don’t see them getting knocked out of Worlds in Groups,” Lin Feng said, scratching his hair. No team was invincible. At Worlds, anything was possible. Take the KG versus Legend game. A team without even a King had beaten an Emperor team! The underdog would win. And every tournament had a dark horse that could make it all the way to the end. If the analysis on a piece of paper would decide the outcome of a match, there’d be no excitement. No one would watch that.

That said, the title of Emperor carried an entirely different weight. Even on the world stage. This was more than just a good player. This was a good team. The best teams! They were the final bosses in a video game. There was a reason why they always made it deep in tournaments, and why they’d never been eliminated in the group stage of past Worlds. They were of a different caliber. They were on a level of their own!

Lin Feng didn’t care much for the group stage. There were some fun matches, but nothing too crazy. That was reserved for the knock-out stage! Emperor teams could face each other. They would be long and bitter battles in a best of five series. Those were the games to look forward to! That was where the silverware would be decided! The battle had only just begun!

✹

After helping with the dishes, Lin Feng disappeared into his room and sat down behind his desk. He cracked open his textbook and got started on his homework. He tackled the easy problem first. Then as he built up momentum, he moved onto the more difficult ones. Until eventually, he finished the hardest. Leaning back against his chair, he checked the time on his phone. I wonder if Su Xue is still up… He got up and strolled over to her room. 

Su Xue was still up. She was playing a ranked game! Her focus was entirely on her monitor, so she missed Lin Feng walking into her room. But her viewers didn’t. Many of them had their eyes on her webcam feed. They spotted Lin Feng the moment he walked in. The new viewers who hadn’t met Lin Feng yet were the first to type their feelings out in chat.

「THE FUKKK! WHOS THAT!?!!」

「watch out, xuexue! you got a creep sneaking into your room!」

「this some of kind of new roleplay!? How exciting!」

「is that her bf or sumtthing? fukkk! The betrayal!」

「thats no creep….. THATS LIL BRO!!!!!!1」

「lil bro is here!」

「LIL BRO!!!! hurry and come over! we missed you to death!」

「damn how could you ditch us all day like this! you made us watch worlds with the maid…………….」

Su Xue noticed the commotion in the chat and looked over her shoulder. “Oh? You finished your homework?” 

“Yeah, I did!” Lin Feng said. He pulled up a chair beside Su Xue and sat down. Then he waved at the camera with a big smile and said, “Heya, everyone!”

「ayeee! evening!」

「mah bro,, what’s upppp」

「yayyyyyy, it’s feng feng!」

Chat forgot about Su Xue. They forgot about the game. All that they cared about was Lin Feng. Their favourite streamer was back! They wouldn’t have to be bored by the maid any longer! The main man was back to take over and show them some real gameplay! To show their support for him, they even started spamming crying emojis and complaining about all the bad things the maid had done in his absence.

「how could u leave us for so long!」　

「we wanted to watch Worlds with you!」

「right! we wanted to hear ur thouhts on the game, but we neded up listening to the maid instead!」

「u dont even know our pain! i’d rather hear a jackhammer next to my ear than listen to her. Al she does is shout and gasp. I’d get more meaningful commentary out of a cricket! 」

「(╥ᆺ╥；) I feel like i popped my ear drums from all her screaming.」

The vein on Su Xue’s forehead bulged. If looks could kill, her stream would be empty now. These fucking ingrates and their stupid fucking JOKES! She hated this. They were great viewers, most of the time. But at moments like this. They really knew how to get under her skin. She shouted at the camera, “Hey, you bastards! Speak for yourselves! You lot became 666 spam bots whenever a big play was happening!”

Lin Feng scratched his hair and apologized, “Oh, sorry guys. I had a tournament today. I couldn’t make it back home in time to watch Worlds with you guys.” 

“Right! See, if it isn’t chasing after girls, it’s something else! He doesn’t care about you guys at all! Why care about him? I say we don’t! Let’s only care about me! Alright? Right!” Su Xue said, grinning. She wanted nothing more than to see her readers go off on Lin Feng. They always made fun of her. For once, just once, she would like to see them make fun of Lin Feng.

「shut it! who asked you??????」

「go fetch the water… we want to hear lil bro talk!」

「hey hey! what kind of tournament did you play?」

「didja win? you definitely hard carried right!? RIGHT?!?!??!?」

「Of course he did! He’s li’l’ bro! When he plays, he wins!」

Su Xue stared at her chat. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing! They were cheering him on again! Why is it always like this? Why do they never back me? Why do they only care about him? I’m the streamer! It’s me! Me! I’m the streamer! She wanted the attention the viewers gave Lin Feng. She pouted, “So what? It’s just some crappy high school tournament. He only got lucky and passed the first round of the prelims. Nothing worth talking about.”

「hot dang! Really? GRATZ LIL BRO!!!」

「Niiiiiceee! that’s amazing! We’re so proud of you」

「see what’d i tell you that’s our feng feng」

“Yeah! Really! Thanks guys! I’ll win the whole tournament!” Lin Feng said, striking another victory pose. The viewers loved it. They spammed the chat with 666s and kept telling him how great he was. Lin Feng laughed when he saw all of this. It was always nice to hear people talk nice about you.

“You guys didn’t even watch the tournament! We don’t even know how he actually played! What the hell are you congratulating him for!” Su Xue was at a loss for words. Time and time again, she was blown away by how much better her chat treated Lin Feng than herself. His brief absence wasn’t met with anger, but longing! They wanted to see him back! And now that they did, they couldn’t find enough words to welcome him back. If she didn’t know any better, and perhaps she didn’t, she’d believe they were in love with him!

“I’ve had my fun. It’s time for you kids to make your move.
“I’ve had my fun…
“I’ve had my fun….” 

The words echoed in Lin Feng’s head, bouncing off the sides of his skull. Booming through his ears. Just a few words, but they carried so much meaning. Three wasn’t old. Far from. But his years in the spotlight had come to an end. He’s had his fun… time for me to make a move…

Lin Feng was so caught up on those two sentences that he almost missed the next. Three’s voice rang out through the phone, “There’s no room for an old fart like me. I’ve had my 15 minutes of fame. It’s time you young’uns take the lead. Step up and find your own paths! Don’t let anyone tell you how to do it. Do what you think is right.”

Three was passing on the torch. Lin Feng understood how important this was to his old mentor. And how important it was to himself, too. He listened in earnest. Soaking it all up and giving it a special place in his mind. He’d had his fun. It’s time I have mine.

“Fatty should be good for now. Your little speech really helped him fight through his own head. He looks good. I think he’ll keep up his performances and become one of the Seven Kings. But that’s not enough. I won’t be happy with just that. We’re better than that. We got the talent! I expect at least half of the Seven Kings and Four Emperors to come from the LPL! Anything less is a failure! But more than all of that. You. You’re good, kid. You’re really good. There’s a reason One saw something in you. You know he was the best in the world? He was better than me and everyone else. And he saw something special in you. You’re the special one. Follow in his footsteps. Make him proud.”

Lin Feng took in every word. When Three spoke of Fatty, he smiled. It was great to hear his friend doing so well. And then came the last few sentences. One was the best. And he was One’s protege, so he had to become the best too. That was his dream. He was going to give everything he had to achieve that, no matter how hard it was. “I understand.” He nodded, earnest. Then he grimaced. “I lost to Rake once. He’s got to enjoy that long enough. It’s about time I beat him back”

There came a chuckle from the other side of the line. “That’s what I was hoping for. I’m looking forward to it. But. What are you doing right now? Fatty said you’re doing some school stuff… What’s that all about? Some kiddy League tourney?”

“Oh, that.” Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and chewed on his lips. “The Shanghai 16 School Tournament…”

“Why? Ah, nevermind. Sure. Have your fun with that little tournament. But when that’s done, you’re coming back, right? You can easily find a second rate team to brush your skills back up. A lot of the veterans still know you. They’ll have you in a heartbeat! Do one season in the LPL with that team and then move to one of the top teams. It should be easy for you. Is that what you’re going to do? Or what’s your plan?”

“No. I want to start from scratch. I’m starting all over.”

“Starting all over… Why?”

“Yes! It’s going to be a fresh start. I’m going to build a new team and start at the bottom. We’ll climb our way up to the top, one step at a time.”

Lin Feng was incredibly talented at League of Legends. So much so that even when he was out of practice, he was still more than good enough to make his way into a lower ranked team in the LPL. If he familiarized himself with the new competitive scene and found his groove, he could even make his way up to the top of the LPL in a relatively short time. However, he didn’t care about becoming just a professional player. Or just one of the best professional players. He only had one goal. To be the best League of Legends player in the world. Anything else could only be considered a failure. And he didn’t think he could reach that goal if he jumped right back into the competitive scene. It didn’t feel right. If he wanted to become the best, he needed to do something different. That was why he wanted to build a team from the ground up. To grind his way through the different leagues and fight his way into the LPL and finally Worlds. He believed that only by doing all of this could he work his way to the absolute top.

The number one player in the world, who took the throne of Sovereign all the way back in Season 1, hadn’t sat idly by all these years. He’d worked hard to become better and better. Rake of SSK was fully deserving of his title. And it wasn’t just him, but his whole team that played together perfectly. There was no random team that could beat them. Lin Feng couldn’t magically find synergy with four players and beat this team. It was with all of this in mind, for example, that he chose to compete in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. A challenge. An opportunity to prove himself. To himself. Step by step he would get stronger and build a team around him that had perfect synergy. They would push past any setbacks and he would take the throne. Sovereign Lin Feng!

“Haha! That’s some mindset, kid. Sounds like you’ve been doing some soul searching these last few years. Hmm… I agree. One didn’t make a mistake. He was right about you all along,” Three said.

For the first time since Lin Feng’s departure from the professional scene in Season 1, Three understood why One had let Lin Feng go. I was so disappointed. I didn’t even see… Back then, Three morphed his disappointment into anger and resentment. He hated that Lin Feng gave up and wanted to quit! But he wasn’t allowed to stop Lin Feng. One stopped him. One forced him to let Lin Feng go. For the kid’s own good… To let him find his own path… To come to terms with everything that happened… He felt these were all excuses. And not especially good ones. But when he listened to Lin Feng now, over the phone, he understood. One was right. All those years ago, One made the right call. Because the person on the other end of the line didn’t sound like the boy he remembered. This man was like a treasured sword, tempered under years of real life. His edges were sharper. His cuts more precise. But he was always good at that. The real difference was that he now also knew when to sheath that sword. He’d learned the skill intimidation. For the real danger wasn’t in the known, it was the unseen blade.

Lin Feng and Three spoke for a while longer, but they were both lost in their own thoughts. They barely listened, nor did they talk much. After hanging up, Lin Feng put his phone away and stared at his feet, the silence of the dark night around him magnified. Then he looked up into the sky. The faces of his friends, both young and old, and the scenes of everything that had happened flashed before his eyes. The pain and heartache on one side versus the joy and happiness on the other. He took a deep, long breath, bit on his lips, and then hollered out into the night sky, “FIGHT ON! BE THE BEST!”

Lin Feng grinned, still looking up at the moon. So that’s why wolves do it, huh? I feel great! He looked in front of him and started walking again. That was when he noticed the faces. There were only a couple other people in the street. But they’d all stopped walking and were just looking at him, as if he were a severe mental case. He rubbed his nose and started laughing, only reaffirming what the other pedestrians thought. Then he started running, sprinting, racing home as fast as he could.

✹

It was already late when Lin Feng got home. He pushed the front door to his apartment open and shouted inside, “I’m home!” Then he sniffed, loudly. A strong and fragrant aroma assaulted his senses. He started salivating as his eyes widened and pure bliss appeared on his face. Expectation. Hunger. Deliciousness! “Ohhh! That smells amazing! I want!” He kicked his shoes out and rang to the dining table. Su Xue had prepared all sorts of dishes, with steam coming off of them. It was a feast to his culinary eye. “Wow! That’s … That looks amazing! Can I? Can I?”

