Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story

Vol.4 Ch.18: Thirst for Strength

For Gregory, this stupid "starter selection match" came out of left field. And honestly, it didn't even feel like it was meant to "select" anybody. The positions for the first string were already pretty much set in stone: Howard, Gilbert, Dan, Roi, and Ellen.

In truth, this match was nothing but a farce. It's just gonna be a shitshow in which everybody beat the crap outta Yuel and Lars. After all, there's no way these losers can carry the team better than Howard. And even if they somehow win this selection match, there's no way Howard gonna be like "Yep, I'm totally fine with this" and step down from his precious captain position.

This entire thing is just one big joke, kek. Gregory didn't want to delude himself for even a moment. But still, Howard sold this as a "starter selection match" to Gregory and Taison, he even went as far as suggesting they could make it into the first string if they perform well today. Yeah, fat chance. They'll never become starters this year... or, maybe?

Honestly, there's never knowing for sure with Howard. Back when he was saying it, he sounded genuine enough. Howard probably didn't really believe any of them could best the first string players, but he'll surely take them into consideration if that happens. After all, Howard was a straightforward guy in that sense. He wanted to win, so he wanted the strongest pieces he could get.

In other words, if Gregory proves he's strong, he'll be picked. Simple as that.

But, of course, there had to be a catch to such a sweet deal. Due to how Howard arranged this stupid selection match, he had to give Gregory the Solo role instead of Support. Not exactly the most fitting role for DaBestSupport, kek.

Or, maybe it was fate? Maybe God dropped this trial on Gregory? After all, he had been considering switching to Solo for some time now.

Back when Gregory joined the club, he had a strong rivalry with Yuel. He was totally planning to kick that snotty guy's ass and steal the Support spot on the team. He even proclaimed himself DaBestSupport, topkek.

But then, Howard happened. A strong, confident, skilled, experienced and knowledgeable player, and also a great leader if all that wasn't enough. Gregory figured right away he was no match to that top dog, so should forget about playing in tournaments until his third year. He accepted that shit because there's literally nothing he could do about it.

But, Yuel didn't get the message. That mofo kept challenging Howard time and again, aiming for that sweet starter spot. What a dumbass. Yuel must have had a fetish for embarrassing himself, kek.

What's real dumb, though, was Howard's special treatment of Yuel. Even though Howard always took jabs at Yuel and criticized that scrub, he also paid a lot of attention to Yuel for some reason. When Yuel made a weak shot-call during practice, Howard debated it with him over the break. When Yuel proposed a crazy plan of attack with a shit ton of holes in it, Howard suggested how to make it safer. No matter what Howard claimed, he constantly paid attention to Yuel.

But wait wait wait, wasn't there another amazing Support player in the club? Ya know, a certain DaBestSupport? Hello? Anybody? No? Okay.

Gregory planned to beat Yuel in their third year to get the starter spot, but he wasn't even on these guys' radars. In practice, there were only two Support players in the club: Howard and Yuel. Gregory? Who's that mofo?

Seriously, that's how it felt. They let Gregory play Support from time to time in practice matches, but way less than they let Yuel do it. It's clear everybody preferred Yuel over Gregory as Support. These damn ungrateful scrubs.

Why? What was wrong with Gregory's play? Well, he wasn't strong enough, that's what. Whether it's about picking players or picking friends, everybody preferred strong guys. The weak and untalented were useless, they only existed to be made fun of.