“Who were you talking to?” Su Xue asked, curious. Lin Feng had ran out of the room with his phone in hand a few minutes earlier and only now came back. He’d ran away while the stream was still running. People were here, just for his commentary! They’d badgered her with questions and demands. Bunch of degens… Hehe.

“Oh, this?” Lin Feng asked, pointing at his phone. Then he scratched the back of his head, “Uh, just a classmate.”

“A classmate?” Su Xue looked Lin Feng up and down. He moved back a little and wouldn’t meet her eyes. What’s he hiding? Then she started smiling, grinning. “Hehe. Just a classmate? Is that right? You ran all the way to the washroom for that? It’s a girl, isn’t it? You can tell me. What was her name again? Tang Tang? Was that her?” She winked at Lin Feng and pulled him over. “Haha. Nevermind. Come, hurry up! I promised the viewers we’d do some in-houses to celebrate KG’s win!”

Lin Feng’s eyes lit up. He fought his way out of Su Xue’s embrace and was already halfway out of the room, when he said over his shoulder, “Awesome! I’d love that! Hold on, let me go grab my laptop!”

The viewer in-houses were the main attraction of Su Xue’s stream these days. Viewers would come from far and wide just to watch these games. Su Xue versus Lin Feng. A trainwreck meeting an unstoppable force! Despite the clear difference in skill, these were always fun matches to watch. And also a lot of fun to play in. There were many viewers bickering over each other to see who the lucky eight were this time. People who tuned into the stream for the first time were welcomed by viewers and the streamer having a good time together. It was this kind of warm and inviting atmosphere that saw them sticking around. That saw them hitting the follow button and coming back again another time. They wanted to become a part of the community. Though, it didn’t hurt that Su Xue was also fairly attractive. That kept the boys around, and attracted some more to come and check out the stream.

Lin Feng rushed back into Su Xue’s bedroom and put down his laptop on her desk. Su Xue had already created the lobby and invited the viewers. They were all waiting for Lin Feng to join. He was Red Team’s captain. And like the last few times, he decided to play Support. If he played any other role, it’d be even easier for him to carry the games. This just gave the sense of it being a fair match up. Though, it was anything but. Lin Feng was so much better than Su Xue that there really was no comparing the two.

The game was barely 10 minutes in. Su Xue was playing ad-carry and had decided to test her skills on Kalista. She was last hitting minions while keeping an eye on the stream. Right now, her eyes were on the number of viewers. 11,045. She laughed and turned to Lin Feng. “Haha! Look! 10k-plus viewers again! It’s starting to become a regular—”

Focus was key. Su Xue wasn’t nearly good enough at League of Legends to split her attention between her stream and gameplay. Lin Feng punished her right away. His Morgana was already in position and conjured her dark magic. Then he fired off a Dark Binding and bound the Kalista. His Graves followed up, dashing into the fight and unloading his shotgun on the Kalista. Buckshot! Three bullets shot out in a cone, all three smashing into the Kalista and blasting away her health. Then he used his ultimate skill–Collateral Damage! The Graves fired off an explosive shell with such force that he was knocked back. The shell dealt physical damage and then exploded, destroying the Kalista’s health bar!

《You have been slain.》

Su Xue saw the grin on Lin Feng’s face a moment before the announcer’s voice rang out in her ears. She looked back at her screen and saw that it’d turned grey. They’d killed her. She’d lost focus for a second and they’d killed her! “What? Why? Argghh! Lin Feng!” She slapped him on the shoulder, more annoyed at herself than anything else. This, of course, was precisely the thing her viewers loved to see.

「LOL DUMBASS!!!!!」

「hahahaha, plat noob daydreaming against a challenger」

「The maid is living up to her name! She’ll soon be back in the kitchen!」

「shes sooooooooooooooo bad hahahaa」

「lolololol her team must hate her」

「IT”S LIKE SHE”S TRYIN TO FEEDDDD>>>.???」

Su Xue bit her lips as she read the stream chat. She squinted her eyes, ready to erupt at her viewers. Then it happened. Lin Feng had moved away a little after she’d slapped him. In preparation. “Good job, Graves!” he said at the camera. His smile turned wider, brighter. He started laughing, clutching his stomach preemptively. “Sick Dark Binding, right? But man, hahaha! Those Kalista skills! Hahaha! Worst Kalista on the Ionia server, am I right? Hahaha!”

“YOU SHITTY BRAT!” Su Xue erupted. She pushed her gaming chair back and shot to her feet. “GET HERE YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT! HOW DARE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ME! COME HERE! LET ME BEAT SOME SENSE INTO YOU!”

The best part of the in-houses had started. It was why the viewers kept coming back. The games were great, and Lin Feng’s Challenger skills really made for some beautiful plays and highlight reels, but that wasn’t the best part. The best part was when Su Xue lost her cool again. When she did something stupid and needed someone to vent on. That poor sap was Lin Feng. She ran after him as he jumped on her bed and kept her at a distance. She ran right, he jumped left. She dove after him and he just slipped through her fingers, dodging any attempt of her catching him. All in full view of the viewers.

「HAHAHHA WHAT ARE THEY DOING!??!?!?!」

「LOL what are these two? This is hilarious!!!!!!!」

「THIS is the best part of the stream!」

「just sit back and enjoy heheheehhe」

✹

After Su Xue exhausted herself from chasing after Lin Feng, they played a couple more games before calling it a night. It was Sunday. Lin Feng would have to get up early the next morning and go to school. It’d be a pretty important day for him. It was the official start of the main tournament of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament! Su Xue had heard him talk about it, but had forgotten all about it because of the KG games earlier. Until now. She turned towards him, while he was already walking out of her room, and said, “Hey, hold on! That 16 School thing. What did you call it? Ah, whatever. Are you still in it?”

Lin Feng stopped and looked over his shoulder. He ruffled his hair and said, “Yeah, we’re still in it. Tomorrow is the Round of 16.”

“Nice, nice. You guys are doing really good, huh? The main tournament. Almost in the quarterfinals! Pretty impressive, if I may say so,” Su Xue nodded. She then rubbed her chin for a bit before adding, “Fine. Tell me the when and where. I’ll come cheer you on!”

“Sure! I’d love that!” Lin Feng said, smiling. He put his laptop down and wrote the information for her down. Then he balled his fist and held it up in front of his face. He flexed his biceps and said, “You can watch me show off my skills!”

Su Xue raised her eyebrows and curled her lips. “Hoh? Big words, little man. Don’t worry, I won’t hold you to them. Just don’t feed. That’s all. If you can do that, I’ll be happy and cheer you on even louder!” There was a light laugh in her voice. She knew she wasn’t serious. Lin Feng was by far the best League of Legends player she knew. Some random high school tournament is probably way too easy for him. I’ll just go and watch… her. Su Xue didn’t worry about Lin Feng’s games. He would carry. But he’d talked a bunch about a girl in his class. That had caught Su Xue’s attention. She wanted to know who this Tang Tang was. She needed a face to the name!

I’m like his big sister. His Aunt put me in charge. I don’t even know where his mother is… I’ll have to take it on myself and make sure he picks the right girl! Su Xue nodded. She cared for Lin Feng and wanted to see him happy. If he really liked this girl as much as he made it sound like, then it was up to her to check this girl out and make sure she was good enough for Lin Feng! Of course she won’t be. How can she? Like a good older sibling, Su Xue wanted only the best for her Lin Feng. Lost in her own little world, it’d gone completely over her head that Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao were just friends. Nothing more.

✹

The Shanghai 16 School Tournament wasn’t held in a branch of the NetCow Cafe like the preliminaries. They were held somewhere a little larger. Where a crowd could gather and cheer on their favourite team. This place was an electronics mall in the Pudong district of Shanghai. The Chinese Esports Association spent a lot of money to not only rent this place, but also prepare it for the event. It almost looked a little like a miniature version of Worlds, with a crowd, high end computers, and famous guest commentators. Though, the number of people in the crowd was a lot smaller and the guest commentators were a lot less famous than those at Worlds.

It was Monday afternoon, 5:30 PM. The venue was packed with people. This was the main tournament. It featured the biggest new talents in the Shanghai League of Legends scene. And Shanghai was the esports capital of China! Just last year, there were several talents that’d been recruited into the professional scene. So there was a lot of interest for this tournament.

There were only 30 minutes until the tournament would officially start. But there was still so much to do. Too much. The members of staff were running around, taking care of all the last minute issues that kept popping up. On top of that, there were even more little tasks that could only be completed at the last minute, like making sure all the contestants were present. Within this chaos, two men stood together chatting.

The organizer of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament was a man in his 30s. He wore a suit and gold-rimmed glasses. “Mr. Zhang,” he said to the man in front of him. “I want to extend my gratitude again for allowing us to host the event here.”

Zhang Jun smiled. His cheeks were puffy and his stomach was big and round. He was the director of this electronics mall. “It’s nothing, Mr. Chu. Just a small thing. We’ve known each other for how long now? Last year we also hosted both the main event and the Shanghai Varsity Championships. And, I mean, you approached us. It’s a real honour to be hosting these events at my venue.”

Chu Fang shook his head and said, “Alright, alright. That’s enough pleasantries. Let’s focus on the tournament. There’s still much to do. But this should be a win-win situation for the both of us. We’re going to get the most out of it!”

Zhang Jun laughed, putting one hand on his stomach and wiping away the sweat on his forehead with the other. “Haha! Right you are! A win-win for the both of us! Haha!” That was also the only reason Zhang Jun decided to work with Chu Fang. He was a businessman and only moved for profit. The Shanghai Esports Association was like a fat cow in that regard. They were full of money and they brought a lot of foot traffic to his mall. It just made sense to work together with them.

The win-win scenario Chu Fang had in mind was a little different from Zhang Jun. He didn’t move for money. Well, it wasn’t his main point of attention. His goals with the Shanghai branch of the Chinese Esports Association were a little different. There was something more important that money couldn’t buy. Talent. He needed to scout talent. To find the best players in China and help them get into the professional scene. That was the best way he could help put the LPL on the map. If they ever wanted to win Worlds, his work was vital!

KG had won the series! They were through to the semifinals! Tian Tian jumped up from his seat and joined his teammates to celebrate! Just for a minute. A short cheer. Because there was someone else who he wanted to share this win with. That was much more important to him. He excused himself and stormed down the stage and to his favourite bathroom stall in the backstage area. His hands were trembling as he pushed the stall door open and sat down on the toilet, his feet up and an arm wrapped around his knees. He had a smartphone in his free hand and stared at the screen. Stared at a picture of Lin Feng with his phone number underneath it. Then Tian Tian hit the call button.

Ring-ring…. Ring-ring…. Ring-ring….Three rings, and then the call connected. A voice came from the phone, but Tian Tian didn’t even hear it. He was already stumbling over his own words, trying to get the message across. “L-Lin Feng! I-i won! W-weon! Win! S-semis!”

“Yeah! I was watching! Saw the whole thing! Good job! I knew you had it in you! Especially during game 3, that pentakill was really awesome! It was a perfect play! But I knew you could do it! You always had it in you!

“I gotta say though… Assassins looked really good. They’re a strong team. You ready for this?”

Tian Tian nodded with his whole body. Team Assassins was strong. Read XIII had played a great series, especially in game 2. If it weren’t for him showing up, KG might’ve lost. He knew this, the excitement of it churning in his stomach. He smiled and said, “Mhm! Thirteen is still really good. He pretty much won that second game all by himself. And we got lucky with that pentakill on my Fiora. Otherwise, we might’ve lost. They were keeping me down pretty hard.”

“Hahah! If Thirteen is still the Thirteen from Season 1, then he’s probably more than a little salty right now. That penta must’ve hit him hard. Hahaha! I bet he’s looking for a wall to run his head into right now!”

Tian Tian bit on his lips, biting down a burst of laughter. That’s exactly what Thirteen would do! Haha! He even looked the part after the last game. Hehe! He took a deep breath, forcing the laughter back into his belly, and said, “Mhm! I can totally see that happening, haha!” He then moved the phone from his ear. Just a little, so that he could hear what was going on in the bathroom stall. Did he…? No.

“Right! You should give Three a call! He’s been worrying about you! Let him know how you’re doing, I’m sure that’ll cheer him up!”

Tian Tian let go of his knee and raised his hand, then made a snap. Right! He nodded and said, “Yeah! I’ll make sure to give him a call next!”

