The café had thinned out for the night, only a few diehard grinders left at their stations. Alan glanced at the clock on his monitor: 11:52 p.m. Practice had wrapped up hours ago, but something gnawed at him. Travis had slipped out early again. At first, Alan chalked it up to exhaustion or burnout—perfectly understandable given their roster shake-up—but now? He wasn’t so sure.
Beside him, Balls sipped on a nearly empty soda, scrolling through highlight clips on his phone. “What’s with the face?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Travis,” Alan replied simply. “He’s been ducking out early all week.”
Balls shrugged, setting his drink down. “Maybe he’s off chasing a date or something. The guy’s got a life.”
Alan shook his head. “He’s not out. I caught him on solo queue last night, playing late. Same tonight. But here’s the weird part—he’s not solo.”
Balls smirked. “Oh, the plot thickens. Who’s the lucky duo partner?”
“I don’t know yet,” Alan admitted. “But I’m about to find out.”
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Alan logged into League, scanning his friends list. Sure enough, BladeSong was online, mid-game. Without hesitation, Alan clicked the spectate button, and the loading screen materialized. His eyes immediately caught the name Nior on the support role.
“Gotcha,” Alan muttered.
Balls leaned over, squinting at the screen. “Nior? That’s gotta be a smurf. Who names themselves something that edgy unironically?”
Alan shrugged, launching into the game. “Let’s see if they’re worth all this sneaking around.”
The match began, and Alan couldn’t look away. Nior was on Janna, a champion that normally thrived on playing safe and reactive. But this wasn’t any ordinary Janna. Nior danced through team fights like a ghost, weaving shields, disengages, and perfectly timed tornadoes that cut off enemy advances. Every Monsoon wasn’t just a heal; it was a tactical nuke, scattering the enemy team at the worst possible moment.
Alan leaned closer. “They’re insane.”
Balls, now engrossed, let out a low whistle. “You see that last play? They baited the enemy support into blowing flash just to land a double knock-up. That’s next-level mind games.”
As the game ended in a decisive win for Travis and Nior, Alan pulled up the post-game stats. Sure enough, Nior had a 1/1/20 score line with an 80% kill participation.
“Alright, this Nior person’s solid,” Balls admitted. “But why’s Travis keeping them under wraps?”
Alan thought for a moment, then grinned. “Maybe it’s a secret romance. He’s been ditching us to play with his soulmate.”
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Balls snorted. “Yeah, because nothing says romance like spamming shields in bot lane. Maybe Nior’s a big streamer and Travis is trying to ride their clout.”
“Haha. Could be,” Alan said, though he didn’t sound convinced. “Or maybe it’s something else...”
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Later that night, Alan cornered Travis in Discord.
“Alright, spill it,” Alan said, his tone firm. “Who’s Nior, and why haven’t we heard about them until now?”
Travis sighed audibly. “Relax, man. Nior’s just someone I’ve been queuing with. They’re good. Really good.”
“That much I’ve seen,” Alan replied. “But what’s the deal? Are they a smurf? A pro? Why haven’t they joined us for practice?”
“They’re… different,” Travis said carefully. “You’ll see. Just invite them to a lobby.”
Alan raised an eyebrow but relented. Moments later, Balls joined the call, and Nior’s name popped into their game lobby.
“Alright,” Balls said, leaning into his mic. “Let’s see what this mystery carry’s all about. Nior, hop on voice so we can strategize.”
No response.
“Nior?” Alan prompted.
A single message appeared in the game chat: “I don’t use voice comms. Pings and text are enough.”
Balls let out an exaggerated groan. “Oh, come on. We’re trying to play tournaments, not start a reading club.”
Alan hesitated, glancing at the chat. “No voice comms? Why not?”
The reply was as succinct as it was cryptic: “It’s not my style. I let my play speak.”
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They queued up, and the game began. Once again, Nior locked in Janna. Alan and Balls exchanged a doubtful look as the match loaded, but within minutes, those doubts were gone.
At six minutes, the enemy jungler ganked bot, only to be baited into an overextended dive. Nior’s Tornado interrupted the tower dive perfectly, and Monsoon healed Travis enough to survive. Seconds later, Hai swooped in for a counter-gank, securing two kills and a Dragon.
“Alright, that was clean,” Balls admitted begrudgingly. “But I still don’t trust someone who won’t talk.”
The game snowballed from there. Nior’s vision control turned the map into a minefield for the enemy team, while their shields and knock-ups nullified every attempt at an engage. By the end, the enemy team typed “FF @ 20” in all chat, and Balls couldn’t stop laughing.
“Okay, fine,” Balls said, leaning back in his chair. “They’re cracked. But I need answers. Why won’t they talk? Are they some kind of mute gaming prodigy?”
Alan smirked. “Maybe they’re a streamer trying to stay anonymous. Or some pro player practicing on a smurf.”
Balls tapped his chin dramatically. “What if they’re not even real? Like, what if Nior is just a really sweaty duo pretending to be one person?”
Alan laughed, but the mystery lingered in his mind. Who was Nior? And why did they insist on staying silent?
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After another dominant match, Alan typed into the post-game chat: “Join us full-time. We’re building a roster for Go4LoL.”
The reply was simple and direct: “I’m in.”
Balls raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? Just like that?”
“I guess so,” Alan replied, leaning back in his chair. “They’re on board.”
“Great,” Balls said dryly. “A mute Janna main with godlike mechanics. What could possibly go wrong?”
Alan chuckled, but as the team disbanded for the night, he couldn’t shake the mystery surrounding Nior. Their skill was undeniable, their awareness and mechanics on another level—but who were they, really? A streamer? A pro? Or someone else entirely?
Staring at the glowing screen, Alan thought about all the early supports in LoL. He couldn't remember a player that stood out on Janna specifically. Alan muttered to himself, “I have no idea.”
But one thing was clear: with Nior on the team, they were stronger than ever. A five-man roster including: Balls top, Hai jungle, Titan mid lane, BladeSong bottom, and Nior support.
All Alan could think about was how sweet it would be to win a tournament with these guys.