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Love Addict's RPG Ch. 57

A notification appeared before Oliver's face as his brain music switched back to the victory fanfare. It was Mia's mini profile, and he watched with pride as the gray heart with the strength icon padlock burst into dozens of pieces. Though no one else saw this happening, the crowd cheered with conspicuous timing, making him feel even better about himself for overcoming the first obstacle of his romance with Mia.

And then Oliver almost fell over. He would have, too, if Mia hadn't gotten there in time to catch him. As established, she was a pretty weak girl, and it took a lot of effort to keep him propped up until he could stabilize himself with her help.

"Hey," Oliver said. "Mind if we... ah... skip the part where we have a moment together, maybe? I got my fill of public flirting earlier and... not gonna lie, I'd like very much to lay down now."

Mia smirked. "Halfway tempted to up and do something insanely trashy to you as it is, so, yeah, prolly best that we do. Here's a compromise, though."

Mia gave Oliver a quick kiss on the cheek as she hauled him closer to the ropes where Bradley was waiting to help him down. The kiss felt warm and full of love, and the notification that popped up confirmed it was.

"All according to PLAN, huh?" Bradley joked as he took Oliver from Mia and did the bulk of the work toward getting him downstairs.

"Something like that," Oliver laughed.

When he got out of the ring, Rebecca and Stacy were right there waiting to congratulate him, along with a host of other boxers all trying to get in and ask him questions. That was the last thing Oliver wanted, so Bradley helped by taking the heat off of him by manifesting a previously unseen cooler full of beers. He passed them out to the boxers, herding them away like cattle and chatting them up.

It was a good thing, too. Rebecca was starting to get really nervous from all the musclemen.

"Where to even begin?" Stacy wondered as she placed her hands on her hips. "That was one hell of a ride, hon. I didn't know you had it in you."

Oliver, now mostly able to stand on his own two feet, regarded her with a somewhat sarcastic grin. "Be careful who you make fun of back in high school, am I right?"

Stacy found dry amusement in his little joke, as did Mia. There were smiles and cheap laughs all around.

"Thanks for the help on Juan, by the way," Oliver said. "The same advice didn't help me so much with Julio, but hey, one out of two's not so bad."

"Would've had this in the bag ages ago if someone had the common sense to bring their pom-poms," Mia shook her head with disapproval. "Had one job, perra. One."

"I agree," Oliver played into the joke. "The lack of pom-poms was kind of a letdown..."

"You guys are really set on that, huh?" Stacy rolled her eyes. "Tell you what. I'll try to have a pair ready before the next time you make a public spectacle out of yourself, hon. Sound good?"

It actually did. The last time he saw her cheerleading, Stacy was only fourteen. Time had done the already beautiful girl a lot of favors since then, and the mental image of her adult self jumping around while cheering his name had his thoughts drifting in unwise directions. Corresponding with the softening of his heart, another affection increase happened for Stacy that only increased the burden on his troubled mind.

Mia shot him a quick, knowing glance suggesting she knew what he was thinking about, but it came packaged with one of her catlike grins. Mixed messages as always, it seemed.

Sighing, Oliver ignored Mia for now and removed his gloves, wearily placing them on the surface of the ring, expecting someone to pick them up sooner or later. "I'm hoping nothing like this'll happen again, but I'll hold you to that if it does..."

Rebecca was feeling significantly out of place. She'd been hiding behind Mia once she returned from the ring as the celebratory mood intimidated her. It was understandable that she felt like this, considering she barely knew Oliver, but she still wanted to do a better job than she was.

Steeling her heart and diving outside her admittedly small comfort zone, Rebecca inched out from behind Mia, asking, "H-How are you feeling, soldier? You did really well up there, um, except for all the parts where you got hit... ah- but even then, you were really cool, I-I mean... sorry..."

Oliver turned his attention towards the petite girl behind his girlfriend, giving her a tired smile. Getting praised by someone he didn't know very well was a nice feeling. Sure, it didn't come out remotely the way Rebecca intended, but he understood it was meant as a compliment, and it was cute how she was doing her best.

"Kind of a mixed bag. Emotionally, I'm on top of the world. Physically, I'm buried beneath a burning garbage heap."

"O-Oh, no... that's not good..." Rebecca gulped. She tried to think of something more thoughtful to say about but only came up with, "Maybe you should, um, make sure you get plenty of rest after this...?"

"Oh, he will," Mia purred in a low voice. "Wouldn't worry too much about that."

Oliver felt distinctly threatened by her statement, albeit not in a bad way. Stacy shook her head in mock disapproval while the joke flew over Rebecca's head. She was just happy she managed to get a few words in, then got really embarrassed when Oliver thanked her personally for the support. It almost caused her nerves to act up, but Rebecca fought tooth and nail to stave them off and was successfully able to stay out in the open as the conversation turned toward everyone's plans for the rest of tonight.

It was almost seven. Stacy was due for her yoga class, which she unsuccessfully tried to invite Rebecca to. Rebecca had plans with her dad who was already on his way to pick her up, though she wouldn't have come along even if her schedule was free, anyway. Stacy bid everyone goodbye, and Mia then led Oliver to a bench so he could sit down for a few minutes as she went to fetch him a drink before they left. Rebecca nervously kept him company as he waited but received a text from her dad before Mia returned, leaving as soon as she did.

Bradley was still passing out beers and hanging out with the boxers, doing an excellent job keeping them away, allowing him a moment of relative quiet with Mia as she sat beside him and handed him a water bottle. Oliver guzzled it all in one go, desperately needing it. She smiled at this and placed her hand on top of his.

"What about us, mi amor? What're our plans for tonight, mn?" Mia leaned her head against his shoulder as if she were somehow more tired than he was.

"It sounded like you had plenty of ideas a second ago," Oliver managed a smile.

"Was only joking, there's no pressure if you're too tired to mess around tonight..." Mia didn't sound especially honest with herself. There was definitely some pressure. She was still sexually frustrated, and God knows how aroused she was after watching him fight. "Would still prefer if you came over and hung out with me, though. Even if we don't do anything."

Oliver thought about it momentarily before taking her by the hand and squeezing it softly. Physical Conditioning helped mitigate exhaustion, and he could already feel his body piecing itself back together. It didn't seem outside the realm of possibility for him to regain enough strength to feel up for something adventurous before the night was out.

"I might be down to pick up where we left off last night, but you've got work in the morning..."

"Fuck work," Mia exhaled. "Taking a personal day. Way too much stress lately, and I just want to chill the fuck out and be together now that we don't have to worry about mi hermanos."

"That sounds amazing to me..." Oliver closed his eyes and leaned his head against Mia's. She still smelled good despite the boxing gym's best efforts at overwhelming his nostrils.

"Got a question for you, mi amor," Mia spoke quietly after several seconds of silence.

"Go for it."

Her voice somehow became even smaller as she whispered, "Think you have it in you to stay the night with me even if I'm not comfortable going all the way yet, or would that be...?"

Mia inflicted more damage on Oliver in one sentence than her brothers did with hundreds of punches. His pulse raced like he'd overdosed on sugar, and he struggled to breathe. "Wouldn't be a problem for me, I think, but could you handle it?"

"Long as I get out of my system one way or another, yeah..." Mia mumbled, her face flushed and her body trembling. "Just thought it'd be nice if we could start the day together and not have to waste any time, si?"

Oliver thought Mia's attempt to make excuses for why she wanted this was just about the cutest thing ever but was too overjoyed by the prospect to feel up to teasing her about it. "That does sound pretty nice," he admitted. "Maybe we could get high together tomorrow? I haven't had a gummy in over a week, and fuck if I couldn't go for one right about now."

Mia suddenly rubbed her right wrist and pulled her hand away. "Mn, maybe... might be fun, but... don't know if I'm ready to act all weird around you just yet..."

"It was just a thought. We don't have to..."

"We'll see," she gave him a quick smile, suggesting she wasn't entirely against the idea.

"I'll have fun even if you just want to lay in bed all day," Oliver assured her. "Really."

Mia continued smiling, her lips subtly drawing closer. Oliver went for it and disregarded his surroundings. The kiss was soft and delicate, but it didn't stay that way for long. There was too much tension between them for anything less than making out, and things only spiraled. A thin vestige of decency was the only thing that kept him from going full degenerate, that and an innate understanding it would be better to wait until they were back at her place for anything more.

It was good they stopped when they did. Bradley was approaching, and he wasn't alone. Juan and Julio followed behind him, each clutching a bottle of beer and wearing vaguely remorseful expressions.

"Good NEWS, my friend! The HEAT has successfully [Died Down], and I have [Thoroughly Explained] to the [Resident Coach] that you don't WISH to pursue a career in [Boxing]. The BAD news is that YOU have company!"

Mia closed her eyes and sighed. "Save it. Don't even want to look at you two till Sunday."

Julio scratched the back of his ear while Juan looked like a kicked puppy dog, hiding his sorrow behind a deep glug of beer.

"Figured," Julio solemnly nodded. "Still wanted to apologize, regardless. To both of you."

Mia looked at them like he'd spoken in tongues. "Fuck off," she laughed. "Fuck have either of you ever been sorry for?"

"...This?" Juan gestured at the immediate surroundings. "We flew off the handle, Mimi. It's hard to explain."

"Doesn't seem like it," she looked away. "Seems more like you two are just up to your same old shit."

Oliver frowned at the sudden tension hanging in the air. He figured they'd have to say something to each other before they got out of there; he was just hoping it would've been more cordial. Oliver wanted to give them a fair shake if nothing else.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Julio looked in his direction, the remorseful expression also extending towards him. "Haven't been ourselves the last couple days."

"Fuck, man," Juan agreed. "Don't know how things spiraled as fast as they did! Shit was like we were bulls, and you were the color red! Ain't that right, Julio?"

"Common misconception. Bulls are colorblind to red, idiota," Julio corrected. "But the message behind the metaphor still stands. Look, hermanito. Not gonna look you in the eyes and tell you we aren't huge assholes, cause we are. Even so, we would've waited a bit longer under normal circumstances before we did anything stupid..."

"Even then, the fuck did we think a boxing match was a good idea for?" Juan looked mystified. "Was like we took one look at you, and boom-"

"All of a sudden, we just knew we couldn't let you be with Mimi till we'd had one..."

Both of them were speaking from the heart. It was the honest-to-goodness truth, but that didn't somehow make it sound any less stupid. "...The fuck kind of junk weed are the two of you smoking these days?" She laughed. "Said I was done with you, so vámonos. We'll talk about this on Sun-"

"Hold on," Oliver's guilt peaked as he looked at his two unintentional victims.

The situation was muddier than Mia knew, but things were precisely as Oliver feared. His powers influenced the twins, making them antagonists and gameifying their legitimate concerns. That only left him one course of action, making things up to them like he'd discussed with Bradley, who tipped his cold one to Oliver in a sign of support.

"You said you kept trying to explain why all this was stupid and unnecessary, right? You might as well set things straight with them now that they're willing to listen."

Juan and Julio dared to look hopeful at Oliver's proposition, leaving Mia to feel the pressure. She folded her arms, frowned, and furrowed her brows only to soften after around ten seconds had passed. She looked at Oliver, his supportive expression being the final nail in the coffin of her resistance.

"...Whatever," Mia groaned, slumping her shoulders as she stood from the bench. She sounded like she didn't want to tell them shit but figured it would be worth ensuring they knew the truth so that there wasn't a repeat of this incident down the line. "Stay here, mi amor. Gotta explain this in private, or not at all."

Juan mouthed off the words 'thank you', and Julio nodded at him as their sister led them away. Oliver felt a little strange at their new, friendlier vibes but was happy he could help. As Mia left him momentarily, Bradley took her spot on the bench.

"So that's one [Heart Lock] down, THEN! How's the [Champ] feeling?" He said, nudging Oliver with his elbow.

"Like I never fucking want to go through another one again..." Oliver laughed. "Please tell me they're not all going to be big blowout events like this?"

"SUCH information is BEYOND me, I'm afraid! Of course, this wouldn't HAVE been so bad if you [Switched Course] and [Grinded LP]..."

"Can't just let me enjoy my victory, can you?" He sighed, collapsing against the back of the bench and staring at the ceiling. "I did grind a little. I texted Stacy. There wasn't much else I could do on such short notice."

"What about [Rebecca Bergmann]?" Bradley posed out of nowhere.

"...What about her? She's not a heroine. I couldn't have gotten anything from her even if I tried."

Bradley rubbed his chin and looked at him from the corner of his eyes. "On the contrary, MY friend. I think you could've gotten [A Lot] from her IF you had!"

"Bradley," Oliver groaned. "I'm close to passing the fuck out. If you're going somewhere with this, then tell it to me straight. I'm not in the mood for cryptic bullshit."

"A [Heroine] is a WOMAN with whom it's possible for you TO enter into a [Romantic Relationship]! What I'm [Positing] is that I wonder WHAT might happen if you [Ran Into] someone who didn't BELIEVE it was possible and you [Convinced] her otherwise?"

"I don't know because I'm not going to try and find out," Oliver stood his ground. "What you're describing would be manipulative as hell since I'd be getting her hopes up without any intention of following through."

Bradley paused and, after a couple of seconds, frowned. "...I'm sorry, Oliver. When you PRESENT me with a [Problem], I'm compelled to explain or reiterate WAYS that you might [Solve] it. It's NOT something I can [Fully Control]."

Now Oliver felt a little bad, causing him to lower his head and sigh. "...It's fine. Clippy only wanted to help, too, I suppose."

Oliver thanked Bradley for his invaluable support and then inquired about his plans for the rest of the evening. It turned out that Bradley rather liked this place and felt he was among his kin here, where it was nothing but dudebros as far as the eye could see. These fellows knew what it meant to appreciate a cold one, and Bradley wished to remain by their side for a while longer before setting off on his nightly journey.

Not knowing what to say to any of that, Oliver nodded and was grateful to see Mia on her way back. The twins had strange looks on their faces, while Mia herself looked somewhat embarrassed.

"...Everything good now?" Oliver inquired.

"Didn't even know they made chicks like that..." Juan muttered under his breath, his eye looking far into the distance. "I mean, I always knew she was... but... really...?"

"What?"

"Nothing," Julio rubbed his brow, his shoulders slumping. "Two of us just learned we were even stupider than we thought..."

"Almost like that's exactly what I fucking said would happen if you only listened to me sooner..." Mia grumbled as she returned to Oliver's side.

"So... no hard feelings?" Oliver looked around at the three of them, unable to gauge the mood.

"Oh, there are still hard feelings," Mia crossed her arms and glared at her older brothers, who shrank in response. "But hey, I do feel a little better now that we're on the same page."

"I still feel like I'm a couple pages behind, personally..."

"Long night ahead of us," Mia beckoned for Oliver to stand up and join her, rubbing his back and smiling softly at him when he did. "Plenty of time to catch you up, among other things. You about ready to hit the road, mi amor?"

There was an ominous feeling in the air, primarily thanks to the twins acting as if they'd been imparted with the eldritch truth. Even so, Oliver was more than ready to leave the world of boxing and underground martial arts rings behind him for the time being. He shared some words with Juan and Julio before taking off with their sister, promising they would have to start things over one of these days and grab some drinks or something.

Oliver wasn't sure why he'd said that, given that he didn't really drink or have any experience hanging out with male friends other than Bradley. It was mostly that he felt it was the right thing to say from one dude to another when you wanted to show there were no hard feelings. Evidently, that was the correct assumption. Juan clasped him on the shoulder as Julio lit up a joint in public and gave him a respectful nod as they said their goodbyes, Bradley positively vibrating with approval at the newly forged bonds between men.

"Really shouldn't have offered to get drinks with them, mi amor," Mia sighed on their way to his car. "Fuck am I supposed to do if they actually start liking you and try and hang around us all the time?"

"That desperate to keep me all to yourself?"

Mia stopped in front of his car, stared at him for a few seconds, then shook her head tiredly.

"What? Was it really that unfunny?"

"No," she exhaled and laughed at the same time. "Just getting tired of all the dramatic irony and looking forward to moving past it. That's all. Now give me your keys. You're in no shape to drive, so I'm gonna take you to my place, get some dinner in you, and see where the night takes us after we've had time to chill. Sound good?"

Oliver didn't even stop to dwell on it; instead, he took his keys and handed them over without hesitation. "Sounds amazing. Take me away, Mia."

"Famous last words," she gave him an exhausted smile before taking off with him.

---

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 56

The differences between Juan and Julio were never more apparent than when he stood opposite Oliver on the battlefield. Julio seemingly stood much taller than his brother, his imposing silhouette cutting a dashing figure not unlike a matador waiting patiently for the kill. Though he had only one fist to work with, the air of confidence Julio projected implied it was more than he needed.

Hyper Reflexes was going crazy the entire time Oliver stared Julio down from across the ring, constantly hammering in how bad of an idea this was and illustrating the power difference between him and his brother. Given the bad vibes Julio emanated, Oliver didn't know how he was supposed to approach, so it was a blessing and a curse when Julio started coming closer on his own. Every step was filled with purpose, his stride itself oozing self-assured victory.

He acted as if this fight was over before he'd even thrown a punch, and that pissed Oliver off on some deeper level. It didn't matter how strong Julio was; he was still underestimating him hot off his victory over Juan. The disrespect and Julio's calm demeanor subtly influenced Oliver, making him overeager to land the first blow.

After a quick check with Weakness Exploit - Pain, Oliver learned that Julio's stomach was his closest thing to a weak point, being the only red crosshair icon he had on him, left-hand pinky notwithstanding. He stepped in, deciding it would have to suffice as he shot out a jab to test the water and see how wide the gap was between them.

Oliver was punched in the face faster than Hyper Reflexes could even warn him.

Julio's fist zipped back and forth with the speed of a maelstrom, hitting almost as hard as Juan and without a shred of wasted movement to boot. Oliver only barely managed to get out of the way of the follow-up but fell victim to the third attack in the chain and then the fourth.

"Can't even keep up with this much?" Julio observed. "Embarrassing."

Oliver recognized this for the transparent attempt at taunting that it was, at the very least showing he was less susceptible than Juan by resisting the temptation to prove Julio wrong as fast as possible. His general presence already had enough of a psychological effect on him. Oliver refused to play into his opponent's hand more than he could help it.

He tried getting in some quick hits with his typical in-and-out style, but Julio was much more resistant to such tactics than his brother. Julio followed along with every move Oliver made before he even made it, waiting for him in advance with a counterpunch and sometimes even a counter-counterpunch on the rare occasion Oliver thought he'd managed to get ahead of him.

Fighting Julio was nothing short of demoralizing. On the rare occasions that Oliver's punches managed to hit, they practically bounced right off of him. It was like fighting a walking brick wall that could hit you with one of its bricks.

Julio had him pressed against the rope in no time, putting Oliver in his most precarious position yet. Stacy's advice that won him the victory was no longer relevant when fighting an opponent of this caliber. He had to come up with something- fast. This was sink-or-swim territory, and Oliver already had one foot in the deep end.

...Why not sink even deeper? He thought, a wicked idea coming to him. This wouldn't fly in an actual boxing match, but it wasn't cheating, either. It was just so far out of left field that it might prove wild enough to trip Julio up.

The trick was going to be doing it all in one smooth motion. If he fucked up, it'd leave him in a terrible position even worse than the one he was already in. No reason not to try.

Oliver purposefully fell to his knees, tucked himself into a ball, and used the height disparity between himself and Julio to his advantage by rolling forward between his legs. He then unfurled himself like a Jack in the Box, the pain from unscrunching his bruised body so fast like that nigh excruciating.

"Fuck are you playing at, you-" Julio was utterly taken aback by this unconventional strategy. He pivoted immediately, acting on reflexes and playing into Oliver's hands for the first time. A hard punch to the gut awaited him when he got there, delivering a noticeable chunk of damage and staggering him enough for a few follow-up attacks.

"Not playing at anything," Oliver reminded him. "I'm trying to win."

If the acting referee cared about this flagrantly bullshit maneuver, he dared not express it in light of how wild Oliver's antics had wound up the crowd. Many of Julio's friends barked and brayed at him, some even shouting words of encouragement to Oliver and telling him to keep it up. It'd been ages since a spar this fun happened at Contact Mike's, and even the employees were joining in on the fun.

Likewise, the people in his own corner were eating it up.

"I cannot believe he just did that," Stacy laughed.

Rebecca nodded approvingly at what she perceived as a display of tactical genius, mumbling, "Dad always says that the move that wins the war is almost always the one your opponent least expects."

"Wise words from a PRESUMABLY wise MAN, [Rebecca Bergman]!"

Rebecca shuffled around behind Mia, still uncomfortable from being addressed by Bradley but also not one to miss a chance to speak highly of her father. "H-He's, um, the greatest strategist I know... if my dad was in his corner, Oliver would've won a thousand times over by now..."

"Doing good so far without needing your dad's advice. He's just gotta keep it up," Mia said, then ascended the first step to yell at Oliver and make sure he had the right takeaway. "You got this, mi amor. Keep him on his toes and guessing! Stupider you get, the less he'll see you coming!"

Oliver didn't need to be told twice. He was already brainstorming creative ways to trip Julio up, even while pounding his midsection into the ropes.

This state of advantage didn't last for long. Julio recovered from the shock after a few seconds and landed a few counters, relieving himself of Oliver's advance for the time being. His stomach hurt mildly in the aftermath, an annoying reminder that he'd neglected the ab machine for too long. He wasn't sure how Oliver had flagged his fatal flaw quite so fast, but now he knew he was aiming for it, and Julio would have to keep that in consideration.

It's too bad for him that Oliver didn't plan on letting Julio consider much of anything beyond figuring out his next move. Oliver drew on his purchased boxing skills to pull out all sorts of unconventional tricks. His movements became erratic and hard to follow, Fancy Footwork doing its part by making these a little faster than without.

Oliver was pleased to discover that Julio was not quite as threatening as first impressions led him to believe. Sure, he was still much more dangerous than Juan and had greater overall defense, but he was also somewhat slower and had less punching power. Things might've been different if he had both hands to defend himself with, but as things stood, Julio's most significant advantage was his analytical mind and powers of observation.

All he had to do to get rid of that was feed Julio so much nonsensical data that it clogged up his system and lowered his reaction times. The downside to this strategy was that, based on the crowd's reaction, Oliver was sure he looked like a mental patient.

He danced around the ring with Julio, sparing no regard for his tired body or his increased stamina consumption. Oliver forced himself out of his habits, throwing himself off balance on multiple occasions, exaggerated his actions to the point of appearing cartoonish, and it was working. Granted, Julio wasn't easily fooled and still dealt steady damage over time- it just wasn't enough to contend with Oliver's output.

The bell rang right as Oliver landed another gut punch. Julio almost fell forward until he caught himself at the last moment. The two locked eyes, speaking with their spirits until they came to a silent understanding. Much to the delight of the crowd of boxers, both fighters continued duking it out and refused the call to return to their corners, the ref doing nothing to stop them.

Stacy watched in total amazement at the fighting spirit on display, looking away for only a split second to address Mia. "You not even gonna try and stop them, or what?"

"Mn, no," Mia hummed. "Think this stopped being about boxing a while ago. Now I think it'd be better to let them ride it out, sí?"

Stacy laughed mildly. "God forbid men try talking out their differences instead of punching each other in the face, but hey, can't say I'm not loving the show..."

"Personally, it's a bit hard to watch..." Mia sighed.

"Yeah, well, pretty sure that's normal? It'd be weirder if you wanted to watch your boyfriend get the shit beaten out of him, right?"

"Nah," Mia shook her head and laughed. "Meant more like Ollie's too fucking hot up there, and I can't take it much longer. That, and I really don't want to unpack whatever it says about me that I'm low-key getting off on him beating up my asshole brothers."

Mia's candidness surprised Stacy enough to look away from the fight and closer at her. Her face was flushed, she had a smitten look in her eyes, and if Stacy didn't know any better, she'd have thought Mia was on the verge of drooling.

"...All these years, and you're still a total freak, aren't you?" Stacy asked after another mild laugh, her voice trailing off and full of nostalgia.

Mia smiled suggestively at that and looked in Stacy's direction, "You saying you can't see where I'm coming from?"

Stacy didn't consider herself a very sexual person. She had about as much desire as any other woman; they just weren't intrinsic to her happiness, and she'd acquired an understandable aversion to the thought of acting on them insofar as involving another person. It wouldn't have dawned on her to look at things from such a perspective if Mia hadn't explicitly pointed it out, but now that she had...

"I suppose," she hummed. "Oliver was never that bad looking to begin with, aside from the glaring flaws I helped patch up, but..."

"It's the confidence, sí?" Mia continued smiling, causing Stacy to realize how much she enjoyed gushing about her boyfriend if it allowed them to converse without any sarcastic jabs at each other.

"Partially. For me, I think it's more about the effort. He got off his ass and actually started trying, and that goes a lot farther than most guys would think. I'm not saying that I suddenly think he's hot or anything, but I can't say I don't see where you're coming from."

"So you're not saying you think he's not, but you're also explicitly going out of your way to not deny it," Mia pointed out.

Stacy shrugged. "If that's how you want to interpret it, nothing's stopping you, hon. You do you."

An unexpected voice from someone who'd been biding her tongue this entire conversation spoke up with all the grace and eloquence of someone dropping a plate of wet spaghetti on the floor and then rolling around in it.

"I... um... I think he's hot..." Rebecca mumbled, her inner thoughts surfacing and becoming outer ones. She only realized she'd accidentally said that out loud when Mia turned around and gave her a funny look- not angry, but amused.

"Ah! Um, I... I'm sorry, I didn't... it's just... Oliver is so cool right now... even though he's shorter and weaker than his opponents, he's fighting like a genetically perfected Ubermensch Marine... also, he was really nice to me the other day, and also... also..." Rebecca just kept talking against her better judgment, feeling as if she were digging herself a deeper and deeper hole before finally shutting down and slumping her posture in self-defeat.

Mia was on the verge of comforting her friend when the fox lying in wait within the henhouse finally played his hand. Bradley smiled a sparkly smile. While Oliver was busy fighting Julio, this was another chance to prove himself as the top-tier wingman he claimed to be.

"Not to worry, [Awkward Nerd Girl]!" Bradley smiled and adjusted the collar of his tracksuit instead of the bowtie he usually wore. "Oliver has [Bigamist Inclinations]! There is MORE than enough of HIM to [Share]."

"Oh, I'm sure there is..." Stacy scoffed and rolled her eyes, wholly dismissing the topic.

Rebecca's brain couldn't keep up with this revelation nor its implications. It was all she could do to mumble, "I... ah... g-good to know...?"

"...Did he actually say that?" Mia asked calmly.

"He doesn't have TO! We're [Best Friends], I know him BETTER than he KNOWS himself!"

"Mn," Mia nodded along and rubbed her chin. "Interesting."

Stacy raised a brow over Mia not immediately being put off by this information. "Seriously, girl? You're that much of a freak?"

"I like what I like," Mia smiled thinly in response.

"Have some self-respect," Stacy laughed.

"Who needs self-respect when I can have sexual gratification?" Mia asked, to which Stacy had no counter.

The topic was then dropped as everyone resumed focus on the match, but it wasn't forgotten. The seed was planted in their minds, and Bradley had done his job as wingman supreme. It didn't mean much to Rebecca, who wasn't registered as a heroine, and Stacy was far too early along for it to matter, but Mia...? Bradley noticed the potential earlier and was pleased to find out his assumption was correct.

