I wake up Tuesday morning and immediately do something I haven't done in over a week: I stretch without wanting to cry.
I rotate my shoulders. Flex my arms. Twist my torso. And... nothing. No sharp pains, no dull aches, no feeling like my body is held together with duct tape and prayers.
Holy shit. I think I'm actually healed.
I leap out of bed with probably way too much enthusiasm, stretching and testing different parts of my body like I'm quality-checking a used car. My ribs don't scream in protest. My back doesn't feel like it's been used as a punching bag. Yeah, I'm still a little sore, there's this faint tenderness that reminds me I did, in fact, get my ass kicked a week and a half ago, but it's nothing serious. Nothing that would stop me from doing what I've been desperately wanting to do for days.
It's time to work out.
I focus on what I want, letting the intention crystallize in my mind: I want to push myself as hard as possible.
Ding!Quest log updated.
New Quest: Push Your Limits
Objective: Complete an intense workout session
Rewards: ??? Evolution Points (based on effort and intensity)
Hell yes. The system's basically daring me to go all out, and I am so ready for this.
I drop to the ground and start slowly, easing into it before progressing to the harder stuff. Soon I'm deep into what I'd consider a normal workout: variations of pushups while wearing my weighted backpack, weighted crunches, weighted squats, the works. The familiar burn starts building in my muscles, and it feels good.
But as I work through my second set, my mind drifts back to last Thursday. To that dark "comet" streaking through the sky. These past few days have been completely normal: school, work, family time, the usual routine, but something about that whole situation is still disturbing to me.
And here's the really weird part: I didn't hear anything about it on the news. Nothing. Not a single mention of a strange object in the sky, no explanations, no tweets going viral. Which seems... wrong? If something that visible and that wrong had appeared over the city, someone else would have seen it. Someone would have posted about it. Right?
Unless I'm losing my mind. That's always an option.
I shake off those thoughts and refocus on my workout. But then I start noticing another problem. A problem that I don't think anyone in the history of exercising has ever complained about.
My muscles are not getting tired.
I'm on my third set now, and I feel nearly as fresh as when I started. My optimized body has always felt like its own cheat code, sure, but this? This is ridiculous. With my new enhanced recovery upgrade, I think I've pushed myself to new levels of cheating. I recover so quickly between sets that I might have to go through eight complete rounds of these workouts before I'm finally done.
And I ain't got time for all that!
An idea forms in my head. Is it reckless? Yes. Would it be fast? Probably. Do I care about the potential consequences? Well...
I work through my next set of exercises as usual. When I'm doing my pushups, I continue until I can't manage another one, until my muscles tell me "Stop, you idiot, we're done here."
But this time, instead of stopping, I activate that mental muscle in my head.
Will of Iron [Enabled]
Calm washes over me like a cool wave, drowning out the burning protest from my upper body. I lower myself again, somehow finding the strength for another rep. Then another. I manage two more pushups before I finally stop.
Will of Iron [Disabled]
"Oof." I fall to my side, my chest genuinely sore for the first time this morning. Sweet!
I enact that same strategy with every other workout I have. Push myself until I can't do another repetition, then enable Will of Iron and squeeze out a few extra reps.
By the time I finish my next full set, I'm completely exhausted. My body is pleasantly sore all over, the kind of soreness that feels earned instead of inflicted by psychotic football players.
Ding! Your Appearance has increased by 1
Ding! Your Strength has increased by 1
Ding! Your Endurance has increased by 1
Woot! Finally! Stat increases! It's been so long! And I even got a point in Appearance? Huh. Well, I'm not going to complain about that.
Ding! You've completed the quest: Push Your Limits
Rewards:
6 Evolution Points
Six Evolution Points! That's amazing for less than an hour's work. Variable reward quests are definitely the way to go.
After my jog, which nets me another Evolution Point, I head to the shower. But as I'm stripping down, I catch sight of myself in the mirror and stop.
Dang. That's me?
Without really noticing, I've changed a lot since the last time I deliberately looked at myself. My hair is longer than usual, still styled the same way but with more length to work with. It actually looks good longer.
But my face and body are where the real changes are. I wouldn't consider myself chubby at all anymore. I'm not chiseled or anything, I'm not at that point yet, but I'm definitely not chubby.
My fat has been persistent, clinging to me like it had a personal vendetta. But I've been consistently, albeit slowly, losing weight over time. I flex experimentally, and I can actually see defined biceps. I extend my arm and can make out my triceps. My chest has actual shape to it now, popping out from my body instead of just... existing. My shoulders are slightly wider than my torso, creating the beginnings of that V-shape people are always going on about.
All in all, I look... really good.
This is wild. I stare at mirror boy with mock accusation. Who the hell are you and what have you done with the real Adam?
Mirror boy stares right back at me, squinting with the same expression. Why are you wasting time talking to yourself, you idiot?
...True. But that's rude, mirror boy.
I shower and get ready for school, my mood significantly improved.
The rest of my day goes fairly normally. Except for a few notable incidents.
After Bianca escorts me to my second class, Jake aggressively bumps into me while we're heading to our seats.
I guess he's still salty about me not wanting to follow him on Instagram or whatever.
But is that his idea of retribution?
I can't help but chuckle. I raise an eyebrow at him, amused. After dealing with Jack, who literally tried to assault someone and had his friends beat me up in the process, Jake's shoulder check seems so childish it's actually laughable. It's like being threatened by a chihuahua after fighting off a bear.
Oop. He looks pissed that I chuckled at him. Whoops.
I ignore him for the rest of class as he glares daggers at me from across the room. Dude needs to get a hobby.
During fifth period, something else happens. I'm already inside the classroom, heading toward my usual seat, when someone steps into my path.
This has been happening incredibly frequently recently. And usually I just brush them off because these people aren't actually interested in me, they just ask about my relationship with Selene and Bianca, or try to use me to get close to them. It's exhausting being treated like a stepping stone to more interesting people.
But this time seems different.
"Hey! You're Adam, right?" The guy has an easy smile and extends his hand. "I'm Theo."
I take in his appearance quickly. He's about average height, standing at maybe 5'9". His smile seems genuine. And he's... well, he's more pretty than handsome, if that makes sense. He has a slim face with a delicate jaw and large green eyes that are kind of striking. His nose is small, and he has tousled brown hair that's been styled to look deliberately messy.
I think I recognize him? He's a footballer, and I'm pretty sure I've seen him hanging out with my sisters sometimes.
"Yeah, that's me." I say, shaking his hand. His grip is firm but not aggressive. "What's up?"
I'm not getting immediate warning bells from this guy, which is refreshing. But I think back to Mr. Vale's advice about how people enter conversations for a reason. Every social interaction is an exchange of some kind. So what does Theo want? Information about my sisters? Is he trying to get closer to them through me? Or is this actually just what it appears to be, a friendly guy being friendly?