Legends Rise - Chapter 15 Monster

“Which pc should I use?” Li Ming asked.

It was now the day before the finals. He had spent the days leading up to today leisurely playing legends rise. He was taking time to get used to his new character, “The Dawn”. Surprisingly, he had reached top 0.5% of the ranking ladder in such a short amount of time.

After the incident where he got invited to a team, Li Ming quickly changed the appearance of his character to have white hair and a slightly more toned body. He didn’t want anyone to connect him to the person who was shown in the videos on Y*uTube.

After the tryouts, there had been a ton of videos uploaded to Y*uTube of his performance in the tryouts. Analysts and internet personalities alike had all posted their impressions and analysis of The Dawn’s incredible feats.

This sudden fame brought in more and more interest in the Swordmage playstyle as well as this sudden appearance of this promising rookie player who burst into the scene from seemingly nowhere. Rumors also started circulating that the old Phonixes team would be re-emerging this season.

Thankfully, no one ended up connecting the dots from the video to his current real life appearance. Because of this, no one approached him at all in the pc cafe. He was able to play over 16 games a day, which he had previously been unable to do due to his schoolwork and his other activities. He was able to maintain a 94% winrate, and he had felt his own skill improve as he played more and more games.

Li Ming recalled a quote from something some old grandpa looking man had taught him while he was learning chinese spearmanship.

“The first step is falling, then you may soar higher than anyone else!” the old man had declared, “You are but a young dragon right now. You have no experience and no intent. I can only teach you the basics for now.”

The old man had taught Li Ming all the basics in spear fighting and had drilled it into him until Li Ming could wield a spear while sleepwalking. The old man was a master in the spear’s path of “Dragon Soars to the Heavens”. However, in this modern society, most martial arts that weren’t focused on self defense were quickly fading out of popularity. Li Ming had only met this old man while looking to participate in Live Action Role Play.

Who knew that the old man’s lessons would come in handy here! If Li Ming ever saw the old man again, he would definitely have to thank him.

“Woah, look at her go!” an caster said, “Truly unprecedented mechanics!”

“I can’t believe it! 19 straight victories!” another caster announced.

“You can take pc K-20. Have fun~” the cashier replied to Li Ming.

“Excuse me, is there another tryout today?” Li Ming asked the cashier. As he wanted to stay low key while he figured out his new character, he naturally wouldn’t want to show up in another try out!

“You mean the casters over there? Nah, a couple of people thought it would be fun to play a 1 on 1 combat tournament here today,” the cashier explained, “They’ve been at it for about 3 hours or so now. The casters for tomorrow’s tournament caught wind of this mini event and decided to show up for fun.”

“Huh… I see…” Li Ming answered dismissively. If there were no unexpected events today, he could definitely spend the rest of his day playing Legends Rise without any disruptions! He made his way over to his computer and began to set up his gear.

“Lets get an interview with this young talent!” one of the casters declared, “would MeiChie please come up to this stage so we can interview you?”

‘Huh… MeiChie…’ Li Ming remembered seeing that name somwhere before! ‘Was it that dual wielding swordsman fron yesterday’s last game… no it can’t be… perhaps its the mage from 2 days ago..? No, that doensn’t seem right…’

Li Ming mulled over the thought for a while. He decided that since he couldn’t remember who it was, it was worth going to see the interview to see who this wondrous player was. Upon reaching the stage, he saw a girl dressed in a simple hoodie and jeans. She was definitely a beauty, one that could win over the crowds with a simple glance and smile.

“Miss MeiChie! I want to congratulate you for your achievment in this 1 on 1 tournament!” the caster said. Li Ming recognized this caster. He often appeared on international broadcats and would be the lead caster for games. He was well known for his vivid play-by-play casting. His name was Exiged.

“Thank you!” MeiChie replied. Her voice was a little nervous, but extremely soothing to hear. Li Ming swore he could hear all the men in the crowd’s heart thump as one upon hearing that voice.

“Why don’t you give us a little introduction?” Exiged suggested.

“Umm… My name is Chie, and I play a gunner-type character named MeiChie.” she answered. “I originally wanted to join this tournament in hopes of fighting The Dawn, but unfortunately he wasn’t here today…”

There was a mixture of reactions from the crowd. Some people were surprised to hear her motives, others were admiring her fighting spirit for wanting to challenge this emerging legend.

“I see…” Exiged continued, “May I ask why you wanted to fight against The Dawn specifically? you were able to fight against two pro players already, and you’ve beaten both of them!”

“Eh? I’ve beaten 2 pro players? Since when?” She asked, surprised.

“Hmm? You just beat DarkFlameMaster in the 8th round and Andross in the 18th round! They’re both from the Cleveland Clutches!”

“Oh is that so…” She said while tilting her head as if she was trying to recall those games. She looked incredibly adorable while doing this, causing her dismissive attitude towards the pro players to go by unnoticed.

“Well anyways, I was recently recruited to the Osaka Phoenixes,” She continued to explain, “And as The Dawn was also recently recruited, I wanted to play a match against him.”

The crowd gasped. Even Exiged and his co-caster were speechless for a moment. It seemed as if the rumors about the Phoenixes making a return was true! And to think that they had recruited this beauty who was a 1 on 1 player who was already strong enough to beat experienced players from a pro team as well as the mysterious Swordmage that had popped up out of nowhere and had taken the internet by storm!

“Is that so… Since you’ll be on the same team, it’s only natural that you’d be interested in each others abilities…” Exiged agreed, “Well then, I hope you’ll be able to play against him soon! Maybe he’s even here in this stadium as we speak!”

“Yes, I’d love to have a match with him!” Chie concluded, “It’d be a great honor!”

“Well then, you heard it here first,” Exiged was wrapping up the interview, “The Dawn, if you’re here, please come down to the stage so we can arrange a match. Otherwise, on behalf of all the players, my co-caster, and the broadcast team, thank you all for wat-”

“I am The Dawn!” Li Ming found himself standing up from his seat. He could feel all the eyes in the crowd turn on him. They were all looking at him as if a monster had just entered the room.