Chapter 35: The First Victory Secured-Age of Martial Arts(Cool nights come and go.)

“Luck really is against me. I actually didn’t start in the Heroic Bronze Ladder tier, but in the Unyielding Silver Ladder tier—and in Group A, no less.”

Night Feather gave a bitter smile, rubbing his temples in exasperation. Yet no one noticed the spark of fighting spirit that flashed deep within his eyes.

The difference between fighting in an arena and killing players in the wilderness lay in the players’ state of mind. With the immunity-from-death buff granted by the “referee,” players could throw themselves wholeheartedly into battle without restraint. At the same time, the arena possessed a fair and balanced system, making it a truly impartial PvP mode. Levels and attributes offered no advantage, so both sides had to face each other with even greater caution.

“Destiny for Life” looked at Night Feather, a teasing smile curling at the corner of his mouth. His figure abruptly retreated, then scattered into the wind and vanished. Clearly, this was a skill from his customized talent tree.

Night Feather’s situation was extremely unfavorable. His opponent had treated him this way from the very beginning, and the other player belonged to the Stealth class, which already gave him a certain professional advantage. Every attack was aimed at a vital point, so Night Feather had no choice but to face the situation with extreme care.

Night Feather retreated in the opposite direction from Destiny for Life’s movement. Violet radiance surged around his body, while clearly visible streams of purple light gathered between his palms. He raised both hands and struck repeatedly toward the place where Destiny for Life had disappeared.

Then something quite obvious happened: the points where his palm strikes landed exploded one after another, sending ripples spreading in every direction. Before long, a figure gradually emerged, wrapped in a ring of violet radiance.

That violet radiance was a mark. Even if his opponent entered stealth, Night Feather could still track him directly. Moreover, anyone struck by it would lose two percent of their maximum health.

“Damn it. How did it turn out like this?”

Destiny for Life’s face twitched slightly as he blurted out the words.

A damage-over-time buff had already been planted on him, and Night Feather had marked him directly. Even if he entered stealth, he would still be found. Therefore, he could only avoid the next wave of skill damage and wait for the buff to disappear before entering stealth again.

But how could Night Feather give him such an opportunity?

He immediately drew out his guqin and held it horizontally before him. His fingers swept across the strings, and violet radiance coiled around his body. As his fingers moved, streaks of purple light shot forth.

Destiny for Life moved with astonishing speed, attempting to dodge. When he realized that evasion alone would not suffice, he launched an attack instead. With one step, his figure shot forward and crossed several yards in an instant.

“Heh. Do you really think Ghoststep will help?”

A curve formed at the corner of Night Feather’s mouth. He naturally understood the Stealth class. His opponent had already reached Level 80 and thus possessed more skills than Night Feather, but Night Feather understood Stealth-class abilities well. After all, Qu Zheng, a member of his regular party, was a Stealth-class player.

Furthermore, everyone fought on equal terms in the arena. Although Night Feather’s skills had certain deficiencies, his attributes were actually slightly higher than his opponent’s, making up for that disadvantage.

The Stealth class possessed more movement techniques than any other profession. Unlike other physical classes, however, these techniques could not be used continuously. Nevertheless, the class had an inherent advantage: among all physical professions, its movement speed was the fastest—nearly five times faster than the others. Thus, whenever Destiny for Life was less than ten yards from Night Feather, a movement skill could instantly close the distance between them, carrying him forward at breathtaking speed.

Night Feather continued casting his skills. Rings of purple light appeared around Destiny for Life and swiftly moved to bind him. It was clearly a control skill.

Yet Destiny for Life stirred again. The instant the binding took hold, he broke free.

“Heh. Did you activate Overclock Mode?”

Night Feather narrowed his eyes and spoke softly. Destiny for Life’s speed was astonishing, but dodging Night Feather’s control skill would have been impossible without activating Overclock Mode.

However, escaping the control skill had also brought Destiny for Life directly in front of Night Feather. The twin daggers in his hands flashed silver as he swept them toward Night Feather’s abdomen from both sides.

The Stealth class possessed innate equipment-weight coordination. Even the heaviest armor automatically had its weight reduced by fifty percent when worn by a Stealth player, making their movements far more agile. Their attack accuracy was also the highest of all classes, allowing them to easily find weak points in the gaps between another player’s equipment.

Thus, the Stealth class naturally specialized in attacking vulnerabilities. One of its passive skills increased the damage dealt by weak-point attacks. When raised to Level 10, it granted an additional twenty percent damage bonus. After Level 60, it also gained a variable bonus ranging from twenty to thirty percent. It could be called a blessing-level skill for the Stealth class.

With such an effect, whenever a Stealth player attacked a specific joint or weak point, they could inflict various negative effects, including slowing, hindering, immobilizing, or weakening the target.

But just as Destiny for Life’s attack was about to touch Night Feather, Night Feather suddenly shifted backward, narrowly evading the attack.

Destiny for Life immediately changed his attack pattern. He raised his daggers and thrust toward Night Feather’s neck. Sharp silver radiance shot forward like a streak of light.

Whoosh!

The silver dagger passed directly beside Night Feather’s neck. Yet as it swept past, Night Feather’s figure transformed into a beam of purple light.

At this sight, a strange curve appeared on Destiny for Life’s lips. His eyes were filled with mockery, as though he found Night Feather’s trick childish.

Destiny for Life spun around. The silver dagger in his hand split into several daggers, rotating around a central point to form a circle before shooting outward.

