Rob stood behind Agis, hidden behind a few bushes and a fallen log. They’d been sneaking through the forest for nearly two hours and except for a few practice shots at a tree when they first set out and two traps that held a total of one squirrel, they had done very little.

Rob had always been curious about hunting. From what he knew, the only people who could afford to hunt were wealthy. People who could pay the fees associated with private hunting grounds or the guided permits the government allowed. Wild animals in the United States were a lot rarer than they were a hundred years before. They controlled access because of possible extinction.

He crouched as low as he could and waited. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was waiting for, but he waited none the less. Eventually, Agis held a hand up and pointed into the forest. Rob followed where Agis was pointing, but it was another minute until he caught sight of an approaching animal. It was a small deer.

Rob readied his bow and knocked an arrow, waiting for Agis’s signal. The hunter moved smoothly behind Robert and whispered into his ear, “Ready your arrow and aim for just behind and below the front shoulder blade. Just above the leg.”

Rob moved the bow into position, sighting down the arrow’s shaft and drawing the string like Agis had taught him. He held it for a moment, exhaling and holding the out-breath. He released the arrow, and less than a second later, another arrow shot past his head, following his own. Both shafts found their targets, and the deer leaped away from them.

Agis sprinted past Rob almost without a sound. Rob did his best to keep up and stay hidden. They ran through the woods for less than a minute when they came upon the deer lying on the ground dead. Rob thought how incredibly realistic it felt and looked. The smells, the feeling of exerting himself, and the uneasy sensation of having shot the deer. It was the first time he’d killed anything in Elysium Online and was surprised by the sensations.

Agis crouched next to the fallen deer and said, “It was a clean kill. You hit it, just a little off on the targeting.”

Rob looked down and saw two arrows in the deer. One exactly where he’d aimed and another about a foot above it. Rob was sure his was the one off target.

“How did you know I would miss?”

Agis began pulling a few items out of his package and said, “I could tell the moment you released that you were tense, and it went a little high. I shot to make sure the animal didn’t suffer. Your shot would have killed it, but you would have had to chase it down and then finish it with a knife. Overall, you did very well for your first time.”

At that moment, a dialog box popped up in Rob’s view that asked if he would like to harvest the deer. He clicked yes. The animal disintegrated into a pile of various pieces, including skin, a few bones, and a collection of butchered meat. It pleased him that the system had decided not to make butchering a realistic experience.

The hunter split the meat into two piles and stowed one in his pack. “The rest is yours.” He said as he finished up.

Rob looked at the pile of meat and said, “I don’t really have a place to store this much. I haven’t been able to go to a store or anything to purchase a pack. The only things I have are this knife and a throwing dart.”

Agis looked at him and smiled, “Well, I can haul it for you this time, but we need to get you a pack. I might have a spare at home that we can trade for. How about your share of the skin for the pack?”

Rob smiled and answered, “That sounds like a deal.”

They shook hands, and Robert saw a notification appear. Focusing on it, he got four notifications. The first was an agreement for the trade, and the second was a skill announcement.

Congratulations, you’ve learned a new skill!

Skill Learned: Trading and Bartering

Level: 1 Beginner

You now know just enough to get taken advantage of at the local market. Yippie!

Congratulations, you’ve learned a new skill!

Skill Learned: Sneak

Level: 1 Beginner

Use the shadows to sneak up on people. Just do it right now... Unless they are sleeping very heavily.

Congratulations, you’ve learned a new skill!

Skill Learned: Archery

Level: 1 Beginner

Hurrah! Now you can miss things from far away too!

They packed up the rest of the meat, skin, and bones and headed back towards Agis’s home. When they arrived, Vulmon was sitting on a stool next to the woman Rob assumed was Agis’s wife. The children were seated next to him on the ground, playing with some toys Rob couldn’t identify.

“So, how did he do?” Vulmon asked.

Agis dropped his pack next to the shed and said, “He did well. His tracking and sneaking are good. His shooting will require practice, but he hit his first deer, so that is an impressive start.” He walked inside the shack and returned a moment later with a pack. “Here is the pack I told you about. It is nothing special and has a few patches on it. It will work until you can find something better.”

