The League

CH.01

Because of excitement, May asked her cousin to assemble the computer set that her father gave her when she turned 16 yesterday. She's liked in her dream because of it. When May came to her senses, she found herself sitting inside a spacious study. A dazzlingly cool computer sat on the desk, along with a mechanical keyboard and mouse that flashed with bright blue lights that looked very high-tech.

The game's interface was displayed on the monitor. One line of text ran along the bottom of the screen: Now loading…

May was filled with excitement and confusion. This is her computer. Was she dreaming?

At that moment, the loading bar reached 100% and the computer monitor lit up. A female voice rang out through May's headphones.

"Welcome to the League of Legends!"

May blinked. May glanced at the bottom-right corner of the screen with bewilderment. Then, she watched as a dense swarm of white bullet comments streamed across the right side of the screen.

[It just popped in here from the recommended newbies page.]

[Can someone tell me what kind of streamer this guy is? Is she showing off her skill or her looks? Or is she just funny?]

[She's showing off her lack of skill.]

[Maybe she's just the worst player out of all these new streamers.]

Immediately after that comment appeared, a high-level member of the stream sent out a bright gold bullet comment:

[The enemy jungler is Ace's alt account.]

[It's over, it's over.]

[Our host is probably going to uninstall the game after she finishes this round!]

May felt down and confused as she took in these bullet comments.

May was still lost in her daydreaming when a middle-aged man's rough voice rang out through her headset.

"What's this bottom lane marksman doing?"

"Still spacing out at the fountain?

"Are you putting up your makeup before you head out, huh?"

May returned to her senses and took another look at the computer monitor.

This teammate was probably talking about her, right? A beautiful woman holding an ice-crystal bow was currently standing by a tower without moving a muscle. It did look like her player had spaced out to the point of going AFK. She panicked and hurriedly grabbed her mouse and clicked around. The female archer finally started to move towards the bottom lane.

While maneuvering her character, May continued to mumble questions in her heart about exactly what kind of game this was. She's currently in the bottom lane. From the minimap, she could see a teammate waiting for her in the bottom lane.

May dubiously made her way to the spot on the bottom lane where the two teams' territories intersected.

Under the tower, there is a cute little character with a pixie using skills against nearby minions. A message popped up in the in-game chatbox: [Follow me, I'll protect you.]

Everything about this was extremely hard to understand.

She clearly remembered being down in the dumps, along with all her other teammates.

May's head was aching like it was about to split open at any second. She lifted her hands and pressed down hard on her spasming temples. At that exact moment, a red mark appeared in the game, above the female archer's head. A second later, a cat assassin in a black cloth appeared in a flash behind the archer. A sharp blade glinted in the cold light, and—

"First Blood!"

The assassin had taken a kill in just two seconds.

May came back to her senses just in time to hear the system announce—

"Double Kill!"

The support next to her had also been slain.

The cat assassin who had taken a double kill quickly disappeared into the nearby bush.

In the team's voice channel, that middle-aged man with the gruff voice started to rant. "F*ck! What's going on with our bottom lanes? Giving away a double kill straight outside the tower? That assassin is coming back to gank you at Level 4. Don't you guys know when to retreat? Are you blind?"

The angry uncle was loud as hell. May was practically deafened by her bellowing voice.

The girl who was playing a mage in the middle lane spoke up. "Stop swearing, I can see it in the stream I'm watching. The jungler on the other side is Ace's alt. It's normal for newbies to be killed."

The girl playing support tentatively asked, "Who's Ace?"

"The highest-ranked newbie from this year's training camp," the mid-laner said. "Captain Blaze personally brought him up as his apprentice. He's already signed with Team Dock. Next season, he'll probably start playing in official games."

The support's voice filled up with excitement. "Captain Blaze?! Ahhh, Captain Blaze lives in my head rent-free!"

Besides the angry old uncle, the other three members of May's team instantly sent a message to the global chat channel.

