Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story

Vol.4 Ch.3: Summer Break Begins

As the school year ended, summer vacation began. This was Yuel's second summer since he started playing Classmancers.

Last summer, he and Lars spent the whole time playing together to climb the ladder in Ranked. That was their best indication of improving at the game. But this summer, they had a concrete goal in mind: surpassing Howard and Ellen. The goal was huge and stared them right in the face, but they weren't sure how to actually reach it.

Unlike ranking up in Ranked, there was no linear progression toward this goal. How will they know if they're getting any closer to beating Howard and Ellen? Was there any specific training regime they could use to get there faster? Unfortunately, Yuel didn't have an answer and Lars didn't even bother thinking much.

"Don't worry, yo." Lars always said. "Let's just keep playing and climb these ranks! We're just two ranks below them, so we gonna beat them in no time!"

"Online rank doesn't decide everything, you know." Yuel always retorted. They were at "Diamond I" right now, whereas Howard and Ellen were at "Challenger IV". They were indeed only two ranks apart. Though, in Diamond and Challenger, even a single rank required tons of grinding.

Still, in theory, they could eventually catch up with Howard and Ellen if they grind a whole lot. Unfortunately, that didn't mean anything for their position in the club. Clubmates had a certain amount of respect toward online ranking, but it couldn't single-handedly decide who'll play on the first string. There were many other factors involved.

For one, there's each player's "main role". Even though Yuel and Lars had the highest online ranks after Howard, Ellen and Roi, it didn't mean they could just take the 4th and 5th spots on the team. Their main roles were Support and Carry, which were already taken by Howard and Ellen. So, there weren't any open spots to claim.

So, how about Lars's suggestion of beating Howard and Ellen's ranks? Well, Howard was new captain so he decided the roster. Beating his online rank won't be enough to make him surrender his spot. The only true way to force Howard to step down was by making him admit defeat. In other words, making him admit Yuel was the superior Support and that the team would have a higher chance of winning with Yuel on the team

So, while beating Howard's online rank could be a good first step, it's far from enough. Yuel had to do more, to aim higher. But, he had no idea where exactly he should aim or how high he should get.

In the end, all he could do was spend the summer practicing, just like last time. Lars dropped by every day and they played Classmancers from morning to evening. Lars even slept over a few times so they could play some more.

Julia also tagged along. She didn't visit every day like Lars and she vehemently refused to sleep over, but she also poured hours upon hours into the game. This was also the same as last summer, except for her big shift in attitude compared to last year.

Julia firstmost came over because of Lars, no question about it. However, she also displayed a much more genuine desire to better herself.

"Hey, you," Julia called out. "Take a look at this." She shoved her tablet into Yuel's face. "How should I've played here? This guy mopped the floor with me."

"Let's see," Yuel grabbed the tablet before it smashed his nose. "For starters, you pushed too hard here. Aeromancer is good for defending, so random aggression won't get you far."

"Yeah, I know that stuff." Julia glared at him as if he was making a fool of her. "But, the heck was I supposed to do instead then? The guy was hugging his tower all day like it's his baby."

"One idea is to bait them outside." Yuel slid his finger across the screen, drawing paths from Mid Lane to the neutral Griffin Camps and the enemy Hyena Camps. "Pretend you're going for one of their camps while they're turtling. It won't work on everybody, but some may be tempted to chase you. That's when you catch them off guard and finish them off."