Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story

Vol.7 Ch.17: Duel Exam

Nia's entrance exam was about to begin. Vincent created a 1v1 lobby and Nia joined in. Since Nia seemed to be uncomfortable with people around her, everybody gave her space and huddled behind Vincent to watch the game unfold.

"With so many eyes on my monitor, I feel like I'm the one being tested here," Vincent said. "I can feel the nerves kicking in."

"No need to worry," Kai said. "Go ahead and perform horribly. That'll make Nia look good."

"And, you'd be satisfied with that kind of result?"

"Of course not," Kai said. "But, maybe that'll at least calm her down a little. I mean, look at her."

"Yeah..." Yuel didn't even know what to say. Nia curled into a ball on top of the chair as if she wanted to become a hairball. Was she that nervous? Or, was it some sort of ritual before the match? And, why did she put her legs on the chair like? Also, how come her parents never bothered to take care of her messy spaghetti hair? So many mysteries.

In a proper Ranked Duel, each player was allowed to ban three classes, similar to the first round of banning in Ranked MOBA. However, to make life easier, Kai convinced everybody to let Nia skip this part for the exam.

Unfortunate, but oh well. Yuel shook his head. There was a lot of information to be extracted from how one handled the drafting phase but knowing how to draft was way more advanced than just knowing how to play. Lars was the definitive example of that. That goof had zero drafting ability but insane in-game skill. One of those cases when a book couldn't be judged by its cover.

With no banning phase, each player was allowed to pick any class they wanted.

Alrighty, what do I go for? Vincent stroked his chin. I like me some Viking in Duel, but I feel that might be too aggressive for a test. The girl already looks nervous enough. I don't want to bully her.

In the end, Vincent went for Knight, the solid all-rounder. It should be good enough to pose a challenge for properly testing Nia's mettle without making her sweat bullets.

Meanwhile, Nia picked Rogue.

"Rogue, huh," Yuel wore a difficult expression.

"Hey," Luke exclaimed. "Before you start trash-talking my boi Rogue again, just so you know: it's not a meme in 1v1."

"Yeah," Kai tuned in. "I wouldn't call it 'high tier' but it's definitely up there in Duel."

"I didn't even say anything yet," Yuel made a face. Though, admittedly, thoughts like that did cross his mind at first. "I'm more surprised it's an assassin pick. They're not easy in 1v1."

"That's true," Kai frowned and crossed her arms. "I hope Nia knows what she's doing. What are her most played classes?"

"Nobody knows," Yuel said. "She set most of her info to private."

"Oh, right," Kai sighed.

"So," Vincent started. "Knight is considered a tough matchup for Rogue, right?"

"I'd say so," Luke was the first to answer. He probably considered himself the No.1 Rogue expert in the group. "Assassin vs. Bruiser is always rough. Like, when you're an assassin and can't kill your target fast, then WTF you're even supposed to do there, amirite?"

"Maybe we should ask if she wants to change classes," Kai suggested.

"She must have picked Rogue because she's confident in it," Yuel argued. "A big part of being good in Duel is being able to adapt to any type of opponent. If she says nothing about this matchup, then I say we let her play. Worst case, if she loses because of the bad matchup, we'll take that into consideration."