Rise

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FatMelon leaned forward in his gaming chair and was just short from shoving the microphone into his mouth.
He play-by-play commented on the fight in the bot lane, “Blue team’s Nami and Jinx are stunned by Leona’s ultie! Red team’s Irelia is teleporting in, in, in! She’s there! And now she’s on the Nami hacking away with her blade! That’s an Equilibrium Strike! The Nami gets slowed right after the stun disappears! AND THE JINX FLASHES THE ZENITH BLADE!”

「SSIIIIIIICKK!!!!! Hwo did she dodge that? Aaaaaaaaahhhh Im losing tittt!!11!」

「sheee llivveeesssssss WTTTTFFFFF HOWWWWWW」

「JINX IS GREAT! JINX IS GREAT! 666666」

「WHAT A FLASH! WOOOFNOANSFINAF」

FatMelon wasn’t a very high level player and the gross of his viewers were stuck in Silver or Gold.
They hadn’t the faintest idea about the intricacies of a high level fight.
All they saw was Jinx flashing away to dodge Leona’s Zenith Blade, and for that they celebrated.
But Lightless wasn’t sharing in their happiness.
He clicked down on his mouse with a little bit more aggression, unconsciously hoping it would make his Lee Sin run faster, and cursed, “No, idiot! Why Flash? Jarvan is just going to knock you up now and kill you! What a stupid panic-flash!”

The Champions on the Rift couldn’t feel the emotions of their Summoners.
Lee Sin ran at the same speed as before and couldn’t reach the fight faster than Jarvan IV.
Lightless was forced to watch as Jarvan IV threw down his Demacian Standard and struck out at it with his lance–Dragon Strike! The two skills connected, making Jarvan IV dash forward! The Jinx was out of range, but a Flash fixed that.
Jarvan IV carried all the momentum with him and threw Jinx up into the air! He followed up by casting Cataclysm, leaping at Jinx with such force that he terraformed the earth around her into an arena!

「NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO」

「ded jinx jinx is ded, kek」

「wtf! Did you guys see that J4 flag toss flash combo! In-fucking-saaaaaaannneeeee!!!!!」

「WHAT A FLASH! NUWONFNENGOIEGNJS」

✹

Bowie was playing Lucian.
The gank in the bot lane in large part his handiwork, coordinated by him through a series of pings.
Those pings right now were focused on the Jinx as he shouted at his computer, “Focus the ad-carry! Get that Jinx! Get her!” His teammates couldn’t hear his shouts, but his pings got the message through.
Irelia ignored Nami and dashed at Jinx, while Jarvan IV kept stabbing at Jinx with his lance!

“Just a little more! Just a bit!” Bowie mumbled, his fingers gliding over his keyboard.
Lucian raised his two relic guns and fired a beam of Piercing Light at Jinx! His passive skill Lightslinger activated.
He aimed at Jinx and fired a doubleshot! Then he dashed forward, relentlessly pursuing after Jinx, and raised both guns for another doubleshot!

《You have slain an enemy!》

「rip jinx…..
Lightless too… he too late」

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「darius and lightless both late to the fight… go figure.
NOOB JINX!」

「why did jinx not save her flash?????? Stupid nubs…」

「FK! DON”T LET THEM GET BACK INTO THE GAME!!!!!」

“NOOOOO!” FatMelon cried out.
He panned his camera, searching for Lee Sin and Darius.
“They’re too late! Nami is still in the middle of lane! Lightless has lost the damage dealer! HE HAS LOST THE DAMAGE DEALER!”

FatMelon was about to go into an explanation why this play was so detrimental for Lightless’ team when he noticed that the Blue team didn’t give up.
He quickly pushed the microphone closer to his mouth and continued, “Lightless hasn’t given up! He’s going in! Safeguard to the Nami! He’s next to Leona! AND HE’S HIT HER WITH A SONIC WAVE! HERE IT COMES! ROOUUUUNND HOOUUUUUSE KIIIIICK!”

