Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 2

Vol.14 Ch.18: Amateurish Korean Cancel

BOOM! The enemy's last drone exploded. It should've been good news, yet it left Lars confused.

"Wut...?" Lars blinked. I know my shot was on point, but it didn't even reach the drone. Did dude straight up blow up his own drone!?

That brave drone was at a 2-2 score against Lars and this decisive shot was supposed to break the tie. Yet, Winner denied Lars that satisfaction.

It served its purpose. William didn't even spare a glance at the smashed drone lying on the ground. He was the one who ordered this drone to self-destruct early, as it was inevitably going to be shot down by Gunz.

I don't think I could've stepped that. William reasoned. So, no point in wasting any more time on this drone.

The earlier a drone went out of service, the earlier it freed the battery slots it was occupying. And, the less slots were occupied at a given time, the faster batteries recharged overall. Therefore, getting rid of the drone was equivalent to getting an early boost of cooldown reduction.

I should be able to recharge everything by the next wave at this pace. William estimated on the fly. Even though he was about to engage in a much-anticipated duel with Gunz, he didn't neglect thinking about what'll come next.

Ron should be back by the time I beat this guy, so we can push hard if nobody returns to defend the lane by then. Sounds like a solid plan.

This was the best-case scenario and William had every intent to realize it with his own two hands. Even without any available drones at his disposal, he'll definitely stomp Gunz.

This is why I picked Droid against you. William gazed at Gunz. I knew we'd get a chance to have a "raw" fight like this, with no abilities or special effects involved. Yes, this is just you and me, with minimum noise in the background. This is almost a pure test of skill.

Of course, that didn't exactly hold true for Gunz himself. The guy spent his Backfire Cannon earlier, but he still had access to his Cutlass and Kraken, both dangerous tools that Willaim had to look out for.

With that said, bringing out the cutlass was effectively the same as swapping a ranged weapon for a melee one. Though the cutlass was stronger than the Pirate's default pistol, the blade lacked range and this made the cutlass that much harder to utilize in a duel between marksmen.

On the other hand, the Kraken was definitely a threat. It was a powerful CC skill that could single-handedly decide the entire duel.

Would he use it in a duel? William wondered.

Normally, it was best to save Kraken for complicated team fights, but Stratus was probably hungering for any sort of advantage. After all, they were facing the regional champions, so gaining even the slightest advantage would be considered a great honor for them.

As such, Kraken wasn't off the table for this duel. Gunz might very well dump that sea monster on William if things get rough.

So, I have to keep my Dodge Roll available. William concluded. Spending his Dodge Roll on anything other than countering the Kraken would be suicide.

Hmph. I thought this was going to be a "fair" duel, but so far I'm only discovering restrictions for myself.

He wasn't allowed to let Gunz into melee range, and he wasn't allowed to spend his Dodge Roll until Gunz uses Kraken. Maybe these weren't the worst restrictions in the world, but they'll definitely handicap William against a formidable opponent like Gunz.

Well, I'm sure it'll be fine. William concluded. If my image of Gunz is on point, then he's the type who'll gladly accept an invitation for a pure contest of skill. So, I trust him to not use Kraken willy-nilly. Just like me, he should be interested in proving he's better via pure skill.