Chapter Sixty-Four: The Global Grand Finals Commence

Arthur had returned to his leisurely days once more. Each day, he either accompanied Wanda in her training or helped Pietro climb the ranks in games. In fact, to support their gaming, he’d even gotten each of them a computer.

Peter asked Arthur again if he wanted to go back to school, but Arthur declined. Though he had plenty of free time now, he still had plans for the future—returning to school simply wasn’t one of them.

That day, Arthur was preparing to film a video with Wanda—a culinary video featuring a classic Chinese home-style dish: red-braised pork.

Arthur took charge of the cooking while Wanda helped at his side. In the video, they both cooked by hand, faithfully following each step the traditional way, without using any superpowers.

After washing and cutting the pork belly into cubes, Arthur seared them in the pan until golden. Then, he heated oil, added rock sugar to caramelize it, and tossed in the pork along with the ginger slices and spices Wanda had prepared.

As Arthur stir-fried, Wanda watched hungrily from the side; Arthur even made sure to capture Wanda’s longing expression on camera. Finally, he added water and yellow wine, covered the pot, and let the dish simmer on low heat.

During the wait, Arthur shared with viewers the history of red-braised pork and its place in Chinese cuisine, while Wanda chimed in playfully as his sidekick.

When the sauce was finally reduced over high heat, the red-braised pork was complete—a glossy, aromatic masterpiece. Arthur presented the finished dish, its rich sauce and inviting color drawing everyone’s attention. He invited Wanda to taste and review it, but Wanda insisted that Arthur feed her instead.

Obliging, Arthur picked up a piece with his chopsticks and offered it to Wanda, who declared it delicious with a charmingly cute expression—making for a perfect on-screen moment.

As expected, once released, the video rapidly gained popularity. Most comments praised Arthur’s impressive cooking skills and how authentic his Chinese dishes were.

Chinese viewers, in particular, were amazed—who would have thought that Aquaman Arthur, a foreigner, could cook Chinese food so well?

American viewers were also intrigued by the dish. Riding the wave, Arthur took the opportunity to advertise, telling everyone that if they wanted to try it, they could visit the Atlantis Restaurant.

Of course, whenever Wanda appeared, the comments were flooded with praise for her beauty. As for their playful interaction at the end, the barrage of comments was filled with dramatic complaints—it was a fatal blow to single viewers everywhere! Although, Arthur himself was still single.

Many female fans began to question the relationship between Wanda and Arthur. Transforming into amateur detectives, they deduced that the video was filmed in Arthur’s home, Wanda was wearing pajamas, and thus, she and Arthur might be living together. The thought alone broke their hearts.

Wanda noticed these comments from the female fans and secretly rejoiced—this was exactly the effect she wanted! She wished to dash the hopes of any women harboring fantasies about Arthur.

If Arthur knew what Wanda was thinking, he would probably call her a traitor—how was he supposed to meet other girls with her doing this?

Still, Arthur’s flirtations were mostly harmless. He lived by a certain motto: women only slow down your sword hand.

…

Time flew by, and soon it was November—the day of the League of Legends World Championship finals was fast approaching.

Although this was technically the second World Championship, it was the largest ever. The first season’s finals had been held in a humble internet café, but this time Stark Industries, with its deep pockets, had rented out the Staples Center for an entire month.

The arena was beautifully decorated with strong e-sports elements. Initially, the audience was chosen by invitation—anyone who bought a skin received a serial number.

Before each match, the official website would announce the invited numbers, and in-game notifications would let you know if you’d been invited—essentially, it was a free ticket to the match. Of course, only North American players could participate.

Naturally, this sparked protests from players in other regions. The official response was that, since the event was in Los Angeles, only American players were invited for free, but for the finals, tickets would be sold online to everyone.

Since the start of the championship, it had captured the attention of players worldwide, with each match drawing over 200 million live viewers.

The semifinals and quarterfinals drew a combined global viewership of over 400 million, demonstrating the immense influence of this year’s event.