Oliver was going to have fun with this one... as soon as he finally managed to finish this damn fight of his, that is.

They all got sidetracked so easily despite the thrilling finale unfolding before their eyes because nothing major happened for several minutes after the bell rang. Oliver and Julio continued their back and forth, trading blows and counters whenever they could get them. Without the timer or the breaks between rounds to hold them back, both fighters were rapidly draining themselves of energy.

As this whole affair stretched on longer and longer, there came a point where neither Oliver nor Julio could keep up the fancy tricks. After nearly fifteen minutes of continual fighting, every muscle in Oliver's body begged him to stop, and Julio wasn't in the best shape either. His motions were no longer as effortless as they'd been in the beginning, making him much less intimidating all around.

They'd somehow wound up in the center of the ring together, and all pretenses were gone. The two were punching each other back and forth, holding onto consciousness with all they had, like they were afraid they'd never regain it. Oliver kept hammering his opponent in the gut while Julio targeted his face.

This was all they could do. Oliver's only hope at this point was to hope he had what it took to stay standing a little longer than Julio. Both of them were on the verge of falling over; the only question was who would be first.

"Give up already," Julio growled, his once calm voice now coated in a thick layer of irritation.

"If I was gonna give up, I already would've!" Oliver retorted, slamming his weak fist into Julio's abs for what must've been the hundredth time.

Julio ate the blow, wincing because of it and then shouting with his counter punch, "You're on your last legs!"

The counter slammed into Oliver's swollen cheek, hurting him but not breaking him. "Yeah, and I just got done kicking your brother's ass! What's your excuse?"

"A partially-severed pinky finger, pendejo!" Julio almost buckled after Oliver evened the score, clinging on despite it all.

This was going nowhere fast.

Both men let out an exhausted grunt as they struck one another in unison, testing their wills. Oliver found it difficult to keep his eyes open, as swollen as they were. The crowd had simmered down their excitement as the fast-paced, nonstop action winded down and became a grueling slog, but that wasn't to say they were no longer entertained. Everyone understood this would end in a matter of seconds, and the tension was through the roof.

As Oliver gathered up his energy for his next attack, he noticed a strange look on Julio's face. Like there was an itch he couldn't scratch, or maybe he was trying to smile but was woefully inexperienced at the act.

In a waste of breath, Julio let out a soft laugh, then spoke quiet enough that only Oliver could hear him.

"Pendejo or not, I gotta say... didn't think you'd push me this far. Didn't even think you'd handle Juan, honestly... but... you're full of surprises. Thought Mimi was crazy at first, acting crazy over a little runt like you... that, or she just had low standards because of the way she used to look. Now, though? Think I get it."

"Yeah? Good. I hope this means you won't pull anything when I win." Oliver took the compliment but refused to lower his guard.

"Cocky son of a bitch," Julio clicked his tongue. "You know why I had to step in when you won, sí?"

"You're her brother, and you care about her," Oliver sighed. "I get it."

Julio grew quiet, the half-formed smile replaced with a distant frown.

"Don't know if you do. Mimi's had it real rough, ese. Ain't always been so cute. Used to have real trouble expressing herself, too. Never really fit in, never had anyone in her corner aside from her two little friends and her brothers..."

Oliver was taken aback by the suggestion of what it might be like to have a younger sister like Mia. It helped put things in perspective and made him think about what he would've done if he were in their shoes.

"I get that mi hermano and I might've jumped the gun, but all we want... all I want... is to make sure she doesn't get burned."

"...Accident or not, do you really still think I'd do that to her?" Oliver asked, clenching his fists.

"...Can't say," Julio said after a moment's deliberation. "Not a fortune teller, I just know red flags when I see 'em. Only thing I know for sure is that you'd do anything to make her happy, wouldn't you? Starting to think that might be enough for you two... I just... needed to see it for myself..."

Julio closed his eyes, sucked in a breath of sweaty boxing gym air, and readied his right fist. "So go on, then. Show me one last time how hard you'll fight for mi hermana. Reckon one more go at it'll either get it through my thick head or knock you flat on your ass, and we'll go from there, sí?"

"Damn it..." Oliver sighed and readied himself for the final attack. "I'm getting sick and tired of going back and forth on you guys. You make it so hard to hate you."

Julio gave him a dry laugh like he'd heard that one before, and then both fighters summoned up everything they had without a word of warning. The two men screamed, all their feelings pouring into their fists as their hits landed. Brotherly love pounded Oliver in the face as romantic obsession hammered Julio in the gut.

The crowd gasped as the sound of the powerful impact burst from the ring. No one needed to be told this was the decisive blow- they felt it. Everyone was silent enough to hear a pin drop as they watched and waited for the aftermath.

For the last man standing.

Oliver staggered a few steps back on wobbly knees, his head ringing. This sucked. Everything hurt. His head. His sides. His arms, everything. Even his vision faded in and out, whereas breathing felt like he was sucking in knives with every breath.

No matter how hard they tried to convince him they needed to be shut, Oliver commanded his eyelids to remain open. He couldn't afford to look away. It would be his loss the moment he did. His teeth tore into his mouthguard, watching Julio as the mountain of a man refused to budge in the wake of Oliver's final attack.

It looked like Julio's bruised stomach didn't bother him at all. He stood there, calm, still, and unmoving as ever. The sight was enough to make Oliver question his decision to not give in and break under pressure, his spirit breaking as the seconds passed. All that kept him going was a faint hope that his eyes were blind to the truth and that Julio was much worse off than he appeared.

Oliver's hope was not misplaced.

Julio coughed several agonizingly long seconds after Oliver landed his final punch. He watched as the big man's eyes flickered, his knees hobbled, and he fell halfway down on one of them. Things weren't immediately apparent as to which way this would turn out. He hadn't collapsed just yet. Oliver was terrified that Julio would somehow drag himself upright and continue on.

It would only take one more punch to knock Oliver out, and he was frozen in place as Julio struggled to stay in the game. Eventually, Oliver's worst fears came to life. It wasn't over. Julio raised his glove, locked his eyes with Oliver's, and...

Nothing.

By the skin of his teeth, Julio remained standing with his fist extended towards Oliver. It was a little embarrassing how long it took him to realize what was happening, but when he did, he gave his opponent what he wanted. Oliver thrust out his fist and bumped Julio's.

Julio closed his eyes and smiled for the first time since they'd met, falling to his knees. "Welcome... to the family, hermanito..."

"...Thanks, hermano." Oliver smiled back at him, watching as Julio collapsed and fell facedown against the canvas. There was no need for anyone to perform a countdown. This was it. Julio had been fully knocked out, and victory was his.

Next two soon

I thought it'd be ready by now but I cut the chapter in half and I still need more time. Latter half isn't fully done yet but mostly is and I just need to edit first. Taking a break real quick and will put out 56 in a few hours most likely.

Slightly behind schedule

I had an eye doctor appointment yesterday so I’m a bit behind, it led into a bunch of other errands. I’m fine though, the concerns I had apparently just came out to dry eye. I hope to be done with the next chapter tomorrow/past midnight but we’ll see how today goes.

Bradley Character Reference

Thanks to my patron and friend AzureXIII who paid for this, we now have an official Bradley reference! Quite pleased with the result and eager to get more art from sloth. 

Art - https://www.fiverr.com/skinnysloth

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 55

Should just be one last fight chapter left, knock on wood..

---

Juan had a funny expression on his face that was equal parts angered, confused, and amused as he stared at Oliver from the ropes. He looked like he couldn't decide between knifing him or giving him a hug. "Shouldn't have let you done that," Juan laughed on his way back to his corner, where a visibly irritated Julio awaited him. "But damn it, if you aren't showing me a good time, hermanito!"

Oliver smiled at that but didn't let down his guard, preferring to remain in battle mode. He leaned against his corner and noticed that the overall scene of the gym had shifted. More of the boxers had stopped what they were doing to come and watch the spar. They were talking amongst themselves, a few of them pointing in his direction as they said this and that.

Oliver didn't care for the extra limelight, at least not from random strangers. More of the kind of attention he preferred was waiting for him in his corner.

Mia was smiling at him from behind the post, but he noticed her piercing eyes staring straight at him with curiosity. "First off, nice job. Second, how the fuck did you do that, mi amor?"

"Can I tell you a secret?" Oliver asked, taking a drink of water that Bradley offered and then spitting it out into a bucket to remain hydrated without putting more water in his stomach. "I get incremental power-ups the more I flirt with cute girls."

"HA!" Bradley laughed obnoxiously loud at the dramatic irony.

"Mn, yes, that would explain it," Mia nodded along with his half-truth, ignoring the strange outburst from Oliver's friend. Playing into it, she looked down at Stacy from above. "Want to throw your hat in the ring and help power him up a little?"

"He's your boyfriend," Stacy laughed dismissively, looked away, and crossed her arms. "You power him up."

"Variety is the spice of life," Mia shrugged. "Good to mix it up a bit now and then. You know," she shot Oliver a cheeky look. "Play the field?"

Oliver blushed at her teasing and looked away, now regretting his little joke.

"Ah, well," Mia gave up on the blond and turned her attention elsewhere. "Becca?"

"W-What? N-No, I... I couldn't..." Rebecca squeaked. Strange thoughts flooded the awkward girl's mind from the mere suggestion. She looked at Oliver for a split second before mentally giving out and falling to her knees, trying to see if she could hide under the canvas until the next round began.

Mia disappointedly rubbed the back of her right wrist, not predicting Rebecca would react as poorly as she did. Sighing, Stacy knelt down after the little nerd and stopped her escape attempt, doing her best to comfort her despite Rebecca's uneasiness around her.

The third round was fast approaching, and the other corner was hard at work. Julio smacked Juan around a few times, pointed at Oliver, and wouldn't stop talking for the entirety of the one-minute break. Something told Oliver things would get worse before they got better, a notion Bradley shared.

"Whatever [Julio Rosas] is TELLING him, it ISN'T good. Don't expect TO rely on the [Stupidity] of [Juan Rosas] again."

"He's right," Mia agreed. "Juan's dumber than a sack of shit, but he'll default to Julio's advice now that you took him down a peg. Don't think he can keep this up forever, though. See how things go and then shake things up if you gotta."

Oliver acknowledged the advice with a head nod right as the bell rang for the third round. Like before, he wanted to take things slow and see what advice Julio had passed on. Despite his progress in the last round, Oliver felt like it was his back against the rope. Anything could happen from here on out, and he had to be prepared for it.

He was shocked when Juan came in charging at him, much like he had in the first round. Oliver called on Fancy Footwork to speed him up and pivot left, but a predictive hook was already on its way toward where his head would end up in about half a second. This looked bad, and he could only escape it thanks to desperately ducking.

It was the worst position to be in. All it would take to knock him over was-

"Down!" The guy with the bell called out as Oliver hit the canvas for the first time, the gathered boxers reacting with a mix of loud emotions ranging from shocked to amused.

Everything happened so damn fast. Juan had an all-access pass to Oliver's head when he was crouched down. His long arm shot out in that instant, nailing him with a fully powered punch. It felt like someone took a padded sledgehammer to his skull.

"Shit," Mia expressed a flicker of dismay, her eyes trained on the man in Juan's corner. "Not good."

She knew her brothers better than anyone, and Julio was as analytic and calculating as Juan was stupid and... not that. He must've fully figured out how Oliver fought by now and passed along the cheat sheet.

"One!" The ref started up the count but quieted down right as Oliver got to his knees without skipping a beat.

"Big mistake," Juan clicked his tongue. "You shoulda stayed down, hermanito. I got allllll the answers up in my head, sí? Can't do shit against me if I know what you're gonna do before you do it!"

The prospect didn't sound great to Oliver, but he wouldn't lose his composure over Juan's taunting if he could help it. "Guess we'll see about that," he took up his stance and waited for the ref to give them the go-ahead to continue.

As soon as he did, Juan got into Oliver's personal space again, maneuvering his big body around in such a way as to continually cut off Oliver's escape route. There wasn't much he could do against him like this, and he saw his options dwindling away right before his very eyes. His only remaining advantage over Juan was his stamina, as the bigger man was burning through what he had to keep up with Oliver's speed.

That was definitely still an angle Oliver could play. There were seven rounds left after this one, and Juan would definitely run low before him. The question was whether Oliver wanted to risk stalling things out for that long. Juan wasn't just keeping up with him and blocking him off. He was on a seemingly endless war path, throwing punch after punch and ensuring Oliver always had to keep on his toes, even hitting him every now and again.

This wasn't sustainable, and Oliver felt he had no cards left to play. The third round stretched as he struggled to do his best, slowly losing in a battle of attrition against his persistently aggressive foe. It took everything he had to keep away from Juan while he was like this, and his counterpunches became few and far between.

This can't continue... Oliver realized. Something's gotta give.

He racked his brain for ideas on what to do, coming up empty every time he tried. It was a sorry state to be seen in, and Oliver's corner wasn't too happy about it.

"The tides of war have turned against him..." Rebecca mumbled, wincing after Oliver ate another gut punch.

"Still time to turn them back," Mia insisted. "Just let him work it out. He's good at that."

Even Bradley had trouble watching this, admitting, "Something TELLS me that the [Heat of Battle] is not the IDEAL environment to nurture a [Breakthrough]..."

Stacy frowned at the ongoing display. She didn't think it was her place to say this, but no one else was. "Do you think that maybe the problem is that he's thinking too hard?"

Mia looked at her like she'd said something a lot more clever than she had. "Might be right, actually. Tell him."

"Me?"

"You're the ex-cheerleader," Mia gestured with her hand, ushering Stacy closer to the canvas. "Hype him up."

Stacy sighed, subjecting herself to her role. She thought back to Sunday at the coffee shop and then to when Oliver interrupted her attempt to bully Mia all those years ago. This wasn't the same guy as either occasion. He was too lost in his head, trying to think of fancy ways to outplay his opponent when all he needed to do was do what he was best at.

Stacy slapped the canvas and called out to Oliver amid the cacophony. Her voice pierced through all else, reaching its intended listener. "Stop thinking so hard about this, dummy! Charge ahead like you always do!"

The world froze as Oliver took the unexpected advice, processing it and turning it over several times in his head. It sunk in quickly, and he immediately understood Stacy was correct. His fear had sent him into an overly concerned panic, and in that state, Oliver underestimated how far he'd gotten during the last two rounds.

A closer inspection revealed that the damage was not insignificant. Juan was hurting- relatively bad, at that. His eye was swelling, and his face turned red from the effort he had to expend just to keep up. Oliver didn't need to stall. He needed to tough it out and go all out on his opponent. To shrug off any pain with all the willpower he could spare until he'd reached the finish line.

Gonna have to go full anime here... Oliver thought before fully committing to it. If this fails, I might have to break out the power of friendship.

The next minute was a grueling slog to get through for both fighters.

Oliver used everything at his disposal to minimize every danger and maximize every attack. Juan knew how all of his feints worked, so he invented new ones on the fly and continually kept him guessing. Not all of them worked. Oliver had to tank way more hits than he wanted, and though his reflexes were sharp and his neck rolling was on point, the damage was eating away at him.

The pressure was constant. Oliver danced in and out of range, expending extra effort to speed up his movements. His fists were flying, his feet were dancing, and his soul was on fire.

Oliver was in much pain, but Juan was starting to look a lot worse than him. Keeping up with the faster fighter took an increasingly significant toll, even more so when Oliver somehow kept speeding up faster and faster. None of his punches deterred Oliver, the persistent bastard just shrugging them off or dodging them at the last second. The relentless pace threatened to overwhelm Juan just as much as the damage to his eye.

He wasn't the most composed person to begin with, and the worse things got for him, the more irritated he became. Anger clouded what little rational thought he possessed, overruling all the advice Julio had given him. Each punch to the face he took emptied his mind further and further until all that remained were rocks rattling around along with one straightforward desire- hitting Oliver as hard as possible.

"You're dead, hermanito!" Juan screamed loud enough for the entire gym to hear it. "Dead, dead, dead!!"

"Save your breath, you fucking-" Julio angrily slammed his cast down the canvas mid-sentence, then howled in pain. "Mierda!"

The change in Juan's demeanor was so noticeable that everyone picked up on it.

"The enemy's morale has been depleted...!" Rebecca observed, daring to hope as she peeked out from under her visor.

High on the masculine energy permeating this manly battlefield, Bradley clenched his fists. "Just a LITTLE more...! This is IT- the [Turning Point]!"

"There we go," Stacy grinned at the results of her not-so-meager contribution. "Now it's almost like he's doing that thing in those cartoons you guys watch. You know, where the dude's hair gets all spiky, and he gets stronger, or whatever?"

"Sí," Mia laughed dryly. "Couldn't have said it better myself..." Mia then placed her hands on the canvas and shouted loud enough for Oliver to hear her over all the other clamor. "Time to bring it home, mi amor. Bring. It. HOME-" thoughtlessly swept up by her passionate emotions, she slammed her right fist into the canvas, instantly recoiling in pain. "Mierda!"

Oliver happened to be in agreement with his girlfriend.

Juan was slipping more and more with every second ticking down. His moves were now sluggish, powered by exhaustion and anger. Feints were working on him again about as reliably as they had in the first round. Oliver now landed most of the punches as Juan's were so telegraphed he would've had to go out of his way to get hit by them.

It really was time to bring it home.

"Not gonna lose to you, bastardo! As soon as you stop weaseling around, I'm gonna... gonna...!! Raargh!!" Juan wound up a massive hook, twisting his spine back like a cartoon character to put extra force into it.

Oliver didn't waste his breath trying to say something cool in the heat of the moment. Instead, he spoke with his actions and ducked under Juan's incoming hook. This wasn't like the disastrous duck from before, as Juan had trouble following along and didn't even see where Oliver went until it was too late.

It hurt to scrunch his beat-up body like this, but Oliver bit down on his mouthguard to bear with it as he unfurled himself like a spring. He kicked off the canvas, trying to pull off something reckless, stupid, and potentially powerful. Launching like this put the force of his entire body behind a skyward uppercut, zooming straight toward Juan's chin.

The gamble paid off in spades- his fist slammed into his opponent's jaw so hard that it stunned him on the spot. All Oliver had to do was follow it up. Juan stared at the sky in his momentary paralysis; his brain jostled badly enough that it couldn't even conceive of what was coming.

This is it, Oliver clenched his fists as he reared back the first strike of the oncoming storm. All or nothing...!

He hit Juan as hard as he could, slamming glove into face. And then he did it again. And again. And again. And again, and again, and again.

Oliver was unleashing punches so fast that he could feel exhaustion in his arms building up for the first time since he'd bought Physical Conditioning, yet he didn't stop. It was a desperate strategy, burning through his stamina to end the match here and now, but it was a clear shot to victory so long as he hit Juan enough times. He just had to keep going and going, unleashing a minigun's worth of punches until one of them finally did the trick.

Oliver's right arm was on fire as the last attack in the barrage landed, and he was forced to finally stop. The crowd watched in stunned silence as Juan remained standing with only seconds left on the clock. He wasn't going down, drudging up some power within himself to stay standing and raise his fist.

"Can't... hand over... mi hermana... to a guy... like... me!!" Juan bit down on his mouthguard, breathed in, and shouted, "SHE... DESERVES... BETTER THAN YOU!!"

Mia felt even less thrilled than Oliver to be put under the spotlight and was practically dying of brother-induced cringe, but she dared not look away when Juan was about to strike.

Oliver closed his eyes, succumbed to the urge to say something cool at the last second, and became one with the power of anime as he landed one final attack.

"I THINK SO, TOO, BUT I'M STILL GONNA TRY MY HARDEST TO MAKE HER HAPPY, YOU ASSHOLE!!"

Juan's eyepatch flew from his face as Oliver's fist slammed into it for the last time, revealing a glass eye sporting a single crack hidden beneath a pair of now-bruised eyelids covered in scar tissue. He stepped back on wobbly knees, stabilized for a brief moment, raised his fist, and then buckled under his weight.

Juan's face flattened against the canvas. The crowd went silent save for the acting ref, who began a countdown that ended ten seconds later to a round of thunderous applause from the crowd of boxers, the music in Oliver's head becoming a sappy victory fanfare with plenty of 80s synths.

Even though he knew what had happened, Oliver couldn't believe it. He stood in the ring over his defeated opponent, his arms sore from punching and his face covered with sweat. The satisfaction and pride he felt in himself was so potent it felt like a drug.

He still hated getting punched, but damn was it worth it.

Mia scrambled up the stairs to the ring, leaving the rest of Oliver's cheering supporters behind her to go and hug him as hard as she could. The limelight was now shining on both of them, but neither cared. They were lost in each other, tastefully locking lips and disregarding everyone who cheered at them as they did so.

"I won, Mia," Oliver pointed out helpfully, ignoring how much it hurt to be hugged.

"...Kinda noticed that, yeah. Good job." Mia's smile then lessened as she squinted her eyes at him. "Got a tip for the next time you do something crazy like this, though. If you get a chance to say a big, epic one-liner again, don't put yourself down by implying you think I deserve better than you, mi amor."

"But... the rest of my line-"

"Yes, the part where you publicly yelled at my brother that you would make me happy and then called him an asshole was some real shit, Ollie, very sexy. But you know what else is sexy?"

"Mia, are you seriously doing this right now?" Oliver laughed.

"Confidence," she continued, ignoring him. Her stubborn eyes demanded to be taken seriously. "You don't have to try harder to make me happy. Already am happy with you, estupido. Got that?"

"Yes, okay. I've literally been getting punched in the head for the last nine minutes, but I'm sorry I said something lame at the end and ruined the entire thing." He shook his head with a disbelieving smile.

Mia finally smiled and eased up. "Wouldn't go that far. Rest of your performance tonight? Gold, mi amor. Solid gold. As for the bit about confidence... maybe we'll work on it a little later tonight when it's just you and me, mn?"

Oliver gulped at the speed with which Mia's smile went from innocent to not- zero to one thousand. This was not the place to be looking at him with that downright sinful grin, and the sheer thrill of it gave him a chill down his...

Wait... no... that's not because of the smile, that's... Oliver's posture slumped, and he let out a groan. For fuck's sake.

From Mia's perspective, Oliver just randomly made a disgruntled expression and groaned out of nowhere. She became anxious, wondering if she'd said something wrong. "Ollie? You know I was just joking about the one-liner, right? Only wanted to tease you a little, I didn't mean to-"

"Are we seriously doing this?" Oliver asked as the crowd grew quiet upon the intruder's ascension into the ring.

"We are," Julio slipped through the ropes, removing his tanktop and throwing it behind him. He stooped over his fallen brother's unconscious body, lightly kicking him in the head a few times. "Up."

"Mn...?" Juan stirred, wearily dragging himself halfway to a sitting position. "Fuck's going on? My head fuckin' hurts, bro..."

"Be more surprised if it didn't," Julio fell to his knees and shook his head in disapproval. Then, he thrust his right hand toward Juan. "Don't worry about what's going on. Glove me and get out of the ring."

Juan slurred something about how no one tells him what to do before doing exactly as he was told. He lazily removed his glove, helped Julio slide his fist in, and strapped it nice and tight. Juan then crawled out of the ring, where one of his gym buddies caught him before he fell face-first onto the ground.

"No, no, no," Mia stormed away from Oliver, getting straight up in her oldest brother's face. "Absolutely fucking not. Juan lost fair and square, so if you don't get the fuck out of here with your bullshit, then... then..."

"Mia," Oliver approached her from behind, putting his gloved fist on her shoulder. "Get out of the ring."

"What?" Mia laughed, thinking he must be joking. "You can't possibly intend to fight him like this, and you," she turned to Julio, "You shouldn't even be fighting! Your stupid ass'll get confused sooner or later and forget that your cast isn't a boxing glove!"

"That's only ever happened twice," Julio looked past her and towards his enemy. "Now step aside. Fight's not over."

"Like hell it isn't, I-"

"It's okay," Oliver comforted her. "This was the only way it was ever going to end."

Mia looked at both of them and confirmed what she already knew. Her brother and her boyfriend were indeed a pair of stupid fucking idiots, but if this was what really needed to happen for them to get along...

"Fine," she grumbled and adopted a pissed-off expression before stomping away. "I'll just go back to the fucking sidelines again and provide commentary like it's a goddamn tournament arc while you two talk with your fists like savages, I guess..."

When Mia left the ring and rejoined the others, she noticed the big grin on Stacy's face. "Fuck you smiling at, perra?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how I could save money by giving up reality TV and following your boyfriend around everywhere he goes instead. I haven't been this entertained in..." Stacy cupped her chin and thought about it. "Ever?" She tested the word, seeing how it felt. "Yeah, gonna go with ever."

That got a cheap laugh out of Mia, improving her mood somewhat.

Rebecca also wasn't thrilled by the sudden turn of events, her buck teeth nervously biting into her lower lip as she took Mia's sleeve. "Is he going to be okay? Even if Julio is a wounded soldier, Oliver barely won the first fight..."

"Depends," Mia shrugged. "Related note, you bring any of your BB guns in your pack today?"

"Um... n-no...?" Rebecca curiously tilted her head.

"Damn. Was hoping to take Julio's eye out and widen the handicap a little." Mia snapped her fingers in irritation. She then looked at Bradley, who seemed to take this in stride. "What about you? Any thoughts on this bullshit?"

"I currently have NOTHING to contribute! Being a [Side Character] in the LIFE of my [Best Friend], I make myself useful when NEEDED and keep to myself when NOT!"

Mia raised a brow, then rubbed her forehead dismissively while turning her attention back toward the ring. "...Not even gonna attempt to unpack that. One troubled white boy lacking self-esteem is enough for me, thanks."

Speaking of troubled white boys, Oliver dreaded the next couple minutes of his life. His body was in pain, he was starting to feel somewhat tired, and his arms ached. Fighting Juan for nine minutes was worse than all the physical activity he did yesterday combined, even if you were generous and counted the light jogging as a break between fights... and now it was time to do it all over again.

"You really can't let this go, can you...?"

"I can't," Julio confirmed. "Made a pretty good case for yourself by defeating Juan, but I just can't accept you until I've tested for myself. Gotta see how far you're really willing to go for Mimi."

"Mia was right about you guys," Oliver managed a laugh. "A punch to the teeth really is the only language you understand."

"Might be onto something with that," Julio admitted, smiling thinly. He then took up a fighting stance, standing tall and proud with his left arm tucked behind his back as the BGM shifted to a more intense, personalized track that sounded like a mix of the western standoff song and the fierce boss battle theme that played when fighting Juan. "On that note, think it's about time you and I have ourselves a lengthy 'discussion', sí?"

Oliver adopted his own fighting stance again, turtling up and guarding his face. Pushing through his pain and exhaustion, he focused on his desire to clear this damn Heart Lock once and for all, refusing to leave the ring until Julio suffered the same fate as his brother. "Don't see any other way out of this, so fuck it. Let's 'chat'."

Julio's smile evolved into a subtle smirk as he gave the referee a solemn nod. Not knowing what else to do, the skeptical gym bro rang the bell, signaling the beginning of the fourth round and the final stretch of Oliver's uphill battle.

---

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 54

Hoping to get next one out tomorrow, we'll see. Eager to be done with fight.

