Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story

"Hell yeah!" Nash dashed ahead of the pack. He wanted to be there first to claim another kill.     

"Zeph, come with us," Jaiden said.     

"Are we really doing this?" Zeph raised an eyebrow. "That's batshit is crazy. Why don't we just take Top's tower while we're here?"     

"Nah, that's waste of time," Jaiden said. "Let's go all-in on Mid! That's where we gonna push."     

"Sounds like you wanna put all your eggs in one basket."     

"Don't worry, it gonna work! C'mon, it's already a 5v2. What exactly do you think these guys gonna pull?"     

"Fair enough. You guys are really something," Zeph cracked a laugh. This entire game plan was madness incarnate. It sounded like a naive pipe dream.     

Yet, Jaiden pulled it off. His insane gimmicky gamble proved to be effective. Heck, it even worked against Chessmaster, the guy who never overlooked anything. Shit was wild.     

And, now they're going all-in on Mid? A five-man push? What sort of madness was that!? But, it sure as hell sounded like lots of fun. Plus, it'd be hilarious if it actually worked. So, why not?     

"Alright, let's go!" Zeph joined the march. Their target was Mid, guarded by a single opponent. Gunz was the last man standing, the only one holding the fort. If they remove that guy as well, it'll pretty much be GG.     

Naturally, the enemy team must've been feeling the bitter taste of despair right now.     

"What's even going on with this game...?" Kai asked with a defeated expression.     

First, she died. Then, Vincent followed her footsteps. And now, even Yuel kicked the bucket. Everything about this situation was insane. The entire game was drowning in madness.     

"The Bermuda Triangle of Certain Doom strikes again!" Vincent continued hyping things up, almost as if he was cheering for the enemy team. "This time, they even got Chessmaster! What masterful display of..." A sharp glare stabbed him like a knife. "Ahem, anyway, they're pretty good. Yeah. Not bad at all."     

"You understand this isn't the time for this, right?" Kai speared the loud idiot with her glare.     

"Yes, indeed. My bad," Vincent caved in under the pressure and pipped down.     

The enemy's plays were nothing short of legendary, but this wasn't the time to sing them praises. Vincent wasn't a neutral bystander in this game, so his words had a direct impact on his teammates' morale. If he continued celebrating the enemy's strength, everybody will start thinking they stood no chance. Their fighting spirit will die out.     

[That would be a disaster! I must avoid rubbing salt into their wounds.] Vincent nodded to himself. [Though, I must say. The Bermuda Triangle of Certain Doom is beyond splendid! It's unbeatable! It devoured our entire team! Our future appears gloom...]     

"Yo, my dudes," Lars called out in a cheery voice, but his shaky smile betrayed a sign of nervousness. "So, we lost both Top and Bot?"     

"In a way," Yuel explained things in order, drawing a clear picture of the situation for everybody, including himself. "Instead of taking Bot, they teleported to Top and ganked me."     

"Whoa! Dudes be wilding!"     

"You can say that again," Yuel nodded. "I assume they'll take Top now. With four pushers, they might even take the Golem. Or, maybe not...?"     

It was odd. The enemy should've started pushing Top already, but there was no sign of them. A new minion wave arrived at the center of Top Lane, revealing... nothing. There was nobody there. Not a single player.     

"Lars, retreat. Now."     

"Wait, are ya telling me they..."     

"I am," Yuel stated matter-of-factly. "They're coming after you."     

"Haha, ya gotta be kidding me," Lars laughed in denial, but he nevertheless started backpedaling. Then, he broke into a dash and rolled in the direction of his Turret. He gotta scram. Fast!     

"Too late, scrub!" Zeph leaped out of the jungle in his dragon form! In this form, Draconic Rush became a long-distance leap with knock-up CC upon landing. Zeph gonna end Gunz's whole career with this thing!     

Thanks to the dragon's giant body, it was hard to miss with this leap. Zeph crashed on his target like a meteor! However, nobody was sent flying.     

