Chapter 2

“Now, enough with all this philosophical meandering, I believe you have some decisions to make.”

Right, I go back through and finish reading the notifications, it seems I’ve received the estimated experience that I would have received as a game character had it been active my entire life as well as several skills that I’ll have to look through later.

I look through my status again and with my new skill I decide to invest some points in luck and perception bringing them both to 12 then I bring my endurance and constitution up to 12 as well. Hopefully, that should make exercise easier and I can gain the other points more naturally saving the rest of my attribute points for later. As I accept the changes I feel a sort of euphoria wash over me for a couple of seconds as slight aches and pains, I didn’t even realize I had, ease. It was almost uncomfortable as my skin sort of rippled and I could feel old scar tissue washing away and dry skin disappear. I could feel my face clearing up as my pores expel the excess oil and dirt that had built up. I took a deep breath and it was like coming up for air after being held underwater, I could feel the oxygen flooding my system, what little fatigue and grogginess I had washing away. I felt alert and present in the moment like I never had before, it was like a fog had been lifted I took another breath and my new found perception kicked in, I could smell everything, and… “Ugh! What the hell is that smell?”

“That is your body trying to rid itself of contaminants, you’ve put a decent amount of points in your constitution which is essentially your healthfulness and physical makeup, your strength of body if you will. Normally such changes would occur slowly throughout exercise, urination, and… defecation.” At that word I felt a rumbling in my stomach, I shot up out of bed and ran to the bathroom just outside my room. I make it to the bathroom just in time to, well, I doubt you want the details. “As I was saying, this normally occurs slowly, but because you have utilized attribute points to make such a substantial increase, getting through a breakthrough, it is occurring rapidly and utilizing the magic of your new subspecies to do so. Some of the toxins are expelled through sweat, which is where most of the smell is coming from so you’ll be wanting to shower after you, uh… finish.”

“Please tell me it isn’t going to be getting worse than this,” I say as, well, as my ass practically explodes into the toilet, the smells only getting worse.

“No, after your body has expelled most, if not all, of the toxins the rest should be much more like what you had started to feel just after accepting the changes, if a bit more subtle.”

I spend an hour on the toilet “expelling” toxins, I have to flush half a dozen times to keep it from clogging. Then I hop in the shower. I wash my hair and face as well as I can, getting rid of the excess oils, dirt and, the newly cleared, dry skin. I spend about half an hour cleaning the rest of my body making sure to get every nook and cranny, paying a little bit of extra attention to a certain area that's been recently abused. Now that I am nice and clean, I get out of the shower and stretch, my muscles feeling far more relaxed and flexible. I find that I no longer feel a tightness in my forearms when I fully extend my arms to the sides and my back no longer cracks and pops when I stretch my shoulders. Now that I am less focused on my cleanliness I notice a slight tingling throughout the rest of my body. It’s not quite as intense as when your foot falls asleep but the sensation is similar. As I focus on it, I notice it seems to feel a bit stronger around my left ankle where I once had a slight fracture. Best guess, the magic is working to heal my bones, I’d occasionally felt a slight twinge in my ankle even after it had healed. After a moment I take another deep breath and wrinkle my nose, I no longer smell terrible but the bathroom could use a cleaning. My enhanced perception allows me to take in the room in a new light now that I was less focused on my own issues. As I look around I see hair and grime where I hadn’t and I smell things my nose had adapted to ignore. I dry off, sidetracked by my newly enhanced senses. I decide to clean up a bit. I go to my room and grab my sheet, comforter and pillowcase and throw them in the washing machine. While they are in the washer I go and clean up the bathroom a bit, grabbing the towels, some dirty clothes and get them ready for the next wash. Sometime during my cleaning spree, I notice I have some notifications and decide to check those out while I work.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You have discovered that your attributes are indelibly linked

Your constitution is connected to all physical attributes, it is the strength and healthfulness of your body as a whole, as it increases so to do the rest of your physical attributes

+1 to all physical attributes for reaching a breakthrough in constitution

Bad health can have a negative impact on other attributes

CONGRATULATIONS!

You are no longer obese

+1 to Charisma

+1 to Dexterity

+1 to Agility

Excess fat can restrict the functionality of your body

CONGRATULATIONS!

+1 to Agility for a breakthrough in Dexterity

Greater flexibility and muscle control allow you to move more efficiently, and therefore more quickly

As I read through the notifications I look down at myself, not having gotten dressed yet I can see my entire body and I’m surprised to see a not-insignificant difference. I don’t suddenly have washboard abs or anything but I do appear to have lost a decent amount of weight. My man boobs aren’t gone but they are less prominent, my legs and arms are considerably more defined and as I focus I notice my heart isn’t beating all that fast nor is my breathing even slightly labored despite my slight physical activity. I think “Status” and check out the changes.

