League of Legends: League of Unknowns

“As a Support in the bottom lane, if you wish to escape from the platinum rank, first, you need to learn how to make use of the level advantage. For instance, quick-2, and then initiate,” Luocheng stood beside Xu Ben and lectured him seriously.

“Master, I’ve heard about this. Quick-2, quick-3, and first-to-6 are all important for initiation. These are the basics that I already know!” Xu Ben said proudly.

At the bottom lane, Level 2 and Level 3 were two vital instances during the early game. Especially when both players reached level 2 earlier than their opponent, they might strike first and force the latter to surrender either their Flash or their lives. Subsequent farming would become much easier if one knew how to utilize this timing properly.

“That’s not the only thing I want to tell you. My question is, do you know how many creeps killed will lead to level 2? And again, at which creep count will you reach level 3? If you help in securing the buff and accidentally pull a few creeps, how will it affect the leveling timing then? Also, at which creep wave will you basically reach level 6?” Luocheng fired these questions.

“Well… er…” Xu Ben was startled.

‘D*mn! The experience needed for level 2 or 3 may be countable, but all the way to level 6!? That’s absurd!’

“Like what you have said, level 6 is a critical point. But then, you don’t even know whether you will reach level 6 first or when you will reach level 6. So how are you going to make use of this potential advantage? Players at Diamond rank are not idiots. If he or she is being calculative of the level and aware of the difference, then you would not be able to ambush them. In addition, observant Supports might even see through your intention and call his Jungler to come and gank you. If you are baited, then congratulations, you have just handed over a double kill to them,” Luocheng explained.

Xu Ben was speechless and recovered after a while. He had seriously never considered what Luocheng had just pointed out.

Xu Ben could be considered a veteran player, but asking him to count his and the enemy’s experience bars was still rather challenging. After all, the calculation was going to be complicated by the enemy’s MIA, recall, and other various factors. How could Luocheng expect him to do all that while in-game?

“Master, that’s too difficult. Besides, I don’t think any Support can be that precise, not even those professionals.” Xu Ben argued.

“Oh, really? Focus on the screen.” Luocheng pointed at the bottom lane.

“After these two melee creeps, the opponent’s Leona will be level 6. Do you believe that she will come straight at you right after that?” Luocheng declared.

Just as Xu Ben was about to refute him, the Graves from the opposing team used his Q-skill to kill off the two melee creeps.

A halo of light shone around Leona, and she was instantly level 6.

Leona had been marching forward a few seconds ago, and upon upgrading her skill, she directly cast her Ultimate skill on K.

K was sitting right beside Xu Ben and had been listening closely to everything Luocheng had just said, preparing himself and so, he managed to hastily back away using the recoil from his Caliber Net the moment Leona charged forward. This allowed his champion to evade Leona’s sudden assault.

Xu Ben looked on at K’s smooth control and turned back toward Luocheng in disbelief.

‘D*mn! So he really can estimate the opponent’s level up to level 6.’

One had to be extremely cautious when Zyra, Leona, and Annie, reached level 6, as they would be extremely powerful at this point.

Most players at the Diamond Rank knew that level 6 was a golden moment for initiation. Mediocre bottom lane players who did not see it coming would usually be put down easily. The Ultimate skill gained at level 6 was indeed extremely vital.

Xu Ben understood this, but he had never imagined anyone could accurately tell the timing of the opponents’ level. By doing so, they could easily bait the enemy like what Caitlyn had just done, and lure the enemy to cast his or her ulti that was destined to miss!

After Leona had yielded her ulti for nothing, the opponents would have to back off when both of them reached level 6!

***

Luocheng did not comment much after that in the first game. He only gave advice periodically during crucial moments. For instance, when the enemy’s Jungler was missing, was the enemy baiting, as well as the instance when they could attack without worries.

Double kill!!

K snatched the double kill with a huge grin on his face, showing Luocheng a big thumbs up right after.

K and Xu Ben were both in Diamond 1 rank, and their goal was to reach the Challenger rank, but they had failed to do so thus far.

It had been a while since they had had such a good game, cruising through the bottom lane.

Leona from the opponent team had already given up and was asking for a mid-end.

After they won the first game without many hurdles, Luocheng offered the same advice in the second game. He stood behind telling the two of them when the enemy would reach a certain level, when their opponents were going to come forward, whether the enemies were plotting an ambush, and when they should summon their Jungler to the lane to counter-ambush.

The second game ended smoothly in a similar fashion, and their Ranking Points had climbed higher!

The third game once again commenced in the same way as the previous two games. Unfortunately, their top lane was being bullied this round, and they were being constantly pressured at the bottom lane during the mid-game.

Under Luocheng’s guidance, Xu Ben successfully reclaimed the vision advantage and counter-ambushed the enemies who intended to invade their jungle area. They slowly regained control of the game behind several small victories along the way and had the last laugh in the end.

This was a game in which their own Mid player had been asking for mid-end at the 10-minute mark. Even Xu Ben and K could hardly believe that they had managed to turn it around.

‘We have saved the world!’