“Lin Feng! Put your shoes in the rack! Go and wash your hands! Hey! Don’t touch the food with your fingers!” Su Xue yelled as she came walking out of the kitchen with another steaming plate. Then she asked, annoyed, “Do you know how late it is? Why didn’t you call me? Where were you!”

Lin Feng scratched his hair. “Oh, uhh… The tournament only started at 7, and then it ran way later than I expected. Sorry, haha.”

Su Xue put the hot plate down on the table. She looked over at Lin Feng, a little curious, and asked, “So. Did you at least win?”

“Hehe! Of course we won! We won all three matches and are through to the next round! It was great!” Lin Feng laughed.

“Oh? Not bad. Not bad at all.” Su Xue nodded, impressed. Then she ruffled his hair and said, “But whatever. It’s just a little kids tournament. Nothing to get excited about. You know what is something to get excited about? Today’s games at Worlds! Like O.M.G, you missed the best day of Worlds! KG and HoG did absolutely phenomenal. And God Roundy was so cute! He carried and everything! Come come come! Let’s eat! I prepared this feast to celebrate!” She showed Lin Feng all the different dishes she’d made. Most of them were some kind of chicken. She knew he liked that. “Oh, right.” She paused for a moment and added, “I suppose we can celebrate your wins too.”

“Ok! Sounds good!” Lin Feng ran to the table, his hands still wet after washing them. He didn’t care what this meal was for. This wasn’t a celebration for him or for KG at Worlds. This was a celebration of food! And he would enjoy and savour every second of it! He grabbed his bowl and filled it with a chicken curry. All the while, Su Xue narrated the events that’d happened at Worlds, “Ok, so. When you were playing your games, right? The most amazing things happened at Worlds! KG played so good! You should’ve been here! It was like… Ah! I don’t know! But it was super amazing!”

Su Xue didn’t eat a bite herself. She waved her arms around and tried to show everything that happened. To the point where she grabbed some items around the table to make a replay of the best scenes, like the five man Hecarim ultimate. “See? See? Like this! That’s how God Roundy did it! Amazing, right? Only he could do that! I was holding my breath the whole time! It was too exciting! And his Riven! You should’ve seen his Riven. It was like. And he beat Demon so easy. But like! Ah!” She fell silent. She remembered something and looked up at Lin Feng. “Hey!” 

“Mhmphpg?” Lin Feng mumbled, his mouth full. He didn’t even bother to look up at her as he took another large bite from his chicken curry.

“Hey! HEY! YOU!” Su Xue yelled. She pushed up and reached across the table, pulling Lin Feng’s face up by his chin. Leaning forward, she stared into his eyes and screamed, “ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING? WHAT DID I SAY? WHAT?”

“H-hruh? Whagh?” Lin Feng asked, bewildered and scared. Some food spilled from his mouth, together with that nice, thick sauce.

Su Xue let go off Lin Feng’s chin and wiped her hand clean. “You’re disgusting! Stop talking with your mouth full! Also…” She stared at him and hesitated. Then she looked away for a moment before mumbling, “Also, I’d like to learn how to play Riven. Think you can help me with that?”

“Learn Riven?” Lin Feng asked, tilting his head. “Why?”

“Yes! Yes!” Su Xue nodded, frantically so. “I really want to learn Riven! Did you not listen? God Roundy was so good on his Riven! I want to be that good too! And those degens in my chat said that I can’t. They keep saying I suck! Screw them! I’m good enough! I can play her! I’ll show them! But please, I need you. Help me teach those degens how wrong they are!”

“Mhm-mm. I see…” Lin Feng nodded. He rubbed his chin, rocking back and forth and pretending he was deep in thought. All the while his eyes were locked on the stir-fried eggplants. How do I get them on my plate without her yelling… 

“What do you see?” Su Xue asked, nervously.

She sounds distracted. Now! Lin Feng reached out for the stir-fried eggplants with his chopsticks and grabbed one of the bigger ones. Then he put it in his mouth and started chewing, enjoying every bite. “Mhm-mm!” He rubbed his belly and looked up at Su Xue with a large smile on his face. The food was eaten. She couldn’t take it back! Now he could tell her, “Oh, I think your viewers are right.”

The table became quiet. Lin Feng held his chopsticks still, waiting. Su Xue just stared at him. His words had caught her completely off guard. Of everything she’d prepared for, this wasn’t it. Then her face turned red and she yelled, “You little punk! Think I’m stupid! Are you itching for a beating? Did you miss them these last few days? Get your ass over here! Let me slap some sense into you!

“HEY! Don’t run! Stay here!

“Dammit! Get your ass over here! I’m going to slap those cheeks red if it’s the last thing I do!”

Tian Tian’s mentor looked at Tian Tian. After hanging up his call with Lin Feng, Tian Tian had started crying. Not just a little bit. No. He was bawling his eyes out, rocking back and forth on his behind. What is wrong with him… It didn’t make any sense. A moment ago, Tian Tian was still beaming with joy! He rolled his eyes and said, “What are you crying about this time…” If he had a straight leather prop flogger whip, he’d be going to town on Tian Tian right now to smack some sense into him! You’re the best player at Worlds today, for fucks sake… Why do you have to be like this?

“No, no! That’s not it!” Tian Tian replied, wiping the tears from his eyes and blowing his nose in his sleeve. “I-it’s just. I’m really happy!” There were too many things that’d happened today. Too many good things. The games were great. He’d led his team to two big victories, even beating an Emperor in the second one. That alone was normally enough to push him over the edge. But beyond all the hectics around Worlds, there was something far more important. Something he’d stopped dreaming about and had given up on. An old friend. A dear friend. Someone who really understood him. He’d finally reconnected with Lin Feng. Finally!

“Oh! Uh-uhm…” Tian Tian rubbed his nose and looked up at his mentor. “Eh, Lin Feng promised me he would treat me to a big meal for playing so well today. It’s just… He isn’t here right now, s-so…” He carefully examined the reaction of his mentor. From the slight movement of the man’s hands to the twitch in his eyes. When he felt it was safe to continue, he asked, “I-i heard London has a 2 Michelin star restaurant… It’s supposed to have some really good food…”

The smile disappeared on Tian Tian’s mentor’s face. It warped from delight to fury in an instant. He gnashed his teeth and grabbed for his phone with a lot more force than he intended. Then he barked, almost next to Tian Tian’s ear, “SO THAT’S HOW IT IS, HUH?” He shook his head and walked towards the exit of the bathroom. “He wants me to treat you in his place? That little brat! He’s got some guts… trying to pass the buck on me!” He pushed the door open and walked away, shouting over his shoulder, “You coming, or what?”

✹

High School 13 had played their three matches. They’d passed the first qualification round of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament and had qualified for the next one. The night was already getting pretty late. So the players of High School 13’s esports team decided against celebrating their victories. That could come another day. They had school the next morning and they couldn’t be late for that. Besides, there was still a way to go before they could qualify for the main tournament. Everyone went home and soon Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao were the only two left, walking down a brightly lid sidewalk.

Lin Feng hung up the call and put his phone away. Then he made a strange face. He put his hand in front of his mouth and looked for something bright to look at, squinting his eyes. “Aaachoo!” He shook his head and wiped his nose clean and muttered, “Hmm, someone must be thinking about me!”

Tang Bingyao stood next to Lin Feng. She tilted her head to look up at him and tapped him on his arm. “Were you calling with him? You know, him.”

“Yeah!” Lin Feng nodded, smiling. He felt his phone in his pocket and started grinning. “Yeah! One got me in touch with Fatty! Fatty said he won both games today! He says he played great! If he says that, he really did super good! KG should be through to the next round!”

“Mhmm.” Tang Bingyao held up her phone for Lin Feng, which showed the score from the KG versus Legend game. Specifically, the final score of Riven. “Look. It’s all over the news. Roundy Round hard carried both games. The first with Hecarim and the second with Riven. Look at these stats. They’re pretty amazing.”

Lin Feng balled his fist and threw it up in the air, then shouted, “Of course! Fatty is my old teammate! He was always amazing! And he’s still amazing!” He looked at Tang Bingyao and smiled, still clenching his fist, and continued, “Seven from COG is the best Toplaner and the best of the Seven Kings, right? Everyone says that. Fatty is at least as good as Seven. They both deserve the title. I think they should give it to him. He is the newest addition to the Eight Kings!”

“That is a stupid idea and it sounds stupid too. It’ll make the title meaningless if you keep adding people…” Tang Bingyao replied.

Lin Feng nodded and grinned, “Yeah! True!” He agreed. If you started calling them the Eight Kings today, then who was to say it wouldn’t be the Nine Kings tomorrow? They were the Seven Kings and Fatty deserved a spot amongst them. All he had to do was keep playing like he was, and he would secure a spot amongst them! He was more than good enough for that.

Tang Bingyao went quiet and focused where she walked, paying the utmost attention not to step in the cracks between the pavement. They walked together in silence and turned a corner. It was still a bit until they got home. She paused and asked, “Who’s One?”

Lin Feng also paused, caught off guard. He scratched the back of his head and laughed, a little uncomfortable. “Oh, him… Haha. Well… He’s a really, really amazing person.”

“How amazing?”

“Hmm…” Lin Feng looked around, then put his hands on his chin, pensive. He moved his head a little, weighing his thoughts, before ultimately replying, “Really amazing!” He knew that wasn’t the reply she was looking for. He could see the look in her eyes, even under this dim lighting. “It’s like this. One is like a mentor to me. He’s a really amazing guy. He helped me so much! You know. Back when I qualified for Worlds in Season 1, I was only 15, right? Well, the Global Esports Association was being difficult and wouldn’t let me participate. We’d almost given up. It seemed like no one could help. But then he came. One said a few simple lines and all was good. I was allowed to compete.

“One has always been there for me. Whenever I’m going through something rough, he’s helped me. When I wanted to contact Fatty, I didn’t have his number. So I didn’t know how I would even go about contacting him. That was when I remembered One. I still had his number. He’d given it to me on a piece of paper four years ago. I still have it! So I called with One and he said he would help me. Then after we hang up, he called Three who flew to England to talk with Fatty, an–”

“Wait. Hold on,” Tang Bingyao said, confused. She looked Lin Feng in the eyes and asked, “One and Three? Why do you call them that? It’s really confusing. How many number people are there? Why don’t you just call them by their names? So the one who flew to Worlds isn’t the one you spoke to on the phone, right?”

“Right! I first called One. He called Three.  Three went to London. Then Three called me!” Lin Feng explained, matter of factly. He felt his explanation sounded perfectly reasonable. But Tang Bingyao disagreed. She opened her mouth a few times before asking, “Is it really ok that you call them by… numbers?”

Lin Feng shrugged. Then he rubbed his nose and grinned. “Oh, it’s fine. Haha! You wouldn’t understand.”

“Ok. Fine too. Don’t tell me,” Tang Bingyao said, scrunching up her nose.

✹

Lin Feng looked over his shoulder at Tang Bingyao. She’d turned the corner to go home. He still had to walk straight a little further and he’d be home too. But he didn’t walk. He hesitated and just stood there in the middle of the street, staring and thinking. I should thank him. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, then dialed a number. It quickly connected.

“What do you want? Haven’t I done enough yet?”

“Three! Thank you! Really, I mean it. You went all the way to London for me.”

“Oh? So you do realize how much trouble this little errand of yours caused me? Did you think this little trip wasn’t expensive enough already? You even tried to get me to pay for Fatty’s food? You know how much that kid eats! In a 2 Michelin star restaurant? Are you trying to get me bankrupt? That’s not a very sincere thank you, Lin Feng.”

