Chapter 37 –The First Game
*Note: This is a non-canon Chapter, released as a separate piece of entertainment. I hope that you enjoy it nonetheless though.*
Saturday morning at Beacon Academy. Weekends were always a delightful respite from weekdays and school life. Whether you went for a stroll across the school grounds and the City of Vale, hung out and played with friends, or even decided to be productive and train or do work at your own pace, everyone always had a reason to look forward to the weekend. Not to say that school life itself wasn't enjoyable, quite the opposite, but who in their right mind wouldn't look for an excuse to chill?
Ruby lay on top of her bed inside Team RWBY's dorm room, stroking Zwei's back with her left hand and looking at her Scroll with her other hand. She had changed into her day clothes, but still didn't quite feel like going anywhere just yet: it was only 9:07 in the morning, around the time that classes normally started. Both Weiss and Yang had already left and gone somewhere before Ruby had even woken up. Blake was still dozing and lying in bed in her pyjamas, although she had kicked the bedsheets onto the floor. It wasn't exactly super-hot weather, but Blake probably had a reason for it.
She was looking at the news feed on her scroll. The first article published at the front was titled: "Disease Spreading Rapidly Through Anima". Interesting.
Some more White Fang extremism in Vale. Of course, this was significant and worth paying attention to, but not anything new or eye-catching that hadn't been covered by the media already. Obviously though this would mean a lot to Blake. Ruby looked over at her and smiled. She was so happy that Weiss and Blake were friends again after their quarrel over the White Fang. They were teammates after all. It would have been detrimental to fall apart all because of a disagreement over some controversial subject matter.
Fortunately for all of them though, that seemed to be in the past. In fact, Team RWBY as a whole were getting along together better than ever. Weiss hadn't verbally assaulted Ruby once since the beginning of their second semester. All of them were spending more time together and with less bickering. It was probably because they had gotten to know each other much better, but whatever the reason, Ruby was unbelievable grateful that the relationships within her team had been sorted out.
She had been hesitant at first because of the initial animosity between them all, but Ruby could now say with her hand on her heart that she couldn't have asked for better teammates. Of course, Team JNPR's members were fantastic, but Ruby could tell that they were meant for each other, in the same way that Weiss, Blake and Yang were destined to be with her. 'Life is good.' Ruby said quietly to herself.
Her scroll began to vibrate, and her face beamed when she saw the name and portrait image of who was calling her, on screen. Without hesitation, she put the scroll to her ear. 'Hello, Uncle Qrow!' she a bit too loudly.
'Hey Ruby, what's up?' her Uncle Qrow greeted back.
'Yeah, good, good. The second semester's only really just began, but there are already students coming in from the other Kingdoms. My team and I have met a few cool guys from Haven.'
'Ah yes, the Vytal Festival, am I correct?'
'That's right.'
'Heh, well I'm glad to hear that you're doing alright.'
'Thanks, Uncle Qrow. But umm, are you calling me for any reason in particular, other than just saying "hi"?'
'Ah yeah, I was calling you to say that I'm coming to visit Beacon today; have a meeting with Ozpin.'
'Ooh! Really!?' Ruby exclaimed.
'Yep. I already called Yang to let her know too. I thought that, since I'm your dear and loving Uncle, we could spend some time together after I'm done with Ozpin. Unless, you know, it's not the cool thing to do, to hang out with your uncle.'
'It's fine, Uncle Qrow. You're the kind of cool uncle that must people wish they had. It'd be good to do something with you and Yang. Oh, and you can meet my teammates and my friends too.'
Qrow chuckled. 'I appreciate it Ruby. I'll call you later when Ozpin and I are all caught up. Catch you later, kiddo.'
'You too, Uncle Qrow. See you later.'
Ruby placed the scroll on her bed and smiled. Her excuse to not work today had been practically handed to her on a silver platter.
'You make a lot of noise when you talk, you know.' Blake murmured from her bed.
'Oh, Blake! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up.'
'No, it's fine. I was about to get up anyway. So, your Uncle is coming today?'
'Yeah, he is. You wanna meet him?'
'I don't see why not. Sure.'
The dorm door opened, and Weiss stepped inside.
'Hey, Weiss.' Ruby waved from her bed.
'Morning Ruby, morning Blake.' Weiss replied as she sat down on her bed.
'Morning.' said Blake more instinctually than meaningfully.
'Where'd you go?' Ruby asked.
'To see Dr. Oobleck. I had a question about our assignment.'
'Alright. Oh hey, Weiss, my Uncle is coming to visit today. I asked Blake if she wanted to meet him, and she's up for it. Would you be as well?'
'Yeah, it'd be a pleasure, I'm sure.'
'Thanks, Wiess.' said Ruby, unsure of the tone in Weiss' voice. She couldn't tell if it was sincere or sarcastic.
The door opened again. This time, in stepped Yang. 'Hey gang. How you all doing?' she asked. Her mood seemed more cheerful than usual. Maybe it was because of Qrow.
'I'm fine.' Weiss replied.
'Not too bad.' said Blake.
'So Yang, Uncle Qrow called you earlier, right?!' Ruby asked.
'Yeah. Did he call you too?'
'Yep. So, do you want to hang out with us later?'
Yang snorted. 'Of course I would. What kind of question is that? This is Uncle Qrow we're talking about.'
'And Weiss and Blake can join us too.'
'Yeah. You guys will love him, trust me.' Yang grinned.
Weiss rolled her eyes but maintained a playful smile. 'If he's a cross between you two, then that definitely spells trouble.'
Ruby and Yang chuckled.
'But anyway. I wanted to tell you girls about something: something that I reckon we should take a shot at.'
'What is it?' said Ruby.
'Recently, people have been playing this online game all the time, and like, everybody's talking about it.'
'What's it called?' Ruby asked.
"League of Legends."
'Ooh, that's a cool name. What's it about?'
'I've heard conversations and looked over people's shoulders at the monitors in the library, and it looks like some sort of battle game where you control different characters and work as a team to try and siege the enemy team's base. It looks really fun, and since it's a team game about battling other characters, it sounds perfect for us, don't you think?'
'Yeah, I think I'd be interested in trying it too.' Ruby responded.
'Great. How about you two?' Yang said to Weiss and Blake.
'I dunno. Video games aren't really my thing in general.' said Weiss.
