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Yu Wenzhou sees the exact moment he can plant the seeds of victory.
He’s taken the measure of his captain and is confident he won’t see the trap for what it is. A Decaying Curse thrown out in desperation, nothing but the fruitless struggling of an inexperienced yet determined player. Already, Wei Chen’s confidence has lost him two matches and now is the opportunity to make it three.
Yu Wenzhou’s fingers reach towards the keys that will fire off the curse. It isn’t a guarantee but it’s enough to hand him the match if circumstances align. His fingers brush the keyboard.
And he hesitates.
The moment passes.
With no Decaying Curse to interrupt his attack rhythm, Wei Chen never falters. He never reaches for a skill only to find it on cooldown, never gives Yu Wenzhou the opening he needs. The tide of battle never turns.
Yu Wenzhou’s Warlock falls without fanfare.
Wei Chen leans back in his seat, face flush with victory. “Nice one, kid, you almost had me. Maybe in a couple years.”
Yu Wenzhou stands and bows. “Thank you for your guidance.”
“I can’t put my finger on it.” Wei Chen paces around his office for the fifth time, an unlit cigarette between his fingers.
For the fifth time, Fang Shijing tells him he’s grasping at air. “There’s nothing there. I watched from behind his screen the whole time. You suppressed him from the beginning and there was nothing he could do.”
Wei Chen keeps pacing.
“Whatever, it was just luck. The moment the captain started trying for real, he kicked his slow, pathetic ass. The deadlast might be secretly good, but he’s nothing special.”
At the next table, Yu Wenzhou’s hand tightens around his glass of water. The food in his mouth turns to ash, never mind that the cafeteria is serving his favorite eggplant dish today. Not for the first time, he considers he might have made a mistake.
The plans tucked away in the back of his mind unravel before his eyes.
(Plans about how to help shape a team into a group of people who are stronger together than they are apart. A team that covers for each other’s weaknesses rather than just fighting together. A team where any kind of player can find a home and thrive.)
What’s the point in showing mercy if all it brings is derision? What good is a team if they won’t give you a chance? Yu Wenzhou told himself for so long that they only looked down on him because he hadn’t proven his strength, but what’s he supposed to do when beating the captain twice isn’t enough? Perhaps Blue Rain isn’t where he belongs.
And then a whirlwind descends.
“Hey! What the hell is this? Did you even watch him play, it was amazing. I didn’t see any of you beat the captain. Well, did you? No, I didn’t think you did, so shut it.” Huang Shaotian, of all people, is the one to rush to his defense. All Yu Wenzhou can do is watch in shock as he lists all the ways Yu Wenzhou is good at Glory, ticking them off on his fingers with a fierce glare. “And don’t call him that anymore. He has a name, use it.”
Yu Wenzhou barely has time to retort before Huang Shaotian sets his tray on the table with a clatter loud enough to draw everyone’s attention. He ignores them all in favor of Yu Wenzhou, spewing a nonstop stream of compliments and demands to PK every day from now on so he can learn how Yu Wenzhou defeated the captain twice in a row.
The whole thing is so unexpected that Yu Wenzhou barely registers when Huang Shaotian sneaks a piece of meat off his plate and replaces it with vegetables, talking all the while.
The club—the fucking club Wei Chen built with his own goddamn hands—is pressuring him to retire gracefully and take a head trainer position. Fuck them. He sits down at his computer and tells those bastards the same thing he does every time they start throwing hints around.
Show me a player good enough to replace me and maybe I’ll think about leaving. Otherwise get off my ass.
Sure, he’s been playing around with the idea, but his matches against the younger generation have opened his eyes. Huang Shaotian is fast but not accurate enough. Yu Wenzhou is terrifying in his calculations but his technique isn’t robust enough to rely on.
Wei Chen needs to hang on long enough for them to grow into their talent. Their time hasn’t yet come and neither has his.
“Sorry kid,” Wei Chen says. “The guild couldn’t get their hands on enough materials for you. But next season they’ll definitely have enough in the storeroom, so hang in there.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s not a problem. I can do without it, I don’t need some Silver weapon to kick a bunch of people’s asses.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” Wei Chen promises, a hand on Huang Shaotian’s shoulder.
The sheer trust staring back at him nearly makes him run from the room. He’s going to do right by these kids if it’s the last thing he does.
