Rise

Lin Feng knew that running into Chu Fang was inevitable. The first of many people from his past that Lin Feng would bump into on this climb back to the top. The first of many that he’d have to confront since he ran away all of those years ago. Just to name some, there were the friends he’d made along the way all those years ago in Season 1. He wanted to see them again, and he liked to think they’d want to see him again too. Then there were his rivals and other players he’d enjoyed playing against, the fans who’d cheered him on and sent him fanmail, and everyone else who was connected in one way or another to the Season 1 run of his team. There were too many to name, but he remembered their faces and names. He was both looking forward to seeing them again and dreading it at the same time.

But Lin Feng wasn’t planning on looking for them just yet. There was more than enough time to reconnect with old friends and rekindle old rivalries later on. Right now, he wasn’t Maple. He was a regular player getting back into the game and he didn’t want to lean on his old name to do that. This was a path he wanted to walk on his own two feet. That wouldn’t be easy. He was well aware of that. It would take time to find his old form, to adjust to the changes in the game, and further hone his skills. But he had that time as long as he stayed in anonymity. There was no pressure to perform, there were no teammates that he had to work together with, there was only himself and his dream. The dream of stepping onto the world stage. He wanted nothing more than to make it back there and fight against Rake again. But this time, he would win. For that reason, he chose to wait. He would take one step at a time, keeping himself grounded, and only let the spotlight fall on him when the time was right.

That day wasn’t far away, but it wasn’t today. Right now there were different things on his mind. For starters, he’d just qualified with his team from High School 13 for the semifinals of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. This was a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but it meant the world to his school. They’d never made it this far before and would be celebrating through the night if it weren’t for another event taking place halfway across the world. This event did matter in the grand scheme of League of Legends. It was the semifinals match between KG and SSK at the World Championships. Millions of people, both those who played the game and those who just enjoyed watching it or reading about it, tuned in long before the match even started. They were here to listen to the analysts and watch the introductions of both teams. They were only a small fraction of the number of people who would be watching when the series officially started.

✹

Su Xue strapped on her apron and put on her chef’s hat. It was the basic attire for her part time job as Lin Feng’s cook. There wasn’t a whole lot of time today, because the KG versus SSK game was starting soon. So she prepared something quick and easy, though she did start from scratch, and served it. The aromas floating in the air wafted into Lin Feng’s room and the person in question soon followed his nose into the dining room. They enjoyed a quick dinner, which was halfway interrupted by an alarm going off. Su Xue had set it at 10:30 PM, 30 minutes before the start of Worlds.

Su Xue didn’t bother with doing the dishes, nor did she let Lin Feng finish his food. She dragged him along to her room and shoved him down in his chair. Then she turned on her stream and pinged the people in her QQ group chat. This was perhaps the most important match at the League of Legends Season 5 World Championships! It was also an excellent opportunity for her to bring in new viewers! So she had to be on time. She absolutely could not be late.

Su Xue started her stream 20 minutes before the start of the first game, her regulars started flooding her stream chat and soon enough thousands of people were watching her and Lin Feng. They were all here for their stream shoutcasting on the best of five series between KG and SSK.

「This is going to be siicckkkkkk!! Best of 5! I wanna see it go to game 5 woooooo!!」

「FK GAME 5, 3-0 KG LEEZZ GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!1!!!1!」