✹

Good news was meant to be shared! After hanging up with Lin Feng, Tian Tian scrolled through his contacts until he found the one he was looking for. His mentor’s phone number. He pushed on the touchscreen and the phone started ringing. A brief moment later, the call connected. Three spoke, “Yo, who’s this?”

Tian Tian’s face started glowing. This was the voice of Three. The man who’d gone through so much trouble for him. And now, now he finally had some good news to share! He said, “Three! It’s me! I did it! We won! We’re through to the semis! And, oh! Oh! I got a penta! I got a penta!”

“Oh, semis is it? I see. That’s fine. Just give me a ring when you get the trophy. I’m about to board a plane, so I can’t really talk now. Let’s chat later, ok? Bye bye, hanging up now.”

“Eh?” Tian Tian held his phone up to his face and stared at the screen. Three had hung up. H-he didn’t even congratulate me… Three had barely said a word. In the background, the faint sound of someone opening the bathroom door rang out. But he paid no attention to it. He didn’t have any attention to spare. His entire focus was on his phone, and the strange call he’d just had with Three.

As for Three, he really was about to board a plane. He was at the airport in Madrid, Spain, waiting for the gate to open. There was a smile on his face as he browsed an online forum to check the latest updates on Worlds. His pupil had made it to the semifinals and secured a penta! Not bad, Fatty! He thought back to the Fatty of Week 1 of Worlds. The nervous wreck. Good thing One called. I should give him a call. He scrolled through his contacts and made the call.

“Huh, why are you calling me? What’s up?”

“Hehe. Fatty just gave me a call. Thought you might be interested in what he told me.. He made it to the semis.”

“Hoh? Is that so? Not bad. Not bad at all. Looks like your little trip to London was worth it.”

“It definitely was. So. You still in Hawaii?”

“Yeah, I am. Uh, why’re you asking? Wait, are those planes in the background? Are you at the airport?”

“Hmm? Yeah, I’m at the airport. About to board a plane to Hawaii. I should be there tomorrow morning. You still owe me a meal, you know. I’m coming for it. Then we can also have a beer.”

There was a long silence on the line. Then Three heard a dull impact. Something light falling onto something soft. Like a phone into the sand. Footsteps sounded out. Hurried. Something else fell. Maybe a chair. It was hard to tell without seeing it happen. A distant voice sounded out, yelling loud enough for the call to pick it up. “BABE! Pack our suitcases and book a plane ticket for tonight! We’re going! That bastard Three is coming to shake us down! We have to go now! Let’s go!” 

✹

Tian Tian put his smartphone away. I’ll call him again later. He sounded busy. He then looked around him, at the four walls almost wrapped around him. There was practically no space here. My teammates are probably waiting for me… He put his feet back on the ground and got up, then pushed the stall door open and walked into the bathroom. Walked into the person he least wanted to see right now. His eyes went round. His heart rate shot up. Sweat formed on his forehead and left his armpits wet. He looked at the door out of the bathroom and scuffled in that direction.

Read XIII looked at Tian Tian and said, “Hey! Fatty!”

“I-it’s not me! N-not me! Y-you’ve got the wrong person!” Tian Tian replied, panicked. The door out was still a good few meters away.

“Wrong person my ass!” Read XIII cursed. He walked up to Fatty and put his arm around him. “Got me good today, didn’t you? A fucking pentakill. Damn, dude. What did your fat ass eat for you to pull that out during the game? Yeesh. I’m getting saltier just thinking about it. You got a penta!”

Tian Tian eyes were wide open. He grabbed Read XIII’s arm and tried to push him away. But he wasn’t strong enough. He tried to duck, but Read XIII followed him. Then he stood back up and also shoved Read XIII away. That did it. The guy let him go. He took two steps back and raised his hands defensively in front of his face. “W-what do you want? B-back off! I’m against violence!”

Read XIII stared at Tian Tian for a brief moment, then rolled his eyes. “Screw off! Who told you to play so good today? You know, I was just thinking about you. Thinking about what’d I’d do if I got my hands on you.” He paused and gave Tian Tian a wink, then continued, “And here you are showing up right in front of me! Hehe. I finally have luck on my side after that terrible series!”

Read XIII walked up to Tian Tian and raised his arms. He jumped back and forth on his feet, and then went in. In for a hug. He laughed and let go of Tian Tian a few seconds later. “You played pretty well today, huh? Those were some good games.”

“E-eh…” Tian Tian hesitated, but then said, “I wasn’t too bad.”

“Not too bad my ass!” Read XIII cursed, laughing. “What’s there to be humble about? You were real good today. I bet you played better than Seven ever has. Just accept the compliment. I’ll get angry if you don’t!” Then he breathed in deeply, pursed his lips, and blew it all out. “Fuck me. Some shit luck. This is the game you decide to be a fucking god. Why did we have to be matched up against each other? Any other team and we would’ve made the semis! I’m sure of it!”

Read XIII walked back to the sink and looked in the mirror. He grinned, self deprecating, and then nodded towards Tian Tian. “Well, you making it to the semis is the second best thing. You’re representing basically the same region! If you win, I win, sort of. Since my team is out now, I can only cheer for you. So you better not let me down, or I’ll have to come and find you in Shanghai! That won’t be fun! Haha!”

Tian Tian was fidgeting with a slip of toilet paper. Something to kill the nerves. He nodded, short and quick, and said, “D-don’t worry! I-i won’t let you down!”

Read XIII smiled and turned the faucet on, letting the water splash on his hands. Season 1 was a lot of fun. With Fatty here, Eleven… The name struck him before he even realized it. An old rival. One he wanted to play against to this day. So much so that he’d even give up a chance for the Summoner’s Cup for it! He turned around to look at Tian Tian and said, “Hey, how’s Eleven doing these days? Haven’t heard from him in a while.”

Tian Tian looked down at the ground and started counting the bathroom tiles. One. Two… He pursed his lips and started breathing faster. “E-eleven. He’s not in the LPL anymore—”

“I know he isn’t,” Read XIII cut him off. “You already told me last time! I’m asking you where he is now. Don’t tell me he’s still wasting away in that third rate LPSL team? Such a waste of talent…”

Tian Tian scratched the back of his head, his elbow close to his side. His breathing became heavy, as though he was going through labour, or something that wasn’t quite as exhausting. Then he nodded. A silent affirmation. Yes. That was where Eleven still was.

Read XIII slammed down on the faucet handle, frustrated. Eleven was his rival! Eleven was a great Jungler! He wasn’t someone who should be stuck on some shit-tier team! He can’t have fallen this far. This is stupid… But Fatty wouldn’t lie… Not about this. He didn’t want to accept it. He wanted there to be another explanation. Anything that could have it make sense to him. But there was nothing. Eleven’s path down the ladder made no sense to him. He shook his head, shaking away those thoughts, trying desperately to latch onto something else. Something to draw his mind away. “Right,” he said, holding up his finger. He turned to Tian Tian and asked, “Weren’t you on a call with someone when I walked in? Who were you talking to?”

《Pentakill!》

The announcer’s voice boomed out from the stadium speakers. The bass thrummed on the ground. The 9,000 fans felt the vibrations come up their feet and into their voices as they were screaming their lungs out. Colourful beams lit up the dome and flashed around. The Zenith Paris was on fire! Then the hall went dark. A sudden change. A sudden silence. A single beam of light lit up and shone down on Tian Tian. The large LCD screens started a replay. The Fiora dashing through Assassins’ team with her Bluesteel rapier, reaping lives. It was the perfect play. It was a…

“P–P–P–PEEENTAAKILLLL! GOD ROUNDY GETS THE PPEENNNTTTAAAAAA!” Lolo cried out! She jumped off her seat on the commentator desk and grabbed her hair with both hands. Her expression said more than a thousand words. Utter joy and disbelief.

Stone was drumming on the desk, laughing. That same expression of joy and disbelief. “God Roundy! What a hero! He gets the first penta at Worlds this year! What a brilliant play! Holy… Damn. The timing. The teleport, focus… Perfection.” He forced his head away from the replay and looked into the camera. “For all you people sitting at home, wondering what perfection looks like? This was it. This was perfection. God Roundy is perfection! It was all planned and executed to perfection! PERFECTION! Did you all see that Flash? That’s only possible if he knew the Zenith Blade was coming for him. He was prepared to hit that D! It was fucking perfect! God Roundy, if you watch this back later. I LOVE YOU! That was just… perfect.”

Qinghe didn’t jump up from his seat, nor did he join in the laughter. Not on first sight, anyways. But his attempt at hiding the big smile on his face fooled exactly zero people. Anyone could read the joy in his expression. He turned to the camera and said, “Don’t forget the rest of KG! It was the quick turn around and follow up by their Mid and Support that helped God Roundy to get the Penta! But let’s talk a little about the rest of the game now. Assassins’ plan failed. God Roundy got back into the game. KG now has a solid lead. They might’ve lost two players in this fight, but that’s nothing compared to the penta and first Dragon. KG really has to screw up from here to not win this game.”

The pentakill killed the deadlock the game was in. Tian Tian was catapulted ahead of everyone else, grabbing both the gold and experience lead. His KDA went up to 5/0/0 and he’d become Unstoppable in the span of a single teamfight. It was a double whammy for Assassins. All their effort, resources and strategizing were out the window. Their gameplan of shutting Tian Tian down had failed, miserably. It’d completely blown up in their faces! There was no one on their team who could stop him now. Even sending two members after him wouldn’t change that. He was too far ahead. Two members sent his way was the same as giving away two more kills. This situation was a nightmare for them.

The crowd was cheering KG! The casters celebrated the phenomenal performance! The millions of KG fans all across the globe could finally relax back in their chairs. KG was doing it. They were winning! Even the critical Lin Feng joined the bandwagon. He smiled and said to Su Xue’s stream, “KG should win this game. They’re doing it! Actually, let me make it a little more clear. If KG doesn’t win this game. If they let Assassins get back into it and win, then they might as well swim back home to Shanghai!” It was a running joke in China. A punishment for a team that didn’t just underperform, but a team that played so badly that they should feel too ashamed to ever show their faces again!

KG wasn’t planning to swim home, or take the plane. They were going to stay in France and make it to the next round! Their first step was this game. There was a small change to their gameplan. Tian Tian was now the main carry. The resources in the game were shoved his way and the rest of the team played around him. He was so strong that with the help of his team, there was nothing Assassins could do. It didn’t matter how good Read XIII’s Lee Sin was. It didn’t matter how well they played. The gold gap was too big. Tian Tian was too far ahead. And he only played better. Towers fell and Assassins were pushed back into their base.

Read XIII slammed down on his keyboard. He gripped his mouse and almost squashed it in half. “Fuck fuck fuck! The hell did that fatass eat? He’s never been this good! What the fuck. He’s playing out of his fucking mind!” He knew Tian Tian was good. They went way back. But there was a clear distinction between being good and being great. This game, Tian Tian was great. Maybe even better. So good that Read XIII, as a King, could do nothing to stop him. Read XIII was powerless to turn this game around.

✹

VICTORY!

The crowd jumped back to their feet! A win by KG! Though the excitement wasn’t all there. That was already expended on the pentakill. The rest of the game was a foregone conclusion. KG played the methodical game and made sure to not give Assassins any chances of mounting a comeback. It was to be expected, but still not the most exciting bit to watch. A 31 minute win by KG. KG was up two to one in the series. They were on gamepoint! One more win and they were through to the semifinals of Worlds! 

Prophet Stone was all smiles, proud of how KG had played the game out. But that didn’t mean he’d lost his caution. He looked into the camera and warned, “Ahem! Don’t celebrate too early, guys. This series is not over yet. Assassins is still a King team. You can’t count them out. KG has to focus and make sure they don’t slip up in the next gam–”

The stern expression, the grave words, Lolo couldn’t take it anymore. She started giggling, hiding her mouth with her hand, then said, “Don’t think we don’t see what you’re trying to do, Prophet Stone. Trying to work that Prophet magic, huh? Hehe!”

Stone’s Caster’s Curse was a popular meme in the League of Legends circle. Stone knew it. Lolo knew it. Everyone knew it. The fans laughed and started flooding the chat of the live broadcast.

「about god dam time he puts his power to good use!」

「The prophet’s about to cast his curse! Everybody duck! 」

「STONE HAS SAID THE WORDS!!!! THE CURSE HAS BEEN CAST!」

「yo yo stone! i got me here a wife that wants to watch some stupid dating show…. curse her away plzzzz」

「HAHAHAH kick their assessssss in!!!」

「the prophet prophesies the prophecy. kg for the w1nnn」

Qinghe scrolled through the chat messages and laughed. He looked at Stone and said, “Seems like the fans at home are at ease. You’ve struck Assassins with your Caster’s Curse! We’ll be watching them crumble apart next game. I believe!”

