As soon as the wind stopped, Nie Yan pulled in his feet and stood still.
Seeing Wei Kai approach, Nie Yan slowly circled around behind him, only moving more freely once Wei Kai's line of sight couldn't catch him, gradually closing in on Wei Kai's back.
Wei Kai turned his head and scanned around—nothing unusual; the grass rippled like waves under the wind's caress.
Where the hell was Nie Yan？
For the first time, Wei Kai had run into a gale rogue who could use Stealth with such mastery. Logically, the thick grass underfoot should have most easily exposed a rogue's position, but Nie Yan, when stealthed, left no trace at all.
Wei Kai held his greatsword before his chest. In his estimation, to avoid showing any flaw, Nie Yan must have been moving extremely slowly in stealth, so he should be somewhere ahead.
What he didn't know was that Nie Yan had already circled behind him.
Only about three yards behind Wei Kai's back, a strong gust blew past, the wind howling.
The instant the wind sound rose, Nie Yan suddenly accelerated, his dagger as fast as thunder, aiming straight for Wei Kai's back.
The wind and footsteps mingled into a jumbled mess, hard to distinguish, and the strong gale greatly reduced Wei Kai's perception.
“Assassinate！”
Nie Yan's dagger stabbed into Wei Kai's back, dealing 35 damage to him.
Wei Kai hadn't expected Nie Yan to appear behind him; he swung his greatsword in a horizontal arc toward Nie Yan.
Nie Yan dodged with a roll, still behind Wei Kai, then leaped up and stabbed his dagger into Wei Kai's back again, taking off 23 hit points.
With over 160 health now reduced to just over a hundred, Wei Kai still couldn't keep up with Nie Yan's speed.
A Berserker's speed lies in straight-line charges, while a rogue's speed comes from agile footwork—each excels in different domains.
Nie Yan moved swiftly, keeping his position behind Wei Kai as he attacked three times in succession.
The guy was as agile as a monkey. Wei Kai let out a fierce roar, swinging his greatsword in a clockwise rotation as sword aura burst forth.
"Whirlwind Slash！"
Wei Kai spun around like a spinning top.
The moment Wei Kai swung his sword, Nie Yan recognized the move as Whirlwind Slash from his motion and quickly retreated two yards.
The greatsword whistled through the air with ferocity, grazing past Nie Yan's chest, nearly hitting him. A damage number of -9 floated up from Nie Yan's head.
The sword aura from Whirlwind Slash still managed to deal some damage to Nie Yan.
Wei Kai spun three full rotations before finally stopping, panting heavily. Nie Yan dodged so fast！
Just as Wei Kai's greatsword came to a halt, Nie Yan lunged at him, driving his dagger straight for Wei Kai's throat—a vital strike！
Tang Yao and Li Yang, watching from outside the arena, were stunned. Nie Yan's movements were nothing short of perfect artistry—from evading the Whirlwind Slash as it began to landing a vital strike the moment it ended, every single timing was executed to perfection.
From Nie Yan, they finally understood what PK truly meant—not simply hacking away at each other with swords, but a matter of awareness and technique.
A sudden realization dawned on Tang Yao. He finally understood why Nie Yan had told him his magic casting timing was off. Whether you struck at the right moment could lead to two completely different outcomes.
Nie Yan, who he had grown up with since childhood, actually had such skills up his sleeve, opening Tang Yao's eyes. The phrase 'to see someone in a new light after just three days apart' could not have been more fitting to describe how Tang Yao felt at this moment.
The dagger in Nie Yan's hand swept across Wei Kai's throat, -96！
Critical strikes were still so deadly; after just a few moves, Wei Kai had only 7 HP left, while Nie Yan's health was nearly full—the difference was clear.
Wei Kai finally understood the gap between them.
"Flame Slash！"
Unwilling to accept defeat so easily, Wei Kai swung his sword at Nie Yan right after the attack, the greatsword transforming into a blazing slash, sparks flying everywhere.
The flames surged forward.
Nie Yan knew all too well the power of a Berserker's Flame Slash; he decisively retreated to avoid its edge.
Wei Kai suddenly accelerated, catching up to Nie Yan and landing the Flame Slash on his chest.
-56, a damage number floated up from Nie Yan's head.
Nie Yan had barely steadied himself after taking the Flame Slash when Wei Kai raised his greatsword and charged like a heavy tank, barreling in.
Horizontal Slash！
Wei Kai's sword aura sliced down in a straight line.
The charge had a brief stun effect; Nie Yan was down to half his HP. If he got hit, a Berserker's burst damage could kill him within seconds.
Nie Yan quickly stepped back, his pupils suddenly contracting as Wei Kai's greatsword came within inches of his forehead. He sidestepped to dodge the attack, reversing his grip on the dagger and slashing across Wei Kai's throat.
Nie Yan was grazed by Wei Kai's charge and sent flying backward.
Wei Kai's HP hit zero, and he collapsed to the ground. Nie Yan staggered to a stand, checked his health, and saw he had twenty-five points left.
A level two going up against a level three—it really was a bit tough.
Seeing Wei Kai fall, Nie Yan put away his dagger.
The two were teleported out of the PK map.
"Damn, I never saw that coming, you're amazing." Tang Yao said, walking up as Nie Yan came out.
"Got a bit lucky with that win." Nie Yan said. He had nearly been taken down by Wei Kai himself; in the end, he just hadn't had time to equip his skills. A few more skills and he would have won much more easily.