[Is that Ace over there? I watch your livestreams all the time!]

[We ran into Ace in a random placement match? What a coincidence!]

[Ace, can we take a group photo together in the middle lane?]

The opponent with the ID ‘Hype' typed out a response: [I'm playing a placement match on my alt, hello everyone. ^_^]

The highest-ranked newbie from the year's training camp? Ace?

May didn't have any impression of a person by that name in the domestic esports industry.

She temporarily suppressed the confusion in her heart and returned to the bottom lane to farm minions.

A wave of minions had just reached the tower when a familiar figure appeared in the corner of her field of vision. That Cat assassin flashed up behind May's archer again. The assassin lifted his dagger, swiftly collected May's head, and then took the support's life again as well before slipping away once more.

"Double Kill!"

Another double kill!

The bullet comments in May's streaming room started to flood the screen like crazy—

[This host is way too lame. Are we letting random cats and dogs stream now?]

[Host, are you playing the game with your feet? Or did your Dog jump on your keyboard, maybe?]

[I thought this would be some hotshot but turns out it's just a noob. Host, you've successfully won me over. Subscribed~]

At the same time, in Ace's live streaming room—

[Our Ace is about to show off his explosive powers!]

[Ace fighting randoms is as easy as chopping fruits and vegetables.]

[These opponents have no game sense at all. Are they going to get pissed and uninstall the game?]

The youth who was streaming smiled into the camera. "Thank you ‘I Love Ace' for tipping some gifts, thank you ‘Most Handsome Person for tipping a rocket. I just created this alt today, so I'm playing a placement match. After I finish up here, I'll join up with my master to rank up. If anyone wants to see me play a particular champion, leave a message in the bullet comments."

A new flood of bullet comments crashed across the screen. More than 10 thousands of people were watching that stream.

May, who only had three hundred viewers in her streaming room, was currently lost in thought.

The game playing out on her computer was a 5v5 tower-based game. But the map, characters, and skills were different from game to game.

Her teammates started slacking off and chatting near their base. May couldn't possibly win by himself. After thinking for a moment, she decided to wander into the jungle to get a better understanding of the game's map. Just as she started wandering through the jungle, a blade of cold light suddenly flashed near her. The assassin's knife came down again, claiming her life in one strike!

May waited to respawn, then trudged back into the jungle to explore.

As a result, the viewers in her streaming room all saw the whole process of this ‘pretty streamer delivering her head to the enemy' performance. She gave her head away on the bottom lane and mid lane, then the mid lane and the top lane.

[Is our host acting as a tour guide? Is she just taking a trip around the rift?]

[Host, you're so 666! You've given away 6 more heads!]

[Round of applause for this host's indomitable spirit.]

[A marksman moving from the bottom lane to the top lane… that's pretty sick!]

[This is the sickest marksman I've ever seen!]

In the global chat, the player with the ID ‘Hype ' typed out a new message: [Everywhere I go, you follow. You're always there to give me a free kill. Do you have a little crush on me?]

May typed back a retort at the speed of light: [No. Grandma is thinking about how to kill you next time.]

Hype fell silent.

Ace, in his livestream, nearly spewed out a mouthful of coffee. "Grandma? Hahaha, this ‘grandma' says she's going to kill me next time? I'm so scared."

The netizens in his streaming room couldn't stop laughing.

[She died eight times in a row, and she seriously has the guts to talk sh*?]

Ace couldn't figure out what his opponent was thinking either. He laughed and said, "Maybe this is a newbie who doesn't know how to play." After that, he stopped paying attention to his opponents and led his minions straight towards the enemy team's base.

.

"Defeat!"

As soon as the declaration of defeat popped up on her screen, May let out a breath and took off her headset.

The bullet comments at the bottom-right of her screen didn't stop coming. They mocked her, ridiculed her, and tried to goad him into uninstalling the game. May ignore them all. She turned off the computer and then got up to head out.