Stone looked at the camera and rolled his eyes, slowly. “Guys, hey… I’m being serious here, okay? They’re a King team. We really can’t underestimate them. KG has to play another perfect game to beat them!” Then he smirked. He liked the meme. And the fans did too. This little spiel boosted everyone’s spirits and didn’t hurt anyone. That was the most he could do. The rest was up to KG. They had to play the game. They had to face Assassins. And they had to win! As for him, like all other KG fans, he hoped that KG would do that and make it through to the semifinals.

✹

The fourth game in the series started. This was it. Either Assassins would claw their way back into it and force a deciding fifth game, or KG would win and move on to the semifinals. This game could decide the final semi finalist of Season 5 Worlds! The Champion Select went without much surprise. Assassins stuck to Lee Sin and formed an early game team composition around it. On the other side, KG went with a team composition that didn’t start shining until later in the game. If they survived the early game, they’d carry the late game to a win.

Assassins came out swinging from the first minute of the game, as was to be expected from their team composition. They invaded KG’s Jungle, ganked lanes, and did everything they could to get the advantage needed to secure a win. But KG fought back. They weren’t giving anything away. Their Jungler knew what fights he could take, and more importantly, which he couldn’t take. The lanes were playing defensively, but they weren’t losing. And Tian Tian got revenge on his Gnar. Unlike the game in the group stage where his Gnar got toyed around with, this game he became a real presence.

The early advantage did go to Assassins. It was to be expected. There really was no question about it. The real question was if the advantage was big enough. If they had pulled open a far enough lead where they could play the game out before it ever got to the late game. The answer was a resounding no. They hadn’t. Their advantage was small, almost negligible. And with every next minute, KG became stronger and stronger. Assassins knew that they had to do something extreme if they still wanted to win this game. They turned their attention to Baron Nashor. If they could kill this giant wurm and win a teamfight off the back of it, then, just maybe, they’d be able to push down mid lane and finish the game.

There were wards everywhere. Assassins were desperate. They weren’t thorough enough. There were wards they missed and they didn’t have full intel on where the players from KG were. But they still committed. It was the only option in their eyes. They attacked Baron Nashor, their health bars steadily dropping. Around the back, Tian Tian’s Gnar appeared. He was on the backside of the Baron Pit. A wall separated him from the players from Assassins. They stuck to the Baron. That was the call. Then Tian Tian flashed over the wall and into the Baron Pit. His Gnar’s rage hit the maximum and the little yordle evolved into Mega Gnar! Then the large monster stood up on his hind legs and dug his claws into the ground behind him. He swept forward, throwing everything around him against the wall of the Baron Pit and stunning the four players that were hit by it–GNAR!

The crowd in the Zenith Paris went silent. This was the game. The other players from KG followed up behind the Gnar. They took out the stunned players from Assassins, then finished off Baron Nashor. The Baron buff didn’t just boost player stats, it also boosted the stats of the minions near a Champion. With the help of the empowered minions, they pushed down mid lane. They destroyed the towers and inhibitors. The players from Assassins only started respawning when KG was already attacking the nexus. They threw themselves forward, but were sent back to the fountain.

VICTORY

KG 3 – 1 Assassins

The final hope of the LPL, the all Chinese team KG, had done it! They’d made it out of groups and now had won their quarter finals series against Assassins! They were moving on to the semifinals! An LPL team had qualified for the semifinals! It took a minute for realization to set in, for the fans, for the casters, and even for the players from KG. They just sat there, staring at the victory screen, until the cheers and chants from the crowd shook them away. 

“WE FUCKING DID IT!” 
“WOOOOO” 
“WHAT AN ULT ROUNDY!” 
“HOLLYYYYYY SEMIS!” 
“We really did!”

Qinghe sat behind the caster desk, shaking his head. Then he started smiling before bursting out laughing. “KG takes the win and the series! They fought hard for it, but they did it! They’re semi finalists!”

“Let’s all take a moment to congratulate KG! This is a massive milestone for us! For the first time since Season 1, an LPL team had made it to the semis!” Stone said, smiling. “They’ve really done it, guys. It’s a little hard to believe, trust me, I know. But they’ve done it! They’ve really done it!”

✹

Read XIII was mad, annoyed, frustrated. His eyes warned everyone who tried to approach him to turn around and walk away. He’d have them for breakfast if they tried to cheer him up right now. Screw the fans. Screw his teammates. Screw everything! He stepped down the stage, ignoring everyone around him and walked backstage. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. They were the only words going through his mind, together with replays of the games. Every small mistake he’d made, amplified a thousand times. Replayed in slow motion. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. After walking through the backstage area, he found a bathroom and kicked the door open. He walked in and slammed his fists down on one of the sinks. Then he stopped. There was someone else in the bathroom stall. He turned towards that person. The culprit of his current mood. Tian Tian.

Read XIII’s Rek’Sai still had Smite, a Summoner Skill that dealt a lot of damage to minions and monsters. Baron Nashor was at low health, high enough that it still took a few more skills or auto attacks to kill it but low enough that one Smite could kill it. So Read XIII smited the Baron. The giant wurm died on the spot and granted a team wide buff to Assassins.

Su Xue grabbed onto her desk. She dug her nails into the surface. KG’s Jungler was dead. This was a 4vs5 now, and Assassins had the Baron Buff! Everything looked wrong, and everything went wrong from there. Assassins pushed down the mid lane, killing two more players from KG in the process. They forced their way into the base and killed another one. Only Roundy Round was left alive. He fought back hard in a desperate attempt to stall the game. But the death timers were too long. The Nexus towers fell with 20 seconds still left for the Jarvan IV to respawn, not to mention the others.

“Aghhh! How did we lose that game?” Su Xue exclaimed. The Nexus exploded in front of her eyes and the victory screen for Assassins appeared. “W-we won the teamfight before! How did we lose at Baron? Gahhh! Damn that Rek’Sai! How did Read XIII get that steal! It shouldn’t have been possible! J4 should’ve…”

Lin Feng ruffled his messy hair and said, “He’s a King for a reason. You can’t underestimate him. Even when he’s not playing on his Lee Sin!”

The stream chat felt very much deflated. Game 1 saw a chat full of jokes and laughter and excitement. The second game started out the same. But as the tension built up towards the late game, the viewers stopped making jokes. Their messages turned serious. They were looking for an opening KG could use, even though they had no way of contacting said team. Then they watched Read XIII steal the Baron and carry his team to a win.

「ahh……..」

「I guess a King team > KG…」

「i really thought we had a chance」

「mmannnn, why does it always have to end likes this??!?!?」

「hog also looked good at first. look what happened to them.」

「plzzzzz dont lose pplzzzzzzzzz」

✹

KG and Assassins had one win each, and Assassins was riding the momentum high after the Baron steal and the subsequent win. However, it didn’t feel like that. They were cheering, but not on their feet. A high five. A pat on the shoulder. That was it. Read XIII looked across his computer at KG’s lineup. More specifically, he looked towards God Roundy. This was a player he remembered very well from back in Season 1. They were old friends. But he wasn’t happy to be facing his old friend. Not today. Something felt off. Or wrong. He couldn’t quite place it. All he knew was that there was this indescribable feeling warning him of Roundy Round. “Dammit! Why does it feel like that fatass is going to do something crazy!”

✹

There was a small break between game two and three of the KG versus Assassins series. Lin Feng chatted with the viewers a bit, but there was an annoying buzz that kept distracting him. It came from his pocket. High School 13’s esports club had a team chat. This way, even when they weren’t watching Worlds together, they could still share their feelings while watching it!

Ouyang:「fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck! we lost that second game! goddamn stupid reksai!!!!」

Liu Yue:「nnuuuuuuu coommmeee ooonnn KG!!! Dont throw this!」

Ren Rou:「٩(╬ŏ3ŏ)و f this all! We’ll win for sure!」

Tang Bingyao:「Read XIII carried this game for Assassins. If KG wants to win the next one, they need someone on their team to carry harder.」

Lin Feng skimmed through the messages before putting his phone away again. He didn’t have time to talk with his friends now. Right now, he was helping Su Xue with her stream, and he would give his full attention to that! So he put his phone on silent and focused back on the stream as KG and Assassins went into Champion Select for Game 3. He looked at the bans and then said to the stream, “Against Assassins, it’s absolutely necessary that KG take the initiative. They can’t let Read XIII do his thing. Then it’ll become very hard to win. The good news is that KG does have that ability. They have the player to do that. If they give Roundy Round a Champion he can carry on, they can win this game.”

It looked as if KG’s coach, who was telling his players which Champion to pick, was listening to Su Xue’s stream. Only seconds later did KG lock in Fiora. A woman with a Bluesteel rapier. She most definitely had the potential to take the initiative and carry her team to a victory! The stream chat saw this Champion as a reaffirmation of their beliefs.

「LIL BRO CAN LOOK IN THE FUTURE」

「this analysis! Holy dam… lil bro is the best」

「woootttttt FIORA!!! Lezzz goooooo」

✹

This was it. There was no more warming up. Whoever won this match was on gamepoint! KG and Assassins loaded into the game. They bought their items and went to their lanes. KG went with the normal setup, while Assassins initiated a lane swap. Their Botlaners went top lane to face Tian Tian’s Fiora! They were going to focus him and shut him down! It didn’t stop there. They had big plans for stopping the Fiora from ever getting into the game.

Read XIII ganked top lane twice in the first 10 minutes of the game. It almost looked like a 3vs1 in top. Assassins really had it out for Tian Tian! But Tian Tian didn’t die. He lost some minions, but that was it. It was as if he had a sixth sense, warning him whenever Read XIII came close to his lane. Before the Lee Sin could even walk into the top lane, he would’ve retreated underneath his tower. He didn’t give away any advantage. The game was still dead even.

On the caster desk for the official Chinese broadcast of Worlds, Stone was hopping up and down in excitement. An LPL team was doing well in the quarterfinals! And his curse hadn’t struck yet! “Beautiful!” he shouted as Roundy Round evaded another gank. “Roundy is really sharp today! It’s like he has eyes at the back of his head!”

Qinghe looked over at Stone and then back at the camera. “Roundy is doing very well in avoiding danger! But, that isn’t enough to win this game. Assassins are pouring a lot of resources in keeping him down, and to some extent it’s working. He needs to find a way to break out of this situation and get some time farming minions for experience and gold.”

At 15 minutes, the gaming was coming to a head. Assassins’ Botlaners had disappeared from top lane, presumably to go back to base and buy items. But then they showed themselves at the Dragon Pit, together with the rest of Assassins. KG’s Botlaners moved up while their Jungler and Midlaner also came to contest, walking around the backside of the pit to team up with their ad-carry and Support. Skillshots started being flung around.

Read XIII did it. He had his Lee Sin send out a Sonic Wave. It connected with Konjac’s Jinx. This was the target to hit. They had a chance to take out the carry! He pressed down on his Q key and activated the second part of this skill–Resonating Strike! His Lee Sin dashed towards the Jinx, who flashed away before he even arrived. The distance was further. He found himself a little behind KG’s team. Kicking back the Jinx didn’t make a whole lot of sense; he’d be kicking her into her own team. But he was right behind the Elise. So he hit her with a roundhouse kick and sent her flying towards the other players from Assassins–Dragon’s Rage!

Lee Sin was in the middle of KG’s team. The Thresh Support from KG flayed him back, allowing the Jinx to fire away at the Lee Sin with her minigun. They got the Lee Sin down to half health in a short moment. But this wasn’t just any Lee Sin. This was Read XIII’s Lee Sin, the best Lee Sin in the world! He knew exactly what he had to do to get out of this, or he wouldn’t have gone in. The moment he could move again, he placed a ward on the ground and dashed towards it with Safeguard. There was still a gap between him and his team. He was in the middle of this face off. So he flashed away to the safety of his own team.

There was a ward in the river brush above the Dragon Pit. It lit up with a blue light. A teleport! Tian Tian was coming down to help his team! Assassins were focused on dealing with the Elise and helping their Jungler get back safely. They completely missed the teleport. Tian Tian appeared behind the players from Assassins. The Lee Sin was running towards him, towards what he believed to be safety. It wasn’t. Tian Tian pressed the Q key–Lunge! His Fiora lunged towards the Lee Sin and stabbed him, dealing physical damage and applying on-hit effects.

