Rise

Lin Feng was deep in an intense schedule of his own design. He had three things that he couldn’t change. School, homework, and filling in for Su Xue on her stream. Other than that, every spare minute was poured into coaching the esports team. If he wasn’t working with them, he was thinking about strategy and thinking about how to help them get better. Even when he was in class and doing his homework, he was still thinking about the esports club and how to coach them better.

Lin Feng wasn’t just coaching the esports club. He was still trying to help Su Xue get better, but his time with her was much more limited. After he bumped into Nightsong and Hermes in solo queue the other night, Su Xue’s stream hit a record viewer count of 6,000! It never got that high after that. But Su Xue never really expected it to. From that night, Su Xue’s stream gained around 2,000 new viewers who decided to stick with her and keep watching. Far more than Su Xue had expected or even hoped for!

Su Xue made it her mission to convert as many of these new viewers as possible into fans of her stream. People who would buy subscriptions, gift gifts, and participate in chat. Lin Feng played a key role in this. Most of these people had stuck around for him after watching his game with Nightsong and Hermes. They wanted to see him carry. That was why Su Xue was willing to bribe him with two chicken cutlets a night just to have him show off how good he was at the game. But she didn’t stop there. She also worked hard to improve her own skills at the game. That way, she wouldn’t have to rely on Lin Feng to lure these people. She could do it herself!

Hard work could eventually catch up to raw talent. Su Xue absolutely believed in that. As far as League of Legends went, she literally had no talent. Her game instincts were horrendous, and that was understating it. But she overcame all of those hurdles through diligence, dedication, and sheer force of will. She worked harder than most people, giving up sleep and sacrificing her sanity. And all that hard work was paying off. Her skill at the game was rapidly improving, and that directly translated into a higher quality stream. Last night’s viewer count spike was a fluke. A one-off lucky break. But behind that was a steady increase in the number of viewers, all from her own efforts. And with more viewers came more money, and she now had more than enough in her bank account to pay rent.

“Just you pervs wait! Mama’s gonna climb to Diamond!” Su Xue laughed at the camera.

The people watching the stream couldn’t help themselves and turned the chat into “The Roast of Su Xue”.

「climbing to diamond? LOL you called the molehill in the park diamond or something? hHAHHAHA」

「nah, sounds too hard for her! LOL! HARD bet she’ll calls her bootycall diamond and climbs him like a tree」

「oh oh! I volunteer!!!!! climb me xue xueee!!!!」

「yo guys i’m xue xue rl friend!! this is her number: 867-5309! call her!!!!」

✹

Coach Lin Feng’s Legends Bootcamp!

Ren Rou spent a couple of days going through the games that happened during the tryouts, and eventually came up with the official lineup for the esports club team. Her list also included the substitute players for every role. Noticeably absent from the list was Lin Feng’s name. He was good enough that he could play any of the roles for the tournament, so he would fill in whenever it was necessary. Right now, Lin Feng’s job was to be the Coach and get the team for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. 

Which is exactly what Ren Rou told Lin Feng when she came to show him the finalized list for the esports club team. Then she started talking about each of the players, but he cut her off.

“Sounds good! I completely understand.” Lin Feng pounded his chest. “I’m really good at playing every role! Let me see that list.” He snatched the list out of Ren Rou’s hands and started reading.

Name: Chen ZeRank: Diamond 5Role: TopMain: Irelia

Name: Yang FanRank: Platinum 4Role: MidMain: Twisted Fate

Name: Liu YueRank: Diamond 5Role: JungleMain: All current meta junglers.

Name: Tang BingyaoRank: Diamond 4Role: ADCMain: Draven, Kallista, Twitch

Name: Wei Dong Rank: Platinum 2Role: SupportMain: Nami, Braum

“What about the substitutes? I don’t see their names on the list?” Lin Feng asked after he finished reading.

“Don’t worry about them,” Ren Rou reassured him. “I got a backup for every position. Ouyang is actually the backup for Jungle. I can make a list of them too if you want…”

“Mhm,” Lin Feng nodded, but his mind had already drifted elsewhere. He was thinking about the plan of attack. The first few rounds of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament shouldn’t be too hard. Unless they got really unlucky in the draw again. That meant that he wouldn’t have to worry about playing a specific role for now and could instead put all of his energy into training the club’s team. It was important that the team played together in games that actually mattered, and not just in practice rounds. Team synergy only started developing when the stakes were high. That’s when they would really learn how to come together as a team and grasp victory.

While Lin Feng was thinking about this, Ren Rou continued to talk, “... so I told everyone on the list to come meet us in the club room today. Ouyang’s also coming. We’re going to let them know that you’re a Challenger and that you’re going to be coaching them for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Is that okay? I know this is short notice, but are you ready?” 

Lin Feng had only heard the second half of what she said and started to answer. But before he could get a word out, Ouyang walked into the club room. “My bro Lin Feng over here is always ready to slay. Amiright Lin Feng?” 

Lin Feng gave Ouyang a quick bro hug before answering. “Yeah. We can tell them today. Let’s get started on training as soon as we can! We have to play as many games as we can before the tournament. That’s the only way we’ll achieve the dream of winning!” 

