Kapitel 49: Smashed Mental Image

The Trickshooter committed a terrible mistake. He entered the Turret's range while chasing Jennifer down. From this position, Jennifer mounted a counter attack!

『You have killed an enemy!』

Things came down to the wire there, but she destroyed that scrub-

『You have been killed!』

"Excuse what the?" Jennifer watched how her Pyromancer collapsed. A gust of wind struck her from behind outta nowhere. "The heck? Where did that Aero scum come from?"

"He rotated from Top," Albert explained. "He was actually spotted by one of the Wards..."

"Huh, is that so." Jennifer shrugged and leaned back on her chair with a deep sigh.

"Your map awareness is shit like always." Alex jabbed.

"Shut up, bitch." Jennifer made a face. "I was busy fighting, okay? Didn't have time to check the map."

"A real pro can see the map even while fighting."

"Also, a real pro also wouldn't forget he got a freaking blink ability in his kit and he definitely wouldn't misclick in crucial moments."

"Kh." Alex grimaced and turned away.

[Whatever.] Jennifer stretched her arms. [I'm not a multitasking alien like these guys, so that's the best I could do there... or was it?]

She reflected back on how her flanking attack played out. In the beginning, she had all the advantage: more HP, all spells ready and a Turret nearby. Yet, she fucked up big time.

What mistakes did she make? What could she improve for the next fight? These questions were never fun to face, but she got used to them by now. Tackling such armor-piercing questions after every defeat was what allowed her to better herself after every failure.

Though, in the case of this flanking attack, it's difficult to identify the main mistake she made. Depending on her decisions, many things could have turned out completely different. Maybe she shouldn't have flanked at all? Or, maybe she shouldn't have rushed Spellbook of Doom? Or, maybe she shouldn't have thirsted so much for a kill and retreated as soon as her combo fell through?

Well, without her ganking Mid, the Trickshooter would have easily destroyed Mid Turret, which was a big no-no. Even though she died, Jennifer at least stalled the Trickshooter enough to save the Turret. Alex now returned to lane, so the Turret was going to live for a while longer. Therefore, rotating to Mid in itself wasn't a mistake.

Then, what about rushing Spellbook of Doom? A difficult one. She started lagging behind on gold and exp after her first death, so it was going to take too long before she became a threat again if she followed her standard combo build.

Rushing an Lv.3 Spellbook spiked her damage burst, at the cost of not getting other important stats and utility. It was a greedy approach, which demanded her to justify this rush with at least kill. But, as long as she wanted to keep playing Combo Pyromancer this match, that was her best bet. That's what she concluded, as somebody who dedicated over three years of her life to the combo playstyle.

In that case, her biggest mistake must have been the greedy attempt to finish off the Trickshooter right then and there. She rushed Spellbook of Doom, so she felt pressured to justify that by scoring a kill as soon as possible. There was a good opportunity to wreck that Trickshooter there, so she just went for it, disregarding that guy's hax mechanical skill and batshit crazy aggressiveness.

With all said and done, she had to hand it to that guy. He was a scrub, but not a weak scrub. He came close to almost possibly maybe posing her a little challenge. Hmph.

[No way that guy is a freshman, right? He must be at least junior.] Shudder. If that guy was a freshman and still had two years ahead of him... Nah, no way.

Anyway, that settled it. Her target was too tough of a cookie to pursue as greedily as she did. Instead of betting everything on one combo, Jennifer should have stayed under tower and stalled him until Alex returned to lane.

But, there was a catch. Since she rushed Spellbook of Doom, she didn't have much cooldown reduction or raw power. She had to entirely rely on her combo if she wanted to dish out serious damage. Therefore, if she were to play defensively under tower, she'd be a very ineffective defender.

Sure, she might have stalled the Trickshooter like this, but she wouldn't have been able to completely draw him away. That annoying Aeromancer was already in the middle of rotating to Mid at the time, so eventually, Jennifer would have found herself in a 1v2 situation. She'd be forced to retreat, leaving the Turret undefended against two foes, one of which was a Carry who could destroy it in seconds.

