Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 3

Vol.18 Ch.7: The Reputation at Stake

After instantaneously banning Trickshooter and Gunslinger, Cato slowed down for the third ban.

"So," Cato started. "Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this pick?"

"Yes," Jin affirmed. "Do I need repeat it again? Yes, yes, and yes. You asked me ten times already."

"Can you blame me? What you're suggesting is borderline insanity."

"No. It's off-meta but viable."

"Yes, it's technically 'viable' but..." Cato didn't like it, not even one bit. The idea Jin suggested stood against everything Cato believed in.

And, Cato wasn't alone here. Jin's loud announcement shocked everybody.

"Is it really necessary to cause this much trouble for us?" Sonya asked. "Frankly, your suggestion doesn't mesh at all with our team's usual game plan."

"No problem," Jin assured. "You do your thing, I do mine. Simple."

"My, I guess I missed when they announced that Mancers has become a single-player game," Cato retorted.

"There is no conflict between plans. You can handle defense while I handle offense. It works."

"Except, this 'offense' you're suggesting is beyond extreme."

"It works fine," Jin insisted. "Only danger is if I not do well during early-game, but that won't happen."

"My, such confidence. Or, is it arrogance?"

"Opponents of this level are nothing. They shouldn't have given you trouble."

"How nice of you to say that to your teammates..." Cato frowned, and so did Sonya and William. The worst part was that they didn't have a good retort to this accusation. Their performance today was indeed far from satisfactory.

The only one who didn't particularly care about any of this was Matthew, who was silently watching the entire exchange from the side. But, after seeing everybody slump like this, even he had to say something.

"Stratus is a pain to deal with this year, they're a lot better than expected. Honestly, they're pretty good."

"Perhaps," Jin said. "But, not good enough to give trouble to regional champions."

"I dunno to what high standard you're holding us, but we're all just middle schoolers, you know?" Matthew said. "The only difference between us and them is that we receive professional coaching and have a better environment to practice in. We're not that different, really."

"That's not how a champion team should be thinking."

"I'll be real, I don't care what a 'champion' should be like," Matthew retorted. "Besides, we're not even 'champions' at anything yet."

"This attitude is no good."

"Sorry, but neither is yours."

They stared each other down for a few good seconds. This was a rare example of Matthew actually taking on the fight and speaking his mind. Alas, his motivation for these things never lasted long...

"Whatever." Matthew shrugged. "As far as I'm concerned, do whatever makes you happy. Just please don't come crying to us later if it turns out the enemy was better than you expected."

"I won't," Jin asserted. "I have good assessment of the Stratus' skill by now, that's why I know Orc will work."

Yes, Orc, that's the pick Jin wanted to go through. It was the long-lost sibling of Dark Knight, another hyper-aggressive class that was only relevant during the early-game.