Chapter 25: From Novice to Advanced, From Getting Hooked to Being Buried

"Last-hitting, last-hitting, you must remember that last-hitting is the rhythmic pulse of the Summoner's Rift."

"Regardless of whether you enjoy fighting or not, remember that you only earn the right to take down your opponents once you have secured enough minion kills and built up your equipment."

"Of course, if you have the ability to kill your opponent first and then last-hit minions to achieve double the growth, that works too."

"Hahaha, 'double the growth'—this content creator is hilarious."

A clear burst of laughter erupted in the internet cafe. Haiyang, watching the creator demonstrate how to toy with an opponent under the tower, finally understood why his economy always collapsed before team fights.

When the creator remarked, "A kill is merely a reward for double the growth," Haiyang slapped his thigh in realization. Wasn't this the fundamental logic behind a Mage kiting a Warrior in *Legend of Mir*?

With a tremor of epiphany, the young man closed the browser, restarted the game client, and instantly locked in Ryze to start a new match.

Half an hour later.

The young man stared, stunned, at the post-game screen showing a KDA of 6-2-5.

He was amazed to discover that he, who had been repeatedly schooled by defensive towers, was seemingly cut out for playing Mages—especially that bald grand mage who carried scrolls and commanded lightning.

Not only had he stopped being a burden to his teammates in matchmaking, but for the first time, he had finished with a positive score.

"Keep going!"

As match after match passed, the smile on the young man’s face—whose ID was Haiyang—grew broader. From positive scores to actively leading the pace, and finally, to becoming "Legendary!"

Having unlocked a new perspective on playing Mages, he adapted more and more to the rhythm of *League of Legends*.

Until, in one particular match, the enemy mid-laner typed in all-chat with great resentment: "Please, sir, go play Ranked and make a name for yourself. Why are you bullying us new players in normal games?"

Ranked?

The young man paused. Looking at his 7-0 record, he felt a secret thrill at being called an expert by his opponent.

However, he hadn't really looked into Ranked mode; he recalled seeing an unlocked mode on the menu page.

"Right, if this creator JM has beginner tutorials, he must have explanations for Ranked as well. Let me look for them."

...

Level 30!

Players must reach level 30 and own at least sixteen champions to unlock Ranked mode.

Haiyang actually found the relevant explanation for Ranked play in JM's videos, and judging by the upload date, it was fresh content from this very morning.

"Ranked, champion bans, League Points, and tiers—Bronze, Silver... Challenger. Wait, isn't this just like the leaderboards in MMOs?"

The young man scratched his head.

Sure enough, no matter the game type, it is difficult to escape the inherent human drive for competition.

Without this leaderboard, *League of Legends* would be a decent pastime at best, but with it, it became a MOBA game filled with competitive intensity.

"So, this creator called JM is a Challenger-tier player."

"Not yet. JM didn't finish his placement matches yesterday and got dragged down by griefers for one game. I wonder if he can reach Challenger after finishing his ten games today."

A young player sitting nearby, who had been watching Haiyang, spoke up. "What, are you a new player?"

"Yeah, I just started playing recently."

"Oh, you've got talent! I saw you playing Ryze in matchmaking just now; you were really sharp."

"Just lucky, and I ran into other beginners!"

"I wasn't nearly as good as you when I started. I lost two games even against bots, and now my win rate against bots isn't even 100 percent."

"By the way, you mentioned that if JM finishes his ten placement matches, he might hit Challenger. Is it really that fast to climb tiers in *League of Legends*?" Haiyang asked curiously.

"Not at all. It's because JM was already a top-three player on the national server ladder. His strength is invincible. When the new season reset his rank, he was placed directly into Diamond 2. If you do the math on the League Points, he's effectively at Challenger level after ten games."

"I have to say, you're lucky. When I first encountered *LOL* last year, JM hadn't started posting tutorials yet. Finding a guide was difficult. Unlike you guys who can just copy the answers and breeze through the beginner stage."

"Bro, I want to play Ranked. Can you take me with you, or recommend some strategy videos?" Haiyang seized the opportunity to ask.

"Uh, take you into Ranked?" The young man hesitated. "Bro, my rank score was almost two thousand last season. There's a bit of a gap, and these are placement matches. Maybe you should try solo queueing first."

"If you don't understand something, check JM's tutorials. He has every advanced guide you could want, especially for playing different champions."

"Let me tell you, the reason I reached over 1,900 points is all thanks to Brother JM's videos. He really teaches you the good stuff."

"You know WE?"

"Heard of them, why?"

"Even their jungler, the former number one on the national server, gets bullied by him!"

"JM has been streaming his climb to the number one spot on the national server these past few days."

As the two discussed, the large screen in the internet cafe suddenly switched to the YY live stream. On the screen, JM was performing a textbook-level minion wave management with Ryze, and a flood of comments instantly drowned out the screen.

"Look, look up at the big screen."

"Holy... is he really that good?"

The young man stared intensely at the screen, not wanting to take his eyes off the blue-skinned demon king for even a second.

"Duh, Challenger. Do you understand the weight of being a Challenger player?"

"Shoot, I forgot you haven't even played a single Ranked match yet."

"I suggest you watch JM's beginner tutorials first. The level he's playing at is too high; you won't be able to digest it all right away."

Watching his peer dive back into the grind of Ranked, the young man, eager to join the fray, quickly left the live stream and began searching for the advanced tutorials the other had mentioned.

"Use your brain to play the game, and climbing is easy!"

"Hello everyone, this is JM’s 'Ten Thousand Ways to Cook a Hero' classroom!"

"Today, our main ingredient is—Ryze!"

"..."

"Alright, time for a word from our sponsors..."

All of this was merely a microcosm of the surge in new players under the overwhelming publicity YY provided for JM.

It must be said that in the field of video tutorials, Jiang Ming had utilized his foresight to form a monopoly-level scale.

Before others had even discovered this business opportunity, he had already mass-produced *LOL*-related teaching videos. From beginner to advanced, from entering the game to mastering it, the entire series of guidance videos was interconnected, ensuring every new player entering the Summoner's Rift was perfectly catered to.

In short, if you can think of it, JM has already updated a video on it!

While guiding new players, Jiang Ming took it step-by-step, reinforcing his presence in the players' minds.

Once the situation was established where players searched for his videos whenever they needed a guide, that amounted to countless potential fans.

They were not only the driving force behind his live streams and future club development but also direct customers for his online store.

...

"Phew, just one more game to go!"

On the other side, after signing the contract with the YY platform, Jiang Ming didn't delay. He returned to his room and started his high-speed climb to the top of the ladder.

Although he had taken two sets of points from Ming Kai earlier, and his own base ranking was high enough that no one had surpassed him in League Points yet, one couldn't underestimate those "grind-lords" who spent all night climbing.

The efficiency might be low, but if he stopped playing, he would eventually be overtaken.

It would be a joke if, right after signing a contract with the platform, the title of the first Challenger on the server was snatched away by someone else.