'Me too.' Blake added. 'I mean, I'd have to play it for myself before I can say for certain if I like it or not, but my initial response is that I'm not too fussed.'
'C'mon, it'll be great. Us four girls working together to wreck the enemy team; it's what we do all the time as Huntresses. Pretty much everyone we know is playing it too: Team CFVY and even Team CRDL. Also, during the Vytal Festival, a League of Legends tournament is being held, with a big cash prize. If we start training now, we might be good enough to win!'
'Wow. C'mon guys. It's worth a shot, right?' said Ruby.
'Is it a four-player game?' Blake asked.
'I think it's five players actually. So we'd have to find a fifth person to join us.' Yang clarified.
'Hmm, I'm with Blake on this one.' said Weiss. 'I'd be willing to at least give it a try, but it doesn't really sound like my preferred way of spending time with friends.'
'I guess we could ask Team JNPR if they wanted to join us, or maybe even Sun and Neptune.' Ruby suggested to Yang.
'Yeah, I suppose. I don't actually know if they're already playing it, but we can always ask.'
'Also, I'd rather not spend money on a game without knowing beforehand if I like it.' Weiss added.
'It's completely free to play.' said Yang smugly. 'You don't have to pay anything at all to make an account and play the game. Can't refuse now, can you?'
Weiss sighed. 'Alright, you win. We can give it a try. You okay with that, Blake?'
'Sure. If it doesn't cost anything to play, then I've got nothing to lose.'
'Great, then it's settled!' said Yang triumphantly.
'Later though, later.' said Blake sharply. 'Firstly, let's go and get some breakfast. I'm starving.'
They all made their way to the dining hall, and sat down at the long hall tables with an assortment of cereals, breads, fruits and cooked meats on the table in front of them. Only a minute after they had all began tucking into breakfast, Team JNPR joined them on the opposite side of the table.'
Everyone greeted each other, and before long, the two teams were enjoying their breakfast together.
Once everyone's plates were clear, Yang raised the question that she was dying to ask. 'So guys, do any of you play, or have at least heard of League of Legends?'
'Oh man, I've definitely heard about it. It's absolutely everywhere and now I'm interested in playing it.' said Jaune.
'Well, we're looking to make a team so that we can play together.' Yang explained. 'There's five players on a team. Weiss and Blake aren't so keen to play, but Ruby and I have convinced them to at least try it. How about the rest of your team? Would you be up for it?'
'It looks good, but it doesn't grab my attention, personally.' said Pyrrha. 'But if you're in need of a new player and can't find anyone else, then I'd be happy to give it a go.'
'Thanks, Pyrrha. And how about you, Ren and Nora?'
'I'm not itching to do it, but I wouldn't mind either.' Ren replied. 'But I don't think Nora should be playing it. She'd probably get too worked up about it, since it's an online game, and lose her self-control.'
'I would most certainly not.' Nora cried out indignantly.
'Yes, you most certainly would.' Ren insisted.
'No, I wouldn't. And besides, it looks too methodical and slow-paced for my liking, so I'm not interested anyway.'
'Looks like we should be able to compose a team from this then.' Yang concluded. 'Gosh I'm excited for when we eventually get to try this.'
Ruby's scroll vibrated. She picked it out of her pocket and looked at it. A message from Uncle Qrow. "Just finished with Ozpin. You available right now?"
'Oh, Yang, he's ready to see us!' said Ruby.
'Uncle Qrow?'
'Yeah! Shall I tell him to meet us in the courtyard?'
'It'll be easy to spot him there, so sure. Oh hey, do you guys wanna meet our Uncle?' Yang asked Team JNPR.
The four of them looked at each other.
'We don't really have anything else to do, do we?' Jaune asked.
'Personally, I'd like to get on with Dr. Oobleck's assignment.' said Ren. 'Maybe another time.'
'If Ren's doing that, then I want to do that too.' said Nora firmly.
'Nora, you don't have to do everything with me, you know.' Ren said as inoffensively as possible.
'Yeah, but it's more fun to do work together, rather than alone. I mean, if we get stuck on something, we scratch each other's backs.'
'Alright, Nora. Shall we head off then?'
'Yes. Onward to the library!'
Nora jumped up from the table and skipped merrily out of the dining hall. 'See ya guys!'
Ren stood up too and rolled his eyes. 'Take care everyone.' he waved and ran after Nora.
Jaune, Pyrrha, and Team RWBY all gave their farewells too.
'Okay, I've sent the message to Uncle Qrow.' said Ruby. 'Let's go and meet him then.' They all walked over to the door on the left side of the dining hall and stepped outside.
The day was bright and sunny: perfect for a nice stroll or picnic. The courtyard was just beyond the east gardens, which sat between it and the food court. Within less than ten seconds, they could spot Qrow, who was standing a few metres away from the entrance to the Beacon Tower.
'Uncle Qrow!' Ruby yelled. She ran towards him, with a cheerful grin and her arms wide open.
Qrow looked in the direction that he had heard his name coming from, and also gave her a smile. 'Heh.'
Ruby jumped and wrapped her arms around Qrow's shoulders. 'Oh it's so good to see you!'
'You too, Ruby.' Qrow greeted back, rubbing the knuckles of his left hand on her head.
The rest of the gang caught up, and Ruby let go of Qrow.
'So, Uncle Qrow, these are my teammates: Weiss and Blake, and these are two of our friends: Jaune and Pyrrha.'
'Nice to meet you all, and good to see you again too, Yang.' They all exchanged greetings with Qrow.
'So, what do we do then?' Yang asked everyone.
'You know, I might have an idea.' said Qrow, almost sounding sly. He reached into his back pocket and quickly took a swig from his flask before continuing. 'I haven't told you two yet (addressing Ruby and Yang), but for almost a year now, if I'm not going to the pub during my free time, I've been enjoying myself by playing a game online, and I was thinking that maybe I could get you guys into it, because it's a really fun team game. You've probably heard of it at some point. It's called League of Legends.'
Yang gasped. 'Oh my goodness! I was just talking about it before we came here. Ruby and I are keen to start playing.'
Qrow chuckled. 'What a coincidence. Well, an experienced player like myself would be more than happy to show you the ropes. You can always play with strangers online, but it's much more fun to play with friends. It's a pity that I personally don't know anyone who plays it, but if you guys started, then we could all play together.'