So, even though defending Mid Turret sounded like the play she should have gone for, it still would have ended up as a weak play. At least, as long as she insisted to rush Spellbook of Doom.

If she opted for better early game items, she'd have had a greater impact on lane. She'd be able to scare away, or maybe even kill, the Trickshooter via repeated spell attacks. But, that's where a huge conflict occurred. Because, as a combo player, she already decided rushing Spellbook was the right move, way before this whole situation happened.

Back when she purchased Spellbook of Doom, she couldn't have possibly predicted that over half of her team would be wiped out in under a minute. At the time, rushing Spellbook wasn't a wrong move for her as a combo player... or was it?

Geh, her brain hurt. Rushing Spellbook was a good move for her as a combo player, yet it also sounded like a mistake due to how her fight with the Trickshooter turned out. If she wanted the ability to defend Mid Turret, or even just play safely in her own lane, she should have opted for something more stable than an early Spellbook of Doom. But, she still rushed Spellbook, because she wanted to play combo.

Then, what? This almost sounded as if the root of her mistake was that she... insisted to play combo. Agh, what a headache. Coach's words flashed through her mind.

"You're a talented girl."He always told her that, right before dropping some bomb. "But, focusing on combo is going to restrict you. In a vacuum, you got more than enough skill to be on the first string. But, in real competitions, as long as you stick to combo... It's unfortunate, but I don't think I'll ever be able to make you a starter"

"Just you watch! I'mma become the first combo player you ever put on the first string!"She always answered naughtily like that, They went through many variations of this conversation before, but she always answered the same: "I wanna play combo!".

She was an exemplary pupil, following Coach's instructions and training regimes to a T. No matter how boring or repetitive they felt at times, she sucked it up. But, despite all that, her combo playstyle was the one thing she refused to compensate on. For her, playing Classmancers was about playing combo.

When she first heard of Classmancers years ago, she wasn't interested. At the time, she enjoyed playing action games with fast kills, like shooter battle royales. Fights were all about split-second outplays. The first player to screw up was gonna get styled on. She'd rush her enemy and go for that sweet insta-kill shotgun headshot. You either go hard or you go home! That's how real fights gotta be.

Compared to that, Classmancers looked like a slow and boring game. Sure, it was kinda action-y and with its third-person perspective and all, but it suffered from the same illness like any other RTS MOBA. Namely, it was about players repeatedly bashing each other until somebody collapsed. Of course, some characters could destroy HP faster than others, but the fight just felt long and tedious overall.

One day, boys in class were raving about a hype clip from Classmancers. It was short gameplay footage from a recent pro tournament, showcasing a fight between Maker and DimesionShift. According to the excited boys, Maker was universally accepted as the best Classmancers player in the world. He started off at 80% HP. a pretty safe position.

On the other hand, his opponent, DimensionShift, had merely 10% HP and was in the middle of retreating. "Shift is desperately trying to get away!" The commentator hyped up the situation. "We all know he's good at wiggling his way out of tight spots, but will that work against Maker!? The world champion is ruthless when it comes to chasing his prey, he won't let anybody get away- Oh! What's this!? Shift turned around!? Is he planning to fight back!?"

Just as Shift was about to be caught, he suddenly turned around and blinked behind Maker! From this close range, he unleashed a lighting speed barrage of fire spells. Before Maker could react - he was reduced to dust!

"Unbelievable! Did you just see what happened here!?" The commenter shouted into the mic. "What an upset! The audience is going wild over here! Shift proves once again he's the uncontested god of combos! It doesn't even matter who's his opponent! Maker? Who was that scrub, right? Shift does what Shift does best - burst his opponent from full HP to nothing before you can even blink!"

"C-Can you play that one more time?" Jennifer asked the boy who was showing the clip to his friends. She shortly received a link to the clip, with the tile "You won't believe this greatest upset in Classmancers history!". It sounded like a clickbait title, but Jennifer couldn't help but agree with every word. What she just witnessed was truly unbelievable.

She played that scene over and over, trying to wrap her head around Shift's mind-blowing play. His opponent was considered the world champion and was almost at full HP. Yet, Shift fearlessly blinked toward his opponent and wrecked the guy in an instant. What was that stuff??? It's not like Shift was fed or anything. Jennifer knew this game had burst abilities but was there really something as powerful as that? It almost put shotgun headshots to shame!