May felt exhausted during her first game experience. She decides to go out for a while on the street. She walks down the street and she sees a street vendor selling a fried egg coated with orange flour, "kwek-kwek", and other Filipino street foods. She buys it and eats it with another teenager around the streets.

When she felt refreshed, she decided to go back home and play again. Four thirty p.m. May turned on the computer and pulled up the internet browser to run a search for ‘League of Legends'. The densely packed pages of information gave her a shock. It is presently the era of esports. Gaming has become a leisure activity for many people; more than sixty percent of young people play games as a hobby. In the Philippines alone, the number of active League of Legends players surpassed the hundred million mark yearly.

In this world, popular esports players are treated just like superstars. They were very recognizable public figures. And if they could bring home a world championship trophy, their fans would be even more dazzled and the glory that shrouded them would be even more bright. The League of Legends is currently in its eleventh season.

Although May had just started to play the League of Legends, she is interested in e-sports. She would have to diligently study the rules of the game, practice several Champions, and watch many of the professional league games to make sure she wouldn't drop the ball at critical moments. And with that thought, May clicked on the icon to launch the game. Judging by the beautiful special effects of the login screen, League of Legends was a fantasy game. The opening animation depicted two different champions attacking each other.

The interface of the game was very simple. Player info was located in the upper-left corner. May's account ID was also 'It's May', and Her avatar was a picture of her dog. Underneath that, are various other icons. Shop, Heroes, Friends, Teams, and so on filled the page. Four buttons for different match types were located at the center of the screen: Ranked, Normal, All for One, and Training.

May clicked into a ranked match. A system message popped up in front of her eyes: [Welcome, Player. It's May, to ranked matching. Your current record is 0 wins, 10 losses. Your current rank: Iron III.]

May smoothly click on a page explaining the game's ranks. Players were ranked according to skill on a ladder with seven rungs. From low to high, they were Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Master, Grand Master, and Challenger.

In other words, players can rank up from Bronze to Challenger.

The game had a ‘placement match' mode which was mandatory for all new players. According to a player's win-loss rate in these placement matches, the game will assign them to a rank. For example, if a pro player created an alt account and won all ten of their placement matches, the game would automatically sort them into Platinum IV, and they could continue ranking up from there.

For people like May, who'd lost all three of her placement matches, climbing up from Iron was their only option.

The match May was playing when she first played the game was a placement match, and she had just so happened to run into a professional player named Ace, who'd recently created an alt account that still needed to go through its placement matches.

May looked up Ace's livestreaming room and gave him a follow.

After reading through the general information on the game, she got up and fetched herself a glass of water. She got Drake settled on the couch next to her, then sat back down at her desk and clicked into the Training Match mode to run a few games against the A.I. Once the game finished loading, a system alert chimed in her ear and a message appeared on the screen: [Please select the champion you would like to use for this match.]

May's account currently only has five champions unlocked.

She scanned their descriptions, and then randomly chose a female mage. But in her, this new game, the maps, Champions skills, and stats would all be different from other games she played on the phone. There was still a need for her to relearn everything.

For example...

The locations and HP of the monsters that spawned in the jungle. The spawn times of each wave of minions and the amount of gold each kill is awarded. The positions and respawn intervals of the red and blue buffs. Costs and effectiveness of each piece of equipment. All these things were new for May.

May created a spreadsheet and filled it up as she played, observing and taking notes at the same time. This Player vs. CPU match became a game of nine A.I.-controlled champions duking it out amongst themselves. The one and only player-controlled hero never made an appearance. The five bots on the opposing team quickly demolished the four bots on May's team, and the match was lost very quickly.

May started up another match and continued to take notes on the game. She kept it up for more than an hour.

It was almost dark out by then. May rubbed her aching neck and saved the spreadsheet, then pulled up the game's official website and found a list of all the game's champions. League Of Legends has more than one hundred playable heroes. The densely packed screen of hero avatars was dizzying. May is interested in playing mid-laner, which was where she liked to play the most, so she started with the Mid Lane Mages category.