'Yeah, that sounds great. Shall we all head to the library then? We can play it on Beacon's computers.' Yang suggested.
Weiss was about to open her mouth to object, but Qrow, Yang and Ruby were already walking towards the library, with Ruby leading the way.
Blake shrugged her shoulders at Weiss. 'He's their Uncle. It's not a bad thing if they want to spend time together in the way that they'd prefer.'
'It'll be fine.' said Jaune. C'mon, let's go.'
The library was located beyond the lecture halls, on the left side of the Beacon Tower. Fortunately the walk there was not long.
'Hey, Uncle Qrow. I just realised, how come you're here and not away on your mission that Dad said you would be on for like, ever?' Ruby asked.
'Ah, about that. I had to return from Mistral, because there's a virus that's spreading through Anima at the moment. Not much is known about the disease because it's new, but apparently it's like catching the flu, except much worse. Scientists have named it "Corvid-X, because it seems to have originated from birds.'
'As in, crows?' said Yang.
'Yeah…' Qrow nodded. 'It has nothing to do with me though.'
'Why would it?' said Ruby. 'Just because your name is "Qrow", doesn't mean you caused it.'
'Oh, right. I thought you were referring to… uh, nevermind.' Qrow remembered that he had never shown or even told Ruby and Yang that he could transform into a crow.
The library was a huge repository of books on shelves, many of which were rarely, if not ever touched, but there were also a plethora of tables and workstations with holographic computers. These got used on a much more frequent basis.
'Haven't been in here in quite some time.' Qrow remarked once they had stepped inside and made their way to an empty row of computers. 'Didn't have the same fancy tech as it does now, but it's still pretty much just as I remembered. Good old times.'
'Did you come in here often?' Ruby asked.
'I used this place enough. Of course, I've always been more of an up-close-and-personal kind of guy, so my natural habitat at Beacon was usually the training halls, but you've always gotta use your brain as well.' Qrow said smugly, and tapped his head with his right index finger a couple of times. 'So yeah, I think that I can still find my way around here no problem. Only thing I can't do however is log in, but before you all do that for me, I need to go over a few things. Each game of League of Legends, or just "League" or "LoL", have five players per team. So if I'm gonna play with you lot, I need someone to log into their school account, and to have you all decide which four are going to play with me. Sound alright?'
They all nodded and began to discuss.
'Honestly, I'm just not in the mood for playing video games right now.' said Weiss with honesty. 'So, I think I'm going to get my things from our room and start working on Oobleck's assignment, and leave it to you five to decide who's playing.' Without waiting for any agreement or a response of any sort, she turned on her heel and walked towards the library entrance. 'It was nice to meet you, Qrow.' she added quickly over her shoulder.
'Likewise.' Qrow muttered. 'A Schnee, right?' he asked the five remaining students.
'Yeah. How'd you know?' Ruby asked.
'White hair and clothes; cold tone; looks like she was built from money; name begins with "W": all the signs of a Schnee. Unmistakable from any distance.'
'You make it sound like it's a bad thing...'
'Not saying that it is, just that she was definitely a Schnee. But enough of that; which one of you five isn't playing?'
'Well I'm certainly playing.' said Yang.
'Me too.' Ruby concurred.
'And I want to as well.' Jaune piped up.
'That leaves Blake and Pyrrha then.' said Yang.
The two of them looked at each other.
'What would you prefer to do?' Pyrrha asked.
'I dunno… I'm just not in the mood for it.'
'Well, would you rather sit and watch until we've finished, or play instead?' said Qrow.
'Well… if you put it that way, then I guess I'd prefer to do something, rather than nothing.' Blake admitted. 'But are you okay with that, Pyrrha?'
'Yes, it's fine. I'd be happy to simply watch and learn.' Pyrrha smiled.
Qrow clapped his hands together. 'Then it's settled. Since I'm gonna be the teacher here, I'll sit in the middle, so Pyrrha, can you log on for me, please?'
'Absolutely.' She punched her details into the keyboard and let Qrow sit down on the chair.
'Appreciate it. Now, the rest of you go and log on.'
It did not take long for their accounts to load, luckily.
'Hey look, the game's already been installed onto these machines.' Qrow pointed to an icon shortcut on Blake's desktop. A red circle with a cartoonish-white fist in the centre, and the label "League of Legends" underneath. 'Looks like some of the kids here are also using their time wisely by playing this game.' Qrow laughed. 'That'll make things easier for us. The first thing you need to do though is click on the icon and make a new account.'
They all did as told, whilst Qrow logged straight into his own League of Legends account.
'Now, choose an account name and a password.' Qrow instructed. 'Once you do that, you'll need to make an actual in-game name, which other players will all see. Just remember that the process of changing your "Summoner Name", as it's called, is a very difficult process, so make sure that you choose wisely.'
Coming up with a Summoner Name was the hardest part of making their accounts, particularly with Ruby who took almost seven minutes before she finally settled on "Red Petals".
With only a little bit of deliberation, Yang picked: "Flaming Fists".
Not caring too much about it, Blake gave herself the name: "Cat's Shadow".
Finally, Jaune submitted the name "TheAlmightyArc", whilst looking quite proud of himself for thinking of it.
On each of their screens after approximately twenty seconds of loading, a tab opened with the main menu of the game.
'Welcome to the League of Legends Client.' said Qrow. 'It runs pretty awfully at times, but it works.'
Ruby examined it, trying to see what she could learn before Qrow told them anything further. Up in the top left corner of the Client, was the conspicuous button labelled "Play". In the top right-hand corner was an icon of a red rose next to her Summoner Name, and the number "1" below the icon. What stood out most of all though was a large image of what Ruby guessed was an in-game shot of a creepy looking, mechanical scarecrow. It was labelled: "Terror in Demacia: Fiddlesticks Update Trailer". Along the bottom of the Client were three more tabs. One was titled "TFT patch 10.7 notes", and the other two with similar looking portraits of a lady of some kind were called "Cosmic Lux" and "Dark Cosmic Lux", both of which had 1820 written on them.
'Hmm, Home, Profile, Collection, TFT, Clash. I'll assume that Uncle Qrow will explain all this to me.'
'Everybody's on? Good. Okay, I'm going to send you all a friend request.' Qrow announced.
Ruby watched as Qrow typed in her Summoner name into his computer. She then turned back to her screen and saw the friend request from "Murder of Qrows", and accepted it. Qrow had the number 113 next to his icon of some sort of crest.
