June 2017.
It seemed like a perfectly ordinary day.
In a bedroom in an apartment in Shanghai.
"System, show my stats."
A lazy voice rang out.
A handsome young man sat at his computer, watching the enemy base explode on the screen, and stretched.
The next moment.
A virtual stats panel appeared before his eyes.
[Host: Lu Chen.] [Mechanics: 100] [Game sense: 100] [Reaction: 100] [Teamfighting: 99] [Meta understanding: 100] [Champion mastery: Jayce (100%), Nidalee (100%), Tidal Trickster (100%), The Glorious Executioner (100%), Riven (100%)... Fiora (100%)] [A total of 99 champions at maximum mastery!] [Current points remaining: 4,396. (Each stat increase above 95 costs 4,000 points.)] [Points can be earned through Ranked wins (higher ranks grant greater rewards), achievements (such as winning a world championship), system missions, and other methods.] [Overall rating: SS+!]
"Whew-"
Lu Chen let out a long breath, his expression relaxing. "Two years of lying low... finally, I'm almost maxed out."
Just then, however, his brow lifted as he noticed another system notification beneath the stats panel.
[Ding! Notice: Your stats have surpassed those of 100% of professional players. Please complete the beginner mission as soon as possible!] [Current beginner mission: Become a starting player for an LPL team!] [Reward: 500 points!]
He glanced at it.
Lu Chen decided not to bother.
He had seen this sort of notification countless times over the past two years.
When he first awakened the system, the damned thing had nagged him every day to stop hiding and go pro.
Back then, he had been an absolute nobody on an academy team, with average stats below 75!
Even with a system, he couldn't shoot straight to the top, could he?
Go straight onstage and take on those seasoned veterans?
What if he lost?!
He was a man who had been reborn, and one with a cheat at that. Didn't he have a reputation to protect?
That was right. Lu Chen had originally been reborn back in 2015.
And somehow, he had become a member of RNG's academy team.
Then, after awakening the system, he had... chosen to lie low for two years and grind his stats to the max!
"Tch. Think I'd rush in like those other transmigrators? Awaken a system, then dare to battle top pros with stats in the sixties and seventies?"
Lu Chen considered himself a cautious man.
He couldn't even be bothered to entertain that kind of overpowered-protagonist fantasy.
Since Ranked could earn him points, he would max out his stats first, even if the grind was slower.
After all, that beginner mission had neither a time limit nor a penalty.
Either he stayed out of the spotlight.
Or he stepped into it unbeatable!
Otherwise, wouldn't it be embarrassing to have cheats and still lose to someone else?
So, from Season 5 to Season 7, he had spent countless days and nights in the Rift.
To avoid exposing himself, he had even deliberately "balanced" his win rate.
He could say without a shred of modesty: even with a cheat, I, Lu Chen, got where I am today through my own hard work!
"System, upgrade my stats!"
"Add that last point to my teamfighting!"
[Ding! Upgrade successful. Your current teamfighting stat: 100]
The point had barely been added.
When another notification immediately popped up.
[Ding! System notice! All your stats are now maxed out. Please stop wasting time in Ranked!]
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Lu Chen smacked his lips. "Tch. Getting impatient, are you, system?"
Despite his teasing, the system offered no response, as cold and unfeeling as a computer program.
Shrugging, Lu Chen closed the game on his computer and rubbed his chin with one hand. "It really is time to think about stepping into the spotlight. First, I'll get that beginner mission done."
Join an LPL team and become a starter.
Come to think of it, he had put that mission off for two years, and he was still a substitute on the second team!
As Lu Chen pondered his options.
"Creak-"
The bedroom door was suddenly pushed open.
A pretty young woman in a white dress walked straight into the room, weariness written on her face. "Little Chen, I'm so tired today~"
The moment she entered, she flopped onto Lu Chen's bed without a care, seemingly relaxing from head to toe.
She was none other than the LPL's rising-star host.
The female caster who had made the three-step leap from the LSPL to the LCK and then the LPL in a single year-Rita, Feng Yu!
"What's wrong this time, Little Yu?" Completely used to this, Lu Chen simply turned his chair to face her.
The two had been childhood friends.
Even this apartment belonged to Rita. He was essentially freeloading here for food and lodging.
"Tch. It's all because of you." Rita weakly rolled her eyes at him.
"Me?" Lu Chen raised an eyebrow.
"Doesn't your contract expire in two weeks?" Rita pushed herself up into a sitting position on the bed, her knees together and her feet tucked out to either side. Her expression turned serious. "So I thought I'd find you a job."
Lu Chen paused briefly, then realization dawned on his face.
His contract really was about to expire.
Two years earlier, when he had first transmigrated here, the original owner of his body had just signed a two-year contract with RNG's academy team.
Over those two years, because he had been lying low and grinding his stats, Lu Chen's performance had remained thoroughly mediocre. Even on the second team, he had barely gotten any chances to play.
Now, his contract was about to expire.
RNG clearly wasn't going to renew it.
Although RNG's contracts were notorious, there was one thing worth giving them credit for: they didn't hold on to lousy players...
Put nicely, Lu Chen was about to become a free agent.
Put bluntly, he was facing unemployment!
At that thought, Lu Chen's expression grew a little odd. "So, what kind of job did you find me?"
Rita lifted her chin, looking rather
pleased with herself as she said, "Your big sister spent all day working on this, and the higher-ups finally agreed to give you a trial run as a caster!"
"Well, thank you so much, Little Yu~"
"How rude! You should call me Big Sis Yu!" Rita waved a hand. "Hmph. You've spent two years on an academy team, after all. Your understanding of the game must be decent. Casting would really suit you..."
Before she could finish, the young man's voice drifted over from across the room:
"But I refuse!"
"?" Rita's expression froze. Unable to process it for a moment, she stared blankly at Lu Chen.
"Didn't I tell you ages ago?" Lu Chen's brows lifted slightly, and a spirited smile spread across his face. "Starting this year, I'm going to show what I can do. I'll show you what a legendary player looks like! What it means for a war god to return!"
Silence.
Silence settled over the room.
Only after a long while.
Did Rita finally furrow her brows and mutter, "Little Chen... are you dreaming?"
But when she saw the clear gaze of the young man opposite her, Rita blinked. "You're serious?"
Someone who couldn't even get a chance to play on RNG's academy team was actually making grand declarations about becoming some kind of legend...
No matter how she looked at it, it sounded like a pipe dream!
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