Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story

Vol.2 Ch.14: Combo Player

"Hey! Break a leg, dude!"

"Huh?" Yuel examined the audience, spotting Lars and Julia. Everybody else went to watch the first string match, but Lars said he'd be here to root on Yuel. Julia probably just tagged along.

"From the moment you accepted your spot on the team, you're no longer playing just for yourself. You're obligated to put on your best performance for those who didn't make the cut." Yuel recalled Howard's words.

Even though he and Lars both wanted to play in the competitive scene, right now Yuel was on the stage while Lars was in the audience. Only Yuel made it this time. It was merely the fault of circumstances, it just so happened the Carry role was occupied by a talented senior and the Support role happened to be available. Nevertheless, as the one standing on the stage right here and now, Yuel had the responsibility to put on his best performance, to make it up for those who couldn't play here today.

Ironically, even though Lars came here to support Yuel, he only made Yuel more nervous. And, it didn't help there were some other unfamiliar faces in the audience. What were these people doing here? The scrimmage matches were open to the public, so anybody had the right to come and watch. Still, even if they were interested in watching a scrimmage between middle schoolers, why didn't they head to the first string's stadium? Did they come here to laugh at the second string or something?

All these random thoughts occupied his mind, refusing to give him rest. His body felt like lead as he wobbled across the stage. He finally got to relax a little when he dropped on his chair and focused on the monitor in front of him.

Following Trever's instructions, he scanned the QR code on the monitor. After confirming the login, all his account data was carried over to the PC in front of him. This included key bindings, skins and, of course, his IGN: Chessmaster. Ugh, he still couldn't believe Howard roped him into picking that nick. Sigh.

"Enter the practice room." Trever said. "You gotta warm up before we begin. Get used to the controls and everything."

"Got it." Yuel nodded and did as he was told. Even though his key bindings were carried over via the login, he still was going to operate unfamiliar mouse and keyboard. From his experience in the club at the beginning of the year, he already learned the importance of getting used to the equipment.

Fortunately, the equipment here was top notch, unlike the relics in their club. The keys struck perfect balance between being hard enough to feel every press, yet responsive enough to make pressing effortless. The mouse was comfortable to grip and the mousepad was smooth. Truly, this was equipment suitable for gaming, unlike the poor excuse in their club.

After a few minutes of warming up, the "referee" announced the beginning of the match. Like, that young man announced himself the "referee" and everything, but he looked like a regular staff member in the center. He didn't look like some qualified expert or anything of the sort. A bit disappointing, but not surprising. Unlike real life sports, Classmancers was a video game, so all the rules were already enforced by the game itself. There wasn't much for a "referee" to do here.

The drafting phase proceed smoothly, with Yuel and Gilbert handling it from start to end. Trever was the captain on paper, but his response to everything was "Just pick your best classes and we gonna win!". A very Lars-esque attitude, sigh.

"Wait, they have no Carry?" Trever cocked his head, as if only now realizing he should maybe pay some attention to the drafting.

"It's most likely going to be Carry Pyromancer." Yuel explained. The enemy team didn't pick any marksmen, the long-ranged DPS classes meant to be played as Carry. Instead, they had two damage dealing mages: Pyromancer and Warlock. Out of the two, only Pyromancer had the aptitude to be played as a Carry. In fact, upon release, Pyromancer was a broken tier S Carry who dominated the meta, Yuel watched some older videos covering that.