Anika found the Logout button and was greeted with a 30 second timer. She then found a decent hiding spot before the timer hit zero, just in case she would face a predator as soon as she logged back in.

The feeling of being back in the real world was not pleasant at all. She felt tired, hungry and needed the toilet. After taking off her visor, she pulled one of the haptic gloves off and checked the time. It was 6pm, so she had been in the game for almost 7 hours.

All she could think about was her son who was still in one of those immersion pods. He wouldn't have to log out like she did, those things were designed for players to stay in the game for months at a time. How on earth they solved the toilet break problem she didn't know, but with this level of technology there was probably a simple solution to that. She had to get him out of there, because judging by how she felt after just seven hours in this out-of-body experience, she could imagine how someone would feel after several months. She took care of business, get some food and then to rent out a bed for the night. The plan was to get up bright and early the next day and get a full day's worth of playtime in.

There was a busy café in the gaming centre. She got some food so as not to waste any time before getting back into the rig after some sleep. She chose a seat after ordering her food and noticed an Everscape Online magazine on the table in front of her. Flicking through the article, she saw that there were a couple of useful guides for new players. Learning the basics of the game seemed like a great use of her time, so she spent two hours getting an idea of what to expect as a new player.

She didn't sleep well that night. She figured this was because she had breathed very little fresh air in the last 24 hours, and the bed itself had also not been very comfortable. This was not a five-star accommodation. Almost as a reflex, she checked her fatigue level. Then she realized, she was not in the game. How stupid could she be? After only one session in this game and it was already getting the better of her. Ted had told her once he was seeing icons and progress bars wherever he went after logging out of the game. He thought it was funny and enjoyed pretending that real life was also a game. She could see the funny side of it, but also felt uncomfortable about the power and influence this game could have on a person's subconscious.

Before hitting the Login button, she reminded herself of what she was supposed to be doing. If she remembered correctly, there were still three grizzly bears to kill before she could complete her quest.

When she entered the game, she found herself in the hiding place where she had logged out.

She put her tracking, stealth and camouflage skills to good use. When the last grizzly bear was lying in front of her with an arrow straight through its skull, she noticed with satisfaction that the quest progress showed 10/10 and that her skills had improved at a steady pace. She also had a go at skinning each of the last bears she took down, so she had something to give Ralph in case he thought it was worth a few coins.

Accuracy: 32/50

Tracking: 30/50

Stealth: 15/50

Camouflage 10/50

Skinning 7/50

When she made it back to the Hunter's cabin, Ralph was feeding his dogs and greeted her with a big smile.

"Welcome back my friend. Shall I take it you completed my task?"

"Yes, and I took care of a matriarch. Job done." She smiled.

In that moment, something brilliant and strange happened. The second she completed that last sentence, her entire view flashed in a golden colour for a split second. She felt a rush that would have been hard to describe. It was the feeling you get when someone surprises you on your birthday, a mixture of shock and happiness all at once. It wasn't just a rush though. She also felt stronger and more confident a few moments later, it was as if she had been given an upgrade or a boost of some sort.

Quest complete: A couple of Grizzly Bears

Bonus objective complete: Kill a Matriarch

Experience gained: 500 XP

Congratulations! You have reached level 2

"Well done my friend. That'll reduce the nuisance for a short while, I can't thank you enough." Ralph walked to the side of the cabin and pulled off one of the bows hanging on the wall.

"This one is for you as a token of my appreciation. Don't forget, I also promised you something extra for taking care of the matriarch." He then handed her a small sack and told her to try on her new rags.

You receive item: Ralph's Hunting Bow.

You receive item: Leather Bag

You received item: Hunter Trousers

You receive item Hunter Jerkin

You receive item Hunter Boots

"I hope they fit, made them myself. I can't say I'm the best at working leather, but they should help until you can find something better."

Anika inspected her new items. Ralph's Hunting Bow was a big upgrade compared to her previous one. It did an additional 20 points of damage and had a nice +5 agility stat bonus. It was becoming clear that agility was an important stat for hunters like her. She remembered seeing that the class bonus for hunters was extra agility, but that was as far as her understanding went at this point. Next, she took a look at her new clothes. Their armour rating was much higher than what she was wearing at the moment, so she supposed that meant she would be tougher to kill. It felt good to have boots on until now she had been running barefoot. Once she had removed the old ones and equipped her new items, she noticed that the bag they had come in was still in her inventory. She could equip it, which as far as she could tell, meant that she could carry an additional eight items with her.

After thanking Ralph for the gifts, she remembered that she still had those skins for him.

"Here you go, I cut these for you. Some of them are not too pretty, but I hope you can use them."

"Let me see." He grabbed the skins and laid them out, inspecting them carefully.

"Well, they'll hardly make a set of bracers or gloves for the winter, but I think we can use them to patch up some of my old gear and saddle bags. I'll take them off you for five silver. That's the best deal you will get on this side of the forest."

She would not haggle or argue with him. Five silver was five more than she had before, so she took the coins and shook his hand to seal the deal. With her new gear and money in her pocket she was eager to get going, but from what she had read in the articles the previous evening, she would be stuck with her class trainer until level 4. A little tip she had paid attention to, when she was reading the articles the previous night, was to always ask these non-player characters if they needed help with anything, that would often unlock extra quests which would provide the experience points she needed to level up.

"Is there anything else I can help you with today?" He seemed preoccupied with the bearskins and didn't answer.

"Ralph, do you have any work for me?" He looked up.

"Work? Well yes, there's plenty of work to do around here. Take your pick." He chuckled and gave her a little wink. "But I don't think you came here to work for me did you? Since you ask, I feel it is my duty to prepare you for your travels ahead. Once you leave this little paradise of mine, you will no doubt wander straight into trouble. I want you to be prepared for the worst, so let's see how quickly you can learn to survive in the wild."

New quest: Gnome Survival

Reward: New abilities & Experience points

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