Despite the risk of death, Robin found she was much happier once she got out of the Town of Beginnings.  After spending days fruitlessly searching the town and hoping for outside help, taking her destiny into her own hands was strangely liberating.  Compared to wandering endlessly through grey streets, getting out and exploring the green forests, sunlit fields, and other fantastic scenery that Aincrad offered had a definite appeal.<br/><br/>A few days after she had made the decision to strike out on her own, Robin found herself passing by a lake.  The large open stretch of country she was traveling through seemed to be largely devoid of both monsters and other players, and as she walked along a path near the shore her idle mind began to wonder what the water was like.  Deciding it wouldn't hurt to take a little time to experiment, she wandered down to the waters edge and used the inventory menu to remove her footwear, after which she cautiously dipped her toes into the shallows and waded in.  The water was cool, but pleasant, and she soon found herself thinking that it might be nice to take a swim.  She knew she really ought to be looking for enemies so she could level up and start clearing floors, but with a hundred floors to clear it would probably take months if not<em>years</em>to finish the game -so she might as well enjoy herself a little here and there.<br/><br/>Glancing around to make sure that no other players were in sight, Robin opened her inventory menu again and used it to remove all her weapons and clothing -even the strip of white cloth she used to tie her hair into a ponytail.  She thought about keeping her underwear on, but wet undergarments were unpleasant and besides, it wasn't like there was anyone else around to see her, so she removed them.<br/><br/>Wading deeper into the water, Robin closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and plunged below the surface.  Bringing her knees to her rather impressive chest, she opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings.  The lake water was quiet clear, and she could see rocks and small underwater plants on the bottom.  Smiling, she surfaced for a moment to take a breath, then dived back under water and began to swim farther out from shore.  She was a strong swimmer -despite her quiet nature she'd been reasonably atheletic back in the real world.<br/><br/>After swimming around for perhaps a quarter of an hour, Robin decided it was time to get back to business and started to make her way back towards the lake shore.  As she did so she spotted a large object swimming in the water nearby.  It looked like some kind of underwater lizard -a very large one, with very large teeth.  And it was coming towards her.<br/><br/>Realizing immediately that the creature must be some kind of monster, Robin frantically began to swim towards the shore.  Reaching the shallows, she scrambled to her feet and ran towards the shoreline.  She tripped once, glanced back, saw the huge lizard scrambling through the shallows behind her, and was back on her feet, running for her life.  Had she had her bow and been at a safe distance she might have tried to fight the monster, but this close, and with no weapons, she did not dare to try.<br/><br/>Running up onto the shore, Robin found herself regretting her decision to do her experiment at such a secluded lake.  Right then she didn't care if anyone saw her naked.  She just wanted to leave the area alive.<br/><br/>"Help!" she screamed as she pounded up the shoreline, desperately hoping that someone would hear her.