Love Addict's RPG Ch. 49

Next chapter is almost twice as long, I really get into writing texting chapters...

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Around six in the evening, Oliver finished jogging back to his place with Bradley. His body had been in motion nearly the entire day, and it was a marvel to witness how not tired he was even after going through three whole fights back-to-back. It made him wonder if Physical Conditioning Lv. 3 would transform him into a stamina-infused, damage-repelling god.

If it did, he wondered how he would explain that to Mia. A lot of his basic abilities included normalizing effects, though not all of his skills did. No one questioned Bradley aside from Akira getting a weird vibe from him, and yet Mia clearly recognized something was up with Oliver winning big at the arcade. He wasn't looking forward to walking this tightrope forever and figured at some point he'd probably have to come clean about his powers and hope she believed him about everything.

Until then, he would have to be more subtle about his new powers. It would probably raise some brows if he suddenly understood Spanish, as much as he wanted to buy that skill. Furthermore, Oliver knew that getting strong enough to beat up her brother in a single day would rattle her suspension of disbelief. It kind of sucked, to be honest. Oliver wanted nothing more than to show off his new skills and be told how cool he was by his girlfriend.

Truly, the rate of his normiefication was only getting worse.

He texted Mia after settling down, confirming with her his intention to have the fight tomorrow if her brothers were down for it. She replied pretty fast, giving Oliver the boxing gym's address after telling him they were good to go tomorrow at six. She was a little busy, so they promised to talk later that night. That worked for him since there was still plenty of time and things he wanted to do.

He had a light dinner prepared by Bradley at his friend's behest, allowing Oliver to focus on his dumbells before the meal. They were lighter than they were a few days ago because of his increased strength, making him hope they'd still contribute toward his next level up.

Thinking about how all this was possible thanks to flirting rather than training was a little surreal. There was a solid argument to be made that his improved body was built more by Mia- with a bit of help from Stacy- than himself, but at the same time, he wouldn't have gotten all the LP he'd used to get his strength-boosting skills if he hadn't pushed himself so far out of his comfort zone. It was all a matter of perspective, and Oliver felt he still had much to be proud of.

Dinner was a mix of chicken, turkey, and beef with rice and assorted vegetables- all of which came courtesy of Free Ride. Bradley argued Oliver needed a lot of protein and carbs after his intense workout, even if it still didn't feel like it'd taken a lot out of him. Bradley didn't pretend that he needed to eat this time, taking the opportunity to tell Oliver what he should have for breakfast and lunch tomorrow since he politely wanted most of it to himself.

Oliver liked being out and about with Bradley, getting to know Akira, and all that other stuff; it's just that so much intense socialization was taxing for someone so introspective and traditionally reclusive. Given that tomorrow night would likely be an even bigger ordeal, it wasn't unreasonable to desire a cooldown period to recharge his social batteries. There were skills available to Oliver that improved his speechcraft and increased his likability during socialization, but none that made the act itself any easier on him, sadly.

After dinner, Oliver and Bradley did what they planned and watched famous boxing matches for a few hours. Oliver kept up his curls throughout, finding it surprisingly easy to multitask when he could pump them without consciously thinking about it. It starkly contrasted to last Friday when the same repetitive act had torn his biceps to shreds.

The fights themselves were pretty fun. Oliver had simply searched for a list of the best fights ever and found an illegal streaming site to watch a couple. Boxing Lv. 2 allowed him to follow along with what was happening quite well, and as he studied the masters and their technique, he could feel his fight IQ subtly rising. He didn't know if it would make a difference in the match, but he was already feeling pretty good about Juan as things stood, and it wasn't like watching boxing matches for a few hours with his best friend wasn't a bad way to spend a night.

Oliver may not've been a general sports fan, but things like boxing, MMA, and even professional wrestling were a different beast to him. He could at least see the appeal even if he didn't follow any.

Bradley left a little after eight after having sensed the last reserves of Oliver's social battery being depleted. He reminded him what to do for his meals tomorrow and that he was only a phone call away. Oliver thanked him profoundly, and off Bradley went to presumably discover even more ridiculous sides of Vista Venus that Oliver would no doubt one day be roped into. It would be hard to top the app-driven streetfighting ring, but Oliver figured it was best to keep an open mind.