“Ah! Haha! U-uh… That was a misunderstanding. Yes, totally a misunderstanding!”

“You think I’m stupid? Screw it. Forget it, I’m going. And not to take Fatty out for food. KG’s management will do that. They’re taking the whole team out for dinner tonight, so you’re lucky. I won’t be hounding you for the money. Besides, those guys can show their gratitude by paying for all of his food. Haha! Alright, I’m leaving now. It’s been enough fun here.”

“Leaving? What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? I’m going back to Barcelona. Of course I’m leaving. What did you think? I only came here to pass your message along. That’s done. Fatty is doing great. What use is there in me being here? My nice hotel room is waiting for me in Barcelona. I want to go back to the sun!”

“Oh, right, right. Thank you again! It was really nice of you!”

“Don’t thank me. You know me. I like the kid. There was no way I wouldn’t have gone. Plus I got to see two great games. That was plenty. I would’ve been really upset if I’d come here for nothing. Hehe. Actually. If you really want to thank me, how about you start playing in the professional scene again? I know how good you are. You can lift up the LPL. We stink right now! Only one King. Ha! What a joke! A disgrace! Only one! You need to get some fame back for all of us!”

“You could do it yourself! You’re more than good enough! Maybe you’re a little old and rusty, but you got plenty of experience to do something beautiful. I believe in you. You can really do it! Why don’t you try and do it?”

“There’s no point in talking about that. I’ve had my fun. It’s time for you kids to make your move.”

KG stood with half a foot in the quarterfinals of Worlds! This win over Legend had secured that. All that was left to do for them was to play the wildcard team and win. But that shouldn’t be an issue. Even when KG was at their worst, only a week ago, they’d still beaten the wildcard team. The only other development that could rock KG’s boat was if Legend screwed up in their last game against Flash. If they lost, there would be a three way tiebreaker between Legend, Flash and KG. Anything could happen in a tiebreaker. But Legend had never lost to Flash. There was nothing to suggest they would start losing now. Their loss against KG was a momentary setback, nothing more. Flash would be easy pickings for them!

The players from Hand of God had watched the KG versus Legend game in the VIP viewing area. Hermes and Nightsong were sitting together, chatting about the last game in Group A. They were rooting for KG, of course, and were happy to see Roundy make it to the next round. Hermes nudged Nightsong and said, “I don’t think that tiebreaker is happening, man. Legend has never lost to Flash. Ever. Never ever. I don’t see it suddenly start happening now.”

“Yup, you’re right! Flash is fucked! No way they beat Legend. Nope. Don’t see it happening. That’s an Emperor team. We did it back at MSI cause we have me! But Flash doesn’t! I didn’t think KG could do it either, but I guess some of my big dick energy must’ve rubbed off on Roundy back at the buffet!” Nightsong patted himself on the back and smirked. “You see, that’s why you should feel lucky to have me. I’ve got a way of making the impossible possible.”

“Sure sure. It had nothing to do with Legend underestimating KG. Oh, and definitely nothing to do with Roundy playing out of his mind, right?” Hermes grinned, elbowing his friend in the side. “Still, Legend really dropped the ball this time. They disrespected KG, and Roundy walked all over them for that. I guess they figured Demon would always beat Roundy and didn’t play for otherwise. Roundy really carried the hell out of that game.” 

“Told ya!” Nightsong laughed, proud of his self-imagined contribution. “It’s all me! Roundy wouldn’t have solo carried those games if it wasn’t for me!”

“Yep, yep. All you. Like you keep saying.” Hermes shook his head and grinned. His friend was an idiot. “You know. If Roundy keeps playing like he is, he’ll probably take Chris’s spot and become one of the Seven Kings. I don’t think it even matters how KG ends the tournament. He just has to keep playing like he is.”

Nightsong looked at his friend and winked at him. “Or he might displace you, who knows! But whatever. It’s good that KG is finally winning their games. The LPL needed this. This is good for all of us! We also gotta make it to the quarterfinals!”

Hermes chuckled and said, “That’s the spirit! Yep. We were the first to qualify in the LPL. It’s up to us to show everyone that we’re the best team in China! So we better kick some asses!”

The players from KG and Legend had left the stage. It was empty while the stadium announcer was hyping up the crowd for the next game, while replays of both teams appeared on the giant LCD screens above the stage. Hermes and Nightsong looked at it, watching themselves play. Their opponent was North America’s COG. This was a winnable matchup. They waited until the little videoclip came to an end and a picture of the five players appeared. Then they got up from their seats and walked up the stage with their teammates, waving at the cheering crowd.

In Week 1, Hand of God had beaten COG. It was a resounding victory, but it didn’t paint the full picture. COG had a King on their roster, just like HoG. However, unlike HoG, their King had to sit out last week. Due to circumstances, he couldn’t play. But now he was ready. Back with a vengeance. COG finally showed up with their strongest lineup! This game would be a battle between Kings! On one side was Daybreak Hermes in the midlane and on the other was Seven, North America’s best Toplaner!

The crowd in the Wembley Arena was clapping and cheering. This game was no battle between Emperors. This game was also not the previous game. It didn’t hold the excitement. The thrill. But that didn’t mean this wasn’t a match the people looked forward to. This was a battle between Kings! Two of the best players in the world would go toe to toe! Anything could happen and they were excited to see what this game would bring!

✹

While Hand of God and COG got into their match, the fans cheering their names, Tian Tian had retreated to a bathroom stall backdoor. His bathroom stall. But instead of hiding away in it, he left the door open, cuddling a phone with both hands. He had tears of joy in his eyes as he dialed a number and waited for the other side to pick up. When they did, the floodgates opened. Through the tears and joy he started rambling, “L-lin Feng! Lin Feng! I did it! I promised you and I did it! I won! W-we beat Legend! I-t was really cool! I won!”

Tian Tian was using his mentor’s phone. His mentor who was also in the bathroom, listening in on the call. He watched Tian Tian caressing the phone and weeping, and shook his head. “I must’ve been really drunk when I decided to help him… What did I think? Fatty…  He’s such a crybaby! Even when he’s happy those tears flow. How did I ever think he could follow in my footsteps?”

There was a moment of silence. Tian Tian’s mentor looked over. Tian Tian was listening, his mouth hanging open a little. He was nodding, vigorously, every few seconds and sometimes mumbling a few words. Then he used his sleeve to wipe his eyes dry and said, “Yeah! B-both games! We won both of them!” His face started shining. It could light up the darkest room. Full of pride he was. “I carried both games! Y-you should’ve seen it! I really did it! I didn’t let you down! First I played my Heca. Y-you need to go see a replay. I landed a 5 man ult! I hit all five of them! … Yes! Also on that Chris, haha! It was really cool! And, and then in the second one I went with Riven. I-i knew it would take something special. So, so, so I did! I went for it! And it worked! It was so cool! We won and I got a perfect game against Legend!”

Tian Tian’s mentor smiled. He looked at this young man who he’d given so much attention to. This kid who’d given him so many sleepless nights and headaches. A foolish crybaby. But this same kid. This same crybaby… Fatty had just shown the entire world one of the best top lane performances ever seen in League of Legends! This was the level he knew his pupil could reach, at minimum. The Seven Kings were nothing for Fatty! All he had to do was get a little more consistent. Once he did that, his eyes would be on the Four Emperors. Though, it was a little bit early to be thinking about them. A few good games wouldn’t see Fatty enter their ranks.

The Four Emperors, huh? Tian Tian’s mentor thought back to the days he still played competitively. He’d lived and breathed esports. He’d stood at the top and seen it all. He’d fought with the best, and against them. I suppose we weren’t all that different back then compared to these Four Emperors. 

Number 4: Moon. Midlaner for Fate. Competing in the Korean LCK. 

Number 3: Phoenix. Midlaner for Legend. Competing in the European LCS. 

Number 2: Autumn, Support for Season. Competing in the North American LCS. 

Number 1: Rake. Midlaner for SSK. Competing in the Korean LCK. Best player in the world.

Tian Tian’s mentor and his friend in Hawaii, both of them were invested in the LPL. More specifically, they were invested in Tian Tian and Lin Feng. Rake was the catalyst that led to Lin Feng quitting the scene. This still left a bad aftertaste. Everytime Tian Tian’s mentor heard the name, or saw the man play, he got a little annoyed. He didn’t like this Rake one bit. But it didn’t matter if he liked Rake or not. Fact of the matter remained that Rake was an exceptionally talented player. The best in the world. There was no one who could beat him. Not right now, at least.

“The next three years will be Rake’s golden years…” The words rang in Tian Tian’s mentor’s head. Those were the words an old friend had said to him last year, when SSK won the Season 4 World Championships. “The only thing that can stop Rake is if his team falls apart. There’s no other team, or player, who can contest against him right now. Maybe they lose a game after a crazy patch. But other than something extreme like that, I don’t see anyone else winning over them.”

League of Legends was already five years old. From a small game primarily played in North America, it was now a worldwide phenomenon. There were tens of millions of players, if not more. But a player from all the way back in Season 1 was still the best. He started playing in Korea when the queue times for games were long because there weren’t enough people yet. But since that first edition of Worlds until now, no one had appeared on the professional team that could beat him. The only person who came close was Lin Feng. But that was so long ago, it didn’t really count anymore.

Lin Feng, huh? Tian Tian’s mentor looked over at his pupil. Tian Tian was still holding his phone as though he held the most valuable item in his hands, listening to what Lin Feng was saying on the other end of the line. He smiled. No one was invincible. There was always a higher hill to climb. And there was an opponent who could challenge Rake. Maple. The kid who at only 15 years old had challenged and fought through the rounds in Worlds until finally losing in the fifth game of the Finals. He was the first and last player to ever give Rake a real difficult time. But Maple had quit. If he wanted to play again, he first had to get back into the game. He had to prove to everyone all over again how good he was. If he could do that. If he could fight through everything thrown his way and get back to where he once stood. Then, and only then, would Rake finally have to fight, really fight for his position on the throne!

This game that Legend was playing against KG, it held far more significance than literally everyone realized. Literally everyone. Analysts, professionals players, shoutcasters, spectators, and even the most erudite of aquatic audiences who watched and argued on streams, all of them believed that Legend would win. Easily. It was a forgone conclusion, so much so that no one had even considered what would happen if they didn’t win. Everyone except for Phoenix. He knew, he’d been thinking about it for a while now. If Legend lost this game, then their last game against Flash suddenly became important again. Because if they lost to Flash, they would end up in a three-way tiebreaker with KG and Flash. All three of them would be at 4 wins and 2 losses. He didn’t want to see that happen. He had to win this game! But that was easier said than done. It was becoming harder and harder to do that with every passing second. He stared at his screen, indecisively considering the possibilities and his next move.

Phoenix hit the Tab key and looked at the score. The Riven had picked up a triple kill and sat at 6/0/0. She was fed. She’d snowballed. There was nothing they could realistically do to stop her, beyond stalling. Sitting in their base and hoping they could hold off long enough to mount a comeback in the super late game. But it didn’t stop there. That last teamfight, one where all of them got killed and KG had gotten an ace, that was where the Riven situation went from just plain bad to a nightmare. Uch… He sighed and rubbed his temples to soothe the pounding headache from this game.

Putting aside the Riven, there was also a fed Tristana. Tristana needed levels and items to become strong. But once she did, she was one of the best carries in the game. The last teamfight had brought her to that point. If that wasn’t enough to deal with, KG also had a Xerath, a mage champion with absurdly long range. Legend’s champions could hide all the way in their fountain and Xerath could still snipe them down with magic from outside their base! And it wasn’t like Legend could dash in and kill KG. The only immobile threat was the Xerath, and he was the weakest of the three carries! Not to mention that Rek’Sai and Thresh. All of the champions KG had picked, their team composition, were ones who scaled hard. The longer the game went on, the more difficult it would get to take them down. 

