Rob ran around his house like a madman grabbing water from the kitchen, using the restroom, and throwing a protein bar down his throat. His mother was up and reading in the living room and watched him run around before grabbing his attention.

"Robert, are you alright?"

He slowed down for a moment and answered, "Yes, mom. It's the first day of the Elysium Online launch. I told you about it earlier this week. Sam and Juno are in-game waiting for me, and due to the time dilation, every fifteen minutes in the real world is one hour in the game. Are you ok?"

She smiled and said, "I'm fine, dear. Philip is going to come by a little later. I did my exercises earlier, and I'm just relaxing with a good book. Have fun with your friends."

"Thanks, mom. Tell uncle Philip, I said hello." He said as he went back into his room and got ready to log back in.

After finishing his meal and water, he laid on his bed and started the login process. A few minutes later, he was back in the room in the Raven's Nest. Sam and Juno were both waiting for him.

"Everything all right with your mom?" Juno asked.

"She's fine. Uncle Philip is going to come over, and she's just relaxing until then. Everything good with you?"

"Yeah, just needed a short break."

Sam stood from his chair and said, "Well, I'm going to do the same. I'll be back in a flash."

A moment later, he stepped through a shimmering door leaving Juno and Robert alone. For some reason, Rob felt a little self-conscious and sat back in his chair. She sat on the edge of the bed, leaning forward, and looked directly at him without saying anything.

"What?" He asked.

"So, how are you doing?"

"I told you I'm fine. Never better."

She said in a slightly irritated voice, "Bullshit."

"Ok, things are the same. My mom is sick, and I'm working a job that completely bores me. Unless I come up with at least one hundred and fifty thousand credits, my mom will likely be dead in two to three years. Other than that, I'm fine."

She grabbed his hand and asked, "Feel better?"

He thought about it for a moment and replied, "Actually, yes. Thank you."

"No problem. Anything else going on? How'd your final go?"

"I aced it. It's wasn't so hard to do when it's the only class I had, but it went well. The professor sent me a message telling me he'd support my continued attendance for next semester, so that's good." He thought about his interaction with Glen and said, "Oh, this will blow your mind. Dr. Glen Kingsley was a part of my character creation and tutorial."

She smiled and said, "He was in mine too. Apparently, it's standard. He's some sort of mage or something and went over the magic and character interface basics."

"No, I mean the real Dr. Glen Kingsley."

She looked shocked. "Uh, are you sure. His character seemed pretty real to me. Apparently, he's the king of the mage nation or something."

Rob smiled and said, "No, it was him. When I logged out after the character creation, I went to his study. He was just sitting there, drinking something out of a mug, and relaxing by a fireplace."

She sat back and asked, "Was it in the Nexus?"

"I'm not sure. I think it's between the Nexus and Elysium. Some sort of private space he's created. He told me it was the only place he could really just relax. Anyway, that is where I went when I logged out just now. He had a bunch of questions for me about the launch and wanted my opinion."

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"I hope you told him the truth. That was a pretty lame launch." She smiled.

"I was a little nicer, but I told him what I thought. And get this. He's going to pay me for my feedback and comments whenever he asks for them. Like some type of game tester."

"Well, there are actual people whose job it is to do that, so it sounds fair that he pays you. Do you know how much?"

He hadn't taken the time to check his account. Still, Elysium allowed access to some non-game information outside of combat, so he pulled up his interface and checked. "Wow, he paid me five hundred credits. That seems like a little too much."

Juno thought for a moment and said, "Well, I guess that's what he thought your feedback was worth. I was wondering how they were going to monetize this for the players. Other than the normal marketplace and other features. I guess having players give feedback on the game's unique features is one way to do it."

"It's nice, but it was just a one-time thing so far. I wonder if he's going to continue to ask me about the game."

She stood from the bed and said, "Well, I guess we'll find out."

As she rose, a shimmering door appeared, and Sam stepped through. "I told you I'd be back in a flash."

Rob said, "You were barely gone a few minutes in the game."

"It only took me a minute or two to do what I needed to do. You forget I'm online almost all day most days. I've got a system."

There was only so much he wanted to know about his friend's bodily functions, so Rob changed the subject, "So, what do you want to do now? I think we need to figure out our gear situation and maybe head out to gain some levels."

Juno answered, "Sounds good. Let's go downstairs and grab some food and then head out."

Sam asked, "Can't we just skip the meal?"

Rob answered before Juno's annoyance came out, "What were you reading when we were catching up on the in-game systems?"

"The class, weapon, and fighting systems. I also went through the monetary interface."

Robert sighed and said, "In-game, we have to eat. It's a part of the realism aspects. If you go more than twenty-four hours in the game without eating, you start getting penalties like reduced movement speed and strength. Eventually, you can actually die from not eating."

Sam's eyes went wide. "Wow, they really wanted to make this as real as possible, didn't they? Ok, let's grab some food and then head out."

Juno and Rob exchanged glances, and they all went downstairs to the main room. Walking down the stairs, Rob started to smell bacon and a variety of other savory foods cooking. It made his mouth water instantly.

Sam muttered as they grabbed a table, "Maybe breakfast wasn't such a bad idea."

Marcus was no longer behind the bar, but a woman, maybe in her mid-forties, stood where he had. "Good morning. You must be the group in room eight. My husband told me you arrived late. My name is Lewee. My daughter Annja will be around to take your order in a minute."

Rob replied, "Thank you very much. Can we get something warm to drink first? It's a little colder here than I was anticipating."

"Certainly, dear. We have mulled cider, tea, and coffee."

Rob perked up instantly. "You have coffee? Uh, I'll take one, please."

Juno and Sam both ordered tea, and a few minutes later, Annja arrived to take their orders. The choices were limited to oatmeal with fruit or what she called the full breakfast. Juno went with the oatmeal, and Rob and Sam went with the full breakfast.

The food was insanely good. Rob could barely think of anything else while he was shoveling it into his mouth. Glen had mentioned they had solved the problem of combining flavors and teaching the system to synthesize unknown combinations. Still, it was possibly the best meal he'd ever had. He looked around the table, and his friends were just as engrossed in their meals as he was.

Juno asked between bites, "I know this is strange, but do you want to swap a bite or two. This is so good, and I'm wondering what yours taste like."

"Sure." He said as he picked up a spoon and took a bit of her oatmeal. He made sure to get a piece of the fruit as well.

Juno's food was just as good as his. Where his was savory and hearty, hers was light and sweet. The fruit was baked apple spiced with cinnamon and a few other things he couldn't identify. It complimented the swirls of honey in the oats. He preferred his meal but would have a difficult time choosing between them if he had to. They were two completely different dishes of equal quality.

When they finished their meals, Rob relaxed into his chair and said, "That was the best meal I've ever had. Like not just in a game. Ever."

His friends both nodded their agreement just sitting there relaxing and washing it all down with their steaming mugs.

"Ok, so now that we're done, where do we want to go? We need to register at the local banking guild and set up our accounts sometime today. It still amazes me that we need to actually go to the guide rather than just having instant access, but I guess that's all a part of the realism. After that, we should get some gear and see if there are some ways to get some experience. What do you think?"

Sam said, "Sounds good to me. I'm tempted to just sit here eating all day, but your plan is probably more productive."

Juno smiled and added, "Yeah, we need some weapons and other things before we can even think about leveling."

They all stood together, leaving a copper piece each as a tip and went to the bar to get some information on where to start. Lewee was very helpful and gave them direction to the banking guild and recommendations on a few outfitters and stores before they headed into the foggy city streets.