'Alright everyone, gather round me. Normally I'd say that we start with the tutorial, but even after it was improved not too long ago, it's still not that great in my opinion, so I'll explain the game myself, and then we'll go straight into a game against computer players. Thankfully the Vale server doesn't force you to go through the tutorial. So, League was created by a company called Riot Games. Apparently they're based in some place called "California", but I can't find anywhere in Remnant with that name, strangely enough. That doesn't really matter though. League is what you called a "MOBA". It stands for: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, which is basically an isometric battle game on a map. In League, you take control of various different characters – "Champions" as they're known as in this game – and work together on a team to infiltrate the enemy team's base and destroy the main objective to win the game.'
Qrow pulled out his scroll and brought up an image. 'This is the map that we play on. It's called "Summoner's Rift". Each team starts on one of two sides: Blue or Red. One person from each Team goes to the "Top Lane" and they fight each other there. One person will go to the "Mid Lane" and two people go to the "Bot Lane" together. The last person who doesn't go to any of the lanes is called the "Jungler", and they instead go into the areas that surround the lanes. I'll play as the Jungler, because it's not the most intuitive role for new players, and Junglers also have some of the most impact on the state of the game. The rest of you have to decide though where to go. Top lane Champions are mostly melee fighters and characters that are really hard to kill, known as Tanks. Mid Lane usually has either mobile assassins or spellcasting mages. And Bot Laners are pretty much always long ranged, high-damage marksmen – usually known as Attack-Damage-Carries, or "ADC" for short. The other person that goes with the ADC is the Support. Supports are usually Champions that heal and shield their teammates, or are tanks that can protect their allies with their size. We'll have a look at the list of Champions and see if you like the look of any of them, but based on the description of each role, which one do you like the sound of?'
'I wanna go Top Lane.' said Yang quickly. 'You said that they have melee fighters. That sounds just like me.'
'Figured you would. Anyone else got any preferences?'
'I kinda like the sound of the marksmen role.' said Ruby.
'I'll go to the Mid Lane.' said Blake. 'My fighting style is assassin-esque.'
'In that case, that leaves Jaune as the Support.' Qrow concluded.
'Alright…' said Jaune quietly.
'Huh, what's wrong?' Qrow asked.
'I don't know. It's just that, Support doesn't sound that fun.'
Qrow laughed. 'Just like about 95% of all League players. Support is undeniably the least popular position, but trust me, Support is one of the most rewarding roles in the game.'
'And Jaune, your Semblance is basically a Support's Semblance.' Pyrrha added.
'It is?'
'Yes. You have a lot of Aura, and you have the ability to amplify the Aura of others.'
'I do?'
'Yes.'
'I… I didn't know that. How come you do?'
'I just do.' Pyrrha smiled.
'Uhh…' Jaune scratched his head.
'Either way, you're already logged on and happen to be sitting next to Ruby.' Qrow interjected. 'It's better if the ADC and Support sit next to each other. Yang and Blake are already on my left and you two are on my right, so it works out.'
'Okay, okay. I'll play Support.' Jaune submitted. 'I guess it can't be that bad.'
'I promise you, it isn't.' Qrow winked. 'Right. Now that that's sorted, let's take a look at the list of Champions that are played in each role, and see who you all want to play. You might be drawn to what a Champion looks like, however, some Champions definitely are more beginner friendly than others, so I'll recommend some to you. Everyone click on the icon at the top of the Client that looks like a bunch of coins and then click on Champions to go to the store page. We'll start with Yang.'
'Great. Are there any Champions that punch a lot?' asked Yang.
'Well, as it so happens, the newest Champion, Sett, is all about punching. There he is at the top of the page. The Champion that I'd definitely recommend for beginners in Top Lane though is Garen. He's really simple to play, but if you filter the Champions to Top Laners, you can see which ones there are for your role. The rest of you do the same for your roles. I'll move on to Blake for now.'
'You said that Mid Lane has assassin Champions, right?' said Blake.
'Well, if I'm being honest, assassins aren't the greatest Champions for new players. If I were you, I'd pick a mage.'
'Okay… and who do you think I should pick?'
'Annie is the Champ that most Mid Lane players usually start with. But I'd also recommend Malzahar. He's quite a safe choice in my opinion. Have a look at those two.
'Okay, now for Ruby. I'd recommend either Ashe or Miss Fortune, but probably Ashe.'
'Got it.'
'And for Jaune. Hmm… there are a lot of decent supports for new players. Would you prefer an enchanter who heals and shields, or a tank?'
'I'm not sure. Is there anyone who does both?'
'Uh, yeah, there is actually. He's called Taric.'
Jaune scrolled until he found him. 'Ooh, he looks fancy. Is he easy to play?'
'Umm, there are easier Supports, but he's not that difficult either. I would personally recommend Sona as a healer, or Leona as a tank, but Taric's a bit of both. So if you want to pick him, I'd say go for it.'
'Yeah, I like the sound of him. I'll go with Taric then.'
'Okay, and how about the rest of you?'
'I'm taking Sett, without question.' Yang replied.
'I feel like I can take the look of Malzahar more seriously, so I'll go with him over Annie.' Blake decided.
'And I'll take Ashe. I like the cold look that she's got going for her.' Ruby finished.
'Nice. So now what you need to do is buy them with the blue currency, known as "Blue Essence." Once you do that, we'll get into a game, and as it's loading, I'll explain the controls and more about the structure of the game.' Qrow sent a game invite to the four of them, and they all accepted. 'Alright, so we're all together. I'm gonna search for a game, and we should get one pretty much instantly since we're a group of five.'
Qrow clicked on "Find Match", and within three seconds, a circle appeared on their screens, telling them to accept. Once they had all done so, they entered the pregame lobby.
'Okay, so find your Champion and click on them, but don't lock in yet.' Qrow instructed. 'All of you need to select your rune pages, which are essentially a bunch of stats that enhance your Champion in different ways. Yang, click on where it says "Inspiration: The Timeless" and change it to Resolve: The Colossus. Jaune, you do the same. Blake, you take Sorcery: The Calamity, and Ruby, take Precision: The Perfect.'
'So what do those things do exactly?' Jaune.
'You don't need to know for now.' Qrow replied. 'Just know that these Rune Pages are the best premade options for your respective Champions.'
