Rise

Bloodsucker stared at his screen as it sprung back to life, vibrant colours replacing the dull tones of grey.
He knew it was only temporary, though he refused to admit it.
He stubbornly guided his Fizz back to mid lane. All I need are a couple of last hits.
That’ll see me right back into the game! I just need a few more… a few more! He gritted his teeth. If it wasn’t for this damned LeBlanc, I’d be winning right now! LeBlanc was always there, cutting him off when he tried to last hit a minion or zoning him away from the lane entirely.
Then he’d hide underneath his tower, the only place where he could at least get the experience from the dying minions.
But LeBlanc didn’t even let him get experience.
She baited him to use Playful Trickster, the only skill that could help him escape, and then killed him with a sudden burst of magic damage.
And then it started all over again.
And again.

At 17 minutes, Bloodsucker had completely given up on the mid lane.
He didn’t even want to look at it anymore.
He had his Fizz move into the Red team’s top side Jungle and attacked the Raptor Camp, which was adjacent to the mid lane.
He could use Playful Trickster to land some splash damage and speed up killing the Raptors, but he didn’t.
LeBlanc was somewhere, he didn’t know where.
And if she came, he needed Playful Trickster to escape. I just need a bit more gold… a few more kills… then I’ll finally be relevant again! I’ll sh—

A silhouette dashed over the jungle wall into the middle of the Raptor Camp, just as Bloodsucker’s Fizz was about to kill the big one.
Two Sigils of Malice slammed into Fizz, followed by LeBlanc’s Ethereal Chains.
Bloodsucker’s screen flashed red for a brief moment before it turned grey again.
He never even got to use Playful Trickster to escape.
LeBlanc’s burst damage was too high.

《You have been slain!》

Bloodsucker pinched his mouse and lifted it up, searching for a wall to throw it at.
Then he gritted his teeth and fought back that urge.
“FUCK!” He slammed the mouse back down on its pad.
“FUCK! FUCK! HE FUCKING DID IT AGAIN! HOW DID I NOT SEE HIM? FUCK!” He smashed down on the E key, his screen still grey, and shouted, “PLAYFUL TRICKSTER! PLAYFUL TRICKSTER! JUMP, YOU STUPID FISH!”

The game wasn’t even 20 minutes in and Bloodsucker found himself at the same score as in his previous game, 0/8/2.
But in his Tryndamere game, he was playing against God Roundy in his secondary role.
He didn’t like losing, but he could still accept that.
But now he was playing his main role against some no-name Midlaner with his main Champion.
He ground his teeth, glaring at the LeBlanc. FUCK THIS GAME! AND FUCK THIS STUPID LEBLANC!

Bloodsucker hurled a constant stream of abuse at his monitor, calling LeBlanc every bad word under the sun.
But when his Fizz respawned, he didn’t chase after her.
There was something else he felt beside humiliation.
Fear.
This was the first time in his still relatively short League of Legends career that he’d played against someone who made him feel utterly and completely helpless. I’ve scrimmed against LSPL teams and played against almost every big name on the Ionia server… I didn’t win every game, but that was never really my fault.
They always come to gank me, and my Junglers usually help other lanes… Or my Junglers suck, like this one.
He gave a fucking kill to the LeBlanc! But I should still be crushing her.
How is she this good? Who is she? Where the fuck did she come from? God fucking dammit! He slammed his fist on his desk and shouted, “I’m supposed to be the most talented Midlaner in China! I’M SUPPOSED TO DEFEAT RAKE AND GET SOME HONOUR BACK FOR OUR REGION! ME! ME! ME! NOT SOME FUCKING RANDOM PLAYER IN SOLO QUEUE!” Then he slumped back into his seat, out of breath. He can’t be better than me! HE ISN’T BETTER THAN ME! I’m the best! I’m going to play at Worlds next year! I can’t lose to some fucking nobody! I WON’T!

✹

At 20 minutes, Lin Feng’s LeBlanc was still hunting down the Fizz.
But it became harder and harder to find him as he started refusing to even leave the base.
Lin Feng looked around the map to take stock of the game.
Bot lane was minding their own business, having what looked like a fun skirmish that went back and forth.
And Tian Tian was steamrolling the top lane after a slow start.
Lin Feng smiled and shrugged.
“Guess I’ll keep hunting the Fizz, all the way to the fountain if I have to.
But maybe I can bait him out too…” 

[All] MapleInShrub (LeBlanc):「Sooooo boring.
Guess I shouldn ’t have expected more after seeing your top… lol」
[All] MapleInShrub (LeBlanc):「Maybe if you’d stop spending so much time shittalking people, you could actually get a little good at this game… Though I suppose you’re really not all that talented…」

Bloodsucker grimaced in humiliation.
He wanted to yell at LeBlanc that he did have talent.
And that he was going to become the best Midlaner in the world! But he couldn’t get himself to.
It’d sound ridiculous right now.
Even he could see that.
He took a deep breath and growled as he exchaled.
Then he suddenly started smiling. You want to act cute? Ok.
Fuck you.