No matter how Phoenix looked at it, his team was losing and he couldn’t think of a single strategy to turn this game around. He shook his head, once, then looked down at his hands. This game was finished. His team had lost, he knew it but he just didn’t want to admit it. There’s gotta be something we can do! But there wasn’t. The only way Legend could win was if KG miraculously decided to surrender for some unknowable reason. Anything short of that, the game would end in a victory for KG. KG had beaten them.

Phoenix bit on his lips and focused back on the game. He wouldn’t give up, not until Legend’s Nexus exploded! He would fight and do everything he could to turn this game around. Not everything was lost! They were still playing the game! Anything could happen! Maybe KG would screw up like they’d done only a week ago! That would see Legend pull out an easy victory. He didn’t care how small the chance of that was, just that there was a chance. And as long as there was a chance, he would fight. He would give it everything he had and play to win!

✹

On Summoner’s Rift, Legend held on for dear life. They wouldn’t give up, even after losing the big teamfight at 15 minutes. Their towers fell and they lost control over the map and the pace of the game, but they were holding on. They stopped giving away kills and played completely on the defensive. All they had to do was drag this game out. Get to the super late game where every Champion hit the maximum level of 18 and the 6 items their inventories could hold. But they couldn’t. KG’s advantage was too big. God Roundy split pushed on his Riven and took down the inhibitor in top lane at 31 minutes. Their base was broken open. The game was lost. Phoenix knew it. All of Legend knew it. In their desperation, they went for one more teamfight. Dragon had just spawned, so they rushed over the map, through an ocean of KG’s wards, to fight for this objective and try to win something.

KG saw Legend running towards the Dragon pit. One final attempt of desperation. They wouldn’t let it happen! This game was theirs, and this Dragon would also be theirs! They rushed towards the Dragon pit and gathered in the river brush right above the alcove. Legend had it warded. KG knew this, but didn’t care. Legend didn’t seem to care either as they tried to take the Dragon down, standing practically on top of each other.

Tian Tian was the first to move. He dashed forward–Valor!–and then flashed. His Riven reappeared in the middle of Legend’s team. She raised her sword up in the air and let out a shout, a green shockwave erupting out around her–Ki Burst! She landed a perfect five man stun. A green energy wrapped around her sword and she started lashing out with a series of strikes–Broken Wings!

The Rek’Sai followed right after the Riven. She flashed into Legend’s team and Unburrowed, knocking all five Champions airborne. Another second Legend couldn’t react. And another second the damage dealers on KG could attack! Tristana put her bomb down on the Kalista–Explosive Charge!–while the Xerath activated his ultimate–Rite of the Arcane! This ultimate skill made Xerath immobile in return for several powerful electrical charges. The area of effect was just large enough to wrap around all five members from Legend. Their health bars disintegrated! Then there was the Riven again, with the second part of her ultimate–Wind Slash!

There was too much damage on the side of KG. Legend’s Yasuo, Morgana and Kalista died before they could even move. And the Fiora and Sejuani died right after, while they were trying to escape. KG didn’t turn to take the Dragon. There was no need. Super minions were making their way through top lane and were about to smash into Legend’s base. Following God Roundy’s Riven, the other four from KG walked through mid lane and into Legend’s base, then took down the two Nexus turrets and finally the Nexus. They won. KG beat Legend!

《Defeat!》

Phoenix looked at the red banner on his screen. Defeat. The Emperor of Europe had lost to the third seed from the LPL. Damn! He banged his fist on the table, letting his frustration out. I shouldn’t have… Dammit! I shouldn’t have lost focus like that! He believed that in their group, only Flash could put up any resistance against Legend. And even then, that was only out of respect for Chris who was one of the Seven Kings. Demon was a great Toplaner, and not any worse than Chris in his eyes. I should’ve done more. He’d taken the group stage for granted and had put his focus on the three Korean teams who he considered to be their only real opponents at this edition of Worlds. And because of that mistake. His mistake. They now had to beat Flash or end up in a tiebreaker. Whatever happened, they couldn’t lose this next game.

Demon tapped Phoenix on the shoulder. “Hey, dude. Come. We gotta go congratulate them.”

Phoenix looked up at his Toplaner and smiled, “Right. Let’s go.” He got up from his gaming chair and walked over towards the players from KG. Tian Tian stood at the far end. KG’s Toplaner. Phoenix was caught completely off guard by him. He’d outclassed Demon, something Phoenix never even considered possible. And then he outclassed Legend. His Riven was so good that Phoenix would even place him on the same level as the best Toplaner in the world! Heh. He shook his head and followed after his teammates to congratulate KG, all the while thinking of God Roundy.

This game reminds me of back then. Phoenix smiled towards God Roundy and made a small courtesy bow. “Well played, Roundy.” He thought back to Season 1 Worlds. That was when he’d first played against Roundy. And lost. Just that the reason he lost back then was different from now. In that game, it wasn’t Roundy who’d carried his team, but their Midlaner who had. That guy was something else. The thought alone of him sent shivers down Phoenix’s spine. A 15 year old who had shown him every corner of the Rift. Such a pity that that guy left. I would’ve loved to play against him again…

Phoenix started playing League of Legends in Season 1. He was already one of the best players in the game back then. But he was never number one. There were two other Midlaners who were simply better. One was a 15 year old Chinese talent and the other an 18 year old Korean talent. Phoenix grinned and shook his head as he thought back to Season 1 Worlds. The Finals that year was something special. A clash between the two best players the game had ever seen. Rake and Maple. It looked like Maple would take the win for the longest time, but it was Rake who made the winning play in the end. And then Maple disappeared. He just up and left. Such a shame… Phoenix sighed, deep and loud. I wonder what’s happened to that kid. It’d be great to see him compete again.

✹

The Wembley Arena was quiet. A stunned silence. The European crowd couldn’t believe what they’d just seen. Their team, the one they hoped to see take home the trophy, had lost to KG. A team without even a King. The silence persisted as even the Chinese fans didn’t know what to do. They’d hoped and cheered for KG before the game started. They were screaming until their lungs gave out when God Roundy made his big play to Ace Legend. But winning a teamfight and beating Legend were two different things. The latter was something they never even considered possible. Finally, someone started clapping. It set off a wave of applause. Everyone, European and Chinese fans alike, got up to their feet and started clapping. Only Emperor teams beat other Emperor teams. Until now. For the first time in this year’s Worlds, a regular team beat an Emperor team. KG had done the impossible. They’d beaten Legend!

The professional players watching the games in the VIP viewing area were no exception. They were all clapping for KG. Moon struck his hands together, like everyone else. But his mind wasn’t on the stage. He looked over at the legend a few seats over. The one that had arrived at the start of the game, calm and relaxed. That man was now standing and clapping, still smiling. He’d never lost that smile throughout the game. Is he why Roundy is playing so good today? That could make sense… Right? He wasn’t sure. It felt like too much of a coincidence. But why would he come for Roundy? He had questions, but didn’t want to walk up to that man and ask them. Whatever. He shook his head and looked back at the stage where KG was enjoying the applause.

It finally dawned on the few Chinese people in the crowd what’d just happened. KG had won over an Emperor team! They started laughing, uncontrollably so, and clapped so hard that their hands started going numb. It woke them up a little. Enough to open their mouths and start chanting the name of their new favourite team, “KG! KG! KG!” The few broke the dam. Others started joining in and soon the entire arena was shouting, “KG! KG! KG!”

The people watching the various broadcasts of Worlds were in as much shock as those at the Wembley Arena. They needed a moment to settle their emotions and then flooded the chats.

「WWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO」

「ITS THE GOOODDDDDDD 6666666」

「GOD ROUNDY >>> KG >>>>>>>>>>> LEGEND」

「omg dis for real? cant be right? someone wake me up before you go go」

「GOD ROUNDY HARD CARRY KKGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!1!!」

No words could describe how the KG fans felt. Only a week ago, they’d given up all hope. They’d even taken it upon themselves to go to online forums and flame their team’s players. The five who’d destroyed all their hopes and dreams! They were furious. Full of rage and disappointment. Though mostly disappointment. They wanted to see their team do well and to see them screw up so badly felt like a low blow. Yet now, on the verge of being knocked out, they turned it all around. That rage and disappointment warped into such extreme joy that the fans didn’t know what to do with it. Jumping up and down their seats. Hugging their neighbours. Kissing the girl they had a crush on. Everything they would otherwise never do. The LPL wasn’t done for! There was still hope for them! This edition of Worlds wasn’t over! They could still win it all! The trophy could be theirs!

On the caster desk, Qinghe covered his mouth with his hands and pulled down. He couldn’t believe what’d just happened, but he’d been there shoutcasting it all. He watched it happen live with his own two eyes. “Wow…” He turned to the camera and shook his head. “Wow. I don’t know what to say. Just, wow. That was. Wow. KG deserves all the applause. That was something else. Wow.” He started clapping again.

Stone nodded and clapped. He smiled and didn’t know quite what to do. “Ahh…” He looked at Lolo and then back at Qinghe. “What do I say about that? That was just so, so good. God Roundy really lived up to his name. Can you imagine the pressure he was under? Like, after last week? I don’t know how he did that. He actually carried both games! Damn!”

The MVP during the group stage of Worlds so far was undoubtedly Tian Tian. His Riven and Hecarim alone were more than enough to nominate him for that award. He carried his team on his shoulders and made it possible for them to win what was supposed to be an impossible-to-win game! 

The cameras had already panned over to the winning team. Every display in the arena, along with millions of phones, laptops, tablets, and monitors around the globe showed one scene. One moment that captured all of the glory and camaraderie and everything that League of Legends and esports represented. The players from KG jumping out of their seats and clasping each other in an enormous bear-like group hug. With a beaming Tian Tian at the very center of it. He was all smiles and laughter and sheer infectious joy! 

“Right, now that KG managed to grasp victory this game… I’m guessing Team Flash is pretty shocked right now, huh?” Lolo interjected.

Over in Team Flash’s box, standing out in stark contrast to the cheers and applause, was a dark storm cloud in the very middle of the room. Right over where the players from Team Flash were sitting. They had an interesting mixture of expressions on their faces. From shock to disgust to fear to disbelief. But schadenfreude in its purest form, that could be found by looking at Chris’ face. He looked like he’d accidentally eaten the vomit that came from one dog after it had lapped up diarrhea from another dog. His dreams, and all of Team Flash’s dreams, of making it out of the group stage had ironically disappeared in a flash. 

Two games. Two different chapters in two different lives. Two friends on the same Champion, both carrying their teams. One had millions of fans watching his game online and cheering him on and 12,500 people booing his name in the arena he was playing in. He was the one taking down the crowd’s favourite! The other one had a small audience of little more than a dozen people gathered around an isle of computers. They were talking amongst each other, never really cheering. Not like the fans watching the other game did. The stakes were too different. A world apart. But the importance in that very moment felt the same for these two young players. This was their story.

High School 13 versus Tonji Affiliated High. Bottom side river, just above the Dragon pit. Lin Feng had just jumped on the Caitlyn. No one had seen it coming. Everyone panicked. The players from High School 13 stared at their screens, forgetting they were playing the game, while the players from Tonji Affiliated High were screaming into their voice chat. They were shouting incoherently, searching for something, anything they could do to save the Caitlyn. They couldn’t. She flashed away and then she died to the second part of the Riven’s ultimate–Wind Slash! Then, at Lin Feng’s command, a full teamfight broke out.

KG versus Legend. KG’s top side jungle, Blue Buff Camp. Tian Tian had just killed the Morgana. The other four players turned away from whoever else they were chasing and all focused on him. He was the only one worth killing, because he had the bounty to his name. The Yasuo flashed on him, while the others walked into a funnel towards him. He didn’t flash away. He didn’t try to run. This was his game and this would be his play! He flashed right into the middle of the three other players from Legend and pressed down on the W key–Ki Burst! Fiora, Kalista and Sejuani were all stunned!