"Still a win, and a level 2 beating a level 3. Do you know how to play an Arcane Mage? Teach me when we get back." Tang Yao rubbed his hands together. Nie Yan clearly knew a lot.
"I don't know much about Arcane Mages. Different skill combos create different tactics, but I'll teach you everything I know." Nie Yan said. He never held back from Tang Yao.
"That's great." After watching Nie Yan's PK, Tang Yao had absolute faith in his skills.
Nie Yan checked his bank card. The balance showed six thousand. He transferred three thousand to Tang Yao. "Sixteen hundred was what you lent me, and the other twelve hundred is what I won back for you."
"It's just a few thousand. Don't be so distant between brothers." Tang Yao said, a bit displeased. He didn't care about the money at all, and Nie Yan being so particular about it annoyed him.
"Even brothers keep clear accounts. Tonight, you're treating." Nie Yan laughed.
"You made so much money today, and I just broke even. You have the nerve to mooch off me? You're treating, no discussion."
"Fine, I'll take the loss."
"What are we eating tonight? At least go to a restaurant."
"A five-buck bowl of wonton noodles, enough to fill you up." Nie Yan put the card away and said.
"Man, you're way too stingy."
"Right back at you." Nie Yan laughed. He and Tang Yao were birds of a feather, after all.
Wei Kai and his group came over from that other booth, and Tang Yao's expression turned serious. Could Wei Kai and his guys be angry about losing money?
Nie Yan still wore a smile, much calmer than Tang Yao.
“Blackie, you're not going to try to weasel out after losing money, are you?” Tang Yao instinctively stepped in front of Nie Yan, still subconsciously treating him like that timid, bullied kid from before.
“Of course not. Lose is lose, win is win. I've got some gambling integrity. We've been through a fight and now we're friends. Young Master Nie and Young Master Tang, if you have time, come by my bar and hang out.” Wei Kai smiled.
Having been out in the world for so many years, Wei Kai had learned how to conduct himself. He understood which people not to mess with and didn't bring up their old grudges at all.
“If I have time, I will.” Nie Yan nodded. This Wei Kai guy did know when to back off.
“Then I'll take my leave. Enjoy yourselves, Young Master Nie and Young Master Tang.” Wei Kai said cheerfully, leaving with his crew.
“What's gotten into him? Why's he suddenly so polite? That's way too weird！ Damn, I'm not used to this.” Tang Yao beside him was totally confused.
“Who knows.” Nie Yan said with a faint smile.
Wei Kai and his men walked out of the PK bar.
“Boss, why are you so polite to that kid? Young Master Nie? Is he even worthy?” Li Yang stepped up, puzzled.
“There's a saying: never underestimate a young man's potential, get it？ When judging people, you have to look not just at their present, but far ahead.” Wei Kai said. He could tell that Nie Yan was a dragon who would eventually soar to great heights, best not to make an enemy of him.
Li Yang was a bit confused, but the boss was always more perceptive than them. Listening to the boss was the right call.
Nie Yan and Tang Yao got in the car and headed toward the restaurant.
"What's your in-game name？" Tang Yao asked. Since Nie Yan was a Human Thief, he must be from the Greenland Empire, just like him.
"Nie Yan. Nie from Nirvana, Yan from Flame." Nie Yan said.
"I'll find you as soon as I get back." Tang Yao said, getting excited at the thought of leveling together with Nie Yan.
"I'm in the middle of a quest, I can't head back right now." Nie Yan said, he still had to turn in the Archmage quest, and had other arrangements for later, so he couldn't level with Tang Yao.
"Oh, alright then. How about you teach me how to play Arcane Mage for now? I'll practice more when I get back." Tang Yao felt a bit disappointed, but quickly got excited again.
"Arcane Mages are basically divided into three types. The most common is the firepower-type Arcane Mage, who stacks spell damage gear and learns high-damage skills like Arcane Explosion. This type is the most popular with teams. Another type is the agility-type Arcane Mage, who wears gear that boosts speed and agility, has fast movement speed, and because Arcane Mages generally have shorter cast times, they excel at PvP. The last type balances the two stats. Which route are you planning to go？" Nie Yan asked.
Tang Yao thought for a long time, then gave an awkward laugh and said, "Which one requires lower skill？ "
"Definitely the firepower-type Arcane Mage. As long as you have good gear and high spell damage, teams will want you. In team battles, you just focus on dealing damage. But that means you can forget about PvP." Nie Yan could tell right away that Tang Yao wanted to slack off; the guy wasn't dumb, he was just lazy.
"No PvP？ That's boring." PvP was such an exciting thing; if it was missing, at least half the fun of life would be gone. Tang Yao wasn't too happy about that.
“Let’s go with the balanced type. From now on, ask me first before adding any points.” Nie Yan said. According to Faith’s system, every five levels up to level thirty, you get five attribute points, one talent point, and one skill point. So every five levels before thirty is a small milestone.
“Okay, got it.” Tang Yao said happily. Having Nie Yan help him with attribute points would save him a lot of trouble; he hated dealing with such complicated stuff.
“I have things to do after dinner. We’ll get in touch in the game tonight.” Nie Yan said.
“Alright.”
After they ate, Tang Yao drove Nie Yan home and then went back to his own place.
Having wasted so much time playing around, Nie Yan immediately buckled down to study and train once he got home.