"Wha!?" Zeph's face contorted. "Hey, come back here!"     

"Phew, close!" Lars grinned nervously after emerging a short distance away. He had to spend Thunderclap to dodge that dragon meteorite. "Damn, this is tense! The entire enemy team is on my ass, haha!"     

"Nice dodge," Yuel tried to mask the gravity of the situation to the best of his ability. Deep down, he knew the truth. This was a hopeless situation.     

Nevertheless, he wanted Lars to struggle against these impossible odds until the bitter end. Maybe, just maybe, the almighty goof will create a miracle.     

"Go toward Bot Jungle," Yuel advised. "They'll probably cut you off if you keep running along the lane. The jungle should be safer."     

"Roger!" Lars took a sharp turn and dived into Bot Jungle. This meant he was completely abandoning Mid, but there was no other choice. In a 1v5 situation, the enemy would take the Turret no matter how hard Lars tried to defend. So, his top priority was to get away alive.     

As expected, he didn't run into anybody inside the jungle.     

[Phew, good.] Lars sighed in relief. [Them dudes are so wild, that I almost expected one of them to show up all the way over here.]     

It was an extreme thought, but very much justified. After all, he was dealing with opponents who switched from attacking Bot to attacking Top in a matter of seconds. These dudes were wilding all across the map!     

But, not this time. Fleeing into the jungle successfully threw the enemy off.     

"Where is he!?" Nash emerged behind the enemy tower, in the best spot for cutting off the enemy's escape route. But, his prey wasn't there. And, nowhere else on the lane either! [What the flying heck!?]     

"He went into Bot Jungle," Zeph reported.     

"Dang. Smart," Jaiden had to admit. "What a shame."     

Indeed, it was a shame he won't get to fight Gunz as well. But, it was understandable. After delivering so many successful assaults, it was only natural for the enemy to fear Jaiden and the gang. Even Gunz, who was a hyper-aggressive player, would flee in the face of that kind of terror. It was inevitable. There was nothing they could do about that.     

"Looks like we'll have to let him go," Jaiden said. "Okay, let's forget about Gunz and focus on taking the lane-"     

"Nah, no way!" Nash hurled his axe into the jungle. "He ain't getting away from me!"     

"Wait, don't go alone-"     

It was too late. Nash already blinked into the jungle. A switch flipped in his mind. He entered his "chasing mode". Once Nash became like that, there was no stopping him, for the better and the worse.     

"Do we follow?" Rio asked.     

"We seriously need to start pushing," Jaiden glanced at the lane. There was Zeph, still in dragon form, ready to tank the Turret. Meanwhile, Raymond was advancing the minion wave to raid the tower.     

They were alone here. Nobody stood between them and the Turret. They'll easily take it with just three pushers.     

"I'll go push," Jaiden told Rio. "You follow Nash and make sure he doesn't mess up."     

"Got it," Rio chased after the fool who ventured into Bot Jungle by himself. Meanwhile, Jaiden dashed into the tower area and started barraging the tower.     

While all this action was happening in Mid, the chase in the jungle was underway.     

"Okay, I think I'm safe here," Lars turned around and checked for pursuers. There was nobody behind him, not a single soul. The enemies were wrecking his Mid Turret instead of chasing him.     

"So, what's next?" Lars asked.     

"There's no much you can do," Yuel reasoned. "Recall to base and get ready to defend the Golem."     

"On it," Lars began recalling.     

"Not so fast, chump!" Nash rolled into the scene from behind his prey. He unleashed a wild swing across the enemy's back!     

"What the-!?" Lars jumped. "Yo, the Viking dude is here!" He rolled away to create some distance. Fighting this dude from a close range would be suicide.     

"I think he's alone," Lars said as he examined his surroundings. There was nobody else in sight. "Do I fight this dude?"     

"No, it's risky," Yuel argued. "Somebody might rotate over here if they see you staying to fight. You better retreat."     

