Glory [e-sports]

The shadow thief was a talent whose lower limit wasn’t low, but it also had an extremely high upper limit.

His skill mechanisms were very complex and left a lot of room for maneuvering.

For example, its first skill, shadow attack. A thief that was in stealth mode could leave blood marks as long as it attacked the enemy from behind. Once an opponent had been marked, it was a bad thing for them, because the shadow attack’s passive effect was to automatically refresh the skill’s cooldown when a target was marked with a blood mark.

What did that mean?

It meant that as long as a player was good enough, they could kill the other person with only the first skill.

Being able to use the shadow attack well was an entry-level requirement for the shadow thief. High level players could basically pull off a whole performance with it.

The light arcs were what professional players pursued. The shadow thief’s ultimate move was the light arc, and the description for it was very simple: release a light arc to attack the target in front of the player, causing physical damage.

This was an effect that could be achieved as long as the skill was released. The part that really went against the heavens was the skill’s passive.

Light arcs could be stacked up, and the number of light arcs released could be increased by a series of continuous moves. The damage would double with every increase in the number of light arcs.

The damage from a single light arc was very low. It was only slightly more than the damage caused by a basic attack, but once it started to double, the damage became terrifying.

Two light arcs was double the damage, three light arcs was four times the damage, four light arcs was eight…

Why did Close’s nine light arcs destroy the sky and the earth? It was because the cumulative damage from multiple stacked up layers was terrifying.

The light arcs were a ranged attack. As long as the target was standing in front of the player, even if there were multiple targets, they still wouldn’t be able to withstand such shocking damage.

Back then when Close had used the nine light arcs for the first time, it had surprised even the game developers.

In theory, this feat was very difficult to achieve. It required too much from personal operation levels, and the details had to be managed too minutely. It broke through the limits of what a human being could do.

But Close did it.

At the time, the netizens had been very violent, scolding the heavens and the earth.

Some said that this broke the balance of the game and the game couldn’t be played anymore; others said that e-sports shouldn’t have this kind of bug. How were they supposed to play team competitions like this? The game could end with a 1v5.

The crowd flamed the game developers, calling them fools, and flamed Glory, calling it a garbage game. They also accused Close of cheating.

Indeed…

If something went too far beyond what ordinary people could understand, it would be considered cheating.

Of course, this accusation was quickly broken down by the fans––live broadcast, double camera direct recording. The viewers could ‘enjoy’ watching it however they wanted to.

The methods could be handed to you, the combos could be shared with you, and you could use them as you liked.

This matter had been a big deal at the time. The game planners had wanted to nerf the shadow thief and reduce the light arc damage.

The players had wanted to quit. This talent was already very difficult to play, and ordinary players were already big gods if they could brush out three or four light arcs.

If they cut down the damage again, they might as well delete the talent completely!

Close’s fans were also kicking up a fuss.

Why did they have to nerf it?! Their God Lu hadn’t cheated, nor had he broken the rules. Were they going to nerf the talent just because he was too strong?

After a whole season of arguing, the game developers ultimately didn’t dare to touch the shadow thief.

Because they found that it was actually fair.

It was completely within the scope of the game balance mechanism.

First of all, it was very difficult to use nine light arcs. Very few people in the entire Glory circle would dare to rely on doing so.

After Close made his combo routine public, there were indeed some cutting-edge players who could brush out nine light arcs, but it was very difficult to do it reliably.

The game was unpredictable. The canyon was always filled with the unexpected, and if a player was overly reliant on an uncontrollable skill, the final result would be failure.

It was just Close, who was always calm, always steady, who had a strong mentality that let him take the nine light arcs and show off all the way to the heavens.

But, if he was the only one who could do it, then it wasn’t a big deal.

First of all, the shadow thief could be banned in a competition, and the opponents could also find ways to target Close.

Soon after, the game officials also tasted sweetness from this problem and were even less willing to touch the nine light arcs.

With this propping up the great demon king, the competition stadium grew more lively. Especially when it came to the individual games, the heat and popularity were unprecedented, and their bonuses even soared up along with it.

With the colorful nine light arcs, coupled with Close’s face, this vivid, living, global spokesman attracted countless passers-by to the game, and the high number of new game registrations made the game officials unable to wipe the smiles off their faces.