Mia still hadn't gotten back to him and Oliver didn't want to message her again. He was new to being a boyfriend, but he understood the abnormality of his mind. His thoughts would get carried away and consumed by Mia if he allowed himself to daydream, making her warning about how clingy she'd be pretty funny in retrospect. He would've been a thousand times worse if only he wasn't self-aware enough to stop himself from getting there.

Oliver wasn't sure what to do with himself after Bradley had left. He wanted to keep training and see if he could reach the next level up, although he feared his compulsive behavior would get the best of him. It wasn't the biggest concern when he had Physical Conditioning Lv. 2, but it was still not a good mental precedent to set for himself.

Ultimately, he set a timer and put on an episode of Domain 20. If he could make it to eight strength within an hour of listening to his comedy TTRPG podcast, then good for him. If not, he'd force himself to stop. Oliver felt good about his willpower today and decided it was worth the risk.

Figuring he'd had enough of the dumbbells, Oliver alternated between push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. It was the first time he'd done any of these since his last PE class seven years ago. He was happy to discover they were much easier than they used to be, but he was even more pleased with the notification that popped up after a half hour of exercise.

"Fuck, that feels good..." Oliver exhaled, abandoning his current sit-up and flopping flat on his back. That right there made his eighth point in strength. His body thrummed with vitality, his heart with pride.

Though he could've kept going if he'd wanted, Oliver's mind was running on fumes, and the boost to his energy wouldn't last forever. He allowed himself to lie on his apartment floor, gazing at the ceiling and listening to his actual play podcast. After everything he'd gotten up to today, it was a wonder he didn't just melt away into the carpeting.

He zoned out for another twenty minutes before feeling compelled to shower, staying in there for a little longer than usual. It was half past nine when Oliver dried off, which was a little upsetting. Mia was probably in bed by now and still hadn't texted him back.

Rather than arguing with himself about whether he should, Oliver decided to message her just in case. His phone buzzed the moment he picked it up, shocking him with the unbelievable timing. Mia had just texted him.

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Mia:
hey sry I didn't get back to u sooner
zoe left her room for a few hrs tonite and I actually got to hang w/ her
this was the first chance I had to do that in a while so
kinda got distracted
how was ur day, u do any cool trainin for tmrw or are u rly just gonna show up hulked out of ur mind on roids after all

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Happy as could be and high on the dopamine Mia's text messages injected into his brain, Oliver dimmed the lights, climbed into bed, and got comfy before typing back to her.

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Oliver:
Hey, it's cool! I'm glad you got to do stuff with your friend and I totally get it
I was busy studying boxing vids anyway

Mia:
whoa u must be a real expert now huh
shit, dude
this one's in the bag

Oliver:
I did a lot more than just that, you sarcastic brat lol

Mia:
let me have this
I'm too submissive to be bratty irl

Oliver:
Heh yeah that checks out

Mia:
Hmph
Anyway
not tired enuff to sleep yet so fill me in on all the training arc shit

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Oliver knew he had to be subtle with his powers, but Mia was going to see some crazy shit tomorrow in the boxing ring. He figured letting her in on the Brawln stuff wouldn't be that big of a deal since it was more of an advanced preview of something she'd bear witness to. Again, he also wanted to show off and have his girlfriend tell him he was cool.

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Oliver:
Would you believe me if I told you I joined an app-centric underground streetfighting ring today and had three matches back to back earlier to get some practice fighting other people

Mia:
lol no I'm not high enuff to hop on that train without proof ese
maybe the streetfightin thing I'd buy but wth do u mean 'app centric' like is it like uber but for havin some dude swing by and slug u, or what

Oliver:
basically

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Oliver knew this was a tough sell, so he fired up the Brawln app and took some screenshots of it. While there, he had a few notifications to check, too. These turned out to be alerts that his fight videos were now available for streaming and download, conveniently enough.

It was a little weird that the secret app, which you could only install through meeting up with a shady man at the local park, would apparently allow him to forward a link to his fights to anyone on the internet, but Oliver wasn't even surprised by Brawln's lack of precaution anymore.