May tick the box to include other champions which focused on ‘Magic Damage', and a bunch of other heroes popped up—.

In order to become a good mid-lane player in this game, the first thing May had to do was practice with these champions. She would have to become proficient enough to play professionally with at least eight of them. The broader her champion pool, the better.

This certainly wasn't something that she could accomplish overnight.

May created yet another spreadsheet on the computer. There, he quickly recorded every hero's information—personally creating a database of notes was a habit of hers, and it helped her retain new information.

She spent the rest of the afternoon organizing that data.

In the first spreadsheet, she'd taken notes on all the relevant stats and equipment info in the game. In the second spreadsheet, she logged the skills and characteristics of over one hundred heroes. Finally, she sent a copy of both spreadsheets to her cell phone. That way, whenever she ran into anything in the game she wasn't familiar with, she could open up her spreadsheets and check her notes immediately, saving her a lot of trouble. Students had to take thorough notes before their exams. If May wanted to go on the path of a professional esports player, she had to be very diligent about this. By the time she finished organizing all that information, it was already 7:30 PM. May was just thinking about ordering some takeout when her cell phone lit up with a call. The caller ID reported that it was Albert, so May hastily tapped the ‘answer' button.

"Big Brother, do you need something from me?"

Albert's voice was warm and gentle. "You're home now, right? There's something I want to discuss with you."

"Go ahead."

"You have a spare room at your place, right?"

"Mm, yeah."

"Your little cousin Mark just got into a university near your house. He'll be starting school in a few days. His campus is very close to your place. If it's convenient for you, could you let him stay there for a while? My parents are a bit worried about him living in the dorms."

"Sure, let him stay here," May agreed simply.

"Alright, good. I'll drop the kid off later, and I'll trouble you to look after him in the future."

"No trouble, it's the least I could do," May said politely.

May ordered some takeout for dinner and ate while looking up the university near her house online. This was one of the top ten universities in the Philippines. If Mark had been able to test at that school, he must have been a top student.

Not long after May finished eating, the doorbell rang. She got up to answer the door, where she saw Mark carrying an oversized suitcase. A youth, around 1.75 meters tall, was standing next to her.

The kid's face still had some baby fat on it, but his figure was slim. He wore a white, short-sleeved tee and jeans. His head of black hair made him look pretty sweet and well-behaved. Upon meeting May's gaze, the youth flashed a timid smile and said, Sister Cousin, I'll be intruding on you. Our school is just two stops from here. Taking public transportation is more convenient."

Weren't college students supposed to live on campus? Maybe this world was more lenient towards omegas. May politely be answered, "Welcome, welcome. I'm bored at home by myself anyway. It's great that you'll be able to keep me company while you're here."

"May," Albert said. "I'll trouble you to help me take care of Mark, then. Mark has learned how to cook, and his course load is pretty light. After his classes, he can make dinner. It's healthier for the two of you to eat together at home, anyway."

"Sure!" May had just been worrying about the ramifications of ordering takeout every day. It was a good thing that her cousin knew how to cook.

Once his older cousin left, May helped carry Marki's luggage inside and found a pair of slippers for Mark. After Mark finished changing into his slippers and lifted his head to ask, "Sis, which one is my room?" "You can take this room. Right outside, to the left, is the guest bathroom." May answers while carrying his cousin's luggage.

After a while, May continued what she was working on. Mark sat beside the desk where May plays. "League of Legends?" May asked. "Yeah. It was me who dragged you into this game in the first place." Mark set down his computer and turned around to ask, "By the way, Sis, you lost all ten of your placement matches? I checked my friend's list, and it says you're still at Iron III."

"Right, uh, I'm currently at Iron." She'd spent all afternoon studying and practicing a mage-type hero, so she was keen to get some practical experience. "Bring your laptop into the study. Let's double queue together!"

