Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story

"Yeah, I have eyes too," Ignis said. "Besides, I'm the one who placed the ward there, you know."     

"Of course, of course."     

Back when Ignis was wrestling with the enemy minions and the vikings, she snuck a ward into the lane. There was a brief moment during which the kid was preoccupied with fighting minions, so Ignis used that moment to execute her scheme.     

Now, the very same ward showed how Apprentece was recalling back to base. In other words, the kid left the lane completely empty.     

[Heh, just like I thought.] Ignis lifted her chin, unable to contain herself. [He has no idea where I am right now.]     

Contrary to her enemy's expectations, Ignis wasn't watching the scene from her base. After all, she never actually recalled in the first place.     

She only pretended to cast Recall when Apprentece looked in her direction. After that, the kid turned his back to her and continued retreating, so Ignis used that opportunity to roll into the jungle.     

[Everything is going according to plan, heh.] Ignis knew that if the kid was gullible enough, then he'd leave the lane deserted after clearing all the minions. He probably left the lane thinking that he equalized the lane situation, completely unaware of Ignis's ploy.     

"Alright, now you can come out," Ignis said.     

"Why thank you." Hawk rolled his eyes. [I really don't like how she straight up took command of MY plan, but I guess that's typical Igny for you.] He sighed as he emerged from the jungle, all the way on the enemy side of Top Lane.     

Back when Ignis and Apprentece were having their little bout, Hawk was busy scouting the enemy jungle via counter-jungling. One of his tasks was to find out whether the enemy Jungler was planning to rotate to help in Top, but his primary mission was to get into position for invading the lane once the kid leaves.     

This entire plan was born from Hawk's desire to fully capitalize on the Beastmaster class he picked. Ignis took all the credit to herself as usual, but it was Hawk who originally planted this scheme into her mind.     

For a Jungler, Beastmaster wasn't particularly amazing at clearing comps or even ganking. However, there was one area it excelled at: pushing lanes. The class was even tagged with a "Pusher" label.     

As a Jungler, Beastmaster's game plan revolved around taming strong monsters, then unleashing them on one of the lanes. And, one of the best scenarios for utilizing the Beastmaster's strength was a deserted lane.     

That's exactly the situation Hawk was hoping to exploit here in Top. And, he had an accomplice as well. Cooperating with an Orc on this expedition was going to be an immense boost.     

"Alright, let's go!" Ignis led the way. "Get your minions out."     

"Here they come." Hawk activated "Let the Dogs Out", summoning the five creeps he prepared for this very moment: three Griffins, an Ogre Leader, and a Wraith Leader.     

However, that wasn't the entire extent of his army.     

[Here comes the big boy!] Hawk activated Legendary Beast, his ult.     

At skill Lv.1, Legendary Beast only permitted him to summon a mammoth. It wasn't the best legendary beast for pushing towers, but it had to suffice in this situation.     

The mammoth roared loudly upon appearing on the scene, attracting the attention of all enemies in the area. Except, there were no such enemies present at the moment, so there was nobody to aggro.     

With no nearby enemies to target, the mammoth settled on the enemy Turret. And so, the giant started running. Faster, faster, and faster! Then, BAAAAM! It rammed into the enemy tower!     

Unlike the intensity of the impact, the damage itself wasn't anything to write home about. However, the mammoth did great by charging into the tower area before anybody else. Thanks to that, the Turret had no choice but to aim its shots at this chunky beast.     

With the tank in place, the rest of the army followed up on the attack. Ignis, Hawk, and all the tamed jungle creeps entered the tower area in order to unleash destruction on the abandoned tower!     

Despite how it looked, they weren't just some big unorganized mob. This joint attack actually had immense synergy.     

Ignis's "Gang Up" passive buffed her Attack Power for every ally in range. Therefore, with Hawk and his six minions, "Gang Up" buffed Ignis's power seven times over.     

It was a flat buff, which meant it'd fall off in the mid-game. However, at this early phase of the game, this amount of buffs was stupidly strong.     

On top of that, Hawk's "Whipping into Shape" passive buffed all the creeps he summoned. This buff turned them into far stronger versions of their regular jungle counterparts.     

With a terrifying army like this, it was very much possible to annihilate a tower from 100% HP in a single push. And, that was precisely their plan here!     

While the mammoth was tanking the tower's shots, the rest of the striking force ganged on the tower. Everybody encircled the tower and ravaged it from point-blank, except for Hawk who lashed from mid-range, and the Wraith Leader who fired magical balls from afar.     

The mammoth also banged its head at the tower, but its damage wasn't that impressive compared to its gigantic size. On the other hand, its HP and defense were very high, so it tanked many tower shots for the army.     

And, even as the beast was about to collapse, Ignis didn't allow that to happen.     

"Stand your ground, grunts!" the Orc roared as Ignis activated Last Stand. "You're not permitted to die until I say so!"     

Last Stand emitted an aura around Ignis, imbuing her allies with an unyielding spirit. In this state, they won't die no matter what disaster befalls them.     

The Turret reduced the mammoth's HP to nothing, yet the beast continued tanking the tower shots. Even without a single pixel in its HP bar, the giant beast refused to collapse.     