---

Oliver entered the main workout room of Contact Mike's Boxing Gym, where a good fifteen to twenty men were working to refine their physical instruments. The sound of leather gloves pummeling sandbags, men grunting while bench pressing, and cheap laughter among friends could be heard all around. Sweat permeated the air, and there was nothing the air conditioning could do about it.

Juan and Julio were at home here. They greeted some of their friends while fetching two pairs of gloves, one for both combatants. Juan tossed Oliver's to him after they met up in front of the practice ring, which was located in the back corner of the room and was scaled perfectly to any boxing ring you'd see in a professional match.

A couple of the boxers knew what would happen and huddled together to watch the show from the twin's corner, but aside from these three men, no one else was interested in what they'd be forgiven for assuming to be a one-sided slaughter. Sparring matches happened throughout the day, and most people didn't drop what they were doing just to watch their gym buddies tear each other apart, let alone some stranger.

The rules of the match were quickly determined between Oliver and Julio. They would treat this like the real deal- ten three-minute rounds with a one-minute break between them, no protective headgear. If either participant got knocked down three times in a single round, that would be that. Otherwise, the match would be settled by a knockout, or if Oliver made it to the end of the final round, the win would default to Juan.

Mia disapproved of this rule getting tacked on at the last minute, but they wouldn't drop it no matter how much she yelled at them. Julio claimed it was so that Oliver actually had to work for it and couldn't try to stall things out more than necessary, which admittedly complicated things more than he'd have liked.

Not that Oliver wanted to win through stalling. That would be lame, especially when he had an audience. The problem was he had no idea how much damage he could pull off in such a short time, and Oliver would've preferred to keep the option intact.

Oliver's compulsiveness had come back to bite him in the ass once again. He'd wanted to solve Mia's Heart Lock as soon as possible when he probably should've taken another day or two of prep time just to be safe. It made him wonder what was going to happen if he actually lost. His game-inspired powers had orchestrated this entire scenario, so what was the fail state? Would they allow him to make another attempt on this boss fight in the future, or would he have to deal with Juan and Julio some other way?

Oliver didn't want to find out and would rather win on his first attempt. The time-out rule was annoying, but it wouldn't stop him from dropping Juan to the canvas. How much punishment could the guy realistically take, anyway? Oliver presumed the answer was 'a lot less than a full-fledged wrestler' and looked forward to proving himself correct.

He ultimately agreed to Julio's terms, and both sides went to their corners. One of the twin's gym friends procured an authentic bell with a three-minute timer and sat down with it at a nearby table.

Oliver was below the ring, stretching himself out and moving his body while everyone gave him some last-minute advice.

"Remember! [Pain] is weakness leaving THE body, except for when YOU inflict it upon your [Numerous Enemies]!" Bradley stated. "In that [Specific Scenario], pain is YOUR best friend other than [Myself]!"

"I'll try and keep that in mind..." Oliver appreciated the effort, if nothing else.

Next came Rebecca, who was coping with her uncomfortable environment by pulling the collar of her turtleneck halfway over her face like a mask and limiting her field of vision by pulling the visor down over her eyes.

"Have faith and be strong, soldier...!" She tried sounding motivational, but the sad reality was that her mousy voice made this impossible, and the collar muffling her speech didn't help. "At the end of the day, what even is an enemy? I'll tell you; an enemy is nothing more than a meat piñata for your fists to crack open, that's what! Only upon its smashing may you claim the red candy of victory from within."

Oliver had to give Rebecca credit for somehow consistently giving weirder advice than Bradley. He was also starting to wonder what the fuck was up with these books of hers, assuming that was a quote. If it was, then did that mean a human hand actually wrote something that cringeworthy? Because if Oliver ever saw that line in something he was reading, he'd be tempted to introduce the book to the nearest dumpster fire.

These silly words had a different effect when coming from a cute and socially awkward girl trying her best, however. Oliver was simple like that, and her earnest attempt at being supportive earned a smile from him.

"I'm hoping neither of us cracks anything open, but I'll sure as hell fight like I'm trying to, thanks," he laughed, his gratitude causing Rebecca to shrink out of embarrassment.

"They must care a lot about you to go this far," Stacy expressed while watching Juan climbing into the ring, still fuming from Oliver's attempt at psychological warfare. "Even if they've jumped to some wild conclusions, at least they mean well."

"They always mean well," Mia sighed, rubbing her right wrist in frustration. "But good intentions don't make them any less annoying. At the point in my life where I'm done with their overprotective bullshit, and I just want a little payback, sí? Not that a little pain ever taught those two idiotas to think twice before doing stupid shit, but hey, I'll take what I can get."

Stacy smiled softly, her eyes turning far away from Mia, Oliver, and the boxing gym's chaos. "That's just how it is with older siblings, I guess. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."

"Not sure if I'd go that far, but close enough..." Mia nodded along absently. "You ready to go, Ollie? Don't have much to say in the way of pep talk that you haven't already heard, but if you're in the market for another quick fix-"

Having just finished his stretching, Oliver took Mia up on her offer before she finished her sentence. This was a quick peck on the lips affair but left him satisfied enough for now. Stacy rolled her eyes in amusement while Rebecca averted hers. Bradley only nodded in approval over how easy this was becoming for Oliver.

"Don't mind if I do," he said after the fact. "Never really believed you can have too much of a good thing."

"No? Might have to put that to the test later on tonight..." Mia teased, succeeding in getting him to blush and smiling because of it. "First things first, however. Fuck him up, mi amor."

"You got it," Oliver used the small set of stairs beside the ring's corner to ascend, ignoring a sarcastic comment from Stacy regarding how sickly sweet the new couple were and how fast their public displays of affection would grow old.

Something happened to Oliver as soon as his eyes met Juan's and his boots touched the canvas. He felt the danger running down the back of his neck to the bottom of his spine, the greatest warning he'd been given by Hyper Reflexes since he'd bought the skill. It usually only warned him when he was in immediate harm, so it was surprising to see it activate just from someone's presence alone.

It was hard for his trashy weeb brain not to think of someone in an anime releasing their power level, spiritual pressure, ki, or whatever you wanted to call it. Oliver felt he'd severely underestimated Juan until now and intuited that he was a more significant threat than any of yesterday's training partners.

Even so, Oliver wouldn't allow himself to project weakness in the face of this unsettling truth. His determination to be done with all this fighting business overshadowed his fear of Juan's power. He stared him down unflinchingly as they met in the middle of the ring to perform a customary gesture of good faith- a quick tap of their gloved fists against each other.

"Gonna enjoy this, hermanito," Juan growled at him as their fists collided, snarling and showing off his teeth. "Was gonna take pity on you and take care of this quick and easy-like, but no. You just had to go and piss me off, didn't you, pendejo?"

"It was just a little good luck kiss," Oliver shot back. "Not my fault you've got a sister complex."

"Sister com-" Juan repeated, looking morally revolted. "Hah! Yeah, no. That shit's fucked, ese. Nothing weird about it, just don't wanna see that shit as her big brother, you feel me?"

"You're gonna have to get used to it. Even If I lose here and you guys really do start popping up everywhere to annoy us, do you think I'll stop being affectionate with her on your account?"

Juan looked even more pissed than he already did after this latest round of taunting, but Oliver was surprised to see him take a deep breath and lessen some of his tension. "...C'mere for a sec," he beckoned Oliver closer with his glove. "Nah, man, for real. Not trying to do any dirty shit, the match won't start until we're in our corners. Just want a word."

Oliver was immediately skeptical of this proposition but wagered Juan wasn't stupid enough to cheat in a straightforward competition between men. He cautiously stepped forward as the taller man leaned in and placed his fist on Oliver's shoulder, whispering into his ear.

"Look, hermanito. I'm still pissed as all hell at you for tripping all over the place with your big fuckin' cojones, but I ain't a bad guy, sí? I get what you're doing. You wanna look cool in front of Mimi, the chicas, and... that... fuckin' robot mime or whatever the fuck. I know what it's like to be drunk on yourself and get carried away more than anyone else in the room, so in the interest of fairness, what say I cut you a deal, mn?"

"You offering to throw the match?" Oliver asked.

"Fuck no," he cackled. "Thought I'd offer to let you save some face and hit around me a couple of times before I knock your ass out cold! I'll even pretend like it hurts! How about that? Sweet deal, right? Right? All you gotta do is hook me up with the blonde senorita's number, and-"

Oliver swatted away Juan's hand in a sudden fit, angered by the suggestion on multiple fronts. "Yeah, no. Not happening."

"The fuck, man? Shows what I get for trying to let you off easy!" Juan took offense and slammed his fists together out of rage, the power behind the simple gesture resulting in a massive echoing burst. "Now I'm really not gonna hold back, pendejo!"

The mental image of Juan hitting on Stacy pissed Oliver off, and he had no illusions as to why. All it did was light an even bigger fire under his ass, fueling Oliver's enthusiasm to inflict violence upon his person.

He had an uphill battle ahead of him, but the time had finally arrived. Oliver returned to his corner, giving the friendly faces cheering him on an obligatory nod. Mia blew him a kiss, giving him one final blast of love and support before the bell finally rang and the battle began.

The BGM swapped to a more aggressive remix of yesterday's combat music, this version much more fitting for a boss encounter.

Oliver activated Weakness Exploit - Pain to see his best course of action from the get-go. Juan's biggest personal weakness was his left eye, unsurprisingly. It was signified by big red crosshairs larger than all the others. He also had one on the right side of his rib cage and sternum, giving Oliver plenty of options.

He was already planning to stick to Juan's literal blind spot, anyway, but Oliver knew he'd have to do this as carefully as he could. It was the most obvious strategy, and even an idiot like Juan knew what to look out for.

Oliver cautiously approached the center of the ring, an effort wasted as soon as Juan barreled ahead like a raging bull. He hadn't expected someone so big to charge in so fast, and a big red-gloved fist was headed straight for his face the moment he was in striking range.

Oliver's Hyper Reflexes and Fancy Footwork tried their best to alert and get him out of danger before it was too late, but it was. The match started off on the worst possible note- Oliver took a massive right hook to the side of his face. The impact created a vast bursting sound as the glove sank into his cheek, sending him backward and nearly knocking him off his feet.

Physical Conditioning softened the blow, making Oliver afraid of how badly this would've been if he hadn't upgraded it. The searing and explosive pain shook Oliver's confidence and morale harder than anything in his practice matches, but he hung on despite it.

Nothing I can't handle for Mia's sake...

Oliver was used to the odds being stacked against him- he was just shocked by how fast it all happened. He bit down on his mouthguard, regaining his balance. The ringing in his ears died down enough to hear some of the boxers laughing at him. Annoying as they were, he had bigger problems on his hands.

Juan sought to make the most of Oliver's brief staggering, starting a flurry of well-practiced jabs. The wicked smile on his face was nowhere to be seen after the first one missed. Oliver successfully craned his neck to the side just enough for it to whizz harmlessly past him. He countered with a quick jab to Juan's eyepatch, forgoing honor and hitting the weakness to see how much this would even hurt him.

"Ouch," Stacy winced. "Low blow."

Bradley raised his fist. "To a [True Warrior], there is NO such thing!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself..." Rebecca nodded meekly with militaristic approval as Mia watched with a subtle smirk.

"Mierda! You little shit!" Juan yelled, teaching Oliver that the pain wasn't negligible. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to make Juan recoil or stop his assault. It also angered him, ensuring his jabs kept on coming at a relentless pace.

Oliver had to stretch his evasive talents to their limit to keep up, often succeeding only in making them miss by a few inches. Fighting Juan at this distance was a death sentence. He had to engage him on his own terms and make some space between them.

Fancy Footwork did its job, tripping Juan up by thinking he was strafing left only to move backward and prepare for his next move. Juan was ruled by his powerful emotions, making him easy to predict. If a problem couldn't be solved by charging in recklessly, it was a problem he was uninterested in solving.

Oliver spent most of the first round testing how easily he could bait Juan into moving how and where he wanted him. The results were quite positive. Juan was particularly susceptible to feints and couldn't follow along the greatest when Oliver broke out his tricky foot movements.

He could consistently get in and out nearly whenever he wanted, though not without maintaining immense concentration. Juan's punches came fast and heavy, even when Oliver broke through his guard and came in for the counter. Getting countered during one of his own was always a threat, forcing him to pick and choose his opportunities, even giving some up here and there just to keep Juan guessing.

Juan's two other weaknesses weren't much use to Oliver. He hit them both on multiple occasions to get a feel for them, but his punching power wasn't enough to capitalize on them. The sternum barely registered when he hit it, and the rib cage was the same even with the bonus damage Weakness Exploit - Pain was supposedly adding. Oliver got the impression that if he really worked at it and focused his efforts, he'd eventually tenderize them enough to do some damage; it just wasn't a viable strategy when winning was his goal.

Like I thought, it's gonna have to be the eye. Better to save the other two for mixups...

This wasn't ideal. Going after Juan's eye was the most predictable strategy, and as Oliver expected, he was well used to compensating for his shortcomings. As soon as Oliver dipped into Juan's blind spot, what he was doing became incredibly obvious.

Juan either had to throw out a random attack in that direction or disengage to avoid Oliver's maneuvering. He chose the latter more often than not, as Oliver could easily bait a punch out and strike right after. The most reliable method of scoring hits on Juan's eye was the riskiest and most inconvenient one- engaging him, dodging like crazy, and going for straightforward counters.

Juan got hit far more often than Oliver in the first round, but every hit Juan landed was devastating by comparison. Every slammed fist to the face or blow to his side left Oliver reeling and questioning whether or not he really wanted to keep up with Brawln as a side hobby once this Heart Lock had finally been resolved. He had decent fun yesterday when he was on a winning streak, but man, getting hurt sucked big time.

Not allowing himself to lose out to these negative thoughts, he thought of Mia in his corner every time he was hit. Among the many properties love had as a drug, painkilling was a big one. It reliably helped get him through the worst of it until the bell rang and the first round was up.

"Fuck," Juan exhaled. "You're really making me work for this... what the shit, ese?"

"That's what you get for underestimating me," Oliver replied before heading back to his corner, reclining against it.

He didn't need a break just yet because of Physical Conditioning, but Oliver could see warning signs on the horizon. The energy he was burning through in this match was way higher than anything he'd done since getting the skill. It took a ton of stamina to consistently act on Hyper Reflexes every time he received an alert. While Fancy Footwork helped him do so efficiently more often than not, it didn't completely mitigate the problem.

It was hard to say if he'd get worn out. Oliver didn't know how deep his stamina reserves actually went, but it was another risk he'd have to account for.

"Doing solid," Mia rubbed one of Oliver's shoulders after getting up on the canvas behind the ropes. "Just keep doing what you're doing, mi amor. Keep going for the eye."

"That's the plan," Oliver nodded along. "Any counter-arguments?" He asked his other leading advisor.

Bradley was on his opposite side, using the towel he'd brought to dab at random spots on Oliver's forehead. He wasn't sweating, but it was the thought that counts. "For NOW, no. But! You should BE prepared to [React Accordingly] SHOULD [Juan Rosas] adjust his [Strategy] in the FOLLOWING round!"

Bradley pointed to the opposite corner, where Juan received advice from his significantly brighter counterpart. Oliver couldn't make out what they were saying from here, but he could already tell it wouldn't be good. Julio's eyes locked onto Oliver's as he stared, the two sharing an intense moment of recognition between them until he broke it off to continue explaining something or other to his stupid little brother.

"Feels like he can see straight through me..." Oliver observed.

"Don't let him get to you, Ollie," Mia pushed on the small of his back, forcing him to step forward in time with the bell. "You got this."

The second round kicked off a lot slower than the first. Juan didn't thunderously bulldoze ahead this time; instead, he opted to advance steadily with his guard up. Oliver slowly made his way closer, uncertain where Juan would take this or what advice he'd been given. He wanted to wait this out and see what he would do, but time wasn't on his side, and Oliver elected to make the first move.

He slipped to Juan's right and was met with an immediate punch hammering into his gut. It was so instantaneous that it was like the punch was right there waiting for him, and Oliver purposefully impaled himself on it. Juan followed up with a left hook while still shocked from the first punch, landing the blow and going for another.

The crowd winced in expectation, save for Mia, who bit her lip yet refused to look away.

It took a lot of sheer willpower to shrug off getting the wind knocked out of him for the first time in his life on top of getting punched in the face, but Oliver had plenty to spare. He slipped away before the third punch in the chain could connect, successfully disengaging. Juan tried following after, but Oliver was faster and focused on giving him the run around until he had a few seconds to think the situation through.

Not one to keep his cards close to his chest, Juan pressed the advantaged, taunting with a wolf's grin, "What's the matter, cobarde? You scared? Huh? Huh?!"

Oliver ignored him as best he could, shutting him out and retreating into his mind. There's no way that was just a lucky punch. Julio must've noticed something. I need to test it out and see if it happens again, just gotta be careful...

Standing his ground, Oliver went in for another feint and narrowly avoided the same thing happening twice. Worse, it didn't matter which side he went for. Juan could reliably keep up with any attempt at misdirection, rendering his whole strategy null and void.

Upon closer inspection, Oliver intuited how Juan was pulling it off. His feet were being watched intently, looking for the precise moment he'd stop and attack. Knowing this, Oliver mixed things up enough to get in a few punches, but it wasn't working as well as before.

The trade-off wasn't worth it. Juan was still landing occasional punches at the same rate while Oliver was taking heavier damage. He had two options. Continue, or follow Bradley's advice and adapt.

But how?

Juan broke through his guard mid-thought, lunging forward with a huge right hook. Oliver had been so distracted that he couldn't react in time. He had to get out of there, but the cycle would keep repeating even if he did.

There has to be a way to turn this around, damn it... come on... come on...!!

"Ah! That's... not good...!!" Rebecca shivered as she watched the attack land. It turned out that watching violence unfold in real life was a lot more distressing than reading about it in her gory sci-fi military novels.

"He was doing so good until now..." Stacy felt frustration on Oliver's behalf, resisting the urge to bite her nails.

"Still is," Mia smiled. "Watch."

Stacy and Rebecca were amazed as Oliver stood there, seemingly unaffected by Juan's latest punch. The blow looked strong enough to sweep him off his feet, yet not only did Oliver tank it, but he also successfully fired back a big punch of his own that forced Juan to let out a gasp of pain. Any excitement the girls felt was short-lived, however, as Juan responded with another hook... which Oliver yet again tanked, hit him in the eye, and remained where he was.

"What the fuck am I looking at?" Stacy asked, entirely out of her depth. "How is he just standing there?"

"Ah!" Rebecca gasped, figuring it out. "T-The sound!"

"What?"

"Listen closer!"

Mia smirked, and Bradley stoically crossed his arms as realization dawned upon the blonde.

"There's... no sound when he's getting hit..."

"Precisely!" Bradley confirmed. "Because...?"

"He's not getting hit...!" Stacy was so surprised she let out a laugh.

"Correcta," Mia hummed with pride.

Oliver's conclusion when the oncoming punch was about to connect was the simplest one he could've come to: don't get hit. Just that philosophy alone wasn't enough to save him, but when taken to the extreme, Oliver was able to tie the boxing knowledge his level two skill gave him and combine it with Hyper Reflexes to create an advanced evasion technique that he totally wasn't ripping off from one of the boxing anime he'd referenced watching in the past.

He was waiting until the last second before Juan's punch connected to roll his neck along with it, making it look as if he'd been struck when it was more like pouring water on oil. No contact. The only problem was how inhumanely hard it was to consistently pull off.

Oliver had to completely trust in his Hyper Reflexes and ignore his fear, suppressing any and all attempts by his common sense to shuffle out of the way and remain where he was until moving in just the right way at just the right time. It was about as safe as balancing on a razor's edge, but what other option did he have?

"Un-fuckin'-believable, pendejo...!" Juan could only respect the insanity he was witnessing, his wild smile twitching with sincerity. "You really think you can keep this up?"

"Can't afford not to," Oliver managed to spit out after neck-rolling another hit and countering. He relished the feeling of his glove sinking into Juan's face; every ounce of pain inflicted serving him a dose of sweet satisfaction.

Julio slammed his fist into the canvas over on the sidelines. "Mix it up, idiota! Don't just stand there and let him keep doing that!"

"Fuck off, hermano! He's gonna slip up, just watch!" Juan was having too much fun to listen to his brother's advice. The most optimal move would've been to try and disengage or work on Oliver's body, but that wouldn't have been as fun as catching him with his timing off. He stayed right where he was, enjoying his game of whack-a-mole under the assumption that the mole wouldn't be so persistent.

Oliver kept up the act, rolling his neck repeatedly, pushing himself to the limit of what should've been possible. The only thing keeping him going was the thought of victory and what he would do with Mia tonight after claiming it. He tried putting some of this passion into his counterpunches, and it must've had an effect because Juan was forced to reevaluate his position after they'd been trading blows for half a minute.

He cursed loudly, backstepping after the latest passionate blow to his left eye. This was the first time Oliver had forced the bigger man to break away, and he wouldn't let him do it without pressing his advantage for all it was worth.

Oliver stepped in, unleashing a reckless combo right at the weakness. One of these blows left Juan staggered, allowing Oliver the chance to really push himself and treat him like one of the punching bags hanging around the gym. He grunted as he went along, trying to compensate for his lack of strength through sheer tenacity,

Juan stumbled back another step and then another. Oliver had to go harder. Harder. He kept punching and punching until Juan, at last, buckled. Oliver would've scored a down if not for the rope. The elastic bounced back against Juan's weight, saving him from Oliver's latest attack thanks to their height difference and Oliver's comparatively shorter arms.

Sadly, the bell rang for the second time before he could push harder. Oliver was left feeling confident in his chances but dissatisfied that he couldn't have kept going. He just needed a little more, and then maybe... maybe...

LARPG Character Ref Compilation + Height Chart

My good friend Urban randomly decided to take the files and make these handy references out of them! They look really nice and I’m sure will save a lot of trouble down the road so big thanks to him.

Update on next chapter, I’m feeling a little better and I’m further along now. I split the next chapter in two and while I could go and edit the first one right now I’d rather just keep going for the moment and get Juan’s portion of the fight done with. Might have something ready to share tomorrow.

Once I get done with the damn fight chapters I expect I’ll speed up again since I’m much more interested in getting back to the romance and Mia lewd stuff ahead of us. 

Art - https://www.fiverr.com/skinnysloth

Rebecca, Tessa and Zoe Panties Art

More references! Also included is Zoe’s channel logo for Lazy Sloth Gaming.

Art - https://www.fiverr.com/skinnysloth_

Happy Valentines Day Art

Since Valentines Day is an important plot point in the first volume of Love Addict's RPG, I wanted to make sure there was some special art to commemorate it this year. Very glad I did because Sloth pulled off the pose and concept I came up with perfectly and it came out amazing!

My mental health has been bleh the last few days so next chapter is probably a day off still.

Art - https://www.fiverr.com/skinnysloth_

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 53

This part is fairly different from the outline in a few ways. Some jokes were cut because they didn't make sense with the flow of things and I needed to keep things dialed back since there's seven characters in this scene. Not going to do that often if I can help it.

---

Juan and Julio entered the lobby, both dressed similarly to Oliver, even though only one would enter the ring. The first thing they saw was Oliver holding a girl who wasn't their sister in his arms, inches away from kissing her. Standing close at hand was the hottest blonde the twins had ever seen. Unforgivable on multiple accounts.

"You seeing this shit, hermano?" Juan growled, fists clenched in rage.

"Seeing it," Julio confirmed, clicking his tongue. "And with one of Mimi's only friends, too... thought you were better than that, Becca."

"I-I'm sorry!!" Rebecca yelped at the sudden entrance of the two big muscle men. It didn't matter if she'd seen the twins dozens of times when hanging out at Mia's place back in high school; they still scared her to this day, and it definitely didn't help that they were slinging accusations at her. She leaped out of Oliver's arms of her own volition and made for the potted plant.

"Here we fucking go," Mia mumbled to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. Bradley embraced his role as an artificially created support character, staying out of the limelight and offering a conciliatory pat on her shoulder.

Oliver was annoyed by the dramatic timing but knew that he shouldn't have expected anything else, what with the current lack of luck in his life. He wasn't going to do them the honors of getting embarrassed. He simply sighed, saying, "Nice to see you guys, too, but we really need to stop having these misunderstandings whenever we meet. Rebecca was about to fall, and I stepped in to catch her. Right, Stacy?"

Having gotten a bad vibe from the twins, Stacy looked at him in a way that screamed 'don't drag me into this' before ultimately shrugging and going along with it, "Yeah, she got a little too worked up or whatever and he swooped in. Not a big deal."

Rebecca mumbled something that might've been agreement from behind her potted plant.

"Sure, sure, a likely story. Ain't that right, Julio?"

To his credit, Julio briefly paused to consider how consistent that would be given how well he knew Rebecca. "Might be, might not," he stated dismissively, then shot a look at Stacy. "Doesn't explain the blonde, though. You work fast, don't you, hermanito?"

Oliver cursed his compulsive invitation earlier in the day, lamenting Bradley's accurate prediction. "Stacy is-"

"A coworker," Stacy interrupted with a disbelieving laugh. "Look. I've got no idea what any of this is about- I just invited myself because I thought it sounded fun- but if you're, like, insinuating that Oliver and I have some kind of side thing going on, then I'm gonna have to ask you to get fucking real. We're just friends."

Oliver was a little taken aback by how quick Stacy was to establish that. For reasons he was well aware of but was desperate to suppress, hearing her say those accursed words hurt more than it should've, and it caused a momentary expression of mild disappointment on his face. Juan missed this as his attention was captivated by Stacy's boob window, but Julio picked up the subtle facial tic.

"Just friends? Harsh. Think you hurt his feelings." Julio shook his head out of mock sympathy.

"Yeah, right. He's fine. Oliver isn't even remotely interested in me, anyway." Stacy crossed her arms to cut off Juan's eyes, then laughed again and looked at Oliver to see his reaction to this ridiculous claim.

It wasn't the reaction she expected, but it wasn't enough of a deviation to make her suspicious, either. She only found it somewhat odd that the concept didn't outright revolt him and figured it had something to do with the progress they'd made as of late.

"As I've already said, Mia is enough for me," Oliver reiterated, shaking off the disappointment and glaring down Julio.

"Speaking of Mia," Mia cut in front of her boyfriend to stare her brothers down alone. "She happens to be here and can speak for herself. Any chance you two idiotas will listen to me for half a goddamn minute so I can explain why this is all completely unnecessary, or did you forget the brain cell at home again?"

"We didn't forget shit!" Juan snapped at her. "We gotta do this, Mimi. You don't understand because you're in love or whatever, but you gotta trust us on this one! White boy over there is bad news, hermana. Ain't that right, Julio?"

"That's right," Julio confirmed. "He cares for you, but he's empty inside. Someone broke him. Hard-" Stacy's sweatband came in handy right about now, absorbing a bead of sweat as she briefly averted her eyes- "and sooner or later, he's gonna make it everyone else's problem."

"And what if I want to make it my problem, hm? What then, pendejo?" Mia stepped forward and shoved her older brother, her temper flaring hotter than anyone in the room could handle. "I can fix him!"

"He doesn't have a heart," Julio replied.

"Smashed and broken into too many pieces!" Juan agreed.