They were clearly so in bed with the authorities that it didn't matter, and lampshading it at this point was a pointless endeavor since, at this rate, Oliver half expected to run into a Brawln billboard the next time he was out and about.

With plenty of evidence to support his claims, Oliver sent the screenshots and the links to his fights over to Mia and waited for her to say something about them. She started typing something not long after, but she must've gotten distracted because Mia stopped and started several times over. Her response finally came a good seven minutes later.

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Mia:
ollie what the FUCK
this literally IS uber for havin a dude swing by and slug u
what am I even lookin at
I skimmed the 1st vid and ur beatin up a fat kung fu dude, 2nd one looks like ur fightin some old timey strongman from the 19th century and did u actually fight a skinhead boxer in the 3rd or is that just clickbait
wait no I just clicked it that was not an exaggeration at all lol
gonna be honest w/ u
I do noooooot know how to process this information

Oliver:
Yeah thats about the reaction I had to all of it too but on top of getting some good practice I also made like 225 bucks off of it, so...

Mia:
dude sick
so is this ur job now because ngl im def into it
u look hot as fuck when ur fightin mi amor god DAMN

Oliver:
Uh no it's fun and all but I still don't like getting punched lol
Definitely not gonna make a career out of it but I was thinking of dabbling from time to time

Mia:
are u just changin course bcuz I think it's sexy lmao

Oliver:
Not really
Last night kinda taught me I don't gotta do much to get you excited, so I can't say your further arousal is much of a deciding factor here lol

Mia:
wow
would be offended if that weren't so true

Oliver:
Unrelated to all the fighting shit, but I really missed you today
A lot

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A notification popped up showing how much Mia appreciated the sentiment.

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Mia:
ah shit I missed u too ollie
also a lot
while u were off beatin up nazis I was fucken around at work doin the bare minimum I could get away with while daydreamin about you all fucken day gdi

Oliver:
Why gdi lol

Mia:
bcuz this is all so new and weird to me
u kno the thing about the dog chasing its tail and not knowin what do with it and all tha yea
*that
that's where im at rn
or at least it would be if it weren't for mi FUCKING hermanos
most of my fantasies today were just u kicking Juan's ass and makin them fuck off and leave us alone
would rather be thinkin bout all the sexy shit we did but noooooooo they just have to fucking fuck fuck fuck ugh

Oliver:
Hey, hey
It's ok
Do you want me to call so we can talk about this?

Mia:
nah stick to text for tonite I uh wasn't joking about how hot those vids were
don't wanna tempt fate any more than that lol

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Oliver had to admit he found that a little disappointing. He wanted to hear Mia's voice desperately right now, and tempting fate didn't sound bad at all.

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Oliver:
lmao I'm glad you like them so much

Mia:
oh, I do
and not just cuz of the sexy
its also huge load off my mind knowin u are actually gonna win tmrw lol

Oliver:
So you were lying when you said you believed in me, huh?

Mia:
Hey
Dong get me wrong

Oliver:
lol

Mia:
*DONT
yes yes typos are hilarious
Anyway
I was trying to say I DID believe in u but u get why my faith might be stronger after skimming thru a vid of u making some kinda humanoid grizzly bear look like a clown yes

Oliver:
I guess you're right
I am pretty awesome when you say it like that

Mia:
Mnnnnn
love that cockiness mi amor

Oliver:
Interesting choice of words for someone who doesn't wanna tempt fate

Mia:
eh
fuck it, not gonna sleep at this rate anyway...
tempt away

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Lingering on that last message for some time, Oliver sensed some implications that he very much liked. His pulse skyrocketed as he sent her his following text, hoping this would go where he wanted it to.

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Oliver:
What are you saying, Mia?

Mia:
sayin im stressed af, have literally been unable to stop thinking about u all day, and now u send me these vids of u bein a badass alpha chad street fighter?
mi amor
the dryness of my panties is but a distant memory

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Oliver stared at his cellphone screen. Her words were hotter than any sentence from any dating sim he'd ever played, and their effect on him was as powerful as it was immediate. He wiggled out of his pajama pants under the blanket, knowing he wouldn't need them where he was going.

This would be good.

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