After Lightless used Safeguard to dash to Nami, he activated Sonic Wave followed by Dragon’s Rage! His Lee Sin marked Leona and then struck her with a powerful roundhouse kick! She couldn’t keep her feet on the ground, flying off into the distance! Jarvan IV was right behind her.
Leona hit him with such force that he was hurled up into the air! It didn’t slow her down.
She flew further and crashed into Irelia and Lucian, knocking both of them up into the air!

FatMelon felt beads of sweat popping up on his forehead.
He quickly wiped them away, money signs shining in his eyes.
“FOUR PEOPLE! HE HIT FOUR! FOUR WITH ONE ULTIE!” he exclaimed, his viewers flooding the chat with similar messages.
His throat felt dry, but he ignored it.
These high hype moments were when he made the most money! He grinned and shouted, “Now’s the time! Send your gifts! Give your power to Lightless!”

The viewers reacted straight away.
They threw their money at FatMelon in the form of subscriptions, donations, and gifts.
A hundred thousand people emptied their pockets, lost in the hype! This was the kind of excitement they came to see! And somehow, FatMelon always managed to deliver! He always found the most impressive games and the best plays.

✹

Leona was still marked by Lee Sin’s Sonic Wave.
Lightless activated the second half of his Q skill.
His Lee Sin dashed at Leona and then slammed his palm down on the ground! A Tempest of qi swept out around him, striking all four Red Champions and permeating into their bodies! The rogue energy wreaked havoc and Crippled them!

Darius strode over into the bot lane and swept out with his axe to Apprehend Irelia and Lucian! They were caught by the axe’s hook and pulled towards him.
He then grabbed his axe with both hands and channeled all his power into a wide swing! Decimate! He spun around and cleaved through the air.
But Irelia and Lucian flashed away before the axe could cut them.

「WE GOT THIS BOOYYZYZZZZZ EASY WIN EAZY GAMEEE」

「chase em!!!!!」

「blood for the blood gods, skulls for the skull throne!」

「we gunna win this un!」

FatMelon didn’t consider himself a good player.
But after watching so many high elo games, he did believe that he had some understanding of what was going on.
He looked at the fight and then read his chat.
He shook his head and said, “No.
Lightless should give up.
That’s still a 3vs4! Red team’s cooldowns will be down soon and then they’ll just kill the Nami and then Lightless and Darius.
Look, Lightless has stopped attacking.
He’s going to ba—”

“WaitWaitWait!” FatMelon exclaimed.
He saw the pings and flicked his camera upriver.
Lissandra was moving down the river and closing in on the bot lane.
“Lissie is coming! LISSIE IS HERE! We have to fight it! Go in, Lightless! GO IIIIIIIN!”

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「dat timing!!!! GOOOOOO LISSIEEEE!!!!」

「get the killllssssss!!!! WOOOPP WOOOOPPPPP!」

「Where’s that idiot who always has his idioms ready? GIMME A STUPID IDIOM!」

「somethingsomething… lost fight won fight, harharhar」

「It’s like having a mattress right under you when you fall over trying to squat on the toilet and take a shit!」

「xDDD youre the hero we need but not deserve」

「LUCIAN BE SHITTIN HIS PANTS RIGHT ABOUT NOW!!!!!」

✹

Lightless smiled when he heard the pings.
He glanced at his minimap and confirmed what he already suspected. This Lissandra is great! Hum, always there when you need her! I should have her tryout for Dark Glory! We’d be great together! I’ll even go back to the Jungle! He grinned and shook his head. Can’t believe I’m about to say this… He’s playing better than I am. The thought came as a shock to Lightless.
He shook it away and focused on the game.
Lissandra was in the bot lane and about to engage.
He just had to follow up and help her secure the kills. I’ve played so many games in Korean Challenger.
But I’ve never met anyone like her.
CN•HOOK2… What a player!