Ren Rou jumped in, “Alright Ouyang, I’ll introduce Lin Feng and tell them about the training we’ll be doing. You can jump in when you think it's necessary or back me up.” 

Ouyang vehemently shook his head to indicate how much he disagreed with Ren Rou’s plan. “No way! I’m going to introduce my bro Lin Feng here! Tell those scrubs that he’s the Challenger and they need to fall in line or fall behind! If anyone tries to argue, their ass is grass! I got this!”

Ren Rou sighed, but she just didn’t have the energy to argue with Ouyang. It was probably best just to let him do whatever he was going to do. That was her usual policy whenever he got this hyper about anything. 

The three of them talked about the training program and the Shanghai 16 School Tournament until the five players on the main team arrived in the club room. Their arrival was the final piece needed to put their plan in action. Everything else was ready!

✹

The players on the roster for the esports club team had all finally arrived in the club room, and stood there waiting to find out why Ren Rou had asked them to meet. It was now time to introduce Lin Feng and start the training camp for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. 

Ren Rou stood at the front of the classroom and cleared her throat. Everyone else stopped talking and settled down to hear what she had to say. Before she could, Ouyang jumped in front of her and started his own speech. 

“Alright. You guys are here today because you’re good! You guys are the best players out of everyone that showed up at tryouts. The best of the best! And that’s who we want. Only with the best of the best can this esports team kiss that trophy from the Shanghai 16 School Tournament! 

“BUT...

“You guys aren’t really the best of the best. You guys are only better than the rest of the trash that showed up at tryouts. We gotta forge you into an army! HOW DO YOU TURN TRASH INTO AN ARMY? BY TRAINING! 

“We’re going to wash the stink of trash from you guys, from us, from this entire esports team. Right now, I look at you and I think why did they send me daughters when I asked for sons? But that’s okay! We’re going to make men out of you! Then we’ll train some more until we turn you into warriors. Then we’ll train even more until we’re an army! An unstoppable army!

“That’s where my bro Lin Feng here comes in. He’s going to be our coach! He’s going to teach us everything we need to know to not embarrass ourselves at the tournament. He’s going to teach us how not to be trash. He’s going to show us how to grab our dreams with our own two hands! 

“Some of you are wondering why you should listen to him, right? WELL I DON’T CARE! You’ll listen because I’m telling you to listen. And if you don’t listen, we don’t need you in this esports club. But all of you saw how awesome his LeBlanc was at tryouts, right? Well, my bro Lin Feng here is an actual Challenger on the Ionia server! THAT’S WHY YOU LISTEN TO HIM AND TRAIN UNTIL YOUR EYES BLEED! OR I’LL MAKE YOUR ASS BLEED!” 

“Are you for real? A Challenger? He’s actually a Challenger?” Wei Dong exclaimed.

Chen Ze looked at Lin Feng like he’d seen a ghost. “Holy shit! I didn’t know we had a legend at our school! Oh damn, a Challenger? Holy damn!”

“... wait, did you just say you’d make our ass bleed?” Tang Bingyao asked. She already knew Lin Feng was a Challenger and that his training would work. So most of her attention was on Ouyang’s increasingly peculiar choice of words as he got more and more excited during his speech.

The only one who didn’t say anything was Liu Yue. He just stared at Lin Feng thoughtfully. Where have I seen you before? He knew he saw Lin Feng somewhere before, the guy felt familiar to him. But where? Where was it? He couldn’t figure it out. Damnit where– “Wait!” he suddenly cried out. “That’s where I know you from! You’re that Vayne! I watched you play on Huya! You were that amazing Vayne!”

“Ehh? You caught me.” Lin Feng laughed, scratching the back of his head. It seemed like someone had finally recognized him.

“Huh? What Vayne? Bro, since when are you a streamer?” Ouyang asked, bewildered. He stopped for a moment and then fired off, “What’s your stream called? You stream everyday? Wait! Why haven’t you told me about this? I thought we were bros! What the fuck man! You could’ve invited me. If we duo queued, you’d definitely gotten more viewers! I’d be the sex appeal in your stream. All the girls would show up!”

Liu Yue finally connected the dots in his head. This is him! That was his Vayne! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! His eyes went wide in shock and excitement. “I knew you looked familiar! I was browsing Huya and then clicked on your stream just as you queued up with Nightsong and Hermes! Oh my god! That game was so amazing! Nightsong actually gave you the ad-carry and then you went Vayne! I thought for sure you would fail. But man were you good! Your Vayne was so good! I don’t think I know a better Vayne player! Even Hermes gave you a compliment! Hermes! Your Vayne was just that good!”

“I know right?” Lin Feng laughed and patted his chest. “I’m really good at Vayne!!”

While Lin Feng and Liu Yue were talking about Lin Feng’s plays and how he kept his cool when he was playing with Nightsong as his support, everyone else was silent. They stared at Lin Feng with their mouths wide open. It was as if they’d lost their tongues. Or like they’d forgotten how to function. They just stood there in shock.