《You have slain an enemy!》

Tian Tian was in the middle of Assassins’ team. There were four more Champions around him, all turning their attention to him. He had to be fast. His next target had to be one of the carries. The Kalista was the most obvious one. So he clicked on her, commanding his Fiora to attack. The Fiora attacked the Kalista with her rapier. Her passive identified the vitals on her target. It was called the Duelist’s Dance and showed her where to attack next. An arrow instructing Tian Tian from which direction he could deal the most damage to the Kalista.

Assassins’ Support was a Leona, a defensive Champion with a lot of crowd control. All she had to do was land one of her skills and the Fiora would be stunned. The Fiora would be dead. The Leona projected a solar image of her sword straight towards the Fiora, about to jump towards her and stun her. But before the image faded, the Fiora disappeared. She’d flashed away to the other side of Kalista! To where her Duelist’s Dance told her to attack next!

Tian Tian pressed down on the R key–Grand Challenge! His Fiora revealed all four Vitals on the Kalista and gained bonus movement speed. There was a second part to this skill, other than the massive damage she dealt after hitting a Vital. A large area around the target would become a healing ground for Fiora and her teammates if she hit the four Vitals or killed the target. The target was Kalista. Her health was low. One auto attack on the first Vital did the job.

《Double kill!》

On the caster desk, Stone slammed his fist on the desk and shouted, “NICE! LET’S GO!”

Qinghe nodded and added, “God Roundy has done it! He got the second part of the Fiora ult! He’s going to clean up this figh—”

《Triple kill!》

There was no time to shoutcast. There was no time to do anything. Tian Tian went to town with his Fiora. The third kill came before the casters could even talk about the second. And the fourth came before they could even cheer for the third.

《Quadra kill!》

It was a quadra kill! A quadra kill! The people in the Zenith Paris went wild. They jumped up from their seats and screamed Tian Tian’s name. “GOD ROUNDY! GOD ROUNDY!” They held up their signboards and were clapping together their glow sticks. They were chugging their beers and jumping up and down, the vibrations reaching all the way to the parking lot outside. And they weren’t the only ones. All across the world, every KG fan screamed and yelled and cheered. This was their moment! A 1vs5 quadra kill! And there was still a Gnar alive. A Gnar that was trying to flee!

The Thresh Support from KG flashed forward and threw out a Death Sentence. His sickle cut through the air towards the Gnar and wrapped around him. Then he dragged the Gnar back towards him, while throwing a lantern to Tian Tian’s Fiora–Dark Passage!

Tian Tian clicked the lantern. His Fiora dashed towards the Thresh and got a shield. She was right in front of the Gnar. Then she lunged forward, stabbing the Gnar, dealing physical damage. The Jinx caught up and also hit a few auto attacks. The rest from KG was a step behind. But Tian Tian wasn’t going to let this kill slip from his fingers. He attacked with another auto attack.

✹

Lin Feng watched the stream, forgetting to breathe. He stared at Fatty. How he moved. How he killed. How he did absolutely everything right on his Fiora. It was a beautiful display of skill. A level of play that very few, if any, other players could imitate. This was the Fatty he remembered from Season 1! This was Fatty! He clenched his fist and smiled. Fatty! You did it! You did it!

Tian Tian shook off his nerves and even smiled a little. And then what? If Lin Feng had asked him this right after HoG’s loss to SSK, he might’ve said something else. But not anymore. He thought back, back to minutes after the game, when the players from HoG walked off the stage, deflated. Nightsong and then Daybreak Hermes right behind him. He’d clapped. These two all time greats from the LPL had put on a phenomenal show. They’d given it their all! It just wasn’t enough this time. He’d clapped as they walked by and even mumbled a few words, “Y-you guys did great!” But they were lost in the crowd, never reaching anyone’s ears.

Nightsong did hear something. He looked at Tian Tian and smiled, pained. There was a pause in his step, a slight hesitation, before he stopped and walked up to Tian Tian. He put his hand on Tian Tian’s shoulder and, after a brief moment, grinned. “That wasn’t enough. You saw it. Fuck. Whatever, shit happens. I’ll piss all over them next year and show who can last longer. But this year is all on you now. You can do it, man. Make us proud.”

Daybreak Hermes had followed a step behind Nightsong. He’d put his arm around his friend’s shoulder and looked at Tian Tian. “What this dude here says. Make us proud. You can do this. Just like the Heca and Riven games.”

Tian Tian held the phone close to his ears. And then what? The answer was so simple. This was for the players! This was for the hopes and dreams of everyone who followed the LPL! This was for the glory of the LPL! But more than anything, this was for him! He took a deep breath and said, “Then we’re going to make it to semis!”

✹

It was all on KG now! Hand of God was eliminated. They were the first seed from the LPL and most Chinese fans had vested their hopes and dreams on them. Now that they were out, these fans turned to KG. They acted like lifelong fans and flooded the online sphere with their presence. The added pressure was almost palpable. Even more so since KG had, in the eyes of many, the easiest way to the semifinals. Their opponent wasn’t an Emperor team. They only had to play a King team. Assassins.

Assassins was a team from the LMS. This was the League of Legends Master Series, a competition in which teams from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau competed. They were the best in this smaller region. And not just by a little. This was in part due to their Jungler. Read XIII. He was one of the best Junglers in the entire world, most known for his fantastic Lee Sin. His skills on Lee Sin were so good that many fans considered him the best player on the Champion! The only other player who could lay claim to this title was Orion, another King and Jungler for the Korean team Warrior.

There was a famous Taiwanese esports publication. They ranked all professional teams on their individual skills, teamwork and team synergy. In their rankings, 65 points was the score of a middle of the pack professional team. As for the best few teams in the world, those who were expected to make it to the quarterfinals and beyond at Worlds, they scored a minimum of 80 points. This was where Assassins ranked. Their individual players got them a score of 65. On top of that, they got another 15 points for teamwork and team synergy for a grand total of 80 points! They were one of the best teams in the world!

Lin Feng was talking with Fatty over the phone. The topic had shifted from some motivating words to Assassins’ Jungler. “I’ve been watching some games. That Read XIII sure has gotten a lot stronger!” He was Lin Feng, and he didn’t know how demotivating words could sound. His words were full of excitement. In his eyes, this was the perfect chance for Fatty to show the world just how good he was! He said, “Fatty, you can do it! Read was worse than you! You had one full rank on him! Now he somehow got this King title behind his name. That should be yours! You were better then and you’re better now! You just have to beat him for the rest of the world to see it!”

Tian Tian wasn’t quite feeling the enthusiasm in Lin Feng’s voice. He replied, “B-but he’s a Jungler… I’m a Toplaner! I-it’s like apples and oranges. You can’t just compare us. And he’s really good! H-he’s gotten so much better since Season 1.”

“Ah, who cares about that?” Lin Feng laughed. “All you have to do is win. You can do that. Easy. Just do like Eleven did! Eleven—” Eleven was the Jungler on Lin Feng’s team back in Season 1. It was a name he hadn’t said in a long time. One he didn’t intend to say out loud.

Tian Tian heard Lin Feng’s voice breaking off. He thought for a moment the connection died, but then heard his friend breathing on the other side. It was the name. He put two and two together, but didn’t know what to do with it. All he had were his words, and he wasn’t great at using them. The only thing he could think of was a fond memory, one he shared with Lin Feng. He said, “Y-yeah, yeah! Remember how we always made fun of their names? Eleven is better than Thirteen. Hehehe. That guy got so annoyed by it. It was great, hehe…”

It didn’t have the desired effect. There came no reply from the other side of the line. “U-uh… ‘Member XIII?” He stuttered a few more words. “Oh I ‘member!” Anything to get Lin Feng talking again. “That was fantastic.” But there came no reply. Lin Feng didn’t start talking again. So he stopped, holding the phone to his ear, not knowing what to do.

Lin Feng thought back to his road to Worlds in Season 1. His team was only one step away from securing the Asian wildcard. Their final opponent was the team Read XIII was on. It was a best of three series. The series came down to a difference in Junglers. Eleven outplayed Read XIII in both games, landing Lin Feng’s team a clean sweep. They qualified, while Read XIII and his team were sent home and could only cheer on Lin Feng’s team. Something they promised to do.

The two teams even made plans to meet up again in the next season. They’d had that much fun in the series! Read XIII was especially interested in this rematch. He wanted, needed even, a chance at revenge! With only this in mind, he started practicing. He trained and he trained to become the better Jungler, to become the better player. But the next year, Eleven had disappeared from the professional scene just like Lin Feng had. There was no revenge to be had for Read XIII. That didn’t slow him down. He kept working hard and had fought his way into the Seven Kings!

Lin Feng bit his lips, then finally said, “Hey, Fatty. After your games, I want to talk to you about something.”

Tian Tian held the phone closer to his ear. He smiled when he heard Lin Feng’s voice again and started nodding. “Okay!”

Lin Feng forced a smile on his face and hyped up his voice. “You have to win! You can do it! Just do it! I’ll do the same tomorrow in the next round of my tournament!”

✹

League of Legends fans from around the world opened their favourite streams. So too did Su Xue’s viewers. They were looking for the best viewing experience of Day 4 of the League of Legends World Championships! The all Chinese team KG would face off against Assassins for a spot in the semifinals! To them, no one was better at analyzing than Lin Feng! Their li’l bro! But it wasn’t his voice that welcomed them. It was a female voice. The one that belonged to the maid. “Go KG! Go KG!”

「GO AWAY STUPID MAID」

「stop waving around that jerky like a fool……」

「lill brroooo, help us get rid of the maid pllssssssssss」

「Why does she always have to be here?」

「remember the games with just lil bro? Those were the days」

「she isnt goin to be givin that shit analysis talks again right」

This was how the viewers showed their affection with Su Xue. It was a game where they were offensive while she pretended to be infuriated. There was never a dull moment in the stream because of that. More importantly, right now, it helped to get the viewers’ minds off the game. To forget about their nervous anticipation. KG had to win. They just had to! It couldn’t be any other way!

Lin Feng sat next to Su Xue. His eyes were on the stream, instead of on chat. The camera panned over to the players from KG, showing closeups of their expressions. When Fatty came on screen, Lin Feng started smiling and balled his fist. You can do it! Come on, Fatty! Do it!

✹

The Zenith Paris was full of excited fans. Even if the game didn’t feature a European team, that didn’t dampen their mood one bit. Everyone had found their favourites, many of them leaning towards KG after their phenomenal performance in the second week of the group stage. They were clapping their glow sticks together and cheering for the 10 players as they took to the stage and sat down behind their computers.

Tian Tian sat down behind his computer. He heard the fans in the background, cheering his name! Beads of sweat rolled off his forehead and trickled down his face. These were just 9,000 people. There were millions more watching online, counting on him to carry KG to the semis. He was the hope for the LPL. He was the only one who could do this! Closing his eyes, he breathed in deeply. The air filled his lungs. Then he blew it all out, letting the tension in his body go with it.

“I-i’m going to win! I will win! Win! Win! Win!” His eyes snapped open. Tian Tian looked up from his screen at the crowd in the arena. At all the people cheering for him! For his team! For all the people watching him play at home! For Nightsong and Hermes! For Lin Feng, and most importantly, for himself! He was going to win! No matter how hard it was going to be. No matter how strong Assassins played today! No matter how shit his team was today! No matter anything and everything! He was going to fight! He was going to never give up! And he was going to win! He looked at the screen and placed his hands on his mouse and keyboard. It was time to play!

KG and Assassins locked in their Champions. They loaded into the game and went with a standard strategy. There were no early level invades into the other team’s jungle, nor were there lane swaps. It was a pure matchup of skill. A matchup KG won. They pushed the different lanes, with top tower being the first to fall. Tian Tian kept putting pressure and forcing Read XIII, Assassins’ Jungler, to make trips up top. The rest of KG used this time to push their lanes. From there it was a methodical finish. Assassins’ Nexus exploded after 32 minutes.

This was the start that KG’s fans wanted to see! Assassins was a King team. KG only had God Roundy. But KG was the team dictating the pace of the game. There was no evidence that Assassins actually had a King on their roster. In the first game, anyways. The second game was a little different. It was a lot more even and at 35 minutes, KG tried to make the difference by trying to kill Baron Nashor without Assassins noticing. They did notice. Read XIII played Rek’Sai and was waiting around the edge of the Baron Pit. Waiting for that one moment. That one opportunity.

