Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 2

Vol.13 Ch.24: Korean Step Cancel

"I can't believe it..." Ignis muttered.

"My, what's wrong?" Esmeralda asked. "You look as if you saw a ghost."

"Trust me, I saw something WAY worse than a ghost. I saw this damn kid... using KC! Can you believe that shit?"

"But of course. He is Korean, after all."

"Oh, yeah. Right. Makes perfect sense... except it totally doesn't! Even if you're a Korean, you're not supposed to KC as a kid! Nobody is born with KC in their skillset, you know? Seriously, what the flying fuck is up with this kid...!?"

"So," IronWall started. "He can do Korean Cancel?"

"Yep, he sure can." Ignis delivered the details to the rest of the team.

"Are you sure you're not drunk again?" Hawk asked.

"No, I'm not drunk. Not this time. This kid really did it."

"Huh. Wild stuff." Hawk shook his head.

Everybody had a hard time buying Ignis's story. Worst of all, she couldn't even blame them. Why? Because she had a hard time believing it herself.

The Korean Step Cancel, usually called Korean Cancel or KC, was an advanced type of attack-canceling. As the name implied, it was first discovered by Korean players.

Under certain circumstances, KC allowed the player to take a single step during the recovery animation of a basic attack. It started off as a bug but eventually turned into a feature based on the pros' reception.

The technique gained popularity in the east, mainly in Korea and China. However, it remained niche in the west, even in the pro scene. Why? Because it was hella difficult to execute consistently.

KC required extremely precise timing, so much that it was practically impossible to do online. And, even offline, it was a challenge no matter how much the player practiced.

In addition, there was the danger of buffering in a late step when executed poorly. It might sound like a small deal, but at the highest levels, a single misstep could make the whole difference between winning and losing.

That's the most annoying part, really. Ignis remembered her past failures. I'd totally try harder to master this thing if it wasn't such a double-edged sword.

Like many pros, there was as a time when Ignis entertained the idea of learning KC. She spent many weeks trying to tame that beast.

But, in the end, she gave up on the challenge. It was impossible to master KC to any reliable degree, not without YEARS of practice. At least, that was Ignis's impression of it.

It seemed that most western pros concluded the same. As a result, KC became an obscure super high-level technique that only a few bothered to wield.

On the other hand, in places like Korea, the pro scene embraced the mechanic with open arms and relentlessly trained to master it. They were so obsessed with it that they apparently even taught it to kids.

If he can use KC consistently, then this kid might be more trouble than I expected. Looks like I gotta take this more seriously. Heh. Can't believe I'm saying this when my opponent is a flipping middle schooler, but that's how things are now.

Thus far, the kid's performance was borderline perfect. His farming was quick, his last-hits were on point, and he even managed to counter Ignis's aggression. There was no doubt he was cut above other kids his age.

Gotta admit, so far it feels like playing an actual pro. Ignis couldn't deny it any longer. Even though taking a kid so seriously was embarrassing, losing to a kid would be a hundred times more embarrassing. Alright, fine. I'll take you seriously. That's what you wanted, right?