Chapter 22:
Rayn stared at the loading screen. Four teammates had locked in the usual picks — burst mage, hyper carry, tank, and jungle assassin. That left only one role open.
EXP Lane.
He hovered over a familiar support hero, Calyn, but didn't lock right away.
> "Support in EXP? Seriously?" someone typed.
He ignored it. The hero wasn't the problem. It was how you used them.
Match started.
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At first, everything went as expected — the enemy EXP laner mocked his pick with taunts and flashy emotes. Rayn didn't respond. He focused on spacing, using Calyn's ranged skills to poke and retreat, never overcommitting.
Then, minute four — his lane was pushed, but the enemy didn't expect a full rotation. Rayn vanished from top and appeared mid with perfect timing, helping secure a kill with a slow and stun combo.
Back to top lane before anyone missed him.
> "Huh... this guy's rotating like a roam."
"Wait, how's top still under control?"
Someone typed mid-match. But no flaming now — more like… curiosity.
By minute seven, his unusual build was doing real work. He wasn't tanky like a fighter, but made up for it with positioning and crowd control. He used brushes like traps, set up vision around Turtle, and peeled enemies off the marksman twice with clutch slows.
No one pinged anymore.
They followed him.
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Victory. No MVP. No "Godlike." But the map told a different story — he had 14 assists, 2 deaths, 3 turret saves, and highest participation in teamfights.
He glanced at post-game chat.
> "Weird picks but not bad ngl."
"This guy Calyn'd us to victory lol."
Rayn didn't reply.
He queued again.
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That night, before sleeping, he checked some community builds online — but quickly closed the tab.
Most builds were the same. Safe. Predictable.
> They wouldn't work for the way I play, he thought.
He wasn't trying to be different for attention. He just saw the game differently now.
Not as a list of metas… but as a set of choices and possibilities.
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