KG’s Jungler played Jarvan IV. He tanked Baron Nashor while his team killed it. His health was dropping, but there was no sign of Assassins coming to stop them, so he kept pushing. He kept pushing. And then a tunnel appeared on the map. It came from the other side of the wall. Rek’Sai clawed herself out of the tunnel and knocked the Jarvan IV airborne. She followed up with a quick auto attack to kill the Jarvan IV. Then she turned to Baron Nashor.

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

Game 1 of Hand of God versus SSK was underway. Hand of God decided to go with a lane swap, sending their bot lane top. Nightsong played Jinx while SSK’s Toplaner played Fiora. HoG both wanted to make sure that the Jinx scaled into the mid game, so that Nightsong could carry them into the late game, as well as stopping the Fiora from getting any farm. If she was starved of resources in the early game, she wouldn’t be having much fun. This way, HoG took care of two of their five win conditions.

The third of five win conditions for Hand of God was that Daybreak Hermes didn’t lose his lane. A steep task with his choice of Champion. It was a Yasuo versus Kassadin matchup. Both Champions were rather vulnerable pre Level 6. So HoG decided to make use of this. Their Support, who played Janna, roamed up to mid lane at 5:10 minutes and forced Rake to Flash away to safety. It wasn’t a kill. But a Kassadin without Flash pre Level 6 couldn’t apply any pressure to the lane. If he did, HoG could come for another gank and he’d be dead.

The Hand of God fans all across the world started cheering at their computer screens or TVs, including those watching Su Xue’s stream. The streamer herself jumped up from her gaming chair and threw her hands up in the air. She laughed and cheered, “NICE! He forced the Flash! He forced the Flash! They can do it! They’re doing it! Let’s go HoG!”

Lin Feng looked up at Su Xue and rubbed his chin. “Yeah. Not a bad start for HoG.”

The game went on. Hand of God was playing well across the entire map. Then, at 8:10 minutes, their Jungler went to top lane for a gank on the Fiora. Nightsong and his Support had been pushing the Fiora deep underneath her outer tower and punished her whenever she tried to come out for some last hits. Rek’Sai Burrowed into the ground and moved through the tri-brush towards SSK’s top lane outer tower. She dug a tunnel and arrived right underneath the Fiora, where she Unburrowed. Nightsong didn’t need someone to tell him what to do. His Jinx got excited as she fired off her minigun, piercing the Fiora with bullets and killing her.

《First blood!》

《An ally has been slain!》

The Janna made a slight miscalculation. She thought she had enough health to tank one more tower hit. She did not, and ended up giving away a kill. But Nightsong got the all important first blood on his Jinx. That was the only thing Hand of God’s fans cared about right now. Their team was doing it! They were winning! The impossible suddenly started looking sort of possible! SSK wasn’t stomping HoG! There were openings for HoG, chances for them to win this game! Hope grew among the fans.

And then it shattered. It all came crashing down. At 10 minutes, SSK decided to make a play. Rake decided to show the world why he was the best player in the world. Together with his Jungler, he walked into HoG’s upper jungle, dodging the wards. Hand of God had no idea what was happening. The last they saw of the Kassadin was him recalling back to base. But the Kassadin wasn’t back in base. He was walking toward the Jinx and Janna in top lane together with his Lee Sin.

The Fiora pushed. The Jinx and Janna knew something was up. They retreated back to their outer tower. But that was precisely what SSK wanted them to do. The Kassadin and Lee Sin were waiting in the jungle brush right below the outer tower. And when the Jinx and Janna felt safe underneath their tower, they showed themselves. The three from SSK jumped on the two from HoG and made an end to any hopes of an upset. They picked up two kills without giving one away.

Lin Feng looked at the stream. Then he looked at the chat and at Su Xue sitting next to him. The excitement from a moment ago was gone, and with good reason. SSK had flexed their muscles. They’d given a reminder to the world that they were the best. That HoG could try all they wanted, but that it was them who would take this game and then the series. Lin Feng shook his head. This was what he’d expected that would happen. Hand of God just wasn’t good enough. This series was more than just difficult.

✹

The game had slipped out of Hand of God’s control before they even realized it. At 15 minutes, they found themselves at a 3,000 gold deficit. This was a large enough gap that every fight felt like SSK had an extra Champion on the Rift. It was the gold equivalent to a full item. One SSK made full use of two minutes later at the dragon pit. Both teams were hovering around the alcove in which the Dragon slumbered, firing off skillshots at each other and trying to find a pick. To find the angle so that they could win the teamfight and then slay the Dragon.

The Lee Sin found that angle. His Sonic Wave connected with Nightsong’s Jinx. He activated the second part of his skill–Resonating Strike–and dashed towards the Jinx. Then he flashed through the Jinx and appeared behind her before turning around and hitting her with a roundhouse kick–Dragon’s Rage! The Jinx was launched towards SSK’s team, who made quick work of her. Rake picked up the kill.

While the players from HoG turned on the Lee Sin, The Fiora from SSK had pathed around the dragon pit and walked right into HoG’s backline to help her Jungler. All the while Kassadin lingered around the edge of the fight, waiting for his opportunity. The Janna moved forward a little. Just enough to be in range of a Rift Walk. The Kassadin jumped on her, dealing splash damage. He followed up with a Null Sphere, an orb of void energy that dealt magic damage, and also canceled the Janna’s Monsoon within half a second after her casting it. Then he hit her with a Force Pulse, unleashing the residual power of collected magic, before stabbing her to death with his Nether Blade.

《Double kill!》

《Triple kill!》

SSK won the teamfight. There was no hope for Hand of God after losing their ad-carry before the fight even started. Hand of God did end up killing the Lee Sin, the silver lining around a deep pit of despair. Rake got a triple kill. The Fiora picked up a kill and two assists. SSK’s carries were fed. They took the Dragon and from it they got a buff to their physical and magical damage. Then they pushed down the wave in bot lane and picked up a tower. Four kills, a Dragon and a tower. And all it cost them was one death. Their Jungler. Not even a carry. They came out big in this teamfight and had just about secured a win.

The Hand of God fans all across the world were silenced. Their hopes were crushed. SSK was too strong. Hand of God had no chances of winning this series. Or even a game. The fans didn’t start flaming Hand of God. Most of them didn’t, at least. But they also didn’t cheer. Stream chats all across HuyaTV were empty. Despite there being thousands of people in the stream, there was almost no one typing.

SSK wasn’t a team to let an advantage slip from their fingers. They capitalized on the play at Dragon and only pulled further ahead from there. More and more kills were coming their way. Hand of God had to give up objectives to them and were forced to protect their base, afraid to even step out into their own lanes or jungle. Then, as the game reached the 27th minute, SSK dealt the killing blow. They towerdove into HoG’s base and Aced them. A clean ace. Zero for five. The nexus exploded 20 seconds later.

Though HoG had enjoyed the early advantage, SSK decided to show the world why they were the best team. Su Xue had a hard time accepting this. She was still riding the high of Hand of God’s early game and was desperate to see them win. Watching SSK win felt like a bad dream to her. She muttered, “H-how did this happen? How did we lose? We had such a good start! HoG was so far ahead! I thought they’d win for sure! How did SSK turn that around?”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head. This outcome was the most likely one. The momentum was now in favour of SSK. HoG would have to pull something truly special if they hoped to turn this around. Their odds had dropped even lower than they already were before the first game. Lin Feng really couldn’t see a world in which they’d do the impossible.

✹

Hand of God was the Red team in game 2. They put their best foot forward, giving it their all. But there were no fancy tactics or tricks that could surprise SSK. It became another  game where Rake showcased to the world why everyone called him the best player in the world. His Support helped him jumpstart his lane with an early gank at Level 3. He got a kill on his Fizz against Hermes’ Viktor. A fed Fizz was a deadly fish. Rake kept the pressure on and only a few minutes later, at 6 minutes, he picked up a solo kill on the Viktor.

Four minutes later, SSK was winning in every lane. They’d opened up a 4,000 gold lead and it was looking very difficult for HoG to do anything about it. No matter how HoG tried, from a teamfight at 15 minutes that ended in them losing all five members for two kills to a last ditch effort at 30 minutes where they lost all five players without getting a single kill, nothing worked. Their deficit just became larger and larger, reaching far beyond 10,000 gold by the end of the game, until their nexus exploded after 32 minutes of playing.

SSK 2 – 0 HoG

Hand of God found themselves with their backs against the wall. One more loss and it would be all over. Their dreams of lifting the Summoner’s Cup would end. The fans felt just as nervous, sweating behind their computers. Their team had to win! It was still possible! All Hand of God had to do was to win the next three games! A reverse sweep! It’d happened before!

But it didn’t happen this time. SSK decided to end the third game fast and decisively. Rake played LeBlanc mid. He achieved the Legendary status within 20 minutes. Hermes didn’t stand a chance. Even walking into lane felt dangerous. And when he didn’t, or hesitated, Rake would roam top or bot and pick up kills there. No one was safe. It wasn’t even fun to watch anymore towards the end. The only positive point for HoG was that SSK didn’t drag the game and ended it just short of 25 minutes in.

The online forums didn’t descend into chaos. No one wanted to flame Hand of God. They’d played their best and given it their all. There was nothing to blame them for. SSK was just better. The millions of Hand of God fans across the globe, though most were located in China, slumped back in their seats and shook their heads as they watched the screen. It was over. Their hopes for a World Championships title were gone. They’d have to wait for next year.

The stream showed the players from SSK. They were laughing and joking together. It looked like they were just having a good time, and not as if they’d just come out of a grueling quarterfinals series at the World Championships for League of Legends. Like this was just another day for them. Then the camera focused on Rake. He wasn’t laughing with his teammates. Rather, he sat behind his computer and looked at the post game lobby. There was no change in his expression from the start of the first game. He looked as calm as ever, a calmness that was borne from the absolute confidence he had in his own skills and in his teammates. They were the best.

Lin Feng looked at his old rival. He didn’t hear Su Xue blabbering on next to his ear, or the viewers typing in chat. His full attention was on Rake. The only person he’d ever lost to. Just wait. I’m training. I’ll get stronger again. We’ll fight again and I’ll win this time. Just wait. I’ll be back.

✹

Day 3 of the quarterfinals came to an end. SSK made it through to the semis and HoG was sent home. The only Chinese hope left at Worlds was KG. They felt the pressure of an entire region resting on their shoulders. Lin Feng was well aware of this. And the heavy burden this placed on Tian Tian. So, after ending the stream with Su Xue and retreating to his own room, he took out his phone and made a long distance call to France.

“Hey, Fatty! How are you! Excited for tomorrow?”

“H-hey, Lin Feng. I-i’m ok.”

“What is that? You don’t sound all that good!”

“Eh, i-it’s just…”

“Nope! That’s not the Fatty I know! The Fatty I know would be talking about winning!”

“I-i’m going to win!”

“So you’re going to carry?”

“Y-yes. I’ll carry my team to victory!”

“And then what?”

Tian Tian had nothing to say. He had no idea how to respond to that question…

Day 3 of the Worlds quarterfinals! It was the day of Hand of God versus SSK! It would start at 7 PM on the dot. But that didn’t stop people from talking about the game before. The online forums lit up in the early hours of Saturday with discussions about the best of five series that would be played that night. It was a battle of regions. The strongest team from the LPL versus the strongest team from the LCK. Though, it was also a World level team versus the World Champions. There was a distinct difference between both teams, one most fans, even the Chinese ones, didn’t see Hand of God overcoming. However, that didn’t stop HoG’s fans from plastering the online space with supportive messages for their team! It didn’t matter what they believed would happen. For the only thing they could do to influence the games was to show their trust and confidence in the team and hope it would carry through into the game.

The incident with KG was a turning point for many Chinese fans. Their faces were pushed against the facts. KG never wanted to lose. But they struggled just like any other normal person would do. The thing that could help them over that point, to get them in a place where they could perform, that thing was encouragement. Confidence of their fans that showed through in their own gameplay. It was how fans could influence the game! Whether this was in a small tournament with almost no stakes or at Worlds where the stakes couldn’t be any higher, this rule didn’t change. If they showed their confidence and trust in the team. If they encouraged them to do better than they normally could. If they cheered in support even when things weren’t going great. Then, and only then, could their team perform at the best of their ability!