“Vice-captain, huh, that’s so cool, you deserve it.” Huang Shaotian buzzes his praise in Yu Wenzhou’s peripheral vision but there’s a note of dejection carefully hidden among the manic excitement.
Yu Wenzhou swallows hard. This is everything he was afraid of when Wei Chen called him into his office to break the news of Fang Shijing’s impending retirement. “I know this isn’t how you thought it would go.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s not good. You and Captain Wei will make such a good team!”
Yu Wenzhou shakes his head, pained to hear Huang Shaotian already putting himself on the outside. Everyone knows Huang Shaotian was a shoo-in for captain from the day he set foot in Blue Rain’s training camp. And now they’re both about to debut, and not only isn’t he captain, he isn’t even vice-captain. Yu Wenzhou can’t help but feel that he did this, that he stole his friend's future from him.
Ever since that day nearly a year ago when Huang Shaotian swooped in and defended him, they’ve been inseparable. Best friends. Yu Wenzhou can’t stand to see him hurt and know that he’s the cause. He stands up from the bed, crossing the room to put his hands on Huang Shaotian’s shoulders. “The three of us will make a great team. Don't forget, you’re our ace.”
For the first time since Wei Chen announced the Season Four lineup, Huang Shaotian’s smile is real.
“And it’s a feint! Swoksaar is as dirty as ever, as expected of Captain Wei Chen. Troubling Rain is already on top of the fallout, cracking the advantage wide open. How does he manage to talk so much while he fights? Truly a powerful new player. But there’s still a chance for Peaceful Hermit to—No! Blue Rain’s junior Warlock Distant Horizon is lying in wait, cutting off all escape with a hail of Curse Arrows.”
“It’s a lucky coincidence for Blue Rain that Distant Horizon was close. Otherwise, Troubling Rain couldn’t have boxed them in.”
“I don’t think so.”
“What do you mean? There was no chatter to signal they were working together.”
“I’ve counted up the number of wins Blue Rain has achieved when Troubling Rain and Distant Horizon are on the field together. Did you know it’s higher than when it’s Troubling Rain and Swoksaar? Those two rookies have synergy.”
There’s no time for commentators to go into more detail. A fight breaks out on the other side of the map. Later, when the media recaps the match, they specifically mention the tacit coordination between rookies Huang Shaotian and Yu Wenzhou.
It’s the first time Sword and Curse is used to describe their partnership, and it isn’t the last.
Wei Chen turns off the monitor, wishing Fang Shijing was still around. Running a team without him isn’t the same. Yu Wenzhou is a good vice-captain, but he’s not an old friend.
Sometimes he wonders if he misjudged. If he stayed here too long. Maybe it would have been better if Yu Wenzhou had won that third training match and Wei Chen called it quits. He isn’t sure which is better: a clean break or watching himself be replaced while he’s still around.
He fidgets, wishing for a cigarette.
Sword and Curse. It’s not technically a dual core, not with the three of them trading off so often, but the potential is there and everyone sees it. Blue Rain is a team on the cusp of something new, just not in the way Wei Chen had dreamed of.
“I’ll be joining you soon,” he says to empty air. He imagines Fang Shijing cursing him out in response, and laughs so loud the team comes in to check on him.
Yu Wenzhou takes off his headset, dejected. In the card reader, Swoksaar’s account card glows as if mocking him.
“You don’t have to switch if you don’t want to.”
Yu Wenzhou’s whirls, the smell of cigarettes hitting him full-on. He must have been so wrapped up in practice to miss the pungent tang of it.
Wei Chen takes the seat next to him, fiddling with the mouse. “I can get management on board with Distant Horizon. This team is still mine, even if those guys in suits don’t like to admit it. The research team is already planning to dismantle Swoksaar’s Death Hand to make you a new weapon, it doesn’t matter which avatar they make it for. All I have to do is say the word. There are perks to being the boss, you know.” He smirks but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
For the first time, he looks like the old man he always claims to be. Not physically, but in spirit. Wei Chen looks tired. Worn down. His official retirement was only a week ago but looking at him, you’d think it was a decade.
Yu Wenzhou considers the offer with the seriousness it deserves. He’s comfortable with his Warlock and its distribution of skill points, and he can’t deny the temptation of a Silver weapon tailored specifically for his own avatar. But at the same time…
“No.” He says, suddenly completely sure it’s the right answer. “I want to use Swoksaar.”