"Can't fix what isn't there,"

"Fuck do either of you failures know about fixing shit? Or having hearts, for that matter? Huh? Huh?!"

Oliver was astounded as he watched Julio step back and lose a shred of composure. He'd thought the older twin to be an immovable force until now, only to see a comparatively little girl put him in his place to the point where he was cracking under pressure. Meanwhile, Juan looked like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs, sweating as his remaining eye looked far into the middle distance. Neither of them liked to see Mia so disappointed, much less so when that disappointment was directed at them.

"Mimi-" Julio raised his hand in what was meant to be a calming gesture.

She punched him in the face. "Don't you fucking 'Mimi' me, you-"

At that point, Oliver could no longer follow the plot as the siblings began speaking exclusively in Spanish. He wasn't sure if Mia was actually arguing her point or explaining like she'd wanted to, but if he had to guess, the answer was 'probably not'. It looked more like she was airing years and years of grievances out against them while they sat there uncomfortably and took it.

As for the rest of the audience, Rebecca was too terrified to leave her hideout, Bradley was watching the discourse with an almost unsettling degree of interest, his mouth open with fascinated glee, and Stacy stood by Oliver's side with her arms crossed and an uncomfortable look on her face.

"I had no idea I had such a big role in this telenovela..." she remarked.

Oliver looked away from his feisty girlfriend long enough to answer, "What?"

"They think you're fucked up because somebody hurt you real bad a long time ago, or at least that's what they've been telling her on repeat for the last couple minutes. They also think you're going to grow into a womanizer because of it, which is a bit of a leap and sounds more like they're projecting their own bullshit onto you, personally, but... still..."

"Ah, yeah," his eyes found the floor. "I'm not really sure what you expect me to say here. They're somewhat more insightful than they look and aren't entirely wrong about me. I'd go so far as to say that even the stupid shit has some merit to it."

"...Seriously?"

"Only a little. It's okay, though, because apparently Mia's gonna fix me. I'll let you know if she ends up pulling it off or not before I snap and go full gigolo."

"Please do," Stacy gave him a cheap laugh. They watched the conversation develop for a few seconds together in silence. No one seemed to be making any headway; Mia just kept yelling while the twins took her ire and occasionally offered a meager rebuttal, which she promptly ignored in favor of continuing to yell.

"I'm sorry, Oliver."

Oliver looked over at Stacy, unsure what he'd just heard over his angry girlfriend's voice. "Did you just...?"

"Yeah. I know it doesn't mean shit to you and that you probably didn't want to hear me say it anyway, but whatever. It's how I actually feel, so... yeah..." Stacy looked off into the distance as she spoke, maintaining a distant expression throughout her declaration. "I'm sorry that I bullied you in high school and that it hurt you a lot more than I'd realized. You didn't deserve to be treated like that."

Oliver zoned out a little in response to her out-of-pocket apology. Stacy was right in that he hadn't wanted her to apologize because he never thought it would mean anything to him. They'd just be words regardless of whether she meant them or not.

He'd changed recently, though, and he'd gotten to know Stacy a lot better this last week. He was close enough to tell her apology was one thousand percent sincere, which taught Oliver something he hadn't known until now.

His chest felt light as he looked away from her, contemplating his feelings. He never would've guessed, but it turned out that he did want Stacy to apologize to him. It wasn't a meaningless gesture, and it did make a difference. Oliver would've rolled his eyes at any attempt she could've made to make things right not even a week ago. Her words would've fallen flat on ears that weren't ready to hear the truth behind them.

She didn't make excuses, she didn't try to justify her actions, it was just a straightforward apology, and that made all the difference in the world.

Whoa, what? Why would she gain affection just for apologizing? Oliver wondered. It's not as if I said or did anything to suddenly change her opinion of me. If anything, it's the... ah.

Oliver finally understood the contradiction of Stacy's affection score. Like most of his revelations as of late, he felt like a dumbass for not figuring it out sooner. Affection was a two-way street, and Oliver should've guessed his feelings had something to do with it. It was more likely that she'd started off at zero and that he was the one who brought it down so low.

By that logic, Oliver could also intuit that whatever was up with Tessa was clearly on her side of the equation. Supposing Stacy started off at negative fifty because of his personal distaste for her, there was no way he disliked Tessa four times that amount. She scared him a little and had a habit of taking out her frustrations on him occasionally, sure, but he didn't hate her like he hated Stacy.

The apology went a long way, but Oliver still had a lot of ground to cover regarding his old bully. He didn't currently know what to say. At the very least, he felt she deserved some sort of acknowledgment that her apology didn't mean nothing to him.

"I still don't forgive you," he said, looking straight ahead. "But I'm no longer convinced that it's impossible that I eventually might. Thank you, Stacy. That meant a lot to me to hear you say that."

Stacy smiled at his response, saying nothing. She'd already stolen enough of the spotlight for one day and was content to leave it at that for now. Besides, the real star of the show was just finishing up with her impromptu vocal cord exercise.

"This ain't going anywhere, mi amor," she said, her quiet voice scratchy from all the uncharacteristic yelling. "Spanish? English? Forget about it. The only language they'll understand is a punch to the teeth, so let's get this over with already."

Oliver looked over her shoulder at the dejected twins recovering from Mia's verbal lashing. Whatever she'd said, it looked like Mia's words dealt more damage to them than his fists could ever hope to. It was as if she'd won the fight for him in advance.

"...Can Juan even still fight like that?"

"Not a matter of can or can't," Julio sighed, raising his cast to rub his forehead out of stress only to narrowly remember his injury and avoid doing so. "We have to."

"...Do we, Julio?" The now timid Juan asked.

"We do," Julio replied, ice cold. "So snap out of it."

Julio slapped his brother upside the head, triggering an impassioned response out of him. "Fuck you think you're doing, hermano?! Think you can just slap me around, and I'll-"

Julio pointed at Oliver, helping Juan understand what his brother was going for. The message was clear after the idiot spent a few seconds thinking about it- get mad and save that anger for him, not me.

"Ah, sí, sí..." he agreed, then ate another slap, and then another. In no time at all, Juan was successfully worked back up to his previous level of piss and vinegar thanks to this masochistic display.

The twins moved in, looking down at their opponent as if they hadn't just been emasculated by their little sister for the last five minutes. Oliver didn't feel threatened as he did the other night, and the brothers noticed the difference now that they were up close and personal.

"Bro, you seeing this shit?"

"I'm seeing it,"

"Something's different..."

"Something is," Julio agreed. "Taking this seriously, aren't you, hermanito?"

"I am. I trained all day yesterday with my personal coach," Oliver pointed over his shoulder at Bradley, who was happy to feel briefly included. "And now I'm ready to kick your ass, Juan."

"Hah! Dumbass! There's no kicking in boxing!" Juan pointed and laughed, vastly overestimating the size of his slam dunk. "What are you, stupid?"

Oliver let out a very long and drawn-out sigh. Now that he was significantly stronger, he felt less inclined to stand here and suffer this fool. "Let's just take this into the ring before I get any more tempted to punch you out right here and now than I already am..."

"Heh," Julio laughed as his brother predictably lost his shit and shouted Spanish insults. "I respect the grind. Really, I do. Still not gonna give Mimi over to a bastard, but-"

"Again, not a fucking prize to be won," Mia cut in. "Gonna keep dating whoever the fuck I want regardless of who wins or loses. Like to see you stop me."

"Stop you?" Juan barked like a dog. "We know we can't stop you!"

"But we can be really annoying about it," Julio clarified.

Juan flashed the couple a sharp and wicked grin. "Fuck yes, we can! Guess who's gonna show up every time you two try and sneak out on a date, huh?"

Mia closed her fists so tight her nails threatened to pierce the skin of her palms. "Dios mio, I hate you two so fucking much..." she sighed, knowing full well that her brothers were obnoxious enough to follow up on that threat.

The goodwill Oliver held towards Juan and Julio was burning up fast. He'd previously respected their motive, but it was hard to keep that up when he saw how badly they got under Mia's skin.

"Anything else you wanna say to me before we settle this, hermanito?" Juan cracked his knuckles, forcing another groan out of his sister's mouth.

For whatever reason, that harmless taunt ended up as the last straw for Oliver. A wild impulse took hold of his senses now that he was through with their shit, an impulse telling him to give the twins a taste of their own medicine.

"Not really anything I want to say, no, but there's something I'd like to do," liquid confidence surged through his veins as he took Mia by the hips and pulled her close. "Need to fill up on good luck real quick because I feel like I'm running on empty."

"...Ollie?" Mia blinked curiously, her glasses getting foggy from his breath.

"Don't worry about them anymore," Oliver said, steeling his resolve. "Just cheer me on and think of all the fun we're gonna have tonight after I win, okay?"

Her eyes opened wide for a split second before she caught on to his game and gave him a catlike grin. "Mn... love where you're going with this, mi amor," Mia said, bracing herself for his power move. "Go ahead. Get your fill."

Oliver was undeterred regardless of the persistent anxieties he was suffocating beneath a veneer of bravado. Everyone knew what was coming, and the twins could do nothing to stop it. He went in for the kiss and didn't hold back.

Stacy raised a brow and smirked, Rebecca overheated as she poked her head out of cover, and Bradley watched the [Human Drama] unfold like he'd paid good money for front-row tickets.

Mia was quite pleased by the sudden affection and was predictably drawn in by Oliver's display of dominance, kissing him back twice as hard. It got a little out of hand once they started venting all their pent-up feelings from the night before. This was what both of them wanted from the second they first saw each other today, and now they were finally getting it in all its hot and heavy glory.

Yeah, she was definitely into the 'kiss me in front of my asshole brothers to show them you're a badass' thing, not that he expected anything less.

Oliver didn't draw out the kiss for long despite his desire to. He was trying to keep his cool in front of the crowd, but it was much more difficult than he was letting on. He pulled away, smiled briefly at Mia, and assessed the damage.

Juan looked like a dog with rabies on the verge of foaming at the mouth, and even Julio's icy exterior betrayed a few visible cracks. He'd successfully riled them up, hopefully making Juan easier to fight. Even if it didn't, giving back some of the endless irritation they'd put Mia through over the years was worth it.

For the finishing touch, he gave the twins an innocent smirk and pointed with his thumb at the door to the gym's interior. "So do I have to pay to get in for the day, or what?"

"...You seeing this shit, Julio?" Juan asked, his voice seething.

"Fraid so,"

"The FUCK did we say about cojones, huh?!"

"They got too damn big," Julio clicked his tongue. "And now he's tripping all over them..."

---

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 52

Split this one up a little early, should mean 53 will be tomorrow I hope.

---

"Looks like someone is going all out," Oliver remarked after letting Bradley in and getting a load of his ensemble. The psychically-created best friend was wearing a cheap yet shiny new tracksuit and a baseball cap that said 'Coach' on it written in big, bold red letters. Going the extra mile, a plain white towel and a whistle were draped around his neck, which Oliver thought really brought it all together.

"You don't KNOW the [Half] of IT!" Bradley removed something that inspired pause for alarm from his pocket; a silvery, shining scalpel. "I brought all SORTS of [First Aid] supplies and [Various Medicines] just in CASE we need to get you back in the [Ring], my FRIEND!"

"And the scalpel is for... what, exactly?"

"The SCALPEL is to slice your [Eyelids] open in the event THAT they become too [Swollen] to see out of!"

"Not too sure how I feel about you being so enthusiastic to cut me open... and besides that, I'm pretty sure that's not something that people actually do outside of boxing movies..."

"Nonsense! What OTHER purpose would a [Cutman] serve if NOT to [Cut]?"

"This might just be me, but I think it has to do with fixing cuts. You know, as opposed to making new ones?"

Bradley's chipper expression dulled as he considered this, then reinserted the scalpel into his pocket where it hopefully disappeared into hammerspace. "I SUPPOSE that is a [Distinct Possibility]..."

His sadness didn't stick around for long as they had a quick chat about Oliver's day thus far. He told Bradley about his first spark level up, the gift he bought for Mia, what happened with Stacy, and his last-minute skill acquisition. Bradley was pleased to see Oliver following his LP farming advice again but had a take on the matter that Mia hadn't brought up.

"[Juan and Julio Rosas] are convinced THAT you will develop into SOME sort of [Advanced Pickup Artist], correct? Do you not think they might HAVE something to say ABOUT the random [Blonde Bombshell] in your corner?"

Oliver stared off into the middle distance for a moment, cursing, "Fucking hell, I really didn't think this through..."

"Now, now! I'm sure they CAN be perfectly [Reasonable Fellows] when the MOOD strikes!"

"Extremely," Oliver laughed. "Maybe Mia can just tell her brothers that she invited Stacy, or something...?"

"We'll figure it out when we GET there! Shall we [Talk Shop] one last TIME before we go?"

"Yeah, might as well do a quick run-through," Oliver agreed.

The enemy was Juan Rosas. He was a large man, roughly six feet tall and two hundred pounds at the bare minimum, primarily muscle. Though somewhat shorter and lighter than the wrestler Oliver had fought the previous day, it would be unwise to underestimate his opponent before he knew what he was capable of.

Juan had a dangerous air about him- like he might snap at any moment. Oliver was worried about how that might translate into the boxing ring. He assumed Juan to be an 'all or nothing' kind of guy, which might work out to Oliver's benefit if he could use that wildness against him. Then again, it could just as easily trip him up if Juan's aggression was too much to keep up with.

The difference between a Brawln fight and a boxing match was the three-knockdown limit per round. That could make or break things, and they'd have to adjust their strategy to work around it.

After a good ten-minute discussion, Oliver was more fired up than he knew what to do with. He was way past ready to finish up this nonsensical detour involving street fights and boxing so he could resume all the equally nonsensical romantic shenanigans with his beloved girlfriend.

The two fast traveled to Contact Mike's Boxing Gym and entered the lobby. Oliver thought this gym seemed quaint at first glance, with its scuffed floor and overall vintage aesthetic, but he had to admit how fast the charm grew on him. The place was retro, with old black and white boxing posters hanging from the walls and framed photographs of presumably important local boxers who undoubtedly lived exciting stories of their own.

Before Oliver could approach the receptionist and ask where to go or if he had to pay to get in, Mia came up on his blind side. His Hyper Reflexes kicked in, alerting him to her presence as he used his Fancy Footwork to swivel his entire body around in one quick motion, snapping towards her. She looked at him for a few minutes, surprised by his sudden reaction.

"Christ," she exclaimed. "Feeling a little tense there, mi amor...?"

Oliver was embarrassed, partially at his actions and partially by Mia's presence. She was right there in front of him after all of the naughty stuff they said to each other last night, and it was hard not to think back to everything without adopting a huge, derpy smile. It didn't help that she was wearing a sarcastic shirt picturing an adorable cat flipping the viewer off, coupled with a pair of red skinny jeans that drew attention to the slender girl's backside in a way Oliver didn't even know was possible.

"Maybe a little, but hey, you should really be more careful sneaking up on me like that," Oliver warned. "Especially when I'm in battle mode."

"That so? Why, you gonna jump me?" Mia allowed herself to break her sleepy air of calmness long enough to flash him a suggestive smile with half-lidded eyes, hinting that last night's naughtiness was still fresh on her mind, just like it was for him. They stared at each other, the sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Even Bradley wasn't tone-deaf enough to interrupt this little moment they were having and was happy to keep his mouth shut on the sidelines. Unfortunately, Mia's plus one lacked a comparable amount of self-awareness.

"He just might," Rebecca cautiously tiptoed between them. "Soldiers are capable of terribly tragic things if you catch them unawares, as the loved ones of many veterans can attest..." she said in her tiny voice. She mostly spoke to Mia but made an effort to occasionally glance toward Oliver despite the trouble she had maintaining eye contact.

Oliver felt ashamed he hadn't even noticed Rebecca until now, absorbed by Mia as he was. It was doubly embarrassing when you considered how much more she stood out thanks to her outfit. When they'd first met back on Monday, Rebecca had skipped out on work, meaning she was presumably wearing her work clothes at the time. This was the first time he'd seen her in casual clothes, and the difference between the two was striking.

She still had her special hat, her dice bag necklace, and her pack with strapped-on deck boxes, but on top of those, she was wearing fingerless gloves, a black turtleneck with the 40th Space Reich logo on it, a pair of gray sweatpants, and her familiar snowboots. It wasn't easy to sugarcoat it- Rebecca had a unique personal style. That's not to say it didn't look good on her- she absolutely owned it, in Oliver's opinion- but walking around in broad daylight dressed like that...?

It took either tremendous self-confidence or a complete disregard for how others perceived you. That or Rebecca was clueless and marched to the beat of her own drum. Whatever the answer was, Oliver respected it.

"Hey, Rebecca," Oliver casually greeted the mousy girl. "Mia didn't tell me you were coming. This is my friend Bradley, he's-"

"[Charmed] is WHAT I am! Greetings, FRIEND of [Oliver's Girlfriend]!" Bradley took a step forward and gave a polite bow, which had an effect opposite to his intention. It caused Rebecca to reflexively step away, hanging her head and hiding halfway behind Mia, who now had an apologetic smile on her face.

Mia placed her hand on Rebecca's shoulder and comforted her, prompting an apology from the smaller girl. "S-Sorry... I get really anxious around most men..."

"No apologies NECESSARY!" Unbothered and understanding, Bradley retreated. He then subtly went into wingman mode after sensing an opportunity. "Interesting qualifier, [Most]. Would YOU care to ELABORATE?" Just in case Oliver didn't understand where he was going with this, Bradley gently nudged him with his elbow.

"U-Um..." Rebecca froze, winning even more sympathy from Oliver.

He sighed. Mia thinking that Rebecca had a crush on him was bad enough, he didn't need Bradley making things worse. "Just ignore Bradley if he bothers you. He can be pretty weird, but he's harmless." Bradley gave a thumbs up to confirm this was all right by him.

"Okay," she muttered. "Thank you, Oliver. Sorry for tagging along, Mia just, um, told me about the thing tonight, and I thought maybe I could... I don't know, cheer you on...?"

"Like I said, the more the merrier," Mia winked at him. "Right, mi amor?"

"Right," Oliver held back a laugh. He got the feeling that being here was somehow hard on Rebecca, yet here she was, trying her best. Oliver wanted to make sure she felt appreciated for her efforts. "It's very kind of you since I'm gonna need all the help I can get. Thanks, Rebecca." He said while looking straight at her and giving her a kind smile, which inadvertently scored him some points with Mia for once again being nice to her awkward friend.

Rebecca's cheeks turned subtly red, and her brows furrowed, making her look much more grim. She poked her head out of cover, meeting his gaze to tell him, "Don't thank me yet. War is hell, soldier, and if you want to win, you must beat that fact into your opponent's skull until they're left with nothing beyond shattered bones and an innate understanding of your superiority."

Oliver briefly looked at Mia in disbelief at what the tiny one had just said. His girlfriend seemed amused more than anything else, asking, "Solid advice. Which of your books is that line from, hm?"

Rebecca's droopy eyes seemed to sparkle and shine. "Endless Space Siege: Glory to Humanity and Death to our Enemies. It was a direct quote from the honorable Warmeister Heinrich Von Slayblood, part of his rousing speech meant to motivate a fresh regiment of neosoldats on the eve of their first battle against the festering hives of-"

The gym door opened up behind them, snapping Rebecca out of her lore dump and sending her hiding behind her friend again out of fear that some big muscle man was about to come in.

"Mn," Mia observed. "Speaking of festering hives."

"Oh, good," Stacy sighed. "The bus was running a little, so I was worried you might've started without me!"

"[Stacy Lynn, Heroine #1]!" Bradley called out in greeting, much to Oliver's annoyance. "How nice of YOU to JOIN us!"

"Sup?" Stacy gave Bradley a high-five as soon as he raised his open palm, then smiled at Oliver. "You ready to kick ass, hon?"

"As, ah... ready as I'll ever be...?" Oliver felt a problematic lump forming in his throat now that Stacy was here.

She'd mentioned having a yoga class later tonight, but he didn't expect she would come dressed for it. Stacy was wearing a pink sports bra with a sizable boob window, showcasing more than a generous amount of cleavage thanks to how tight it pushed her chest together. There was also her black and pink-lined yoga pants to contend with, which were less formfitting and more form-perfecting. Completing the look was a trio of black sweatbands wrapped around her wrists and forehead and a women's sports backpack hanging from her shoulder instead of one of her many designer purses.

Oliver had to look away the moment after he saw her, knowing himself well enough to understand there was a nonzero chance he might openly gawk at how hot she looked. He looked to Mia hoping to calm his nerves only to find that she was seemingly gawking at Stacy. Her brow was raised, and there was a faint splash of color on her cheeks. If he didn't know any better, he almost would've thought she was checking Stacy out, which...

She did have an awful lot of lewd anime girl pinups in her room, come to think of it... Oliver paused and tilted his head, so close to getting it.

"Mia?"

"Mn?" She shook her head, the glimmer of interest in her eyes fading along with her blush. Mia then leaned in close, whispering, "Sorry, got a little distracted... I mean, fuck. You see those things, mi amor?"

He couldn't believe what she was saying and whispered back, "Um, yeah, but I'm kinda trying not to stare?"

"Wouldn't blame you if you did," Mia shrugged. "Just saying."

Oliver was on the verge of asking Mia more directly about her sexuality but decided against it for the time being. Stacy's outfit already had him excited enough as things stood; there was no sense in making it worse for himself. Confirmation would only fill his head with perverted distractions right before he had to step into the ring. Needless to say, he was into the implications.

Stacy suddenly squinted in Mia's direction and craned her neck forward. Oliver was worried for a second that she'd noticed Mia was openly checking her out, but it wasn't her main concern if she had. She was more preoccupied with the hat peeking out from behind Mia's shoulder.

"Is that...?" Stacy tilted her head, a glint of recognition slowly developing in her eyes. "Rebecca Bergmann?"

"Y-Yes...?" Rebecca answered, eying a big potted plant in the corner of the lobby. It was the perfect size to hide behind. All she had to do was disengage, and-

"No shit? I knew I recognized that hat..." Stacy laughed, then playfully tapped Oliver on the shoulder as she walked past him to insert herself between Mia and Rebecca. Before either girl could react, Stacy pulled them in for a surprise hug and then playfully grinned at him. "Look at you, Playboy. Not one, not two, but three cheerleaders? Smooth. Hope you know it's your damn fault if you somehow manage to fuck this up even though you've got all these sexy bitches in your corner."

Both Mia and Rebecca were inadvertently squeezed against Stacy's breasts, though their reactions couldn't have been more different. Rebecca went pale from the sudden physical contact, freezing in place and sweating up a storm as she tried to repeat the words 'sexy bitches?' in a state of total confusion. On the other hand, Mia looked like a cat secretly thrilled about being picked up and held but was putting on a show and acting as if she didn't enjoy it because she didn't want the human to get any funny ideas.

Bradley nudged Oliver from behind, encouraging him to stop staring at the sexy display in front of him and say something already.

"No worries, I think three is the exact amount of sexy bitches I need to pull this off," Oliver said, then wondered why in the name of Christ he'd thought that was the right thing to say.

Mia broke out of her tsundere bullshit long enough to smirk at him. Stacy was genuinely taken aback, though she had an expression combining disbelief with amusement. As for Rebecca, well... she wasn't pale and sweaty anymore. Now, she was scarlet and sweaty.

Seeing everyone react positively to his unintentionally flirtatious line gave Oliver a little ego boost, making him quip, "Unless you think there's time to go and find one more?"

Mia finally broke free of Stacy's grasp, showing she could've done so at any time. "Loving the enthusiasm, mi amor, but alas. Almost six. Three's gonna have to suffice."

"Or WILL it?" Bradley took a dramatic step forward. "Say the word, my friend, and I will PERSONALLY-"

"Nope, don't even want to know where that one's going," Oliver sighed. When he opened his eyes, he noticed Rebecca wasn't doing well and didn't have the strength to break Stacy's hug. The sadistic part of him was tempted to leave her to her fate on account of how adorable she looked, but he snuffed that thought out pretty fast.

He reminded himself that part of him was only allowed to come out when he was alone with Mia.

"You might want to let go, Stacy. You're scaring her." Oliver pointed out.

"Huh? Oh, shit." Stacy eased her grip and allowed Rebecca to step away. "You okay, sweetie?"

"N-Nuh... no..." Rebecca shambled away and pulled the brim of her hat down over her face to hide. "Pretty people m-make me nervous, I... I don't know how to be around them without feeling out of place and f-freezing up... and t-that's just with pretty people who didn't used to be huge bullies back in high school..."

Oliver frowned, feeling a sense of camaraderie with the awkward nerd once more. He was on the verge of trying to console her himself when Stacy surprised him by making an attempt.

"Aw, there's no need to be scared of lil' ol' me! Not anymore, at least. Right, Mia?"

"Dunno," Mia shrugged with feigned indifference as she shuffled over to Oliver's side, taking the chance to hold his hand. "Seen you without your coffee a few times these last six months. Think there's still plenty to be scared of as far."

Stacy rolled her eyes, then focused in on Rebecca. They'd only interacted once or twice back in high school since Rebecca was a year younger, so she didn't really know her back then. She never picked on her, either, mostly because she quickly became friends with Mia, who Stacy kept her distance from in the aftermath of what happened with Oliver.

That said, everyone knew about Rebecca Bergmann. She stood out back then as much as she did now, and for the same reasons. Still... now that Stacy was up close and personal with her for the first time...

"You know, Becky,"

"B-B-Becky...?!"

"I bet you'd feel less nervous around pretty people if you learned to make yourself into one..." Stacy's eyes gleamed as she stared at what might become her next project.

Oliver was on the verge of speaking up and defending her, but Mia squeezed his hand and preemptively shushed him. "Let her cook, mi amor. Becca doesn't get much socialization outside of me and Zoe. Wanna see how this goes."

Oliver didn't feel great about it, but if that's what Mia wanted...

"I.. um... I don't know how I would... I mean... you can't just learn to be p-p-pretty..." Rebecca laughed an awkward laugh that sounded almost like chittering. "You're either born that way or not, and I..."

"Nonsense!" Stacy crossed her arms and leaned in to be at eye level with the much shorter girl. "Beauty is created through painstaking refinement and self-reflection! You've already got a pretty cute face. It's mostly the bangs and your outfit that aren't doing you any favors. I've worked miracles with a lot less, isn't that right, Oliver?"

Oliver ran a hand through his flawless perm. "I mean, it was mostly Jordan who worked this miracle..."

Stacy let out a half-amused laugh and shook her head. "Don't listen to him, sweetie. I made Oliver over there halfway presentable, and I could do the same for you, too! More than that, even. I bet I could make you drop-dead gorgeous!"

A gear in Rebecca's brain had been dislodged. It tried to keep on chugging, but it only resulted in the gear repeatedly backing up and falling out of place entirely. She looked like smoke was about to pour out of her ears.

"W-What? But... no... my clothes are comfy... a-and they usually have logos and silly pictures of things I like on them! Also, my bangs hide my eyes from other people, and my boots make me feel like an adventurer! I... I'm not... I could never be... g-g-gor... gah!!"

"Uh," Stacy watched Rebecca flounder and break, realizing she might've pushed harder than she'd meant to. "Becky? Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I-"

"Shit," Mia let go of Oliver's hand to go after this little social experiment had finally gone off the rails. All she wanted was to push her friend to open up a little, and she figured Stacy and her in-your-face attitude might help with that. It was too much, too soon, however.

