Rise

Tang Bingyao wasn’t the kind of girl to turn a guy down with harsh words. Unlike Ren Rou who would tell them to “get lost!”, she was more reserved. So when Luo Tianming came over to flirt with her, she’d done her best to let him off easy. To drop a few hints that she simply wasn’t interested in him. But that didn’t mean she would let him trample all over her. She had a bottom line, and her own ways of showing her displeasure. For example, by kicking his ass and wiping Summoner’s Rift clean with him using her main champion in a friendly game of League of Legends!

Luo Tianming picked Caitlyn as his champion and locked her in. Once the loading screen popped up to get all of them into Summoner’s Rift, his eyes popped open in shock. Draven. The champion that Tang Bingyao had decided to play. The number of girls who played ad-carry wasn’t particularly large to begin with, and there were fewer still within that small group who played Draven as a main. 

Draven was a very mechanical champion to play, and most of this was due to his first skill, the one activated with Q–Spinning Axes. One could theoretically keep Spinning Axes up through every fight, poke, and kill, constantly dealing double bonus damage with every auto attack. But it wasn’t just that simple. Draven’s auto attack was a thrown axe. But unlike other champions in the game, the axe would not disappear once it hit an enemy champion, minion or jungle monster. The thrown axe would bounce off and fly through the air, eventually falling to the ground. Unless Draven caught the axe. If Draven caught the axe, it refreshed the cooldown on Spinning Axes. Essentially, everything about Draven involved mechanical skill and positioning. Not the easiest champion to play. Locking in on Draven meant that Tang Bingyao didn’t just understand how to play the champion, she also had the confidence that she could play him well. That’s what flustered Luo Tianming. 

But he quickly regained his composure, and an easy, relaxed smile settled into place on his face. He was Diamond 3, and had the skills reflected by his rank. He was confident he could beat everyone in this classroom today. Now that he was thinking about it calmly, Luo Tianming wasn’t even sure he was flustered when he saw that Tang Bingyao picked Draven. He was surprised. Yes. Surprised. But he wasn’t scared. Or worried. He had full confidence in his Caitlyn. He even started wondering if he should hold back a little once he had a lead. Hopefully, she’ll notice how much of a gentleman I am and agree to go out on a date with me! Or at least play a few games with me in duo queue. He never even considered the possibility that he could lose this game. Or that he was in way over his head.

✹

Three minutes into the game, Tang Bingyao’s Draven hit level 2. The Janna support buffed Draven with Eye of the Storm, giving him extra attack damage and a shield. Tang Bingyao activated Spinning Axes, and her Draven started juggling his two spinning axes. Then she hit W to activate Blood Rush. Her Draven dashed towards the Caitlyn with the movement speed buff and threw the first of his spinning axes once in range. The first axe cut into the Caitlyn’s flesh, bounced off and spun up into the air. While this was happening with the first axe, her Draven smoothly moved forward and threw his second axe. Then he caught the first axe before it hit the ground. Blood Rush’s cooldown was reset!

The Caitlyn fired out her 90 Caliber Net and flew back. But Tang Bingyao was ready, her finger already hovering over the D key. She pressed down on D the second the Caitlyn fired and flashed over the net that could’ve slowed her. Then she activated Blood Rush again and chased the Caitlyn down, who flashed away in a panic. But Draven, the Glorious Executioner, quickly caught up to her and threw another spinning axe.

《First blood!》

The crowd of first years gasped. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing! That was basically a solo kill in bot lane! The only support offered by the Janna was a shield. This was the Draven show! The sheer amount of damage that Tang Bingyao could output from a Level 2 Draven was nothing short of terrifying.

“Damn! Tang Bingyao’s Draven is getting better and better! So aggressive!” Ouyang gasped in amazement next to Lin Feng.

“It’s all thanks to my training!” Lin Feng proudly stated. But Ouyang had already stopped listening. His focus was back on the game.

Luo Tianming stared dumbly at the death screen on his monitor. This didn’t play out like how he imagined it would at all! If he wanted to win, he had to start playing seriously. Although Tang Bingyao was far better than he expected, he was still confident in his own skills. The game was barely three minutes in, and his Caitlyn had the range advantage over Draven. As long as he played it safely, he could easily keep Draven at bay.

