Chapter 5
The first thing Jesse did when he woke up the next morning was check his stats.
[STATS]
1/13/2500
Name: Jesse
Race: Human
Level 1
Exp: 60/100
Coins: 136
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Stamina: 5
Soul Force: 150
Perception: 10
He stretched for an hour and worked out for an hour. Once done, he headed over to the park to do his 5-kilometer brisk walk. When he finished an hour later, the usual message popped up.
Congratulations! You've just completed the Daily Quest: Strengthen your body, the rewards have been sent.]
Instinctively, he reached up and opened his stats.
[STATS]
1/13/2500
Name: Jesse
Race: Human
Level 1
Exp: 80/100
Coins: 136
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Stamina: 6
Soul Force: 150
Perception: 10
"Twenty more points, and I'll be level two," he said to himself. Jesse headed back to his room, showered, and got dressed. He went down to the lobby and ordered his breakfast. He ordered the meal he had yesterday. Jesse lifted his head and glanced around when he heard footsteps approach him.
"Hi there," Jesse said when he noticed that it was Neil.
"Hello," the brunette said. "Were you able to find the place?" he asked.
"Yes, I did," Jesse said, nodding his head. "Thank you," he said.
"How'd it go?" Neil asked, sitting down at the table beside the boy.
"When I got there, I collided with a boy my age," Jesse said. "I mean, I literally collided with him," he said.
"That must've been embarrassing," he said.
"Tell me about it," Jesse said, taking a deep breath and exhaling it slowly.
Seeing that a customer stood at the front desk, Neil stood up. "I hope that you have fun here," he said, walking away. Jesse also rose from the table and headed back to his room.
"How was your meal?" Zeo asked.
"It was good," Jesse said. "I'm going to read more about this meditation and try it tonight," he said.
"If you don't need me right now, I'll shut down," Zeo said. Jesse grabbed the book and sat on the bed while Zeo floated over to the usual corner and recharged his glowing body.
Jesse opened the book to the section labeled "Meditation" and started reading it.
"Wow!" "There are a lot of techniques," he thought to himself. He had been reading for an hour when there was a soft knock on his door.
"Coming," Jesse said, getting off his bed. Jesse walked up to the door and peeked out the peephole. A familiar blonde stood on the other side. Jesse opened the door and said, "Hello."
"Hi there," Ulric said. "Did I interrupt something?" he asked.
"Oh, no," Jesse said, shaking his head. "Come in," he said.
The boys walked over to a couple of chairs and sat down. "I was just reading about meditation," Jesse said.
"I saw you at Zoe's yesterday and wanted to see if you were alright," Ulric said.
"I'm fine," Jesse said. "I just wanted to stock up on things I'd be needing," he said.
"You're a quick learner," Ulric said.
"In my world, the games I played helped me a lot," Jesse said.
"You really lived in a world where magic didn't exist?" he asked, a bit surprised.
"I'm sorry to say it, but yes," Jesse said, nodding his head.
Remembering his past self, Jesse became sad. "Are you okay?" Ulric asked.
"Yeah, just past demons rearing their ugly heads," Jesse said.
"It must've been hard for you there," the blonde said.
"I wanted to give up and die several times," he said. "Enough about me," Jesse said, wiping his eyes. "What about you?" he asked.
"As you already know, my name is Ulric," he said. "I was born here," he said. "I am a shapeshifter," he said.
"Wow!" Jesse said it excitedly. "What can you turn into?" he asked.
"A wolf," Ulric said. "I'm a werewolf," he said.
Jesse was silent for a few seconds, then his eyes lit up with excitement. "Can you change at will?" "What color is your fur?" "Are you faster in your wolf form or your human form?" he asked. Ulric put his hand over Jesse's mouth and said calmly, "One question at a time." "I'll answer them, but not all at once," he said. Jesse gulped and nodded his head when Ulric removed his hand.
"Sorry, I got carried away," Jesse said.
"I guess you haven't seen a werewolf before," Ulric assumed.
"Only in books and movies," Jesse said.
Ulric burst out laughing, perplexing Jesse. "Your world must be primitive," he said, calming his giggles. Ulric noticed Jesse standing there, speechless. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to laugh at you," he said.
"It's alright," Jesse said. "I need to realize fully that I chose this world," he said.
"Why did you choose a world like this?" Ulric asked.
"Magic has always interested me," Jesse said. "I wanted a fresh start in life," he said.
"This world is perfect for you," he said, smiling as he patted Jesse's head.
Jesse and Ulric talked into the late afternoon until the time on Ulric's holographic screen beeped. "I better go." "It's getting late," he said.
"Will I see you again?" Jesse asked, standing up.
"Of course," Ulric said with a chuckle. "I train at Mac's also," he said. Before he left, Ulric said, "See you on the 18th." Jesse smiled and waved goodbye. He turned around and found Zeo in the room.
"Don't say a word," Jesse demanded.
"I just wanted to know if you'd be training tonight." Zeo said.
"Yes," Jesse said.
Jesse did one hour of stretching and one hour of working out. He went to his usual spot and did his brisk walk.
[Congratulations! You've just completed the Daily Quest: Strengthen your body, the rewards have been sent.]
[Congratulations! You've reached level 2: rewards have been sent.]
Instinctively, he reached up and opened his stats.
[STATS]
1/13/2500
Name: Jesse
Race: Human
Level 2
Exp: 0/110
Coins: 636
Strength: 8
Agility: 8
Stamina: 8
Soul Force: 155
Perception: 15
Jesse had leveled up, and he felt proud of himself. He earned an extra ten points and added them evenly to his soul force and perception. He made a mental note to tell Mac and Ulric about it when he saw them.
"Let's go home," Jesse said. "I have some celebrating to do," he said.
"Good job, young sir," Zeo said. For dinner, he ordered his usual but asked for a slice of chocolate cake with it.