[All] Bloodsucker (Fizz)「Me? Talking shit? Loool… I haven’t said anything.
Oh, you mean last game?? That wasn’t shit talking!」
[All] Bloodsucker (Fizz)「All I said was that KG lost 0-3 to SSK.
And that that stupid fat pig was an embarrassment to all Chinese players!」
[All] Bloodsucker (Fizz)「That isn’t shit talking! I was only stating the facts! KG did lose! And Roundy did play like the fat pig he is! Is that not allowed anymore? You sensitive pussy! HAHAHAHAH!」

Lin Feng slowly nodded. Sure, keep at it.
That’s going to ease the pain for you.
But I can state some facts too. He smiled as his fingers started gliding over his keyboard again.

[All] MapleInShrub (LeBlanc):「Oh, well, let me state some facts for you then.」
[All] MapleInShrub (LeBlanc):「It’s a fact that you fed last game and showed that you have exactly 0 talent as a Toplaner.」
[All] MapleInShrub (LeBlanc):「And it’s a fact that you’re just as terrible in the mid lane.」
[All] MapleInShrub (LeBlanc):「Did you buy a boosted account to look cool to your friends or something?」

Bloodsucker read that last sentence, gnashing his teeth.
Lin Feng had struck him where it hurt the most.
He was proud of how good he was in the mid lane.
And he liked how his friends looked up to him! I CLIMBED THE LADDER MYSELF! AND I AM A GOOD MIDLANER! It became harder to breathe as his nostrils flared.
He grabbed at his hair and wanted to pull, but kept himself from doing that at the last moment.
Then he smashed his fingers down on his keyboard.

[All] Bloodsucker (Fizz)「you wanna play it that way? Ok, go for it! Have fun! But that doesn’t change anything.
KG IS STILL TRASH!!! THEY LOST 0-3! WHAT GOD ROUNDY???? HE’S JUST A FAT PIG! A DISGRACE TO THE LPL! THAT SHAME WILL FOLLOW HIM FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE! HE’LL NEVER MAKE UP FOR IT!!!!」
[All] MapleInShrub (LeBlanc):「You sure about that? Well…」

That message caught Bloodsucker off-guard, briefly replacing anger with confusion.
He scrunched his eyebrows and mumbled, “Sure about that? Yes I am.
What the fuck is he talking about?” He started typing a response, but then stopped as LeBlanc sent another two messages.

[All] MapleInShrub (LeBlanc):「Actually, nevermind! That’s got nothing to do with you anyway.」
[All] MapleInShrub (LeBlanc):「You’re just a boosted noob.」

“W-wha—” Bloodsucker erupted into a coughing fit.
Lin Feng had dealt yet another stab to his already damaged ego. FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! YOU FUCKING FUCK! His vision grew dark as the world in front of him started twisting and swirling until he couldn’t even see his monitor anymore.
His head was buzzing and his entire body was trembling violently.
He forced his eyes shut and bit down hard on his tongue.
That brought back enough clarity to his mind to move his hands.
They slammed down on his keyboard and pressed the keys in a practiced rhythm, writing out increasingly vile and disturbing messages that were sent to all chat.

✹

The Red Team voted to surrender in the 22nd minute of the game.
Their nexus exploded and the energy inside morphed into a large victory emblem for the Blue team.
Lin Feng looked at his screen and shook his head.
“You know, Fatty? That Fizz was actually pretty skilled.
Good awareness and great game senses.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Think he might even be a pro player.”

Tian Tian looked over at Lin Feng in surprise and asked, “A pro player? Y-you really think so?”

Lin Feng nodded and explained, “Yeah.
It’s just the little things, you know? The warding, map movements, roaming attempts, and other little things.
It’s the stuff you don’t really see from the best solo queue players, unless they’ve played professionally before.” He looked at Tian Tian and said in a serious tone, “If he really is a pro, that makes this so much worse.
The fact that he’d say all those things? It’s a disgrace.”

Tian Tian let his gaze fall down to the ground.
He was fidgeting with his fingers. I-if Lin Feng is right… Another pro player thinks about me like that? T-then what about the fans…
M-maybe even Li—

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Lin Feng said, interrupting Tian Tian’s thoughts.
Then he rubbed his stomach that growled in response.
“Man, I’m starving! We’ve played three games and won three games.
That’s plenty, right? Yeah! Let’s go get something to eat!”

✹

Lin Feng and Tian Tian sat down in a hotpot restaurant across the street from the cybercafe.
Lin Feng grabbed a menu and started flipping through it, mumbling, “Hmm, what to eat… what to eat…”

Tian Tian sat on the other side of the table.
He was slouched back and fiddling his fingers underneath the table. L-lin Feng trusted in me.
He believed I could win against SSK.
B-but I let him down.
I let everyone down.
I-I should apologize to him.
Maybe… Maybe he’ll forgive me.
I-if he doesn’t, I can understand that.
I wouldn’t want a loser on my team either… He quickly wiped away a tear with his sleeve and then croaked, “L-Lin Feng, I’m sorry.”

Lin Feng looked up from his menu, confused, and blurted out, “What? What are you sorry for?”

Tian Tian wiped away another tear with his sleeve and tried to hide behind the menu.
“W-we lost 0-3…” he started with a hoarse voice.
“At W-w-worlds! T-that guy was right.
I couldn’t do anything for my team! I let everyone down! I… I’m a dissa…
disha-poiintcheed jyuu gwaaaaaah!” He collapsed onto the table and buried his face in his arms.
He lost all control over his emotions and broke down, begging for Lin Feng’s forgiveness through his sobs.