The Great Thief

The current map was very strange; it was the first time that it had appeared in the Magic Cup this season.

This was the most debated map across all competitions in Dawn because it was made up of five smaller maps. The five players from each team were each sent into one small map.

This meant that the players would be playing one-on-one.

The worst part was that nobody knew who their opponents were, so there was no way they could strategize.

If you were unlucky, you might even run into a class that countered your own.

Could anything be worse than that?

Occasionally, teams ran two healers and focused on tiring out their opponents. Once a team like that entered a map like this, the healing classes would become their disadvantage.

No matter how bad the damage-dealing class, they generally wouldn’t have any trouble playing against a healing class.

The opponent for Ruling Sword this time was Blood Red War Flag. Floral Paralysis was bringing their new competitors into the match to train them.

Other major guilds often used this method to train their newbies. They weren’t interested in the little prize money that the Magic Cup offered, but participating in the match was still beneficial. As such competitions like the Magic Cup, which weren’t too important, became the training ground for these new competitors.

Plenty of new competitors had gone through this stage and some of them shone brightly in the process.

Good examples were Deadly Green Orange, from Drizzle Court and Wendelian, who originated from Glory Capital, but was now a major player in Gale Legion. They had both proved themselves in these small matches.

"My ****, why this map?" Floral Paralysis couldn’t resist the urge to curse.

He had done an amazing job to lead five new players into the top eight, but he was quite unlucky this time to run into Ruling Sword.

He wasn’t in a good mood. Even their main team had trouble against Lu Li’s team, not to mention his team was filled with newbies. Their chances of victory were even smaller.

To make matters even worse, they had been placed into a map like this.

The new team members not only had space for improvement on their techniques, but they also lacked in mental fortitude. They wouldn’t perform as well when they were up against celebrity players.

"I, I see Moonlight..." One of the team members sounded like he was about to cry; he was entirely lost. He was a Warlock player, so he normally wouldn’t be afraid to play against a Warrior, but even an average player knew that Moonlight wasn’t an easy target.

Moonlight was the number-two player in Ruling Sword. Anyone from the group of professional gamers knew that he had been around for a very long time.

The title of the Blood Demon wasn’t just a joke. At the very least, none of the professional players were able to say that they could easily win against him. Even Sorrowless couldn’t say that.

Sometimes, Lu Li and Moonlight would play a friendly match against each other. Although Lu Li won most of them, it was never an easy win for him.

For a newbie to play against someone like Moonlight, it wouldn’t be strange if they lost and remained traumatized from this in the future.

"How have you guys been trained!?" Floral Paralysis shouted in their team channel. "What is there to be afraid of? At most, you just lose a match. Don’t forget that you’re all competitors; you’re bound to run into these famous players. These famous players started off as newbies too, so pay attention. We don’t have competitors who forfeit in Blood Red War Flag."

The new Warlock player finally calmed down.

Floral Paralysis himself couldn’t calm down; he had already seen his opponent. His opponent was also a Thief, but the Thief didn’t go into Stealth mode. Rather, he just walked over to him.

"Floral Paralysis, come out and play." Lu Li’s gaze wasn’t focused on any particular spot, but he estimated that Floral Paralysis would be somewhere around here, based on his movement speed.

Floral Paralysis didn’t know what Lu Li wanted, so he didn’t respond.

"I know my opponent is you. We’re both Thieves and this isn’t a small map. How about we both don’t use Stealth and we’ll end this match quickly? Your other team members are waiting for you to comfort them," Lu Li smiled as he spoke.

"They might not lose. It’s difficult for your Priest and Shaman to win," Floral Paralysis replied.

March Rain was a Priest that focused on healing, so she was quite average in terms of fighting. Unless she was also matched up against a healer opponent, any professional competitor who played a damage class would be able to win against her.

There was also Sakura Memories, who leaned towards buffing the strength of her entire team. It wasn’t easy for her to win a one-on-one match.

"Even if you guys win two matches, Fat Monkey and Moonlight will definitely win for sure," Lu Li said, not bothering to argue. "We’ll be the deciding factor for today’s match. Are you afraid to lose?"

"Haha, Lu Li, where does your confidence come from?" Floral Paralysis asked.

However, he finally walked out from his Stealth and stood about 30 yards away from Lu Li. This was enough distance for him to take any action.

"That’s right, you’re also one of the best Thieves around. You shouldn’t be afraid of a challenge," Lu Li laughed happily.

Floral Paralysis had also gone professional early in his career and had been famous for a long time. He was a high-leveled player and was quite stable in terms of playstyle. This was also the reason why he was often sent out to look after the new players.

Usually, his main opponent was Unforgettable Maple. They often spent a lot of time fighting each other in every single game.

In Dawn, they battled each other in the arena. In the gaming circle, there was a rumor that they were best friends. Although they spent a lot of time killing each other, they actually really cared about each other...

Of course, these were just some wild imaginations.

Floral Paralysis was on the same level as Unforgettable Maple, so he wouldn’t weaken himself in front of Lu Li.

What he didn’t know was that he was being tricked.

Lu Li wasn’t in his best state right now. When Thieves fought against each other, it was often a big test of their will. Lu Li wasn’t sure that he could catch Floral Paralysis, who was also a top Thief player, from his Stealth state.

In a fight between Thieves, it was hard for the player who lost the upper hand to win.

Lu Li felt like he might even lose, unless Floral Paralysis made a mistake.

As such, he would rather not go into Stealth and walk over for a battle. He wanted to taunt Floral Paralysis.

If it was some other class who asked Floral Paralysis to not stealth and fight head-on, he would look down on them. However, Lu Li was also a Thief like him, so it was fair for both of them to not go into Stealth.

At the same time, Lu Li was known as the number one Thief in Dawn...

Blood Dagger wasn’t impressed with this title, and Floral Paralysis wasn’t either!

Why should this random player who had come out of nowhere be called the number one Thief?

"How are we doing this?" Floral Paralysis was ready.

"We won’t use any Stealth or escape skills; we’ll rely solely on positioning and skill completion. By the way, I’m very well known for my high completion levels," Lu Li said in a proud tone.

At this point, there was no way Floral Paralysis would back out. Hence, a strange fight between two Thieves was set.