Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story

Ever since Nia left Mid, she had been monitoring the events in Bot. And, to make sure that the enemy stayed in the dark about all of this, she purposely walked near a confirmed ward in Top Jungle. This surely made the enemy think she was rotating over there, but in truth, Nia stealthily returned to Bot Jungle almost right away.

So, while Lars was confronting Apprentece, Nia cautiously crept into a position for a gank. She made sure to sneak around any sus wards locations to reach the lane undetected.

Ok, I made it. Nia nodded to herself. I don’t think anybody noticed me. Probably.

Nothing about Appretnece’s actions indicated that he was aware of Nia’s location. So, this meant her undercover operation was a success. Probably.

But, that alone isn’t enough. Not against this monster. Nia had already snuck up to this pro twice in this game. The first time, the guy saw through it and countered it in a scary way. The second time, Nia managed to catch the guy off-guard, but her offense wasn’t sharp enough to seal the deal.

Admittedly, Nia wasn’t 100% confident about the play on both occasions. For the first one, rushing that gank seemed sus to her. She was fairly convinced that she hadn't fully erased her presence at the time, so Appretnece’s bold overextension seemed unnatural. And, it really was a trap!

As for the second play, Yuel orchestrated that entire thing from the ground up. It was the kind of plan Nia wouldn’t have thought of in a million years, so it was very sus. In the end, it ALMOST worked, but not quite.

Ganking with so little HP is scary. Nia shuddered from the mere memory of that event. I probably could've done a better job if I wasn’t so worried about staying alive the entire time.

In the end, as good as the second gank attempt was, it didn't meet all the requirements necessary for performing optimally. What Nia needed was a classic gank. She had to be healthy and sneak up to Apprentece undetected, and without Apprentece expecting her arrival.

This time, I have the HP. Nia nodded at her 90% HP bar. So, if I just get an opportunity, I can do it. I'm sure I can.

Honestly, she had no idea where that confidence was even coming from. In fact, maybe it wasn't confidence at all. She just really wanted to smack that Apprentece guy hard, that’s all.

Yes, she had to admit she was rather passionate about all of this, as unusual as it was for her. Ganking unsuspecting opponents had always been fun, but this was personal. Nia wanted to specifically gank THIS guy, and gank him hard.

I-I can take him down, I'm sure I can! So, just show me an opening already. Nia closely followed the movements in Bot from afar using the X-ray vision mode.

As always, Apprentece's conduct reeked of sheer cockiness. The guy advanced to the frontline without caring about Lars's attack range at all.

Next, Appretence got hit by one of Lars's beams, seemingly on purpose. As a result, both minion waves started moving around and the lane turned to chaos.

As Lars's swordsmen gave chase after Apprentece's swordsmen, they ended up stepping closer to their fellow bowmen. That was a fatal misplay on their part.

BAM! The Orc swung his deadly sledgehammer, annihilating all the injured swordsmen and almost killing the bowmen too. Scary.

If one of these hits me... Nia gulped. This display of strength reminded her once again just how scary a class Orc was. It was an absolute monster, pretty much on par with a Dark Knight.

Just a few months ago, Nia dreaded ganking such classes. She knew how important it was to harass such strong early-game opponents, but she couldn't bring herself to confront these monsters. After all, with how broken their damage was, eliminating Nia's entire HP bar was as easy as snapping a twig for them.

But, that alien robot kept bugging me about this point. Nia pouted. Always forcing me to gank these classes even though it’s so scary. What a bully.

Every time the team played an online game against a Dark Knight or an Orc, Yuel insisted on having Nia gank Top repeatedly. It wasn’t just scary, it was horrifying. She still had nightmares to this day, for real.

But, now that I look back, it was good practice. Nia nodded. I went through that hell so many times by now that I’m not even scared anymore. At least, not too scared…

Of course, ganking a dangerous opponent will always be scary, that’s just a law of nature. There was always that lingering question: "What if they turn the tables on me and kill me in like five seconds!?"

But nowadays, it was a small concern that didn't stop Nia. It gave her a shiver when she stopped to think about it, but nothing more. Despite everything, she was determined to strike down this Orc.

So, just give me an opportunity already. Nia telepathically sent the message to her target. C'mon, just overextend a little. You always do it, right?

Alas, it didn't feel like Apprentece had any intention of extending too deeply into Lars's territory. The guy was acting cocky as usual and advanced along the lane with his minions, but there was a hint of caution in his actions.

He's borderline overextending but I think he knows what he's doing. Nia thought. He's always kinda like that, isn't he? It always looks as if his defense is down, but it actually isn’t.

After ganking the guy twice by now, Nia could somewhat tell what he was thinking. For example, the first time she ganked him, the guy was 100% aware of what he was doing. His overextension was way too obvious and turned out to be fake as heck.

On the other hand, that time Nia ganked him at the tower? The guy wasn't expecting it at all. Even though Nia’s gank didn't go as planned in the end, Apprentece definitely let his guard down there.

But the thing is, I didn’t feel like anything was “too obvious” there. Nia recalled. Like, he wasn’t trying to convince anybody that his guard was down or anything like that. He just pushed normally, thinking that there was no way anybody would attack him there.

And, it was sensible in that situation. Nia’s assault was really absurd. Nobody would’ve expected it in a million years, so it made sense that even a Korean prodigy lowered his guard against that.

But, I haven't seen him do that again since then, though. Nia thought. Even back when he was acting cocky in Mid, he still seemed super cautious and stuff.

Apprentece extended boldly against Kai but that wasn’t the opportunity Nia was looking for. Despite how cocky the guy’s actions seemed, every step he took was flawlessly calculated. The guy was prepared at all times to handle joint attacks from Kai and Nia. There weren’t any real openings.

And it's the same situation here in Bot now. Nia analyzed. It feels like he's overextending but he isn't, not really. He's still cautious about his position and stuff. So, I need more. Please, overextend more!

As Nia was praying for the unlikely, something interesting happened in the lane. Apprentece launched his pesky Scourge at Lars! It was a dangerous CC that would’ve crippled Lars for life!

But of course, Lars was no small fry. He backflipped in the nick of time like a pro!

It was real close, though. So close that it almost gave Nia a heart attack. If that thing hit Lars, then he would have been done for. Gulp.

Fortunately, Lars managed to jump away. What's more, as soon as he landed, he fired back! It was a clean and fast execution, the kind Nia could only dream of reaching one day.

In fact, that counterattack was so swift that even the almighty Apprentece wasn't prepared for it. ZAP! The laser beam pierced right through that cocky guy!

Totally deserved. Nia nodded in approval. That's what you get for underestimating us.

Apprentece was undoubtedly strong, but Lars had just proved that it was possible to confront that guy head-to-head. This bolstered Nia's confidence. Surely, she could also launch a successful attack on this prodigy. She just needed the right opportunity for it.

And surprisingly, that opportunity might just be around the corner.

Oh, he's acting differently now. Nia noticed. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but it feels like he's a lot more absorbed in the lane situation right now. I don’t think he’s paying that much attention to his surroundings anymore...

This was something of a sixth sense. Nia felt like a fog started gathering around her to conceal her presence. This could be the moment!

Or, was Nia reading too much into it? Maybe her desire for revenge was clouding her judgment?

I dunno for sure. Nia shrugged. But, this feels like the chance I've been waiting for so I have to take it!

And so, Nia took off toward Bot! She was going to use this opportunity to settle the score, once and for all!