Rise

Summoner’s Rift. A duel between two of the strongest duelists in the game. Jax and Fiora. Lin Feng got the early level advantage. He pushed the Fiora out of lane. And the Fiora let it happen. She went back a little, waiting for another minion to die. Then she would also be Level 2. The advantage would be gone. A moment, and then the minion died. Everything was back to even. The Fiora dashed back in.

“Let me at ‘em!” Lin Feng shouted from behind his computer, jumpscaring Liu Yue sitting next to him. But he didn’t notice. Nor would he care. His entire focus was on the game, emulating his Jax only heightening his senses. The Fiora dashed towards him, so he Leap Striked at her! Then he pressed the E key–Counter Strike! His Jax spun his lamppost in the air, a transparent mantle enveloping him. He now dodged every basic attack, all the while auto attacking the Fiora.

Counter Strike was a crowd control skill. So the Fiora used Riposte! She leaned back, brandishing her Rapier, and took aim. But Lin Feng knew it was coming. He’d been waiting for it. He had his Jax walk out of the direction the Fiora was aiming in and then waited out the 0.75s duration of Riposte. The counter by the Fiora failed. Now it was his time to shine! He moved in on the Fiora again and activated the second part of Counter Strike.

The Fiora Lunged away. A last ditch effort. But she was too late. The lamppost hit her in the face. She was stunned. All she managed to do was create a little distance. To make it a little more difficult for the Jax to kill her straight away.

“WOOOOO!” Silent Reed exclaimed from behind the caster’s desk. She turned to West Wind and said, “They’re really going at it in top lane!”

West Wind nodded and said, “Yeah, that Jax is playing it really well. The Fiora isn’t half bad either. These are some high Diamond level plays!” He looked back at the screen, which was still focused on top lane. It was the only lane with anything interesting happening. “But look at their health bars. Jax got out on top here.”

✹

The invincible Jax! Grandmaster at Arms! He was one of Lin Feng’s favourite Toplaners. One of few. There was also Riven, which he’d played in the qualifiers of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Then there was Olaf. A simple man who knew how to throw an axe and run across the map! Technically there was one more Champion Lin Feng enjoyed playing. Though this Champion didn’t really count. He could barely be considered a Champion. It was the spin to win legend. The master of nothing and joy of all! GAREN! A man and his sword, running across the Rift, being little more than a tanky nuisance.

Jax was a simple Champion. His skills were straightforward and there was nothing really special about him. That was, for the average player. But to become a good Jax player. Truly good. That wasn’t so simple. It took a lot of skill and experience to make use of all the tricks. Of all the little things that made Jax such a powerful Champion.