Rebecca's knees were wobbling and were about to give out on her- right up until they did.

Oliver sprang into action the second it happened. Fancy Footwork's added agility kicked in, helping him cross the distance in a split second. Rebecca would've fallen roughly on her back if he wasn't there to catch her. Instead, she landed safely in his arms, her face not too far from his own as he held her and gave the awkward nerd girl a reassuring smile.

"Careful, there," he said. "You okay, Rebecca?"

"I, um... I don't know," Rebecca admitted, staring straight at this relative stranger in fear and wonder.

She was starting to think that all the stress must've been getting to her. There were suddenly sparkling stars all around Oliver's charming face that hadn't been there before, and she couldn't remember how she ended up in this position to save her life. Something about a blonde chick being in her face, maybe? Inconclusive.

Rebecca did know she was supposed to thank him for catching her and tell him she was fine, but maybe he would keep holding her if she didn't?

Wait, no. That would be bad. Rebecca reminded herself that this was Mia's boyfriend. What a silly thought to have, wanting to be held in such a provocative way by your best friend's lover, and yet... Rebecca's panic increased, unable to sort out these new and complicated feelings like an adult. Nothing in any of her 40th Space Reich codexes or Dice Rolls and Dungeons sourcebooks had prepared her for a war quite like this.

Meanwhile, Mia grinned knowingly in the background at this comedically adorable sight. She wished she'd brought her sketchbook or had the chance to take a reference photo- it was too good.

Bradley was the only one who noticed her strange reaction, prompting the observation, "Playing the LONG game, [Miss Rosas]...?"

Mia spared Bradley a look, feeling as if she truly saw him for the first time. "Only game I know how to play," she replied. Neither of them said a word beyond that, but a silent bond of understanding was forged between them after realizing their interests were aligned.

Oliver was just about to let go of Rebecca, only for the door to open up behind them at the worst possible time, the music of his mind changing back to that familiar Western standoff song he had heard a few nights ago. He closed his eyes in frustration, thinking, God damn it.

---

Thanks for the Help

Just wanted to toss out an appreciation post mainly because I don't know who sent the last bit of help but it's very much appreciated. It helped with groceries specifically today and I'm quite thankful for that. If you want to be credited in the volume release like I usually do for those who help me out just let me know if it was you.

Additionally, next chapter is coming along well. Probably won't finish tonight but will get most of the way through, I think. Should be a real fun one.

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 51

Wednesday, February 21st

It was as if Oliver closed his eyes, drifted off, and transitioned smoothly into the next day in a few short seconds. He awoke at ten in the morning, still in the same state of utter bliss he found himself in the night before. His worries were distant memories, and Oliver felt all was right in the world. His head was clear and empty as a bright blue sky, save for one recurring thought refusing to leave him alone- Mia.

Oliver smiled throughout his morning routine, thinking of her every few seconds. Drinking his morning coffee. Mia. Making the breakfast that Bradley planned for him. Mia. Brushing his teeth. Mia, Mia, Mia.

Whenever he thought he couldn't fall for her even more than he already had, Oliver somehow managed to stumble into an entirely new level of 'down bad' that shouldn't have been possible. He wanted to show her his appreciation for their amazing night and was already formulating ways to spoil her. Oliver came up with a pretty good one after searching on his phone for a little bit, then decided to go and get it for her after getting dressed.

It'd be hard to focus on art like he wanted while thoughts of spoiling Mia were rushing through his head, so he thought it best to just get it out of the way before anything else today. It's not like it disrupted his schedule when fast traveling made errands so much easier, anyway. He warped across the city just like that to a store he'd never been to, then sat in his car for a few moments after arriving.

While a good idea on paper, Oliver underestimated how embarrassing it would be to step inside. His nerves got the best of him for several minutes before enough was enough. Not wanting to sit in his car all day and squander his free time, Oliver forced himself to do this.

It turned out he was worried over nothing, and there was no real reason to be afraid. It was just a store, only a big deal if he made it one. The thing he was looking for was easy to find, and they even had an unexpected service available when he brought it to the counter which saved him an additional trip. Checkout was quick and painless, and the receptionist did not bother him by asking any questions besides the required name.

Oliver was in and out in under fifteen minutes.

---Item gained Mia's present, description/image is vague ---

Now that he'd taken care of the persistent urge to spoil his girlfriend and returned home, Oliver was ready to start his spark training. He'd been so focused on strength that everything else had fallen badly behind, and he hadn't even lifted a finger to try and raise his smarts yet. That was the thing with sandboxes; you always had so many options for what to do that some inevitably fell to the wayside.

Even so, smarts could wait for some other day. Spark was much more likely to be relevant with Mia, and that took precedence before anything else. Oliver drew for three hours straight in his last session and wanted to match that, if not exceed it.

Still getting a feel for the basics, Oliver spent the first two hours at his coffee table following instructional videos as he continued drawing whatever popular characters popped up in the tutorials. His hand was shaky, if less so than his last session. He stopped briefly to take a break and stretch out at the two-hour mark, then opted for something unorthodox.

Oliver spent another two hours drawing without training wheels, going totally freehand. The difference between his art when following instructions and doing it himself was laughable, though not disparaging. It helped that he wasn't taking this as seriously as an actual artist. Instead, he treated the entire thing as a fun little way to spend the day.

All kinds of things found their way into his sketchbook. A selection of his favorite dating sim heroines, people he knew in real life, some Kanemon, a couple of Hellagers, about four obligatory sketches of Mia, and more. These were crude facsimiles using only his memory as reference, but Oliver enjoyed himself while making them.

He had so much fun drawing that he did it for an hour longer than he planned, a decision which ultimately worked in his favor after finishing up his last sketch at a quarter past two.

Filled with creative satisfaction, Oliver sat down his pencil, cleaned his workstation, stretched out, and relaxed on his bed. He was proud of himself for taking the first steps towards improving at a new hobby he never would've thought to pick up if it weren't for his powers. An added bonus of understanding how fun drawing could be was how it made him feel closer to Mia.

She must've worked really hard to get as good as she is...

Oliver frowned, remembering how there was a tier one skill he could buy that would instantly improve his drawing skills. The thought of skipping ahead in a way that would trivialize all the effort Mia went through to get where she was didn't sit right with him. He didn't care so much about using skills to improve in other regards, but he knew he'd feel scummy if he did it for drawing.

If one of Mia's future Heart Locks was tied to his spark stat, Oliver decided to resolve it by buying non-drawing related spark skills or grinding the hard way. He wouldn't cheapen something that was such a big part of who Mia was, and that was that.

Oliver still had time to burn before his fight at six. Having just finished training up another stat, he wanted to do something that wasn't related to stats, heroines, or skills to genuinely chill for an hour or two. After making his lunch, he thus broke out his Odyssey to spend some time developing his Hellage, allowing the tranquil game to carry him off into another pleasant meditative trance involving catching devil fish and paying tribute to Satan.

It was half past four when he put the game down and finally allowed himself to focus on the coming fight. He wanted to take care of one slight annoyance before it was time, and that was how close he was to affording another tier one skill. He only needed five LP to earn another edge in battle, and Oliver would've been foolish not to somehow get it.

It wouldn't be that hard, provided Oliver could handle some mild discomfort, which he figured he most certainly could. The question at hand was how should he even spin this to her? He thought about it for a few seconds before reaching the obvious conclusion- he'd use her number for the reason she gave it to him.

Oliver dressed in his bathroom, donning his fight clothes and lacing up his boots. He looked in the mirror, reaffirming himself with, "You can do this," for good luck. "You're gonna fight a big scary Mexican dude with an eyepatch in half an hour. If you're gonna be nervous about something, be nervous about that, dumbass!"

Somewhat emboldened, Oliver got his phone ready, propping it on the bookshelf in the main room. He set it on a timer, adopted his fighting stance, and took his second-ever selfie. It was more nerve-wracking than the first, thanks to its intended destination.

Oliver typed up a message, attached the photo, and hovered his thumb on the send button for several agonizing moments before growing a pair and getting it over.

---

Oliver:
How's this outfit look
Stylish or nah?

---

He then sat around waiting for a reply while a hornet's nest buzzed around in his stomach. It took a couple minutes, every single one of them adding to his anxiety. Oliver nearly jumped when his phone went off.

---

Stacy:
Huh...
Speaking honestly? It suits you a lot more than I'd have guessed~!
Would've been funny to see you in that get-up when you still had your emo hair, though c:

---

Oliver's heart rate spiked as he stared at Stacy's reply. There was a strange satisfaction in seeing it that he was becoming uncomfortably familiar with, but mostly he couldn't get over how surreal it was that the girl who bullied him into switching schools so long ago had just sent him a fucking 'c:'. He hated how cute it was but didn't get to stew on it for long.

---

Stacy:
What's going on, hon?
I took the day off so I'm a bit out of the loop >.>

Oliver:
Long story short I have to beat up one of Mia's brothers in a boxing match later tonight or else they're gonna be assholes about us dating

Stacy:
Uh...

Oliver:
It's a whole thing *sigh*

Stacy:
No doubt :C
If these are the same guys I'm thinking about, then I'm pretty sure I saw them picking her up after school a few times...
Identical twins... six feet tall... made out of muscle... one of them's got an eyepatch, I think?

Oliver:
Yep, that would be them...

Stacy:
You don't say.
So, like...
Do you expect to pull this off, or what?

Oliver:
Not like I have a choice, but honestly, yeah
I think I have a pretty good shot

Stacy:
Interesting...
Where are you guys having this match?
What time?

---

Oliver became increasingly nervous as the conversation steered toward an unexpected direction. He'd been tempted to stop replying sooner, but a sense of awkward politeness had kept him from doing so, which he still couldn't break. For whatever reason, he ended up telling Stacy.

---

Oliver:
6 at a boxing gym called Contact Mike's, why?

Stacy:
Because this sounds like it'll be fun, silly.
I actually know that place~! It's only a few streets away from my yoga class which just so happens to be at 7.
Since I'm already gonna be in the neighborhood, would it bother you if I showed up?

Oliver:
Depends
You're not planning on breaking out your old pompoms, are you?

Stacy:
>:3
Tempting, but no.
I only did cheerleading for two years and I don't have it in me anymore... v.v
Anywayyy~
Don't wanna step on any toes, so just let me know if I'm not welcome.

---

Oliver wanted to tell her she wasn't, but the strangest thing happened when he tried typing it out. Ghosts must have possessed his thumbs or something because they put down the opposite of what his brain wanted.

---

Oliver:
Bradley is going to be there, too, so I don't think it'd be that weird?

Stacy:
Good to know, but not really what I meant.
You still kinda freak out around me, and I don't want you losing just because I'd be on the sidelines or whatever... ^^;

---

Who even was this person? Oliver blushed for some fucking reason as he took in Stacy's words. He tried considering why he was reacting this way and concluded he didn't see Stacy as herself via text. She could've been any random girl, and that bothered him. Mostly because he couldn't get the thought that Stacy sounded cute like this out of his head.

The solution was easy; he just had to tell her, 'Yeah, you might have a point,' but those damn thumb ghosts were as persistent as they were nonexistent.

---

Oliver:
It's fine, if you really want to show up then I don't think it'd bother me
I should probably start getting ready, though
See you later?

Stacy:
Sure thing~!
Byeeeee

---

The nightmare was over and Oliver was free of the trance which kept him glued to his phone. He took the opportunity to brush some sweat off his brow, reflecting on what the hell just happened. Oliver's main takeaway was that texting Stacy was much easier than expected, and he didn't know how he'd been swept into inviting her so quickly. Probably the 'thinking she was cute' thing, but if he didn't push that out of his mind for the time being, there was no telling what other strange thoughts would worm their way in.

I need to talk to Mia about this... Oliver thought, opening their chat log and starting to text his girlfriend. She'd help him make heads or tails of his feelings or at least help him refocus on what was important.

---

Oliver:
Hey, Mia?
I just did something really weird right now and I'm not sure how it happened

Mia:
wat up
u ok? do I need to tell my bros we're rescheduling

Oliver:
No, we're still on
I just sort of texted Stacy to ask her about my outfit and somehow ended up inviting her to the match tonight

Mia:
lol

Oliver:
Just lol?

Mia:
how else am I supposed to react, silly
did u want me to grill u bout why u were asking her opinion in the 1st place instead

Oliver:
No, just the whole thing felt really weird to me and idk why I did it

Mia:
and now ur feelin guilty about it so u immediately text me, huh?
were u flirting with her, sir?

---

Oliver was beginning to feel like he'd made a colossal mistake. Mia was clearly having fun with this, teasing him in her weird way. Should've expected as much.

---

Oliver:
Of course not

Mia:
then what's the big deal?
the more the merrier
is she gonna bring her pompoms

Oliver:
No, I asked lol...
I guess I was just worried you would be mad that I said she could come

Mia:
I'm not, but it's sweet of u to be concerned
u want my definitive opinion on the matter so u can calm down or what

Oliver:
Yes please, my head has too many thoughts in it and I need you to beat out all the stupid ones

Mia:
poor bb
Look
ur prolly freakin out again bcuz stacy is not the monster u remember and the emotional side of u has caught on to this before logical side can accept it
brain says 'no, stacy = bad'
heart says 'yes, stacy = okay and also kinda cute'
that sound about right?

Oliver:
...Yes, very
Except for the last part

Mia:
think I'm right including the last part lol
let me reiterate what I've already told u
1. not a jealous person
2. chatting with stacy and overcoming ur shit w/ her is prolly good for u and I approve
so stop worrying for for now, we'll sort it all out eventually
in a little over an hour u have a very stupid man to beat up so I'd suggest u get rdy
gonna go do so myself
see u in a bit, mi amor

---

There was no denying Oliver was a mental train wreck and that he was worrying about things he didn't need to be. Mia might not have helped him how he wanted, but it was silly to expect she'd be able to when he didn't even know what kind of advice he wanted from her. Feelings were confusing, and Oliver hated them. Oliver realized it would've been easier if she didn't want him talking to Stacy. As of now, it felt like his strange feelings were being encouraged, and that only added to his discomfort.

Even so, he had to trust Mia and not worry about this. He got what he wanted from his interaction with Stacy, anyway- five LP. Oliver could now sneak in one last skill before his fight and already had a good idea of what to invest in. One of his remaining problems, aside from his lack of punching power, was that his body had trouble keeping up with Hyper Reflexes. Eliminating this weakness would increase his ability to stall things and improve his evasiveness.

Oliver turned to a skill called Fancy Footwork Lv. 1 and went straight for it.

Fancy Footwork Lv. 1

Never let anyone claim you have two left feet ever again. Your overall agility becomes somewhat greater than the average man and your dexterity improves to go along with it, allowing for more precise movement than ever before. +1 to strength

The reaction was swift, taking place over a couple of seconds. His legs felt lighter as vitality filled them full to bursting. The temperature within fluctuated wildly, first blisteringly warm and then chillingly cool. His calves tightened, twitching and throbbing until they loosened upon having rebuilt themselves greater than before.

Since none of it hurt or left him psychologically rattled this time, Oliver was eager to test his new ability.

He stood up, finding the act of standing itself to somehow be easier as if he were supported by a cloud rather than the firm ground beneath his feet. Moving around in place, Oliver confirmed that he could now move his feet with greater coordination. This fed into his boxing skills, allowing him to mimic some of the more complicated motions he'd seen in the matches he'd watched with Bradley.

As this was only the first level of the skill, his leg control wasn't flawless. Oliver was still prone to making a misstep occasionally, but he was now skilled enough to jog around in place and hustle without his downstairs neighbors even hearing him. That was a significant step up in his control, and Oliver figured he should take time to get used to it.

He had thirty or forty minutes until Bradley stopped by to talk pregame strategy before they headed to the gym, so Oliver warmed up by shadowboxing again. Now that he'd been in a few fights and watched some match videos, Oliver had more mental data to work with, making his phantom opponents more accurate than the last time he did this. Despite their glow up, his new skill made it easier to better keep up with their imagined attacks, dodging and delivering counterblows now as easy as a subtle twist of the ankle or a strategic half step.

Oliver knew he'd picked the right skill even without getting to test it on a live opponent, and it was all thanks to Stacy. Physical activity had the additional benefit of helping Oliver clear his head on that subject, as well, now thinking he overreacted and that he just needed to get over it and accept the cognitive dissonance he was going through. Mia approved of him talking with Stacy to keep sorting his feelings out, so maybe that really was what was best for him...

A knock on the door pulled Oliver out of his trance. It was 5:35 PM, and Bradley was here. Time to get serious.

---

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 50

50 chapters in! Kind of fucking wild. The chapter cound would be a lot lower if the first 20 weren't written with the intention of being a webnovel, but still. Milestone.

Here's one with lots of feels and lots of cum.

---

Steeling himself for what came next, Oliver pushed forward. They'd already done some kinky stuff in real life already, so proposing some over the phone posed little challenge.

---

Oliver:
Think I could probably help you with that

Mia:
yea, I think u could...

Oliver:
Can I still not call?

Mia:
sry but if you called I'd get overstimmed, thats how bad this is
like I'm barely in control of my senses rn
text only or tmrw is gonna be hell for me
again, rly sry...

Oliver:
Hey you're making it sound like I'd be upset if I only got to sext you for tonight lol
As if that wouldnt be more than enough to make me happy a thousand times over and then some

Mia:
...jeez, that happy, huh?
you're the best mi amor

---

---

Oliver:
Not yet, but I will be

Mia:
oh?

---

Hand on his dick, Oliver was ready to get a crash course in one-handed texting. He reminded himself to keep confident, apply pressure, and remain in control. Mia liked that, and Oliver liked giving Mia what she liked. That, and it also aligned with his interests.

---

Oliver:
Yes. Gonna make sure you get off nice and hard before bed
Now tell me how bad it is

Mia:
mn pretty fucken bad ngl I'm drenched
u have no idea how pissed off I was last night after u called, didn't get to cum nearly enuff before my buzz got killed
and realistically I should only do it once or twice rn but fuck I'm gonna be backed up at this rate...
u better make this up to me

Oliver:
Hey
You don't tell me what to do, Mia. Ever.
Is that understood?

---

Mia's next response took a little longer than average. Oliver smirked at that, having correctly deduced the effect of his statement on her.

---

Mia:
maybe
it's not like you can rly stop me..

Oliver:
No but I could go to bed right now if I wanted to.
You're the one who needs to get off so badly, not me.

Mia:
wait what no don't do that
ollie nooo
I was just teasingggg

Oliver:
So? You think I'll tolerate disrespect just because you didn't mean it?

Sorry, but no.

Appologize or I'm going to bed and you're not getting any attention until after I've won my fight.

Mia:
oh my god fuck
that's so not fucken fair
I'm sry
I'm so sry pls don't go to bed sir pls

---

Oliver couldn't believe how easy Mia was to mess with when he applied even the tiniest pressure. His power over her was just as much of a turn-on as Mia herself was. She was just the cutest, most submissive little thing he'd ever seen, and she was all his.

---

Oliver:
Was that so hard?

Mia:
no...

Oliver:
Are you going to be a good girl for me, Mia?

Mia:
yes, sir...
I just couldn't help bein a lil bratty bcuz of how grumpy the sexual frustration is makin me
all I want is to be a good girl 4 u
a good little kitten...

---

Oliver swallowed. Hard.

---

Oliver:
May I call you that?

Mia:
please...

---

Oliver closed his eyes. In his heart of hearts, he knew it was probably a bad idea to look up the price of engagement rings when they'd only been going out for two days. Damn if he wasn't tempted, though.

---

Oliver:
Good kitten.

Mia:
does it make u hard calling me that, sir?

Oliver:
You have no idea

Mia:
mn... I have SOME idea...
u were pushing up against me p hard yesterday u kno
couldn't tell for sure but uh
u seemed... big

Oliver:
Is there something you'd like to ask me, kitten?
If there is, you should just come straight out and do it

Mia:
yes, sir...
I wanna know how big ur cock is

Oliver:
How badly?

Mia:
very...
its something thats been on my mind for a long long long long longgggg time, so...
yea...

Oliver:
You really haven't done much to earn that information, you know.
I feel like its only fair if you answer a question first, don't you think?

Mia:
what do u want to know about me, sir
there's not really anything I wouldn't tell u tbh so ask away

---

A tantalizing proposal, even if there were only one or two things he wanted to know off the top of his head. Guys were predictable, and Oliver was no exception. He shot his message back with no hesitation.

---

Oliver:
How big are your breasts?

Mia:
c cup
kinda at the halfway point between a c and d, soooo
more than a handful but not by much...

Oliver:

fuck that's nice

Mia:
rly?
not too small?

Oliver:

Yes

I don't really have a preference, I like all boob sizes tbh

Mia:
c'mon ollie I wasn't born yesterday lol
if u don't have a pref then y ask

---

Oliver felt like he'd been caught red-handed and laughed mildly to himself before conceding.

---

Oliver:
Okay so maybe I have a slight preference towards bigger breasts but yours are definitely in my sweet spot

Mia:
heh can't say I blame u, bigger is better
not always comfy with my body by I think my tits are p ok
I'll let u feel for urself whenever u want, tho
see if they're rly as big as u like, sir...

Oliver:
...Really?

Mia:
...
Yea
as early as tmrw nite...
might not be much of a cheerleader compared to stacy but uh
hopefully that'll motivate u enough to win lol

---

The promise of groping Mia's tits would've been enough to motivate Oliver into straight-up killing God as if he were a JRPG protagonist, but he'd keep that information to himself. He wanted to appear strong and dominant for her, so he couldn't freak out and act overexcited just because her boobs were literally up for grabs tomorrow upon his victory.

---

Oliver:
That's a pretty good incentive, I'd say.
Good kitten.

Mia:
thank u, sir
it was rly embarrassing for me to say that, I hope u kno...

Oliver:
I know and I'm proud of you for being so naughty with me, kitten.
But guess what? You're not the only thing I'm proud of.

Mia:
...yea??

Oliver:

I'm eight inches long and pretty thick, which has always been something of an ego boost...

Mia:
omfg
I thought like 6 and a half at most
That's
omg

---

Oliver was smiling from ear to ear. He'd never told a girl how big he was before, and being a simple guy, cock praise unsurprisingly made him happy.

---

Oliver:
You like?

Mia:
ollie breaking char for a sec even if I haven't shown u my recent stuff yet u already kno I'm a hentai artist
shouldn't come as a surprise to lrn I'm somethin of a size queen

Oliver:
lmao I will allow this character breaking but only because you're cute and also adorable
but you better be back to kitten mode in your next response

Mia:
yes, sir...

Oliver:
Good girl
I wonder if you can even handle it?
You're pretty small

Mia:
we'll make it work when we get around to it...
even if it hurts
especially if it hurts

Oliver:
Fuck, Mia...

---

A wild idea came to mind. Maybe not that wild in the grand scheme of things or compared to other guys, but it was definitely wild for Oliver. He never would've thought to ask until now, but...

---

Oliver:
Did you want to see it? I'll send a pic if you ask nice enough. I don't have a ruler, but my hand should give you a pretty good idea of the scale...

---

He didn't hear from Mia for another five minutes. Oliver could only imagine what she was doing to herself right about now, and the thought was only making him harder as he stroked himself. The wait she put him through was torture of the best kind, even if the answer was an understandable letdown.

---

Mia:
I do
like holy fuck more than anything I wanna see it
just not tonite
I...
would NOT sleep if u sent me a pic of that monster, I'd just stay the fuck up and cum myself stupid
which I'd love to do if I didn't have work in the morning
even then tho if I'm bein totally honest I'd rather see it in person for the first time...

Oliver:
Hey its ok
I understand, kitten
You must REALLY need some relief though
I can practically feel sense the struggle from all the way over here

Mia:
yea I mean it gets p bad but never this bad
didn't get enuff fun yesterday and now my body is screamin at me to make up for the deficit

Oliver:
Poor kitten
Think I'll have to make it up to you after all

Mia:
only if sir wants...

Oliver:
I do, trust me lol
Maybe tomorrow night after I win I could come over and we could take things a little further?

---

The suspense was palpable after he'd sent that. Being so forward was new to him. He followed up with a bit of simple downplaying after it took Mia over a minute to respond.

---

Oliver:
Or we could just do what we did last time again if you're worried about your self-control
I just want to help you feel good in a way that doesn't push your boundaries or makes you uncomfortable or whatever

Mia:
sry sir I got quiet cause I was imaginin u comin over not cause you made me uncomfy
yes I rly rly want u to pick up where we left off
what did u have in mind?

---

The answer to that was pretty simple. Oliver bought a magic sex skill and was waiting for the chance to break it out on her. He'd seen how potent Weakness Exploit - Pain could be. Now, he wanted to see its counterpart in action.

---

Oliver:
I was thinking of giving you a special massage, honestly

Mia:
again gotta break character bcuz I feel like I'm takin crazy pills
u want YOUR big reward for winnin to be giving ME a massage??
like wtf did I do to deserve this/you lmao

---

Oliver had a decent laugh at that. Truthfully, he was almost more interested in pleasuring Mia than he was in chasing his own. That's not to say he didn't want to ask her for a handjob or to suck his dick. He just innately wanted to make her feel good because of how cute and sexy she got when enjoying herself, and he would enjoy himself either way the wind did or didn't blow.

He also thought it was better for her to tell him what she was comfortable with and go from there. Balancing being dominant while being respectful of Mia's issues felt like walking the narrowest of tightropes, but he was determined not to fuck it up.

---

Oliver:
As far as I'm concerned you deserve this for existing
More importantly, is that a yes?

Mia:
uh...
yes, sir
Mostly
u can touch me wherever u want but I don't think I'm rdy to take my clothes off yet...
but ur hands can go under the clothes and shit it's just
ugh u kno where I'm goin with this rite
why this is hard for me

Oliver:
Mia it's ok
Again I'm not in a rush
idk what it's like to have body image issues but I know what low self confidence feels like and it's not pretty
Shit
poor choice of words, sorry

Mia:
lol yea a lil bit
thank u tho

Oliver:
Idk if you need to hear this or if it will actually help or not but...
I hope you know you're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen

Mia:
...beautiful???
gonna need u to elaborate on that

Oliver:
Not sure where I'd even start
I love your short hair and the faded red dye job you've got going on and I think it's the hottest thing ever
You have these icy blue eyes that are really hard to look away from because they're so pretty and piercing
Pouty lips that I just wanna kiss for as long as I can get away with
And your face just has this... mysterious aloofness to it that drives me crazy
Look, I'm not a creative person
I can't put any of this to words and I know all this sounds stupid probably but everything I said is the truth

---

Mia was silent for five minutes after he'd sent his heartfelt messages. It was hard not to worry about whether he'd done something wrong. Maybe the validation would make Mia feel the tiniest bit better about herself, and perhaps it would only worsen things because she couldn't reconcile the version of herself she saw in the mirror with the one that Oliver did.

He felt like a fuckup during the awkward silence, his dick having wilted as his heart stirred with awkward tension. When he finally saw the little bubble that told him she was typing, he waited with bated breath.

---

Mia:
so...
turns out I DID need to hear that
but I don't think once was enough
think you gotta keep tellin me over n over again, ollie
u kno how stubborn I can be...

---

The relief which came over Oliver was immeasurable. Knowing that he could help Mia's self-esteem in the same way she'd been improving his own felt more gratifying than winning street fights ever would.

