Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 3

Vol.17 Ch.7: Nervous First Wave

H-Here I am. Ben gulped as he arrived on the lane. T-This is where the trouble starts for real. A shiver ran across his arms as he spotted Challenger. His right hand was shaking on top of the mouse.

He was no longer in Kansas, this wasn't an allied territory anymore. Ben was in Top Lane and about to compete with his opponent for lane control!

What's worse, his lane opponent was the one who gave Vincent a lot of trouble in the last game. In fact, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Ben was subbed in for the sole purpose of dealing with this dangerous foe.

I need to perform at least as well as Vincent did, preferably better. Of course, Ben was well aware that he was a worse player than Vincent overall. He didn't have nearly as much knowledge, experience, or versatility. Truly, he was interior to Vincent in almost every possible way.

However, there was one particular area in which Ben excelled, probably even more than Vincent did. Yes, even Ben with his shaky self-esteem was able to claim as much.

I can defend. Ben thought. That's what I was subbed in to do, right?

His job here was quite simple: to protect the lane from Challenger's aggression. And, as far as that specific goal was concerned, Ben might be able to do a slightly better job than Vincent.

A-At least, I think I have a chance to accomplish it. That is, if I can get rid of all this shaking first.

Even after he took five deep breaths, his body refused to relax. There was simply too much tension in the air, one could cut through it with a knife.

The audience is watching, my teammates have expectations, and the enemy is looking for opportunities to end me. Gulp.

His meager existence was suddenly exposed to so much attention the moment he stepped on the stage. And especially now, with a powerhouse like Challenger right in front of him, Ben felt the pressure beating him down.

B-But even so, I have to do it! Ben did everything in his power to convince his shaky body. B-But the shaking just won't go away. I think I just have to play like this for a while...

There was no time to lallygag. The first minion waves had already clashed in the middle of the lane, so despite the numerous shivers, Ben had to handle the situation accordingly.

But, what was the right approach here? The enemy was a mighty Dragonborn, one that was capable of stomping even strong players like Vincent. What was Ben even going to do about this mighty foe?

Sometimes, Yuel criticizes me for not being aggressive enough in the lane. But, I assume this isn't going to be one of these cases.

This was one of these games where Ben didn't have to worry too much about attacking. Against Challenger, Ben was tasked with only erecting an unbreakable wall of defense. His primary job was to avoid surrendering any lane control to the enemy, that's about it.

So, I'll make sure to do just that. Ben nodded to himself. In his mind, he knew exactly what had to be done. However, the enemy had no intentions of making any of this easy.

As soon as the two armies clashed, Challenger charged forth with Draconic Rush, knocking Ben's frontline toward the backline! With all of Ben's minions packed in one area, Challenger unleashed Draconic Flame, slicing through all of them with a blade of fire!

Just like that, with two attacks, Ben's army lost over 60% of its HP. And, Ben didn't even get the chance to lift a finger yet.

S-So fast and decisive! Ben gulped. This isn't going to be easy...