The data from the first day of open beta, like a reassuring pill, allowed the tight nerves within Riot Games to relax slightly. Although it wasn't an explosion, the continuously rising curve hinted at a surge of vitality.
However, what truly pushed this undercurrent into a colossal wave was an opportunity no one had anticipated.
Xiao Dao, real name Liu Hao, was a medium-sized UP host on the 'Youxia Net' platform, known for reviewing new games and sharp critiques, boasting over 300,000 followers.
His style was down-to-earth, his operations decent, and his biggest characteristic was his genuine reactions—he cursed fiercely and praised sincerely.
That evening, he was troubled by not finding suitable new game material.
"Brothers, we're in a game drought recently!" he complained into the microphone.
"These new games on the market are either reskins with pay-to-win mechanics or old-fashioned monster grinding, completely lacking innovation.
I'm almost becoming a 'scam prevention guide' specialist streamer."
The bullet comments echoed his sentiments, also expressing boredom.
Just then, a colorful bullet comment floated by: "Dao Ge, try League of Legends? It just launched its open beta; they say it's a free 5v5 competitive game, the art style looks decent, but not many people are playing it."
"league of legends?" Xiao Dao scratched his head.
"Never heard of it.
Which big company made it?"
"Not a big company, a new one called Riot Games."
"Free? I bet the traps are even deeper than."
"I saw the promotional video; it looked flashy, probably not that great."
The bullet comments buzzed with discussion, mostly pessimistic.
Xiao Dao, with a "mine-sweeping" mindset, shrugged: "Alright, I'm free anyway, so I'll download the free one and check it out.
If it's a trap, I'll help my brothers avoid it; if it's decent, then I've struck gold."
He casually clicked the download link; the game client wasn't large and installed quickly.
The login interface was simple and powerful, with the clenched Riot Games logo exuding a hardcore vibe.
"Whoa, the interface is quite clean, unlike some games with a bunch of top-up portals." Xiao Dao's first impression was good.
He quickly registered an account, using his usual ID, "Blade's Edge." After entering the game, he skipped the opening animation (he didn't even look closely) and went straight to the champion selection interface.
Twenty hero portraits were arranged, each with a distinct style.
"What are these? A big guy with a greatsword, a girl shooting ice arrows, and a bald man with a scroll?" Xiao Dao was dazzled.
"Does this game not even have clear class descriptions? That's so unfriendly!"
Under the chaotic guidance of the bullet comments, he finally chose "Garen, the Might of Demacia," who looked the most straightforward.
"This one, the one swinging a greatsword, he looks like a… no, he looks like a fierce man!"
Entering the novice tutorial, Xiao Dao complained while operating:
"WASD can't move? I have to click with the mouse? That's anti-human!"
"Last hitting? What's last hitting? Hitting the last blow? Troublesome!"
"Only four skills? That's simple… Q is a silence? What does silence mean? Oh, it prevents casting skills? Interesting."
"Ultimate Ability Demacian Justice? Whoa, cool name, a greatsword falling from the sky? My chuunibyou is acting up, hahaha!"
Although he kept complaining, his hands didn't stop.
Garen's simple skill mechanics allowed him to quickly get the hang of it; the spinning Judgment to clear minion waves was inexplicably satisfying, and when he executed the tutorial dummy with a Demacian Justice, the shocking sound effects and visuals made him involuntarily exclaim, "Oh!"
"Brothers, I'm not gonna lie, smashing that skill down feels pretty good!" His tone had shifted from pure criticism to a subtle hint of interest.
After completing the tutorial, he followed the instructions to start his first player vs. player match—oh no, because there weren't many players online, the system matched him for dozens of seconds before assigning him to a "bot match" (playing against computer AI).
"Bot match it is, I'll practice first," Xiao Dao muttered, choosing Garen again.
Entering the loading screen, he saw an opposing Garen (bot) and chuckled: "Oh, a mirror match?"
The game began; he bought starting items (a Doran's Shield under the guidance of multiple bullet comment coaches) and went to the lane.
Initially, he was a bit clumsy, with stiff movement, occasionally getting hit by the computer AI's skills.
But soon, he found his rhythm.
"Hey, this bot can dodge? Watch me flank it from the bush!"
"Don't run! Take my greatsword!"
"This E Skill spins to clear minions so fast!"
When he first killed an enemy bot hero with the cooperation of his teammates (who were also real players), a subtle sense of accomplishment arose.
"First Blood!" the system's female voice announced.
"Nice!" Xiao Dao instinctively shouted, a smile on his face.
"Did you see that, brothers? That teamwork! Even if the opponent is a bot, this feeling is right!"
A bot match was easily won, but Xiao Dao was still craving more.
He tried clicking "Matchmaking Mode" (player vs. player), and indeed, the matching time showed "Estimated > 5 minutes."
"That's how it is when there are few players online," someone in the bullet comments explained, "but this game is really addictive."
Xiao Dao looked at the long match time and initially thought of giving up, but the thrill from the previous bot match was still lingering.
He gritted his teeth: "I'll wait! I have nothing else to do anyway, I want to see what a real player match is like!"
During the wait, he decided to study the hero introductions and skill descriptions, finding it more and more interesting.
"This assassin can go invisible? This mage's skills can bounce? This game's hero designs are quite something!"
Finally, after waiting for nearly eight minutes, the game was successfully matched!
Entering the hero selection interface, Xiao Dao unhesitatingly locked in Garen again.
This time, the heroes chosen by his teammates and opponents were more diverse: Ashe, Ryze, Annie, and Lee Sin.
