When considering which champion to use to climb the rankings, Henry Thompson hesitated for a moment. He actually didn’t want to play Riven anymore—he’d been a top laner in his previous life, and just the private training with these top lane champions had made him sick of them.

Henry Thompson's gaze wandered across the game interface and suddenly landed on a post about zed, the Shadow of the Blade from the previous life’s Chinese server.

Zed was a new champion who had just arrived on Summoner’s Rift at the end of Season 3. When he was first released, many players thought he was a bit underwhelming.

Henry Thompson clicked into the post, and as expected, the main post was a player with the ID “Qing Kong” complaining about this champion.

Main post: So what exactly is this new champion zed supposed to do? Is he going to be the next Syndra?

Can he go top or jungle? It’s such a hassle to deal damage, he has no crowd control, and he can’t tank either... Looks like he’s just another underwhelming champ.

2nd floor: He’s probably a mid lane AD assassin like Talon. After playing him, my impression is that it’s a hassle to deal damage, and his energy isn’t enough!

3rd floor: The two above are absolutely right... If only he had Akali’s instant burst, but I won’t even mention that he’s way more complicated to play than Akali. His shadow dash is just way too short. Compared to that, Akali’s dash is like flying—BIU! BIU! BIU!!

4th floor: 3rd floor, you’re adorable, confirmed. But seriously, in terms of burst, zed is way worse than Talon. He feels more like Skarner, mainly sticking to people with E. W looks cool, but that cooldown and range are just unbearable.

5th floor: @3rd floor, rumor has it that Shen and zed are classmates, so when Shen realized he couldn’t beat zed, he decisively married Akali to suppress his classmate?

6th floor: ……

Henry Thompson couldn’t help but laugh at this point. It wasn’t the fifth floor that made him laugh, but rather the memory of a pro player named Faker from the Korean esports scene in his previous life—the man who was crowned “Hokage” after using zed in a match.

In this parallel world, Korea had many people and things similar to those from his previous life, such as famous pro teams like SKT, SSW, KTA, and idol groups like Girls’ Generation, BIGBANG, and T-ara. But there were also some people who no longer existed in this timeline. He’d been in this world for so long, yet had never heard the name Faker. Whether that Faker truly didn’t exist here, or if his life had taken a different path in this world, even if Faker was gone, was zed really as useless as they said?

Henry Thompson chuckled softly and opened the in-game shop’s champion purchase page, immediately spotting the ninja-clad champion—zed—at the top of the list.

Zed was the first ninja in two hundred years in Ionia to break the ancient, forbidden path. He defied his clan and mentor, abandoning the balance and creed that had bound him all his life. Now, zed empowers those who embrace the secrets of the shadows and slaughters those who cling to tradition. Ha! What a hero—so much like his former self!

Without hesitation, Henry Thompson tapped “purchase,” and the champion was added to his collection. He then set up a standard armor-penetration rune and mastery page for a mid lane AD assassin.

After clicking solo queue, since this account hadn’t played ranked before, he was quickly matched into a game—unlike in his previous life, where it could take over half an hour to get a match.

Once in the game’s ban/pick phase, Henry Thompson found himself first pick. After casually banning a few top-tier champions, Henry Thompson instantly locked in zed.

“Balance is a lie—we are the true ninjas!”

Henry Thompson quickly typed a few words: “1MID.”

Naturally, this kind of willful behavior drew unanimous complaints from his teammates.

The player in the 2nd slot, with the ID “Korean Pro,” complained: “First pick, what are you banning? Do you even know how to play?”

The 3rd slot chimed in: “zed? First pick, are you serious? This champion is so weak!”

But the 5th slot player, being observant, noticed Henry Thompson’s ID and couldn’t help but ask, “First pick, are you playing on a sponsored account?”

The 2nd slot immediately scoffed: “No way, just look at his bans. Total noob.”

After all, there were plenty of “ambitious youths” in low Elo on the Korean server who picked IDs like Park Ji-sung!

Henry Thompson just smiled at this and typed another message in the team chat.

“Relax, I’m the Hokage! This game, I’ll carry!”

Chapter 5: Is this zed a pro?

Both sides’ lineups were quickly set. On Henry Thompson’s team, the 2nd slot was Zhao Xin in the jungle, 3rd slot Master Yi top, ADC was the 4th slot Ashe, and support was the 5th slot Blitzcrank.

The enemy team’s lineup was Ryze top, Ahri mid, Jarvan IV jungle, Miss Fortune ADC, and support was the teamfight-controlling Malphite.

After entering the game, the player with the ID “Korean Pro” on Zhao Xin kept complaining, but Henry Thompson paid him no mind. After leeching some experience from the three wolves with the jungler Zhao Xin, he headed straight to mid lane.