After hitting the Enter Game button, all she noticed was that the view in front of her turned a pleasant blue and some soft classical music was playing in the background. A small hourglass was turning on its axis in the middle of the screen which suggested that the software was loading her character and she was about to begin. Before long the soft music faded out and all she could hear was the distant sound of birds and leaves ruffling.

It felt as if she was lying down and it took a moment or two before her surroundings became clearer. At first, everything was fuzzy and out of focus, but her eyes adjusted just like they do when you wake up from a long sleep. She looked around and appeared to be lying on some kind of bed in a small wooden cabin. It smelled of wood, musty and damp, but through the window, she could see it was a sunny day and she could hear the birds more clearly now.

She sat up on the bed and took in her surroundings. There was an open fireplace in the centre of the cabin with a small stove on top and a simple table with wooden chairs in the corner of the cabin. Other than that there wasn't much in the way of furniture. It looked messy. There were lots of animal furs and what looked like hunting gear littered about the place. It was a safe guess that whoever lived here was a hunter.

"Top of the morning to you traveller, I'm glad to see you're awake. Didn't think you would make it for a while but I can see you're made of strong stuff."

The man who spoke had entered through the open door to the cabin. She hadn't seen him at first because she was still trying to get her bearings and was examining the items on the walls and on the floor. He was a big man, strong broad shoulders and a large belly. Despite his rugged features and scruffy black hair, he had kind eyes and everything about him seemed welcoming.

"Thank you and good morning to you." She played along. Although he looked and acted real, she was sure he was a non-player character (NPC) controlled by the game's AI engine. She had read about them when she was looking up the basics of the game world, but she had never expected them to be so realistic.

"Like I said, didn't think you would make it there for a while, was getting worried about you. It's been two days since I found you out in the woods and just in time too, the Grizzly bears would have had you for lunch if I didn't find you first." He put his sack on the floor and stretched his back. Wow, he was so realistic.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are you heading?"

Anika thought for a few moments and had to be honest with herself, she didn't have a clue where she was supposed to go. One thing was clear though, she was in a cabin in the woods, so she was in the wrong place.

"I'm looking for my son. Do you think you can help me in the right direction? All I know is that he is a Rogue and that he plays in those tournaments."

"A Rogue eh? Can't say I've seen many of those around. But then again I don't suppose they walk around in the forest much. A shifty bunch if you ask me, not sure how they make a living, but it ain't always honest I can tell you that much." He pulled a face that almost showed a hint of embarrassment. It was uncanny, this character had a way of displaying real human emotions. "But if it's your son, then I'm sure he is one of the good guys."

"What about the tournaments? I know he fights against other characters in these tournaments. Any idea where they are held?"

"Tournaments? Can't say that I do. People killing each other for sport, that's not something I'd get involved with. Don't see the point in it myself. There's enough killing to be done out there in the forest to keep food on the table and to keep us lot safe. Waste of time them tournaments are." He pottered around, rearranging a few things on the table and pulling out a few skins from his sack.

Anika was frustrated, maybe there was an admin or some kind of game helper she could ask. She focused on a bar at the bottom of her vision which had several icons on it. One opened the character screen she had seen right before entering the game, another opened some more stat menus. Apart from the Logout button there didn't seem to be anything suggesting that she could contact an admin for advice. What if there was a bug? Surely there must be a way to report things if she was having a problem? After having a look through the menus, none of which made much sense to her, she decided that she would just have to get by with whatever little information this character could offer.

"Excuse me, is there a way to contact other players in this game?"

"Players in the game? You must have hit your head harder than I thought. Are you sure you're okay?" He looked at her with genuine concern. She didn't respond. This was just getting stupid now. She needed to speak with a real human and get proper advice.

"Sure, there are ways to send messages to other people," the Hunter continued. "The postal service doesn't come out this far though I'm afraid, and I'm no good with those message pigeons. I hate birds, I'd rather shoot them down and eat them for dinner. I wouldn't trust any of them with messages to my family or friends."

"Okay, fine. Please tell me how I get to the nearest town, I will figure the rest out for myself thanks."

"Steady on. You've only just woken up. It wouldn't be responsible of me to just point you in the right direction and off you go. Let's see you stand up, I want to make sure you are fit to fight. Once I am satisfied that you can take care of yourself, you will be free to go. But I won't come and pick you up again if things don't go so well."

Before Anika had time to vent her frustrations at the Hunter, a message appeared in front of her vision.

You have received a new quest!

Hunter Basics: Follow the Hunter Trainer's instructions and complete them to his satisfaction.

Reward: Basic Abilities

Accept Yes/No