There was something else many Chinese fans had come to realize. The teams that qualified for Worlds, they didn’t participate for a participation trophy. They participated to win. Every waking hour they practiced, they prepared themselves both physically and mentally, to be in that optimal state where they could perform at the highest level. It wasn’t any different for Hand of God. They didn’t give up just because their opponent was SSK. They were working together, planning their game tactics. Finding that perfect plan that could get them the advantage and do the impossible! They would fight to the end and never give up!

Hand of God’s fans wouldn’t give up either. They would support their team through thick and thin! So they did the only thing they knew, and that was to plaster the online space with their support for the team. There were hundreds, thousands, and by the late afternoon tens of thousands of posts, all of them full with ongoing discussion. All of them overflowing with a singular wish. For Hand of God to play their hearts out tonight!

✹

It was late in the morning and the sun was shining in Paris, France. League of Legends fans were streaming into the Zenith Paris, finding their way to one of the 9,000 seats. They were the lucky few who’d got their hands on a ticket before it was completely sold out. Their clothing was in the colours of their favourite teams and they’d brought with them signboards and glowsticks, with some especially fanatic fans trying to sneak in megaphones and fireworks. Inside the arena, Chatter rang out to the backdrop of epic battle music from the oversized speakers.

The time drew closer to noon and there were only 20 more minutes before the first game of Hand of God versus SSK would start. Backstage, the players could hear the vibing sounds inside the arena becoming louder as the announcer started hyping up both teams. All the way to one of the bathrooms. The bathrooms where Nightsong and Daybreak Hermes were hyping themselves up before they’d go on stage and play the best team in the world. Maybe even beat them.

Nightsong leaned over one of the sinks and looked at himself in the mirror. He was about to play one of the most important games in his life. The nerves that came with that even affected him. He took a deep breath and then splashed his face with some cold water.

Hermes came out from one of the stalls and walked up to the sink next to Nightsong. He opened the faucet and let the water splash on his hands while looking at his friend. He chuckled, short and rushed, and asked, “How’re you feeling?”

Nightsong breathed in, deeply, and then blew it all out through his nose. He forced a smile to his lips and looked up at his friend. “Excited! Of course! What else? I’m very excited! No one can beat me!”

This was Nightsong. Hermes knew his friend like no other. He asked, “Feeling the pressure?”

“Ha! Pressure? What pressure! Look at me! Do I ever feel pressure?” Nightsong laughed, his hands shaking. He quickly grabbed one hand with the other, then forced them both under the faucet. Anything to stop Hermes from noticing how they were shaking. He was nervous and he was feeling the pressure. This wasn’t just some random game. They were up against SSK in the World Championships! This could turn out to become the biggest game in his entire career! It’d be crazier if he wasn’t feeling the pressure. But that didn’t mean he’d admit to that.

Hermes rubbed his nose and smiled. “It is SSK we’re playing against. Look at my hand, it’s shaking so badly! I can’t get it to stop.” He imitated Nightsong, grabbing one hand with the other and putting them under the faucet. “But that’s normal. We’re playing against SSK. I have to face Rake in lane. Holy shit, dude. I have to face Rake. Rake! Fuck. I don’t know. This is going to be so difficult.”

Daybreak Hermes was China’s number one Midlaner. He was also a King. Fans had chosen him as one of the best players in the world! Some had even given him the nickname Star Emperor. There were very few players who were better than him, and those who were were only slightly so. Except for one. Against Phoenix and Moon, two Emperors, he would still have some confidence. They were the better players, but he wasn’t completely lost. However, that confidence was thrown out of the window when it came to Rake. Even Moon and Phoenix were terrified of the God Emperor. The best player in the world. It was only to be expected that he was fighting hard not to shit his pants.

Nightsong looked in the mirror, at himself. Then he smiled and turned to Hermes. “So he’s a little good. So what? That doesn’t change anything! You’re going up and you’re going to give it your absolute all! That’s what we do! Don’t look up to him. Look down on him! Piss on him and claim your territory!”

“That is what we do.” Hermes nodded and grinned. He looked up at the mirror straight into his own eyes. That’s right. I’m not giving up. I’m going to fight! I’m going to beat him! He turned to Nightsong and said, “You’re right. I can’t let him look down on me. We’re pros. It doesn’t matter what the odds are. We fight and give it our all. Who knows, maybe that’s enough today.”

Nightsong looked at his friend. The serious look in his eyes. The words that were meant to hype them up but that sounded completely ridiculous. His own nerves raging within him. It suddenly seemed all too comical. He started laughing and said, “Look at us! We’re acting like we’re supposed to be scared of them! Haha! They should be scared of us! We’re HoG! It’s just SSK! How bad can it really be? I’ll stomp all over them with my flashy plays and show the world who the best ad-carry is! And you do the same in mid lane! We’re going to kick some asses!”

Hermes smiled. “Hehe. I guess we did do pretty ok at the Mid-Season Invitationals. Maybe we can carry that through here. Only one way to find out. Let’s do this.’

✹

Su Xue and Lin Feng were sitting in Su Xue’s bedroom behind her computer. The stream was on. There were 2,000 people watching, all of them here for Lin Feng’s insights. Their excited messages flooded the chat, slowly turning more nervous as 7 PM approached. They kept asking for reassurances from Lin Feng, something he wouldn’t give. He kept reiterating his view on the matchup. It’d be hard for HoG to win, but not impossible. Still, that little was enough for a lot of viewers. They felt a little more confident in HoG’s chances, until a few minutes later when this process would start all over again.

Su Xue was very much in on it with her chat. She tugged at Lin Feng’s arm as both teams went into Champion Select and asked, “Hey! What do you think HoG’s chances are? Like 40% Maybe 50? Do you think they have a better chance!”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head. “Eh, I’ve said it to the stream already, HoG’s chances are pretty slim. If they play at their best and SSK screws up a little, then they might have a 30% chance of winning, I guess?”

Su Xue’s mouth fell open. She knew the answer. She tried to prepare herself for it. But it still hit like a truck. “Really? That low? Don’t you think their chances might be a little better? You know, just a bit?”

Lin Feng shook his head, resolute. “I’m being optimistic here. Realistically? It’s probably lower. SSK is really good. They’re the favourites for a reason.”

There were several conditions that had to be met if Hand of God wanted to win this series against SSK. First, they had to play a perfect Champion Select. That meant banning the Champions they wanted out of the game, including having SSK ban Champions for them, and also picking the Champions that were perfect for their composition. Of course, it’d help if SSK went with a composition that just happened to be weaker against theirs.

A second hard condition was Hermes. He was up against Rake. An impossible lane to win. But he didn’t have to win, not necessarily. As long as he could somewhat keep up, or even go even, then there was still a chance. He had to scale up and get out from under Rake’s pressure, so that SSK had to focus on mid lane as well as the other lanes. This condition applied for the most part to the early game. In the late game, where one teamfight could decide victory and defeat, anything was possible.

Hand of God’s Jungler was another important condition. Just like Lin Feng kept hammering on with Liu Yue, jungle pressure was everything. HoG’s Jungler couldn’t fall behind. He couldn’t react to SSK’s ganks. He had to be the one ganking. He had to be the one making plays. Or at least, he had to put enough pressure on the game that SSK’s Jungler couldn’t move around freely and dictate the pace of the game.

There were two more conditions. Top lane couldn’t fall. Going even was fine and even a slight loss was fine. But they absolutely couldn’t afford losing it. And then there was bot lane. Bot lane was where an opportunity lay for Hand of God. Nightsong was a strong ad-carry. If he could get a slight advantage in the early game and carry his team through the mid game and into the late game, then all bets were off.

If Hand of God wanted any hope of winning this series, they had to meet all five of these conditions. Not three, not four, all five. An impossible task. On a good day, Lin Feng saw them meeting maybe two or three of them. But that wouldn’t be enough. Hand of God would lose. Lin Feng lowered his head. The situation was clear. Hand of God needed a literal Hand of God to win this series. They needed divine intervention. A true miracle.

When Lin Feng raised his head again, the stream switched to the cameras aimed at the players. They first showed the five from Hand of God. From the Toplaner all the way to the Support. Their expressions were tense. Lip biting. Fidgeting. Shifting around in their chairs. It was clear how they felt. Then the players from SSK came into view. They looked completely different. Relaxed. Confident. Excited even.

The camera stopped on Rake. The 20 years old Korean and best player in the world. He sat behind his monitor, waiting for the game to start. His breathing was even and his expression was calm. There was no concern. There was no conceit. There was nothing that betrayed his feelings other than that calmness that felt so natural. When looking at him, there was no doubt in the minds of the viewers. SSK was going to win. This was going to be a quick and easy series. These were the words Rake spoke to them without even opening his mouth.

Ouyang had a very specific selective attention. Girls. League of Legends. Friends. In that order. Anything else he didn’t really pay attention to. Like the big and bold letters the teacher wrote down on the chalkboard. They went in one eye and out the other. But when the words ‘pretty’ and ‘girl’ were mentioned in a hushed conversation on the other side of the classroom, his ears would perk up and his eyes would lock onto the students talking. That kind of conversation got his undivided attention. Right now, Lin Feng’s pencil case had his full focus. There, buried under pencils, erasers and other stationary, he spotted it.

The English teacher hadn’t walked into the classroom yet. There were still a few more minutes until the lesson started. So Ouyang grabbed Lin Feng’s shoulder and looked at his friend. “Yo! Lin Feng, buddy! Best bro! You’ve been holding out on me? Were you hiding that picture from me? That’s not what bros do, my man! Come, gimme! Lemme have a look at that!” He held out his free hand and added, “Hurry up! Give it!”

“Oh, this? It’s nothing,” Lin Feng said, ruffling his messy hair. He emptied his pencil case on his desk and took out the picture. An old memory. He looked at it for a moment and then showed it to Ouyang. “It’s just an old picture I have from a few years ago.”

Ouyang leaned forward, just about pressing his eyes onto the paper, and started scanning it. Something had drawn him to this picture, he was now looking for what that something was. Lin Feng stood in the middle of the frame. It looked like someone had called his name half a second before snapping the picture as only his head was turned towards the camera. He looked the same, with the same messy hair and the same simple clothing. The only real difference was that the Lin Feng in the picture looked a few years younger. But it was just Lin Feng. Ouyang had hoped for something else. He shook his head, disappointed. “I thought it was something better. Not just a picture of you…”

Ouyang squinted his eyes. His special Ouyang senses, as he liked to call them, didn’t lie to him, they never did! There was something more to this photo. But what… He turned to Lin Feng, the man with the answers, and asked, “Yo, you look pretty young in this. So where was this taken? It looks like some kind of auditorium? Was this at your old school or something?”

Lin Feng looked at the picture. It was more than a quick glance this time. “No. That was at the Season 1 Chinese Finals for League of Legends!” He’d almost forgotten about this picture. It’d been at the bottom of his pencil case for the longest time now. But it was a snapshot of a good memory. One he treasured deeply. He smiled. Those were some fun games.

“You forreal? We actually had finals back then?” Ouyang looked up at Lin Feng, his eyes wide and round, then looked back at the picture. “Bro. That’s crazy. Yikes though. Looks like they had no real budget. That all looks really cheap.”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and said, “Yeah, it really was low budget. It was also really small. I think there were maybe a few hundred people there?”

League of Legends wasn’t big in Asia in Season 1. It didn’t really gain traction until a year later. That also meant that there were no big sponsors and no big money going around. The Chinese Esports Organization had to work with what they had, renting small venues on the outskirts of Shanghai and trying to make it look better than it was. All that hard work wasn’t even rewarded. There were 500 seats for the Season 1 Chinese Finals, but there weren’t 500 fans willing to come and watch. A good portion of the auditorium had stayed empty. This was something unthinkable with the current stage of the game, where the biggest venues were rented and even those weren’t enough to hold the fans looking to watch their favourite team play.

“A few hundred? No way… That sounds crazy! I saw some numbers online that the LPL Summer Finals last summer had 10,000 people in the crowd! And there were people outside trying to sneak in!” Ouyang clicked his tongue. “But dam, bro! You really were one of the first to play the game! You’re like a living fossil of a League player! I can’t believe you convinced your parents to let you go watch the finals live!”

“A living fossil? Haha! Yeah, I guess you could say that. I’ve been playing this game from the start!” Lin Feng laughed.

