She was breathing heavily as the troll stared at her with its large voluminous eyes. Now that Emera had a better look, she could see that the troll was indeed an old woman, green skin and all. Her gray hair was in a fly-away style that popped out in all directions. Large, floppy ears stuck out nearly sideways.

“Hello? Who are you?” Emera asked, transfixed with the creature in front of her as it kept staring at her.

Like a horror movie, the troll spread its lips wide, showing surprisingly white teeth, although she could see a bit of mystery meat stuck between a couple of them.

The old troll lady let out a squawk before tottering excitedly around the room, picking up various pots and pans before beginning a fire.

Emera sincerely hoped that the troll didn't eat her.

Her concern was unfounded though as the troll began laying plates and cups down along the wooden table.

Now that she had a chance, Emera looked around the sparsely furnished home . It felt barren without the standard stove and fridge, but Emera had to admit, the Troll had some style. There were shelves with various substances she assumed were potions and their ingredients, while in the corner sat a burner plate with a flask of a muddled green substance simmering away on top of it. Curtains hung from windows and a large rug lay as a welcome mat in front of the door.

Besides the fireplace, Emera could see a small sleeping pallet in the corner with various treated pelts surrounding it. Windows opened out into an amber coloured forest while a pleasant aroma wafted from numerous candles. A door stood ajar that let in a faint breeze that felt extremely pleasant within the stifling room.

Another squawk interrupted her, the troll watching her closely to see what she would do. It beckoned a hand over to a plate of something hot, clearly indicating she could stay awhile if she wanted, or run away through the door if she so desired.

Emera decided to go with her gut and joined the troll across the table, her belly making the decision easier by rumbling loudly in the cramp confines of the room.

She didn't expect the troll to eat her, seeing as it had cared for her over the five years during her magically induced sleep, but she was still wary when she got a look at the strange food in front of her.

The only resemblance to any meal that she had ever seen was what she thought of as slop. A grainy mixture sat in front of her, complete with a black sauce that ran down the sides of the grainy substance. She could see a touch of green within the grain, which she hoped were just herbs.

Not wanting to seem rude, she scooped up a mouthful and before she could change her mind, stuck it far into her mouth to prevent her tongue being the brunt of whatever foul, miserable, absurdly bad concoction that trolls decided to eat.

It actually tasted wonderful.

It was like nothing she had ever experienced before, which she assumed was going to be very common in this world where she could eat nearly anything she so desired.

The bowl lasted scant few seconds before the old troll plopped another serving into her dish, which she gladly accepted.

The troll chattered away in its strange language, seemingly understanding that Emera couldn't understand a word it said. After the meal was finished, Emera briefly wondered where she would stay in the game. She didn't want to impose on the good trolls hospitality anymore than she had to, but she couldn't just abandon the old troll without repaying her for all her kindness of taking care of her.

Era stared blankly ahead for a second, wondering what to gift a troll. She had nothing to her name, knowing already that the Emera of this world was bereft of family and friends. No humans or elves would trade with her. Not without the possibility of being enslaved or killed at first sight.

She thought briefly of obtaining a disguise, but what would she do for work in a town or city? She had no skills yet, no class either. Nothing to rely on.

The troll squawked what Emera assumed was a question at her. Emera voiced her thoughts out loud, briefly wondering if the troll knew what she was saying at all.

“You have taken care of my char- of me for five years. I was just thinking about what I could give you to repay you for all your kindness. I have nothing to my name and no job. No family or anything of the sort.” Emera said, for the first time realizing how alone she was in this world. Do players form friendships with NPC’s? Or just with other players? It all seems so lifelike that she wouldn't be able to separate the two entities.

The troll gave her question a thoughtful pause before standing up from the table. When she returned, she carried a small book and a small basket along with her. She placed the basket in front of her before opening the book to a page that Emera could actually read.

The Edipipsis Flower

The Edipipsis flower, or often referred to as a glory flower, can be found within the bounds of the Renindar forest. It can often be found nearly a mile deep residing in a bed of moss. Be warned that altlhough no inherent harm can be caused by picking the flower, be wary of entering any further into the forest. It's depths are dangerous hunting grounds for bands of wolves and other predators.