Lin Feng’s Lissandra sent forth an ice claw! It carved a Glacial Path across the Rift, until Lissandra appeared on the far end of it.
She intercepted the retreating players from the Red team! Her appearance was too sudden.
No one reacted before she flung her arms up into the air, calling forth the ice around her and slamming it into the four Red Champions, rooting them with the Ring of Frost! She followed up with her ultimate! A Frozen Tomb of ice shot up from the ground below Lucian and locked him up inside!

Lightless had his Lee Sin chase after Red team’s Champions, using the dash from Safeguard to close the gap faster than Nami and Darius could.
“Nice going!” he shouted at his screen.
“Let’s clean this up, Lissandra!” He didn’t care that she couldn’t hear him.
He was just feeling great.
The synergy he had with Lissandra was something he didn’t have with anyone else. It’s like she knows exactly what I want to do, and then she helps me do that! She’s always there for me! Hum… This is great! He grinned and threw out a sucker punch to knock the health out of Leona. This is the feeling!

Lin Feng’s Lissandra packed a ton of damage after her earlier kills.
Her ice magic froze away the life from Lucian! An Ice Shard then slammed into Irelia and depleted the last of her health! The smaller chunks of ice knocked into Jarvan IV and claimed his life! Only Leona was still alive.
But she was caught out between two enemy Champions with no skills available to escape.
She ran towards her outer tower, but fists and ice magic whittled her health down until there was nothing left.
Her corpse fell to the ground well before ever reaching the outer tower.

《You have slain an enemy!》
《Double kill!》
《Triple kill!》
《Quadra kill!》

Lin Feng grinned and said, “That’s a win in the bot lane! Didn’t you say something about the bot lane?” He turned to look at Su Xue and laughed.
Then he opened his mouth and nodded at Su Xue to feed him another bite of chicken cutlet.

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Su Xue felt numb, dazed, shocked! She grabbed some food and shoved it into Lin Feng’s mouth, her mind going haywire. He got a quadra in Korean Challenger… A QUADRA! Oh my god… Oh my god! A quadra! She fed Lin Feng more chicken cutlet and shook her head in disbelief.
“A quadra, you actually got a quadra…” She looked at the food in her hand and the rest on the desk.
Then she grabbed it all, including what she’d bought for herself, and fed it to him.
“You deserve this! I’ll go and make some more! You eat it all up! Eat it!”

✹

The more than a hundred thousand people watching FatMelon’s stream lost it.
They absolutely and completely lost it.
They expected a brilliant performance from Lightless.
That was why they’d tuned in.
But they got so much more than just a Lightless show.
The Chinese Lissandra in the mid lane was putting on a clinic!

「Hahaha! This is the best! Two Chinese players hard carrying in Korean Challenger!」

「I know right! Who said China has no talent!? KOREA HAS NO TALENT!!!!」

「were gonna be best region!!!!」

「Lawl.
Suck that cocky shitheads! china>>>>>>>koreascrubs」

「cant believe how hard theyre carrying, just wow」

「lissie and lightless needa duo queueueu!!!!!」

It wasn’t just the viewers having a good time watching the stream, Lightless was also having a good time playing the actual game! The more he played together with Lissandra, the more fun he was having! He was playing Lee Sin, who was a strong early game Champion that fell off hard in the mid to late game.
His real prowess lay in the ability to set up for his teammates.
To work together and seize opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t exist.
But to do any of that, he needed teammates who understood him. This Lissandra understands me! I’m stuck with players who don’t know what to do half the time.
Some follow up halfheartedly.
But it’s so rare to find someone like this lissandra… this CN•HOOK2, he just knows exactly what to do! he plays so incredibly well!

Lightless chuckled and mumbled to himself, “I wonder who this guy is.
CN•HOOK2, hum… I know it from somewhere, I must.
Just, I don’t remember.
Who is it?” He wanted to send a message in team chat again, but held himself back. He hasn’t replied to anything yet.
Probably doesn’t want to reveal who he is.
I’ll let him have that and just enjoy this game. He nodded and smiled. I really want to know who you are though.
But… Having fun in this game is still more important.
I’ll bug you after the game! We can chat then!