'Okay.'
'Now all of you lock in your Champions.'
As they did, their Champions all said their Champion Selection Quote.
"I'm undisputed." said Sett. 'Heh. He's a big boy.' Yang remarked.
"Oblivion awaits!" Malzahar rasped. 'Woah, he's creepy…' Blake commented.
"All the world on one arrow." said Ashe. 'Pretty.' Ruby said quietly.
"That glimmer of hope you see, that's me." said Taric. 'Neat, he already looks fabulous.' Jaune said with enthusiasm.
Finally, Qrow set up his Runes before picking and locking in his Champion. "Will you prove worthy?" "Probably not."
The background music was becoming more and more intense by the second, until there was only ten seconds left on the timer. As it ticked down to zero, Qrow rubbed his hands together excitedly. 'Hope you kids are ready to feed.'
'What? What does that mean?' Ruby questioned.
'Ah nothing. It's just a term used in the League community. To feed means to continuously die to the enemy team. It's a joke, implying that you'll do pretty badly. But we're playing Co-op vs AI at the intro level, so this'll be no sweat, as long as you listen to me.'
The Client disappeared and was replaced with the loading screen. Their five Champions were displayed at the top, with the enemies being at the bottom. The enemy Champions listed were: Jax, Annie, Ezreal, Alistar and Malphite.
Qrow's portrait was unique, being bordered with a silver frame.
"Odyssey Kayn" Yang read from her screen.
'Yep, this is Kayn. He fits my playstyle because he's a scythe wielder, and I got this nice skin for him.'
'He has a scythe?!' Ruby exclaimed. 'Oh, I want to play as him now!'
'He's a Jungler though, that's the thing, Ruby. Maybe if you get into jungling, then you can give him a try, but for now just stick with ADC and… dat Ashe, heh. Uh, anyway: the controls. To move, you right-click with your cursor to anywhere on the map, and you right-click also to attack enemies. Each Champion, with a few exceptions, has four different abilities that you can use with the Q, W, E and R keys. Q, W and E are all "basic" abilities, whilst the R key is your "Ultimate ability", and I'll explain those in more detail once the game has started. When we get into game, press the Y key, so that you don't have to manually control the camera. Got all that so far?'
'Yeah.' Ruby confirmed.
'Good. Any moment now, we'll be in game.'
Less than seven seconds later, the loading screen transitioned to Summoner's Rift itself. The five Champions spawned in, one after another.
[All] (Ezreal): Ready for the best?
[All] (Ezreal): An honor to face you!
'Okay, first of all, everyone click on the icon that has the number 500, with two gold coins in front of it.' Qrow ordered. 'Then buy the starting items by either double-clicking on them or clicking on them once and pressing "Buy". Everyone's done that? Nice, now all of you go to your respective lanes. Keep going straight until you find the second large statue, which is called a "Turret", and stand next to it. You can spot them in the map in the bottom righthand corner of the screen.'
'Welcome to Summoner's Rift.' said the announcer.
Ruby, Blake, Yang and Jaune all warmed up with the mouse. It felt like a strange control scheme to move the Champions by right-clicking, but they managed to get to lane without any real difficulties and found the Turrets. Meanwhile Qrow ran into the Jungle towards the area where the Raptors appear.
'Thirty seconds until minions spawn.'
'Alright, can you all see on the display at the bottom of your screens that says you can level up your abilities? For Yang, you level up Q first. Ruby and Jaune, you start with W, and Blake, you start with E. You can read what the abilities do by hovering your cursor over them, and you use them by pressing the corresponding key. Depending on what the ability is, you might have to aim with your cursor, target an enemy by pointing and clicking, or simply press it to activate it on the spot. You'll learn what each ability does as you go along.'
'Minions have spawned.'
'Ah, and if you look at our base, you see those blue little guys leaving? Those are Minions. The enemy team has Minions too, and they will constantly respawn in groups, or "waves" as they're called, and will try to push their way through each lane. Your goal in lane is to defeat the enemy Champions and destroy the enemy Turrets so that you can siege your way into the enemy's base and destroy the main objective. Follow the minions once they arrive in lane and begin to attack the enemy minions by right-clicking. Just start off by getting used to the mechanics of it. You will automatically attack it repeatedly if you click on an enemy once, and you can stop by clicking away from it. The enemy Champions don't arrive in lane until a bit later in the intro level, so you can kill them in peace.'
The four of them began to CS. Although they were not used to the action itself, they quickly figured out how it worked fundamentally.
'Woah, this feels nice.' said Yang as Sett alternated between the left and right punches.
'Press Q to enhance your attack for the next two punches, Yang.' Qrow suggested.
'All good here too.' said Ruby.
'My attacks feel like they're barely doing anything.' said Blake.
'That's because Malzahar's a Mage.' Qrow explained. 'What you want to do as Malzahar is press E on the minions, which will help you to kill them more easily, by cursing them, or something like that.'
'How come I killed them instantly with the first two attack but now it does no damage?' Jaune asked.
'It's because of the item that you bought when you started. Supports don't farm minions most of the time, but the item allows you to execute minions every so often to give gold to the nearest ally and yourself.'
'I… don't think I understand.'
'It's okay, you don't need to know for now. Anyway, when hitting minions, try and be the ones to kill them; "last-hitting", as it's called. Enemy minions damage each other, but if you kill the minion yourself, you get gold for it, and gold is used to buy expensive items. Don't worry too much if you can't, but if you can, the better. Now the waves are starting to push under the enemy turrets, so attack the turrets whilst your minions are there, because turrets automatically attack minions. Turret can also only be damaged with auto-attacks however, with a few exceptions. Sett can use his Q on them for instance, but not W.'
'This is a lot to take in.' said Jaune.
'It is, but if you stick with it, you'll learn the ins and outs soon enough.
'Oh, Blake, go back, go back!'
'Wait, what?'
'Executed.'
Qrow giggled. 'You were under the Turret when none of your minions were there. You'll respawn in a few seconds. Normally when you die, you want to go into the shop to buy items, but since you died early on, you won't be able to afford anything.'
'Oh… okay.'
'Uncle Qrow, apparently I've levelled up.' said Yang.
'Yes, when enemies and minions die near you, you get experience points, and this contributes to you levelling up. Every time you do so, you get extra stats and can put a point into another ability. For Sett, put a point into his W, and try using it on the minions to see what it does.'
