I never did expect it to end the way it did. The grand battle, the war to end all wars. It wasn't glorious, it wasn't some beautiful thing to be sung about in hymns, it was death and blood and gore. Fire and brimstone. And it all started with a stupid crush.

The day everything changed started like any other. I woke up, clothed myself, looked in the mirror and told myself I would exercise this time although deep down I knew I wouldn't.

I was fat, and no, it wasn't because I was so lazy that I wanted to do everything with the least amount of effort, I simply couldn't bring myself to do it.

Once I was ready, I checked my backpack, went downstairs and ate some breakfast. I was alone at the dinner table, my parents were gone, and my sisters with them, moved away to wherever they lived now.

I liked the silence of breakfast, I thought it sacred, that one simple moment in which I was truly alone with myself.

Once I was done, I left. I checked my phone for the time, 7:20 am exactly, just like always.

I took the bus to school and waited for my friends to arrive. Waited for her to arrive.

She had brown shoulder length hair, dark brown eyes and a rounded face. She was shorter than me, about 5’7”. And I was crushing on her real bad.

“Good morning Marie.” I said with a beaming smile, something I was always wearing when talking to people.

“Good morning Oscar.” She answered, returning my smile. We started talking, joining our friends in conversation. All in all, it was a pretty normal morning. It was normal, until it was 8 o’clock.

[Integration of Planet with designation {T3RR4} has been completed.

To all denizens of this planet, the system welcomes you.

The system will advocate for fairness, for an equal chance to ascend to true power for all. May you be of enough strength of mind to make use of this opportunity.]

The moment the message disappeared, another took its place.

[Generating status

…

Name: Oscar Van Damme

Ethnicity: Belgian (Flemish) (+ 5 Conv)

Gender: Male (+ 5 Str)

Zodiac: Libra (+ 5 Wis)

Titles: N/A

Traits:

{Fat

Rarity: Rare

+10 Cons

-10 Agi

Skill {Temperature Resistance} gained}

{Intelligent

+10 Wis}

Stats:

Conviction (Conv): 18 (+5)

Wisdom (Wis): 22 (+15)

Constitution (Cons): 30 (+10)

Strength (Str): 15 (+ 5)

Agility (Agi): 15 (-10)

Perception (Per): 20

Stat Points: 15 (Points have been deducted due to bonuses,)

Skills:

{Schooled (Lvl 10/20)

Passive

Rarity: Uncommon

You have been taught the ways of science and language, of culture and economics. You have an easier time understanding complex ideas and taking time to study}

{Temperature Resistance

Passive

Rarity: Rare

You have a natural resistance to extreme temperatures}

Skill Points: 50 (Points have been deducted for skills gained before system initiation)

“Hey, you guys are seeing this too right?” They all snapped out of their shock and nodded.

I knew what this was, of course I fucking knew what this was, I was a massive nerd, I spent a lot of my time reading this stuff, but to think it would happen for real. I steeled my resolve, if this was happening, then I was going to make sure none of my friends died, especially not Marie.

Suddenly I felt a stabbing pain, I could feel my body change, adapt to this new world.

[Bonuses have been applied, body has been adapted, generating new status

…]

It had simply simply made the screen cleaner. I looked at the screen and decided to add all my stat points in agility, I saw no stamina stat which meant that it was either decided by constitution or agility. Seeing as the fat trait had added to my constitution and deducted from my agility, I assumed it was what decided the stamina.

My new stat sheet looked like this.

[Name: Oscar Van Damme

Ethnicity: Belgian (Flemish)

Gender: Male

Zodiac: Libra

Titles: N/A

Traits: Fat, Intelligent

Stats:

Conv: 23

Wis: 37

Cons: 40

Str: 20

Agi: 20

Per: 20

Stat Points: 0

Skills:

{Schooled (Lvl 10/20), Passive}

{Temperature Resistance (Lvl 1/40), Passive}

Skill Points: 50]

After some more stabbing pain I felt different, and as I looked down at myself to find that my body had changed. My entire body had grown more compact. My clothes had shrunk to accommodate that change. Where I had once had a belly, I now had a compacted layer of fat and muscle. I looked and felt sturdy. My body felt so light, so different.

Among my friends, I had undergone the biggest change. The only one who came close was one my friends called Chetanjeet. He had also been a bit fat, but he hit the gym weekly and now, it showed.

His fat had compacted too, and his body was more muscular than mine. He looked slower though, it seemed that he either hadn’t added his stat points yet or he hadn’t added them to his agility.

The rest of our friends looked at the two of us in shock.

“Jezus, this isn’t what I was expecting, but I guess a fair chance means that even fat guys like us get advantages.”

Mary looked at me. “Oscar, could you please explain what just happened, we could see your bodies change, we could hear the creaking of your bones.”

I looked at her, and as I smiled at her, I felt that this one was genuine

“The world just got a hell of a lot more interesting.”