"Let's see… hmm, I have a lot of skills to choose from. Which one should I go for?"
Cane thought about it for a moment, but there was not much to consider. What he needed to do during low levels was survive. And he had the perfect skill set in mind.
"I'll take Perfect Dodge (L), Stealth (L), and Master Shooter (L)."
All three skills Cane chose to take were level L. Why? Just because he could, and it was an option available to him.
Initial stats were very important for an account's growth, and for that reason, many people often rerolled their accounts before they got too far in the game. Due to his 'special condition', he was able to skip that step.
[You have selected 3 skills. You won't be able to change them later. Would you like to proceed?]
The system asked, and he pressed 'agree' on the screen. There was no need to hesitate any longer.
[Understood. Tutorial for selected skills will start now.]
The system told him, and an open area appeared in front of him. This area was used to master the system-given skills.
Unlike most online games where players could instantly master a skill, Clash Online was different. User skill was based on the player's real ability. The system could only help guide the player along.
For example, someone who had no talent for shooting a bow in real life wouldn't automatically learn how to use one while playing. The system would guide them, but how far they got ultimately depended on them.
For this very reason, Cane chose the Master Shooter skill.
He had played this game before during beta and had noticed a few things about himself and his own talent.
What he found was that he was not fast or strong enough to use swords, and magic required too much mental power. Hand-to-hand combat was too risky, and close-range skills gave him no time to break away if his defense was broken.
That left shooting as the only viable choice, and luckily for him, he was decent at it.
With the system guiding his movements and his body adapting to his new skills, Cane was easily able to shoot at the target using his tutorial gun. The reason he chose a gun was simply to reduce loading time.
A similar tutorial for the other two abilities followed, and once he reached 100% proficiency, he was finally let out of the training hall.
The air outside felt tenser than it did when he entered the room. Everyone was pointing toward the room he had disappeared into, and their gaze turned to look at him when he exited.
"-Is he the one?"
"He should be. The map is showing him."
"But why? Isn't he a newbie? What could have caused the system to flag him?"
"Don't know, man. But it must be bad if he has that modifier. Even Canary is here to take him."
Another person whispered. They were not being very subtle when they talked, and Cane paused as he took in their words.
Canary was a name he recognized. She was one of the top streamers as well as players in the current gaming industry. Not only was she skilled and popular, but she was a girl as well. That made her name even more known in these circles.
It was every streamer's dream to collab with her once, and even Cane had done it a year ago on a random multiplayer collaboration.
But he could not say that he personally knew her, so he did not approach her to strike up a conversation. His priority was to find an exit.
'Well, time to make my escape.'
[Stealth (L) activated. You will not be detected by anyone above 100 levels of your current rank.]
The ability sounded like a total cheat. With this, Cane could sneak up on anyone and take care of them… as long as they were within his level range. And with the game released only one month ago, how many people would that make? Not even one-hundredth of the player base.
He took a step to head out, only for a shield to stop him in his tracks.
"Halt! You are player Cane, right? Surrender to the Nova Guild now and permanently leave this game. As a guardian of justice, I cannot allow someone as vile as you to exist."
The female spoke with conviction. She looked at him as if he were a worm not even worth a glance. Her avatar embodied all aspects of holiness her class was known for—white armor that covered her whole body.
Even her hair was white, showing off her holiness.
"I'm sorry, but I do not know what you are talking about. I am a new player, and whatever bad thing you think I did, I did not do."
He told the female, and her expression soured even more. He had never felt more afraid for his life than he did at that moment.
"Are you making fun of me? How dare you… I will have you confess to your sins one way or another."
Canary sounded upset and angry, and Cane had two questions for her—first, what was she talking about with all that "sins" nonsense? And second, how had she seen through his stealth skill?
His second question was answered seconds later when a new message popped up on his screen… and the second one as well.
[Player Canary (Lv107) has declared Player Cane (Lv6) as a killing target.]
[Due to the modifier 'Kill-on-Sight', Player Cane is not allowed to challenge the declaration.]
'Well, this sure is a problem. Now, how do I deal with this?'
Cane felt shocked and confused, but he was not the only one. Canary was just as shocked as he was to see a newbie in front of her.
According to the information someone had given her, a person with the modifier 'Kill-on-Sight' had appeared in the newbie village.
Since she was one of the top players of this game—and the top player of the server—she felt personally responsible for dealing with this mess before it got too big. That was why she decided to confront the person causing this problem.
'Newbie or not, he must have done something to cause the system to flag him as a threat. I cannot let him continue like this.'
So she made the first move. While the other side was busy trying to come up with an argument, she raised her sword to strike him.
Cane saw that attack coming and dodged at the last second. His skill Perfect Dodge came in handy at such a time.
Everyone looked at him in shock as they rubbed their eyes.
There should have been no feasible way for a player with 100 levels below the attacker to ever survive an attack. There was too much speed and stat difference between the two.
And yet, Cane had not only survived but had done so without taking any damage.
Canary's face soured as she looked at Cane's avatar.
"Are you… cheating? How did you not take any damage right there?"
She asked but gave Cane no time to answer as she came in for another attack.