Meanwhile, at Team Dock's HQ.

Ace stretched as he gazed at the screen, which displayed a ‘congratulations on reaching the [Ultimate King] rank' message. He grinned at the teammates sitting next to him and said, "I was on a winning streak all afternoon. Guess I can finally take a break now that I've made it to Challenger!"

The other new players all chimed in with praise.

"Brother Ace, you're awesome! Making it to Challenger in one day, without losing a single match!"

"To Brother Ace, making it to Challenger is a total piece of cake. Our Brother Ace is definitely going to win the Best Rookie award this year!" A deep voice suddenly sounded out from behind them. "Is the Best Rookie award something that your teammates can hand out with their mouths?" Everyone fell silent. Ace jolted like he'd been whacked over the head with an electrified rod. He instantly sat up straight, going as stiff as a statue.

The other newbies next to him swiftly stood up, each donning a more respectful attitude than the next.

"Captain Blaze."

"Hello, Captain Blaze."

Blaze's expression was inscrutable. "The playoffs will be starting in just ten days. If you guys have time to brag and shoot the sh*t, you'd be better off watching more games and studying the playing styles of other teams."

The newbies all hung their heads, and for a while, the whole training room sank into silence.

The Captain's stern gaze swept across the group of newbies, ultimately settling on the youth sitting in the middle of the pack, with his head drooping so low that his chin practically touched his chest.

"ACE."

Ace instantly stood up and instinctively shouted, "Here!"

The youth was as alert as if he'd been called out by an instructor at military training. He stood with his legs pressed flush together. His posture was stiff, and his back was ramrod straight. He looked like he was close to giving his commanding officer a proper military salute. Blaze coldly ordered, "Come with me to the conference room."

Ace brimmed over with confidence and arrogance in front of the other newbies, but he was as docile as a snow-white rabbit in front of his master. He kept his head down all the while as he followed Blaze into the conference room down the hall, hardly daring to breathe.

The starting players of Team Dock were all already there. The entire coaching staff was present as well. It was an intimidating crowd. Blaze sat down and leaned over to Coach Yap to whisper a few words into the coach's ear. After that, Coach Yap looked towards Ace and smiled. "Little Ace, come have a seat." Ace wobbled over trepidatiously. He obediently took a seat next to the coach and sat properly, like he was prepared to listen to a lecture. "The coaches have talked it over," Coach Yap said. "We've decided to let you play in official matches next season. However, you've been practicing assassin-type heroes with Captain Blaze all this time. Our team isn't short on junglers right now. Do you want to try playing a marksman?"

Ace looked at the coach with confusion. "Marksman? But Captain…"

Hans, who was sitting nearby, frankly interjected, "I'm getting old, my hands aren't quick enough to keep up with these fast-paced games. I've decided to retire after this season. Already turned in my paperwork and all." He reached over and patted the young player on the shoulder. "Little Ace, you're pretty talented. Everyone thinks highly of you. If you took over my role, I would feel at ease."

Coach Yap added, "Team Dock is also in support of you transitioning into a marksman. You have quick reflexes, you have a good awareness of the field, and your ability to get out of a sticky situation is superb. Marksman is actually a better role for you than jungler."

Hans also smiled and encouraged, "The coach is right. Start training hard from today onwards, okay? You've played some marksman-type heroes with me in the past, anyway. I have faith that you'll be able to adapt swiftly."

Ace couldn't stop the corners of his eyes from reddening when he thought of Hans, a veteran player who'd been with Team Dock for five years already, retiring so soon. It was nothing out of the ordinary for newer players to replace older ones in the esports world, but Ace didn't want to replace this good-natured senior who had always taken such good care of him.

When he met Hans warm and gentle gaze, Ace choked up. He managed to say, "I got it, Brother Hans. I'll train hard."

