Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story

Vol.1 Ch.9: Third Wheel's Feelings

After miserably failing his first attempt at jogging, Yuel consulted online fitness articles again. However, this time he didn't do so to run away from exercising. He researched how a scrub like him should go about exercising, since running 2 kilometers at Lars's pace was an olympic feat for him.

Apparently, there was no problem with starting slow. As long as he maintained a jogging routine, he should improve with time. He couldn't make it through 2 kilometers right now, but he somehow survived a half kilometer jog by running at his own pace.

"Gah! So slow!" Lars ranted while running beside Yuel. "Geh, running at your turtle speed also somehow makes me more tired than usual. You were a freakin' turtle in your previous life, weren't ya?"

"And I'm sure you were a missile." Yuel retorted. "Just go on ahead, no need to stick around me."

"Yeah, sure. Who knows what you gonna do once I take my eyes off ya?"

"Don't worry, you don't need to babysit me. I'm not going to quit, not this time."

"Hoh." Lars was taken aback by Yuel's determined look. "Okay, I'm going ahead then. If you're not half-dead by the time you finish, then I'mma know you've been slacking off, yo!"

"Deal."

The first week was literally hell. Yuel jogged at a snail's pace for a mere half kilometer, yet he felt like he sprinted through a whole marathon. He always returned home beaten and barely standing. The thought of quitting tempted him every day.

"Hey, dude! You slacked off today, didn't ya!?" Lars interrogated Yuel.

"No. I ran the whole thing." Yuel examined himself in wonder. He had just finished the usual hellish jogging routine, yet he wasn't about to collapse and his breathing was somehow stable. He was tired, but that's all. "I think I'm getting used to this."

The second week was much easier. Did his body adapt to his hellish routine? It was baffling. He knew the brain could adapt to things via repetition, but he had no idea his muscles were installed with such a function as well.

As jogging became gradually easier, he started extending the distance and raising his pace. Any increase in difficulty was torture the first few days, but he soon got used to it. At this rate, he should be able to survive a 2 kilometers jog by the end of the summer.

To further improve Yuel's reaction speed, they also played some hectic shooters together. Yuel was skeptical of this idea, but he gave in after Lars nagged him to no end. Besides, as much as he hated to admit it, Lars was kind of right about the whole jogging thing. Even somebody like Yuel could jog with enough practice and he felt more alert ever since he started working out. As much as he disliked the genre, there was no harm in trying out shooters as well. Who knew, it just might work.

Oh, I scored a kill. Yuel blinked in front of the screen. Weird, had he always been this calm during action packed situations?

He scored that kill on a chaotic battlefield where plasma shots flew left and right. He was used to be confused by these situations and took too long to analyze everything. But, after playing this shooter for two days, he learned how to quickly spot enemies and shot them down. Of course, he received a headshot right after scoring that amazing kill, but at least he did something for the team! He wasn't completely useless!

In general, he found himself way more level-headed in shooters than he was used to be. Running into aggressive enemies still startled him, but he reacted faster and more efficiently. Instead of randomly spraying bullets all over the place, he took a moment to adjust his aim and ensure his shots would actually hit somebody. He still died a lot in embarrassing ways, giving Lars some good laughs, but he actually scored some kills as well. Shooters didn't feel nearly as frustrating as before.