✹

Lin Feng didn’t care about the stream that Su Xue sometimes showed him on her phone, nor what Lightless was typing in chat.
He was playing this game with two goals on his mind and he wouldn’t let his focus from that waver.
The first goal was the one he’d given himself.
To push himself and keep getting better.
And then there was the task One had given him.
He had to reach the Top 5 on the Korean ranked ladder. I can’t let One down! And I can’t let anyone think poorly of the name CN•HOOK2 either! I’m going to hit the Top 5 and then keep climbing! This name deserves to stand at the top! That’s what I’m going for!

CN•HOOK2 was one of the names that One used for his secondary accounts.
This was completely different from how Lee Dojae gave Han Seho the online handle Rake.
Lin Feng didn’t take over the CN•HOOK2 account to carry on the legacy of a name.
Because to him and to One, names didn’t matter.
He thought back to a conversation he’d had with One years ago. A legacy isn’t about something flimsy like a name.
It’s about the spirit that’s hidden behind it.
Don’t try and be me.
Be you.
You’ll create your own legend, just like I have, and everyone will know you for it.

Every time that Lin Feng thought back to that conversation, his heart started racing again. One has always believed in me.
He still does! He says I can create my own legend! I will do that! I’ll keep pushing myself and get better! His eyes blazed with an unquenchable fire. This little challenge? Getting to the Top 5? Easy.
Consider it done.
I’m going to be doing so much more! I’ll be a legend!

✹

The game was still moving forward.
Team Lin Feng was destroying Team Random Koreans.
Lin Feng’s Lissandra was so far ahead that he had both the damage and the health to kill everyone who came at him.
And when the Red team tried to play around him, he just chased after them.
He helped his teammates and played in near perfect sync with Lightless’ Lee Sin.
Most of all, he was having a good time.

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Lightless was in a similar state of mind.
There was no real pressure for him when he played in solo queue, nothing like the pressure he felt in professional games anyway.
But there was usually the problem of teammates who didn’t know how to play with him.
This Lissandra did know how to play with him.
He played without hesitation and knew that Lissandra had his back.
And that brought with it a kind of joy he rarely felt.
He smiled and played.
He had the time of his life! Until the 20th minute.
The Red team was so far behind that when the ability to surrender opened up, they took it with both hands.
Lightless’ camera was pulled over to the Red Team’s base just in time to see their nexus explode.
A blue victory crest floated up on his screen.

VICTORY

Lightless only noticed now how he was sitting on the edge of his seat.
He let himself fall back in his gaming chair and just stared at the monitor for a good couple of seconds.
“We won…?” he mumbled.
“We already won…?” Games almost never end this quickly! These Korean Challengers never give up! Why did they have to give up now… He frowned and shook his head.
“Would’ve been nice if I got to play a little more.
This was a fun game.”

✹

「EZGG! hahaha! We won!」

「LOLLOOLOLOLOL 20min ff hahahahha」

「EASY GAME EASY LIFE!」

「what a motherfucking game!」

「shit that was satisfying!!」

「GG NOOBS」

FatMelon shook his head, laughing, and said, “You guys got it all wrong! Those Koreans weren’t noobs! They’re some of the best players out there! It’s just that our two Chinese players were the real stars! They were just way more awesome! We kicked those Korean butts!”

「yep yep, we’re just too awesome!」

「hahaha! Lightless and that cnhook2 were 6666666666!」

「the mid-jungle synergy was off the wall!」

“I’m still curious to find out who that is, though,” FatMelon mumbled more to himself than to his viewers.
But this question was also something his viewers had been trying to answer.
Now that the game was over, they could finally focus their attention on CN•HOOK2 and figure out exactly who he was!

「Hey, didn’t somebody say they were going to look up CNHook2’s profile?」

「anyone look him up yet????」

「who is he? DOES ANYONE KNOW WHO HE IS!!! I NEEDA KNOW」

「Where are the streamdetectives!?!??!?!?」