Blaze looked over at him and said, "You don't have much time. Practice with all the marksman-type heroes in the next month, then choose five to specialize in. Get yourself into the top ten of the national rankings with those five heroes. Once you've done that, join the starting team for practice in our training tournament."

The domestic teams were full of expert players, but Blaze's demands may have seemed harsh even to those pros. Ace had long since grown accustomed to his master's demands, though. He unhesitatingly answered, "I got it, master. I'll get it done."

Only then did Blaze nod, indicating for the coaches to take over. Coach Yap opened a slideshow presentation and adopted a serious tone. "Next, let's talk about our plans for the first round of the playoffs. I have a few strategies laid out here. Let's run through them and analyze them together."

The atmosphere in the conference room was extremely tense, and the discussion about tactics lasted for more than an hour.

After all the other players filed out, Coach Yap held Blaze back and said to him, "Giving Ace the opportunity to transition into a marksman was your suggestion, and I agreed to try it for your sake. But he plays aggressively and impulsively, and his emotional state isn't always stable. Next season, Dock's marksman and support are both retiring. The games will be more difficult for us if we field him next season." Captain Blaze's expression remained calm. "It'll be fine. We've survived difficult times before. Besides, we need to change our tactics. Ace is fairly talented. He should take the field to hone his skills while he's able."

Coach Yap laughed and said, "You're usually so cold and stern with him, but you actually care about your apprentice. I hope Ace will perform well. If he drops the ball out there, I won't keep him in the game just for your sake." Captain Blasze nodded. "Of course. Let's focus on preparing for the playoffs first. These will be the final playoff games for Hans and Nah. Let's play well."

9:30 p.m. was the peak time to be at the game. In less than five seconds, they were sorted into a match. They were only able to see who their teammates were after the match began. Of the five players on their team, May [It's May] was still in the Iron rank. Mark's [Little Mark] was Gold. The other three players [Her Heartbeat], [Dumpster], and [His Heartbeat]—were all in Silver. The latter two players, judging by their IDs, were most likely a couple.

According to the ranking system, this match would be considered a Silver match.

May's account only had five heroes unlocked, so he selected the mid-lane mage-type champion. Mysterious, even to other members of the Black Rose cabal, LeBlanc. A pale woman who has manipulated people and events since the earliest days of Noxus appeared on the screen.

When Mark saw his sister choose a mage, he instantly selected support 'The Starchild – Soraka'. Her skills were based on healing and rooting. Soon afterward, their teammate [His Heartbeat] chose a mage as well. [Her Heartbeat] chose a marksman, and [Dumpster] chose an assassin. Their lineup came out as one assassin, two mages, one marksman, and one support.

[His Heartbeat]: I play mage. It's May, you switch heroes, okay?

[Her Heartbeat]: Support, switch to a tanker Champion. The Star child is too brittle!

[His Heartbeat]: Listen to my boyfriend, switch to a tank. Hurry!

[Little Mark]: Sorry, I'm not very good at other support.

[It's May]: Silver matches aren't that serious. Just play what you're good at.

[Her Heartbeat]: ……

[Her Heartbeat]: How exactly are we supposed to play two mages?

[It's May]: We'll manage.

[It's May]: I'll take the top lane, you can take the middle. Let's begin.

The couple saw that they couldn't negotiate with her, so they had no choice but to hit ‘ready' in a huff.

The game began.

May wasn't wrong. Silver-ranked games weren't that serious. There was no need to stress over their team composition, and tactics didn't matter all that much. As long as there was one seasoned veteran on a team, they could destroy everyone and lead their teammates to victory. Technically, this was May's first time playing in a ranked League of Legends match.

The previous time, she hadn't played seriously at all. But this time, she took it very seriously.

She had already won matches against A.I. teams while using the Leblanc; she was already very familiar with her.

When the game began, May crept into the bush on the top lane and started a timer in his head. He waited until the other team's fighter appeared in her field of vision, then decisively used her E skill. Which instantly shaved off 10% of his opponent's HP And rooted for a second.