When combined with more common herbs, the Edipipsis flower can be used to make an advanced strength potion by a skilled alchemist.

In a tidy note on the bottom of the page was a hand drawn replica of the flower with a badly scrawled note written with a shaky hand..

“Flower fuelled by magic of dragon. It grow strong now. It stop bones hurting.”

The old troll looked up at Emera with a questioning look. A quest pop-up appeared before her.

New Quest! - Edipipsis Hunt

Mag’dha of the forest has tasked you to retrieve the Edipipsis flower to help with her weary bones.

Reward: ?

Failure: Fail to retrieve the flower without destroying it. Fail to return the flower to Mag'dha

Level: Simple

Do you accept this quest?

[Yes] [No]

Emera read it over before focusing her eyes on the Yes. Another pop-up appeared right after the first disappeared.

Achievement Earned! You have accepted your first quest!

+5 Experience

“Era, how do I check how much experience I have earned?” Emer inquired. So far, she had earned fifteen experience points. She wanted to see how many more she would need for her next level.

“Add to that Era. What do I get when I level?” She asked. There were plenty of game mechanics that she still knew next to nothing about. It was best to be prepared.

“You can use voice commands to operate the menu system’s. Just say “Menu” out loud. From there, you will be able to access your inventory and character sheet.”

“Menu.” A list of buttons appeared in front of her.

“Humph. A friends tab. Don't have any of those laying around.”

Emera focused her eyes on the character tab, her eyes opened wide as she saw herself as if she were looking at a mirror. Various stats were shown beside her, along with her currently selected quest. Below her character it displayed her race and non-existent class and profession.

Emyria - Level 1 (15/100 Exp.)

Elf (River Frail) - Racial Bonus Unlocked at Level 10

Titles: None

Attack: 5AP Magic: 5MP Health: 50HP Allegience: None Strength: 1 Intelligence: 1 Profession: None Fame: 0 Defence: 1 Wisdom: 1 Class: None Currency: 0G 0S 0C Agility: 1 Charisma: 1 Skills: None

Dexterity: 1 Luck: 1 Consitituion: 1 Current Quest: Edipipsis Hunt Armour (Equipped)

Helmet: none

Chest: Basic Tunic (5/5 Durability)

Hands: None

Belt: Basic Belt (5/5 Durability)

Legs: Basic Pantaloons (5/5 Durability)

Feet: Basic Footwraps (5/5 Durability)

Rings: None

Bracelets: None

Necklace: None

Resistance:

Fire: +0%

Water: +0%

Dark: +0%

Light: +0%

Earth: +0%

Air: +0%

Void: +0%

Magic: +0%

It was a tidy menu that even she, being the noob that she was, could navigate easily.

“As you can see Emera, you have nine different attribute stats that you can advance with. Every level, you gain ten attribute points to put into the stats. Depending on your play style, most players sometimes focus on a single attribute to be proficient in while all others are usually delegated leftover points. You currently have fifteen points to distribute however you wish, but I would hold off on them right now before you decide. Most players wait until they have a class already chosen” Era replied

“Wow.” It was daunting. Her lack of knowledge collided with her need to get better within the game. She needed this life, as it will be her best chance at being normal. If she somehow messed up her skill distribution and wrecked any chance at a future play style, she would be stuck with that character.

Huh. Better go with luck then, nothing could go wrong with being a little bit luckier. Especially since the river frail race seemed cursed and misfortune sought to destroy them all.

Era tried to stop her, but it was too late. She now had sixteen luck at her disposal.

“Emera! The luck skill is practically useless in a fight. What if those wolves find you on that quest! You'll be useless!” Huh, she somehow made the robot angry. Hey, it was her life choices! She would live with the consequences.

What Emera failed to realiz fifty minutes later was that Era was part of who she now was, and it was her life too.

Too bad the wolves didn't see it that way.