'How come Jaune and I haven't levelled up yet?' Ruby asked.
'When multiple allied Champions are near each other, the experience points you receive is divided, so you gain less overall. You see your character icon? That little purple, curved bar tells you how close you are to levelling up. You're almost there, just two more minions should do it, and when you do, both of you put a point into Q.'
'Yes, level 2!' said Ruby a bit too enthusiastically.
'Okay, now Jaune, press W over Ruby. As Taric, you bind yourself to an ally.'
'Got it.'
'You're bound to Ashe now. Now press Q.'
Taric casted Starlight's Touch.
'That's an area of effect heal for you and your allies. Use it when you're low on health. And Ruby, try using Q to enhance your basic right-click attacks, and then try pressing W.'
'Understood.'
'What ability do I use next?' Blake asked.
'For Malzahar, go with W next. A general thing to note about abilities: most champions use a resource called "Mana". It's that blue bar below your health. You regain mana slowly overtime, but casting an ability consumes a certain amount of mana. Sett is an exception and one of the few Champions who doesn't use Mana and can cast abilities for free, however all abilities go on a cooldown after use and you have to wait for a bit before you can use them again.'
'Do I level up my E now?' Yang queried.
'Yeah. Everyone should put at least one point into all three of their abilities. From then on, all your basic abilities can be levelled up to four more times, improving said abilities each time. As you level up, you should prioritise certain abilities to max first, because they're more useful as a whole. When you reach Level 6 however, you can put a point into your Ultimate, and you should always do that, at Levels 6, 11 & 18. For Sett, max W; for Malzahar, max E; for Ashe, max W; and for Taric, it's debatable, but I'd say that you max E.'
Once they had reached Level 6, the bots finally arrived in the lanes. Jax and Malphite were in the Top Lane; Ezreal went to the Mid Lane, and Alistar and Annie appeared in the Bot Lane.
'Hey, there they are, at last.' said Qrow. 'Now, I'm going to come and help you Yang. Since there's never a Jungler on the enemy team in Co-op vs AI, you're against two people. Let me go back to base to restore my health and mana, and buy some items. Just play defensively in the meantime, and only hit minions that are low enough that you can kill them in one hit. For the rest of you three, try harassing and damaging the enemy Champions if you can, but don't be too aggressive, because the enemy Minions will attack you and do a considerable amount of damage. Also, don't attack enemy Champions where they're under their own towers, because the tower will attack you also.'
After he had killed the red side's Krugs, Qrow pressed the B key and Kayn began to recall. Qrow then opened the shop once the Recall finished. 'Okay then, Stalker's Blade, Boots and a Long Sword. Be right there, Yang.'
Kayn strolled out of the Fountain and made his way towards the Top Lane.
'Alright Yang, this is what I want you to do: press Q so that you get speed increase to run past the enemies, then use your ultimate on Jax. Once the ability has finished, use your E, and then just attack him.'
'Sure Uncle Qrow. We got this.'
'Indeed we do, kiddo. Three, two, one, go!'
Yang pressed Q, and Sett jogged behind Jax and Malphite, then she pressed R.
'Now for the finish!' Sett yelled as he picked up Jax, jumped high into the air and slammed him into the ground, close to their Turret.
'Woah, awesome!' Yang awed.
'E, now press E!' Qrow ordered as Kayn Shadowed Stepped through the wall and dashed towards Jax.
'Play nice!' Sett exclaimed as he bashed a nearby minion and Jax together. Kayn used Reaping Slash and Blade's Reach to whittle bring down Jax's health, whilst Sett repeatedly punched him. Jax's stupidity as an introductory AI prevented him from even attempting to run to safety. Within less than three seconds, his healthbar shattered by one last right punch from Sett.
'An enemy has been slain.'
'Great, now get Malphite!'
Yang pressed Q to speed up again, using E, without even being prompted, to pull Malphite closer to Sett.
Qrow activated Shadow Step to catch up to them and used Q and W again to whittle down Malphite's healthbar.
Malphite clumsily began to retreat, slamming the ground once and hitting Sett and Kayn for a small amount of damage.
They continued to chase him, but Malphite was naturally tanky, even with no items, and he managed to reach his tower with one third of his health still remaining.
'W, W!' Qrow barked.
With only less than a second of hesitation, Yang pressed W, and Sett threw Haymaker at Malphite, leaving him with 32 health.
'Argh!' Qrow yelled agitatedly. He pressed his F key, and Kayn Flashed forward, finishing off Malphite with one final basic attack before walking out of the Turret's range.
'An enemy has been slain.'
'Excellent!' Qrow said with a smirk, and gave Yang a high-five across Blake's screen.
'Good job, you two.' said a voice from behind them.
Qrow and Yang turned around. They had completely forgotten that Pyrrha was watching them play.
'Thanks.' Yang returned.
'Nice job, nice job. Now, press B to recall to base. Then open the shop and buy the items listed for making advanced items. You probably don't have enough yet for a complete item, but you should be close.'
'Sure thing, Qrow.'
''Blake I'm coming Mid now. I have my Ultimate as well, so let the Minion wave push to you. Don't use any of your abilities until I get there, so that you have enough Mana for your Ult.'
'Umm, okay.' Blake responded.
Qrow hit a Honeyfruit and walked over the spores as he made his way to the Mid Lane. 'When I say so, press R on Ezreal, and don't move until the ability finishes, and then use your Q and E on him.'
Kayn ran through the path between the River and the Red Side's Raptor's Camp. 'Press R now!'
Blake did as ordered, and Malzahar suppressed Ezreal in place. Kayn reached them and unloaded his Q and W onto him. After Malzahar's Ultimate had ended, Blake pressed E on him, and aimed her Q, but missed as Ezreal used Arcane Shift to avoid the Call of the Void. He was very low on health though. Qrow pressed R and Kayn used Umbral Trespass on Ezreal, and almost instantly reactivated it again to finish him off.
'An enemy has been slain.'
'Nice, nice!' Qrow said energetically. 'Well played, Blake.'
'Thank you, and thanks for the help.'
'No problem at all. Kill these last set of minions, then press B now to go and buy some items. Ruby and Jaune, I'm coming right to you.'
Kayn took off and immediately hurried through the River towards the Bot Lane.