Later on, Close won the championship with the shadow thief, and the game developers made him his own skin. They specifically made it a point to make the special effects of the nine light arcs so flashy that it could make a video card cry.

You wanted to see nine light arcs?

Come and watch the game.

In any case, the game competitions were run on computer machines with top level configurations, and they weren’t afraid that it wouldn’t be able to render the effects from the nine light arcs.

After this back and forth, the nine light arcs remained, and it even let some dirty scheming people find ways to make use of it.

For example, HU.

HU was really ambitious this year. They’d put in a lot of effort to find foreign aid players, and the whole team had undergone a big infusion of new blood. Of course, after spending so much money, they also wanted to obtain some achievements.

HU’s captain Han Gu was the only old player left in HU. When faced with the strong foreign aid players and pressure from the club, he wanted to win so badly he was going crazy from it.

The others in HU weren’t clear about the situation in the China competition zone, but he understood it very clearly.

There were only a few strong teams, and the others were all trash. As long as they could win against those teams that stood out, HU would become the number one team in the group!

RR’s weakness was the most obvious. They were a strong team who were overly dependent on a single player, which made them very easy to target.

As long as that player’s mentality was destroyed, the game would basically be within their grasp.

Han Gu understood Moonlit, and he even hated him quite a bit.

A rookie, a newcomer who’d just made his debut for one year. On what basis was his popularity so high? Why could he be so crazy, so arrogant?!

The China competition zone that had been in a slump for three global championships, why did it have to rely on a group of new players to rise back up again?!

Han Gu took advantage of the training match between HU and RR to target RR to death.

It had to be said that the HU team’s level this time was actually very high. Although there were some communication problems amongst the three foreign aid players, their playing was solid. This was particularly the case for their mid-laner WW, who was able to solidly suppress Moonlit. With the addition of Han Gu’s sniping, Moonlit’s mentality had already suffered a bloody collapse after several training matches.

Then, Han Gu set out the trap––

Moonlit, if you have the ability, then brush out a thousand layers of clouds, hey.

If you want to take the whole team flying with your own strength, then take out the same aura as Close.

Coincidentally, the immortal warlock’s thousand layers of clouds was similar to the shadow thief’s light arcs.

Moonlit, who shouldered the pressure of the whole team, was also only 18 years old.

After being stimulated like this, how could his mentality be stable?

After losing the training matches, he would be even more eager to make achievements in the real competition. As a result…

They lost tragically.

Han Gu tasted the sweetness of success. When he saw that their next opponent was FTW, he focused on targeting Wei Xiao.

FTW’s situation was also interesting: when Close was there, the great demon king was great on his own, and it was really a situation where one person was dragging four others along with them to win the championship. However, Close had left the team to heal, and they’d signed a newcomer who also performed flashily on his own. His teammates were only worthy of helping to hand him his shoes.

If Han Gu was envious of Moonlit, then it was even more so the case with Wei Xiao.

He hated him so much his teeth itched.

He encouraged their coach to arrange a training match with FTW, but unfortunately, they were unable to do so. Then, he’d shouted out his provocation over the internet before the match, but it had rebounded, and Wei Xiao had reversed it back on him.

Han Gu’s heart filled with even more hatred. In today’s competition, he just wanted to screw Wei Xiao over until he died!

The game had just started when the HU side felt that something wasn’t quite right, “The opposing Quiet is very fierce.” Their mid-laner WW was from France, and his Chinese was really bad.

Han Gu: “Hold steady, he can’t brush out nine light arcs.”

WW: “Eight light arcs are also very powerful.”

Han Gu sneered, “Eight light arcs isn’t that easy, either.”

He’d seen quite a few of FTW’s previous competitions. Quiet’s upper limit was eight light arcs, but it was obvious that he couldn’t brush out eight light arcs every time. Most of the time, he only brushed out six or seven.

Most professional players could play such a shadow thief. He didn’t understand what FTW was being so arrogant about.

An inherited shadow thief? It was all a gimmick!

With this thought in mind, enemies meet often on a narrow path; Han Gu encountered Wei Xiao in the dragon pit.

Bai Cai was following Wei Xiao. He glanced at his experience bar. “Do you want to fight?”