Ouyang was the first to recover. He shouted, “You played with Hermes and Nightsong? THE HERMES AND NIGHTSONG?”

Yang Fan followed soon after. He adjusted his glasses and said, “I know I was a little pessimistic before, but man, I had no clue you were that good! If you can even impress Hermes, maybe we really do have a chance to win the 16 School Tournament.”

“Guys, GUYS!” Ren Rou interrupted. “It’s great that Lin Feng is amazing, but that only means we have to work harder! Don’t forget, we can’t drag him down!”

Liu Yue raised his hand and shouted, “I promise to give it my all! I won’t hold him back! I promise!”

Chen Ze and Wei Dong, the Toplaner and Support, looked at each other and found the same excitement in the other’s eyes. They had been with the esports club for a while now, but they had nothing to show for it. It wasn’t because they hadn’t tried. They’d given it their all! But they were just never good enough. Now, though, their team actually stood a chance! For the first time since joining the club, they felt the rush that comes from a chance at victory! A fantastic conclusion to their otherwise dull high school years!

Lin Feng smiled as he saw that everyone was full of anticipation and excitement. He pounded his chest and declared, “Coach Lin Feng’s Legends Bootcamp is going to start!”

✹

The best way for Lin Feng to understand the esports club team’s skill level was to have them play a 5v5 ranked game. They found a quiet corner in the NetCow Cafe and the main team members all sat down in front of a monitor. Lin Feng walked behind them, back and forth. “Alright guys, this’ll be your first match. Just show off what you can do. Try and work together. This game is just for me to get an idea of your skill level. So try your best! Impress me! You guys can do this! Let’s go!”

The team members logged into their account on the Ionia server and queued up as a team for a 5v5 ranked game. This game mode was different from solo and duo queue, because it relied far more on team synergy rather than individual skill. Take the esport club’s team. They all knew each other. They were even sitting right next to each other and could easily communicate. This was impossible to do when you were queued up with random players.

It didn’t take long to find a game, and it also didn’t take long to finish it. The esports club’s team pulled ahead from the start. Every lane did great and pushed for an advantage. The gold lead grew and they got the first and second Dragon mostly uncontested. But their opponents saw it differently. They believed that all it would take to turn the game around was one misplay. One opportunity. But this opportunity never came and when the game hit the 25-minute mark, they gave up and surrendered.

Ouyang walked past the lineup of players, patting them all on their shoulders. “Great work guys! That’s what I love to see! Perfect play! That was super! Keep it up and we’ll definitely win the tournament!”

Lin Feng watched Ouyang and the others. They were all excited. Their first game was a win! He shook his head and mumbled, “This is going to be a lot of work… There are so many problems. Where do I even start?”

Lin Feng knew what to expect when it came to the individual skill of these players. They weren’t half bad. They could hold their own in lane, even against a stronger opponent. That was great in solo queue, but it meant very little in a 5vs5. And he wasn’t training them so they could climb in solo queue. He needed to turn them into a team! This was going to take a lot more effort than he thought it would. He let them enjoy their victory and bask in the glory before starting to give them feedback on how they did.

“Wei Dong, you don’t hide behind your tower when your ad-carry is towerdiving the enemy! Match your ad-carry. Support her damnit!” He then turned to Tang Bingyao. “And you! What was that? Why in the world would you towerdive when your Support is hiding behind his tower? Any decent team would’ve taken advantage of you. You have to play a little bit less aggressively!”

Lin Feng turned to Yang Fan and Chen Ze, both of whom were now a little bit less excited. “And you, Yang Fan, sure your laning was fine. But help explain something to me. Why did you pick Teleport? Why? I didn’t see you use it even once! Why pick it if you don’t plan on using it? Communicate man! Communicate! When you pick Teleport, you have to communicate with your team and find the right place and time to use it! I don’t want to see you do that again! Better yet, you probably just shouldn’t pick Teleport again.” He barely took a breather as he turned to Chen Ze. “Same for you Chen Ze. You did fine in lane but who cares about that? This is a team game! Not solo queue! If you pick Teleport, you have to use it! I didn’t see you leave top lane once!”

The good mood from a moment ago was completely shattered by Lin Feng’s judgement. Tang Bingyao fidgeted with her fingers, Yang Fan was cleaning his glasses and Chen Ze just stared at his screen and his score in the post game lobby. None of them dared to look in Lin Feng’s direction, afraid he would think of more things to fault them on.

Liu Yue looked at Lin Feng, hesitant. “Uh, Lin Feng? What about me? Did I do ok?”

“No. You did not,” Lin Feng replied. “Your Jungle was fun and nice for some random game, but we’re not here to prepare for some random game.” He stopped for a moment and looked at the others, then continued, “Alright guys, listen up. We’re not here to feel good about crushing some silver scrubs in a random game. We’re here to prepare for the 16 School Tournament. We want to win that thing! We’ll be up against Masters and Challengers. Your little win over some silver scrubs? It means absolutely nothing! Get your shitake mushrooms together! We’ve got a long way to go!”