Robert stood in the middle of the bustling central terminal that corresponded with the Berkeley Nexus city, collecting his thoughts before pulling up the Elysium Character creation interface. Juno had told him some details of her experience, but she was a little vague about most of it. She was very clear about it being an intense experience that pulled deeply from her own experiences. Robert wondered precisely what that meant.

After hesitating as long as he could, Robert shook himself and focused while saying aloud, “You’ve got this. Let’s just get started.”

A moment later, he pressed the button on the Elysium Online interface, and a door opened before him. Unlike the standard Nexus gateways that looked like shimmering water, this one was a metal banded wooden door that looked like it was taken out of a medieval dungeon. Hesitating for only a second, he grabbed the knob and pushed through. The other side of the door was a little anticlimactic if Robert was honest.

It was a long dank cave that led towards light of some sort. From that distance, Robert wasn’t sure if it was torchlight or sunlight. No other choices available; he walked forward. The floor of the cave was slightly wet and slippery in spots, so he crouched lower and widened his base to be a little more stable.

He continued forward, using the edge of the cave as a guide with the only source of light in the distance. Robert looked around the entire time, trying to make out details or to identify markings to help him figure out what he was supposed to do. The surrounding space was so dark it almost felt like it had weight. There was no escape from the dark in any other direction and nothing to do but to keep walking forward.

What seemed like an eternity later, Robert made out details at the end of the tunnel. The light was definitely not a torch, but an exit to some other place. As he approached the end of the passage, he stuck firmly to the wall just in case someone looked inside the cave.

He needn’t have worried.

The end of the cave led into a thick forest of towering pine trees and a dense undergrowth of fallen logs and ferns. Robert had once seen a documentary about the rainforests of North America, and it was exactly what the forest looked like. He stayed low, try to remain hidden behind vegetation. As he snuck forward, he noticed a large scuff along the edge of a fallen log that looked like someone had scraped off a layer of the moss growing on it.

When he got closer, Robert noticed boot prints below. From what he could tell, there were a few fresh prints; one smaller set and at least two larger sets. He felt the details of the prints with his hands and was overwhelmed with the sensation. He worked all day long with his hands in dirt and muck, and it was the same sensation but more intense. He could always feel a slight difference in other games that let him know it was not quite real. Elysium felt real, possibly even more intense than the real-world.

He followed the trail over a slight rise in the forest, and after walking for ten minutes, he heard voices in the distance. Gruff, angry voices. He kept his pace slow but moved steadily towards the sounds. As he walked, he made sure his feet avoided any errant branches or debris that would give away his position.

He dropped to his stomach and crawled the last few feet, staying hidden under a moss-covered log leaning against a large boulder overgrown with fern. From there, he could see three men of various sizes standing over the cowering body of a young woman in gray robes. He couldn’t make out a lot of detail because of the gloom of the forest. Still, each man had a sword at their waist, and a variety of other implements hung on belts and bandoliers.

As he finished his scan of the three men, the middle-sized man gave the girl a quick kick to the leg and said, “Hey, girl, why did you run? We just wanted to talk. That was just rude.”

The smaller man opposite the girl chuckled and added, “Yeah, that was just rude. We just want to get to know you.”

The largest of the three didn’t make a sound. He just stood there looking down at the woman. Robert couldn’t see his face because of a deep hood, but he assumed the look was creepy. Three men chasing a woman through the woods never ended well for the woman. At least in the movies Robert had seen. He’d never actually been in the woods for real.

Robert looked around the small clearing perimeter and noticed a considerable collection of boulders that rose about five to six feet higher than the forest floor. If circumstances were different, he would have used it for a camping spot to give himself a little cover from the wind and reflect the heat from the campfire. It was the only high ground he could see, and he began circling around to it.

“Girl, I told you we just wanted to get to know you. Now we’ve worked really hard already to trying to do just that. I think you owe us something for our effort.” Robert heard one man say as the sound of metal on leather punctuated his sentence.

