Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 3

Vol.16 Ch.12: What Do You Expect From a Memer?

"Putting all that 'meme research' talk aside," Kai said. "What are we gonna do about the next game? It sounds like Luke doesn't have a strong alternative to DK and Yuel doesn't have any alternative plans for a DK. So, where do we go from here?"

"Oh, right." Yuel shook his head and recollected his thoughts "This was the original topic before the conversation got derailed.".

The whole meme talk threw him off balance and made him stray from the important topics at hand.

"Since Luke doesn't have anything else," Yuel said. "I was wondering whether subbing him for Vincent or Ben would be a good idea."

"Hey, hold it right there!" Luke exclaimed. "What do ya mean I don't have anything else? Bruh, I've got a billion memes under my belt!"

"The quantity doesn't matter when their quality is so low."

"Whoa, throwing shade, are we." Luke made a face. "I'd like to remind ya that my memes did just fine against Taurus. Remember that shit?"

"Are we really going to go over this again?" Yuel sighed. "Against Taurus, the only thing you did right was avoid any big blunders. That's the only reason why you did a 'passable' job there. It was still a far cry from what an adequate Jungler should be able to achieve."

"There's just no pleasing this guy, is there?" Luke shook his head. "Like, I'm working my ass off to bring in the results, but this bruh be like 'Nah, it doesn't count cuz it's memes'. What's with this shit treatment? Like, I'm still the best Jungler we've got, ain't I?"

"That's... unfortunately true, I suppose." Yuel bit his lip. He couldn't believe he was giving his approval to a memer but he had to concede that this was the truth. Despite the suboptimal meme picks, Luke was still mechanically the best Jungler they had on the team.

"After Nia," Kai corrected.

"That's just your opinion," Luke argued. "But well, it doesn't matter anyway because the girl knocked herself out. Who knows when she gonna be able to play."

"Right." Kai conceded on that point. She was visibly displeased with Luke sticking to his memes during this important match, but she couldn't argue that Luke ultimately was the best Jungler they had available on hand.

"Y'all agree I'm the best too, right?" Luke turned to Vincent and Ben, the two "competitors" nominated to replace him. "Like, you guys know I gonna do a better job out there as a Jungler, right?"

"I concur," Vincent said. "Even with more meta-oriented class picks, we mortals stand no chance against the Meme Jedi and his Meme Force."

"Yeah." Ben nodded. "I don't think I'm good enough to sub in as Jungler..."

"Hey, dude!" Lars interjected. "Don't say depressing stuff like that!"

SMACK

"Agh!" Ben's spine almost got dislocated from the "friendly" slam on the back. This was the infamous "Trever Special" that Lars channeled every now and then.

"Ya gotta believe in yourself, dude!" Lars said. "It's fine to tell Luke that ya think he's a cool dude, but ya gotta make sure he knows there's strong competition around. Tell him straight that you gonna replace his ass if he messes up."

"Whoa, whoa!" Luke exclaimed. "What's with this betrayal, man!? I thought you were in my camp!"

"I am," Lars assured. "Your memes are sick and all. But, this scrim we got here is no joke. Our opponents are packing a real punch, we all felt it real good in the first game. So, we can't take this match lightly."

"I ain't taking anything lightly if that's what you're implying."

"I'm not saying you are, dude. I'm just making sure that you stay on your toes," Lars explained. "I mean, once you start thinking that you're the team's only option, then you gonna start getting lazy and stuff. So, it's better if ya feel like somebody is breathing down yo neck, somebody who is ready to step in and replace ya at any moment."