That's when she learned about Classmancers' combo playstyle, a niche build that worked on some burst mages. It was like burst damage, except it was a hundred times cooler! It dished out a shit ton of damage via a rapid and accurate sequence of inputs, kinda like combos in fighting games. A gimmicky and mechanically taxing playstyle, but it showed great results every once in a while in the pro scene.

[I wonder if I can do that too.] Jennifer's obsession with Classmancers was born that day. There were a bunch of boys in class playing the game, so she joined them. She was the laughing stock for a while since she had no idea how to play these weird strategy games. Nevertheless, she kept on trying, to see if she could someday recreate that amazing play DimensionShift made.

Turned out combo was an insanely difficult playstyle to make practical and it was treated as a meme by most. But, she refused to give up. For her, playing Classmancers was about playing combo.

When middle school started, she applied for the Classmancers club. Most boys her age who joined the club had a huge head start on her and she played the meme combo style on top of that. Obviously, nobody took her seriously even though she passed the entrance exam. Many joked how Jennifer only passed the exam because Coach played favorites for a girl.

She wanted to bust these idiots' skulls, but she didn't have the confidence to argue back. After all, she was really weaker than these guys; she was just a "combo memer". The club became a toxic hell for her, even worse than the players she met online. She even considered dropping combo, or even quitting the club altogether. The training was dull and basic anyways, it didn't help her improve as a combo player at all.

"Give her a break, you meta slaves." One boy stood up to Jennifer among the freshmen. "If she played by the meta like you, she'd kick your asses to the moon." It was Alex.

Back then, Alex was recognized as the most talented rookie. In term of skill, he was the goal Jennifer was striving toward and the player she wanted to surpass more than anybody else in the club. So, of course, the words of her "rival" had a huge impact on her. It wasn't a stretch to say she remained in the club only thanks to Alex's words from that day.

"Combo is a constraining off-meta style," Coach also gave it straight to her. "But, if that's what you want to play, I won't stop you. The most important thing to understand is that you have to polish the basics before you even consider becoming a good combo player. You may be idolizing Shift for that one combo play he made, but you must understand that one combo play was built upon a solid foundation, which you currently don't have."

"Am I really gonna improve my combo plays with all this boring irrelevant training?" Jennifer made a face.

"There's no such thing as 'irrelevant training' in MOBA." Coach proclaimed. "Just try taking the training more seriously for a month and you'll see the results for yourself."

With some lingering doubt, Jennifer complied with the request. Coach didn't quite approve of the combo playstyle, but at least he didn't bash her for it. That alone made him a good guy in her book. Thus, she started taking the dull training seriously for a change and even stayed extra hours in the clubroom.

By the end of that month, she shot up from the bottom into becoming one of the top 3 rookies. That's how effective Coach's' training was. Since then, she got hooked on it and practiced harder than anybody, polishing her skills in every aspect of the game to ultimately strengthen her combo style.

She sure got far, no denying that. She became the captain of the second string, and right now she was leading the team in an official match. Well, okay, it's just a scrimmage. But still! It's huge progress compared to being rock bottom in her first year.

Alas, after coming this far, for the first time she started feeling the hard limit of her combo style.

["Combo is a constraining off-meta style."] Coach's words, which she ignored at first, came back to bite her this match. Fighting against that aggressive Trickshooter was the first time she felt like sticking to combo was a mistake. The only reason she beat him in the end was that he made a stupid mistake and because she only needed the basics to punish that overextension. Combo didn't deserve any credit there.

She could have taken that scrub on any time if she played something more meta. But, she insisted to play combo and that led to her second death. Not cool.

[Can I change this build?] Jennifer wondered as she examined her rushed combo build. It was only the beginning of the mid-game, so she still had time to make adjustments. Maybe she could sell Spellbook of Doom to buy a more reliable item. The game sense she developed throughout the years advised it was the best move.

[No, that's dumb. I'm a combo player.] She clenched her mouse. For her, playing Classmancers was about playing combo. No matter the odds, she was gonna make it work! This match was still far from over! She could still turn things around, with this combo playstyle that captivated her heart!

