Rise

It was 5:53 PM. Seven more minutes until the start of the Quarterfinals for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament! High School 13 versus West High. Two strong teams clashing in a series that could go either way! The long hand of time marched closer and closer to 6:00 PM. 10 players had gathered below the stage, five on either side. On the far left, there was High School 13. On the far right was West High. Staring at each other, tension palpable between them. All around them were tournament staff, giving them last minute instructions and waiting to give them the official go-head to get up on stage. Waiting. Staring. Coiled. Then one opened his hand and waved it towards the stage. The ‘go’ sign, the green light.

Lin Feng was about to step forward, when someone pulled on his arm. He turned around to find Su Xue. She smiled at him and said, “Make me proud! If you do, I’ll cook anything you want tonight!”

There were a few ways to light a fire in Lin Feng’s heart. But all of them paled before the inferno that could be lit in his stomach. Through food. His eyes beamed at the thought of food and he replied, “Awesome! You can make me stir-fried eggplants, squash so—”

“Shut it! Win this matchup first. Then you can come and claim your prize,” Su Xue said, interrupting his food fantasy. Then she gave him a quick hug and ruffled his hair. “Go, kid. You can do it.”

Lin Feng let the hug overwhelm him, the familiar scent of Su Xue bringing peace. He broke free from the hug and laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll win this game. It’s no biggie.” Then he turned back to the stage, his friends already walking up the steps, and walked up. His confidence was as big as ever. There was not a single worry on his face, a stark difference from the other nine players competing. They couldn’t smile, or look at the crowd, sweat dripping down their faces. They stared at their computer screens, barely breathing, as they waited for the competition to kick off.

Below the stage there was a special seating arrangement for the other six teams still in the competition. They were all present, including the players from Tonji Affiliated High. They were one of the teams who’d played against High School 13. They knew like no one else how strong this team was. But at the same time, that was weeks ago by now. Perhaps they’d just had an offday that day. Their Midlaner thought so, at least. He turned to his teammates and said, “West High was pretty decent last year from what I remember. What do you guys think? A win for them?”

The Toplaner stared at his teammate, eyes wide open. “Wait. You’re serious?” he asked after a moment of silence. He shook his head and mumbled, “Do you not remember that game? I don’t care how good West High is, they don’t have that Lin Feng guy. Holy shit was that dude good. I’ve never played against anyone better…”

The other three teammates nodded. They remembered. They wouldn’t ever forget that Riven. That wasn’t just a good game. That wasn’t luck. That was pure skill. More skill than their entire team combined. It didn’t matter how terrible that Lin Feng’s teammates were. When you were that good, solo carrying a game at this level was an easy thing to do. Besides, they’d played against West High before. Just last year, they were the ones who’d eliminated West High in the quarterfinals. West High was a good team, they had to admit that. But West High was just that. Good. Not great. Not perfect. Not Legendary like Lin Feng.

Tonji Affiliated wasn’t the only team talking about the match. Shanghai High School, the reigning champions, were also in discussion about this series. It was another round, and still the same and confident Lin Feng. They’d seen this before. It felt somewhat like deja vu. And if it was, then High School 13 would tear West High a new one and move on to the semis. From out in the first round of the qualifiers to the semifinals, though between then and now they’d almost completely revamped their team. A superb move.