They attained absolute victory at the bottom lane in all three games. Just as they geared up for the fourth rank-game, Luocheng knocked their heads and said, “That’s all for today.”

“Ah? Come on! Last game!” Xu Ben said.

The Challenger Rank was now within reach after Xu Ben and K had tried to push for it for months, and they didn’t want to stop here after getting a long-awaited win streak.

“Are you expecting me to stand here all day and tell you what to do every time? You have to master these skills by yourself. You guys don’t have the slightest awareness about advance ganking and counter-ambush. Besides, you two often miss the good window to secure the Dragon or push the lane. I admit those are still too high level for you guys as of now, so you’d better start from learning about the enemies level first. After mastering that, try to take note of the opponents’ Ultimate skill cooldown. Remember, I am asking for a precise assessment and not a rough estimation. After learning how to grasp these details, I believe you two will become untouchable, at least at this rank. In terms of your hero’s control, I have nothing to add on.” Luocheng gave his verdict.

Xu Ben nodded solemnly. The devil was in the details. He used to think a bad game was no more than poor coordination between teammates or a mistiming of an Ultimate skill here and there.

Putting personal skills aside, knowing the enemy’s cards before a fight would unquestionably raise the odds of winning by several-fold.

‘F*ck it! I am willing to do anything for the Challenger title. I am going to master this skill in no time.’

Xu Ben was indeed rich. In fact, it was easy for him to just buy a boosted account, but claiming the Challenger Rank that way would not satisfy him. Xu Ben wanted to achieve it with his own hands, and he couldn’t stop smiling thinking about this chance meeting that would soon make him and K an unstoppable bottom-lane tag team in Hangzhou!

‘Money well spent! This course was definitely worth the 1000 RMB I paid for.’

Team Demolition always hung out and played LOL in this café, and their bets with others during New Year’s time could easily reach 10,000 RMB per game. The fee they were paying for this class was nothing if they were able to slaughter their opponents, especially the arrogant Fei Xu, by that time!

***

The next day, Luocheng once again guided the two apprentices after he had finished his own training.

They won yet another three matches!

Xu Ben and K were overjoyed after the consecutive victories as they had never been this close to the Challenger Rank!

“Learn how to do the math by yourself in the future. No one is going to remind you every time you play.” Luocheng nodded in satisfaction.

“Noted, master. I have been trying. We even train against AI!” Xu Ben said proudly.

To overcome most players and be able to look down on them, one must sacrifice their time in exchange for superior skill. A true genius who could immediately master a game was one in a million.

Of course, it would be a lot easier if there was a master who could point you to the right path. Xu Ben felt that he was now reaping twice the results with half the effort as compared to before, and he believed that at this rate, it would only be a matter of time before he reached the Challenger rank!

***

“Master, are you guys leaving soon?” K asked.

K had always been around when Luocheng was teaching Xu Ben, so gradually, K had also gotten used to calling Luocheng master.

“Yeah. We have completed the weekly game and the next monthly game will be held after the 20th. The living expenses in Hangzhou are too expensive, so we’d better return to Shanghai first. Is there anything I can help you with?” Luocheng asked.

K scratched his head and said uneasily, “Though you were teaching Xu Ben these past few days, I have learned a lot too. Xu Ben did pay you but I offered nothing in return. I feel bad for that. I don’t have a lot of pocket money since my parents are pretty strict about my expenses, but how about this? Since you’ve all come from Shanghai and I heard from Da Luo that you guys are currently looking for a new place, here’s my father’s assistant’s name card. He has a lot of empty houses on hand at the moment. Xuhui, Jingan, Hongqiao… Any place you could think of.”

Luocheng opened his mouth wide.

‘Are you f*cking serious?’

None of them owned a single property, and yet, his dad’s assistant had ample empty houses? Not only that, but those were all in the most strategic places in Shanghai. Houses there usually cost about 40,000-50,000 RMB per square feet!

‘Those expensive houses are not for the likes of us!’

“K, stop kidding. We could never afford houses in those areas.” Luocheng crossed his arms in front of himself.

“Don’t you worry about it. I will tell my dad that you guys are good friends of mine from university. Your team is looking for a training base, right? So it’s best if the place can house 5-6 people. I will even ask my dad to give you as high as a 70% discount!” K promised.

“How much would the rental fee be after the discount?” Luocheng started to get interested.

“I think maybe just around 4 to 5000 RMB,” K answered casually.

Boom!

Luocheng felt as though he had just been deleted by Caitlyn’s Ultimate, and his brain was buzzing noisily.

‘K, oh K, you are definitely teasing me. 5000 RMB even after a 70% discount? And you still dare to say “just”…’ K made it sound as easy as Luocheng had when the latter had said that they would get the provincial championship.

The house they were currently renting now only cost 1000 RMB. What kind of place still costs 4-5000 RMB after a 70% discount? Luocheng could only imagine, and then realized that he didn’t even dare to do so.

Luocheng accepted the name card with a dry smile and shoved it silently into his pocket.

‘Why don’t you “just” pass me your checkbook directly!? I wouldn’t mind that!’