Chapter 23:
The lobby timer ticked down. Rayn selected Roam this time — not because the team needed it, but because he wanted to test a different kind of pressure.
He chose Veyla, a support tank with strong zoning but no real burst.
As expected, no one thanked him for filling. One locked in a flashy marksman, the other a pure-damage jungler. All eyes would be on kills again.
Rayn didn't mind.
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From the first minute, he wasn't glued to his carry. Instead, he moved with the rhythm of the map — checking bushes, poking the enemy mid, body-blocking jungle invades.
Every now and then, he'd type quick, clean pings:
📍 Missing mid
📍 Retreat
📍 Attack Turtle
No spam. No chat.
By the fifth minute, they had a small lead. Nothing huge, but steady.
That's when it happened.
Their mid-laner typed:
> "Did you play Calyn top a few games ago?"
"I remember the rotations."
Rayn paused.
He hadn't expected anyone to notice. But it made sense — smart moves leave quiet marks.
He didn't respond, just kept playing. But his pace sharpened slightly. There was a strange weight to being recognized… even by a stranger.
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Later in the match, their marksman dove too deep and got caught. The rest of the team panicked. But Rayn held position, didn't chase.
He stayed near the jungle entrance, reading enemy footsteps through the fog.
Sure enough, the enemy tank blinked in — right into Veyla's trap.
> Root. Slow. Chain pull.
The fight flipped.
Double kill. Lord secured.
Victory.
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In the post-game screen, the mid-laner typed:
> "Told you it was him."
"Smart roam. GG."
No one else replied. Rayn said nothing. But for a moment, he stared at the message.
Not for ego. Just… confirmation.
That even as a solo player — silent, experimental, unconventional — his style was starting to echo across games.
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That night, Rayn didn't feel like playing more. Instead, he spent half an hour watching replays — not of himself, but others who moved silently, made small plays, and turned games without shouting.
> There's a pattern to the good ones, he thought.
They don't win with power… they win with timing.
And he was slowly becoming one of them.
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