But Blade, who had trained his hands to be as ghostly as a specter, had lightning-fast reflexes. He nimbly shrank back, dodging this swipe as well. But Ryan Carter's assault wasn't over yet—after missing, he spun his body, turning his back to Blade, and thrust his dagger out from under his armpit, stabbing back once again.

At this moment, Blade was still in a half-crouch from dodging the previous swipe, and Ryan Carter's backward stab sent the dagger straight toward his forehead. There was no time to dodge; Blade, just like any ordinary person, instinctively raised his hand to protect his face when attacked. As a result, his own dagger happened to cross paths with Ryan Carter's incoming strike. With a crisp clang, Blade used the force to retreat several steps, putting distance between himself and Ryan Carter.

Both of their hearts were in turmoil.

Ryan Carter hadn't expected his opponent to dodge all three of his attacks. These three moves were not something he used casually.

"Tai Sui"—"Tail Flick"—"Yaksha."

This was a set of dagger techniques honed through countless trials, each move targeting a vital spot. Of course, this was just a game; in real life, Ryan Carter would never dare use these three moves so recklessly—one slip, and a life could be lost.

He thought it was foolproof, but unexpectedly, he failed. Although the guy in front of him had never trained in martial arts, it was clear that his reactions were extremely quick. Moreover, his in-game stat allocation focused on agility, which was an even more important factor. And because of his class traits, his speed was clearly above Ryan Carter's. This made Ryan Carter realize another issue: in real life, only someone trained in martial arts like him could reach such speed, but in the game, as long as you put points into the right stats, anyone could be this fast—or even faster.

He never imagined that in a game, he could encounter situations that would be impossible in real life. Ryan Carter was delighted.

Chapter 8: Responding to All Changes with the Unchanging

At this moment, Blade's mindset was a completely different story compared to Ryan Carter's. Those three consecutive attacks had left him drenched in cold sweat. Especially the last one—he had blocked it purely by instinctively protecting himself.

The opponent was a mage, and he was a rogue. Normally, he should be the one trying every trick to get close, while the mage would do everything possible to keep his distance and attack with ranged spells.

But now, it was the mage brandishing a dagger and charging at the rogue, and after taking three close-range attacks, the rogue was the one who retreated far away, not daring to approach. No matter how much MMO experience Blade had, he never imagined he'd one day find himself in such a situation. At first, he was wary of the mage's basic spell, Fireball. Even though it was low-level, if it actually hit, the damage would be equivalent to being slashed two or three times. But the guy didn't use any spells at all—he just came at him with a dagger two or three times. This was just too absurd!

The two faced off, neither daring to make a move.

Blade quickly calculated his tactics. He didn't have any ranged attack skills yet; to take down his opponent, he had to get in close. But just thinking about close combat made cold sweat break out on Blade's forehead again.

"Fireball..." Ryan Carter suddenly spoke toward the crowd, but just then, a fireball rapidly ignited in front of him.

Crap, he'd been so focused on the guy's melee skills that he forgot he was actually a mage. As soon as Blade saw the fireball, he started moving in an S-shaped, unpredictable pattern before the spell was even cast. He'd seen mages use Fireball in the game before—after being cast, the fireball would briefly track the target within a small area. As long as you didn't get hit or managed to run out of range during that window, you'd successfully dodge it.

Blade twisted and dodged wildly in the open space among the crowd, just waiting for Ryan Carter to say "fire." Unexpectedly, Ryan Carter stared at the fireball in front of him for a moment, then muttered, "I'm not calling you, I'm calling that fireball."

With a "whoosh," the first fireball fizzled out, but immediately, a second one ignited. Blade's dodging became even more frantic. But Ryan Carter's fireball still didn't launch; he just stood there, looking lost, and before long, the fireball extinguished on its own.

He had to worry about the fireball from afar, but couldn't win in close combat either—how was he supposed to fight like this? There was no other way! Blade thought Ryan Carter was repeatedly conjuring fireballs just to restrict his movements. Not waiting for Ryan Carter to summon a third one, he used his signature skill. Blade's figure gradually became as thin as mist, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from everyone's sight.

"Stealth!!" someone in the crowd shouted.

Stealth was definitely the rogue class's trump card, so that wasn't surprising. What really shocked everyone was that Stealth was a skill only available to rogues at level 24. They knew Blade was definitely higher level than them, but they hadn't expected the gap to be this big. No wonder he was the top player in the MMO world. Just moments ago, everyone had been worried about Blade being forced back by Ryan Carter's three attacks, but now their confidence was instantly restored.

In the world of online games, level says it all. Level 24 versus level 10—such a huge gap, there was no need to even fight!

Blade disappeared from everyone's view, hiding somewhere on the field, watching Ryan Carter's every move.

Blade hadn't used Stealth right away, all because of the mage's level 6 skill: Repel Fire Ring.