“Wait. Wait. Wait! What’s this here?” Ouyang put his hand to Lin Feng’s mouth and zoomed in on a corner of the photo. A small detail in the background. His eyes went wide. He pushed off Lin Feng and jumped up from his chair. Then he held the photo up and shouted through the classroom, “WHOOOO! OH YEAH! SCORE! I found the girl! She’s hot! I knew my Ouyang senses were right! Hehehe!”

The classmates of Senior Class 7 turned to look at the far back of the classroom. Ouyang and Lin Feng sat next to each other. Well, Lin Feng sat. Ouyang was jumping up and down and pointing at a photo in his hand, shouting. They were getting used to it by now. Ouyang always screamed over absolutely nothing. Some shook their heads while others sighed. That was Ouyang for you.

“U-uh? A girl? Where?” Lin Feng asked, confused.

Ouyang shoved the picture in Lin Feng’s face. Then he pointed at a corner of the photo and kept jabbing at it with his finger. “Here! Here! Look! Behind you!” There stood a girl behind Lin Feng, looking at the camera from the corners of her eyes. She wore a white t-shirt, had black framed glasses resting on her nose, and had her hair up in two pigtails. Though she stood in the background and Ouyang could only see half of her face, that was all he needed to see.

Ouyang looked at Lin Feng, almost looking angry! He barked, “Pigtails and glasses! You know how much I love those! And she’s rocking that cute-cool look! Totes a 9 outa 10! Dammit! I can’t even call you my bro now! How could you hide her from me? I thought we were friends! What ever happened to us? Get me a better picture of her, maybe with her phone number on it!”

Lin Feng grabbed the photo and looked at the girl Ouyang was pointing at. He directly recognized her. “Oh! That’s Bunbun!”

“H-huh? Bunbun? What’s a Bunbun?” Ouyang stammered, surprised. That didn’t sound anything like a name! Not one he’d heard before, at least.

Lin Feng said, “Bunbun! She’s my childhood friend! I remember now! She went with me to the Finals!”

✹

After the dismissal bell rang, the members of the esports team gathered in the club room. Ouyang was the first in the room. He was jumping up and down on his feet, about to burst! There was something on his mind. Something so important that it couldn’t wait. He had to share it with everyone! Lin Feng had a hot friend from his childhood! The guy who spent all his free time playing League of Legends had somehow found the time to meet a girl and hang out with her! It wasn’t just Ouyang, everyone found this difficult to believe. In the short time they’d known Lin Feng, all he did was League of Legends! So they had him pass the photo around, with everyone zooming in on the girl with pigtails in the background.

Liu Yue stared at the photo and mumbled, “So this is his childhood sweetheart?” Then he looked up towards Lin Feng and squinted his eyes, doing his best Ouyang impression. “Are you kidding me? I can’t believe you have such a pretty friend! The pretty childhood friend… I thought this only happened on TV!”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head, sheepishly. “Uhh, yeah. Me and Bunbun go way back. I’ve known her since elementary school.”

Ren Rou looked over Liu Yue’s shoulder and then shook her head. “Hmph. Yes, she’s pretty. Really pretty. I don’t know how he did it, but it seems like he did. He somehow found himself a really cute girl. Maybe he had more game a few years ago. That could explain how he found her.”

Wei Dong stood on Liu Yue’s other side, looking at the photo. He clicked his tongue and said, “This was taken four years ago, you said? She was already so pretty back then… I wonder how much she’s grown. Ah, shit. Can I have some of your luck? I want to find myself a girl like that!”

While the others were gathering around Liu Yue to look at the picture, Ouyang stood a bit away. He’d stopped jumping up and down. His excited expression had disappeared. Now he was staring at his laces, his smile having turned upside down. Some bro… Doesn’t even share… Keeps everything for himself… Bastard. Bastard. Bastard! He grabbed Lin Feng’s arm and tugged on it. With his other hand he grabbed his chest to hold his broken heart together. He forced tears from his eyes and said, “Y-you bastard! Traitor! What happened to the bro code! What happened to honour! Chivalry! All those things! Is Tang Tang not enough for you? Do you have to hoard all the pretty girls for yourself? What, are you going to build a harem? Take every cute girl for yourself and let your good bro here dry out and wither? I know I’m no first prize! But even a Gollum like me needs some love! Leave some girls for the rest of us!”

Lin Feng tried to tuck his arm free and looked at Ouyang, confused. “Uh? What do you mean? Tang Tang and I are just friends…”

“Mhm. We’re friends. Nothing more,” Tang Tang added while looking at the photo of Lin Feng’s childhood sweetheart. She was the last to look at it. Everyone looked at her. She nodded. “Cute.”

Ren Rou wrapped her arms around Tang Bingyao from behind and rubbed her cheeks. “You’re also very cute! Don’t let the guys make you think otherwise! You’re at least as cute as that girl in the picture!”

Chen Ze turned to Lin Feng and asked, “Hey, why do you call her Bunbun? That’s a pretty strange name…”

“Oh, that.” Lin Feng grinned. “You see, she was pretty round and chubby when we were young. It reminded me of a steamed bun! So I called her Bunbun once and the name kind of stuck. Hehe.”

A stunned silence fell over the room. The seven people turned to Lin Feng and just stared at him. Ouyang even had to push his mouth closed. They were shocked. Stunned. KO’d. Lin Feng had done it again! He’d showcased just how dense he really was. He actually nicknamed a girl after a steamed bun and didn’t seem to see anything wrong with that! It looked like he even thought it was funny! Ren Rou shook her head and said, “I feel for that girl. It sounds rough being your friend.”

“Ahem.” Yang Fan adjusted his glasses. He didn’t like this awkwardness, so he changed the subject. “You’ve told us this before. But wow. You really did start playing in Season 1, huh? You’re the super veteran. We all started playing in the later seasons.”

Liu Yue nodded. “Yeah. I only started playing last season.”

“SCREW THAT! Are you guys stupid?” Ouyang shouted. “You’re just ignoring the most important part here! He went to the finals with a girl! A PRETTY GIRL! Who cares about him playing League in Season 1? There’s only one thing we should be looking at. THAT GIRL! He already took such a pretty girl out on a date before we even met… I feel like he just stabbed me in the back before we even met! Here! Look at the scar! That’s what Lin Feng did!” Ouyang pulled up his shirt and jabbed at his side, where there was no scar.

“Uhh, no?” Lin Feng shook his head and looked at Ouyang, confused. “She was there to cheer me on. I was playing…”

“Sure, whatever. You went there to play. Of course,” Ren Rou said, her voice overflowing with sarcasm.

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and said, “It’s not that we don’t believe you. It’s just that we don’t believe you.”

Lin Feng kept claiming that he used to be a pro. And they had to admit that he was really good at the game, far better than anyone else they’d met. But Lin Feng also said that was in Season 1. The year he was only 15 years old. The rules were clear. Everyone knew them. You had to be at least 16 years old if you wanted to compete professionally. Lin Feng wasn’t 16, so he couldn’t possibly have competed. And he’d done nothing to prove the opposite. They were a little bored with his nonstop claims of fame.

However, none of them had played the game back in Season 1. They knew the rules from Season 2 and onwards. Back in Season 1, the rules weren’t as strict. Exceptions were made. This was why Lin Feng, a 15 year old, was allowed to compete. But because of the special circumstances, extra measures were taken. His real name and age were never revealed. To the world, he was Maple. Nothing else was revealed by the Chinese Esports Organization or his teammates. It was kept under such a tight seal that even most people he played against didn’t know how old he was.

✹

Lin Feng got home early again. Tonight was the second match of the quarter finals at Worlds. Season versus Fate. The first clash between Emperors in this edition! The millions of League of Legends fans across the world had been waiting for this moment. This once in a year opportunity where two of the best players in the world would go toe-to-toe against each other, putting everything on the line! And they were rewarded for their patience. They were treated to a spectacular best of five series! Full of ups and downs, and even some loops! The games were long and it went all the way to a fifth and final match to decide the winner.

Right before midnight in China, with Lin Feng and Su Xue commentating on the game, the series deciding play happened. Autumn, Season’s Emperor Support, caught Moon out of position. Fate’s Emperor Midlaner slipped up after a grueling five hours of playing League of Legends. One moment of losing focus cost him and his team a teamfight. The death timers were more than a minute. Season ran down mid lane and finished the game. They secured their place in the semifinals! The Korean Killers had done it again!

This second day of the quarterfinals had it all! But there was still more to come. There were still two series in the quarterfinals. One of them was KG versus Assassins. A matchup that wasn’t half as exciting as the match between Season and Fate. The other matchup, however, that was something the whole world looked forward to. Even the Chinese fans wanted to see how their first seed would do. The next match, played on Saturday, was none other than Hand of God versus SSK! A finals worthy matchup! The best of two regions would fight it out! The challengers would face the title defenders! This was the ultimate hurdle for HoG!

The first seed from the Chinese LPL versus the first seed from the Korean LCK. It sounded like an exciting match when said like this. Until people looked at the lineups. Hand of God’s strongest player was Hermes. One of the Seven Kings. On the other side was SSK. Their team captain was none other than the God Emperor, Rake! The best player in the world. The one who never lost his lane. Then they also had a King on their roster. They were the World Champions. They were the team to beat. And HoG didn’t seem like they were the team to do that.

In the Mid-Season Invitational, HoG had beaten an Emperor team. They’d beaten a Korean team! This was something that until then had seemed impossible. No one could beat the Koreans! But that victory was against Fate. A strong team, yes. But they weren’t SSK. There was still a large chasm separating them from that height. The Moon Emperor had struggled hard together with his team to qualify for Worlds. Then there was SSK. The invincibles. Fate had only managed to beat them once this year and lost six times. It just went to show how big the difference between the two teams was.

From analysts to fans, from professional players to casual players, everyone knew who SSK were. Who Rake was. It didn’t matter how much Hermes improved, he wouldn’t be good enough to beat Rake. And the rest of his team wouldn’t win their lanes either. This would be a stomp. There was nothing HoG could do but extend the suffering. It was to the point that Chinese fans stopped paying attention to HoG and shifted to the KG versus Assassins game. KG might not be as good as HoG, but Assassins wasn’t as good as SSK either. KG versus Assassins looked like a matchup that could go either way. The all Chinese team actually had a shot to make it to the semifinals! This was the game they chose to place their hopes on!

✹

Lin Feng had come home early from coaching High School 13’s esports team. He’d promised to watch Worlds together with Su Xue and her stream and give his insights on the games. So, after enjoying a quick dinner prepared by Su Xue, he followed her into her room and sat down at her desk. Then he waited for her to start up the stream, browsing his phone and looking at the matchups. The first game of interest for the Chinese fans was HoG versus SSK. Viewers were coming into the stream and were welcomed by Lin Feng’s analysis on the matchup, “Mhm. SSK is the better team. I don’t see how HoG is going to get anything from this matchup.”

It wasn’t a great first thing to hear on the stream. The viewers were hoping that they were little balls of negativity. They were hoping that their li’l bro would set them straight! To hear him agree with their own assessment felt like a low blow.

「damn… even lil bro thinks so too?」

「aghh, hog is screwed」

「MANN WHYYY i thought maybe you could convince me they had a chance……….」

「maybe ssk has an offday…… maybe…? I hope」

Su Xue listened to Lin Feng and read her stream chat. Everything was agreeing with him. She did too. So she gave her two cents on the matter, “I think so too. SSK has the Emperor and a King. What does HoG have? One King. That’s all. They really needed an Emperor if they wanted any chance of winning this.”

「fucking maid… who told her she could talk?」

「GO BACK TO THE KITCHEN!!!! IT”S WHERE YOU BELONG」

「look at this wannabe expert over here, thinking she can judge teams on some stupid ranking…..」

「I knew girls were stupid, but this…. Wtf… does she really think that’s the reason??????」

「JEEZ We got us a little miss small brain here…」

Su Xue stared at the chat, her eyes widening with every next message. Then she shouted, “Hey! Stop that! There’s no need to flame me so hard! What did I do? I was just giving my opinion…” It was her little show. Pretend to be upset. She wasn’t. Not really. She understood how her viewers were feeling. They were upset! Angry that the LPL’s best shot of making the finals was thrown against a brick wall and then down a well with spikes at the bottom! Hand of God was as good as eliminated with this draw! They wouldn’t even make the semi finals.

Just as everyone felt like they were stuck at the bottom of that well, Lin Feng threw them a rope. “Well, you know, it’s not lost yet. They still have to play. It’s really difficult to win, but that’s no reason to just give up! We should cheer them on and hope that they play the series of their lives!”

