I was sore. My arms, shoulders, and chest all hurt from my workout yesterday, but it was the good kind of pain, the kind that told me I’d had a good workout. This was the kind of pain I could actually be proud of.

Yesterday, I’d gotten a good workout, and I planned to go to the gym again this afternoon to work my lower body. However, right now, I was trying ignore this pain and discomfort, so I could focus on my current task. I was trying to exercise a different muscle entirely, one that I tended to overlook.

I was in the living room, sitting on the couch with my laptop open on the coffee table, a couple college text books on either side, and of course, my screen open in front of me. My attention was on my stat page, where I was looking at the numbers and trying to figure out what my own numbers might have been before I’d ended up in Heather’s body, with all her stats instead of my own.

“Obviously, my strength and endurance were a lot higher,” I mused to myself. “My agility was probably a couple points lower. And my intelligence…”

I let out a long sigh, wishing that I’d been able to see my own ‘character sheet’, and what stats I would have had before all this happened. It would have been a lot easier to understand exactly how I’d changed if I had something to compare it to.

The thing that I kept going back to was that I currently had an intelligence of twelve, the same rating as Matt. And as much as I hated to admit it, before this all happened, I was pretty sure that my rating would have been two or even three points lower. I wasn’t stupid, but I hadn’t been any genius either. The first step in overcoming your limits, was in knowing what they were.

“Am I really smarter than I used to be?” I asked myself.

I didn’t feel any smarter, not really. However, I’d spent the last hour or so testing myself, and I was starting to believe that I actually was. I’d borrowed a few college textbooks from Lauren, including a couple for classes that I’d taken last year, and some I hadn’t. I’d read through some chapters then tested myself with the quizzes at the end, and I had seen a difference. It wasn’t like I suddenly understood calculus or knew all the information. However, I read a bit more quickly than before, was able to understand the material more easily, and I’d even been able to remember what I read a lot better. And while this could have been my imagination, I doubted it. It was too noticeable.

“At least I got something good out of all this,” I said with a sigh. “Besides the superpowers…” And of course, a second chance at living.

In spite of the fact that getting smarter should be considered a good thing, it still worried me. This was yet another blow to my damaged sense of self. I was big. I was strong. I was an athlete. I was a jock. I was a guy. I was a gamer. And I definitely wasn’t a nerd or brain. Very little of that was true anymore, and this scared me almost as much as the idea of being burned alive again. If that wasn’t true anymore, then what was? Who was I now?

“I know I’m not Heather,” I muttered. In spite of how I looked, and the fact that my ‘character sheet’ had Heather’s name on it, that was one of the few things I was certain of.

I was still considering this when Cassandra came into the room a minute later. She had a diet soda in one hand and a bag of Oreo cookies in the other.

“What are you up to?” Cassandra asked, giving me a curious and slightly confused expression. I wasn’t actually taking any classes, so it probably seemed strange to see me sitting there with several textbooks.

“I was just looking over my stats,” I answered, gesturing to my screen, which she couldn’t see. I neglected to mention WHY I was looking at them.

“Pretty fucking crazy, isn’t it?” she asked as she separated a cookie and began go eat the filling first. “I mean, everything you can do, right in front of you in black and fucking white…”

“No kidding,” I agreed. “And what’s really crazy, is just how powerful these gods are. I mean, Maelyne showed me her character sheet, and if I remember right, her weakest stat was like, thirty points higher than mine…”

“Really?” Cassandra asked in surprise. Her eyes gleamed with interest. “Maelyne actually showed you her stats?”

“Yeah,” I responded. “I think she was trying to impress me. I take it that your patron hasn’t shown you hers.”

Cassandra barked out a short laugh. “No, and I’m pretty sure she never will. Armestia really likes her secrets.” A couple seconds later, she offered me a cookie and asked, “So, what did her stats look like?”

“They were all really high,” I said, trying to remember what I’d seen on Maelyn’s sheet. I’d been asleep and a little distracted, so I didn’t remember many of the specifics.”

