Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 3

Vol.17 Ch.17: The Phantom's Distracting Presence

"You're right," Yuel said. "Ben is a little on edge this game. But, do you know who else is suffering from the same issue?"

"Who?" Nia asked.

"You are."

"Eh?" Nia titled her head. "I'm... perfectly fine. Yeah."

That pause gives her away. Yuel sighed. Why can't this girl be more honest about her problems? It'd make my life so much easier...

"If you were 'perfectly fine' as you claim, then you wouldn't have gone for that sorry excuse of a gank."

"S-Sorry excuse'!? Gufu..." Nia's shoulders slumped. "But, I worked so hard for it... Bully."

"I have no doubt you worked hard," Yuel said. "In fact, you even deserve some praise for getting past all enemy wards."

"Right? I'm just the best sometimes."

"HOWEVER, going for that terrible gank without discussing it with anybody shows that you weren't thinking straight," Yuel said. "You knew that the gank was unlikely to score a kill, so you should have sought some advice."

"I just didn't want to risk Ben ruining it..." Nia shifted her eyes away. It seemed like she had an idea of what Yuel was talking about, but she was adamant about denying her faults until the bitter end. Seriously, this troublemaker...

"If you didn't want Ben to hear your plans, you could have whispered to me first."

"You seemed kinda busy. You didn't even notice me going for a gank."

"That is true." Yuel really somehow missed all the preparations Nia made for the gank. Normally, he was unaffected by her ability to erase her existence, but in this game, he had a hard time keeping track of her. It just went to show how busy he was in the lane.

"Regardless," Yuel continued. "You should have said something. Me being busy with my lane doesn't excuse me from doing my job as a shot-caller. That gank opportunity was the kind of thing you must tell the shot-caller about, I thought we discussed this topic enough times by now."

"Yeah, at least a hundred times..." Nia rolled her eyes. "I guess I should have said something."

"But, you didn't. Instead, you rushed ahead, thinking it'll somehow work out for you. Doesn't that behavior remind you of something?"

"Hmm, nope."

"I remember one girl who cracked under pressure during her debut game and rushed to gank a lane at the first opportunity that presented itself," Yuel said. "And, what was the result of that play? As expected, she made a careless mistake in her rush and allowed enemy wards to expose her before she even got to the lane."

"Sounds like a terrible player. That couldn't be me." Nia looked away. "Besides, I slipped past the wards just fine this time."

"Yes, you did," Yuel agreed. "But, you still rushed to the lane. I bet you couldn't think about anything other than scoring that kill, and that blurred your judgment all over again, just like it happened during the debut game."

"Eh, that's..." Nia chewed her lips. As much as she wanted to deny everything, Yuel's criticism was on point. That solo gank attempt wasn't going to score a kill against a Dragonborn, not in a million years. And, especially not against a player from the Leopards.

Nonetheless, Nia still went ahead with it despite the impossible odds. Why? Well, because it was her first opportunity to actually deliver a proper gank today.

By some stroke of luck, the enemy's all-seeing eye, which has been stalking Nia this entire game, decided to a short break. There was no telling when that stalker will resume operations, so Nia had to act fast! It felt like she might never get another chance if she misses this rare opportunity.