Alas, despite her determination, she never quite recovered from her two early deaths. The Trickshooter kept rampaging and she didn't have the means to stop him. Landing a perfect combo on him was hella hard and trying to do so only left her clawless, turning her into a sitting duck.

And, this problem extended beyond 1v1 situations. Even in team fights, the Trickshooter freely rampaged like a beast while Trickshow was active. He darted from side to side, dodging shots while dishing out insane damage. Whether he fired straight Trickshots or made them bounce first, it didn't matter. The shots always found their target.

He was so free, he could play however he wanted. He could choose when to go aggressive all the way, when to prioritize dodging and when he needed a balance of both. Nothing restricted him. He could do whatever the heck he wanted and adapt on the fly.

Compared to him, Jennifer was shackled by a playstyle with very specific requirements. She had no freedom to play around with, Her game plan was always about setting up the perfect conditions for combo-ing her opponent to death.. But, when it's an opponent who repeatedly escaped her combos alive...

『An ally has been killed!』

『ENEMY DOUBLE KILL』

『ENEMY KILLING SPREE』

The deaths didn't stop. The killing didn't stop. The rampage didn't stop. That damn Trickshooter started snowballing hard and nobody could put a stop to his bullshit.

It was... impossible. Her combos weren't good enough. No matter how hard she tried to shut down that Trickshooter, it never worked out. Sticking to her combo playstyle against such an opponent... it was a mistake. A huge one. It was stupid.

But, too late to switch builds now. She had no choice but to keep playing with her limbs shackled, until the end of this frustrating round.

On the bright side, stopping the Trickshooter wasn't only her responsibility. They were a team, everybody wanted to put an end to the beast's killing spree. In fact, they even had a certain player who excelled at punishing overly aggressive foes. But...

[He turned again?!] Alex was taken aback by the Trickshooter's sudden slide to the right. Knowing that cocky Trickshooter, Alex anticipated an aggressive play even in this 4v3 situation. Just as he expected, the Trickshooter charged forth against these odds. Alex was already in position to counter, but as he was about to act - the Trickshooter made an unexpected turn and messed everything!

[I just need to move my target a little to the right... Damn.] Alex cursed as his Thunderstorm, his calculated trap, failed to land where he wanted. All he had to do was move the target location for Thunderstorm little to the right, so it'd catch up with the Trickshooter's new location. But, he accidentally cast the spell after being startled by the sudden development of this fight. What a stupid misclick.

"Great aim there!" Jennifer sneered. "10/10! Would count on you again!"

"Oh, shut up. Shit happens."

"Lemme guess, gonna blame it on misclicking again?"

"I just released the button a bit too early, calm your tits."

"You better change your nickname to Misclicker. Fits you perfectly right now."

Their back and forth was interrupted by "It's time for a trick show!" Everybody knew what followed after this sound cue. They were in for a treat.

"R-Ret..." Jennifer mumbled and grit her teeth, then opened her mouth again. "R-Retreat! Get the hell away from that Shooter!"

"Wha?"

"Huh?"

"Really...?"

Her teammates looked at her like she was some alien. Their proud and confident captain who saw victory in every situation, no matter how dire. That same captain just issued a retreat, even though they were in a favorable 4v3 situation.

"You sure?" Albert asked. "This may be a chance to shut down their Shooter."

"Not happening," Jennifer shook her head. "That chance died when this idiot here messed up his ult." She shot a glare at Alex.

"You don't see us winning this fight?" Albert asked.

"......" Jennifer just hung her head, unable to give a proper reply. Truth to be told, she couldn't form a winning mental image for a while now. Ever since the Trickshooter killed her for the second time, her image of victory had been blurry, shroud in uncertainty. And, it only became hazier with every passing moment.

"Seems like we really better retreat," Albert concluded.

"Yeah, let's scram, guys."

"What a waste. Whatever." Alex shrugged but hurried to retreat like everybody else. They were like ants, scattering after their queen had been taken out. Everybody understood: when the ever-confident Jennifer couldn't draw a mental image of victory for the team, they were doomed for sure.