Wei Xiao: “Fight.”

He entered stealth mode even as he spoke and circled around the three people from HU.

Brother Cai’s heart was in his throat as he followed him over. He kept feeling as though things weren’t quite right.

With Wei Xiao’s current experience bar, it was enough for him to upgrade to level six with the canyon’s automatic experience even if he didn’t kill any monsters.

Two against three…

Did Wei Xiao want to brush out nine light arcs?

Damn it, Brother Cai was flustered: Old Wei first comforted Moonlit, then fell into the pit right afterwards?

That shouldn’t be the case!

It wasn’t only Brother Cai. Many other people were worried.

The two other little ones on the stage were also flustered.

Off-stage, Chen Feng and his assistants were so nervous that they stared unblinkingly at the screen.

In the audience, there was also Moonlit and Money who were wearing caps, masks, and scarves, concealing themselves strictly.

Money bowed his head to play with his cell phone.

Moonlit glanced at him, “Watch the game.”

As soon as his voice fell, he noticed that Mo had opened up the official live broadcast and was sending out landmines. “I’m sending out gifts to suppress my shock.”

Moonlit: “……”

Money glanced at the LU who was number one on Quiet’s support list and asked curiously, “Didn’t this little sister come to watch the game today?”

LU was now famous. They only liked Quiet and only brushed out hearts and roses using numbers that all announced their love. Their intent was so obvious it couldn’t be any more obvious.

Moonlit wasn’t interested in this kind of gossip. “Fans come and go quickly.”

Money thought about it, “This LU…”

Moonlit: “It can’t possibly be Lu Feng.”

Money: “Of course.”

Based on his ten-plus year friendship with Lu Feng, unless someone had transmigrated into his body, it was impossible for him to do these kinds of… things!

In FTW’s team chat.

The unconcerned and easygoing Tang Chen was calling from the top lane, “Do you need help?”

The entire team was flustered, but Tang Chen’s mentality was steady, and he didn’t feel the chill at all.

Wei Xiao: “No need.”

The shadow thief reached level six as he spoke.

At the same time, FTW and HU collided head on.

Wei Xiao and Bai Cai were up against HU’s mid-laner, jungler, and support.

Should they fight?

Of course they had to fight!

Han Gu was using the power thief, the mid-laner was using the spirit mage, and their support was a giant shaman. This line-up had defense, control skills, and DPS. The most lethal one was the spirit mage that was able to sneak around and move everywhere, making it very good at harvesting kills. It was going to be difficult for Wei Xiao and Bai Cai to fly even if they had wings!

“Go!” Han Gu yelled, taking the lead to rush at the shadow thief who’d showed traces of his presence.

The shadow thief ignored him. A shadow attack suddenly landed on the spirit mage from behind, a basic attack linking up the blood marks, and in a flash, the spirit mage already had four blood marks stacked up.

The spirit mage felt that the situation wasn’t good, “No way, he wants to…”

Han Gu gritted his teeth. “It’s eight arcs at most. With the three of us here to share the damage, he’s going to die as soon as he touches the ground.”

The giant shaman quickly tossed out its skill, wanting to control the shadow thief.

Once the combo was broken, he wouldn’t be able to brush out light arcs anymore. However, the shadow thief was as agile as a fish in water, his positioning god-like as he perfectly dodged the giant shaman’s control without breaking how his skills were linking up.

The blood marks locked tight on the spirit mage’s body, four layers, five layers…

Not only the spirit mage, but even Han Gu was shocked, “He can’t, he absolutely can’t…”

Nine light arcs burst out over half the canyon, and the stunning, gorgeous special effects left everyone dizzy.

Dazzling lights and layers of cascading colors exploded like a newborn universe that came into being amidst infinite power.

The three people from HU froze. All they could see were their health bars dropping crazily, from light injury to serious injury to critical health.

System Announcement––

FTW.Quiet killed HU.Han.

FTW.Quiet killed HU.WW.

FTW.Quiet killed HU.DOC.

FTW.Quiet triple kill!

Nine light arcs at the start of the game, taking a triple kill! Quiet had exploded in this match!

The author has something to say:

Brother Xiao: Don’t ask, if you ask, then I just casually brushed it out.