Chapter 281: Comparing Torches; Mine is Bigger!
The Korean ranked ladder was the most competitive one in League of Legends. Professional players from every region visited Korea just to have a shot at reaching Challenger on this server. And most of them failed. They got to Master and then found out why it was so difficult to get any higher. Pure, raw talent. There were so many outstanding players on the Korean server that the level of each game was far above the worldwide average. Even the Ionia server, the most competitive server in China, couldn’t come close in prestige to the Korean server. Yet One threw Lin Feng at it as if it were nothing.
Lin Feng still held his phone close to his ear, but he wasn’t talking or listening. His eyes were focused on his laptop and he was chewing on his lip. He wants me to hit Top 5 Challenger? Can I even do that? I know the rankings… Back in the day, yeah, but I’m not there yet. I’m not anywhere near to that point yet. Chinese professional players are better than I am right now. And most of them can’t even make it to Challenger on the Korean server! What am I going to do?
Chinese players challenged themselves to climb the Korean ranked ladder every season. They wanted to prove to their Korean rivals that there was some talent in China. That there was hope for China on the international stage. That the League of Legends world wasn’t centered around Korea! But they never got all that far. The Chinese players who reached all the way to Master were proud of themselves, and the couple who made it to Challenger were either professional players or players being scouted by professional teams. But none of them ever made that final step into the Top 10. It was just too difficult to beat the many talented players on the Korean server.
Top 5, Top 5… Collegiate Cup and Top 5… Where am I going to find the time to even do that? Can I even do that? But I told One… Lin Feng chewed on his lip, biting off a thin layer of skin. His stomach dropped and he grimaced. I wanted to take it one step at a time. Slowly make my way back to the top. But One’s right. I can’t do it like this. There’s no challenge for me here. The Collegiate Cup is just another tournament where I don’t really have to try. I can just… I can take it easy. It doesn’t matter if I screw up a bit, because I can just turn it around later… He scratched his forehead, tense. I can’t go on like this. I need to challenge myself sooner or later. One is right. I need to fight. And the Korean ladder is probably the best bet for that!
Something swirled in the pits of Lin Feng’s stomach. His heart started racing faster and faster, pounding against his ribs. He felt his face heat up. A real challenge! And One gave it to me. He trusts me. He believes I can do it! He believes I still have it! Lin Feng closed his eyes and tried to push the rush of adrenaline down. One trusts in me! I’ll repay him with results! Top 5 Challenger? Ok. Yes. I’ll do it! It’ll be hard. But I’ll do it!
Lin Feng’s eyes shot open. A new fire burned in them. He tossed the Winter Collegiate Cup to the back of his mind. What am I getting all worked up about a university tournament? I made it all the way to the world finals! I need to remember why I’m even competing. To find good teammates and to start building a team! But it’s not to get back in form. I need to do something else for that. This might just be that something! The Korean ladder… He took a deep, long breath and closed his eyes again. Rake. Rake will be there. I’ll have to play against him if I want to make it to the top of Challenger. I’ll have to play against him… I’m not good enough yet… He chewed off a second bit of skin from his lips and then suddenly slammed his palm against his head. NO! I’ll face him! I’ll play against him, with him, whatever! It’s not a big tournament. It’s practice. I need to get better, and to do that I need to face better players. He nodded, confident, and said to One, “I can. And I will.”
“Good to hear,” One said, laughing. “Oh, right,” he added. “Do you have a Korean account?”
“Uhhh…” Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. I was so caught up about beating Rake… My account isn’t Challenger yet. It’s going to be really hard just to get there. He said, “Well, I do. But it’s not in Challenger yet. I can get to the top of Master, but someone needs to lose their Challenger spot for me to take it…”
“Yeah, that won’t do. There isn’t enough time for that,” One agreed. He briefly paused and then said, “I’ll just give you my Challenger account.”