Thus, even though it was a favorable 4v3 situation, the Leopards avoided battle and retreated. Thanks to that, casualties were avoided and the Trickshooter wasn't fed any further. But, at the same time, they threw away a rare opportunity to regain momentum. That only gave StormBlitz more confidence to push forward.

[Things can't go on like this.] Jennifer bit her lip. Avoiding casualties was good and all, but that's not how games are won. Turtling will hold up only for so long. At some point, they'd have to turn the tables around and go on the offensive.

It's just that right now wasn't the time for offense. But, when WILL it be the right time? When will she recover her mental image of victory? Was that even going to happen anytime during this match?

『An enemy defeated the Overlord!』

"Fuck." Jennifer slammed the table. In the end, the Leopards never got to take the initiative.

"Well, it's GG." Alex started a surrender vote and everybody threw their two cents on that.

"Again with this? Well..."

"To be honest, I kinda..."

They turned to Jennifer. Regardless of how they felt about surrendering, she had the final say as the captain. Last time Alex suggested a surrender, Jennifer barked at him and shot it down on the spot. Surrendering was frowned upon, especially in competitive matches.

However, this time, Jennifer didn't utter a word. She blankly stared at the surrender screen, as if it was some peculiar creature she was seeing for the first time.

"What we gonna do, cap?" Albert asked.

"Just... do whatever you want." Jennifer hung her head. "If you think we should surrender, then just vote."

"Really?"

"Huh..."

This was unheard of for Jennifer. Nobody had any idea how to digest her words. She was the type who refused to surrender under any circumstances, no matter how dire things got. Yet, this very same proud captain had just given them the green light to throw the match.

"So," Alex said. "What are you waiting for? The captain gave permission. Admit it, the game is over."

"Well, yeah..."

"I guess..."

Heavy atmosphere weighted on their shoulders. It's clear they all wanted to vote and get this frustrating match over with, but that was just...

『YES: 3 NO: 0』

"What about you?" Alex asked Albert. "Need a special invitation?"

"Who died and made you leader?" Albert made a face, then threw a glance at Jennifer. Was this really fine with her? Voting for a surrender felt like betraying her.

"Do it. For her." Alex whispered to Albert.

"Huh? How exactly is that [for her]?"

"Don't you see her face?" Alex pointed at Jennifer's exhausted expression. "She also wants out of this match. She's just too stubborn to admit it because she's the captain. Put her to rest already."

"Huh, didn't expect [you] to care about her, of all people," Albert said.

"Hmph." Alex shrugged and turned away. "Who knows? Maybe I'm just talking out of my ass to make you surrender."

"Nah, I know. I spent enough time with you in the club."

"Really? Even though I barely even visit anymore?"

"You spent more time in the club than anybody else on your first year." Albert smiled and threw a glance at Jennifer. "Except maybe for her."

"Yeah, chick is a workaholic alright." Alex smiled wryly. His first year, huh. Those were really some times. Back then, he thought he could make it into the first string as a freshman. He worked harder than anybody to secure that spot.

But, the end result was disappointment. This defeated expression Jennifer was wearing right now was way too familiar to Alex. That feeling when your whole world comes down crashing on you, yet you try to deny it with everything you've got. Alex went through such a period at one time, fighting with the coach about getting into the first string. The more he did, the more stupid everything felt. In the end, he just quit everything.

When he was still a freshman, there was one girl who worked just as hard as him. She played the obscure combo style, which Coach said had no chance of ever getting into the first string. Nevertheless, she stuck to the style she loved. And, to this day, she's pushing forward and shining brilliantly.

Honestly, a part of Alex derived satisfaction from Jennifer's defeated expression. It served that cocky bitch just right. Yet, at the same time, he couldn't stand watching it. She shouldn't become like him.

Out of the two of them, she was the only living proof that hard-work paid off. Even after quitting everything, deep down Alex still wanted to believe his efforts during the first year weren't in vain.

Perhaps Jennifer didn't quite make it into the first string, but that's only because of her restrictive combo playstyle. Through hard work, she undeniably became one of the strongest players in the club. So, if Alex continued to work hard too, he'd be a key player on the first string by now, just like Jennifer could had been without her combos.