Ignis didn't give the mammoth permission to die, therefore the beast had to keep working overtime, even beyond the grave. And so, while the zombie mammoth continued tanking shots, the rest of the squad assaulted the tower without rest.     

Eventually, the effect of Last Stand came to an end. Once it expired, the mammoth collapsed immediately, finally getting its long deserved rest.     

[Well, that's that.] Hawk nodded. [It served its purpose. We're pretty much done here.]     

The tower was already down to 25% HP. Even with their main tank was gone, there were still five more creeps available who could be used as sacrificial pawns.     

With that said, Ignis was very low on HP after her earlier battle with Apprentece. Therefore, if the tower decided to focus her now, then it'd kill her in one or two shots.     

Fortunately, the tower prioritized the jungle monsters over Ignis, the same way it always prioritized lane minions over players. Therefore, Ignis and Hawk didn't have to worry about getting hit any time soon.     

As the tower shot down the jungle creeps one by one, the onslaught continued in full throttle. And, before long...     

『An enemy Turret has been destroyed!』     

It was over. Less than five minutes into the game, Ignis and Hawk claimed the Top Turret! Such was the overwhelming strength of the Orc + Beastmaster combo.     

Alone, each of the classes wasn't particularly popular due to their various shortcomings. However, when together, they could execute one of the most destructive tower rushes available for the early-game!     

"Hell yeah, let's go!" Ignis pumped a fist. "That oughta teach that brat a lesson!"     

"I'm sure it will," Hawk agreed. "Seriously, he's like 10 years too young to be talking about getting into the scene. The nerve of today's youngsters, huh."     

"My, poor Jinjin~" Esmeralda commented. "You two are such bullies. So immature of you."     

"Immature, huh." Hawk smiled wryly. [Yeah, maybe it's a little childish to hold a grudge against a kid. But, somebody gotta put him in his place.]     

It's not like Hawk was into bullying aspiring youngsters. In fact, he was the youngest and newest member of the Sweepers, so he probably related to Jin's desire to climb the ladder more than anybody else here.     

[But, this kid crossed me. He made me look bad last game.] Hawk thought. [So, I'm sorry for being "immature", but I can't ignore shit like that. That's why I told Ronshfelt I'll be fine with another round. I had to get my sweet, sweet revenge, heh. Though, now that I think about it...]     

Hawk was in a foul mood after the previous game, and so was Ignis. Neither of them liked how that Korean kid made them look bad in that game. The brat almost made it look as if he was on par with them, on par with B-Leaguers. It was absurd.     

Therefore, if asked for an opinion on Apprentece's performance, Hawk and Ignis agreed to give a negative review. They didn't outright discuss it, but it was a silent agreement they reached amidst their rants.     

But then, somebody intervened. ["My, you make such scary faces~ If you're so frustrated with how that game turned out, then why not ask for a rematch? Now that you know what he's capable of, I'm sure you can teach him a lesson or two~"]     

It was the witch's whispers. They swayed Hawk and Ignis, making them change their plans a little.     

They still delivered a negative review on Apprentece's performance, claiming the kid was trying to bite more than he could chew. However, on top of that, they also indirectly requested Ronshfelt to give the kid another chance.     

[The entire time, I was sure I came up with the rematch idea myself, but...] Hawk frowned. [Also, that wasn't all Esmeralda told, was it? I'm pretty sure she also...]     

Hawk paused. At that moment, a shiver ran across his body.     

"Wait a minute," Hawk said. "You call us 'immature', but I'm pretty you're the one who casually threw the idea of Orc + Beast into the air."     

"My, did I?" Esmeralda covered her mouth as if surprised. It was hard to tell whether she was faking it or whether she genuinely didn't remember.     

"I'm pretty sure you're the one who brought up that idea first," Hawk insisted. "You said how it might be a good idea to catch him off-guard with something 'unexpected', or something to effect."     

"Hmm~ Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Esmeralda dodged the accusation.     

[Damn.] Hawk thought. [The whole time, I was so sure this whole operation was my idea. But, I feel like she's the one who planted that idea in my head first. The scariest thing is that I have no idea whether it was intentional or not.]     

A witch, that's what Esmeralda was. Not just in appearance, but in personality as well. She had the knack for pulling the strings on everybody, manipulating them to do their bidding without them even noticing.     

To what end did she plant all these ideas in their heads? Did she want to give the Korean kid a second chance to shine? Was it out of the kindness of her heart?     

Or, was her soul pitch-black like her attire? Perhaps she sought nothing less than the kid's absolute ruin?     

It was impossible to get a proper read on this enigma. Out of all the members of the Sweepers, Esmeralda was the one Hawk understood the least. And, he wasn't even sure he wanted to understand her, either...     

[Anyway, the die was cast.] Hawk concluded. [We destroyed the tower. That's oughta make the kid look REAL bad. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.]     

Regardless of how the idea behind this play was formed, the fact remained that Hawk and Ignis demolished the Top Turret. And, they did so exceptionally early, with only 5 minutes on the clock.     

That was a hefty blow. Not only to the enemy Top Laner, but also to the entire enemy team at large.     

It was very much possible for this one misplay to doom the entire game for them. They probably had no way of coming back from this....