Rise

“Only the worst list out definitions at the beginning of their rebuttals.” - A former professional debater

The goal of a scrimmage was to practice tactics and strategy, so it wasn’t strange to see Team Shanghai try out different things. But there was a difference between trying out stuff and changing the entire lineup! What Team Shanghai did felt like a massive slap in the face to Shanghai University of Finance’s team! As if their opponents were taunting them! Poking fun at them! And not taking the match one bit seriously. But there wasn’t anything Shanghai University of Finance’s team could do about it, not after their painful loss last game. So they focused on their monitors, grimacing.

Qiu Le narrowed his eyes and mumbled, “Their mid is now the Support, huh?” He turned to look at Xie Qing and continued, “Xie Qing, we’re gonna have to play the best game of our lives. Those high schoolers are looking down on us! Fuck! I’m pissed! We need to beat some sense into them! And make them realize they can’t look down on us!”

Xie Qing glared at the Thresh portrait on the loading screen. Maple… I’ll remember you. He then turned to look at Qiu Le. He snorted and said, “Exactly! We’re going to teach those brats a lesson they won’t forget! It’s like they’re trying to make fun of us! This is so distasteful!” He turned back to his monitor and continued glaring at Thresh’s portrait. “Yeah, kid, you’re a good Midlaner. You beat Luo Yu. We were wrong and you are good. But just because you know how to play in the mid lane, that does not mean you can also play Support! They’re two different roles, with different things you have to learn and master! We’re here to help you practice, so at least show us some respect by playing your normal role! Shit! I’ll show you what it takes to be a good Support!”

Huang Yang nodded at Xie Qing and chimed in, “We’ll make those brats pay for being so cocky! I got your back!” He then turned to look at Luo Yu and asked, “You should be ok in mid, right? I can put my focus on the bot lane, yeah?”

Luo Yu nodded in affirmation. “Yeah, I think so.” He stared at the portrait of the Veigar. Why does this feel like last game all over? Don’t tell me she actually knows how to play mid… If her mid is anywhere near as good as her Jungle, then I might actually need help from Huang Yang… He took a long, deep breath, trying to calm the worries rampaging in his mind. He listened to his teammates, who were talking about smacking Team Shanghai down a notch. We’re talking about stomping them again. This game is different, but it also feels exactly the same. Are we making the same mistake again?

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《Welcome to Summoner's Rift!》

It didn’t take long for Luo Yu to realize why he was so worried about this game. The role swap didn’t weaken Team Shanghai. Quite the opposite, really. It helped them improve on their synergy so dramatically that they were playing better than in the previous game! And his teammates knew as much, a constant stream of complaints flooding the team’s voice chat.

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