That was a nice mental image to carry around and he didn't want to see it tarnished. Therefore, he wished to liberate Jennifer from this suffocating match as soon as possible.

『YES: 4 NO: 0』

Everybody voted in favor of surrendering, save for Jennifer.

『The team agreed to surrender.』

『DEFEAT』

The match was over.

[So, it's done.] Jennifer sighed and dropped back on her chair. The message she saw on screen wasn't 『DEFEAT』, it was『GOT STYLED ON BY SCRUBS』. That's how this whole match felt like. From start to end, she achieved very little. After dying twice in the early game, she barely had any presence throughout the rest of the game. She did score some kills, but she never managed to stop the real threat, the Trickshooter.

On this discouraging note, the 4th battle of the scrimmage came to an end. StormBlitz somehow prevailed once again, bringing the score to 1-3 in their favor.

The scrimmage was approaching its finale, yet Jennifer carried more doubts and anxiety than when she started. How were they going to turn things around in the next match? How will she lead the team to victory in the next game? She had no idea anymore.

On the other team, the atmosphere was completely different.

"Yeah! We did it, yo!" Lars jumped into the air like a missile. "Good game, my dudes!"

"Good game."

"We rekt these nubs, lol."

"They never really figured how to deal with my Beastmaster. That was fun."

This merry atmosphere made the tension from the beginning of the game feel like a lie. Thanks to Lars generating an early momentum for the team, they now completely recovered from the negativity that haunted them since last game. By pushing Lars in the right direction, Yuel successfully recovered the team's morale.

This was huge. It was Yuel's debut as a team captain, with all the responsibility and expectations placed on this huge role. Yet, he prevailed! The team was nursed and they were now only one win away from scoring 4-1!

"Good job, everybody. Um..." Yuel tensed up a little. What was he supposed to say? He was the captain, so he had to say something, right? Ugh, why did he even open his mouth? Now everybody's eyes were on him!

Thinking back on it, did Trever use to say anything special after a game was over? Probably not. He just loudly celebrated the way Lars did.

Maybe this was one of these cases when actions spoke louder than words. He had no idea what to say, so he decided to mimic Trever's gung-ho approach. Here went nothing!

"W-We did it, guys! Just one more game and we got 4 wins!" Yuel pumped a fist. A shaky fist, just like his voice. Ugh, what was he doing!? This was embarrassing as heck!

"Lol, who is this gung-ho goof?" Roi chuckled and the rest followed suit. Uuuuugh!

"We don't expect you to be some charismatic leader," Gilbert smiled and patted Yuel's shoulder. "Just keep doing what you've been doing. That's more than plenty."

"Yeah," Dan tuned in. "Just tone down the number of kamikaze missions you give me."

"I believe I only gave you about three so far," Yuel remarked.

"So, you're saying that's too little for the 'Great Kamikaze Master', heh." Dan smiled wryly.

"Too bad that's not your actual IGN," Yuel said. "You're really good at this. What a wasted opportunity for the perfect nickname."

"Oh shut up."

Everybody laughed. Dan wasn't the only one who had to make some questionable and irregular plays throughout the day, all due to Yuel's instructions. But, all these particular plays somehow converted into a victory in the end, so that's all that mattered.

Suiciding on purpose against Breaker felt like crap no matter how many times Dan did it, but at least it's pretty fun to watch how the consequences of this weird play rippled throughout the rest of the match. Only Yuel, the Chessmaster, could see that far ahead when he was issuing his unconventional orders.

"They're right, dude." Lars wrapped his arm around Yuel's shoulder. "Just keep doing yo usual stuff. Ya know, being a bossy commander, haha."

"Sure," Yuel rolled his eyes. "You also keep being yourself. You know, a goof who invades towers without thinking and forgets to retreat on time."

"'Retreat'? What's that? A new word?" Lars grinned. "Okay, one more game! We can do this together!"

"Definitely." Yuel smiled. By properly leading this high maintenance goof, the team could overcome any obstacle. With Yuel's tactics and Lars's overwhelming strength, they were going to get that sweet 4-1!