'Ruby, you and Jaune have your ultimates up. When I say so, aim your cursor at Annie and press R. Jaune, you wait a bit later until I give you the thumbs up.'
Annie and Alistar were far up the lane, near Ashe and Taric's side of the map. Ruby had done an incredible job at poking Annie down. Her healthbars were screaming at them to be taken, whilst Alistar's was still mostly full.
'Ruby, ult now!' Qrow commanded.
Ruby forced her finger down on the keyboard. A Hawkshot launched from Ashe's bow, missing both Annie and Alistar by a sizeable distance.
'No, your R, not E!'
'Sorry, sorry!' said Ruby, quickly inching her finger over to press R. The Enchanted Crystal Arrow flew across the lane, only just catching the side of Annie's hitbox. She was stunned in place, and Kayn rode in through the walls.
'Everyone attack her! Jaune, press W on me, then press E!'
Jaune moved Taric towards Kayn, placed his cursor over him and granted him Bastion. He then activated Dazzle, but had aimed it too far to the left. Qrow attempted to use Reaping Slash to close the gap, but the ability still missed. Qrow grunted. Thankfully though, Ruby was still auto-attacking Annie. She was so low. One Blade's Reach from Kayn did the trick.
'Killing spree!'
'Alistar now! Ruby, W and Q!'
Alistar had already made a run for his Tower; he was almost there. Qrow right-clicked on him, but Alistar headbutted him back. The tip of Volley just barely snagged him during his headbutt, but it was enough to slow him down and put Alistar in range of Ashe's basic attacks. Like with Malphite though, Alistar was very tanky, even with a lack of any items. He made it under his tower, at just under half health.
Qrow's eyes and were glued to him though. He pursued Alistar as if Qrow himself was Rhaast, hungering for blood and carnage. 'Follow me, and Jaune, press R now!' Qrow directed.
'Uh...' Jaune awkwardly fumbled with his keyboard, pressing both F and R at the same time. Taric used Heal, speeding them up slightly, whilst simultaneously channelling his Ultimate. Kayn started taking Turret aggro as he began attacking Alistar again. He took damage from two separate Tower shots, and had only one quarter of his health left. Cosmic Radiance finished warming up just in time before the third shot hit Kayn. He used his Q and W to skewer Alistar before Ashe finished him off with one final auto-attack.
'You have slain an enemy.'
'Jaune, Q and W again!' Qrow shouted.
Jaune was breathing heavily, feeling under pressure. He pressed down on Q with the side of his pinkie and regained enough understanding of the Champion to be able to shield Kayn with Bastion one last time, saving him from death's net with only a little bit less health than when they had started the tower dive with.
'Whew, we did it! Good on all of you!' Qrow said delightedly.
'Thanks, Uncle Qrow.' Ruby giggled, happy that she had gotten her first kill, and exhilarated by Qrow's emphatic attitude.
'You did amazingly, Jaune. You got us that last kill and saved my ass too.'
'Wow…' Jaune muttered. He had done something! It almost seemed unreal. If only he could so something like this in practice as an actual Huntsman.
'K then. Follow me.'
Kayn moved up the river, using Shadow Step in the wall of the pit to recover some health.
'Help me kill this thing.' Qrow asked.
'What the?' Ruby awed.
'This is a Dragon, or a "Drake". Jaune, you attack it first, because you're using the tankiest Champion here, and it'll focus you.'
'Okay.' Jaune right-clicked on the dragon. It jumped upwards and began to flap its wings, knocking Taric backwards. 'Whoa.'
'It's fine now. Just keep attacking it, and heal or shield yourself if you get low on health.'
The Dragon was very durable. 'So why are we killing this thing?' Ruby questioned.
'There are four main types of Drakes that randomly spawn; this is an Infernal Drake, and it'll increase the amount of damage that we all do as a team if we slay it.'
'Ooh, that sounds good.'
'Indeed it is, Ruby. The Infernal Drake is arguably the best one in the game. The person who makes the last hit on the dragon is the one who gets the buff for their team., so you should always try and kill it before the enemy team does. The person who makes the last hit on the dragon is the one who gets the buff for their team.'
Only a few seconds later, the Drake was defeated, and roared its last breath before disintegrating into ashes.
'Now let's go back and buy more items.'
Qrow opened the shop during the recall to see what he wanted to get. 'Right. Warrior Enchantment and a Black Cleaver. Can't get full boots yet, but oh well.' he muttered to himself.
'Yang, I'm going to come towards you again, but I want you and Blake to help me with something.'
'Yeah, got it.' Yang replied.
Qrow right-clicked his way over to the River on the Topside. 'Come to where I am now, you two.'
Sett and Malzahar both proceeded through the River towards Kayn's location.
'Now just as Ruby and Jaune did in Botside, help me kill this thing. Yang, you attack first and we'll follow up.'
Sett made his first punch, and the creature in the pit charge forward, hitting its face against the wall.
'This is the Rift Herald. When we kill it, someone can pick up the eye that it leaves behind to summon her in a Lane. It'll then charge down the Lane and destroy Towers.' Qrow explained.
The Rift Herald was even tankier than the Dragon. It was good that they had three people attacking it together to expedite the process.
Kayn picked up its eye once it was dead and told Blake and Yang to come to the Midlane with him. Qrow pressed 4 to spawn it. Their minions were already under the enemy Turret, with Ezreal attempting to farm them. The Tower had already lost one third of its health. The Rift Herald readied itself, then rammed into the structure, leaving it with only a few units of health left and doing a significant amount of damage to itself. Two more auto-attacks from Kayn finished the job, and Ezreal ran away.
'Your team has destroyed a turret.'
'Let's continue pushing. Kill the Minions so that we can try to destroy the next Turret too.'
The three Champion's combined waveclear was brilliant. The Rift Herald charged into the inner Turret, destroying one third of its health.
'Rest in peace, Shelly.' said Qrow as the Rift Herald died in the process.
"Shelly?" Yang repeated.
'Just the community's nickname for the Rift Herald. Everyone attack the Tower.'
Their combined efforts, along with Sett's Demolish rune, allowed them to also take their second tower with ease.
'We've got no more minions for now. Let's recall to get more items, but I think we should try and end the game soon.'
'They're taking out Turrets now.' said Yang, pointing at Jax and Malphite in the Top Lane.'