Cassandra rolled her eyes at that. “Well, she wouldn’t be a goddess if she was at our level…”

“True,” I agreed. “I think one or two of her stats broke a hundred, but I can’t remember which ones. The big difference was that her mana and health levels were through the roof.” I also remembered one other detail. “And she has another resource attribute called ‘divine power’. I figure, all the gods probably have that one.”

“Probably,” Cassandra agreed. “But I don’t think we’re likely to find out for sure.”

With that, I took one more look at my stats, smiling wryly before I closed out my screen. At least now, I knew what these stats meant, and had a good point of reference.

Strength was the easiest one to understand, because I could see all our numbers, as well as how much we’d been able to lift. I figured that a normal guy, who was only moderately active, was probably a nine or ten. A couch potato would be lower, and anyone who went to the gym and worked out would be higher. A real athletic guy like myself, was probably between a twelve to fourteen. This was just a guess, but I figured that the strongest guy in the world, would probably land around nineteen or twenty.

My guess was that the rest of the attribute stats followed a similar pattern, with the average person being between nine and eleven, and with the top human limit reaching around a twenty or so. With that in mind, this really put Maelyne’s stats in perspective.

“Looking at her stats was actually kind of depressing,” I admitted to Cassandra.

Cassandra considered that for a moment before saying, “Yeah, I can see that. It’s no wonder those gods look down on us. Compared to them, we’re almost like fucking bugs…”

“Or rodents, at best,” I agreed with a sigh. “Fortunately, we don’t have to fight them. Only their champions.”

“Thank goddess for that,” Cassandra responded wryly, while handing me another cookie.

--------------------

I stepped out of the gym, feeling sore and tired, yet also relaxed and full of the kind of energy that you could only get through a good workout. Today, I’d done a bit of work on my core, but had mostly focused on cardio. I wasn’t trying to get bulked up for football, wrestling, or anything of the kind. I just wanted to get in better shape, to get stronger and improve my stamina.

“I still can’t believe you do this kind of thing for FUN,” Matt exclaimed from beside me. He still hadn’t learned to appreciate a good workout.

“Quit being such a wimp,” Teri teased her brother. “Besides, you could use a little time in the gym…”

Matt glared at his sister. “Easy for you to say. You didn’t have to spend a single minute in the gym to get into that shape, so you haven’t earned the right to nag me…”

“I think these give me the right,” Teri bragged, flexing her arm and showing some nice muscle.

“Knock it off, Teapot,” I said, giving Teri a flat look.

Teri grumbled at that but stopped teasing her brother. At least for the moment. I had no doubt that the usual sibling rivalry would resume the moment they got home.

I glanced over to Matt, who was still frustrated by Teri’s changes, and I couldn’t blame him. I was still jealous myself. And while he did get some physical benefits from his own stat increases, they weren’t nearly as obvious. He’d always been lean and wiry, but now he seemed a little more so. What was more noticeable, was that he now moved with an almost easy grace and balance.

We were about halfway across the parking lot and ‘my’ car, the yellow VW Bug, was in easy sight, when I noticed something from the corner of my eye. Or more accurately, someone. I snapped around and saw a familiar looking blonde on the other side of the parking lot. Nadine was dressed in workout clothes and was heading to the same entrance that the three of us had just left.

“Crap,” I groaned, just a moment before Nadine noticed me. “Double crap…” If there had been an actual stat for luck, then I was pretty sure mine would have only been a one.

“Nadine,” Matt gasped beside me, having seen her as well.

Nadine stared at me for a moment, as surprised to see me as I was to see her. Then, a cruel smirk formed on her lips.

“Sievers,” Nadine called out, dropping her bag and coming right at us. “I didn’t think I’d get another chance at you so soon…”

Even as Nadine was saying this, she shimmered and shifted into her armor. A large ball of fire formed in her hand, about the size of a bowling ball, and she threw it right at me. Matt reacted in an instant, shoving me and Teri aside so that the fireball missed us and hit the side of a car, which was suddenly engulfed in flames, as though it had been hit with a molotov cocktail.

