Chapter 36: Entering the Game in Person, Ascending to Godhood

From the god’s-eye view, Kassadin had already pushed well past the river and was continuing to press forward.

RNG reacted immediately, every eye locked onto Kassadin.

"We have to kill this Kassadin," Uzi stated resolutely.

The better Kassadin farmed, the greater the threat he posed to the backline. Once Kassadin hit level 16, he would become virtually impossible to contain, and as he drew closer to that power spike, Uzi’s sense of crisis intensified. The rest of the team felt the same.

Xiaohu, in particular, knew he had been a ghost in this match; if they lost, he would surely be the one to face the community's vitriol. With this thought, his gaze toward Kassadin grew colder. *Only your death can clear my name.*

...

"He’s still too young," one caster remarked.

"This push is way too deep."

"RNG has already surrounded him."

From the perspective of the commentators, Wawa and Miller, Chen Yan’s Kassadin was completely encircled by RNG. The live stream chat was already erupting.

"Are you kidding? How does Kassadin dare to keep pushing?"

"It’s over, he’s dead for sure."

"A rookie is just a rookie, getting a few kills and already letting it go to his head."

"Scout is probably on his knees in the back room watching this."

Chen Yan didn't know what the chat was saying, nor did he care. Would he feed? Perhaps, but he wouldn't do it in such a clumsy way. Besides, his mission for this game was to have zero deaths; he certainly wouldn't be handing over any kills. This was a calculated lure.

Under normal circumstances, RNG’s macro and team-fighting were not much weaker than EDG’s, and given the gap in individual player strength, it was hard for EDG to find a flaw in RNG’s front-to-back play. Therefore, Chen Yan had to take the initiative to offer an opening, putting himself in harm's way to bait RNG into the trap.

"They're all heading your way," his teammate warned over the comms.

"Understood," Chen Yan replied.

He signaled his teammates to intercept RNG’s bottom lane duo. Simultaneously, he locked his gaze onto Xiaohu’s Ryze. He feigned a retreat, and thinking he was trying to run, Xiaohu stepped forward to lock him down.

But in the next second, Kassadin jumped right into his face.

*R-A-W-E-Q.*

The burst combo, combined with Thunderlord’s Decree, instantly dropped the Ryze’s health bar below half.

"Hiss!"

Everyone in the arena gasped.

"Ryze got decimated in a single exchange!" Wawa stared, dumbfounded, never expecting Kassadin to be this aggressive. Instead of running, he chose to counter-attack.

...

"But Gragas has already circled around," Miller said, sounding worried. Kassadin looked cool, but this engagement had cost him his best window for retreat.

Gragas emerged from behind Kassadin. Catching him while his ultimate was on cooldown, Gragas landed an E-Flash to stun him. Both Ryze and Gragas dumped their damage onto Kassadin. To their horror, however, the damage felt like a tickle; Kassadin hadn't even lost half his health.

Wawa shouted into the microphone, "Wow! Did you notice? This Kassadin is so tanky!"

The viewers in the stream rolled their eyes. *No kidding, we’re not blind.*

Miller glanced at Kassadin’s Mercury’s Treads and Rod of Ages, feeling a sense of clarity. Both Gragas and Ryze dealt magic damage, and with Kassadin’s passive reducing magic damage by 15%, plus the bonus magic resist and his level lead, it was no surprise that RNG’s mid and jungle couldn't scratch him.

But if that were the case, Ryze was in trouble.

In the game, a chill ran down Xiaohu’s spine. Kassadin’s ultimate stacks up to four times, increasing the damage with each cast. A fully stacked ultimate from Kassadin could easily delete his current health pool. Realizing this, Xiaohu immediately flashed backward.

But a second later, Kassadin R-Flashed to stick to him, and Xiaohu’s screen went black.

"EDG ChenYan has slain RNG Xiaohu."

The system notification rang out.

"..." Xiaohu was speechless, resting his forehead in his hand.

"Walking down the road to death."

"Getting countered in a two-on-one? Do you even know how to play?"

"Trash mid."

"Can't even get carried properly."

The chat was relentless. Wawa and Miller’s eyes were wide. Even though they had a premonition, seeing Xiaohu actually get countered left them in absolute shock. After all, Ryze was one of Xiaohu’s signature champions.

If Chen Yan heard that, he would have laughed. It was true that Ryze was a signature, but Xiaohu had contributed to plenty of infamous moments on the champion—the "hearse" play, the "2200" damage... To put it bluntly, Xiaohu had proficiency on Ryze, but it wasn't world-class. It was like a half-full bottle rattling around; he could use it to bully weaker players, but against a top-tier mid-laner, it became a "cursed card."

Still, given Xiaohu’s status in the LPL, seeing him killed like this by a rookie left everyone stunned. Even Mlxg felt a moment of hesitation... and fear. With Ryze gone, was he, a tanky Gragas, not doomed?

...

But the next second, Mlxg realized he had overthought it. After killing Ryze, Kassadin ignored him entirely and dove straight into their jungle. Mlxg breathed a sigh of relief; his life was spared.

*Wait!*

Following the thought, Mlxg realized where Kassadin was heading. *Caitlyn and Karma! His target is Caitlyn and Karma!*

"Kassadin is there, don't go!" Mlxg screamed into the comms while spamming pings.

It was useless. The other EDG members hadn't been idle. While Chen Yan was fighting two-on-one, the three EDG players had blocked the path of Caitlyn and Karma. With nowhere to go, they were forced into the jungle, trapped between the three EDG players in front and Kassadin behind.

"This..." Ming was paralyzed.

Uzi was also stunned. *Where is my team? Do I not have a team?* He looked at his teammates and nearly fumed with rage. Two of them couldn't even handle one Kassadin and ended up getting one of them killed. *Garbage!*

Uzi wanted to lash out, but he held it back.

"Kill him first!" He marked Kassadin. Running was impossible, so trading for Kassadin wouldn't be a total loss.

But the next second, Uzi realized he had overthought it again. Before he could even act, Kassadin R-ed onto his face. A single combo later, Caitlyn’s health was down to a third, even with Karma’s shield.

Above Kassadin’s head, a thick white shield appeared.

*Shen’s Ultimate—Stand United!*

The RNG duo fell into total despair. Although the ultimate was interrupted by Camille and Shen didn't arrive, once the three EDG members converged with Kassadin, they easily cleaned up the remaining two.

"Legendary!"

The triumphant system voice echoed. Kassadin had achieved a godlike streak. The entire arena was in an uproar. No one expected Chen Yan’s Kassadin to carry this hard.

In the back room, Coach Feng watched the unstoppable Kassadin and couldn't help but shake his head.

"Next game."

Kassadin was already beyond stopping.

In the game, EDG secured the Rift Herald and easily took RNG’s middle tower. Kassadin continued to farm aggressively, taking minion waves, tower plating, and even the occasional jungle camp. By 24 minutes, Kassadin hit level 16.

As Kassadin ascended, Miller joked, "I feel like RNG’s base is already starting to smoke."

Inside the EDG booth, Chen Yan smiled calmly. "Next, watch me perform."