Rob took the pack and slung it over his shoulder. It was a classic backpack made of thick canvas. When he put his hand inside, a menu popped up with ten slots and a display that showed the maximum weight he could carry and how much of that was used. Right then, the amount was zero, and he could hold forty pounds.

“Thank you very much, Agis. This will be a big help.”

Agis sat next to the woman and said, “Rob and I were able to bag a deer. I traded the old pack for his share.”

The woman dusted off his lap and said, “Oh, so you traded him his share of a deer for a used backpack?” She gave him a look that reminded Rob of the time his mom found out he’d sold one of his games to a friend for more than he could have gotten for it in trade.

Agis looked down at his hands. He then stood and walked back to his pack. “Rob, take some of this meat before you go. We have more than we can use, and you will probably need it once you leave the city.”

Rob smiled at Agis and took the meat. “Thank you, Agis. I will make use of it. Thank you again for the training.”

Agis brightened up. “Remember, you will probably not have any special skills related to your archery. You should practice all you can when you are able. There are a few basic skills like Sure Shot, Rapid Fire, and Sniping that you can earn without specializing, but those take a while to get. Keep at it, and you’ll be there in no time.”

“Thank you. I’ll do that.”

A few minutes later, Vulmon and Rob returned to the training grounds, and Agis went back to his work. Rob hadn’t paid attention when they went to Agis’s home, but he paid attention on the way back. He didn’t know if he would need to find the hunter again.

When they got back to the training grounds, Vulmon excused himself to work with some other fighters. That left Rob by himself without a clear path ahead. He looked at his display and noticed he’d been in-game for nearly two real-world hours and should probably rest. He’d have plenty of time the next day and early Saturday morning to train before the game went live.

He pulled up his display and logged out of Elysium Online. That would typically take him back to the Berkeley central plaza. Instead, he found himself in a familiar study with Dr. Glen Kingsley. Like before, Glen was sitting in an armchair in front of a fireplace, sipping on something in a mug. Rob didn’t wait for him to say anything and took the chair opposite him.

Glen said, “Good evening, Robert. I hope your training went well today. I just wanted to check in with you.”

“You can call me Rob. It’s the name I’m using in the game. Do you interact with everyone like this?”

Glen put his mug down and smiled. “No, I don’t. I took a particular interest in you at the recommendation of a close friend. He’s a professor a Cal.”

Rob wondered which of his professors remembered him enough to make an impression. “Ok, I guess that makes sense. The training was good. I’ve leveled a few skills.”

Glen leaned forward and said, “But you have some questions, right?” More of a statement than a question.

“Well, first, I haven’t gained any experience points for anything in the game. I thought that was strange.”

“I see. That was something we’ve been going back and forth on for a while. We decided to not give experience during the training and character creation portion. Since skill attainment is not directly connected to your XP level in the game, we figured it was better this way.”

Rob thought about it and figured it made sense. It was a little unusual, but not a big deal. It was odd to have a pre-release training option, so it wasn’t really a problem. He figured he’d still be at level zero, even with the training he did.

Rob asked, “Am I right when I assume that experience for XP and skills increases in actual combat and for more difficult missions?”

“That’s roughly accurate. There are also caps on how much skill you can gain in a training environment. Once you have access to the Elysium Online world, you will still be able to find trainers and gain skills from them, but those skills will never go above level ten beginner without using them in non-training situations. For example, if you spend the next day training only with swords, you will not go past level ten beginner, even if you earn it.”

Rob thought about that for a minute and then asked, “So, if I were to train up to level ten beginner in a variety of skills, that would probably be best?”

Glen almost laughed, “While I’m not supposed to give out too much information before launch, I will say that is about right.”

“I understand. It’s not fair for too many players to have too much information before heading into the live game. I guess I have one last question before I log out. I need to get some sleep.”

Glen motioned for him to continue, and Rob asked, “When the game goes live, will we all begin in the same location, and will I start in the Elven city? Should I get to know Agis, Alok, Riniya, and Vulmon?”

Glen thought for a moment and answered, “That’s a bit too much information for me to give you. I can say this,” he smiled knowingly, “It’s never a waste of time getting to know people in Elysium Online.”