“Thanks,” I told Matt, before yelling out, “Are you crazy? You want to do this in public?”

“The cleaner will erase all the evidence,” Nadine responded with a sneer. “And make all the witnesses forget. You know that…”

Nadine formed balls of fire in each of her hands, though these ones were a bit smaller than the first attack. She came charging at me, but I threw a shield wall up between us, then scrambled back and activated my own armor and weapon.

“You were right,” Matt gasped. “She’s even crazier than she used to be…”

Nadine went around my shield, but it had already served its purpose in slowing her down. “Matt Corskey,” she exclaimed, looking surprised. Then she laughed. “You know, I killed Jerry…”

“I heard about that,” Matt responded, watching her with a worried look.

“You’re next,” Nadine announced as she lunged right at Matt, obviously intending to drive a ball of fire into him the same way she’d done to me. However, Matt quickly dodged to the side, avoiding her attack. She blinked in surprise and tried again, but Matt was too fast. His reflexes and agility were going to make him hard to hit. “You’re fast…too fast.” Her eyes widened in realization. “She’s made you into her companion…”

The look on Nadine’s face was nearly enough to make me smile. I liked it when she was frustrated and annoyed, and Matt was doing a good job of encouraging this. Nadine had never liked Matt, and I imagined that she liked him even less now.

“You were a psycho back in high school,” Matt said. “And you’re a psycho now.”

Matt looked like he was holding his own, or at least, keeping out of Nadine’s grasp, but I was still worried. I threw a ‘protect companion’ shield on him and Teri both, and just in time. Nadine suddenly exploded in flames that shot out in every direction at once, blasting Matt before he had a chance to get away. He yelped and jumped back, though the shield kept him from taking any serious harm.

While Matt was distracted from the flames, Nadine charged forward and hit him. He started to dodge, but it was too late to avoid the hit entirely. Her fist grazed his shoulder in a glancing blow, but I’d seen how strong she was now and even a glancing hit would hurt.

“Leave him alone, you bitch,” Teri exclaimed as she charged Nadine. I just barely managed to get another shield on Teri, before Nicole threw a ball of fire right into her chest. Teri screamed in panic and jumped back, even though the flames didn’t seem to be doing much actual damage.

Teri’s shield faded away just as Nadine’s hands both burst into flame. My former girlfriend had a manic look in her eyes as she announced, “You’re going to give me just the boost I need to finish off Sievers and get some nice bonus points for my patron...”

I reacted without thinking, moving more out of instinct than conscious thought. I charged Nadine and used my staff to smack her as hard as I could. She snapped and hit me with a blast of fire in my chest. My armor protected me from some of the damage, but not all, as I felt the sensitive skin on my breasts blistering and burning. I howled in pain, and with the horrified remembrance of my nightmarish death, while Nadine just laughed.

“Now that is just the boost I need,” Nadine announced as she began to form a ball of fire between her two hands, which only grew larger and larger. I’d played enough games to recognize an alpha strike when I saw one. She was about to hit us with her most powerful attack.

“Look out,” I exclaimed, diving at Teri and activating ‘Maelyne’s shield’.

My magical dome formed just a second before we were engulfed in flames. Fire surrounded us on all sides, as if we were in the middle of a bonfire. I could feel the blistering heat even through the shield, which I was afraid would fall. If it hadn’t been for the fact that my shield was soaking up all my mana to reinforce it, Nadine’s attack probably would have broken through.

“No way,” Teri exclaimed, staring with wide-eyed fear at the flames surrounding us. I just grimaced and hoped that I could hold out long enough.

As soon as the flames vanished, I dropped my shield. It had already eaten up way too much of my mana, and I’d need what little I had left.