Robert wanted to rush forward and protect the woman, but he knew he was no match for the three in a head to head fight. At least that’s what he thought since he didn’t have access to statistics or an inventory. What he knew is he had to be smart about it.

The girl just whimpered as the men taunted her. Robert spared a glance toward the group when he could. Nothing had happened to her yet. The men seemed to be toying with her. That made his blood boil even more, but he needed to stay calm. Nothing in his life had ever been fixed by acting mindlessly.

Robert successfully approached the backside of the raised rocks and made his way to the top, looking down on the three men. There were some plants on the stone he hid behind for the moment, but it looked like he would need to take some action soon.

The medium-sized man was now squatting beside the woman with a dagger lifting the hood from his prey’s face. “Oh, you’re a real looker.”

Robert tried to see the woman’s face, but couldn’t make out details because of the angle and shadows. He could see the men, but the woman’s features were not visible. It didn’t matter to Robert. He’d already decided to help.

Pausing for a moment, Robert searched himself. He found four items that could be useful. A dagger with a blade about the length of his hand from fingertip to wrist hung at his waist. He inspected it and found it to be razor sharp, then slid it back into the waist sheath. There were also three spikes on a sheath attached to the bottom side of his left bracer. He took one out and held it in his throwing hand.

Robert hadn’t noticed his equipment previously, but it looked like he was wearing thin leather armor and a mottled green and gray cloak. The gear seemed to be weathered and used, but in excellent condition. He’d played primarily magic users in other games, so the garb felt unfamiliar to him. It was more like the clothing and armor of a ranger or assassin.

“Boss, let’s get on with it already. It’s getting dark, and I don’t want to be out here in the woods all night when her people look for her.” The short man said.

The medium-sized man reached out and grabbed the woman by the hair at the back of her skull and said, “You’re right, Will. I think it’s time we got a little compensation for our troubles.”

As he said that the larger man turned around and walked to the edge of the clearing. Robert couldn’t be sure, but it looked like the large man wasn’t particularly comfortable with the whole situation. Still, he wasn’t saying or doing anything against it. Robert hated people like that more than the bullies they followed.

Robert decided instantly, and his body moved almost without thought. As he stood from his hiding spot, he threw the first dart at the shorter man, catching him in the side of the neck where it met his collar. Instantly, blood squirted from the wound in timed pulses. Robert didn’t know how he had found the mark, but he wasn’t about to question it.

He launched himself off the rock towards the back of the man hovering over the woman while pulling the dagger from his waist and plunging it towards the man’s back. Unfortunately, the man spun as he saw his compatriot take damage. And Robert’s knife caught the man in the shoulder rather than where he’d been aiming.

As they grappled, Robert yelled to the woman, “Run!”

The woman hesitated for a split second and then stood from the ground and darted into the woods. Robert was relieved for a moment, and then pain radiated across his face as the man he was grappling struck him in the nose with an elbow. Robert had been in one fight in his life that resulted in a broken nose. It was a feeling he would never forget, and Elysium did one hell of a job of imitating the sensation. His eyes even watered and vision blurred.

The man was actually slightly shorter than Robert, but he was well-muscled where Robert was thin. It didn’t take long for the man to break free from his grasp. Robert wiped his eyes and retreated to get a better view of the situation. The shorter man was now unconscious on the ground or dead, and the larger man was now at the medium-sized man’s back with a short sword in hand. It looked like Robert had scored a hit on the man’s shoulder as there was a trickle of blood running down the arm, and it hung a little looser than the other.

“Who the hell are you, and what did you do to Will?” The bleeding man asked.

Robert smirked and said, “Name’s Rob, and I think I killed him. The better question would be, what are three grown men doing with a woman who obviously doesn’t want to here?”

“Well, that’s none of your business.” The man said while unsheathing his sword.

As his two opponents spread out to stand side-by-side, Robert decided about his next attack. As he lunged forward at the wounded man Robert changed direction, running into the forest. He knew there was no way he would beat two full-grown men in a sword fight with a dagger and two throwing darts. He needed to be smart.