---

Oliver:

You're beautiful, Mia
You're beautiful and you're mine

Mia:
mnnnnn yessss
I AM yours, sir
ur slutty, aloof lil kitten with the pretty eyes and the pouty lips
and no one else's
got a question for u now tho

Oliver:
Yeah? Go head

Mia:
if sir would be so kind then his kitten would rly like to kno what u'd do to her if she was there rn
reminder that said kitten is a lewd artist who is not gonna judge her sir no matter what kinda kinky shit he says
srsly do NOT hold back and do NOT overthink this/2nd guess urself
tell
me
how
you'd
FUCK
me

---

Oliver stared at his phone, the wilted dick in his hand now a mighty oak once more. She knew him too well. If Mia hadn't been so specific, he would've danced around and avoided describing certain things out of fear that it was 'too soon' or that he'd be 'pressuring' her. That was now no longer an option. She'd gifted him complete freedom and expected him to exercise it.

He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and became more honest with Mia than he'd ever been with anyone as he stood at the precipice between his fantasies and reality.

Dark desires resided within him. He'd worked past a lot of the unhealthy trauma tied to these desires and had officially grown out of many of his most problematic fetishes, though Oliver was still left with a taste for elements of light BDSM, domination, and control.

Nowadays, he blocked himself off from content featuring these subjects. History had convinced him that he couldn't explore his desires without ruining his mental health in the same way that other people seemingly could.

And then along came Mia, offering Oliver a safe space without judgment. She gave herself to him as a blank canvas which he was free to paint however he wished, causing the chains of self-restraint he'd worked so hard to forge to begin snapping at their seams.

---

Oliver:
If you were here right now then I don't think I would be able to control myself
Not after what you just said

Mia:
wouldn't want u to
that's the point

Oliver:
I would straight up fucking lunge at you, pick you up, and throw you against my bed

Mia:
o fuck
what next

Oliver:
Get on top of you and pin you down, pressing me hips against you so you can feel how fucking hard you made me

Mia:
mnnn yes sir I want that so bad

but ur not gonna stop there, rite...?

Oliver:
Hell no
I've waited my whole life to have a cute girl who'll let me do anything I want to her
Mia, I don't like to talk about it but I have so much shit to work through

I want love and I want sex so fucking bad

Mia:
Ollie...
ur gonna get all that and more with me so let it all out
just thinkin about serving u is makin me so wet it looks like I pissed myself

Oliver:
Fuckkkk
I'm serious
I'd go all out, probably rip your fucking clothes off so I can see your beautiful body and show you how much I love it

Mia:
mnn I want to be used like that so baddd
I'm touching myself for u rn sir
I just want you to know I'm rubbing my tight lil pussy wishing it was your cock instead of my fingers...
keep going

Oliver:
Help me paint a better picture
Do you shave?

Mia:
yes, sir... but I'll stop if u like hair down there
anything to make u happy
anything

Oliver:
Good girl, keep it up
Don't mind hair but shaven is definitely preferred
Fuck I'm so hard thinking about how pretty that pussy must be

Mia:
how would u relieve urself, sir...?

Oliver:
By using you like a living fuck doll

Mia:
oh god

Oliver:
Seriously, there's so much I want to do... so much I've dreamed about, Mia
I... really DO want to 'use' a girl like you keep talking about.
I love me some vanilla hentai just as much as the next nerd, but...
I also have this side of me that's a LOT bigger than I want to admit that just wants to not even have to think about anything other than my own satisfaction and just devolve into a total hedonistic sadist

Mia:
holy fuck
ollie I just came
I cant believe how fast that was

Oliver:
Good for you but you'd better not stop
Play with that pussy even harder for me, kitten
Warm yourself up for that victory massage you're getting tomorrow while I tell you how I'd fuck you

Mia:
yes sir
now pls tell kitten all about how u'd use her slutty fuck holes to
vent all this sexual frustration u got in your system...

Oliver:
There's a lot more of that than you'd think, we'd probably be at it for a while
Would love to grab you by the hair and force my cock down your throat, for one
Just totally control the pace regardless of whether you gag or not
Back and forth
Holding you in place and fucking my hips into you
Meanwhile you'd better be trying your best no matter how rough it gets

Mia:
ollie it keeps scarin me how compatible we are...
I would suck ur fat cock so hard, let u use my throat and gag lots for u so it gets even tighter
does that sound good mi amor

Oliver:
It does
It so fucking does, god I need that

Mia:
me tooo and I promise ur gonna get it
where would u want to finish tho??

Oliver:
Straight down your throat, obviously
Like that even needs to be said

Mia:
it didn't but fuck I wanted to hear it anyway
Damn
no idea how good I'd be but I'd try my best to swallow everythin u have for me, sir
every last drop because it's precious and it's urs

Oliver:
I'd be disappointed in you if you didn't
Might even have to punish you if you spit some up

Mia:
how would u punish me sir??

Oliver:
However the fuck I want

Mia:
mnnnn that sounds so good...
u wouldn't stop with a throat fuck tho
would u?

Oliver:
No...
That'd just be the start
Obviously I wanna shove my cock inside you and spend the whole night taking it and making it mine as hard as I could
Ramming you into the bed, blowing out your fucking back
Just fucking you with everything I have like I'm trying to hurt you
Over and over and over again

---

This escalated so quickly that Oliver couldn't control what he was typing anymore. The arousal building up inside him was burning hotter with every movement of his thumb. They weren't just talking dirty to each other. They were talking about their future.

Mia actually wanted to do these things with him.

His breathing grew frantic as he threatened to race over the finish line despite how hard he fought against himself to make this last.

---

Mia:
idk if I could even do anythin in that situation...
its all I ever wanted
kitten would try an squeeze her pussy even tighter for sir but her brain would be fucked stupid
head empy, only dick
ur dick
no one else's

Oliver:
You're damn right
It's the only one you're ever gonna want
I plan on making sure of it

Mia:
mmnn yes sir
only a one man type of girl anyway
told u I wanna be owned

Oliver:
Good because sharing with other guys is NOT my thing

Mia:
So...
are u saying you'd share me with other girls???

Oliver:
Uh
no comment lol

Mia:
...Mia will remember this

Oliver:
gdi

Mia:
I'm just teasin, sir
focus
tell me how u'd wanna finish when ur done fucking me
thats what kitten wants to know

Oliver:
Well I'd be fucking you for the whole night long
Don't think there's a place I'd wanna miss
I wanna cum all over you
Your face
Your tits
Your ass

Mia:
inside me...?

Oliver:
More than anywhere else
Huge huge huuuuge fetish of mine, just pumping your pussy full of cum...

Mia:
just the creampie part’s a fetish, or...??

Oliver:
May have a slight breeding kink if that’s what you mean and womb talk def gets me going, but...
One thing at a time lol
Right now I just wanna do cum in you and not think about anything else
God I want it so bad, Mia

Mia:
fuckkkkk me tooooo
prolly a good time to mention I'm on the pill
soooo
u could rly do that as much as u wanted
gonna cum again just thinking bout it...

Oliver:
Wait
I'm almost there, too
I think I could use one last push over the edge and I've got an idea

Mia:
...oh?
what did sir have in mind?

Oliver:
I want you to send me a voice clip of you cumming, kitten
Finish yourself off and make it loud and slutty for me
Do it now.

---

Oliver had a tissue ready for the moment of release, but he let go of his aching cock to give it a brief reprieve while he waited to see if Mia would go along with his suggestion. He wasn't sure if she would, but he did his best not to second-guess at her behest.

This shouldn't be too far for Mia, he surmised. They did worse together last night. The longer Oliver went without a response, the more optimistic he became of his demand becoming a reality.

Sure enough, a voice clip was sent three minutes later.

"It's so sexy when you tell me what to do like that, mi amor... mn... can... hey... can you hear this...?" Mia's voice asked, referring to the audible wet noises coming not far from her phone. "That's how wet you made me. Isn't that fucking crazy? Mn...! Listen close, Ollie... I'm... mn... gonna cum for you, sir... fuck, fuck... gonna cum, gonna cum, gonna cummm... everything you said... everything you wanna do to me... so good... so... fucking... good... and... and... HAAHN!!"

Mia did precisely what she was told, making it loud and making it slutty. Even better, he heard an even wetter noise hidden beneath her screaming. She was probably squirting like she did against his cock last night.

There was no reality in which Oliver could resist the sexy recording. He did what he had to do, crying out alongside her and firing off into his tissue until he was entirely spent. The clip trailed on with Mia gasping for air until it fully cut off.

Oliver lay in the darkness with only the light of his phone to illuminate his dull surroundings. He'd gone off the deep end for a bit there. It'd been a while since he indulged in such visceral fantasies, and he'd said some crazy shit that he never would've dreamed he'd eventually tell a girl.

And Mia had accepted and encouraged every last bit of it...

Mia...

He snapped back into focus, quickly checking his phone to see if he missed any messages while he basked in the confusingly satisfying aftermath. It turned out that he had, but Mia was as patient as always with him.

---

Mia:
was that good enough, sir?
I'll say more naughty things if u haven't cum yet
just tell me what u wanna hear

Oliver:
No sorry I came really, really hard just now and zoned out for a sec...
That was... amazing...

Mia:
hehehe
im guessing we're gonna stop now?

Oliver:
Well
It doesn't take me that long to get my second shot going but shouldn't you be in bed by now?

Mia:
ugh, yea
I guesssssss

---

Oliver was disappointed they had to stop but was happy about the LP gain and how close she was to her second heart event. Sexting was pretty low for a sexual milestone, though. That made sense, but it was mildly annoying since he was only five points away from getting another low-level strength skill.

He wondered if maybe there was something he could do about that tomorrow before the fight, then decided he’d sleep on it.

---

Oliver:
Sorry, I'm assuming you didn't get enough?

Mia:
Unfortunately
usually don't cum that fast so that's a nice bonus but yea I'm only like half satisfied tho so still kinda frustratin
not cause of u sry
I meant the amount not the quality
quality wise?
best orgasms of my life
aside from yesterday duh
hbu, sir
did u make a big mess that I'd have to clean up?

Oliver:
I would've if I hadn't used a tissue lol
Felt like I shot six times or so, though
it felt so good

Mia:
mn that sounds wonderful ollie
gotta say tho I wasn't expecting u to get so hardcore
thought we were gonna have to work up to that but
nah u just went for it lol

Oliver:
You're a bad influence
I try not to go so crazy with my fantasies like that honestly
But I think I definitely needed this and it helped a lot

Mia:
good
working thru ur issues is better than pretending they don't exist
promise we'll sort through all ur baggage one piece at a time ollie

Oliver:
Idk Mia there's a lot to get through

Mia:
yea I fucken noticed lol

Oliver:
Walked right into that one...

Mia:
sure did mi amor
am I gonna see u b4 the fight tmrw?

Oliver:
Nah I'm gonna chill out all day in preparation
Need a change of pace from all the fighting before I do more
Maybe I'll do some drawing? Idk

Mia:
damn, wish I got to work whenever I felt like it
how's art been going for u tho
been meaning to ask, but...
lot a stuff gone on since we went to rob's

Oliver:
Not great, only had one session so far
I'll show you mine if you show me yours?

Mia:
was actually plannin on showing u some art after you win
just in case feeling me up wasnt incentive enough
need to show u sooner or later anyway so might as well

Oliver:
You already had me at boobs
Now you're just spoiling me

Mia:
just tryin to make u feel loved, mi amor
said it urself how bad u need it
speakin of showin some love...
I'm starting to get tired but there's a lil somethin I did before hanging out w/ Zoe
here
just for u

---

Oliver watched his phone with curiosity as he waited for whatever Mia was sending him. When the image came through, his heart soared. It was a hastily drawn black and white digital sketch of the two of them. It was much more honest than the last time she'd drawn him, and there wasn't any exaggeration at play.

They were positioned behind her new drawing tablet, and Mia had rendered herself giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, the words 'Thank You' running along the bottom of the image. Oliver's expression on the drawing was painfully accurate to the one he was currently making as he stared at the picture- blushing with a crooked smile and his heart pumping like mad. She'd even drawn little sound effects to convey how hard it was beating, damn it.

The only difference was that the Oliver in Mia's picture wasn't fighting back tears, whereas the real one was.

---

Oliver:
I don't know what to say
Seriously
This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me...

Mia:
yea well now we're even

Oliver:
You really didn't have to

Mia:
fuck off lol
u won me a $1300 tablet on our first date dude I had to do SOMETHING

---

Oliver couldn't recall the last time he'd felt so emotional. It was embarrassing, and he was grateful she couldn't see him like this. However, he couldn't express how profoundly it impacted him through text alone, and that didn't sit right with him.

He hit the record button and sent Mia a voice memo of his own.

"Thank you, Mia. I don't know why, but seeing that pic just made my heart explode, and now I can't think of anything but how happy I am to be with you. I'll cut myself off before I say anything stupid, but I just want you to know two things before you head to bed. The first is how much you mean to me, which is more than anything, and the second is that I'm gonna beat your brother up so fucking bad that he'll need to start wearing a second eyepatch."

He felt dumb after he'd sent it, but it was a good sort of dumb. Maybe even the best kind.

Mia sent him back another voice memo in response- a long one.

"Whoa, okay, didn't know you'd react so strongly... um..." Mia sounded pretty flustered, which Oliver found endlessly adorable as he listened to her soft voice in the darkness of his room. "Was just a dumb little sketch, didn't even take me ten minutes... if I knew it was gonna be a whole thing I would've, mn, I don't know... tried? Fuck. Didn't mean it to sound like that... tripping over my words here because of you, mi amor, but I'm glad the silly little sketch made you happy. That's it. That's all I'm trying to say. God, I'm bad at this when you're not actually here face-to-face with me... can we say goodnight now? Your gatita is tired and wants to catnap all of her cringe away."

Oliver laughed, no longer on the verge of happy crying but feeling just as emotionally exhausted. He agreed and gave her what she wanted. One more message.

"Goodnight, Mia. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sweet dreams, mi amor," Mia exhaled, relieved to be done with this game of awkward back and forth. "Now, don't stay up too late listening to the clip I sent, sí? Night."

As if things couldn’t keep on getting better.

Oliver continued smiling at his screen despite the conversation having ended. His mood stabilized, though he was still intimately feeling the effects of his love. Mia was all his obsessive thoughts could center on. Sleeping like this wasn't going to be easy when he was firing on all cylinders mentally and emotionally.

Oliver didn't care that Mia had correctly predicted what he'd do next. He needed to tire himself out somehow, and exercising wouldn't cut it. Without reservation, Oliver jacked off an additional two times while rereading their conversation, thinking about Mia, and listening to the clip on repeat.

A tremendous weight was lifted from his soul in the wake of what they'd done, lulling Oliver into a deep state of ease as he went to bed a happy man.

---

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 49

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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.

---

Chapters Later

Sorry I didnt post like I thought, the next chapter is huge and I’m done with it now just have to edit it. Will probably break it in half to make it flow better. Gonna go do the first one now.

Need Help with Grammarly Bill

So this month is looking to be a rough one and my yearly Grammarly subscription just went through without my expecting it. Wanted to ask if there's anyone who can help me with that retroactively since $140 out of nowhere is not great when I've only got a couple hundred for the entire month basically after bills.

Not having released a book in so long is really starting to affect me worse and worse and even when LARPG #1 comes out I won't see profit for 2 months after it so I'm really getting tired of current predicament.

If anyone can help with that please send here, anything past the $140 would be nice, too, if at all possible because again I really don't have much right now.

Next chapter should be up later btw so that's a positive at least

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 48

Oliver and his opponent stared each other down the moment the fight began, neither moving so much as an inch. Their eyes were locked, waiting for the first twitch of betrayal. One of them would have to move first, and Oliver knew this was just as big a part of the battle as the fight itself. This wasn't a professional showdown, and they weren't on a timer. They could take their sweet time and play mind games for as long as they wished.

Akira cut through the tension, taking a single step forward with his black karate shoes. His stride was deceptively long. He could easily clear the distance in only a few steps if he wanted to, but the fact that he didn't was a statement. He was inviting his foe to make the effort himself.

Oliver wasn't so foolish as to rush in blindly. Akira practiced karate, and his range was longer than Oliver's thanks to his style's propensity for dramatic kicks. If Oliver risked setting himself up for a kick to the face if he didn't approach carefully.

Or did he? He didn't think to do so then, but Oliver wished he'd watched one or two of RamenFist's fight videos before sending a challenge. Akira's capabilities were a complete mystery, and playing the long game was starting to wear on Oliver's patience, making him nervous.

He decided on a compromise.

Oliver stepped in just close enough to tempt Akira into making an attack. The enemy's right leg rose in a sudden arc, cracking like a whip. Oliver backstepped immediately, but his new insight made it worth the risk. He knew he would have to work his way in and stay there so that Akira couldn't utilize his big striking techniques like that kick.

Infighting it was, then.

Oliver kept up his turtle guard, relying on his speed to get within punching distance. Akira's surprised face implied he was faster than the martial artist initially gave him credit for. Akira threw a sudden left-handed chop to Oliver's side to deter his approach.

Hyper Reflexes kicked in, alerting Oliver to incoming danger. His boxing skills gave him greater control over his body, but taking the knowledge his reflexes gave him and acting on them proved mentally straining. It felt like he was splitting his attention in half between trying to get out of the way and keeping an eye out for openings.

He evaded just in time, ducking under the shop and countering with a body blow from his right fist. The punch landed with a resounding flat thud. Oliver's first attack sank into the larger man's side, doing almost no damage and confirming his worst fear. He wouldn't win this or any other match with his brute strength anytime soon. Worse, this position left him open for an incoming elbow strike.

Oliver pulled off another dodge at the last possible second. Akira's elbow whizzed in front of his face, missing him completely. Though Physical Conditioning would lessen any damage, Oliver wasn't enthusiastic about getting hit by one of those. That said, he didn't back off. He kept up the assault, landing a series of hooks to his opponent's face.

Knocking him out would take a lot, but the damage wasn't as minimal as it was when hitting his side. Akira had a lot of padding in his upper body, so it was either the face or activate Weakness Exploit - Pain to see what else he had to work with. Oliver was saving that skill for later on in the fight after he'd had more practice with the basics, however, so he tried not to worry about doing damage and allow himself to get sucked into the battle's rhythm.

A lengthy exchange followed.

Akira was more graceful than his weight would have you believe, and on more than one occasion, he was able to slip out of Oliver's range with retreating swipes, chops, and kicks. It took everything Oliver had to react in time to each one, but his streak at avoiding Akira's attacks continued unchallenged until a sudden palm thrust to his chest was dished out just a little too fast for him to maneuver away from.

A dull thud resounded against his sternum. Akira wasn't so weak that the damage was fully mitigated by Oliver's Physical Conditioning. He felt the blow. Relatively hard, at that. If it weren't for Hyper Reflexes shocking him with news of another incoming attack, he might've been left staggered. Instead, he pulled out an emergency backward step and got out of there before it was too late.

So this is what it's like to get hit, huh? Damn, that hurts. Still, it's not like I couldn't soak up more of these if I really had to... anything to get closer to Mia.

Akira tried to follow after him, but there wasn't much the big man could do when Oliver focused purely on evasion. Oliver was faster, and even now, only a few minutes into the fight, the stamina difference between them was starting to become apparent. Akira was already sweating pretty hard and had to pace himself before he became overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, Oliver had plenty of energy to spare. If he felt up to stalling Akira out, winning was all but a certainty. He wasn't in a hurry for an easy win, however. Oliver wanted to get as much battle experience from the karate practitioner as he could before it came to that.

Both fighters sunk even deeper into the rhythm of combat. Oliver was dancing with his foe- circling and strafing. Akira's skillful attacks came swift as a razor, but Oliver acclimated to his new reflexes more with every movement, returning each failed go at him with some cursory jabs. The punches were adding up over time, and if he kept it up, he might win via death by a thousand cuts.

He's getting slower, Oliver noticed. He's trying not to show it, but his attacks are more sluggish than initially- easier to dodge. I don't think I can get much more out of him, so maybe it's time to try out my secret weapon...

Oliver retreated, the wind from a fist aimed at his face falling against him. Akira was eager to regain some stamina. He didn't immediately follow after, taking a defensive stance and waiting for Oliver's next move.

This gave Oliver ample time to study what he saw from Weakness Exploit - Pain. His eyes glimmered in the dim alley, icons appearing all over Akira's body. Most weaknesses were spots you'd expect to see on anyone. The chin, the eyes, the throat, the testicles, and so on. The rest were unique to Akira.

A spot on his lower left leg stood out as promising, but it was useless to a boxer. Oliver could try to duck and slam it, but nothing would stop Akira from performing a downward chop on his head. His right forearm also had a medium-sized crosshair, possibly having gotten hurt in one of his previous matches. That one might be worth going for, but Oliver didn't think it would do enough damage to end the match.

The crosshair on his left shoulder, though? That seemed like his best bet by far. Unlike all the others, this icon was red and so big it reminded Oliver of the glass cups from last night.

All right, Oliver locked his eyes on the shoulder, clenching his gloved fists. Time to wrap this up.

Before he did, Oliver closed in and started continually circling to Akira's left. He wanted to see how noticeable this would've been if he only knew what to look for. Sure enough, baiting a couple of attacks from Akira's left-hand side clued Oliver into how weak the shoulder was. Every move was noticeably slower than one made with his right, and he even winced a few times after overextending a punch or an elbow strike.

Akira quickly caught on to Oliver knowing his greatest weakness, and the two briefly locked eyes. At first, Oliver still felt a shred of guilt over what he was about to do. That cleared up when he saw the conviction on Akira's face. Though he didn't put it into words, his expression communicated all he needed to say. This was a fight between men, and Oliver should treat it as such.

He waited for his chance, twisted his body, and landed a right straight on the weak spot.

Akira didn't fall over immediately, but the damage wasn't negligible. He was staggered in place, his eyes momentarily bulging from pain. Even so, he wasn't giving up. He recovered before Oliver could land a follow-up, diverting the blow with a chop to his forearm.

The slight pain didn't stop Oliver, who delivered a furious left uppercut in response hard enough to Akira's chin for it to freeze him yet again. This opportunity would only last for a second or two at most, so he pushed himself to capitalize on it as hard as he could.

Blow after blow, the impact of Oliver's gloves on Akira's shoulder started echoing into the empty lot. His teeth ground into his mouthguard, his body summoning up every ounce of power it had to take home this win. One, two, three, four- Akira cried out and buckled to his knees, Oliver pausing right before the fifth had made contact.

"I yield!" Akira quivered, cradling and rubbing at the damage. "You win."

Both of their cell phones played the same sound of a bell ringing three times, signifying the completion of the match. Bradley cheered from the sidelines as soon as it was over. Upon Oliver's victory, the money was transferred into his account.

"Excellent WORK, [Champ]!" Bradley came up from behind Oliver and handed him a water bottle, seemingly out of nowhere. "Tell ME, how do you FIND the [Sweet Taste of Victory]?"

Oliver took the water bottle and then looked at Akira. The match felt intense as it was happening, but now that it was over, he had a different perspective. He'd outclassed his opponent in everything but strength. He was faster, had better reflexes, absorbed damage better, and had everything else he needed to come out on top.

It wasn't that winning didn't feel nice. It certainly did. Oliver had never won a fight before, and a red surge of masculine pride flowed through his veins as a result. Still, part of him wished he was strong enough to have finished this without relying on what he had done.

"Can't say it isn't a little amazing," Oliver admitted. "But-"

Akira pulled himself up off the ground. "Hey," he interrupted. "Don't go making excuses for yourself. I would've done the same in your shoes. A real warrior takes advantage of any weaknesses he sees in his opponent, you got that? You beat me fair and square, so I'm gonna be pissed if you don't take that lesson to heart."

His headband fluttered in the wind, his eyes made of fire. Oliver couldn't look away from the intense inferno. Something other than masculine pride was suddenly coursing through him- respect. Akira was right. He'd stepped into the ring of his own volition and was ready for anything to happen. There were no hard feelings.

Oliver extended the water bottle towards his defeated foe, offering a small smile along with it. "Consider it taken."

"...Good," it took a few seconds, but Akira smiled back and accepted the water bottle. He eagerly drank from it, guzzling over half its contents in one gulp. That was fine. Oliver didn't even break a sweat because of Physical Conditioning Lv. 2, so Akira needed more hydration than he did.

He let out a satisfied sigh and handed the rest back to Oliver, who tilted his head back and tipped it over to finish the rest. Bradley stepped between them, placing one hand on Akira's noninjured shoulder and one on Oliver's.

"You've NOW both partaken of the SAME drink! [The Oath of Sworn Brotherhood] has BEEN completed!" He announced with pleasure.

Akira gave Oliver a look asking if this dude was for real only for a small laugh to escape him when Oliver shrugged.

"Not sure that's how it works. You're supposed to make that kind of oath with sake, and it just so happens I'm fresh out. Got plenty of ramen, though," Akira pointed towards the food cart that had been partially blocking off the alleyway. "What some lunch? On the house, of course. I haven't had that big of an ass-kicking in a while, so I'd say you've earned it."

Oliver was shocked by his fallen foe's generosity. "Seriously? That'd be great. Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Of course I don't. Just give me a second to get changed." Akira pointed at a duffel bag nearby where he kept his clothes.

"Fantastic!" Bradley's eyes were filled with stars. "This is a PRIME opportunity for [Male Bonding]!"

Oliver laughed awkwardly, apologizing for his friend's weirdness as he led Bradley out of the alley and gave Akira his requested privacy. A minute later, he came out wearing casual clothes and an apron, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

Akira then put his cart, which Oliver now noticed was titled 'Ramenryu', back on the sidewalk and got to work making them both a bowl of tonkotsu ramen. It was an excellent little cart, like something you'd see on the streets of Tokyo, and the smell of boiling ramen was phenomenal. It was a bit at odds with the aroma of the coffee shop the cart was parked in front of, but phenomenal nonetheless.

They talked while Akira cooked, and it turned out he was a lot less serious when he wasn't wearing his karate gi.

"Used to be something of a hotshot in karate tournaments way back when," Akira laughed. "Did all kinds of stupid training in the name of getting stronger. I'm not sure how far you're looking to take this, but don't overdo it, yeah? You'll fuck something up sooner or later and end up with an injury like this of your own." He crooked his neck towards his shoulder.

"How'd it happen?" Oliver asked.

"It's stupid," another laugh. "I had a bunch of weights strapped to my leg and I was hanging off a pull-up bar, right?"

"Oh, God, I really don't know if I want to hear the rest of this..." Oliver shrank. It sounded like something a kid would do after watching too much anime.

"Ha! Yeah, seriously. It's probably a lot worse than you think. It only took a single dumb idea to ruin my entire life. I thought, 'Hey, I bet I could probably do a few pull-ups one-handed like this, right?'"

"THAT is [Horrifying]!" Bradley announced, sounding enthralled. "Do go ON!"

Oliver was in utter disbelief. "And you still fight with an injury like that? Why?"

Akira was just pouring them their bowls when he shrugged his shoulders. "I already told you, didn't I? It's fun."

"Man," Oliver exhaled. "I bet your physical therapist just loves that excuse."