“…HE IS GOING FOR THE 1v4!” Stone finished shouting into the camera. He let go of the camera and turned back to Qinghe and Lolo behind the caster desk. “OH. MY. GOD! HE’S DOING IT!”

“He really is, isn’t he?” Qinghe laughed. His eyes never left the monitor. He chewed his lips, afraid to blink and miss even a fraction of this fight. This was a 1vs4! This could very well become the play of the year! “Come on, Roundy,” he mumbled.

The Chinese fans at the Wembley Arena were also shouting in support of God Roundy, but their voices were drowned out by the crashing waves of booing from the European fans. Their team was losing and they wouldn’t have any of it! But the message to KG from their fans around the world was clear. Every one of them wanted to see God Roundy pull this play off.

「YESYESYES! RIVEN 1V4 TURNAROUND!」

「GOD ROUNDY 6666666666!」

「DOOOIIIIITTTTTTTTTT ROOUUNNNDDDYYYYY!!!!!!!」

「PPLLLLZZZZZZZZZZZZZ WIINNNN!!!!!」

「BIKINI CALENDAR FOR 2K COMMENTS ON A CHAPTER!!!!!」

「HE IS MY GOD!!!!!」

✹

Tian Tian sat in his gaming chair behind the monitor. His eyes were laser focused on the screen. He felt his heart pounding in his chest and his hands were sweaty. This was it. There was no turning back. He’d gone for it. I-i… There was no time to think. The worries that came up disappeared. His mind was blank and his hands moved on instinct. They knew what to do. The timing on his skills was perfect. The movements of his mouse were perfect. He was in the zone.

A green energy wrapped around Riven’s blade. She lashed out with a strike, hitting all three players from Legend around her–Broken Wings! She followed up with an auto attack on the Kalista. Kalista couldn’t do anything. She was stunned. The Riven continued with the second strike from Broken Wings, the increased stats that her active ultimate gave her helping her shred through the three Champions around her. The Kalista, Fiora, and Sejuani broke free from the stun. They could move again, and then they couldn’t. The Riven had timed it perfectly. The third strike from Broken Wings knocked those hit airborne. All three players found themselves up in the air, for just a moment.

The Riven cut down on the Kalista with an auto attack, then used the second part of her ultimate–Wind Slash! The Kalista’s health bar went almost empty. Only a sliver remained. But that was enough. The Kalista used her Heal and then flashed away. Her team would keep the Riven busy, and she’d make it out alive. She stopped just out of reach of the Riven and hesitated. Maybe she could get some poke in, help her team get the kill and grab an assist for herself. This was the wrong move. Only the Xerath was dead on the side of KG. There were still three other Champions besides the Riven. The Tristana had Rocket Jumped away and had to walk around the Jungle to get back and the Rek’Sai was almost dead only a moment ago, but the Thresh hadn’t joined the fight yet. The ghoulish green spectral appeared.

“I’m here!” the Thresh player shouted in voice chat. “Here! Grab my lantern! Let’s kill this Kalista!” He flashed towards the Kalista and Flayed her with his chain, knocking her back enough to keep her from escaping. Then he threw his lantern towards Roundy–Dark Passage!

“Thanks!” Tian Tian replied in voice chat, clicking on the lantern and traveling towards the Thresh. It pulled him away from the Sejuani and Fiora and towards the Kalista. The Kalista had some health back after using her Heal, but it was far from enough and she had no skills left to escape. The Riven auto attacked her, then canceled the animation perfectly. Animation Cancel! She slashed down on the Kalista again and killed her.

《Double kill!》

“WWOOOOOO! That is 5/0/0! Riven is 5/0/0! She’s on a Rampage! God Roundy is on a rampage!” Stone shoutcasted. The Chinese fans at the Wembley Arena shouted similar lines as did the people watching from home. God Roundy had gone in 1vs5 and had already picked up two kills! And he was still alive!

“It’s not over yet! The fight is not over!” Qinghe said. He didn’t care anymore how he looked. His eyes were glued on the monitor. He was beating his fist on the table to the rhythm of a fight song. “Legend is still going for him! He can clean them all up! This is God Roundy! He can do this!” 

“Oh! Oh!” Lolo interjected, just as excited as the other two. “Konjac! Konjac is coming back around! He’s almost there! It’s a 3v3! It’s a real fight now! Go KG!”

All roads lead to the Blue Buff Camp. The players from KG were all world class and full of determination to win this game. So when they saw the chance presented to them, they turned around. It didn’t matter how low their health was. It didn’t matter that one or two of them might die in this fight. The only thing that mattered was that this was their chance to win the teamfight against Legend. A teamfight that would help them put themselves in a very good position to win this game!

The Rek’Sai was at the end of the jungle path leading all the way to KG’s base. It was a winding path that went up all the way to the Blue Buff Camp. She Burrowed underground and followed it. Then she created a tunnel, quickly closing the distance with the Fiora and Sejuani, and Un-burrowed. She came up from underground and knocked the two players from Legend airborne.

Konjac had also walked around the jungle and back into it with his Tristana. She was now to the left of the Wolf Camp, right below the funnel at the Blue Buff Camp. The Fiora and Sejuani were in range. She placed a bomb on the Fiora–Explosive Charge! It’d explode in a few seconds, and it could be charged up by shooting auto attacks at the target! That was exactly what Konjac did. He activated Rapid Fire and went to town on the Fiora.

Demon’s screen was flashing red. The Riven had already done a number on him. Now the Tristana was also attacking his Fiora! The Fiora’s health dropped quickly and he needed to do something about that fast! There was only one thing he could do to get health back. Grand Challenge. Fiora’s ultimate revealed all four Vitals on her enemy and gave her bonus movement speed while near them. If she could hit those four Vitals or the target died, Fiora and her allies in the area would be healed over the next few seconds. She targeted Rek’Sai and attacked her!

Phoenix also caught back up. He dashed through Rek’Sai–Sweeping Blade! Then he turned around and thrust his katana forward–Steel Tempest! He knew very well that this fight was lost if Fiora couldn’t get the heal from her ultimate. They needed that health now more than anything! He hit the Rek’Sai with another auto attack, all the while cursing that he didn’t have enough attack speed! Then his heart sank. Fuck.

Konjac hit the Fiora with the last auto attack that could strengthen the bomb. The bomb attached to Fiora was flashing red and about to burst. Her health had dropped low. Too low. The Rek’Sai still had some health left. She wasn’t fast enough. The bomb exploded. Fiora died. Konjac didn’t pause. Getting a kill reset the cooldown on Rocket Jump. He pressed down on the W key. His Tristana aimed her cannon to the ground and fired, launching herself towards the Yasuo.

Phoenix clicked towards the Thresh, frantic, while smashing down on his E key. The Tristana was too strong right now and his health was too low. He couldn’t kill her. The only way out was through the Thresh. He dashed through the Thresh–Sweeping Blade! Then he ran straight into the Riven. It almost looked as if God Roundy had been waiting for him.

Tian Tian had his Riven lash out with the first strike of Broken Wings. Then he struck out with an auto attack, cancelling it before the animation completed to hit the Yasuo with the second strike of Broken Wings! The Yasuo tried to run. He didn’t even try to fight. But That didn’t matter for Tian Tian. He pressed down on his E key–Valor! His Riven dashed after the Yasuo and then leaped up in the air and slammed down onto the Yasuo, killing him–Broken Wings!

《Triple kill!》

“WOOOOOOO! TRIPLE KILL!” Qinghe shoutcasted, throwing his arms in the air and doing a little dance. “It’s a triple, it’s a triple, it’s a triple kill!”

Stone and Lolo laughed, excited. Thy high fived and then turned to look at the monitor hanging behind Qinghe. It was where the stream chat was displayed.

「TTTRRIIIPPPLLLLEEEEEEEE KKKIIILLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!」

「TRISTANA STOLE HIS PENTA!!!!! SHE BETTER AFK AND THINK ABOUT HER ACTIONS」

「god roundy with the ssiiiccckkkkk outplay」

「SOMEONE PINCH ME! IM AFRAID IM DREAMING」

「best riven world, discuss」

「BEST TOPLANER WORLD!!!!! GOD ROUNDY IS DA BEST!!1!」

✹

One of the fans watching Worlds from home was Su Xue. She sat in her bedroom, chilling in her gaming chair, and watched the KG game. When God Roundy killed the Morgana and started the turnaround of the fight, Su Xue was one of those who sat up straight in her chair. Then, as the fight went on, she leaned in closer and closer to her monitor, until she was almost touching it with her nose. As the Emperor fell, she jumped up and pumped her fist in the air. “NICE! Awesome! Great play! KG is going to win this game!”

Su Xue let herself fall back down in her chair, almost toppling over. She reached out with her arms, searching for something to grab onto, but didn’t find anything. Nor did she fall. She grinned and then breathed out through her nose. “Ah! What a game! Hmm…” She looked at the empty chair next to her. It was the chair Lin Feng so often sat in. “I wonder how that kid is doing. Did he already qualify?” She tossed a sunflower seed in her mouth and munched down on it. “Oh well, who cares. That’s just some silly tournament. This is Worlds. He’s got nothing on God Roundy! Hmph!”

✹

A teamfight broke out between High School 13 and Tonji Affiliated High! Liu Yue’s Jarvan IV threw out his flag-toss combo and dashed into the heart of the Red team. This was the decisive moment! The game deciding fight that would see the strongest team top their qualifying group! There might not be ten thousand plus people in the crowd, or shoutcasters hyping up every play. But this game was as exciting as any other at Worlds! At least, it was to the students participating in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament.

“Back back back! Get the fuck back!” 

“Exhaust! Where’s our fucking Exhaust!!!” 

“CC the Riven! STUN HER! DO SOMETHING!” 

Tonji Affiliated High’s voice chat was in chaos mode. They’d just lost their Caitlyn and now their entire team was getting sandwiched! The Janna player had no Exhaust but he still had his ultimate. He smashed down on his R key–Monsoon! A maelstrom erupted out from his Janna and pushed the players from High School 13 away, while his allies inside the maelstrom got some health back. It was a short timeout. A few seconds to breathe and get their act back together. But a few seconds were hardly enough.

Liu Yue leaped into the air and slammed down on the Syndra. The impact transformed the terrain and formed an arena around him. Wei Dong’s Leona followed up with her ultimate–⁠Solar Flare! She used her sword to summon down a beam of supercharged sunlight right into the heart of the cluster of enemy champions! It stunned both Syndra and Elise while also slowing the Janna! Yang Fan followed up with his Orianna’s Ball, launching it into the center of the trio. He pressed down on the R key to activate his Orianna’s ultimate–Command: Shockwave! A storm of electromagnetic energy raged out from the Ball and captured Syndra and Elise with its flash. Then the invisible electromagnetic pulsations dragged both of them in towards the ball, all while damaging them. Their health plummeted. The Janna barely flashed away in time, only to be met face to face with the Riven.

“Haha! You’re not getting away! Give me my penta!” Lin Feng laughed, his fingers gliding over his keyboard. He’d found his way back into the fight after being blown away by the Monsoon. Everything went as planned. He’d ace them and then push for an easy victory! He had his Riven close in on the Janna with the first two strikes from Broken Wings! Then he pressed on the Q key again for the third strike. His Riven jumped in the air with her sword raised above her head and hacked down on the Janna! The power knocked the Janna airborne! She couldn’t do anything as the Riven hacked and slashed away at her. Her health dropped and disappeared completely. Lin Feng had killed the Janna!

