Chapter 21:
Lunch break at school was noisy, filled with chatter and cricket talk. Rayn sat near the back fence, scrolling on his phone with one hand, sandwich in the other.
He wasn't looking at highlights or flashy plays — just reading quietly through a long forum thread titled:
> "Odd strategies that only work if you think ahead."
One line stood out.
> "You don't win fights. You win space, time, pressure — then the fight just… happens in your favor."
It made sense in a way most didn't talk about.
He locked his phone as the bell rang, eyes lingering for just a second longer on that post.
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That evening, he didn't queue ranked right away. Instead, he entered Custom Mode and practiced unusual movements on a support hero — Veyla.
Skill shots from behind walls. Bush timings. How long it took to walk from mid to turtle. Little things.
After a few matches, he finally hit Start on Ranked.
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He queued up as Roam, picked Veyla again — but wasn't really planning to roam "normally."
This time, he shadowed the enemy mage's patterns, covering lanes with smarter positioning, not just healing or shielding. The enemy seemed confused, expecting him to be with the marksman. Rayn wasn't where a roamer was supposed to be.
But then — something else caught his attention.
His team's EXP laner was doing strange things too.
Instead of staying in his lane, the player rotated early. Instead of grouping, he ambushed alone in brush. No pings. No chat. No spam. Just… actions.
At first, Rayn thought it was random.
Then he realized — the timing was too perfect.
At minute five, Rayn headed top for backup. The EXP laner was already in the bush. No signal — just a clean setup. Together, they deleted the enemy jungler in under two seconds.
Still no chat.
The EXP player left, returning to lane like nothing happened.
> "He's doing what I'm doing," Rayn thought. "But better."
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They won the game. Not in a flashy way, just… controlled.
Rayn didn't type "GG" in the end. Neither did that player. But Rayn didn't forget how clean it felt — like a silent language being spoken mid-match.
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Later that night, while lying on his bed, Rayn stared at the ceiling fan slowly turning.
Not every match was like this.
But today, something had clicked.
There were others out there — quiet, smart players. Not famous. Not loud. Just solving the game like a puzzle.
And that… excited him more than any rank ever had.
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