Just two days ago, the semifinals concluded: LCK’s SKT T1 faced NJSword, with SKT T1 emerging victorious. LPL’s Team WE took on LEC’s Fnatic, with Team WE prevailing.

Arthur was a bit surprised by these results. Thanks to his influence, the LPL region had formed earlier, and Team WE hadn’t been eliminated due to a network outage. Moreover, since this year’s prize pool was the largest ever, SKT T1 had also made an early appearance.

With these changes, Arthur couldn’t predict the outcome of the finals—he was more invested than ever.

Tickets for the world finals sold out within five minutes of being released. Arthur noticed that Chinese and Korean players made up a significant portion of buyers, showing just how much attention the finals had attracted from around the world.

…

On November 11, 2012—Singles’ Day—the S2 League of Legends World Championship officially began.

Players worldwide sat in front of their computers, tuning in to Hero Video Network’s live stream of this grand event.

Those who hadn’t managed to get tickets were full of regret; this was, by far, the largest, most spectacular, and best-produced e-sports event they had ever seen.

Spectators arrived early at the entrance of Staples Center, which was already packed. The plaza was filled with League of Legends elements—billboards, character statues, and cosplayers gathering for group photos. There was even a giant screen outside for ticketless fans to watch the live broadcast.

Countless beautiful women dressed as female champions posed for photos, while men cosplayed their favorite male champions. Some even dressed as Avengers, making the event worthwhile for fans from around the world.

Once inside, the opening ceremony began in earnest. Unlike previous tournaments that jumped straight into matches, the League of Legends finals kicked off with a cinematic CG.

All the game’s champions appeared, battling their way toward the championship trophy. Highlights from earlier matches were woven in, creating a passionate and exhilarating atmosphere.

Just as Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox, snatched the trophy, all the arena lights went out, plunging the space into darkness. Then, music erupted—it was Linkin Park’s "Numb"! The entire band was present, performing the League of Legends theme live.

The audience erupted in cheers—who would have thought that attending an e-sports event would include a live Linkin Park show? Everyone swayed along to the music.

When the song ended, Arthur took to the stage in a black suit—he was the host tonight.

“How’s everyone doing tonight?” Arthur called out, then repeated the greeting in flawless Mandarin.

The crowd roared, chanting, “Aquaman! Aquaman! Aquaman!” Nearly every young person now recognized him.

Chinese viewers watching the stream marveled at Arthur’s flawless Mandarin. Many Chinese gamers had never paid attention to e-sports before, but watching the world finals, they found themselves falling in love with it.

“Since the start of the S2 League of Legends World Championship, teams from across the globe have delivered spectacular matches. But competition is cruel—victory always belongs to the strong! Tonight, we will witness which team will claim the title of world champion!”

Arthur’s magnetic voice resonated through the arena.

“And now, let’s welcome SKT T1 from the LCK region!”

A pulse-pounding anthem blared—the S2 World Finals theme, “Silver Scrapes,” which would become the signature song for the last games of every BO5 series.

“Whoa, what is this song? It’s incredible!”

“This music gets my blood pumping!”

“This is exactly the energy a world final should have—I can’t wait for the matches!”

The audience loved the battle theme; it set the stage ablaze.

The five players of SKT T1 and their head coach filed out from backstage, standing in a line to Arthur’s left.

“Top: Impact, Jungle: Bengi, Mid: Faker, AD: Piglet, Support: PoohManDu, Coach: kkOma! Let’s give them a warm welcome!” The arena burst into applause.

“Now, let’s welcome Team WE from the LPL!” The five players and their head coach emerged, standing to Arthur’s right.

“Top: Strawberry, Jungle: NoName, Mid: Misaya, AD: Smile, Support: Fzzf, Coach: Abou! Let’s welcome them!” Thunderous applause erupted again.

“All right, the moment we’ve all been waiting for is about to begin. First, let’s thank our sponsors: the Avengers, Stark Industries, and Atlantis Restaurant! And now, let the matches begin!”

With that, Arthur stepped backstage, and the players took their seats. The S2 League of Legends World Championship finals—had officially begun.

…