"Oh, she's not thrilled about it," Akira smiled like a kid caught sticking his hand in the cookie jar. "But I like to think we've all got little addictions we just can't quit."

Oliver's mind drifted towards his own, smiling at the thought. "Yeah, maybe..."

"Enough about me. This girl you're fighting for must be real special if you're willing to go this far for her. Want to catch me up on the story so far?"

"Why not? As soon as I'm done eating-"

Bradley loudly slurped his entire bowl of boiling hot ramen down in one gulp, no chopsticks required. He slammed the empty container on the counter before him, then fixed his bowtie until it was as immaculate as ever. "Allow ME to handle [Exposition Duty] while you consume your [Exotic Meal], my FRIEND!"

Bradley gave a Bradlified account of Oliver's situation, which meant it was over-dramatized and made to sound even more over the top than it already was. By the time he was done spewing his insanity, Akira had been thoroughly won over to Oliver's cause and promised to give him a discount if he ever brought Mia to Ramenryu.

Oliver was down with that. The food here was excellent, and he was willing to bet Mia would agree. Because his cart frequently changed locations, Akira gave Oliver his contact information before they left. He wasn't expecting to gain a new rival-turned-friend so fast into his sudden genre-shifted life, but Oliver supposed he didn't always need Lucky Bastard for nice things to happen to him.

Bradley was overjoyed at the additional male friend Oliver had gained. He claimed that bros were worth their weight in gold, and by that logic, Akira was worth a lot. In his brief time knowing the guy, Oliver was not inclined to disagree.

Following Akira's advice, Oliver jogged the ramen off for a while before finding more matches on Brawln. Entering a battle with a full stomach would only be asking for trouble. Once it had settled and he was ready to go, they found a bench and sorted through more fighter profiles.

Oliver kept hoping they would find a boxer, but no one who fit the bill cropped up. It seemed like Gottlieb might've been onto something when he told him his boxing skills wouldn't take him far in the rankings. A couple of fighters had boxing experience listed in their profiles but fought primarily using other styles.

He was having trouble picking, part of him still wishing he could be at work flirting with Mia right about now instead of preparing for illegal street fights. God, he wanted to be so obnoxious with her. It was finally his turn to be a normie, and her brothers just had to show up and rope him this wacky scenario, didn't they?

Thinking of Mia fired Oliver up enough to pick someone already, so he ended up biting the bullet and choosing an East European wrestler who went by the username 'Warfare Bear'.

A big, bulky strongman might've seemed like an odd matchup on paper, but Bradley provided a reasonably convincing argument as to why it was a good idea. It helped that the man had seven wins to fifteen losses, but it was more so that a wrestler would push Oliver's limits on what he was most worried about- his evasive skills and agility.

If Warfare Bear managed to get ahold of him even a single time, it was pretty much guaranteed that the match would be finished. It was a gamble, one that would light a fire under his ass, and Oliver decided to go for it since, thus far, it'd been proven that he worked well under such conditions.

Warfare Bear agreed to the match request, and funnily enough, they were headed back to Evrart Park for this one. That was something of a relief. Oliver was worried about what it would've been like if he'd fought a wrestler in an abandoned parking lot or something where he could've easily been suplexed into the concrete.

The thought alone was almost enough to make him stop at Bulk Up Fitness again to pick up a helmet or at least some elbow and knee pads.

When he finally met up with Warfare Bear, there wasn't much in the way of pregame chat. The wrestler was ready and waiting to do his thing, and Oliver was prepared to give him what he wanted. They bet seventy-five dollars on the battle, cleared it with Brawln, and then the bell rung.

The battlefield was a secluded area between the park's outer walls and the fenced-in dog park. The ground below was nothing but soft grass, meaning Oliver didn't have to worry about suffering head trauma as he started dodging and evading every attempted grab. Unlike his first fight, Oliver activated Weakness Exploit - Pain from the get-go and studied his opponent closely. Aside from the standard weaknesses, there was a soft spot on his right hand ribcage which Oliver focused his attentions on.

His second fight of the day was much more challenging than his round bout with Akira. The wrestler wasn't about to just let him come close, hit him where it hurt, and retreat without making him work his ass for it. Warfare Bear was doggedly persistent- reaching out for Oliver's shirt and even his hair whenever possible. He pushed Oliver's Hyper Reflexes to their absolute limits, and while he didn't land any of his grapples, he still scored several big hits on Oliver that put him in tricky situations.

Oliver had never known a pain comparable to getting nailed with a gut punch from a trained wrestler. It ripped the air out of his lungs, Physical Conditioning Lv. 2 being all that kept him from getting grappled in the immediate aftermath. Warfare Bear wasn't happy about being given the runaround- his anger starting to boil over as Oliver dragged the match out.

Even constantly hitting his weak point wasn't enough to bring the grappler down- his defenses were just too substantial for Oliver's current punching power to pierce through. Oliver triumphed in the end for no other reason than his supernaturally enhanced stamina was heaps better than Warfare Bear's. Oliver didn't tire out as he continued slipping in and out of Bear's range while taking potshots. Meanwhile, Bear was overexerting himself out of frustration, acting more like an enraged bull than his namesake.

The big man was burning through his stamina just trying to pin Oliver or put him in a hold at any cost until finally, forty-five minutes into the battle when Oliver had slipped in yet again and hit his weak spot with a left hook before zipping away, Warfare Bear decided he'd had enough. He raised his hands and voluntarily fell back on his ass, exclaiming that he had given up and that this wasn't worth it.

Oliver's second fight ended in his favor, netting him more cash and a deep feeling of accomplishment. It wasn't a glamorous victory, but then again, neither was his first. He'd promised Akira not to let that kind of thing bother him, so Oliver focused on his positive feelings while discarding the rest.

Though not as good a sport as Akira, Warfare Bear was cordial enough in defeat after he'd had a minute to cool off. It helped that Bradley provided water again, which the wrestler desperately chugged before crumpling the bottle and throwing it on the grass below. Politely offended, Bradley took the bottle to the nearest recycling bin, leaving Oliver alone with his foe for a few moments as they decompressed while sitting together on the grass.

"You're gonna be fucking dangerous when you learn to hit harder than an old lady," the strongman laughed uproariously, slapping Oliver on the back with all of his strength.

Despite the stinging pain, Oliver shot back some playful banter of his own. "So will you when you learn how to work past that temper of yours."

Warfare Bear looked at him like Oliver had just insulted his mother, staring for an uncomfortably long time, only to crack a smile lacking a few of its teeth when Oliver somehow managed to keep a stony face. "Almost had you there!" He guffawed.

"Yeah, in more ways than one," Oliver laughed back, and he'd meant what he'd said. The battle had been fought on a razor's edge. Things would've played out differently if Oliver had made so much as a single slip-up, and the fact that he hadn't gave him much confidence. It wasn't as big of a boost as getting a girlfriend was, but beating a wrestler in a mixed martial arts street fight was pretty damn close.

Warfare Bear cursed when checking his phone, discovering it was later than he thought. He formally introduced himself as Branko, then left to go home and clean himself up before picking his kids up from school. Oliver didn't quite get the sense that he'd made a friend like he had with Akira, but it was still a positive interaction that had been missing from his life until very recently and which left him feeling fulfilled. Branko had him promise a rematch sometime in the future, and Oliver teased that he was all too happy to take more money from him whenever he had more to give.

Bradley returned right as the wrestler was departing and was unhappy about it. "Darn it ALL! I've gone and MISSED all the [Male Bonding]!"

Oliver laughed, laying back down on the grass. "There wasn't that much to miss this time around. He was nice enough, but we're not suddenly best buds. If you're so upset about it, though, come chill with me for a few. I think I've got one more fight in me for today, but I'd like a quick rest first."

"There's NOTHING more I would RATHER do!" Bradley parked it and sat beside his friend, his mood instantly recovered. "So! That's [Lucky Number Two] down and OUT. How are YOU [Holding Up]?"

"Not bad," Oliver admitted. "I wasn't sure after Akira, but the last match has me thinking that fighting can be pretty fun sometimes. Might dip my toes into Brawln more than I thought? Still not looking to make a career out of it, it's more like..."

"You're suddenly REMEMBERING there's MORE to life than [Dating Sims] and [Romanceable Women]?"

"Pretty good way to put it, yeah," Oliver laughed, unashamed. "I came into this looking to get some experience and cash, but there's definitely some emotional fulfillment going on, too. It's like my years as an incel rewired me into thinking having a girlfriend was the biggest thing wrong with me and that women were the cause of my suffering, when way back when all I ever really wanted was to have friends."

Bradley was quiet for a moment, allowing Oliver to gaze at the sky and stew on his words. When he finally spoke, it was in a gentle tone that almost had a heartfelt quality to it marred only by the artificiality of his voice. "That's how they get you."

"...Yeah. It's sad, but true. All those pickup artists and grifters I used to watch back then always snuck in rhetoric that made me feel like I was being spoken to directly. It made me feel like someone was taking my problems seriously and like I was being heard. Looking back, that kind of shit was almost like a drug. It felt really good at the moment to have someone to look up to who'd tell me it wasn't my fault, but the more of that I subjected myself to, the more it poisoned my brain. It makes me wonder if I would've fallen so far if I had someone who cared enough about me to actually listen as opposed to some toxic douchebag on the internet."

"Well," Bradley spoke. "The [Good News] is THAT you're in a position for THAT to never HAPPEN again. You've got [Tutorial Girl Mia Rosas] and PLENTY of other [Heroines] lined up FOR the foreseeable FUTURE!"

"And I've got you," Oliver gave his friend a pointed smile, ignoring the notion of further heroines as best he could. "You're important to me, too, you know. No matter how fucking weird you might be."

Bradley was in high spirits over this declaration of friendship and eagerly urged Oliver onwards. "The [Feeling] is MUTUAL! Now that you've HAD a quiet [Moment of Self Reflection], are you READY to pick out your THIRD and FINAL foe for today?"

"Yeah, I think I am," Oliver opened up Brawln and started sorting through his available opponents, now finding a whopping fifty ready and waiting for him to reach out as soon as he'd decided on one.

He wanted at least one match against a boxer before packing it in for the day, and unfortunately, he found one.

You've got to be fucking kidding me, he thought, staring at the profile in disbelief. Suffice to say that Oliver wasn't planning on sticking around for long enough after the match to become friendly rivals with '卐StraightOutOfMeinKampfton卐'.

Oliver almost wasn't even sure he wanted to risk his money ending up in the hands of a skinhead punk, but there were a couple of things urging him to send a challenge. The first was that the guy was younger and even scrawnier than Oliver, probably around nineteen or twenty, and the second was his win rate of three to six. Oliver had a high chance of victory, and he felt pretty confident he might be able to earn his first knockout if he was up against someone his own size.

The temptation was too much. Oliver sent out a challenge, which was shortly accepted, then set out to take this bastard down a million pegs.

They met up in an empty parking lot behind an abandoned dive bar. Things were off to a great start when Oliver made first contact, the skinhead covered in Aryan Brotherhood tattoos making fun of him for his 'faggy' username and calling out Bradley for looking like 'the gayest butler' he'd ever seen.

Yeah, so much for the day's running theme of positive masculinity. On the other hand, it had to be acknowledged that this kid was probably in a very similar situation to the one Oliver had just reflected on finding himself in once upon a time. He probably needed someone to set him straight and be a positive influence, and Oliver sincerely hoped he’d find that special role model from the bottom of his heart, but it sure as hell wasn’t going to be him.

Oliver was here to kick ass and develop his relationship with Mia, not take up a career as an overly pushy and annoying youth pastor. He bet the kid a hundred and ended the day's training montage with a session of unrestrained brutality.

The third match was one hundred percent Oliver punching down.

Oliver overwhelmed the wannabe Nazi with his speed and stamina, but most of all, his skills. Boxing Lv. 2 was unsurprisingly most effective when fighting other boxers, giving him greater insight into his opponent's moves than during either of his other matches. Furthermore, he'd guessed correctly about the power of his punches.

Oliver was straight up beating the shit out of the poor guy, a dramatic change from his earlier bouts. This seemed almost like a solid taste of what he had to look forward to once he'd gained more points in his strength stat, and for as easy as it was to get lost in that fantasy, Oliver didn't drag things out for too long.

He finished the third fight as fast as possible because he might've taken things too far if he hadn't. Oliver could safely say as 卐StraightOutOfMeinKampfton卐 fell to the floor unconscious that while hurting other people still wasn't much his jam, it could feel pretty damn great under the right circumstances.

"Okay," Oliver walked away from his latest victim and back toward Bradley. "That'll do me on fights for one day, but I feel like there's more we could do to prepare for tomorrow. Wanna head back to my place and study famous boxing matches with me while I do some curls?"

"Do I EVER!" Bradley purposefully walked over the body of the punk-ass kid, the sole of his shoe grinding into his forehead where a Celtic cross was tattooed front and center, a groan of pain coming from his throat. "Does this MEAN you're still SET on tomorrow, THEN?"

"I am," Oliver confirmed. "Juan's nowhere near as bulky as Branko, and I'd be surprised if he could hit even half as hard. Hopefully, the curls will get me another point of strength before the match, but I'm feeling great about my chances even if they don't."

Satisfied with his work today and the friends he'd made along the way, Oliver jogged home with Bradley. He was convinced that nothing could stop him from unlocking Mia's second heart event and couldn't wait until he was in the ring with Juan.

---

New Stacy Outfits

Yoga, swimsuit and panties for Stacy! Underwear for the rest have also been ordered but that's all I have for today.

Art - https://www.fiverr.com/skinnysloth

New Mia Outfits and Collar

New stuff! Her old collar is discarded at the end of vol 1 when Oliver gets her a new one to more cement their dom/sub relationship. It's also cause the old one was a default koikatsu asset and I wanted something much more unique. Expect to see this one as her new default in all art. At some point I'll have to draw it for her sprite.

Other than that we have casual clothes, panties, and swimsuit!

Art - https://www.fiverr.com/skinnysloth

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 47

Tuesday, February 20th

Oliver spent the rest of the previous night planning out his new side hustle with Bradley and then predictably jacking it to the memory of Mia. The activity served him well, clearing his mind and leaving him empty-headed enough to sleep like a rock. Bradley showed up after his morning routine and came bearing good news. Sometime overnight, he'd found a buyer for the watch Oliver offloaded onto him, bringing back three hundred dollars. The date paid for itself twice over, making Oliver feel somewhat better about losing Lucky Bastard for the next six days now that he got something out of it.

Today's plan was equal parts simple and surreal. Oliver planned on becoming a street fighter to gain experience and prepare for his boxing match with Juan. That was the simple part, the surreal part being the 'how' side of the equation.

Bradley pulled the wool from Oliver's eyes last night and enlightened him to a scarcely concealed underground fighting ring spanning most major cities in the country. It operated using an app named Brawln distributed by special representatives. After tracking down one of these fine men in black, you had to convince them why you should be allowed into the network either as a spectator or a competitor.

Bradley ran into several Brawln matches during his nightly misadventures and was introduced to a representative after one such battle had been fought. For reasons beyond Oliver, Bradley convinced the man to register him as a spectator and added the app to his phone. The version of the app Bradley had access to was limited in features, but it allowed him to track down upcoming matches, watch videos of old fights, place bets, buy merchandise, and arrange payouts for his earnings.

He couldn't explain much about the fighter's version of the app, but it sounded pretty straightforward. All you had to do to get matched with someone was head to one of the many secluded areas in the city loaded up with secret cameras by the Brawln elite, set your status to active, and wait for someone of your rank to send you a challenge. Both fighters would then meet up and bet money on their match to make it official, the winner getting the full pot while the people running the show got their share from spectators betting and buying merch.

Oliver had trouble believing any of this even existed because the entire concept was utterly ridiculous. What kind of secret streetfighting ring sold officially licensed merchandise through an app? You'd think that went against the point, but things made much more sense when Bradley explained how Brawln was just one of those open secrets that the wealthy elite engaged with and that the government ignored, provided they got their share. Oliver found it sad how much easier it was for him to believe in Brawln after hearing that eccentric billionaires were involved, but what can you do?

Further evidence of how lax the secret was kept was how easily Bradley set up a meeting with a representative through the app to recommend a new fighter. Their appointment was coming up fast: noon at Evrart Park. Oliver couldn't show up, however. He sure as hell didn't look the part, small and skinny as he was, so he at least had to dress it.

The duo were on their way to visit Bulk Up Fitness to pick up some proper fighting gear. Supposing this all worked out and that he proved halfway decent at fighting, Oliver saw the upcoming purchase as an investment. You saw side hustles like this in dating sim RPGs all the time, and it'd be nice to have another way to pick up some quick cash if he ever needed it, even if he wasn't thrilled about the getting hit part of the equation.

Oliver was in a pretty decent mood as they walked through the city. Every point added to his total strength made his body feel fresher and more alive. Boxing made him relatively lighter on his feet, his eyes were sharper because of his heightened reflexes, and he had so much stamina that Oliver could've sworn he could participate in a triathlon and still have some fuel to burn. Everything seemed to be going his way.

They reached the store with time to spare and headed on inside, Bradley reiterating what they needed to grab once they got there. Oliver needed a pair of athletic shorts, some MMA gloves, a mouthguard, and a decent pair of boxing boots at the bare minimum. The bad news was that even when going for the cheapest options, the shorts were $30, the gloves and mouthguard were $20, and the boots were a whopping $100.

So much for all that watch money, Oliver sighed as the owner rang him up.

--- received Boxing junk item graphic---

Since the plan was to show up for the meeting and get straight to fighting as soon as he got the app, Oliver saved himself some effort and changed clothes in the store's bathroom before they went on their way, putting on everything aside from the mouthguard. He stopped in front of the mirror, inspecting his reflection. His body still didn't look the part, but the rest of him did. That was going to have to be enough.

"Remember what you're fighting for," Oliver told himself, striking a pose and performing a one-two jab. "You've got this."

Filled with the closest thing to confidence he could muster, Oliver left the store with Bradley and made it to the park just a little bit before their meeting with the Brawln representative.

Evrart Park was a large, walled-off public park in the city's center that had been a feature of Vista Venus since its earliest foundation and had only gotten bigger and better as the years passed. Nowadays, it had a playground for children, a fenced-in dog park, a small forest with a nature trail, and big public spaces where people could hang out and have barbecues, or whatever else people with social lives did in parks. Oliver wasn't sure about the social aspect but liked the place well enough, even as a former shut-in.

He would've thought that it would be in the representative's interests to choose somewhere private and out of the way, like maybe behind one of the public bathrooms or something, but perhaps that was too 'drug dealer' for him because they were supposed to meet up at the benches surrounding the central fountain. It was far from conspicuous, which Oliver was starting to sense was something of a running theme here. Especially when he got a look at the guy.

There wasn't anyone else around the benches save for a twitchy white man in his late thirties dressed in a black suit. He wore an earpiece, had short, trimmed brown hair, and jittering black eyes that looked much more comfortable if only he had a tinfoil hat to protect him from all that nefarious 5G in the air. Oliver had seen this guy's type a hundred times before on the city streets, figuring him to be overly paranoid and neurotic by the way he vibrated in place.

Hopefully that wouldn't be a problem, but at least Oliver was well-equipped to protect himself if it came down to it.

Oliver was about to tell Bradley he would handle this, but it was too late. Bradley was already approaching and raised one hand in greeting, the other showcasing his phone and the app for verification. "Greetings, [Representative of Brawln]! My NAME is Bradley, USERNAME, [BradleyFightFan001]!"

The panicked man's hand nervously darted inside his suit's breast the moment he locked eyes on Bradley. Hyper Reflexes sent a tiny tingle of danger down Oliver's spine, allowing him to intuit that the representative was packing heat. Things were already off to a great start, it seemed. He took back what he thought about being well-equipped.

"Who sent you?" The man asked. "And how hard?"

"[The Goddess of Victory], AND [To the Max]!" Bradley repeated the codewords they received upon confirmation of the meeting.

After a nod of his head, the representative relaxed somewhat, removing his hand from his hidden sidearm. "Had to be sure," he said, then glanced Oliver up and down. "This the guy?"

"I am," Oliver stepped forward. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't intimidated, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't act professionally. The gun was probably part of the procedure, Oliver guessed. It probably weeded out anyone too scared to actually go through with this. "I wanted to get the app on my phone and register as a fighter."

Making no attempt to hide that he didn't like what he was looking at, the corner of the representative's mouth twitched into a frown. "You? Don't make me laugh, kid. I've been around fighters long enough you've never been punched a single-"

"Then punch me," Oliver balled his fists and stared the man down. "Go on, prove yourself wrong. I'm tougher than you might think."

Strange. The Brawln representative wasn't used to making mistakes in his initial assumptions. He'd written the kid off too soon before he got a good look at the fire in his eyes, and now he had to reconsider. There was no use in punching him- not when Oliver had already made his point.

Might as well see what other tricks he had up his sleeve.

"...No need, I'm not in the habit of damaging the potential merchandise," he shook his head, taking out a silver cigarette case with a stylized orange fist encased within a square emblazoned on its cover from his breast pocket inside his gun. His eyes darted back and forth before lighting up and taking a drag. "My apologies, kid. I admit I had you pegged wrong, so why don't you show me what you've got?"

Oliver smiled, secretly grateful he didn't have to get punched to prove his worth.

He walked a few steps away to give himself some distance and performed a minute-long boxing demonstration using all his strength and skill. His body moved like a dream compared to how it used to, nailing complicated dodges and imaginary counterattacks like he'd been training for this his entire life. Air whistled around his fists with every jab, Oliver unleashing a furious flurry so fast that it earnestly surprised him. His core remained perfectly balanced and as sturdy as a tree trunk the entire time, demonstrating remarkable resilience on top of immaculate form.

He finished things off with a colossal right straight, twisting his entire body to get the maximum amount of force behind it. Bradley clapped in the background while Oliver held his pose, looking into the representative's eyes as he asked, "How was that? Good enough to get me in?"

"Depends. You've got skill, but I have to ask if boxing is all you've got? It has its uses, but a martial art like that won't get you far in the ranks."

"I pick up new skills pretty quickly," Oliver shrugged. If you give me a chance, I'll probably learn all sorts of tricks from my opponents."

"Hm..." the man blew a ring of smoke while deep in thought.

Sensing a chance to go on support duty, Bradley chimed in. "You haven't EVEN told [The Man] the most IMPORTANT part, Oliver! How could you [Forget to Mention] that you ONLY picked up [Boxing] several DAYS ago?"

"Wait, you shitting me?" The representative almost dropped the cigarette from his mouth as he laughed. When he saw the serious look on Oliver's face, he knew this was anything but a joke. "Well I'll be damned. Should've told me you were a damn prodigy, kid! Hand over your phone."

Oliver shot Bradley an appreciative look and then did as instructed. He watched as the man took a USB-C cord from his sleeve and jacked into his phone, installing the Brawln app. It only took a few seconds before he extended it back towards Oliver.

"There. As soon as you pick a username and set up a payment method, you'll be good to go. Do you need a quick rundown on how things work?"

Oliver looked down at his phone, seeing the same orange fist logo as the one on the man's cigarette case. "Yeah, why not? I might as well make sure I got the gist of it."

The representative at last introduced himself using an obvious pseudonym, going by 'Mr. Gottlieb'. Gottlieb then covered most of what Oliver already knew before filling in all the blanks that Bradley couldn't. First off is the basic stuff. He explained how to use the app from a fighter's perspective, and after that, he drilled in how secretive all this was, how his matches would be recorded and shared on the platform, and then hammered in the fact that Oliver was on his own as far as medical treatment went.

Once that was over and done with, he told Oliver about how the ranking system worked.

It wasn't anything dramatic. Oliver would start at rank F like almost everyone else, and depending on his performance, he would be promoted onwards and upwards. It was up to the shadowy cabal that ran the joint whether or not he was given an opportunity for advancement. Truthfully, Oliver didn't care much about ascending the ranks. This was a side hustle, not his new full-time job, and his interest in fighting extended only as far as gaining experience for his battle with Juan and getting some cash.

Gottlieb was reasonably enthusiastic about the entire thing, however. It turns out that whenever a representative signs someone, they essentially become their agent. Supposing Oliver did well in his fights, Gottlieb would see some kickbacks. There wasn't any pressure, though. The whole thing seemed weirdly chill and laid-back for a secretive underground fighting ring, aside from the initiation and veiled gun threat.

Before the explanation was wrapped up, the last thing Gottlieb had to tell Oliver about was that Brawln now held merchandising rights to his likeness. Not a big deal when he was still F rank, but still something to keep in mind. The fact didn't really register when Oliver was told about it. He was starting to disassociate at this point in the lecture, wondering, What the hell even is my life anymore? We were in full rom-com mode a day ago, and now it feels like there's been a sudden genre shift...

He hoped things would go back to how they were before as soon as possible, which was why he was here in the first place. He didn't get these powers to become an all-powerful streetfighting champion. He got them so he could get closer to cute girls. This was just a means to an end, and Oliver was happy when Gottlieb finally ran out of things to say and went on his way, claiming to have another meeting with someone else in another part of the city.

Oliver wasted no time firing up Brawln, finishing his registration, putting in his direct deposit details, and picking the username 'Fighting4Love' because he was incredibly bad at naming things. Zero spark will do that to a man. He also didn't care much about his name to begin with and was eager to roll this thing along. Bradley helped him take some necessary photos for his profile, and after filling in some basic details about himself, he was ready to go.

They immediately checked if there were any prospective matches Oliver could apply for. There were- over thirty of them, in fact- and those were just the ones he had access to. Hundreds of battles were being fought across Venus Vista at that very moment, represented by little icons on a big city map. It really showed how huge of a presence this app actually had.

He and Bradley sat at a bench and looked through the potential candidates. Oliver assumed this must be what it felt like to sort through user profiles on a dating site. They were turning people left and right for inconsequential reasons. This guy was too strong, that one was too weak, and so on. It took some whittling down to find anyone who looked like an appropriate matchup for him.

"He doesn't seem TOO bad, does he?" Bradley cupped his chin and leaned in to comment on the profile Oliver was currently looking at. The user in question was a twenty-nine-year-old Japanese man named RamenFist. He specialized in karate, had a win/loss rate of thirteen to thirty, and his profile pictures featured a heavyset man wearing a patched-up white gi with a black belt that struggled to contain his midsection along with a tattered red headband fluttering in the wind behind him.

"No, he doesn't," Oliver agreed. RamenFist's record implied he was just strong enough to have some wins under his belt but not so strong that he might make for an overwhelming first fight- precisely what they were looking for. It was a nice bonus that he was only a few blocks away from the park, too. "Might as well send a challenge and see if he's down for taking on a newbie."

Steeling his resolve, Oliver alerted RamenFist of his desire to battle. Only a few seconds passed before his request was accepted. It came a lot faster than he expected, which Oliver was grateful for. Neither of them wanted to keep the man waiting, so they rose from their seats and took off.

Bradley suggested they jog all the way there since it was so close by, and Oliver agreed. He figured it would be a good test of his current stamina and that every bit of exercise would get him even closer to his next strength level up. The afternoon traffic made it take a little under ten minutes to get there, the two jogging in place while waiting for the crossing signal to turn.

