Chapter 1 Another Landscape

At this moment, Sword Demon's state of mind was completely different from Gu Fei's. Those three successive moves earlier had startled him into a cold sweat. Especially the last one, where he had only managed to block the attack thanks to a subconscious protective action.

His opponent was a mage, while he was a thief. It should have been him trying every means to get close to the mage, while the mage did everything possible to keep his distance and attack with ranged spells.

But now, the mage was actually wielding a dagger and charging at the thief. After the thief blocked three close-range attacks, he retreated far away, afraid to approach. No matter how rich Sword Demon's online gaming experience was, he had never imagined he would experience such a scene. Initially, he was quite wary of the mage's low-level spell, Fireball. Despite its low level, if he were hit by a fireball, the damage would be equivalent to two or three of his own strikes. But the mage didn't use spells at all, instead attacking him with a knife. This was too absurd!

Both sides were deadlocked, neither daring to advance rashly.

Sword Demon quickly calculated his tactics. He didn't have any ranged attacks. To defeat his opponent, he had to get close, but the thought of close combat brought a cold sweat to Sword Demon's forehead again.

"Fireball, huh..." Gu Fei suddenly spoke towards the crowd, but then, a fireball rapidly ignited in front of him.

*Crap.* He was so focused on being wary of the guy's close-range abilities that he forgot he was still a mage. As soon as Sword Demon saw the fireball, he began moving erratically in an S-shape before the mage could even launch it. He had seen mages cast Fireball in the game before. After the fireball was fired, it would briefly track the target within a very small range. As long as he wasn't hit or didn't run out of range during this time, he would successfully dodge it.

Sword Demon frantically twisted and turned in the open space within the crowd, waiting for Gu Fei to say the word "shoot." But Gu Fei stared blankly at the fireball in front of him, then muttered, "I wasn't calling you, I was calling that fireball."

With a "poof," the first fireball extinguished, but immediately a second one ignited. Sword Demon's movements became even more frantic. But Gu Fei's fireball was still delayed in being launched. He stood there helplessly, and before long, the fireball extinguished on its own.

He had to worry about the guy's fireballs from a distance, and he couldn't gain the upper hand in close combat. How could he fight? There was no other way! Sword Demon assumed that Gu Fei was repeatedly igniting fireballs to restrain his movements. Before Gu Fei could ignite a third one, he used his special skill. Sword Demon's figure gradually became thin like a mist, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Stealth!!" someone in the crowd shouted.

Stealth was definitely a trump card skill for the Thief class, which wasn't surprising. What really shocked everyone was that Stealth was a skill that Thieves could only learn at level 24. Although they knew that Sword Demon's level was definitely higher than theirs, they didn't expect it to be this much higher. No wonder he was the number one player in the online gaming world. The crowd, who had been worried about Sword Demon being forced back by Gu Fei's three moves, were now filled with confidence.

In the online gaming world, level said everything. Level 24 against level 10, such a huge difference meant there was no need to even fight!

Sword Demon disappeared from everyone's sight, hiding somewhere on the field, watching Gu Fei's movements.

The reason Sword Demon hadn't used Stealth right away was because of the mage's level 6 skill: Repel Magic.

The characteristic of Stealth was that it would immediately break upon attacking or being attacked. Although Repel Magic's attack was negligible, its range was slightly longer than being completely up close. Therefore, Thieves couldn't silently approach a mage while Repel Magic was active.

Of course, Repel Magic also had a weakness. It had a skill duration and a cooldown time, and the time difference between the two meant that mages couldn't guarantee that they would always have Repel Magic active. This time difference was a good opportunity to use Stealth to approach and launch a surprise attack.

Sword Demon used his experience to deduce two points. First, beginner mages would activate Repel Magic as soon as a PvP fight started. Second, his opponent would never expect him to have mastered Stealth, a skill that Thieves could only learn at level 24. Therefore, his original plan was to wait for Gu Fei to exhaust his Repel Magic, then use Stealth to approach and deliver a fatal blow.

But now it seemed that both of his assumptions were wrong. Gu Fei didn't activate Repel Magic, nor did he show the slightest surprise at his Stealth. Furthermore, this mage's close-combat ability was more terrifying than his own as a Thief, something that Sword Demon could never have imagined without experiencing it himself.

Forced by the situation, Sword Demon could only use Stealth himself first. He believed that after seeing him use Stealth, the mage would immediately activate Repel Magic. But his Stealth lasted three seconds longer than Repel Magic. He would approach first, and when Repel Magic's cooldown ended, he would use those three seconds to approach and take down his opponent. Unless… the opponent's Repel Magic had been upgraded, and its duration was longer than his Stealth. But that possibility was practically nonexistent. A level 10 character wouldn't have the time or money to upgrade any skills.

Understanding the game, making accurate calculations, and formulating the best battle plan was Sword Demon's usual online gaming style. Even if his opponent was just a level 10 mage, he wouldn't underestimate him at all.