“Bad wolfy, bad. Down wolfy! Stay down there. Good. NO WAIT WOLFY, BAD!” Emera screamed, her throat raw from screaming. It had been approximately forty minutes since she left the trolls home with a goodbye. It had been about twenty minutes ago since she had found the flower. And it was about five minutes since she climbed the tree.

Damn wolves nearly tore me in half.

“Told you so!” Era told her. This time, Emera could both hear and see the smirk on her face as she sent Emera a picture of a generic photo of a girl smiling. Damn her AI.

Emera wouldn't change her for the world.

It had been a great team building exercise as they traversed the woods. Era, in all her wisdom, seemed to somehow aggravate Emera every step of the way.

“Hey watch out for that- ouch, that looked like it hurt. Maybe you should have increased your constituion so branches wouldn't take off an eighth of your health,” was one of the many reminders that she supplied on their journey. Another frequent one was the constant reminder that if she were any slower, a turtle would outpace her.

Yeah… The two had a heartfelt conversation after that where Emera admitted she was sorry for not consulting her first, and the robot apologized for not warning her that the luck stat was basically useless.

All in all, the two exchanged their apologies then went on their way. Somehow, they were all the more companionable the rest of the way.

Sadly, all the apologies in the world wouldn't kill the wolves below them.

Emera continued to climb higher and higher, the branches getting mightily thin so high up. Both of them didn't know what to do. Or maybe Era did, but she didn't want to impede on Emera's punishment. She could be snarky like that.

“Maybe if you throw something at them, they'll run off scared?” Era helpfully supplied. Problem was, there was no way she could land a shot from all the way up the tree she had climbed. So it was with eventual resolve that she climbed partway down. When the wolves saw her again, they immediately tried leaping up again, trying to cling to the lower hanging branches. One wolf almost succeeded, but was too slow in gripping with its back paws.

Emera broke a branch from the tree. It was an unknown wood to her, but it seemed supple enough to give it a nice whiplash effect when she drew her arm back. With carefully aimed precision, she let loose with the stick and watched it fly right into a yipping wolf's mouth.

Immediately, all the wolves paused to look towards their brethren as it experienced a massive choking fit. It started shaking its fur violently as it dry hacked, trying to cough up the lodged stick. It was unsuccessful. Slowly as if in a trance, the pack of wolves backed up from their dying comrade, afraid of more sticks flying. Emera complied with their nervousness, unleashing a flurry of sticks at the remaining wolves. Sadly, none of them landed the shot in a million stick she first threw, but she scored a couple of nice scratches on some of their muzzles.

It was funny watching the once brave wolf pack retreat frantically into the forest, their tails downcast. It was less funny to witness the dying wolf slowly take its last few breaths. It seemed like it lasted forever before it eventually collapsed, it's throat clogged and tongue lolling out.

“So Era. How is the luck stat eh?” Her eyes anywhere but the wolf.

“No comment.” Era replied, voice sullen.

Emera scuttled down the rest of the tree, her excitement over her first kill devoid of any enjoyment as she knelt by the wolf. Looking at the wolf, it seemed like a runt of the litter, not very impressive at all. That just made Emera feel worse.

“So Era, how do I loot this thing?” She asked, unsure if there was a voice command she needed to do or if there was some hand placement ritual.

“Got a skinning knife? Era said blandly, her voice monotone.

Emera looked at the wolf in horror. Cutting up the dead carcass seemed wrong somehow, as if she would be defiling the already dead beast.

“Ha. The expression on your face was perfect! Just say loot with your hands over it. That should do the trick. Although, the hunting profession does skin their kills and they earn a significantly greater outcome in terms of loot.” Era said.

Era blinked her eyes at that. Sometimes, the game seemed like it could be a little less real. Skinning a dead animal? This was supposed to be a game! Sure, she was willing to get her hands dirty, but to do something as foul as that for one’s enjoyment? That was Emera's problem with the game. It almost seemed as if it were intentionally designed to perfect the real world, but would add more to it. It was true to its namesake. It was a world with more.

“Loot!” Emera yelled, her excitement once more bubbling to the surface. A green glow encompassed player and beast. Emera sat up as a stream of notifications appeared in front of her.