The Great Thief

Arena Competition!

As Lu Li stepped onto the arena, he was met with an extraordinary eruption of cheers. However, there were also those who showed displeasure at his appearance.

You could say that he was a bully – the fact was, he was a level 47 Thief fighting against a level 45 opponent.

Lu Li knew why they were unhappy in the first place. Obviously, they had wanted to see beautiful women, instead of people like himself.

For the sake of training new recruits, Kitty Likes Meat and Sakura Memories were usually the ones deployed. They were quite attractive, and their skills were decent. During recent times, these two, along with March Rain, were extremely popular.

However, on the arena, there was no such thing as bullying.

Warp 13 had also deployed a Thief to battle, one of the Twin Thieves called Convex. Apparently, he was already proficient using multiple new equips that had only been recently introduced into Dawn.

Convex had actually strongly requested to be sent out into the Arena.

There was not an undisputed ‘top player’ in any of the classes, so the title of the best was still in contention. Furthermore, the competition for this title was also the fiercest among the Thieves.

Both sides exchanged a greeting and shared a handshake, then moved until they were at a safe distance from each other. Before the judge had announced the beginning of the clash, they were both already in Stealth.

Convex was not arrogant and egotistical. In fact, he could match up with Song of Sorrow, Midnight Ghost, Bloody Dagger and the rest of the elite Thief players. Although he had a record of more losses than wins against them, he still was not to be underestimated. As long as he completed a high level of execution, he would have no reason to lack confidence.

Furthermore, out of all his skills, he utilised Stealth the best. He was able to gain the upper hand in most of his battles using Stealth, so even if he did lose, he would not be completely destroyed.

Because of his emphasis on Stealth, he wore many equips which increased its ability. As such, he was also slightly lacking in DPS and overall Defense.

After he saw Lu Li enter Stealth first, he followed suit.

No matter what, he had to get the upper hand and burst Lu Li first to win the fight. At least by successfully doing this, he would be able to diminish Ruling Sword’s morale.

“Looks like Convex has prepared himself thoroughly. He is hoping to gain an advantage over Lu Li during Stealth! He’s using his own strengths to attack his opponent’s weaknesses! Good thinking!” Dark Wind was an exceptional analyst, as he was extremely prepared and knew the style and habits of every competitor. Naturally, he also knew what Convex had in mind.

“Actually, I think everyone has mistaken,” Pure White Season said in disagreement.

“Oh? Do you have other ideas?” Dark Wind asked. He was an experienced analyst who did not like being questioned for his analysis, even by a fellow partner.

“We’re only used to seeing Lu Li’s might, technique, positioning, offensive abilities and flexibility. When comparing his level of Stealth to all of the other top players, we automatically assume that it’s his weakness. I don’t think that Lu Li’s Stealth ability is actually as weak as we think it is, since he’s never completely lost at the first clash.”

“Ah, I know what you mean. Let’s just wait to see the outcomes of the clashes between these two.”

Below the stage were many people from the major guilds, including Bloody Dagger, who viewed Lu Li as his number one rival. He had never missed any of Lu Li’s matches. Beside him sat White Westhill, one of Glory Capital’s Priests, who was exceptional at devising strategies.

“I heard that this Convex’s Stealth ability is strong?” White Westhill asked.

“That’s right,” Bloody Dagger answered while in deep thought, then continued, “I think that Lu Li might lose early on, but if he tries to defeat Lu Li purely by using Stealth, that would be impossible.”

“If he’s able to damage Lu Li’s reputation and image, he would proclaim it to the world,” White Westhill said as he rubbed his chin. “Furthermore, if he can make this fight extremely difficult for Lu Li to win, then his status as an elite Thief would be propelled to the top. As of now, Lu Li is definitely the benchmark for Thieves to surpass, so don’t be frustrated, Bloody Dagger.”

“I know. Actually, I want to see Lu Li fail,” Bloody Dagger said.

He felt as though Warp 13 had devised a well-thought strategy to defeat Ruling Sword. After all, if they had deployed anyone from their guild, they would lose anyway. To have a chance at countering, they had sent out a Thief who was exceptional at using Stealth to try and pull out an early win.

Many people thought that Convex would be able to best Lu Li in combat while in Stealth, especially those who had fought him before.

However, no one knew what Convex was experiencing in the Arena.

He could not find Lu Li at all. He had walked over the entire grounds again and again, and yet he still could not even find a trace of Lu Li’s steps. If this was due to his opponent’s good luck, they would have eventually met on the battlefield after such a long period of time.

This had that Lu Li’s Stealth was even more developed than his, to the point where it had seemed like he was toying with him.

A few champions from the previous battles had activated a spectator’s field of vision. They could see both players on the battlefield using this.

As expected of Lu Li, he had managed to detect Convex’s movements on the arena and purposely distanced himself from him when they were about to collide. He was not the type of person to toy with his opponents.

He was testing his enhanced version of Stealth, since the chances of meeting a player who had invested so much into Stealth were rare.

Analysts like Dark Wind and Pure White Season did not expect this outcome, let alone the other elite players like Bloody Dagger and White Westhill. They were all stunned by Lu Li’s display of his expertise.

Why was it that Convex, a Thief who had prided himself on his sensing and Stealth ability, could not detect Lu Li at all?

Lu Li was tired of ‘playing around’ with Convex, so he instantly gained control of the battlefield by finishing the battle extremely quickly. He had not only dominated Convex physically, but the defeat had also taken a mental toll on him.

This was definitely the most demoralising type of defeat.

There was nothing more humiliating than defeating a player using the very skill that he prided himself on.

“My Stealth is an enhanced version, so don’t beat yourself up over it,” Lu Li whispered, letting Convex in on his little secret during the end of the battle.

“Thanks,” Convex said, then surrendered and left the Arena.

Lu Li took a deep breath and was speechless at his own kindness. He no longer was the ruthless man from the past after things had taken a turn for the better.

Convex was nearing the stage of total mental defeat. After this battle, Lu Li had become his greatest rival, and this motivated him to improve his skills every day.

However, Lu Li had softened his heart at the last minute.

After all, he had told Convex about his secret, which gave him a reason for his loss. It was not himself that was lacking, but the level of skill that was lacking. If he had learned the same Enhanced version of Stealth, he would be able to defeat Lu Li in their next meeting.

Of course, Lu Li was still his goal as a Thief. On the other hand, he had also greatly respected Lu Li.

This was an expert’s demeanour and humility!

Lu Li did not push himself to fight five battles in a row, but he had still fought three and retired from the Arena. After Lu Li came Kitty Likes Meat, who had equipped herself with new items to test out their special effects.

Squad battles were not that exciting anyway. After all, neither Lu Li or Moonlight had fought in them.

The ones who were battling were: March Rain, Mu Qiu, Kitty Likes Meat, Fat Monkey and Sakura Memories. These 5 struggled against the other 5 respected elite players, but they had still won in the end.