'Don't worry about that. The Mid Lane towers are more important when it comes to pushing into the enemy's base. Ruby, Jaune, you two also recall and come and help us.'
'Are bottom and top Towers not important then?' Ruby asked after they had all bought some more items and were moving across the Mid Lane.
'Oh they're definitely important, but it's easier to contest their base through the Midlane. If you continue playing, you'll understand more and more about the game with experience.' Qrow elaborated.
The five of them were able to push very fast, but the bots were beginning to work together to defend the base.
'Jaune has his ultimate back up in thirty seconds. They don't have any items, so we might be able to make a sick play. Let's just keep pushing.'
All the bots were clustered around the Inhibitor's Turret, clearing the minion waves.
'We might be able to kill them all and finish the game now.' said Qrow with a determined look on his face.
'But they're all under the tower.' Yang pointed out.
'I didn't explain this, but Jaune's ultimate can make us all invincible for a short period. We're also stronger than they are, so clear the waves, damage the Tower and ignore them. When I say so, we start a team fight.'
The Tower was low. The beginnings of a fight were brewing. 'Almost there.' Qrow mumbled. 'Get ready.'
It was the bots however who made the first move. Malphite used his Ultimate to knock them all into the air. Jax followed up with a Leap Strike and Counter Strike.
'Jaune, use your ult now!'
Jaune pressed the button, feeling the excitement from the previous tower dive in the Botlane.
Kayn made the first retaliatory strike, and the Turret fired at him. Sett ran forward and threw Malphite on top of Ezreal, Annie and Alistar, dealing tremendous damage and slamming them together with Facebreaker. Blake spammed Malzahar's abilities, pressing W first, then Q – missing it again – and then E before using his ultimate on Jax. Ruby fired off Ashe's arrows, also spamming all of her abilities, including the Hawkshot, but Alistar headbutted her back. Jaune walked up to Alistar and hit him, as well as using his E to stun him. The Dazzle came out of Kayn too, and it stunned both Annie and Ezreal in the backline. Annie fell first with a Grit-filled Haymaker from Sett. Taric's Ultimate was about to wear off. Kayn was still at half health. He finished off Ezreal with Sett and turned onto Jax, who had just escaped from Nether Grasp. He used Reaping Slash to damage him once before using Umbral Trespass to remove the Turret aggro. The Tower began focusing Taric, who was closest to the centre. Ashe was back in range of Alistar and attacking him again, but Alistar was under the effects of Unbreakable Will. Jax died to Malzahar's Malefic Visions. It was just the two tanks left. Malphite ran towards his Nexus Towers, whilst Alistar remained in the fight. The five of them turned on Alistar, who knocked them up with a Pulverise, but he was not resilient enough against five people, and eventually fell to the ground. Four out of five at no cost.
Qrow pinged the turret. 'Finish destroying it.' he said.
The Tower collapsed, and their minions showed up just in time for them to push the wave under the Nexus Turrets.
Attack them both. If we destroy them, we can win the game.'
Any defending from Malphite was futile. He had recovered all of his health from the fountain, but he could not prevent their onslaught. Both Towers were destroyed, and the final objective was in the clutches.
'This is the Nexus. We blow up this thing and that's how you win.' Qrow explained.
'Hey, let's get the rock thing. He's right there.' said Jaune, advancing towards him.
'Wait, Jaune, no!' Qrow cried out.
Malphite hit Taric with a Seismic Shard as he walked in too close for his own good.
'An ally has been slain.'
'Wait, did he just kill me?'
Qrow laughed. 'Yes, you walked into the enemy's base, called the Fountain. It kills you very quickly.'
'Oh, whoops.'
'Hey, it doesn't matter: we've won and now you know for next time. Aaand that's a plus 50 for me.' said as he delivered the final blow to the Nexus. It exploded and out popped the "Victory" signed.
[All] (Ezreal): I let you guys off easy!
'GG everyone!' Qrow cheered.
"GG?" said Blake.
'It's short for "Good Game".' said Qrow. 'You say it in the chat usually when the game has ended, as a form of etiquette – kinda like saying "thank you" when someone gives you something.'
They were all directed to the post-game lobby.
Qrow: 4/0/5
Ruby: 2/0/2
Blake: 1/1/4
Yang: 2/0/4
Jaune: 0/1/6
'You know, you all did really well for your first game.' Qrow commented. 'Like seriously, the majority of new players will feed really badly, but you every single one of you adapted to the game extraordinarily well. Maybe it's because you're all Huntsmen in training: this kind of combat and teamwork is pretty natural to you.'
'Yeah, that and we're good at video games.' Yang winked.
'Heh. Well obviously if you wanna play this game more seriously, you have so much more to learn: full understanding of the objectives and the map, the abilities of every champion, what items do and which ones to buy, how to jungle are a lot more. And of course, you gotta practice.'
'And I thought just that one game was exhausting…' said Jaune.
'It's like that at first, especially with a game like League. For your first rodeo though, I mean it when I say that you did exceptionally well.'
'Thanks, Uncle Qrow. It's nice to hear you say that.' said Ruby.
'Sorry if I was a bit loud. I get very competitive.'
'Yeah, you did shout in my ear a bit.' Blake mentioned.
'Well, I apologise, Blake. Anyway though, I think that's enough of League for you guys for one day.'
'It's only been half an hour though, Uncle Qrow. What should we do now?' Ruby asked.
'I was thinking of going into the city. It's a beautiful day after all. Be a shame to stay inside all day. What do you lot think?'
'I agree. That sounds great.' Ruby nodded.
'Me too.' Yang agreed. 'Blake, Jaune, Pyrrha, would you like to come too?'
'I'd be delighted to.' Pyrrha replied.
'Same here.' Jaune concurred.
'Yeah.' Blake said simply. Her verbal response didn't convey much, but her smile said it all.
'Hey, Pyrrha, I'm sorry that you had to sit through that without doing anything.' said Qrow.
'No, no, it's fine. It was interesting to watch and see what was going on, even if I didn't understand it.' said Pyrrha with her iconic smile.'
'Shall we go and ask the others to see if they want to join us?' Ruby asked.
'It wouldn't hurt to do so.' Yang responded. 'They might still be doing the assignment, but it's fine if they say no.'
'Then it's settled. Let's log off and enjoy the sunshine.' Qrow finished.
They all turned off the computers and went to find the remaining members of Team RWBY and JNPR.
