When Anika logged out of the game, she became aware of her limbs; they hurt. Her body was aching, and she felt extremely uncomfortable. She wondered if it might be worth playing the game in shorter bursts, or at least log out for a few breaks now and then. There was no real pain or tiredness inside the game, only that yellow bar showing her the fatigue levels. She might have taken it easier if she was just there to relax and to have a break from work and real life. But it didn't take any reminders for her to know exactly why she was putting herself through this. This was her second day of playing, and she hadn't even made it out of the starting area.

Before heading off to bed she did some further reading about the Hunter class, and to see if tomorrow might be the day where she could finish the initial training and make some actual progress. She was almost level 4, so it would soon be time for her to choose a specialisation. All classes in the game had to specialise once they hit level 4 and hunters had three options available to them. Once the path had been chosen, it looked like you would receive so-called talent points, which would unlock additional stat bonuses and new skills along the way. Even within a certain path there were many ways to allocate points. This meant that not all hunters had the same skill-set and could play different roles with different strengths and weaknesses.

The first one she read about was the Marksman. This one was purely focused on improving accuracy and the damage from shooting with firearms. It looked like the training mission itself wasn't too hard. The trainer would teach you some special abilities that, with the right talent points, could guarantee you would hit your target 100% of the time.

The next one she had a look at was the Trapper. A Trapper was an expert in stealth and laying traps. There was an emphasis on abilities to do with close hand combat and how to finish an enemy once it had been incapacitated or injured in a trap.

The last path was the Beastmaster. This branch of the talent tree was all about taming beasts in the wild. Certain creatures could be tamed using a training collar and they would become the Hunter's companion. She saw screenshots of hunters from various races, all proudly displaying the wild beasts they had tamed and there were discussions about where to go to find the special ones and how to tame them.

She looked up from her computer screen and tried to think which of the three paths would help her in her quest. She still didn't have a good idea of the challenges she would face, but she had a feeling it would involve travelling far in the virtual world in search of her son. All the hunter paths had their merit, but the final part of the guide she had read felt like the most attractive. The fact that she could get a companion to do most of the fighting would keep her alive for longer, it would also mean she had some company along the way.

When she logged back into the game again the next morning she was relieved to be back. She hadn't slept well, and her body was stiff and tired when she was eating her breakfast. The moment she was inside the game, she felt perfect.

She walked outside to find Ralph and had a mind to ask him when she could start with the Hunter training. He was busy, as per usual, feeding his dogs and tidying up around the stables.

"Good morning Ralph. I was wondering when you might teach me how to specialise as a Hunter. From what I have learned, Hunters typically specialise in one of several paths. Is that right?"

"You catch on quick, my friend." He hesitated for a moment as if preparing what to say. "I can see you are eager to learn more from me and to leave this place in search of adventure. However, the training I have in store for you is usually reserved for young Hunters with more experience." He looked at her with slight pity in his eyes as if he understood how she was feeling and how she might react to his words.

"I understand. In that case, is there anything I can help you with today?"

His eyes lit up, and he looked pleased that she had asked the question. "There is. I have been up since the crack of dawn taking care of the animals. Haven't sat down and had a meal yet. I would be grateful if you could catch me another load of salmon and cook it up just like yesterday. In fact, if you stay here for a while, you don't even have to ask. I'll be grateful to have a meal cooked for me with local ingredients every day." He looked at her and blushed ever so slightly.

New quest (Daily): Cook a meal for Ralph

Ralph's belly is always rumbling. Cook him a meal with fresh fish or meat up to once a day.

Reward: 500 XP

That shouldn't take too long, Anika thought to herself. She hadn't used all the salmon from yesterday, so she figured she could just use the leftovers and some of the herbs that were still in her bag. To her surprise, she realised that the fresh salmon she had in her bag was no longer fresh. The label and item description made it clear to her that keeping fresh fish in her bag overnight was not a good idea. She could even smell it as she pulled the [Rotting Fish] out of the bag. It was disgusting, but the dogs enjoyed it.

There was no way around it, no shortcuts. She would have to get back to the brook and start from scratch. Still, it could be worse and after doing a bit of napkin math she figured that those 500 experience points would get her to level four.

After catching about 10 fresh salmon and cooking it up with some herbs, she anticipated the rush she would get from gaining a level again. If only there was a way to bottle that feeling or to replicate the experience in real life, somebody could become rich she thought to herself. Then she realized they had something very similar in the real world although she had never mixed with the types who used recreational drugs. This must be what it felt like though, a sense of euphoria from taking a hit and an addicting one at that.

She completed the quest and reached level four, and when checking her increased stats she also noticed something she hadn't seen before. For each level she had gained so far, she had talent points available. After searching for a few minutes, she couldn't find out what to do with these unspent talent points. Hopefully that would become clear once she had gone through the Hunter training she was about to discuss with Ralph.