《Double kill!》

While Lin Feng beat down on Tonji Affiliated High’s backline, Tang Bingyao did the same on their frontline. Wei Dong had hit the Syndra with a Solar Flare. The Syndra was stunned. Her Jungler was stunned. Only their Darius could try and stop Tang Bingyao’s Draven from Blood Rushing into the fight. But he didn’t. Or rather, he couldn’t. There was a Leona who’d slammed into him with her shield, stunning him–Shield of Daybreak! Tang Bingyao maneuvered her Draven, juggling his Spinning Axes, throwing them at the Syndra and catching them again as they ricocheted off of her. The Syndra was a squishy caster at already low health and the Draven dealt a ton of damage. It only took two axes to finish her off.

《You have slain an enemy!》

Tang Bingyao turned to the Darius. She threw two spinning axes out in a straight line, slowing the Darius and knocking him aside–⁠Stand Aside! Then she continued her deadly dance, throwing Spinning Axes and catching them again. It looked like a well rehearsed play as she manipulated her axes just enough that she could reposition herself, continuing to find the best spot to throw the next axe from. The Darius couldn’t do anything. There wasn’t just the Draven, there were also the Orianna, Jarvan IV, and Leona. All four of them focused him down. Tang Bingyao caught a Spinning Axe and activated Blood Rush again for that extra bit of attack speed, when Lin Feng cried out in voice chat, “Wait! Tang Tang! Don’t steal my kills!” But she ignored him and threw the last Spinning Axe to finish the Darius off.

《Double Kill!》

After securing the kill, Tang Bingyao tilted her head and looked over at Lin Feng a few monitors over. “Hmm? What did you say?” she asked, blinking.

“Nooo! My penta!” Lin Feng wailed. He let go of his mouse and keyboard and started pulling his ruffly hair, turning to Tang Bingyao to show her his pain. He was absolutely devastated! “That was my penta! What good Riven game doesn’t have a penta! You’re so mean!”

“Oh, was that it? I already killed the Syndra. You wouldn’t have gotten a penta anyway,” Tang Bingyao replied, honest and direct as ever.

✹

Tian Tian carried KG to win the fight. He’d killed the Emperor and picked up a double kill! Konjac had also dealt a ton of damage in the end and gotten the kills on the Fiora and Sejuani. He’d played a good fight, as had the Thresh and Rek’Sai. Everyone had forgotten how the fight started. The outcome was all that mattered. And it was precisely that outcome that a lot of Chinese fans had an issue with.

「the hell!? Where’s our penta!!!」

「what is this bullshit! konjac stole his penta…………」

「I already have my pants down! I can’t finish if I don’t see my roundy get a penta!」

「i want my money back!!!!!11!!」

「screw this im not watching anymore of this shit HOW FUCKING DARE HE GIVE GOD ROUNDY HIS PENTA NOW」

「useless team dragging GOD roundy down……」

Qinghe laughed and said, “I see how the chat feels about this last fight. How about we take another look at it and see if they’re right. Did Konjac really steal a penta away from God Roundy, or was it a good teamplay? Let’s see!”

《You have slain an enemy!》

《Double Kill!》

《You have slain an enemy!》

《Triple Kill》

《Double Kill!》

《Aced!》

“Gotta say I agree with the viewers here,” Stone laughed. “That was absolutely totally a penta steal! Haha! What a great play by God Roundy! Shame about that penta steal. Really puts a damper on the whole thing!”

“God Roundy with the beautiful plays getting screwed over! It’s like solo queue all over!” Lolo laughed. “What a play! Best play of the year! Best play of League ever! He so should’ve gotten that penta! We want to see a penta! Penta! Penta!”

“Hmmm…” Qinghe looked at the replay for a second time. He watched God Roundy pick up the first two kills, and then Konjac picked up the third kill of the fight. Then God Roundy again before Konjac killed the Sejuani and ended the fight. He took the chat seriously for just a moment, while they were just having a laugh. “If Konjac hadn’t picked up that third kill, I would’ve agreed. But this was very much great teamplay on the back of a phenomenal play by God Roundy!”

Lolo smiled and said, “Never! That was totally a steal! God Roundy should just rage quit! He deserves to after that fight! Haha!”

The chat jumped on the Lolo bandwagon. They loved her and roasted Qinghe! Qinghe shook his head. He’d been far too absorbed in the fight. It was just that exciting! And then he misread the room. Everyone was excited! Thrilled! KG was winning! They were actually beating an Emperor team! And their messages reflected that. Now, they were just having some fun, releasing all their stress into chat. This small victory just about secured the game for KG! They would move on to the next round in Worlds if nothing crazy happened!

✹

KG still had to play the game out, but Lin Feng and his team had already won against Tonji Affiliated High! They’d pushed hard after winning the teamfight and picking up the Dragon and after the game hit the 27 minute mark, Tonji Affiliated High gave up. They surrendered unanimously. The primal energy within the Red Nexus twisted and warped before erupting out in a powerful explosion. On the screens of the players from High School 13, the large “VICTORY” message appeared.

Ren Rou and Chen Ze ran up to the players behind the monitors, screaming, 
“We won! We won! You guys did it! Oh my god, you guys really did it! You beat Tonji Affiliated High!” 
“That was so beautiful! Amazing teamwork! Thanks Lin Feng! Your top lane plays were crazy!”

Ouyang didn’t join Ren Rou and Chen Ze. He stood still, staring at the monitor. His head rocked back and forth and his knees started shaking. “D-did we really beat Tonji? T-they were semifinalists…” He tried to swallow the lump in his throat down, ruffling his hair. “D-did we really…” Only two weeks ago, he thought this was something impossible. A dream he didn’t even dare dream of. But in a short two weeks, here they were. They’d defeated Tonji Affiliated High! “W-we, we won!”

Liu Yue leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling before sitting up straight again and rubbing his eyes. He looked at his screen. The letters ‘VICTORY’ still stood there. He started laughing and crying, “W-we really won?”

Yang Fan put a hand on Liu Yue’s shoulder. He adjusted his glass, quickly wiping his eyes with his sleeve. He played it calm and said, “Yeah man, we did it. We won!” Then he readjusted his glasses again, and again. He couldn’t hide the joy and happiness and most of all disbelief.

Wei Dong kept shaking his head. His hands were still on his mouse and keyboard. The game couldn’t be over yet. They hadn’t lost yet. He didn’t think any other result was possible. His eyes rested on the victory screen. He pinched his arm and muttered, “We really did it. I’m not dreaming. We won!”

High School 13, the school that had lost in the qualifying round last year and the school that other teams never even considered as contenders for the main tournament, had won their qualifying group this year! They’d won all three matches and would move on to the main tournament with a perfect record!

The members of Tonji Affiliated High stood up from their seats, one a bit faster than the other. This loss didn’t mean much to them. They’d already secured their spot in the next round. But that didn’t mean they were happy either. They were rather muffled. High School 13 had outplayed them and that was why they’d lost. They walked around the isle and congratulated them on a game well played.

Just because this qualifying round was for a tournament and everyone was in a competitive spirit, that didn’t mean that both sides couldn’t be friendly before and after the game. After shaking hands, Tonji Affiliated High’s Toplaner walked over and nodded at Lin Feng, “Your Riven is amazing, man. Those were some crazy plays. I could easily see you playing in Challenger.”

“Haha, thanks! My Riven really was pretty amazing!” Lin Feng laughed.

Ouyang had walked over after his initial shock and happened to hear Lin Feng brag. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head a little. Then he pushed through a few people and grabbed Lin Feng by the shoulder. “Hey, bro. What the fuck… Show some humility. Bragging everywhere and about everything isn’t some great trait. It’s kind of stupid is what it is.”

While Lin Feng was talking with Tonji Affiliated High’s Toplaner, Tang Bingyao got approached by their ad-carry. He scratched his hair and took several fake steps in her direction before finally walking up to her. “H-hey,” he mumbled, sticking out his hand and almost punching her in the stomach. “U-uh, your Draven was really good.”

Tang Bingyao shook his hand and nodded, “Thank you.”

The ad-carry from Tonji Affiliated High felt his face heat up. His stomach was taking a roller coaster ride and his knees were wobbling. He still mustered up the courage to talk. “U-um… D-do you want to be League friends? M-maybe we can duo together some time?”

Tang Bingyao slightly tilted her head. She didn’t answer right away, instead observing him a little. How he was wobbling on his feet. How he was playing with his hands. How his eyes wouldn’t meet hers and his face was beet red. She hesitated for a moment and then asked, “Are you trying to ask me out?”

His eyes went wide. It felt like his world came to a stop. His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. He wobbled back and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “U-uhm… N-n… I-i d-d…” He looked around for his friends, then found the door to the internet cafe and bolted away.

“What the…” Tang Bingyao looked after Tonji Affiliated High’s ad-carry. Then she turned to Ren Rou who’d just walked up to her and asked, “Why’d he run?”

Ren Rou tried to stop herself from laughing, hiding her smile with her hand. “Tang Tang–” She couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. She grabbed her stomach and clutched in, lunging forward and almost falling down on the ground. “Hahaha!” She felt for the table and pushed herself up against it, then took several deep breaths. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at Tang Bingyao. “Aww, haha! Tang Tang, guys aren’t used to us girls being so direct. Haha! You scared him off! Ha! He just ran away, did you see him run? Hahaha! You know? You know, if you keep this up… Hahaha! You’ll scare them all off!”

Yang Fan pushed into the river from mid lane. Tonji Affiliated High was trying to take control of the Dragon pit, and he wouldn’t let that happen! He had his Orianna send her Ball into their team with Command: Attack! All it had to do was hit someone and it’d deal damage. If he rinsed and repeated that a few times, he could force them back. He’d help his team push down towards the Dragon pit and take over control of the area! The Ball hit the Syndra and he pressed down on his W key–Command: Dissonance! It erupted with a pulse of energy that dealt a large amount of magic damage!

Tang Bingyao also got the message. If they gave the Dragon to Tonji Affiliated High, that would be it. The fat lady wouldn’t just be singing, she’d be belting out an entire opera. They’d fall too far behind. So she pressed forward. But she had to be careful with that, since her Draven had a short attack range. She targeted and poked and attacked only the enemy champions in the frontline with her Spinning Axe, all while hovering her finger over the D key. Just in case she needed to Flash away. As much as they needed to push for control over the Dragon Pit, she couldn’t let herself be killed. Her team had no hope of getting through the team fight at the Dragon Pit without her damage. 

Tonji Affiliated High wasn’t stupid, nor were they blind. They knew exactly what was going on. This was the fight that could decide the game. If they managed to get a kill and took the Dragon down after that, this game was in the bag. They could push through the advantage to take down towers and eventually the Nexus. So they were looking for the pick. They’d rounded up the players from High School 13 near the mid lane. The Janna threw Howling Gales their way, hoping for that one good knock up that would be the opening salvo to the melody that led to them winning this teamfight. The Caitlyn fired off Piltover Peacemakers every chance she got. Bullets that blossomed open with two blade-like wings and sliced forward through the air. And any enemy champions from High School 13 that happened to be in their path. 

This particular Caitlyn had finally hit her power-spike. The moment where she achieved terminal and deadly velocity. Two items, that’s all she needed. Then for a brief, shining, glorious interval in the game, she was unstoppable. The combination of her long range and high damage proved to be a nightmare for High School 13. They couldn’t get too close, couldn’t poke, and couldn’t engage without stepping into her kill zone. And she would always fire if they entered her attack range. A normal hit wasn’t too bad. Any champion she sniped still had a shot at surviving. But if she happened to get a critical hit off, that would hurt. Just a smidge more than the pain that comes from having your high school crush laugh at you when you finally gathered the courage to ask her to prom. It would hurt enough that any champion from High School 13’s team who took a critical hit to the face would be forced to back away. Maybe even run back to base to heal. 

