Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story

Vol.8 Ch.4: Delayed Kill

By killing the Pyromancer, Nia forced the enemy Vampire to rotate to Mid and defend the lane. At first glance, it didn't look like she achieved much. Yes, the exp and gold from the kill were nice but she failed to take control over the lane due to the Vampire's timely rotation. She did remove the Pyromancer from the game for a while, but respawn times were short during the early game; the guy will be back in business in no time.

In truth, what Nia achieved was a great position. However, there was little chance she knew how to best capitalize on it. On the other hand, Yuel knew exactly what could be exploited in such scenarios.

Following the textbook jungling routine, the Vampire was supposed to go after the Griffin Camp after finishing the Hyenas. It was a neutral camp in the center of the map which was highly contested by both sides for extra gold and exp. Around this time, the junglers from both sides were supposed to gather around the Griffin Camps and the Mid Laners usually assisted in contesting the camps. Fortunately, the Lionfolk on Nia's team knew the meta and was already on his way toward one of the camps.

There were two Griffin Camps, one in Top Jungle and one in Bot Jungle. As such, usually, one of two scenarios occurred: either both sides targeted the same camp and a battle broke out, or they peacefully resolved the conflict by trading camps, each taking one.

However, right now, Nia's side could take both Griffins with ease.

"Help out the Jungler at the Griffin," Yuel said.

"Ok," Nia entered the Top Jungle. The Griffin was standing right around the corner so Nia didn't even have to stray too far from the lane to get to the camp.

Since she unleashed her entire kit on the Pyromancer, everything was still on cooldown. So, she only backed up the Lionfolk with basic attacks. It wasn't a huge contribution but it helped to defeat the Griffin a little faster.

Besides, nobody was even there to contest the camp. That was only natural, since the Pyromancer was dead and the Vampire was stuck defending Mid. These two were the prime suspects who were supposed to come here and fight for the Griffin, but neither of them had the leisure to do so right now.

As such, Nia and the Lionfolk killed the Griffin with little effort. However, it wasn't over there.

"Signal that you want to attack the other Griffin as well," Yuel said.

"Hm, sure," Nia followed the instruction and pinged the other Griffin Camp with an "Attack" instruction.

The Lionfolk didn't respond with any macros, messages or even pings. But, he seemed to understand the message because he headed in the direction of the other Griffin Camp.

At least, he didn't steal my role for nothing. Nia thought. It wasn't like she forgave the guy, far from it. But, at least, he seemed knowledgeable and cooperative enough. The system placed him first during the drafting phase for a reason.

Nia and the Lionfolk rotated to Bot Jungle and attacked the Griffin there. By now, the Vampire has finished clearing the lane and could contest the Griffin Camp. It was apparent he considered doing so, judging by the way he traveled toward Bot Jungle as well and stared down at Nia and the Lionfolk attacking the Griffin.

However, the Vampire didn't dare to contest the camp. A smart decision. It'd be foolish to walk into this dangerous 1v2 situation. Vampire didn't have any tricks for winning such a fight.

And so, Nia and the Lionfolk secured the second Griffin. That put both of them ahead of the competition. As long as they don't commit any grave mistakes, they'll maintain this advantage for a long time. It meant they'll always be able to buy and upgrade items slightly before their opponents, so they'll constantly be a little stronger.