On the loading screen, he saw an opposing Garen with the ID "Invincible Warlord."
"Oh ho! A mirror match? Rivals are destined to clash!" Xiao Dao's competitive spirit was ignited.
"Brothers, in this game, I must crush this 'Invincible Warlord'!"
The game began, and the real challenge arrived.
The opposing Garen player was clearly not an easy opponent; both sides met in the top lane, probing each other, clashing with their Q Skill Decisive Strike, and spinning with their E Skill Judgment.
Xiao Dao initially fell behind in last hits due to nervousness and lost some health to the opponent.
"This guy's got some skill!" Xiao Dao was fully concentrated, no longer joking around.
He started paying attention to his positioning, calculating skill cooldowns, and using bushes to avoid minion damage.
The bullet comments also became focused, offering advice:
"Dao Ge, he doesn't have Q, go in!"
"Watch out for the jungler! I don't see the enemy Lee Sin on the map!"
"Go back and buy some items, your health is low!"
A fierce duel erupted!
Both Garens activated their E Skill spins almost simultaneously, their health rapidly dropping.
Just as Xiao Dao's health was at rock bottom and he was preparing to retreat, he noticed the opponent's health was also just a sliver!
And the opponent's Q Skill was still on cooldown!
A bold idea flashed through his mind!
"I'll gamble!" Xiao Dao's eyes sharpened; instead of retreating, he controlled his low-health Garen to take a step forward.
At the same time, his mouse precisely pointed at the enemy Garen's portrait, and he pressed the R key—Demacian Justice!
The massive golden greatsword crashed down!
"Enemy Slain!"
The kill notification popped up on the screen!
Xiao Dao's Garen survived with a sliver of health!
"Ah ah ah ah!!! I counter-killed! Brothers! I counter-killed!!!" Xiao Dao instantly sprang from his chair, his face flushed with excitement, roaring into the microphone, "Did you see that! Did you see that! This is what you call a game! This is what you call excitement!!!"
He was so excited that he was gesticulating wildly; the waiting, the initial frustration, all transformed into extreme excitement and satisfaction at that moment.
The bullet comments in the live stream also completely exploded:
"Holy cow!!! Awesome!!!"
"That Ultimate Ability timing was perfect!!!"
"My palms are sweating just watching!"
"From almost getting counter-killed to a clutch counter-kill, it was so dramatic!"
"This game looks so fun!"
For the rest of the match, Xiao Dao was completely immersed.
He actively participated in team fights; although sometimes he charged too far ahead and was focused down, and sometimes he made blunders, every brilliant collaboration, every narrow escape, every crucial crowd control and kill, drew gasps and cheers from him and the audience in the live stream.
Although this game ultimately ended in a close defeat due to unfamiliar teamwork from his teammates, when Xiao Dao exited the post-game screen, there was no hint of disappointment on his face, only lingering excitement and a flushed complexion.
"Brothers! This game! It's amazing!" he said to the camera, his tone incredibly serious.
"I admit, I underestimated it at first! It has a bit of a learning curve, and matchmaking is a bit slow, but! Once you get into it, that sense of control, strategy, team coordination, and the thrill of a clutch counter-kill, no other game can give you that!"
"It's not a game where you can just mindlessly spend money to get stronger; here, skill, awareness, and teamwork are king! This is what a true competitive game is!"
"I declare that from today onwards, I am a loyal player of League of Legends! Slow matchmaking? I'll wait! No one playing? I'll recommend it to all of you! This treasure of a game can't just be known by me alone!"
Xiao Dao's excitement was heartfelt and highly infectious.
That night, he continued to stream League of Legends for another four or five hours, trying out Ashe and Ryze after Garen.
Although he lost more than he won, he enjoyed it immensely, playing while deeply researching skill mechanics and item builds, muttering newly learned terms like "last hitting," "Gank," and "dragon control."
The recording of his live stream was quickly edited by fans into a highlight reel titled "Dao Ge's Massive 'True Fragrance' Moment: From Complaining to Addiction, What Magic Does LOL Hold?" and uploaded to various video websites and social media platforms.
In the video, Xiao Dao's journey from initial disdain to gradually getting the hang of it, to his excited roar during the final clutch counter-kill, and his heartfelt recommendation at the end, created an extremely strong contrast and dramatic effect.
This video, like a spark, fell onto dry tinder waiting to ignite.
"Really? Xiao Dao can have so much fun playing this?"
"It looks so exciting, I'm going to download it and try!"
"A free game, can it really be this fair?"
"Slow matchmaking is because few people are playing, right? If everyone plays, won't matchmaking be faster?"
Curiosity, herd mentality, and the desire for truly high-quality game content drove more and more people to click the League of Legends download link.
In Riot Games' backend monitoring room, the data curve, which had been stabilizing, suddenly, without warning, surged upwards at an almost vertical angle in the middle of the night!
Registered users surpassed 200,000… 300,000… 500,000!
Peak concurrent online users surpassed 30,000… 50,000… 80,000!
The server monitors issued overload warnings, but this time, Li Ming and the technical team's faces showed not tension, but ecstasy!
"President Qin! The data has exploded! Traffic source analysis points mostly to several game video and live streaming platforms!" Xiao Zhang said, his voice trembling, holding the freshly printed report.
Qin Feng looked at the data curve on the screen, rising like a giant dragon, and a knowing smile appeared on his face.
He knew that the bullet he had patiently waited for, after a slow initial flight, had finally hit the bullseye and triggered a violent chain explosion.
The era belonging to League of Legends officially began that night, ushered in by an unexpected encounter with a "true fragrance" streamer.