For the next five minutes, Luo Tianming managed to do just that. He kept the minion wave close to his outer tower and patiently farmed, trying to catch back up to the Draven. It even started to look like he might. But then Tang Bingyao decided to engage. The minion wave had just pushed out a little and the Caitlyn and her support Nami had left the safety of their tower.

Tang Bingyao activated Blood Rush and had Draven rush forward, with two axes spinning in his hands. The Nami tried to lock Draven down with an Aqua Prison. But Tang Bingyao easily sidestepped the large bubble of water. Luo Tianming’s face turned pale with fright. He knew what was coming next, he felt the deja vu wash over him. His Caitlyn shot out a 90-Caliber Net and flew back. Draven flashed over it, this time throwing out both of his spinning axes with Stand Aside. They knocked the Caitlyn out of the air mid-animation. Then a spinning axe arced through the air, followed by a second and then a third. The sound of metal digging into flesh rang out as blood sprayed the ground red.

《You have been slain!》

Luo Tianming’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t wrap his head around it. It was right there on the sign up sheet! Diamond 5! She’s only supposed to be Diamond 5! How is she so good? He shook his head weakly, his eyes wide in shock and horror. How the hell did she do that last move! Her mechanics and reflexes are insane! This shouldn’t be possible! No Diamond player can do that! That’s something only Master and Challenger tier players can pull off! This can’t be! This can’t be!

From the sidelines, Lin Feng calmly watched. He wasn’t surprised at all by Tang Bingyao’s display of skill. This was because he knew that the only reason her account sat on Diamond 5 was because she was too busy boosting other accounts. With her skill, reaching Diamond 2 would be easy, and when talking purely in terms of mechanics, her Draven was already on the level of a Diamond 1.

Over the course of the next 12 minutes, the game announcer’s voice continuously rang out to announce Caitlyn’s next death. It started to look as if Luo Tianming believed he would get some kind of trophy for collecting deaths. His score dropped to a pitiful 0/6/2. All the while Tang Bingyao wreaked havoc on the enemy team. Especially after she finished her first item, nobody could stop her. She picked up double kills and triple kills left and right.

At the 20-minute mark, the much expected surrender vote started and was unanimously accepted seconds later. This game was lost. Luo Tianming and his team members wore dejected expressions on their faces. So much for showing off their skills in front of the esports club. But anything was better than this game lasting even another minute. Because that would be another minute for Tang Bingyao to kill them again. Monster… A monster! That was too scary... None of them expected for this pretty and quiet female upperclassman to play such a domineering Draven.

“I told you I wouldn’t hold back,” Tang Bingyao reminded Luo Tianming. The words cut deep into his ego, causing his face to warp into a marvelous shade of red. His expression alternated between anger and humiliation.

✹

“Alright. It’s time for the next matchup,” Ren Rou declared. She held her sign-up sheet and started listing out the names for the next match.

Lin Feng was called up to be the mid laner for the blue team. As he walked over to the computer, Tang Bingyao approached him and said, “You can do it.”

“Don’t worry. It’s finally my time to shine!” Lin Feng said in high spirits.

Ouyang patted Lin Feng on the shoulder. “Give us your best performance. If you do well, we might even pick you as a substitute for the team!”

“Okay! I’ll give it my all!” Lin Feng pumped his fist in the air. He was completely hyped up. He would pull out all the stops and play his best champion! All for the sake of getting into the club’s team!

If Lin Feng’s old teammates could see him now, they’d drag him to a neurologist and have him tested. Their old teammate had surely lost it! The former best mid laner in China, and contender for best in the world, was planning to go all out in a small school club match? This was like a professional football player joining a Sunday league game. Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. It wasn’t a question of who would win this game. It was a question of how badly the enemy team would lose. A tragic fate awaited anyone unlucky enough to face Lin Feng in lane. 

“Hold on a moment!” A voice abruptly cut through the room. Lin Feng turned around in confusion.