Wei Chen’s head shoots up from where he’s studying the keyboard. He drags a hand across his face. “That’s… yeah that’s good. He’ll suit you once you get used to him. Have you redistributed his skill points yet?”
Guilt gnaws at Yu Wenzhou. “Not yet.” He’s thought about it plenty, he even has notes about the changes he needs to make so Swoksaar will suit his unique style. But he hasn’t done it.
“You should. What are you wasting time for? You’ll need to practice all summer to get adjusted, Captain Yu.”
Hearing the title makes his heart skip. “I’m not captain yet.” Not until the new season starts. Season Five, his first season without a safety net.
“Yes you are. Shaotian, that brat, filmed you crying at my retirement party so I know you damn-well know I’m leaving. Out with the old and in with the new.” He gets abruptly to his feet. “I need another cigarette.” He waves a hand as he steps out onto the balcony. “The team’s yours now, so you better get a move on.”
Yu Wenzhou watches him go. An absurd thought flits across his mind that his captain is going to leave and never come back.
He sets his hands over the keyboard and brings up Swoksaar’s profile. There’s work to be done.
His absurd thought doesn’t come true. Not twenty minutes later, Wei Chen strides back into the training room with renewed fervor, and drags Yu Wenzhou to the research team’s domain. They spend the rest of the day designing a new Silver weapon for Swoksaar.
Hand of Destruction.
The name is flashier than Yu Wenzhou would prefer, and a little too similar to Swoksaar’s previous weapon, but Wei Chen's face lights up when he says it and Yu Wenzhou’s objections die on his tongue.
He keeps the name.
Swoksaar isn’t the only one who gets an upgrade. Troubling Rain gets his first Silver weapon just in time for the new season, as promised. Together, they take the stage as the face of Blue Rain.
Warlock and Blade Master. Captain and Vice-captain. Sword and Curse.
Wei Chen cheers them on from his new position as the most shameless, most terrifying guild leader Blue Brook has ever seen. Or maybe not, considering that in the early years he worked as guild leader in addition to his duties as captain. He likes to tell people he ranks as Blue Brook’s most shameless and second-most shameless guild leader. Before long, the other great guilds learn to fear the sound of Windward Formation casting spells.
A new age of Blue Rain begins in earnest. A dual core era.
Windward Formation: I’m retiring from the guild
Troubling Rain: what what what why are you leaving are you dying don’t you dare die on me old man, who’s gonna upgrade my ice rain next season
Troubling Rain: oh wait that’s selfish oops. rip old man, the best old man who ever was an old man
Swoksaar: I doubt he’s dying Shaotian
Swoksaar: Is everything okay?
Windward Formation: sent a picture
[shameless_dick.jpg: a selfie of Wei Chen posing in a large, brightly lit internet cafe with a suspicious-looking man in a hideous cropped jean jacket. There’s a shadow on the man’s face but he’s recognizable as retired pro player Ye Qiu]
Windward Formation: I’m joining this asshole’s new team. You kids better watch out, we’re gonna kick your ass once we go pro
Troubling Rain: DREAM ON OLD MAN!!!!!
Swoksaar: Congratulations, Captain Wei. We’ll be waiting.
…2 hours later…
Windward Formation: check my old desk. Remember that secret project with the guild I refused to tell you about. I didn’t finish but don’t say daddy never gave you anything
Windward Formation: hey brat, remember when ice rain was late? told you i’d make it up to you
After practice ends, Yu Wenzhou visits the guild and finds Wei Chen’s old office completely cleaned out except for a flash drive where his ashtray used to be. It’s strange to see the place so bare and lifeless, no longer overflowing with its owner’s ornery personality. He makes a side note to call his old captain and get the dirt on whatever it was that drove Ye Qiu into the kind of retirement that involves secretly building a team. Yu Wenzhou has his suspicions, and none of them are good. But that’s a question for later.
Back in his office, he pops the flash drive into his computer and has to check the contents twice to make sure he’s not imagining the treasure trove that’s fallen into his hands. Blue Rain has yet to win a championship but as Yu Wenzhou continues to read, he thinks that isn’t going to hold true for much longer.
A rush of ideas comes rolling in faster than he can write them down. In his haste to call Huang Shaotian over, he nearly fumbles his phone into the trash can. An entirely new slate of tactics is opening up before his eyes, looming as large as the onslaught of excitement thudding in his chest.
The drive contains only a single large file named Skill Drop Guide.