"Yeah, agree," Lars nodded. He itched to test his mettle against this Viking, but survival took priority. If Lars falls here, there won't be anybody to defend any part of the map anymore. The enemy will be able to take whichever Turret or Golem they wished.     

Therefore, Lars had to survive no matter what. [But, where do I go!?]     

"Try reaching Bot tower," Yuel advised. "If it's just one or two pursuers, they wouldn't dive under tower to fight you." [At least, I hope they won't. At this point, I can't tell what these guys will pull next.]     

"Roger, Bot it is," Lars turned his back to the pursuer and blitzed outta there. He was already halfway toward Bot Lane, so he didn't have much farther to go. He gonna make it out alive, yo!     

"Why are you running?" Nash asked. "WHY ARE YOU RUNNING!?" He pursued his prey with a mad grin on his face. He was like a horror film monster chasing a horrified victim. It felt the best! [Yeah, that's right! Keep quaking in your boots till I get my hands on ya!]     

Nash stared hard at the mini-map while running. What was the best path? Which route will allow him to cut off his target?     

"I think his chasing fetish kicked in,." Rio pouted. "It's hard to keep up."     

"Yeah, it looks like he's in the zone," Jaiden smiled. "But, do me a favor and try sticking close to him just in case."     

"If that's what you want," Rio was lagging behind but he continued chasing Nash. If they leave that fool without supervision, there was a good chance he'd do something stupid like diving under tower. Rio had to be there to stop that from happening.     

Meanwhile, the chase continued.     

[Okay, nailed it!] Nash found the shortest route available to him. The path appeared clear in his mind, no doubt born from his genius! Now, the monster was ready to give a real chase! It'll catch that puny human and tear the guy to shreds in some gruesome manner! Nash will transform into the very symbol of terror!     

However, at the time, the horror film victim didn't consider himself a victim at all. In fact, he was very hopeful about his chances.     

"Okay, I'm almost there!" Lars informed everybody with a relieved smile. The jungle exit leading to Bot was right in front of his eyes. Once he passed through it, the tower area will be a couple of meters away.     

Alas, Lars celebrated too early. Just as he was about to exit the jungle, a pair of arms emerged from the darkness. They wrapped themselves around him and stopped him in his tracks.     

"CAUGHT. YOU." Nash grabbed his prey with Takedown, then flung the guy back into the jungle. "There's no escaping from the monster!"     

"Dang it!" Lars cursed. "How did he catch up!?"     

"He's sure fast on his feet," Yuel frowned. [He owns some of that success to all the Movement Speed he built. But, that alone doesn't explain how he caught up so fast from that position. He must've picked a very optimized route. What a troublesome opponent.]     

The impressive chasing technique stoned both Lars and Yuel. However, for the enemy team, this development was par for the course.     

"Awesome work as always!" Jaiden cheered.     

"Heh, thanks, bro," Nash grinned. "Ya know how it is. Ain't nobody getting away from me."     

"You got that right," Jaiden nodded. Indeed, chasing opponents was one of Nash's unparalleled skills. Chasing made him transform into a "monster", as he liked to call it.     

It was like in these cheap horror movies. The victims would run all over the place seeking shelter. But, no matter where they run, the monster WILL find them and WILL kill them. It'll be gruesome and there won't be any mercy.     

Just now, Nash became such an absolute monster. And, he finally cornered his prey. It was time to thoroughly devour the victim!     

[But,] Jaiden pondered. [Can Nash really kill Gunz?]     

Gunz wasn't just any victim. The guy was no pushover. His power level rivaled that of the last survival of the movie, the only one who had a chance of making it out alive.     

Did Gunz possess the necessary combat skill to stand up to the monster? This will prove to be an exciting fight for sure, way more interesting than all these senseless murder scenes in which the victim clearly stood no chance against the monster. This victim will stand his ground and fight! To the bitter end, if needed.