Chapter 371: A Karthus with Ignite?
There were six people in the IF team’s training room—besides the five players currently training, there was also a team manager.
Currently, domestic clubs were still very unprofessional, lacking dedicated tactical coaches. On-the-spot lineup choices were entirely up to the players, and any tactics used were all decided by the players brainstorming together.
The manager, aside from being responsible for the players’ daily routines, schedules, and supervising training, also shared some coaching duties, such as gathering intelligence on other teams or arranging practice matches.
However, most club managers’ opinions were not taken seriously at this time. After all, these managers were usually in lower ranks, and in front of professional players who were all at the Challenger level, their suggestions often felt like teaching a master how to play.
When Chen Mo pushed the door open and walked in, everyone was stunned for a moment.
IF’s manager recognized Sun Xiao, who was following behind Chen Mo, and asked, “Director Sun, this is…”
Before Sun Xiao could answer, one of IF’s players blurted out first: “Chen Mo? You’re Chen Mo!”
After that shout, the others also recognized him. It was Chen Mo, the designer of *League of Legends*!
In fact, most people had seen photos of Chen Mo before, but there was always a difference between a photo and the real person. IF’s club was far away in Magic City, and they had never been to Imperial City, nor had they ever met Chen Mo in person, so IF’s manager hadn’t recognized him right away.
Once he recognized Chen Mo, IF’s manager felt a bit embarrassed and quickly stepped forward: “So it’s President Chen. What brings you here today?”
Chen Mo said calmly, “I came to check out the finals venue today, and I stopped by on the way.”
He looked at the IF team’s players.
He had already reviewed their profiles, so he knew who they were. The two who had been shouting in the training room just now were one named Hu Jing, the mid-laner, and another named Luo Yongchang, the top-laner.
Hu Jing was only 17 years old and was hailed as the most promising mid-laner in the country. His reaction speed, mechanics, and game understanding were all excellent, and he was undoubtedly the core of the IF team.
Chen Mo looked at Hu Jing: “Do you think the European, American, and Korean players are all noobs?”
Hu Jing sized up Chen Mo, his eyes full of interest. He nodded. “So what?”
“Confidence is a good thing, but in this game, professional players who are arrogant and underestimate their opponents are never the final winners,” Chen Mo said.
Hu Jing stared at Chen Mo.
Clearly, this statement carried a heavy tone of lecturing. The IF team’s professional players all felt a bit uncomfortable, like being caught whispering in a self-study class by the homeroom teacher.
Of course, they weren’t stupid enough to talk back to Chen Mo. After all, they were professional *League of Legends* players. Strictly speaking, their careers were a gift from Chen Mo. If they really made him angry, finding a reason to permanently ban them from competition wouldn’t be anything new.
Even the club owner didn’t dare to provoke him, so these internet-addicted youths certainly didn’t dare to either.
But Hu Jing’s eyes clearly showed defiance.
Chen Mo looked at him. “Not convinced?”
Hu Jing smiled. “President Chen, I heard you’re pretty good at *League of Legends*. During the New Year, I watched your entire livestream and learned a lot. Since we have this rare opportunity, could you please give me a couple of pointers?”
As soon as Hu Jing said this, IF’s manager and the other players all felt a jolt in their hearts.
This little troublemaker was asking for trouble!
If it were any other player, it might be fine, but Hu Jing was different. Hu Jing’s family was very wealthy; he was basically a rich second-generation kid who had never suffered hardship and had a rebellious personality. To him, playing professionally was almost like playing a game. If he couldn’t play professionally anymore, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
At worst, he could just go home and inherit the family fortune.
This was a very clear difference from the other players, who relied entirely on playing professionally to make a living.
IF’s manager was also panicking: “President Chen, Hu Jing was just joking. Please don’t take it to heart.”
As he spoke, the manager kept signaling Hu Jing with his eyes.
Chen Mo looked at Hu Jing and nodded. “Alright. You seem to really like 1v1s, so let’s have a couple of 1v1s.”
“President Chen, this…”
IF’s manager was at a loss. What was going on here?
But since Chen Mo said he wanted to play, he had no choice but to let Hu Jing accompany him.
Luo Yongchang voluntarily gave up his seat, letting Chen Mo use his computer and account.
IF’s manager kept signaling Hu Jing with his eyes, meaning for him to lose to Chen Mo to avoid offending this big shot. But Hu Jing acted as if he didn’t see it, burying his head and randomly clicking on runes.
The manager was furious.
Hu Jing pulled Chen Mo into a custom game and directly chose Summoner’s Rift as the map.
Since Chen Mo hadn’t hosted any official 1v1 tournaments in this world yet, domestic players used Summoner’s Rift for 1v1s, usually in the mid lane or top lane.
The rules weren’t set in stone either. They were usually agreed upon before the 1v1, but a common rule was no jungle camps, no farming other lanes, and free recalls, with three kills or two towers.
That meant whoever got three kills or two towers first won.
Hu Jing asked, “What are the rules? Three kills or two towers?”
Chen Mo shook his head. “We’ll lane normally like in a pro match mid. Whoever dies first or loses their tower first loses.”
Hu Jing thought for a moment. “So we both take Flash as a summoner spell?”
Chen Mo said, “Whatever summoner spells you take in a match, take them this time.”
Hu Jing nodded. “Alright.”
If it were a proper 1v1 tournament, the best summoner spells would be Heal and Barrier, or Barrier and Ignite. But in matches, Flash was usually mandatory.
Chen Mo’s meaning was clear: just follow the laning phase of a real match.
Hu Jing asked again, “What about champion picks?”
Chen Mo said, “Whatever. Pick your strongest.”
Soon, both sides had chosen their champions and entered the game.
Hu Jing picked Orianna, while Chen Mo chose Karthus, both with Flash and Ignite as summoner spells.
Seeing Karthus, Hu Jing was stunned for a moment.
Orianna and Karthus were two popular mid-lane champions at the time, often encountered in ranked games. Comparatively, Karthus’s ultimate was a global ability that could support teammates, but his laning phase was slightly weaker than Orianna’s. He had to keep farming minions early on and only come out to save the world in the mid-to-late game.
Of course, in high-elo games, solo kills between Orianna and Karthus were rare because players who knew how to play Karthus were usually very cautious and wouldn’t let Orianna easily pull them in with her ultimate for a kill.
Overall, in high-elo games, Karthus was at a slight disadvantage when laning against Orianna.
Moreover, Karthus usually took Heal or Teleport as summoner spells. A Karthus with Ignite like this was really rare.
Hu Jing was a bit puzzled. Did Chen Mo pick Karthus planning to farm his way to victory? Was this 1v1 going to take a long time?
But what was the point of that Ignite?