After tidying up the kitchen, Grace Thompson went to her son's room to clean up.

When she entered the room, Grace Thompson noticed that her son's computer screen was still glowing, clearly left on by mistake.

"This kid, sneaking off to play games early in the morning," Grace Thompson said with a hint of reproach.

As she spoke, she quietly pulled the door to, so Brian Bennett wouldn't see it—otherwise, he'd lose his temper again.

Walking up to the computer, Grace Thompson saw that the game window was still open, with "League of Legends" written in big letters at the top.

"What kind of game is this?" Grace Thompson said, a bit puzzled.

Then Grace Thompson noticed "RANK 1900 points" but had no idea what it meant. She casually closed the game window with the mouse, then clicked shut down.

……

Winning an Olympiad gets you bonus points, winning an academic cup gets you bonus points, winning a provincial sports meet gets you bonus points, but winning an international runner-up in e-sports... not only does it not get you any bonus points, the principal might even reconsider whether to admit a kid like that.

Jason Bennett played a lot of games. Since middle school, he had won championships in all sorts of Q-style competitive games like PopKart and KartRider. Later, he became obsessed with Warcraft, and then fell in love with DOTA. The number of trophies he’d won could practically bury those so-called academic geniuses.

But, as you should know, no matter what kind of glory you achieve in the gaming world, the vast majority of parents and elders will slap a "not doing proper work" label on your head.

The high school Jason Bennett attended was a top school in the city, and his family had spent years of savings to get him in. His previous high school was terrible, which gave him plenty of time in his first and second years to slack off and pursue a career as a pro gamer.

In June of his second year, the DOTA International was held. He went to compete, but after it was over, he went back to being a good student...

First place in the DOTA International got 300,000 RMB, but there was no prize for second place.

As for why, ask the British e-sports association.

After nearly two years of neglecting his studies, his family still spent a lot of money to get Jason Bennett into a top high school.

His family wasn’t well-off, and Jason Bennett really couldn’t bear to see Brian Bennett's gloomy face, so he buckled down and worked hard for a year.

People with talent often have it in many fields, and academics are no exception.

Jason Bennett was a talented person. In just one year, he not only made up for his lost studies, but even surpassed some of the top students. His mock exam scores were the best proof.

Of course, being a good student didn’t mean he gave up gaming.

For some people in this era, games are like a second life.

Just like Garen says: "As long as the tower stands, so do I."

Some things are truly worth defending at all costs—including competitive gaming.

Jason Bennett kept his promise to that Brit and never touched DOTA again, but the recently popular League of Legends (LOL) made him feel alive once more.

If you can’t be a pro, being an amateur isn’t so bad, right?

Chapter 2: Five in a Row at the Internet Café

……

After putting down his backpack, with about ten minutes left before morning reading, Jason Bennett leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and tried to rest, looking a bit sleepy.

What can you do? Studying and playing ranked games—there’s never enough sleep.

"Damn it, we actually lost to that bunch from Class Three last night!" A rough, boisterous voice came from behind Jason Bennett.

The voice was all too familiar—it was his deskmate Eric Carter, game ID: Beast. He was hopelessly addicted to LOL (short for League of Legends), and claimed to be the best mid-laner at Shuilan High. All the LOL players in their class looked up to him.

"Ethan Foster, why are you so timid playing top lane? Dive their backline! If you keep playing like a coward, you might as well be called Adam Foster!" Eric Carter cursed.

Playing competitive games is a lot like basketball—if you have one teammate who plays like a pig, you’re basically doomed to lose.

"Boss, did you even look at their top laner? He’s already level 27, and I just hit level 20. How am I supposed to fight him?" Ethan Foster explained, aggrieved.

"Then why did you give up first blood so quickly? Didn’t you know they were waiting in the bushes?" Eric Carter scolded.

Ethan Foster was timid and afraid of trouble, so making him play the usually tough top lane really wasn’t a good fit.

"And you two on bot lane, what the hell were you doing? Three deaths in ten minutes!" Eric Carter turned his fire on the two boys next to them.

"How is that my fault? Ryan Cooper always grabs someone with Blitzcrank, and as soon as the fight starts, I die," explained Lily Harris, a delicate-looking boy.

"I don’t know what happened yesterday. I swear I landed every grab, but every time the fight started, it was us two who died," said Ryan Cooper, sounding a bit frustrated.

Ryan Cooper loved playing Blitzcrank, and was said to often carry the whole game (to "carry" means to dominate the match).

But yesterday, they lost.

Jason Bennett was still lying on his desk, listening to the group behind him discuss yesterday’s defeat.

Jason Bennett also loved playing "Steam Golem Blitzcrank." He was 100% sure that yesterday, Ryan Cooper must have grabbed the enemy bot lane’s support—like "Taric," "Alistar," or "Leona," all of whom are notoriously tanky supports.