Inside the Happy Internet Cafe.
Click... Click... Tap... Tap...
A short brown-haired girl was sitting at the computer. Her nimble hands fluttered across the keyboard and mouse as she tried to overturn the predicament her character was in. But being inexperienced in the game, it ended in futile resistance.
GLORY!
A streak of thin blood appeared on her screen after her opponent performed a Dragon Tooth (spear thrust), ending her life in a one-sided beating.
This is the fifteenth time... She muttered inwardly, staring at the screen. Despite the streak of defeat, Tang Rou wasn't discouraged.
"One more match!"
She demanded, about to put another 100-yuan bet but paused, staring at her empty wallet. She couldn't go for another round; there was no money.
Seeing her stiffen, Ye Xiu, who was prepared to behead her character again, laughed.
"Finally ran out of money? Haha."
This guy... He was waiting until I emptied my purse? Tang Rou, though—did he think I would stop because of this? No way! She stood up from her seat. "Then wait for me to get more!"
"Little Tang, forget about it..."
"Yeah, it's not worth the trouble..."
"Little Tang..."
The surrounding people tried to persuade Tang Rou; even her good friend Chen Guo went over to block her. Otherwise, this stubborn girl would keep on trying until she went bankrupt. The worst part is when Ye Xiu won and didn't give her a way out of this embarrassing situation. What a selfish guy!
Feeling her intense gaze, Ye Xiu only decided to step up.
"Forget about it. This sort of recklessness isn't fun."
This guy! He was still making fun of her. Chen Guo was furious. Can't he at least say something nice?
Surprisingly, he picked up the money and tried to return it: "You can have this all back. Like I said before, you don't really know how to play, so I'm not planning on taking it."
Tang Rou was about to retort; she wouldn't let him return the money. But someone over the crowd spoke.
"Then, you don't mind getting money from someone who can play the game?"
Everyone looked at him, a new arrival, a short brown-haired boy in a black outline by a red tracksuit with a white cap covering his face. The surrounding people pushed each other back, making a way for him.
"This handsome one is quite bold! Challenging Lord Grim? Hehe..."
"I guess someone doesn't know his limit!"
"Who's that? Does anyone recognize him?"
"No idea."
They exchanged murmurs, but he remained unfazed; his focus was solely on Ye Xiu awaiting his answer. But there was only silence. Feeling his upcoming refusal, he had to show his sincerity.
"What's wrong? Are you not interested?"
He pulled a first-generation card from his pocket and waved it around in his hand, flexing in front of Ye Xiu. If he were smart enough, then the intention would be clear.
"Okay... but only a single round."
Ye Xiu accepted his invitation. He only smiled mysteriously, charming some ladies, and sat one seat apart from Ye Xiu.
"That's plenty. You can create the room so we can begin."
Once again the dispersed crowd had gathered surrounding Ye Xiu and the mysterious person.
"Another round, who do you think will win this time?"
"I will bet my money on Lord Grim!"
"Me too!"
"Should we start a betting pool?"
Everyone turned silent; they were certain everyone from the cafe would bet on Lord Grim since they don't know whether this stranger was truly an expert. No one would take a risk. The betting pot hadn't been brought up again.
The room was created, and by their choice the map was random, which turned into an endless sea and blue clouded sky. It looked like a big map, but this map is the smallest in GLORY.
However, there was an uproar when the mystery man entered the room. This happened because his character didn't have any equipment other than daggers.
Players can customize their own set of equipment in respective classes, so it's not surprising to see the default characters in birth clothes. GLORY has censorship, but almost no one plays around with their character without armor unless the player has a certain fetish. Some customers were shocked and expressed their concerns.
"Hey, this guy is probably some kind of pervert!"
"Why doesn't his character have any clothes? And it's female too! How vulgar."
On their protest, some knowledgeable players had no choice but to explain. "He is from the Heavenly Domain; returning players cannot bring back higher-level items or equipment into the normal server. So if they return, they will automatically have a default set."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Yes!"
Having pointed it out, the onlookers felt shame. Most of them just started from a normal server and never visited the Heavenly Domain.
The mystery man had chosen to equip the free item set given to a player at level 1. There's a big difference in the level of equipment stats, but fighting on a fixed field, every attribute will be fixed.
"I'm ready now..."
"Okay, I will start the match!"
Lord Grim and No Name, the two characters, faced each other on a vast field of sea. Taking the initiative, Lord Grim's Thousand-Chance Umbrella morphed into a gun. Its muzzle aimed at No Name, and it fired bullets.
"RA—TATATATA!"
The mystery man controlled No Name to move sideways, avoiding the Rapid Fire with ease.
This type of maneuver is normal among good players; "at least he knows how to fight."
Ye Xiu anticipated the best possible position No Name would take and fired a low-level Sharpshooter skill, Floating Bullet!
He had hidden a sneaky trap when he used Rapid Fire earlier, mixing the skill's animation and sound with Rapid Fire's mechanism.
"It's a Floating Bullet!"
"Damn, so he would be defeated easily as well?"
This is a standard tactic to trap a nimble opponent using long distance, attack them relentlessly, and leave an escape route where the trap can be implanted.
Many would've fallen for it, but the mystery man made a few taps and a mouse slide. He used an Assassin basic attack by stabbing the air at a certain angle, putting No Name into a state of animation—a simple duck and hip slash that moved his character's hitbox out of range, dodging the Floating Bullet by a paper-thin margin, earning praise from onlookers.
"Woah! Did you guys see that?"
"Damn!!!"
"This guy has some skills!"
He clearly knows how to fight! In such a situation, "Double Jump" would have been forcefully used, or the character would have taken damage. To think a basic attack animation dodged a bullet, which required impeccable timing and precision.
It's unbelievable, but he was truly an expert. No Name landed on the ground of the sea but didn't attack Lord Grim; instead, he darted around, leaving a trail of ripples while keeping a fixed distance.