The journey from the spawning point to the beginner's village was not a long one.
It took five in-game minutes and some careful precaution.
Usually, the beginning did not throw any monsters at a player before they could start the first quest and gain EXP.
But due to the randomness factor added to the game, people did sometimes end up running into things they were not supposed to.
Cane was one of the unlucky bastards who somehow found himself hiding from the monsters in front of him.
'What rotten luck-! Ugh, when will these monsters go away?'
He asked himself as he kept his body hidden.
He had no intention of showing himself, but he was also wasting time out there.
Just when he was about to get up and make his way around, he felt a presence near him and turned to look at the person.
The avatar in front of him was of a cute girl with blue hair and purple eyes.
She had a bounce in her steps, and her eyes twinkled as they looked at him.
Even her body proportions were not normal, with her bouncy breasts and curved figure that made her hips and back stand out.
She was someone who was made for fan service, and she was not trying to hide it either.
"Hey, are you alright? Do you need my help? Everyone, I am here to help a newbie out."
The voice that came from the avatar was neither cute nor lovely.
It was rough, low-pitched, and yet distinctly female.
At least this person was not a catfish playing a female avatar to gain popularity.
Her avatar had a name on top of her head that read Heera [Lv50], which was an impressive feat for someone to achieve.
The further one got into this game, the harder it was to level up.
Even Cane had not been able to hit the level cap during beta, and he had tried every glitch he could exploit.
Cane's silence caused the female to frown.
She leaned her body more toward Cane, making sure to stick out a pose that caused her 'assets' to show more.
'Oh-! She really is desperate to see herself… is she a streamer? She sounds like one.'
Cane had heard her talk to her chat after all.
The female did not like Cane's inattentiveness, so she snapped her fingers in front of his face to try and grab his attention.
She had a cute pout on her avatar's face as she forced herself into his vision.
"Hey, newbie, do you want my help or not?"
She asked while pointing to the monsters out in the field, and for a minute, Cane almost wanted to ask her not to help him. He wanted to see what she would do.
Cane's mouth moved before his brain could.
"I don't need your help. I think I will be fine on my own."
The smile on Heera's face dropped faster than he could imagine, and the female looked aghast.
"You… don't want my help? But why? Isn't it better to get my help? You have no idea how long you will have to stay here for—?"
The female sounded confused and almost desperate to help him out.
Just the fact that she was here and trying to help told him that something was going on. Her being a streamer and being on-stream made things even more certain for him.
"Sorry, but I think I will wait."
He told her, trying to agitate her even more.
Heera's jaw dropped at his words, and she stuttered to get herself under control.
"Y-You… no way-! You have to allow me to help out or my bet… I mean, as your senior in the game, I should help show you the way, right?"
The female asked him as she looked at the monsters with a desperate look.
Her eyes kept glancing at the monsters just out of range, and she looked desperate to hunt them.
'Ah, this must be some kind of bet. Should I make things even more difficult for her?'
Cane was not a mean person, but there was just… something about seeing a cute face fall like this. It made him want to bully Heera even more.
"Are you sure you do not need my help?"
She asked one last time, and before he could decline, the monsters ran away.
Heera's eyes looked too heartbroken.
"Shit-! I lost my bet. And to think I worked so hard to lure them here… cough anyway, I am glad to see that you are alright."
The female quickly told him as she regained her composure.
She had likely already failed her bet… whatever it was.
He chose to remain quiet to allow her to stay in her misery for a little longer.
Finally, Heera pulled herself out of her self-pity and gave him a curious look.
"You are a new player, right? Is this your first time playing Clash Online?"
She asked, now curious as she saw his gear.
She had already failed her objective, but she was going to get something out of this.
And to carry a newbie in the game was a good thing to do, right?
"Well, you can say that it's… kind of my first time playing Clash Online."
Cane told her, and he was not lying about it.
It was his first time playing it since launch.
Heera looked relieved to hear that.
"Hmm, in that case, I am going to send you a friend request and help you out when the game gets tough. Believe me, you will need my help—"
She opened the system window, only to be blocked.
[You cannot send a friend request to this person at the current moment. Please join the same guild to communicate through messages. Reason: Kill-on-Sight modifier.]
Suddenly, the friendly look changed to one of suspicion as the female looked at Cane.
He had no idea what prompted Heera's sudden change of attitude.
"You… are a newbie, right? Just what the heck did you do to gain the worst modifier in the game? You should abandon this account and make a new one… just for your own safety."