To my surprise, Nadine was on her knees, howling in pain. For a moment, I was confused why, until I remembered that her patron was the god of fire and pain. That was a pretty powerful attack, and in some games, that kind thing had a large downside. In this case, I suspected that she had to suffer some pain herself in order to actually use it. As far as I was concerned, that was a good thing, since that was a damn powerful attack, and I was in favor of anything that would discourage her from using it.

Matt had been far enough back that he’d been able to avoid the bonfire and was now sneaking up on Nadine. He leapt out of nowhere and punched her, knocking her back before she could recover.

“OUCH,” Matt exclaimed, jumping back and holding his hand. “That hurt…”

“Learn to throw a punch,” I exclaimed in frustration, jumping forward and swinging my staff. Nadine raised her arm to block it and winced in pain at the impact, which I took to be a good sign.

“I don’t know how you’re still here,” Nadine spat out, forming another ball of fire in one of her hands.

“Hey, bitch,” Teri exclaimed running up to Nadine.

Nadine snapped around to deal with Teri, seeming to forget about me for a moment. I swung my staff at her again, intending to give her a nice smack upside the head and maybe knock her out. When my staff made contact, there was a cracking sound and Nadine dropped to the ground with her head bent at a bad angle.

“Crap,” I exclaimed in shock. I’d meant to knock her out, not to kill her. While I was trying to absorb what had just happened, a new popup appeared in front of me.

YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY DEFEATED AN OPPOSING CHAMPION.

REWARD: +20 MANA POOL, +20 MANA RECOVERY, +20 HEALTH, AND +20 REGENERATION. YOUR COMPANIONS GAIN +20 HEALTH AND +20 REGENERATION.

I was a bit surprised to get another reward since this hadn’t been a competition, just me trying to survive an attack. It seemed that simple self-defense counted as far as the game went. Then again, Cassandra had told me that the gods had a bunch of side bets going during these unofficial encounters, so apparently, this still counted.

Even though I was hurting from my burn, I still opened my screen to check the change to my stats. Once I saw that, I noticed that Matt’s health was at 88%, which reminded me that I wasn’t the only one who’d been hurt. He’d taken a nasty hit on his shoulder, and had been lightly burned.

“Here,” I said, using ‘lesser healing’ on Matt, which used up the rest of my mana.

Matt let out a sigh of relief and rubbed his shoulder. “Thanks. That feels…” Then he paused to stare at me with his eyes widening. “Why didn’t you heal yourself first?”

“I’m fine,” I lied. My chest hurt like hell. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough mana to heal myself.

“You idiot,” Matt exclaimed. “Just like a dumb jock…”

I smiled faintly at that while trying to ignore my own pain. Now that the real excitement was over, I was noting the pain a LOT more. A moment later, I suddenly noticed something. My screen was still open in front of me because I was watching my health and mana levels, so I saw it when the loyalty bars on both my companions went up.

“Hey,” Teri blurted out, pointing at Nadine. “Look…”

I looked at Nadine, or at least her body, and saw it was sparkling. As I watched, her body vanished, leaving no trace that it had been there.

“She’s gone,” Teri exclaimed.

“Great,” I grumbled with a wince. “I have a feeling we’ll see her again…”

“But she’s dead,” Teri protested.

“So was I,” I grimly reminded her.

My mana had recovered enough that I could afford another healing, so I immediately used it on myself. My pain faded, though didn’t go away entirely. I was now back up to 95%.

“Come on,” I said, looking around nervously before hurrying to my car. “I don’t want to be here if the cops show up…”

By the time I’d slipped behind the wheel, I’d recovered enough mana to heal myself again. Once I did, all the remaining pain vanished, including all the aches from my workout. I just hoped that I didn’t wipe out the benefits of that workout along with the pain.

I pulled out of the parking lot, eager to get out of there before something else happened. When I glanced in my rearview mirror, I saw the Cleaner standing there, looking over the area where we’d fought. I didn’t mention this to Matt or Teri.