Chapter 13:
It started with a draft.
> Enemy picked Seris.
First time Rayn saw someone else use her.
He paused.
Not out of fear.
But interest.
> "Let's see how others use her."
He picked Calen — a burst-style fire mage he had barely touched before.
Not because he wanted kills.
But because he wanted perspective.
---
The game began.
And immediately, Rayn noticed the difference.
The other Seris spammed skills.
No wave control. No bush vision. No timing.
He smiled slightly.
> "She's playing her like a damage dealer."
But Rayn… played Calen like Seris.
He held his skills.
Waited for overcommitments.
Poked the enemy Seris just out of her vision range.
---
At the 6-minute mark, he baited her into an aggressive trade under tower.
She used her mist.
He sidestepped.
Then: full combo.
Clean elimination.
First kill: Rayn.
---
But it didn't stop there.
The enemy team got mad in all chat.
> "Mid diff."
"Our Seris is trash lol."
Rayn didn't reply.
He muted.
After the match — victory — he thought:
> "Some people pick heroes to climb. I pick them to understand."
---
In the next few games, he started seeing mirror matchups.
Another Calen.
Another Seris.
Another Rivena.
But none of them felt like mirrors.
They rushed.
They styled.
They chased kills.
Rayn didn't.
He pinged rotations.
Defended towers instead of diving.
Cast skills where the enemy would go — not where they were.
---
After one particularly tight win, his teammate whispered in post-match chat:
> "You play like a weird type of mage… you're never flashy, but we always win when you show up."
He smiled.
And typed back, for the first time:
> "I'm not playing to show off. I'm playing to solve things."
---
That night, in his notebook, he drew a box titled:
"Mirrors Reveal Strength"
> – Same hero doesn't mean same mindset
– Outthinking > Outdamaging
– If you understand one hero deeply, you can beat it with another
And then underlined:
> "Not every opponent is a rival. Some are just noise."
---
Hero description:
🔥 Hero: Calen
Role: Mage (Burst / Mid Lane)
Damage: ★★★★★ Defense: ★☆☆☆☆
Skill 1 – Fire Chain:
Shoots a fire bolt that chains to up to 2 nearby enemies, dealing magic damage and applying a burn for 3 seconds.
Skill 2 – Ignition Dash:
Short dash that leaves behind a trail of fire. Enemies crossing it are slowed and burned.
Skill 3 (Ultimate) – Infernal Pillar:
Summons a pillar of fire at a target location after a 1.2 second delay, dealing massive area damage and reducing enemy healing for 4 seconds.
Passive – Overheat:
Casting two different skills within 5 seconds causes the next basic attack to deal bonus magic damage and apply an explosion.