The Syndra from Tonji Affiliated High’s team, she wasn’t a pushover either. Her skills and attacks also packed a punch, a serious wallop of burst damage. If she managed to get her full combo off, she could instadelete a champion. But that came with its own drawbacks. Every time she used her full combo, she had to back out and wait for her skills to cooldown. But that small handicap was mitigated with the constant damage from the Caitlyn. Essentially, what this boiled down to was that both Caitlyn and Syndra were necessary components for Tonji Affiliated High to win this team fight. They were equally important. But the Caitlyn was flush with power and going a little insane. Her team needed her for this fight, needed her to stay alive. But she started to get a little too aggressive and played a little bit too recklessly. Enough to worry her team, and they didn’t hold back when reminding her how important it was that she stay alive. 

“Stop being so aggro! You think you’re that Draven or something? Stay back!” 

“Watch out for J4 and Leona! Seriously, we’re screwed if they get to our backline!”

“Stay the fuck back! You idiot! The Riven can just flash engage on you!”

Throughout this teamfight, there was a very real threat that High School 13’s team would go in for a hard engage. If their Leona or Jarvan IV could find a moment to go in on either Caitlyn or the Syndra from Tonji Affiliated High, that would end this fight. With Command: Protect, Orianna could attach her Ball to them and then use her Command: Shockwave to deal a ton of magic damage and push back any enemy champions within reach. The champions from Tonji Affiliated High were all clustered together right now, huddled up. They’d be toast. Beyond the threat from Leona, Jarvan IV, and Orianna, there was also still the Riven to think about. A fed Riven. A Riven who could Flash into their backline and slice through their carries with a single sweep of her blade. They absolutely had to be careful.

“Okay! I got it! I got it!” exclaimed the player who controlled the Caitlyn. He was exhausted. Irritated. Everyone on his team was being too neurotic and worrying too much. He knew why they were worried and what they were worried about. He knew there was a chance that his Caitlyn would get killed if he overextended. But that was the same in every game. This is all because I lost to that Draven early in the game… He walked his Caitlyn back a little, taking cover behind his team’s tanks, the more defensively orientated champions. Look, there’s that Jarvan being an idiot again. And look at that Leona, fronting like she’s hot shit… And that Riven that everyone’s shitting themselves over, she’s probably in that bush… He decided to use his Caitlyn to throw a Yordle Snap Trap in the brush he was looking at to get some quick vision. Huh? Wait. WAIT! SHIT! His eyes rounded, “Guys! The Riven is m–”

A flash of golden light erupted out on top of the Caitlyn. The Riven appeared out of nowhere. She raised her sword and shouted, a shock wave of green energy sweeping out and stunned the Caitlyn and Janna–Ki Burst! Then the Riven followed up with a quick auto attack and then the first strike of three from the skill Broken Wings. Then came the second auto attack and also the second strike from the skill Broken Wings. It all happened so fast. The players from Tonji Affiliated High forgot to react. They only shouted in shock in their voice chat. 

“Oh shit oh shit! Riven! RIVEN!” 

“Fuck! How?” 

“Protect Caitlyn! Peel! Peel! Peel!” 

“Exhaust! Exhaust the Riven!” 

“I don’t have Exhaust! I used it already!”

The rest of the team tried to save Caitlyn. They needed her! But the Riven was too strong and none of them had the right abilities off cooldown. The only thing that could stop the Riven right now, or slow her down, was Janna’s Exhaust. But unfortunately for her and the rest of her team, she’d used that two minutes earlier in bot lane against the Draven. It was still on cooldown. And they didn’t know that. The card that the rest of the team thought they had up their sleeves, it didn’t exist.

The Caitlyn smashed down on his keyboard. 90 Caliber Net! Flash! One of them had to work! Maybe then he could still get out, somehow. But the Ki Burst’s stun didn’t break. His Caitlyn just stood there, immobile, while he smashed down on his keyboard, frantic. Then as her health dropped down below a quarter, she moved. Finally. The Flash worked. She followed it up with a 90 Caliber Net. And then a wave of runic sword energy! But that wasn’t Caitlyn’s skill. It was the Riven’s. It was the second part of her ultimate–Wind Slash! The green runic sword energy sliced through the Caitlyn and killed her.

《Rampage!》

The crowd burst into cheers. This was a beautiful play! This was exactly what they were watching the game for! But above all the excitement, three voices were louder than any other. They belonged, of course, to Ouyang, Ren Rou and Chen Ze. 

“NICE, BRO! HELL YEAH! KILL ‘EM ALL!” 

“HAHA! THAT WAS BRILLIANT! YOU’RE THE BEST LIN FENG!” 

“HE CAN REALLY DO THIS! HE REALLY CAN!”

The players from High School 13 stared at the Riven. They turned into spectators as they didn’t even chase after the players from Tonji Affiliated High as they moved to kill Lin Feng. “GO GO GO GO! What are you waiting for!” Lin Feng’s voice sounded in the voice chat. It was enough to snap them out of it. They weren’t spectating this game. They were playing in it!

“COMING IN HOT!” Liu Yue cried out. He was the first to react. He had his Jarvan IV dash into the heart of Tonji Aff. High’s team with his flag toss combo. The Syndra was right in front of him. “DEMACIA!” He jumped up in the air and then came crashing down on her, knocking her into the ground with such force that the terrain around them transformed into an arena–Cataclysm!

✹

Legend had caught out KG’s Midlaner and Jungler! The Midlaner was already dead. Right now, they were chasing the Rek’Sai through KG’s top side jungle. Sejuania led the charge, with Yasuo and Morgana right behind her. The Yasuo was the only one with real damage. If he was out of the picture, Rek’Sai might still survive! Konjac, KG’s ad-carry, knew this. He sneaked into his jungle and hid in the Wolf Camp, waiting for Rek’Sai to pass by above him. Then he had his Tristana load a massive cannonball into her weapon and fired it at the Yasuo as he passed by–Buster Shot! The magic damage didn’t threaten the Yasuo, but the knockback was enough to get him away from the Rek’Sai.

Konjac smiled. A job well done. His screen flashed red. Huh? He’d been moving his screen to follow his Rek’Sai to see if she could make it out alive. Shit! This distraction had left his Tristana undefended. He’d forgotten there were five players on Legend for a second. Demon was one of those five. Legend’s Toplaner. He Lunged onto Konjac’s Tristana with his Fiora! The Fiora then erupted forth with a tempest of slashes–Bladework! She slowed the Tristana down with the first attack and critically hit her with the second! A third and fourth and the Tristana had less than half of her health remaining.

The European fans in the Wembley Arena had forgotten all about whatever it was that’d happened before the game had started. Right now, they only wanted to see Legend win. And that was what they were seeing! Their team was about to break open a lead so big that they’d all but won the game. Just a few more kills and a Dragon. It was within reach. They stamped their feet on the ground in an even rhythm, building up the hype. This was the moment that Legend would win their hardest game in the group stage yet!

KG had to defeat Legend if they wanted to make it out of the group stage without playing a tiebreaker. But the openings to mount a comeback were quickly becoming smaller. Legend was pulling ahead, and fast. It was so bad even that if KG didn’t turn this fight around, then they could just as well surrender. That was how poorly it looked for them. Yet on the flip side, if they won this match, then they’d be as good as qualified for the next round! The Chinese fans forgot to breathe, shackled to their TVs. This was the moment. Make or break.

The Chinese casters were just as nervous as their viewers. They were fans of the game, and they wanted to see the teams from their region do well! The three of them leaned forward, their arms on the caster desk, as they watched the game as closely as they could. If anything happened, they wanted to be the first to see it. Stone did. His face started shining as he stood up straight and looked into the camera, “YES! KG still has a chance! It’s not all over! IT’S NOT OVER! RIVEN IS COMING!”

Tian Tian had his Riven run down the river and into his own top side Jungle. He walked past the Blue Buff Camp and into the brush. The Rek’Sai had already run past. The Sejuani and Yasuo were still chasing her. But the Morgana sat back. Her health was low and she was recalling back to base. She had no clue he was there, because the Rek’Sai had swept for wards a minute earlier and cleared all of them in the top half of the river. I-i can do this! I-i can! Yes! Tian Tian’s breaths became short and loud. Then he clicked on the Morgana and then pressed on the R key–Blade of the Exile!

A green energy lit up around the edges of Riven’s reforged sword. She dashed towards the Morgana–Valor! The Morgana didn’t have her Dark Binding. It was still on cooldown. She was defenseless. The Riven lashed out with a series of strikes, three of them in total–Broken Wings! She didn’t even pause in between for auto attacks. That would take more time and Morgana’s health was already so low that it wasn’t necessary. She smashed her sword down onto the Morgana for the third strike and killed her.

《Rampage!》

“GOD ROUNDY HAS DONE IT AGAIN!” Stone screamed on the caster desk. The chat was lighting up. The fans all across the world agreed. God Roundy was back! Last week was forgotten. This game and a win was all that mattered now!

「666666666666」

「GOD ROUNDY IS DA FRIGGIN BESTTTT!!!!!1!!」

「ROUNDY ROLLS OVER THEM!!!」

「GOOOOOO ROUNDY!!!!! NICE PLAY MY BROOO!!!!!!!!」

「OMGOMGOGMOGMGOMG IT WORKED!!!! WALKING TO THE FRIDGE GETS ROUNDY A KILL!!! IMA WALK TO THE FRIDGE AGAIN BRB!!!!!」

「SSIICCKKK PLLAAYYY GO GET EM TIGER!」

Tian Tian quickly fled back into the brush near Blue Buff Camp after killing the Morgana. The other four players from Legend stopped what they were doing. Their chase of the other members from KG seemed pointless. Even if they got the kills, they weren’t worth as much as Tian Tian’s Riven. And the Riven was in the middle of the jungle. There was no easy escape. They turned around and collapsed on her.

On the caster desk, Qinghe put his hand down on a sheet of paper. He crumpled it and said, “Can he escape? Can God Roundy do it again and escape?” He turned his eyes away from the monitor and looked into the camera. “God Roundy killed the Morgana in an ambush. That’s a good play. He bought his teammates some time to escape. But it’ll only be worth it if he can stay alive. Because if he dies, he’ll give away the bounty on his head as well as the Dragon. It’s now all on his shoulders! Let’s see what he does!”

Phoenix was the closest to the Blue Buff Camp. He was just left of it, towards KG’s base. He had his Yasuo turn around and flashed forward. Gimme that shutdown gold! He grinned. This would be an easy kill. There was plenty of space to chase after the Riven, and his Yasuo was great at chasing. He pressed down on his E key–Sweeping Blade! This was a gap closer from Yasuo that also dealt a little bit of magic damage. He used it to catch up to the Riven and then auto attacked with his katana.

The other three players from Legend stopped chasing whoever they were chasing and redirected their focus on the Riven. She wasn’t far away. Really close, even. They were all only a few steps away from the Blue Buff Camp. All that separated them was a funnel. They moved towards it without thinking. The Riven was running away and they wanted to catch up. It never crossed their minds that the Riven could turn around. A 1v4 sounded suicidal in a normal game, let alone at Worlds! But that was exactly what Tian Tian did on his Riven. He flashed towards the three players from Legend when they pushed through the funnel and then pressed on the W key–Ki Burst! A shockwave of green energy swept out from the Riven, stunning the three players from Legend!

Stone jumped up and down behind the caster desk. He looked at the camera, then at Qinghe. “WOOOOOO!” he yelled before running at the camera and grabbing it with both hands. He pushed his face into the camera and shouted, “A FLASH INTO THE ENEMY TEAM! GOD ROUNDY! GOD ROUNDY! HE, HE, HE…”

Everyone, from the other professional players in the VIP viewing area to the casual League of Legends fan back at home sat up in their chairs. They stopped everything else they were doing and focused their full attention on the game. Something special was happening. Something unique. Something everything would be talking about for years to come!