Unfortunately, he was wrong again this time.

Gu Fei still didn't activate Repel Magic, nor did he move around the field to avoid the unseen enemy. He remained standing still.

"Could it be that he hasn't learned Repel Magic yet? Or is he really a noob beyond all noobs?" Sword Demon was both surprised and uncertain, but he couldn't miss the opportunity. He quickly approached Gu Fei, predicting the few routes that Gu Fei might choose.

Gu Fei didn't move, not even a finger. Sword Demon even wondered if he had to get right up to him and breathe in his face before he would have any sense of crisis.

In the blink of an eye, Sword Demon was already behind Gu Fei. Gu Fei still didn't react at all. Sword Demon didn't have time to think anymore. His Stealth duration was about to end. He was ready to use his strongest attack: Thief level 18 skill, Backstab.

As the name suggested, this move should be used on the target's back. It could deal 200% + 40 points of damage under normal circumstances. Although the Stealth effect would disappear the moment the skill was used, and the surrounding people's exclamations would alert Gu Fei, his dagger would definitely already be stabbed into his back. With a fourteen-level difference, a Thief's Backstab on a mage would result in nothing but instant kill in Sword Demon's mind.

None of the onlookers understood the changes on the field. No one knew that Sword Demon had already gotten behind Gu Fei.

But at this moment, Gu Fei suddenly turned around sharply and stretched out his left hand quickly. The onlookers couldn't help but exclaim in incomprehension. But immediately afterwards, they saw Sword Demon's figure suddenly appear in mid-air. His outstretched right hand was tightly gripping a dagger, but his right wrist was firmly held by Gu Fei's left hand.

The image in people's minds froze at this moment, but the situation on the field didn't stop changing.

Gu Fei's left hand quickly pressed and twisted. Sword Demon's wrist hurt, and his fingers became weak. His palm opened, and the dagger slipped from his hand. Gu Fei bent down with his right hand, flicked his fingers, and caught Sword Demon's dagger while throwing away the Hand-chopping Knife he was originally holding. Then, with a pull of his left hand, Sword Demon's right arm was bent behind him. Gu Fei had already moved forward, raised his right hand, and held the dagger against Sword Demon's neck.

Gu Fei's movements were so fast. By the time the people around him reacted, Sword Demon had been completely subdued by Gu Fei.

A knife was held against his neck. But this was an online game. No one knew if this situation was threatening, but anyone with eyes could tell who had won this contest.

"Ah! Beautiful!!" It was Fireball who suddenly made a sound. Thinking that if Gu Fei lost, he would be the next target, he had been very worried. Now, seeing Gu Fei win so beautifully, he was greatly encouraged. He clapped his hands and rushed out of the crowd to stand in front of the two of them. He patted Sword Demon and said, "You're level 24, right? Getting taken down by a level 10 mage, are you convinced? Hahaha!" Fireball looked triumphant, as if he had defeated Sword Demon.

Sword Demon's face was ashen. He accepted his loss. He had even been given the opportunity to Stealth behind him and use Backstab, and he was still taken down. What was there to be unconvinced about? A level 25 Thief could only play these tricks. Who exactly was this guy? The moves he used weren't even the game's default skills!

Accepting the loss didn't mean he was happy about it. Sword Demon's heart was filled with mixed feelings. Besides the doubts about Gu Fei's skills, he also felt sorry for himself. He had once been the top online gamer, but now he was defeated by a mage who was 15 levels lower than him. Was everything he had ever accomplished really a thing of the past?

Just as he was thinking, he suddenly felt a release from behind. Gu Fei had already let him go. Sword Demon turned around, took two steps back, and looked at Gu Fei. "What's your name?"

"Qian Li Zui!" Gu Fei replied.

"Very good. I'll come find you again!" Sword Demon said.

Gu Fei nodded with a smile. Sword Demon turned to leave, but Gu Fei suddenly called out to him, "Wait, your dagger." As he spoke, he threw it towards Sword Demon.

Sword Demon reached out and caught it, but he was stunned. His dagger was called Frost Memories. Besides the damage, it also had 25 points of Agility, a 30% chance of a critical hit, and a 10% chance of dealing level 3 frost damage. Sword Demon had accidentally exploited the terrain in the forest to trap a Boss of unknown level and gotten it as a drop. Currently, none of the weapons announced on the official website had attributes that exceeded it. One of the reasons why Sword Demon's face was ashen after losing was because this dagger had fallen into Gu Fei's hands.

But now, Gu Fei had thrown it back to him. Sword Demon held it tightly, almost unable to believe it was real. Nowadays, online games were filled with a large number of pay-to-win players. This kind of top-tier item could easily be sold for several months' salary for an ordinary person, but this kid in front of him, did he not understand its value, or what?

Sword Demon couldn't figure it out, and he didn't know what to say. He could only nod to Gu Fei, thank him, and turn to leave.