Nothing in life was set in stone. Life wasn’t that boring. Miracles did happen. And hard work was rewarded. Take KG. Everyone had written them off at the end of Week 1 of Worlds. They looked like they were in shambles and were a shadow of their former selves. But then something happened, something changed during their short break. And when they came out again, they looked like a team born anew. They fought, really fought for it and were rewarded with a spot in the quarter finals! Then there was also High School 13 making it through the first round of the qualifiers for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament, though the miracle there was mostly Lin Feng joining the team.

There was a simple lesson in all of this. One Lin Feng was living by every day while chasing for the title of best League of Legends player in the world. That was to never lose hope. To never give up. And to always keep striving for more! Miracles hadn’t left this world Not for Lin Feng, not for anyone. This wasn’t the time for the viewers to give up hope on HoG. If anything, this was when they had to support their team the most!

“Oh! It’s starting, it’s starting, guys! Let’s watch today’s game first! We’ll talk about the other games later!” Lin Feng exclaimed, excited! The first match in the quarter finals was Legend versus Warrior. It wouldn’t be until the weekend that Hand of God and KG had their games.

✹

Friday morning, Lin Feng walked into the classroom and sat down next to Ouyang, who was already being his excited self despite the time of day. “Damn! Those four games last night were absolutely amazeballs! Did you guys see it? Did you feel it? I had goosebumps all over! That was so good!” He looked up at Lin Feng and nodded before turning back to Yang Fan. “Legend actually made it through to the semis! Did you see that coming? They beat the Koreans! They beat the Koreans! Holy, I never saw that coming. Did you? That was the best quarter finals so far!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and started talking, “Ye–” but Ouyang wasn’t finished yet. He just continued rambling on, “Also, also, shut up for a minute. Let me talk. Also, that Phoenix! Did you see him play? I totally get why he’s an Emperor. He’s so good! That was like, he carried so hard those games! Even that game they lost, he was the best player in the game. The MVP in every game!”

“Mhm! Phoenix is really good!” Yang Fan blurted out. He didn’t even adjust his glasses. All he wanted was to finally get a few words in. “Yeah. Game 3. You know, the one they lost, his Orianna was still the best Champion. He dominated mid lane with her. Warriors Midlaner was pretty much taken out of the game. That’s the difference between an Emperor and any other player right there.”

Ouyang laughed and slapped Lin Feng on the back. “Point is, those were some awesome games to watch. Right, bro? I don’t care who wins. All I want are fun games. Plus, it’s always good news for us when a Korean team gets sent home.”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and reminded, “HoG still has to play SSK. We still have to have a team make it to the semis for this to be your so-called good news.”

“Dammit! You just had to do that, didn’t you? You just couldn’t let me be happy for a change. All I was happy about was that a Korean team lost. That should mean something, right? Korean teams are defeatable! HoG still has a chance! They can make it to the semis!”

“Heh.” Yang Fan chuckled and shook his head. “Who cares about Warrior or Fate? They’re nothing compared to SSK. If SSK loses, now that would be something to talk about.”

“Oh! Oh! Fate is playing tonight, right? They got Moon! That will be awesome to watch! I can’t wait!” Ouyang exclaimed, bouncing on his chair.

Yang Fan nodded and then turned to Lin Feng, “Fate will have a hard time, even with Moon. Right Lin Feng? What do you think?”

“H-huh?” Lin Feng mumbled, half asleep. He yawned and stretched out long, then rubbed his eyes. “Tonight’s games? Uhm… It’s going to be a difficult one for Fate, that’s for sure. Season is a really strong team.”

Season wasn’t just a strong team from North America. They were also the secret weapon against Korean teams. No one really understood why, but whenever Season played a Korean team, they seemed better. Stronger. More cohesive. They were even dubbed the Korean Killers! Their track record supported this, with 75% of their games against Korean teams ending in a victory. There was no other team in the world who could say the same!

The bell rang and the first period began. The three friends paid little attention to class, whispering amongst each other just enough to get on the teacher’s nerves, but not so much that they got sent to the principal’s office. The period bell rang again not much later, announcing the end of class. And a little later, the next one rang. This one had Ouyang a little worried. He turned to Lin Feng and asked, “Hey, bro. We were doing some sort of listening test for English today, right? And something with picture cards? I forgot. What was it? Wait. Oh shit! We need a pencil and eraser, right? Crap. I think I forgot mine!”

Lin Feng opened his drawer and rummaged through it. It was mostly clean and organized. Mostly. He took out a pencil case and checked its contents. Then he looked up with a wide grin and said, “Look! I brought mine!”

“Nice! I knew you would! That’s why I didn’t bring mine! It’s perfect teamwork! Just lend me yours in a bit!” Ouyang grinned, moving his chair right up to Lin Feng and looking over his friend’s shoulder. “Uh? Huh! Is that a picture? It is! Who’s that? Tell me who that is!”

“An Emperor?” Old Huang blurted. Across all the regions, in all the teams, four players were considered the best in the world. It sounded ridiculous to think that someone who played back in Season 1 and then quit could just come back and displace an Emperor four years later. Even if they’d been training nonstop, it was still impossible to just become an Emperor! “Are you serious? You’re joking, right? That’s way outta there. That can’t be right…”

From individual skill to past achievements, there were four people who were better than anyone else. They stood at the top of the global esports scene. Fans called them the Four Emperors. A good sounding title. But it was so much more than just a title. It was a symbol of the most skilled professional esports athletes! These were their names: 

Moon, The Moon Emperor!
Phoenix, The Undying Emperor!
Autumn, The Autumn Emperor!
Rake, The God Emperor!

The LPL had no Emperors. No real ones, at least. They did have Daybreak Hermes, The Star Emperor. It was a nickname given to him by his Chinese fans. Just like how they called Roundy Round “God Roundy”. However, no matter how highly the Chinese fans spoke of Hermes, or Roundy for that matter, they all knew that neither of these two had what it took to measure up with an actual Emperor. The Four Emperors were just on another level. Another plane of existence. The gap was so wide that it was hard to even compare them. That was why Old Huang didn’t really listen to Cup Noodles. The LPL had some great talents who couldn’t even get close to the Four Emperors. In his mind, some random player in solo queue couldn’t even dream about it!

Cup Noodles breathed in deeply and then let it all out. “You don’t understand it. You should’ve been there. It was something else. That guy was so good. It was just a joy to watch. He was the best player in China, and one of the very best in the world.”

Old Huang puffed out some smoke and replied, “So what? Star Emperor is the best Midlaner in China right now, right? Do you see him holding his own against the Emperors? No. He isn’t good enough. Why would this kid be? Besides. That was four years ago. He’s probably past it. I doubt he can even keep up with the current meta.”

“Please,” Cup Noodles said. “It’s not that simple.” He remembered Season 1. He could still name the players of the Unrivaled Ten. That match at the World Championships where Maple beat Phoenix was one of the few games he remembered from back then. Maple had beaten an Emperor! He was that good! And then there was the Finals. The best of five series. Maple versus Rake. It took all five games and an unfortunate mistake on Maple’s part for the conclusion. It could’ve gone either way. If Maple was really back, then… Then…

Cup Noodles shook his head. Maple had always come out on top. He was unbeatable in Season 1. Except at the very end. In that final series, and ultimately in that final game, he lost. And then he quit. He left through the backdoor, while his opponent took the Summoner’s Cup in his hands and lifted it up high. Today, there was Rake the God Emperor, but no Maple. It was the painful truth. Cup Noodles shook his head and breathed out deeply. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything. Anyway, this game is useless for your video. Let’s move on to the next one.

There was still the game of League. Cup Noodles focused on his screen. There was no tension to the game anymore. That Orianna was too strong. He didn’t surrender, but he also didn’t really tryhard. The Blue team, led by the Orianna, pushed their way down mid lane and into Red team’s base. They destroyed one inhibitor and then moved on towards the Nexus. There was a scuffle there. A few players on the Red team who were just throwing themselves at the Orianna, trying to get at least one kill in. They didn’t. She played too well. And then the Nexus exploded. The game was over and the players were moved to the endgame lobby.

CN•Maple

Cup Noodles grinned to himself and shook his head. He didn’t care that he’d lost this game, because he’d lost to Maple. It didn’t matter if this Maple was the real Maple. What mattered was the manner in which they’d played. Full of confidence and with perfect awareness and mechanics. This Maple hadn’t let the name down. More importantly, he’d seen a shimmer of the most brilliant Midlaner from China. He muttered to his screen, to this Maple wherever he was, “Don’t let down the reputation of that Summoner Name…”

The name Maple didn’t mean anything to most Chinese League of Legends fans. There was only a small group who remembered the name, and even fewer what it stood for. The significance and weight behind it. It belonged to perhaps the best player China would ever see. The legend from Season 1. The only player who could go toe-to-toe with Rake!

✹

Lin Feng pumped his fist. “Yes! Another win! Let’s go!” He glanced at the clock. It was only 11:30 PM. He was young, he didn’t need much sleep. And if he wanted to catch up to Rake, he had to play more and give it his all! So he hit the queue again. “I’ll play one more. Maybe two. Yeah, two sounds better. If I’m fast, it should be fine! I’ll just sleep after three more games!”

Lin Feng was a man of his word. He went to bed at a respectable time and woke up early the next morning, mostly refreshed. He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. Full of energy he walked towards the dining table, where he saw Su Xue just walking out of the kitchen. She was yawning, her groggy eyes barely open, while carrying her breakfast. “Wow, you look tired.”

Su Xue forced her eyes open a little more and only then seemed to notice Lin Feng. She nodded at him, though it felt more like she was rocking her head back and forth while falling back asleep. “Good, you’re awake. Come, have breakfast.”

Lin Feng grabbed the bowl of congee from Su Xue’s hands and dug in. While he was wolfing down the food, Su Xue peeled a soft-boiled egg for him while saying, “So I started looking into that video recording software. I found one and downloaded it. But there are so many options and settings and things… I don’t even know where to start.”

There was a brief silence. Just long enough that Lin Feng looked up, catching Su Xue shaking herself awake. Then she continued, “Oh, and I also watched the videos of some other commentators. Man, they’re some really smooth talkers. They just keep talking. It’s like they never breathe. I tried it for a bit, but like… I don’t get how they do it. How should I even come up with all those funny lines? I don’t just want to copy theirs. That would be lazy. But how do they keep producing more? I don’t get it. How do I even start learning about that?”

Su Xue looked down at her phone, which was playing a video on silent. It was a video she’d looked at before. She knew the words being said before they were even spoken. Another dirty joke… It was one of the constants in all the popular videos she’d found. No one shied away from making those dirty jokes. She grinned. If I’m going to do this… She looked up at Lin Feng, her eyes finally open and awake, and said, “Well, it doesn’t matter. All these videos are popular. I even tried looking for unpopular ones. There were none. They were all doing great! Getting a few hundred to thousands of new fans should be easy! Easier if I make some dirty jokes. People seem to love dirty jokes.”

Lin Feng paused for a brief moment. He put his chopsticks down and looked up at Su Xue, shocked. “You are going to tell dirty jokes?”

“You little brat! Hyperboles! Hyperboles! All I’m trying to say is that I’m taking it seriously! I’m going to learn how to do commentary!” Su Xue barked. She glared at Lin Feng, shoving the peeled egg into his bowl. “Eat that. Now. Or you’re going to be late for school.” She then put up her finger and added, “Oh, right! Make sure you’re home early tonight! The quarter finals for Worlds starts at 7! We’re commentating together on those games!”

✹

The eight teams who’d qualified for the quarter finals of the World Championships of League of Legends Season 5 had flown from England to France. Their next set of games would be held in the Zenith Paris in Paris. It was an indoor arena perfect for these kinds of occasions. The brackets were already announced.

Legend (Europe) versus Warrior (Korea)
Season (North America) versus Fate (Korea)
Hand of God (China) versus SSK (Korea)
KG (China) versus Assassins (Taiwan)

The best teams in the world participated at Worlds. Deeper in the tournament, the matchups would only become more exciting. There were basically no weaker teams in the quarter finals. The first and second matchup were especially exciting. They were the powerhouses from Korea versus Emperor teams. As for HoG versus SSK. Even the Chinese fans didn’t have much hope for that game. It seemed like SSK would have an easy way to the semifinals. They were simply the better team in every way. Then there was KG versus Assassins. These two teams were arguably the worst, if they could be called that, of the teams in the quarter finals. Either team could make it through to the next round. This was also the matchup most Chinese fans turned their attention to.