Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 2

Vol.10 Ch.13: Turmoil in Stratus

Stratus lost their third game.

No, they didn't just lose. The enemy utterly and thoroughly crushed them like a bug. It was an embarrassing defeat, even more embarrassing than the defeat they delivered to Taurus during the second game.

The enemy's Teleport shenanigans caught them off guard and messed up the entire flow of the game. How will they counter that gimmick? Actually, it was quite simple.

"We just have to play safer," Yuel explained to everybody. "If we don't let them gain any early advantage after they buy Teleport, they'll fall behind on gold."

It was something everybody here probably already knew. Nevertheless, Yuel said it out loud to make sure everybody heard how simple it was. They were all wearing such difficult expressions that Yuel felt the urge to inject some positivity into this gloomy atmosphere.

But, how would an emotionless golem like him cheer anybody up? The only way he knew how: by analyzing the game and offering solutions. That's all he could do.

Normally, he'd leave the pep talk to Lars. But, there was no sign of the usual goofiness on the goof's face. He had a grim expression. The frustration of losing to the Viking was probably still eating away at him. It was hard to watch.

"It wasn't your fault," Yuel said. "It was a bad matchup for a mage. And, we both know mages aren't your forte in the first place."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lars clicked his tongue. He knew all that, yet the whole thing frustrated him to no end. Expecting himself to win that 1v1 was probably asking for too much from himself, he understood that in his head. But then, why was he even playing mage in the first place!? That's what irritated him most.

I should've been a marksman! Lars stomped on the floor as if it were the culprit responsible for forcing him to play Mid. But, it wasn't the floor's fault. It was Kai who insisted to play Carry.

But, it wasn't exactly Kai's fault either. It was all Lars. He was the one who accepted this crappy deal and bowed his head like some submissive loser. What the flying fuck was he doing playing Mid in this official competitive match!?

"Calm down," Yuel patted Lars's shoulder.

"Geh," Lars just realized he has been punching the wall this entire time. His fist turned a little reddish. He couldn't bear this. It was all his fault. He shouldn't have agreed with Yuel on this. Lars should've stood his ground and forced Kai to let them play Bot. In fact, he gonna demand exactly that, right here and now!

"Kai, listen," Lars tried to keep his tone as calm as possible. "We gotta switch lanes. These dudes are somethin' else. Let me and Yuel handle Bot."

"Huh?" Kai gave him a nasty look. "Are you saying I can't handle these guys?"

"Well, you saw how that game went."

"That was just a small mess up," Kai claimed. "I'll wreck these bastards next time. No problem."

"I dunno about that. These dudes are strong," Lars insisted. His heavy tone made it clear he had no intention of backing down. "Me and Yuel gotta handle Bot. Otherwise, we'll lose again."

"Tch," Kai clicked her tongue. Her clenched fists trembled. "We only lost in Bot because my Support wasn't good enough." She shot a glare at Vincent. "I didn't want to bring this up but alright, let's discuss this, shall we? Vincent just stood there like a scarecrow while I was fighting. That's why we lost. Am I right?"

"Um, I..." Vincent swallowed his words. He couldn't find the words, a rare occurrence for the ever loud clown who usually spouted nonsense like a machinegun. Everybody's eyes were on him as if judging every little twitch he made.