「HOLYSHIT! HOLYSHIT! HOLYSHIT!」

「HE’S GOING IN FOR THe 1V4 CLUTCH PLAY!」

「GOD ROUNDY IS DOING IT!!!!!」

「666666」

「AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I CANT BELIEVE THIS OMGGGGG THIS IS INSANE!!!」

「DO IT ROUNDY! I BELLIIEEEBBBBBBBBBBB!!!!!!」

“Come on, guys! You can do it!” Ren Rou shouted. She wanted to win this game! They were doing so great during the early game. What happened in the last few minutes, that was only a minor setback! Two kills and a Dragon, that’s all that happened! They could still win! There was still hope!

“YEAH! Come on, my bros! We can totally still win this!” Ouyang cheered. He punched up into the air. But it looked completely mismatched with the expression on his face. He was biting his lips and his eyes were wide open, full of worry. A trace of this worry slipped into his voice. “We can do this! Totally.”

Chen Ze didn’t say anything. He watched the players from High School 13 sitting behind their monitors. They looked lost, even from behind. He couldn’t explain why. Perhaps it was the way they were sitting in their chairs, or how they kept looking towards Lin Feng as if they were searching for his guidance. Their plays became less confident too. They hid further back. Whenever an opportunity did show up, they chose to retreat rather than engage. It looked like they’d lost the will to fight.

It made sense. This game was difficult. Tonji Affiliated High was simply better than High School 13. They were the semi finalists from last year. They had the stronger players in every role. They had everything going for them. Well, almost everything. Lin Feng was on High School 13’s team. He was the only reason the game wasn’t over yet. But how far can he carry us? Even with him, it looks like we still can’t win. We’re just not good enough. Chen Ze thought things would’ve been different if they just had more time. More time to practice. More time to learn from Lin Feng. Two weeks just wasn’t enough. It’s fine, though. Right? It’s just one game. There’s nothing on the line here. We’ve already qualified. Yeah…. It’s fine.

However, the players from High School 13 hadn’t given up. Nor was their morale running low. They were just upset, that’s all. Not even upset, really. More like mildly miffed. They were mad at themselves, more than anything else. It was their mistakes that had led to them giving up two kills and a Dragon. They were annoyed that Tonji Affiliated High was back in the game because of their mistakes. But that annoyance was not the same as giving up. If anything, it made them want to fight even harder!

The usually quiet Wei Dong was the first to give voice to these emotions. “God dammit guys! I’m not gonna stand here and take this! We’re not going to let Mikey get to us! Not after that fantastic start we had! We’re going to win this damn game! We’re going to win! This is only one match, but we can make an explosion!”

“Heck yeah! What Wei Dong says! THEY SHALL NOT PASS!” Liu Yue said. He cleared the Wolf Camp on the top side of his Jungle, then added, “I’ll come help you guys in bot and mid. Screw that Elise and her shitty ganks! I’ll show them what a real gank looks like!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses. “Come mid first. Syndra has no Flash. Should be an easy kill.” There was something more he wanted to say, but he hesitated. He had his Orianna walk into lane to last hit a minion, careful not to get caught out by the Syndra. He clicked his tongue and added, “Of course, this isn’t great right now. We’ve given away two kills. It’d be strange if any of us were happy. But being upset isn’t giving up. We’re not giving up. Our goal is the trophy. This is just one game towards that trophy. Let’s make sure we win it.”

Tang Bingyao bit down hard on her lips. Tonji Affiliated High had gotten a kill over her. Their ad-carry was ahead of her Draven now. But she was the better ad-carry. She knew she was the better player. It was time for her to prove that. Play time is over! Instead of making promises over voice chat or cheering with the others to fight, she just stared at her screen. She stared at Tonji Affiliated High’s ad-carry. I don’t care what it takes. Starting right now, I’m going to play on! I’m going to beat you. And I’m going to win this game.

Lin Feng looked over at his teammates and smiled. They’d made a few mistakes, and that was fine. Mistakes were a part of life. Lin Feng wasn’t upset that they’d died. They were trying their best and that was all he could ask of them. That was also why he was happy now. They were doing their best. Even after falling behind, they didn’t give up nor did they start blaming each other. Instead, they were supporting each other. Offering help and seeing what they could do to get their teammates back into the game. They came together as a unit and fought against a team they knew was much stronger than they were. For that reason alone, Lin Feng was proud of them.

Lin Feng took a deep breath, long and slow. He needed to play a perfect game with his Riven to help his team win. That was the singular point of his focus. He didn’t even join in for any of the discussions over voice chat. His teammates, his friends, could figure out their strategy on their own. He knew they could, and he trusted them. He knew they’d make the right call, and they did. They chose to fight! That was the right choice. He could feel his heart beating faster and the adrenaline pounding in his veins. There was a fire burning in his bones! He was going to win this game for them! His Riven was going to go in like a wrecking ball! He knew he needed to say something, he knew how one word could make a heart open. So he said, “You’re doing great, guys! Dontcha worry, leave the rest to me! I’ll bring this game home!”

✹

Determination was important when you decided to chase your dreams. You needed to be determined enough to constantly headbutt a brick wall until it broke down. You also needed courage to keep charging into it. Over and over again. Without the courage to recklessly charge forward against any obstacle in your path, determination meant nothing. There was a formula for it. Ten percent luck, twenty percent skill, fifteen percent concentrated power of will, five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain. That’s what you needed to conquer your dream.

It didn’t matter how big or strong the guy standing in the way of your goal was or how tall and thick that brick wall was. As long as you laughed at the immovable object in front of you and charged forward heroically with all your might. You might fall a couple of times. You might need to take a breath. But even if you couldn’t move an immovable object despite becoming an unstoppable force, you could still hold your head up with pride. The journey alone transformed you into an unstoppable force, one that could charge forward again after stepping around the immovable obstacle. There was a hundred percent reason for everyone to remember your name. 

Just like Alonso Quixono in the novel, “Don Quixote”. A laughable knight-errant who attempted to revive chivalry by tilting at windmills. His actions were considered both comical and delusional by the post-chivalric society in the novel. But the Knight Don Quixote never gave up, and never backed down. He faced countless foes, albeit fictional, and eventually triumphed. 

In the face of an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, an immovable obstacle, all you needed was courage. The courage to turn into an unstoppable force and charge forward! But in League of Legends, you didn’t need to have that courage alone. You had teammates standing at your shoulders, pushing you forward. A League of Legends team was composed of five people!

Five people who could rely on each other! Five people who could depend on each other for courage! Five people who could band together to become an unstoppable force that could overcome any obstacle!

My power’s turned on, starting right now I’ll be strong!

Like how Riven’s unwavering voice rang out through the battlefield where she continued to fight alone until her blade was smashed to pieces, “My spirit is still not lost!”

I’ll play my fight song! And I don’t really care if nobody else believes, cause I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me!

Like how Tian Tian relentlessly pursued victory despite trembling and shaking at the edge of the abyss that was his anxiety!

Like a small boat, on the ocean, sending big waves into motion. Like how a single word can make a heart open. I might only have one match, but I can make an explosion!

Like how Lin Feng charged into this game with his spirit burning brighter and brighter, pushed forward by his teammates until he turned into an unstoppable force!

This is my fight song! Take back my life song! Prove I’m alright song! My power’s turned on! Starting right now, I’ll be strong! I’ll play my fight song! And I don’t really care if nobody else believes, cause I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me!
Know I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me.

✹

At 14 minutes into the game, the second Dragon spawned. The players from High School 13 and Tonji Affiliated High gravitated towards the Dragon pit in the bottom side river. Tonji Affiliated High took control of the river above the Dragon pit. They bullied the players from High School 13 away and back towards mid lane. The players from High School 13 weren’t just going to take this. They fired back with their skillshots and tried to get vision over the area, and then maybe control. All the while, Lin Feng had slipped away and pathed from mid lane down through his Jungle and around the Dragon pit. Then he walked through the tri brush near bot lane towards the river.

A few people in the crowd noticed the Riven’s icon showing up below Tonji Affiliated High’s team. They tapped or brushed against the people around them and pointed at the monitor. 

“Dude! Look there! The Riven!” 
“The Riven backdoor!”
“Oh snap! This gonna be juicy!”

Ouyang looked around the cafe. The whispers weren’t whispered, they were more like muffled shouts. He put his finger to his lips and started shushing those who were the loudest. Ren Rou did the same, as did Chen Ze. Lin Feng was flanking Tonji Affiliated High! He tried to get into their backline and one shot the squishy carries hiding behind the tanks! This was a great plan! But it would fail the moment Tonji Affiliated High noticed him. So the three of them took it upon themselves to quiet the crowd, and make sure Tonji Affiliated High wouldn’t find out about it until it was already too late to do anything about it!

✹

The casters of the KG versus Legend game had full vision of the map. They saw where Legend was, even when KG couldn’t. Right now, KG had very few wards and had no clue where any of the players from Legend were. “NO! BACK! Don’t do that! Back! Not good! KG is going to get caught!” Stone cried out as the crowd in the Wembley Arena came to life. Everyone saw what was happening, except for the five players from KG.

KG’s Rek’Sai was trying to get some vision around their mid lane. He walked through his upper jungle until he arrived at the wall separating the jungle near mid lane and the river. On the other side of the wall was the river brush. That was where he wanted his ward. He got as close up to the wall as he could and then placed a ward over it into the brush. As he did, the dark magic of Morgana flew through the wall and locked him in place–Dark Binding!

The Xerath, KG’s Midlaner, saw the Dark Binding appear. He moved without thinking, ready to help his Jungler. Then Rek’Sai’s ward landed on the brush. It revealed all five members of KG, waiting for a pick. “Crap!” the Xerath shouted. But he was already too close to his Jungler, and too far away from his outer tower. Nor was there any time to react.

Legend’s Sejuani flashed over the wall and then charged into the Rek’Sai and Xerath, knocking both of them up into the air–Arctic Assault! This was the moment that the Yasuo was waiting for. He activated his ultimate and blinked over to the two airborne Champions! Then he knocked them back down to the ground–Last Breath! The Sejuani came in right after with her own ultimate, a bola that froze and stunned the first Champion it struck–Glacial Prison!

KG’s Midlaner died. Before the other three members from Legend could walk around the wall and arrive to the fight, he was already dead. The combination of crowd control spells meant there was nothing he could do in return. He was basically perma-stunned until he died. As for the Rek’Sai. After the Last Breath knocked her back down to the ground, she flashed away and created enough of a gap to have some hope of survival. But the players from Legend were hot on her tail!

If Legend got the kill on the Jungler, then the second Dragon was within their grasp. They would get another buff on top of two kills. This would be the nail in the coffin for KG. There was no coming back after that happened. The Chinese casters and fans at home were biting their nails. Legend was too strong. The Sejuani could tank towers, while the rest finished off the Rek’Sai. It looked hopeless. Their only hope was God Roundy and his Riven. They looked towards the minimap, where they saw Riven’s icon moving down the river from top lane and towards the action.

✹

Lin Feng walked up towards the team from Tonji Affiliated High from behind, while Tian Tian did the same in his game against Legend. 10,000 kilometers separated the two, but they kept making the same plays. They played with the same conviction and came to the same conclusion. This fight was not lost! It didn’t matter how bad it looked, both of them believed they could turn the fight around and pull out a win for their team! The two friends slammed down on their R keys, an ocean apart but still bonded by fate.

Both Rivens empowered their weapons with green energy, reforging their broken blades–Blade of the Exile! Their attack damage and range rose sharply, and they gained the powerful ability Wind Slash! Their cold voices echoed through Summoner’s Rift, and across time and space itself, in unison, “I am awakened!”