Name: Jared Thorne

Species: Human (Game Character)

Occupation: None

Class: None

Level: 6

Experience: 5456/8100

Vitality: 120

Stamina: 123/130

Age: 22

Money: 937.24 USD (Equivalent*)

Weight: 187 Lbs

Height: 5ft 8in

Attribute points: 40

Constitution: 12

Strength: 9

Endurance: 13

Intellect: 11

Wisdom: 11

Willpower: 8

Charisma: 10

Dexterity: 10

Agility: 10

Luck: 12

Perception: 12

I laugh, my stats look considerably less pathetic now, my wisdom, willpower, and perception didn’t go up so I’m guessing they aren’t considered physical attributes, although Intellect did go up. Which makes sense, I suppose, a healthier brain likely leads to greater brain functionality. It seems I lost 11 pounds as well, that combined with the increased strength would explain the differences I’m seeing. I quickly finish cleaning up the bathroom and put some clean clothes on before I go to switch the laundry out. I receive a notification that I have finished a weekly quest “Cleaning The Bathroom” worth 25 experience.

I need to decide what I want to do now, nothing's really changed in the world around me. I’m in better shape now, but I still don’t have a job and I’m still fairly lazy. I need money of course, and I suppose I should come up with some sort of exercise regimen now that I have the endurance and constitution for it. Just doing pushups and squats a couple of times a week isn’t likely to get me any increases. although, I assume my increased constitution will likely allow me to continue losing weight without any extra fitness, healthy metabolism, and all that. I’m guessing the 10 points in an attribute is actually the average for a healthy individual and not the average for everyone, considering my body's reaction to getting above 10 in most of my attributes. I wonder if my body will continue to change, even if I don’t increase my stats any further, so as to work towards equilibrium with my current status.

“Yes it will, but if you don’t maintain it to an extent it is possible for some of it to revert over time. Only the truly necessary or easy changes were made, immediately, to make your body healthy. Fat around your organs was burned away toxins and excess scar tissue removed, your body was fully hydrated so that it can function at peak efficiency. Assuming you don’t change anything about your lifestyle you will likely lose twice the weight you just lost in fat over the course of the next month.”

“Oh, I forgot you were there for a bit, haven’t heard from you,” I thought back to him, “are you always gonna be there in the background listening in?”

“Not likely, I may pop in from time to time, I’ll let you know I’m here with a Private Messaging request when I do. I suppose I’ll leave you to your decision making, just a piece of advice, though, before I go. The exercise would be a good idea, you’ll find that your attributes will increase faster now that you are a Game Character, but it will still take some work on your part. If you don’t the fat can and likely will return given enough time. As for the money problems, you received a new skill recently you might find it useful in that respect.”

“Right, that could work, there is a casino just 20 minutes away I could give that a try, speaking of money though, how do I have 900$ and why does it say ‘Equivalent*’ next to it?”

“That is taking into account money you have on you, in your bank, and anything you have that could be exchanged with a bank for cash like checks or bonds.”

I do the math, I have a little over 100$ on me, a couple hundred in the bank, and the bonds my grandparents bought for me when I was a baby. My status seems a bit high before I see the cup I keep change in and realize that could account for 50-80 dollars. “Okay, thanks for the help. I'll message you if I have any more questions.”

I start to look up some exercise regimen… Regimens? Regimenia?... I look up the plural of regimen. I like regimenia. So I start looking up exercise regimenia online before remembering some youtube videos I watched a few months back about 100 pushups a day and 100 squats a day challenges. I figure I could incorporate that. Do simple exercises, with high quantity, we have a pull-up bar around here somewhere. I give it a try, I am able to do about 20 push-ups before I start to feel it burn. I move to squats and push out 30. I notice that they aren’t significantly easier but my form is considerably better, which means I’ll likely get better gains even without the game character cheats. I go to the other room to find the pull-up bar and set it up in the doorway, I’m only able to get 5 real pull-ups so I move on to lunges. I don’t really keep track, I just do them till it starts to burn. 2 reps later I’m fairly sweaty again.

I look up some other simple exercises I can do without equipment and bookmark the ones that look interesting before taking another quick shower. Checking the laundry I put my clothes in the dryer and go back up and make my bed, well, as much as I ever do. I basically just throw the sheet on the bed and lay the comforter over top of it, I generally just end up wrapping them both around me like a burrito anyway. After changing into some new clothes I decide to visit the casino and give my new skill a try.

I go outside and am blinded for a moment, the house faces the west and the sun is approaching the horizon. As my eyes adjust, surprisingly fast, I am shocked at how vibrant and detailed everything looks. I can see all these little details in the grass and the granite of the street that I never really noticed before.