Whoosh!

Pfft!

A sudden sound rang out. Destiny for Life quickly turned toward its source and immediately dashed in that direction.

Night Feather’s figure gradually emerged, violet radiance coiling around him. He had clearly been forced out of stealth after being struck, and the marking buff still clung to his body.

“I’m afraid the victory in this match already belongs to me. Thank you for the contest.”

Just as Destiny for Life’s twin daggers pierced toward Night Feather’s chest, Night Feather shifted sideways at the last instant and forcibly evaded the killing blow.

He had not activated Overclock Mode.

The astonishing speed of his reaction left Destiny for Life stunned.

“How is that possible? You dodged my attack without activating Overclock Mode! How could this happen?”

Destiny for Life muttered to himself, but Night Feather had no intention of giving him another chance. He slammed his right palm into Destiny for Life’s chest.

Brilliant violet radiance erupted from the palm strike. A beam of purple light pierced straight through Destiny for Life’s chest.

Yet the attack inflicted little visible damage. It was clearly a restraining immobilization skill.

Night Feather moved at once, flashing to a position not far away.

He drew out the guqin again and held it before him. A confident smile appeared on his face. He could see the bitter helplessness in Destiny for Life’s expression. The Stealth player had clearly overturned the boat in a gutter.

“Crossing Radiance of Snow and Moon.”

Two streaks of purple light crossed through the air and slammed into Destiny for Life before exploding.

Everyone present clearly saw his health plunge rapidly toward zero. At the final moment, a green light descended from above and enveloped him, restoring his health to five percent.

Seeing this, Night Feather put away his guqin. The smile on his face gradually faded, and the fighting spirit that had filled his eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by calm. He looked down at Destiny for Life, who was kneeling on one knee.

“How did you do it? How could you analyze everything through simple reaction alone? Even if you had activated Overclock Mode, you might not have been able to evade that fatal attack!”

Destiny for Life roared unwillingly. He still could not believe what had happened. His opponent was only Level 60 and clearly lacked much practical experience, while he himself was already Level 80. How could he have lost to a newcomer?

“There is one thing you failed to notice,” Night Feather said with a gentle smile. “I never activated Overclock Mode. I simply felt there was no need to.”

The Stealth player before him possessed an exceptionally formidable combat style and impressive technical skill. He had entered stealth immediately and attempted to ambush Night Feather from the start. Night Feather had merely reacted quickly enough to realize what Destiny for Life intended to do, then swiftly found a way to counter him and gradually laid a trap.

After marking Night Feather with his skill, Destiny for Life had launched a continuous series of lethal attacks, forcing Night Feather to use quite a few of his own skills in response. Since Night Feather was only Level 60, he naturally possessed fewer skills than Destiny for Life, even when his customized talents were taken into account.

That was why Destiny for Life had been so curious—and so shocked—when Night Feather reacted in time to evade his most lethal strike.

Night Feather offered little further explanation. He often discussed Stealth-class tactics with Qu Zheng, whose learning ability was exceptionally strong. Qu Zheng had watched videos of many top Stealth players and developed a style of his own. Destiny for Life’s attack pattern clearly followed the style of an extraordinary Stealth player. As a result, Night Feather had instantly recognized the standard method Stealth players used against spellcasting classes and found the appropriate counter.

From the battle just now, it was clear that Destiny for Life’s attacks would gradually work their way toward weak points before delivering a fatal strike. Night Feather had deliberately allowed himself to be hit by the weak-point attack. After landing such an attack, Destiny for Life would immediately unleash a decisive finishing move.

Night Feather had confirmed his theory the moment he saw Destiny for Life’s movements. He then found a way to respond: first using a substitute to evade one attack, then shifting his body aside to avoid the crucial killing blow.

Night Feather’s customized talent tree contained talents that allowed his skills to accumulate damage calculations. Against a fragile Stealth-class player, the damage of his final skill, Crossing Radiance of Snow and Moon, had already been stacked to a frightening level. Once it struck Destiny for Life, it instantly annihilated him.

Night Feather only lightly explained that he had identified Destiny for Life’s attack pattern—and that the style happened to be one his companion had used before. Once his suspicion was confirmed, dealing with Destiny for Life had been effortless.

“I see. Then I suppose my skills were inferior. To encounter such a formidable opponent is an honor. I concede.”

Destiny for Life slowly rose and cupped his fists toward Night Feather, his voice carrying a trace of apology.

“You were gracious.”

Night Feather smiled and returned the courtesy.

In the world of Godfall, most players were humble. Even among red-name murderers, there were humble individuals. The rest were mostly fools who needed to be fed brain pills. This, without a doubt, was also one of the reasons Godfall’s popularity continued to rise.

Throughout the battle, Destiny for Life had struck Night Feather only once. Night Feather still had eighty percent of his health remaining, while his mana was above ninety percent. His skills had consumed very little mana, so a prompt soon appeared before him asking whether he wished to rest temporarily.

A smile curled across Night Feather’s lips, and the fighting spirit in his eyes rose once more like a blazing flame.

Hearing the electronic voice ask for his decision, he shook his head slightly. His eyes shone with determination as he replied:

“Continue the battle.”

With his fighting spirit soaring to the heavens, Night Feather chose to continue into the next arena match. The entire arena erupted in cheers at his decision, because his performance had given everyone a dazzling display.

Perhaps they were about to witness the rise of an extraordinary String player!

…