At first, I am in awe at how much the increase in perception has altered the world around me, like an abstract landscape transformed into a detailed work of art with even the most minute detail on display. That is until I remember seeing the world like this once before when I first got glasses back in middle school. At that thought, I reach up to check my glasses and realize I’m not wearing them. I’m fairly nearsighted, it's not so bad that I usually need them on in the house, but if I’m more than 5-6 feet away from something it starts to blur, at least that used to be the case, now it seems my vision has healed. I do not remember feeling any strange sensations in my eyes throughout the whole process, I’m kind of surprised I did not notice the change earlier. Although I suppose I wasn’t really looking at anything besides the notifications before the changes took place and I guess I just associated any changes, I did notice, to my increased perception. I wonder if my perception has actually just enhanced my eyesight to normal or if increasing my constitution healed whatever was wrong with my eyes in the first place. Seems more likely that it was the constitution boost, but that makes me wonder what it will mean to have a really high perception. Will it enhance my senses beyond human capabilities, causing actual physical changes or will it just increase how sensitive they are, allowing me to perceive changes in the world around me more easily but within human limits.

After a moment of contemplation, I realize I’ve just been standing in the grass staring intently at the lawn for several minutes. I look around and sigh in relief as I don’t see anyone observing my little awkward moment. I chuckle at myself and get inside the truck, it's a 2012 Ford Raptor. My dad, while far from rich, makes pretty good money, one of the few things he spends it on is cars and out of his vehicles the Raptor is the one I drive the most. I get in and back it out... and park it on the curb, I’m not taking the truck to the casino. Opening the garage I smile as the 1970 Chevelle is revealed, it isn’t in the best possible shape but it is still a beautiful old car. It lets out a nice grumbling growl as I start it up and back it out, I’d mention the specs but I honestly don’t know them. I like cars but I admire them like most people admire a beautiful piece of art. I can acknowledge and admire their beauty but I have no real idea about their makeup. My car knowledge is limited to the basics of changing the oil/oil filter, wheels, and giving someone the occasional jump.

The drive to the casino is fairly quick and uneventful, I notice a few people checking out the car but beyond that, nothing much happens. I park the car away from other cars, with one side next to the curb. My dad always preached about parking away from others so as to avoid door dings.

I brought about 50$ with me, I’m hoping to at least triple it but would be happy to leave with what I came with. I’m not entirely sure what to expect, I think I’ll start with the slots, given the description of my perks I will have the best chances of winning at those. I walk in and, as usual, they card me. I’ve only been here a handful of times, I still don’t understand why it's required that you be at least 21. As soon as I get past the front door I am surrounded by slot machines, walking towards one of the isles a feeling of elation begins to come over me. It is strange though, I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s like the feeling you get when you’ve just won something, but it is almost focused in a direction. As I focus on it I feel it drawing me in several different directions, as I continue down the line of machines the sensation grows stronger in some directions and weaker in others. Following one of the stronger sensations, I come to one machine called the “Hot Roller.” It seems that if you hit a certain spin you play a little mini-game where you roll the dice, the game ends when you roll a 7. All the other numbers are separated into sets of two each with their own point systems determining the payout for the mini-game.

I put 20$ in and bid the highest possible, losing the first couple spins before winning back my losses. This continues for a couple of minutes, all the while the elation builds. After several more minutes, I am only up about 15 dollars, which isn’t bad but is still a little underwhelming. The elation is still building but it isn’t as consuming as it started out as. I’ve grown a bit more used to it and am able to think more clearly around it. I start to think about moving to another machine but decide to trust in my new found intuition for a while longer. Sure enough a few seconds later I get three of the Hot Roller symbols allowing me to play the mini-game. I reach out and touch the screen, flinging my fingers to the side to roll the dice. I find it funny how they make it interactive to make you feel more involved in the game. The highest I can win from each roll is 200 credits (2$).

I end up playing the mini-game just as long as I had played the regular slot machine game. Rolling over 30 times and winning about 50$. After rolling a 7 and ending the mini-game I was planning on moving on, but the feeling only grew. I continued to play for several minutes longer, one of the casino employees came by at some point offering me a drink. I considered ordering liquor, but, fearing it may interfere with my ability, I just took a coke and continued playing. It seems everything but alcohol and the food is free as well which was a nice bonus, not that I needed to worry about cash at this point seeing as I was already up about 100$ and had only been playing for about 20 minutes. I spin a couple more times when the elation becomes overwhelming just before I hit the button and as the reels come to a stop a louder jingling sound than before rings off, I just won 100,000 credits 1000$. I just stare at the machine for several seconds in shock only to break out of it when someone pats me on the back in congratulations. The artificial elation is quickly replaced by my real excitement at having just won 1100$. I get up from the machine clicking the button to get my ticket stub, as I take the ticket stub I realize I never put my membership card in the machine. I don’t lose anything because of it but I recall the occasional announcements of people winning a raffle from simply having their card in the machines. Something to keep in mind for next time, I go to one of the ATM-like machines and cash out the ticket stub before heading out. Now that I know the ability works I should do a little research to help decide what I can do to maximize profits.