Oliver's improved stamina was such that the constant movement didn't get to him in the slightest. He wasn't sweating, wasn't short of breath, and didn't have a face red with exhaustion. Everything went smooth as silk, and Oliver smiled again at how nice it felt to feel this good about his body. Despite only one point of his strength resulting from his hard work and dedication to self-improvement, the results made him wish he'd started years ago. God only knows how much good a decent workout would've done for him back when his brain was in the gutter.

The alley was wedged between a thrift store and a coffee shop, with an unmanned food cart parked at its entrance. It wasn't as shady as the alley you had to go down to get to 12oz House, but it definitely had boss battle vibes and a door made of fog wouldn't have been out of place here. Oliver sensed a slightly foreboding presence waiting for him at the end, and with Bradley by his side serving as a constant morale boost, he pushed onwards.

The alley led into an overlooked lot that would've been big enough for a couple of sheds and not much else. It was empty here save for scraps of trash, empty bottles, and the tattered ruins of a homeless person's tent. He couldn't see any of the cameras that would record this fight, but Oliver guessed that was the point. In the center of the lot was a man sitting on a mat he'd laid on the concrete floor, his legs crisscrossing strangely. Oliver would've recognized this as the lotus position had he known anything about yoga beyond how hot it made girls look.

There was little room for doubt that this man was indeed RamenFist. He looked identical to his profile pictures and even wore the same karate gi with patches in all the same spots. As Oliver and Bradley stepped into the empty lot, the opponent ceased his meditation, and his almond eyes opened wide, zeroing in on the young boxer.

"Fighting4Love, I presume?" He asked, his firm voice displaying a respectful Japanese accent.

"God, it sounds so much stupider when you say it out loud..." Oliver muttered, suddenly embarrassed over how thoughtlessly he'd chosen his username. "Yeah, that's me. I'd prefer if you just called me Oliver, though."

"Mn," the enemy nodded respectfully, stood, folded his mat up, and tossed it to the side. "Akira. And you?"

"Pay me NO mind. I'm JUST a [Humble Spectator]," Bradley showcased his version of the app like it was a police badge. "Though I AM the [Competition's Best Friend]!"

"Very well," Akira said, not paying much regard to Bradley and quickly focusing his attention back on Oliver. "First fight, huh?" His expression was severe, but his voice sounded friendly enough. "Any special reason you decided to get in on the game? Money? Power? Or is it that you really are just fighting for love?"

"It's mostly love, but the money's a little nice bonus," Oliver spared an awkward laugh. "Long story short, I've got to beat up one of my girlfriend's brothers if we want to stay together, and I'm looking to get some fighting experience before I get in the ring with him." He punched his gloves together, the pleasant sound of leather on leather bursting outwards from the impact.

"You're already better than me," Akira gave up a soft smile. "I just fight for fun. Are you ready to throw down? I'll put down fifty bucks if you can match it." He took out his phone and formalized the bet on his side, waiting for Oliver's agreement before he hit send.

"Fifty sounds fine to me, sure. Would you give me a second to talk strategy with my friend here?"

Akira respectfully agreed, taking the time to stretch himself out while Oliver and Bradley huddled together off to the side. Oliver asked for Bradley's overall impression of his opponent, and he shared the same opinion that Akira shouldn't be taken lightly despite his record and atypical physique. He was a big dude, and just by looking at him, you could tell not all of it was fat.

"Keep your distance and [Play it Cool] at the beginning of your BATTLE! Chances are [High] you've got the [Advantage] when it comes to [Speed and Agility], so wait it OUT as you adjust to combat, my FRIEND!"

"Spoken like a true corner man," Oliver patted Bradley on the back and separated from their huddle. "I'll keep that in mind and see how things go. I don't want to make Akira feel like I'm toying with him, but I need to draw things out and get a feel for all this before I start going on the offensive." He took in a deep breath while performing some footwork. His lower body wasn't quite in sync with his upper, leaving Oliver feeling like his legs couldn't follow along with all his new knowledge as well as his arms could. It was his biggest concern aside from his punching strength.

"Are you [Nervous]?"

"Mildly," Oliver admitted. "But that's what I'm here to work on, right?"

Bradley gave him a reassuring thumbs-up and a wink, saying, "That's the [Spirit]! Keep THIS up and you'll be [Fifty Dollaryidoos Richer] in NO time! Also, do your BEST to try AND not get [Knocked Down]. Concrete HURTS!"

"That might've been your best advice to date," Oliver joked.

With nothing else to say, the two of them pumped fists. The fighter approached his opponent while putting in his mouthguard as his corner man leaned against the nearest building to keep well out of the way. Oliver and Akira both had their phones out, finalizing the match. The app soon alerted them that their bet had been registered and that the hidden cameras were officially rolling. A bell ringing thrice played from both men's speakers, signifying it was time to have at each other.

Oliver took up his fists, ready for the first fight of his life.

---

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 46

The mission was simple; defeat Juan Rosas in a boxing match. To accomplish this goal, Oliver had 310LP to work with. He knew that this challenge relied solely on his strength stat, but the lock wasn't kind enough to specify if there was a specific number he needed to be at to overcome the obstacle. Because it didn't, Oliver was convinced he had some wiggle room. Dumping every last point he had into tier one skills to earn quick plus one stat boosts might not be the best way to go about this.

Bradley was in agreement. The living tutorial explained to Oliver that these progression locks were more than just a numbers game and that he could clear the challenge by choosing his skills smartly instead of maximizing his stats. Another twelve points to his strength wouldn't do him many favors when he had a roster of low-level skills with which to apply them. It was better to pick out skills that would actually help with the specific challenge, and that included looking in tiers two and three, where he wouldn't get any stat bonuses from his purchases.

"The BEST approach is a [Hybrid Approach]! If ZERO strength is [Slightly Below Average], then TEN is reaching levels of [Slightly Above Average]. Those numbers won't SEE you dealing [Sick-nasty Damage] unless you HAVE an [Ace Up Your Sleeve] to increase your [Attack Potency]."

"Sounds like we definitely need something from the game-breaking side of things, then,"

"I should SAY so! However! Why don't we [Narrow Down] the essential [Tier One Skills] YOU absolutely need to [Buy, Buy, Buy] and SEE how much LP we have to WORK with after the fact, shall we?"

"Yeah. I already have five tier one skills in mind, and I'm pretty sure you'd have a good guess as to what they are."

Bradley took this as a challenge and submitted his first guess while Oliver brought up his skill menu and clicked into the appropriate tab. "You can't GO wrong with [Physical Conditioning Lvl. 2]!"

Oliver nodded, navigating straight to it. "The level-up will cost me twice as much LP as an ordinary tier one skill, but something tells me I'll need it against Juan. I'm small and stringy. All the attacking power in the world won't help me if I go down in one or two hits. Hell, if I'm desperate, I could rely on the stamina this one gives me and try to stall him out."

It wouldn't hurt Juan like Mia wanted Oliver to do, but a win was still a win, and he doubted she would complain so long as he got results.

A moment later, Oliver had his very first leveled-up skill.

The first time he bought this skill, Oliver didn't notice much difference in his body. That wasn't the case the second time around. Warmth spread throughout his body, stemming from his core. He could feel his muscles hardening and his sinew tightening while molten blood surged like lightning through his veins. The sensation was so powerful that he let out a gasp, but it wasn't out of pain. Rather, this felt pretty good, actually. It was a shame that it only lasted half a minute.

Oliver was left panting once the sensation had passed, still getting to grips with his new condition. Bradley had gotten up during the entire affair to go and fetch him some water, which Oliver guzzled down gratefully the moment he got his hands on it. The whole thing felt like waking up after a night of growing pains sans the pain and the growing.

"Thanks," Oliver sat the glass down after stabilizing. "Didn't know it was going to be that intense. No idea how much this is going to help against Juan's punches, but it's definitely something."

"I wouldn't ORDINARILY suggest [Self-harm], but you could always GIVE yourself a [Good Old-Fashioned Whack] to test the difference!"

Throwing caution to the wind, Oliver shrugged his shoulders and sent his fist on a collision course with his face. The impact was utterly harmless, and he couldn't feel a thing. Oliver wasn't sure if that meant his body was tougher or if he was just that weak, so he tried a different approach. Digging his nails into the back of his arm, he discovered that he had to work at it if he wanted to come close to breaking his skin.

"Safe to say I'm definitely more durable," Oliver reported with a cautious grin. He still felt a sting, though, as most of the added protection was against physical force, not sharpness.

"Wonderful! Moving RIGHT along, then?"

"Moving right along," Oliver confirmed, scrolling back through his skill menu. "The entire plan falls apart if I don't pick this one, and while I'm at it, I might as well take it up to level two."

"Understandable! I'd argue that didn't EVEN need to be said!"

"It really didn't," Oliver said as he pressed the buy button on Boxing lvl. 1 and immediately upgraded it, spending 75LP in total.

The sound of a bell being rung three times in quick succession echoed in Oliver's mind. New neural pathways were carved into him where once existed nothing but weed haze and porn addiction. His muscles twitched with memories that weren't his own. He recalled the ring, the sensation of dodging an uppercut and landing one of his own, and of his coach yelling at him to ignore the pain and fight on using his Yamato-damashii, whatever that meant.

And then it was over, Oliver snapping out of it and rubber-banding his way back to his current place and time.

"Holy fuck, that was weird... it felt like I just downloaded knowledge straight into my brain cyberpunk-style."

"How ELSE were YOU expecting the [Relevant Experience] to GET in there?" Bradley asked in his typical chipper tone.

"Beats me," Oliver shrugged. "It's just that this was the first time I've ever gotten a skill teaching me how to do a thing, so I didn't know what to expect. That's all. It wasn't unpleasant or anything, just weird. Ah, well. That's three skills now and three additional points of strength. I didn't notice it while I was tripping out just now, but damn, my body is starting to feel good."

"Why not [Show Off] a little and GIVE a proper [Demonstration]?" Bradley suggested. "We won't know HOW well it worked until YOU do!"

"I was just about to," he said, standing up and taking a few steps away from the table to give himself some space. Vital energy was building in his body the more points he put into strength, counteracting a life spent indifferent to physical activity.

Closing his eyes, Oliver assumed a boxing stance he'd seen before in an anime, thrusting both forearms out in front of his face and turtling up.

He envisioned Juan standing before him, decked out in boxing attire. An imagined right hook from the brute rippled through the air as it lashed toward Oliver's cheek. He could dodge, he could duck, he could take the punch and try to mitigate the damage... Oliver had so many options in just a fraction of a second that the choices would've been overwhelming without his newly acquired skill helping streamline the process.

Oliver twisted his body to the side just narrowly in time, a punch of his own swiftly zipping towards his phantom opponent. It struck Juan on his blind side, doing little beyond incurring the larger man's anger. Another punch, another dodge. As the fight continued, the tempo sped along at a frightening pace. Oliver was pivoting with his feet, backstepping, jabbing, doing everything he could to stay in the game and not get hit. The whole thing felt like a huge uphill battle, but he was always one or two seconds behind and never ahead.

After one nonstop minute of shadowboxing, the demonstration ended when Juan landed a jab to his face. The latex rubber foam of his opponent's illusionary boxing glove smashing into him felt so real that it caused Oliver to react as if it had actually happened. The experiences he'd gained through his skill pounded the memory of what it felt like to be punched deep into his subconscious and gave him a reasonable estimate of how hard someone like Juan could hit. It told him it wouldn't be pretty when it actually happened and that it was a good thing he decided to bolster his defenses.

Though he didn't exert himself thanks to his increased stamina, Oliver's breathing was unstable from the shock of the phantom pain. Once he'd calmed down, he looked to Bradley, asking, "How did that look?"

"Your form was EXACTLY as described on THE skill description for [Boxing Lv. 2], that is to SAY, [Intermediate]! Well done!" Bradley's enthusiasm seemed genuine, as did the cursory round of applause he tacked on.

It didn't assure Oliver that much. "Do you think that's good enough? I didn't want to take it to level three if I didn't have to, but..."

"The level of [Combat Proficiency] you displayed just NOW was greater than most of the LOCAL street fights I've witnessed WHILE wandering [Vista Venus]! [Juan Rosas] is NOT a [Trained Athlete] to OUR knowledge. Therefore, I have SIGNIFICANT doubts that [Boxing Lv. 3] would be a NECESSARY improvement to triumph OVER him!"

That was good to hear. There were other skills Oliver wanted to use his remaining LP on, skills which his shadowboxing just now helped point out he was lacking. The main thing he noticed during the short bout was that his body couldn't keep up with his brain's new knowledge. He needed better reflexes and didn't have the time to train them naturally.

After explaining his rationale to Bradley, they decided on the last of the tier one purchases.

Every last nerve in Oliver's body jolted in unison as his eyes opened wild, pupils dilating. Sweat trailed down the sides of his face. He found himself in a new direction every other second, never the same one twice. Oliver felt aware of himself and his surroundings in a way he had never before been.

There were no imminent threats in his immediate vicinity, but now he knew there very well could be. People delude themselves into thinking they're safer than they actually are at any given moment. This tore the veil off, imparting a sobering horror onto Oliver for the brief seconds this sensation lasted. He was grateful it ended when it did, as the thought of living the rest of his life in this state of perpetual awareness and hypertension was even more terrifying than the state itself.

"Fuck," Oliver huffed, hunching over the table as he drank the next class of water Bradley had rushed to get him. At the same time, Bradley rubbed his back in a stiff, robotic motion. It helped to have a physical reminder that he wasn't alone.

"That... was was not what I was expecting, Christ... didn't think I'd be shooting a dose of existential terror straight into my veins with that one, but here we are..."

"I'm so SORRY you had TO experience [All That Jazz]!"

Oliver laughed, brushing it off. "Whatever, at least it's out of the way. Now, let's test it out."

He didn't initially have an idea of how to do so until Bradley revealed he was carrying a number of small rocks in whatever hammerspace he had access to. Oliver didn't even question why he had these rocks on him; he was just going along with it at this point. He allowed Bradley to chuck them at him rapidly, using enough speed and force for the rocks to hurt if they made impact.

Oliver's hands glided effortlessly out in front of him in a dizzying flurry. He would catch a rock in one hand, let it fall from his palm, jab with his other hand, and repeat the process until each stony projectile had landed limply on the carpet below. There was no way he would've pulled this off without his increased reflexes, and thus, he considered the demonstration a success.

"All right, now that's over and done with, we're down to a hundred and ten points. I feel stronger than I did before getting another five points in strength, but I'm still not confident in how hard I can hit. I think it's probably about time we started looking for a trump card."

Oliver and Bradley were in agreement and thus started scrolling through tiers two and three. One option stood out to him fairly early on in their search. It was a tier two utility skill called Weakness Exploit - Pain that promised he would see icons representing structural weaknesses in any physical object, including organic matter.

It wasn't his intention to gravitate toward a single skill immediately; it just so happened that Oliver didn't really have many other choices. Outside of tier one, everything focused on improving his quality of life, helping him win over heroines, and giving him access to weird, crazy sex stuff. There weren't many straightforward options for hurting other people, the only other choice being the occasional corruption skill, which Oliver had no interest in ever adopting.

Without much debate, Oliver did the thing.

Nothing bizarre happened to him in the wake of his newest acquisition. He was thankful, even if it was somewhat anticlimactic. If Oliver was hoping for a surprise, however, he was about to get it when a notification appeared a couple seconds later.

"Huh," Oliver remarked. "I unlocked something that looks like a sub-skill? That hasn't happened before. I wondered about the 'pain' part of the name, though."

"Why NOT [Check the New Goods]?"

"Way ahead of you," Oliver said as he clicked on the skill's name on the notification, creating a subsequent pop-up for Weakness Exploit - Pleasure, a tier three lust skill that would only cost him 50LP.

Talk about temptation. Oliver was already somewhat sour about not getting to really touch Mia during their first make-out session, and this only exacerbated his desires, making him want to run his hands all over her body as soon as he got his chance. The low price only made it even more appealing.

He'd definitely have to pick that one up eventually, but not today. It wouldn't help him win a boxing match, and he could buy another two tier one skills at the same price. Oliver motioned for the box to disappear but was interrupted before it did.

"Now hold ON just a minute there, [Champ]!" Bradley raised his index finger and smiled. "Haven't you HEARD what they SAY about [All Work and No Play]?"

"No, never once in my life,"

"Hah! Good ONE, [My Friend]! That was a VERY nice [Sarcasm]. In all SERIOUSNESS, I believe purchasing [Weakness Exploit-Pleasure] MAY [Light a Fire] under your [Ass] and provide a PSYCHOLOGICAL incentive to fight even HARDER once you're [In the Ring]. Consider the following. Wouldn't you be even FURTHER motivated knowing you had [Supernatural Pleasures] look forward to UPON your [Hard-earned Victory]?"

Oliver didn't like talking about this kind of thing with Bradley, but he did have a point. The thought of giving Mia a mystical massage had him foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog. His blood was boiling the longer he envisioned her reactions, the things she would say, the cute noises she would make for him, and the way she would tremble at his mercy.

Oliver's senses took leave of him long enough for his body to act on impulse, blacking out and refocusing on a shameful notification.

"Shit," he cursed, embarrassment coloring his face. "I didn't mean to do that, but then you got me all worked up, and now I don't have enough LP for anything else..."

"Look on the [Bright Side]! Now YOU'LL be BRIMMING with [Motivation]! You don't WANT that [Erotic Purchase] to be [All for Naught], do you?"

"No, I don't..."

He wanted to tell Bradley not to tempt him so hard in the future, but deep down, he knew not much of the blame rested on his advisor. Bradley would've folded if Oliver had been insistent; the problem was that he got carried away and lost out to his compulsions. He chalked it up to not getting enough attention tonight from Mia, and besides, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't noticeably more motivated. Figures, given how well Bradley knew him in and out.

Oliver sighed and resigned. "Whatever, what's done is done. Let me give Weakness Eploit a shot real quick, and then we'll discuss the next part of the plan."

The skill activated when Oliver consciously wished for it to do so. Weakness Exploit - Pain caused his eyes to tingle in their sockets. It was a strange sensation, though not the worst he'd felt that night. Little white icons shaped like a marksman's target started appearing all over his field of vision on top of just about every object in his surroundings.

If an object had more than one, these targets varied in size. The coffee table in front of him had multiple targets, but the biggest among them was the wobbly leg on Oliver's left. Then, you had objects like the glass cups Bradley used to serve their iced tea. The cups were surrounded by one big icon, representing how easily they would break if you dropped them.

Oliver made plenty of discoveries by looking around at his meager possessions, but some of the information was more concerning than interesting. It bothered him to see how weak points there were in his walls. He knew this place was cheap, but not that cheap...

Other than that, the most significant discovery was that Bradley didn't have a single weak point anywhere on his body. Oliver had suspicions, but this seemed as good a time as any to finally ask. "So, do you not feel pain, or...?"

"I EXPERIENCE no [Physical Stimuli] whatsoever!" Bradley set the record straight, sounding oddly chipper about his lack of a nervous system.

That certainly explained a lot, but the revelation didn't sit well with Oliver. "Does that ever bother you?"

Adjusting his bow tie in thought, Bradley contemplated for several seconds before speaking. "If I'm speaking [Truly and Honestly], then my [Answer] would be SOMEWHERE between a yes AND a no. It's [Mildly Upsetting] to ME that I KNOW what [Slices of 'Za] and [Cold Ones] taste like due to YOUR memories, and yet I will never TASTE them for MYSELF. [On the Other Hand], there are PLENTY of human sensations I am [Overjoyed] to [Go Without]! You TAKE the [Good] with the [Bad]."

"...You sound like you've thought about this kinda thing a lot."

"At NIGHT I often walk down [Lonely Roads] and [Empty Shores], my only COMPANION the [Icy Kiss] of [Existentialism]!"

Oliver didn't have a high school diploma; this philosophical shit was so far beyond him it circled the world and back. He still had no idea what to think about the fact that he'd created a dude out of his brain who was now living a bizarre half-life dedicated to helping him pick up chicks. All he knew was that Bradley was his friend before anything else and that he had to do right by him.

"Right, well... just letting you know that I've got your back if I ever get a chance to pull a 'my third wish is to set you free, genie' moment."

"No need, I'm CONTENT with what I AM! Now let's get BACK to the [Big Picture]. What DO you have [In Mind] for tomorrow's [Training Plans]?"

That was a good question. All Oliver knew for sure was that he wanted to see if he could get his strength stat up one more time. Beyond that, his only idea was maybe going to a boxing gym and seeing if he could find anyone willing to spar with him. He needed some hands-on experience using all his new skills in tandem, along with actual combat practice.

Bradley was pleased to find out they were on the same page, but he also thought Oliver wasn't thinking big enough. "Sure, we COULD go to a [Boxing Gym]..."

"...Or?"

"OR I could lead you [Down the Rabbit Hole] and unlock a LUCRATIVE new [Side Hustle] for you, [My Friend]!"

"Does this have anything to do with that streetfighting ring you brought up a few times? Because I wouldn't feel good about beating up homeless people no matter how much you paid me."

"This GOES deeper than [Homeless Bum Battles], Oliver, MUCH deeper," Bradley leaned across the table with a small grin and a glimmer in his eyes. He held his cell phone in his hand, loading an app as he extended it to Oliver. "Allow me to INTRODUCE you to the [Brave New World] of [BRAWLN]! Underground streetfighting FOR the [Digital Millennia]!"

Oliver was then given a thorough lecture on the most ridiculous topic he'd ever heard, feeling dumbstruck by every word coming out of Bradley's mouth. Something like this didn't even sound possible, let alone legal. He had to admit it seemed promising, though...

Very promising, indeed.

---

Love Addict's RPG Ch. 45

After spending an amazing day with Mia, things looked like they couldn't get any better. Optimism was a new sensation for the eternal pessimist whose brain was once steeped in self-defeating negativity. Oliver's guard was down, leaving him blindsided by the first official roadblock cropping up when it did.

Now, his powers were telling him he couldn't progress his relationship with Mia until his beef with her older brothers had been dealt with, and Oliver was less than amused by the sudden turn of events. He liked the direction his life was heading in and didn't care much for the sudden record scratch. It felt aggravating. Like when you finish a game only for a pop-up window to appear congratulating you for completing all available content and then urging you to buy the DLC.

Thus, Oliver called a strategy meeting and sat at his coffee table to plot things out with his trusted confidant. He started catching Bradley up about his date with Mia while the artificially-created best friend was in the kitchen getting them drinks. After Bradley was seated and had presented their iced tea, Oliver continued on until he was done, skipping only the steamier details.

"Astonishing!" Bradley clapped after downing his glass in a single motion. His throat didn't even contract as he drank; the liquid just sort of slid down there. "Aside FROM your failure to [Kiss the Girl] in [Prize Planet's] parking LOT, I don't think things could've gone ANY better for you, my [Greatest Chum]! Excellent work in ALL regards!"

Oliver scratched the back of his neck. Thinking back to the way he choked earlier still embarrassed him, but it would've been a lot worse if he hadn't made up for it a thousand times over. "Thanks. As always, you were a great help. Your guide-"

"[Bradley's Love Locations]!" Bradley reminded him with a wink and a smile.

"Yes," Oliver sighed. "I wouldn't have known about that arcade otherwise, so again, I can't thank you enough. Really cleaned that place out as much as I could get away with." The only loot he kept for himself was on the coffee table in front of him: a mildly expensive silver watch he planned on pawning and a couple of Sorcery the Consumption structure decks.

Bradley had a bright idea that he couldn't wait to share.

"I believe I MAY be of SOME assistance! Feel free to LEAVE this [Wrist-mounted Timeteller] and ANY other [Sellable Loot] you accumulate during your romantic adventures to YOU old pal Bradley! Using my [Street Connections], I will [Hustle and Grind] to cut YOU the [Sweetest Deals], no pawnshop required!"

"So, on top of being my token best friend character, you also want to be a generic merchant by selling my shit to your hobo friends?" Oliver asked and was met with an enthusiastic pair of finger guns. "Sure, why the fuck not?" He grabbed the watch, closed the latch, and tossed it to Bradley. "That's one problem solved. Now, if only you could get Mia's hulked-out older brothers off my back."

"Why it's FUNNY you should-

"Nope, scratch that. Forgot who I was talking to for a second." Oliver shook his head. He was in a rush to solve Mia's locked heart event, but not to the extent that he wanted Juan and Julio sleeping with the fishes.

"Roger that," Bradley shot off more finger guns and clicked his tongue, which wasn't exactly the most comforting response. "Though I DO want it [On the Record] that I could've BETTER prepared you for THIS if you'd allowed me to SCOPE out [Tutorial Girl Mia Rosas'] family in advance!"

"Still not looking for a spymaster, Bradley. Not an assassin, either. Just an advisor, thank you."

"[Advisor] it IS!" Bradley winked. "Let's start by discussing the [Rosas Twins] in greater detail."

"Okay," Oliver nodded while sighing. He always took issue with Bradley calling Mia his 'tutorial girl' but however apt it might've once been, it no longer felt especially so now that her progression was gated behind a boxing match with her eyepatch-wearing hermano.

Oliver explained his thoughts about the overall situation and his current impressions of both brothers.

Juan Rosas was the human personification of a bad time. Oliver really didn't want to draw this conclusion given all of the stereotypical Latin American brain music his subconscious dreamed up, but the way that Juan presented himself was pretty close to a stereotypical gangbanger. The butterfly knife, the eyepatch, the scars, and the crass tattoos all lent themselves to this image, as did his general attitude. At his best, you could call him wild. Unhinged at worst.

Julio was an altogether different beast. Though physically identical in many ways to his brash counterpart, their similarities became nil the longer you looked at him. He carried himself like he was better than his brother, and that's because he was. Calm, collected, and a man of few words, Julio's presence captivated you and made you listen closely whenever he spoke. He was also shockingly observant and reminded Oliver of Mia in many unsettling ways.

That said, there was another side to the twins that Oliver noticed the longer he spent in their company. Both of them were dumbasses; Juan loudly and proudly, Julio in a more absent-minded manner. They were covered in scars of their own making, and Oliver had witnessed both of them injure themselves. He could understand forgetting to flick the ashes from a joint and burning your hand, but it took a special sort of stupidity to think whittling a block of wood in a moving car was a good idea.

And then there was the way they treated Oliver.

The twins put up a good front when trying to scare him, and it worked like a charm for the first half of their interaction. Oliver got a better read on them only after they got out of the car. Juan and Julio weren't his enemies. You might even say they were borderline friendly with him. He would take them out if they stood in his way, but Oliver wished they could've talked this out a bit more. It made him wonder where the whole idea of a boxing match even came from.

They wanted to protect Mia, so he found it weird how things ultimately boiled down to a contest of strength. If he had a little sister, he sure as hell wouldn't be okay with ending her over to whatever scumbag was strong enough to beat him up. The silliness of it led Oliver to draw an uncomfortable conclusion.

"Do you think my powers are influencing them at all, Bradley? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that the solution is so straightforward; it's just that I... well, from their point of view, I don't think their concerns about me are entirely invalid. Not sure why they would just roll over after I pass a simple strength check."

"I DO believe there's something to THAT," Bradley offered the most comforting smile possible. It wasn't very, but the sentimentality behind the attempt did most of the heavy lifting. "You have TO understand that many of your [Reality Warping] abilities are taking place [Under the Hood], like [Passive Checks] a [Game Master] makes BEHIND his [Fancy Screen]! It's improbable YOU will ever [Truly Grasp] the EXTENT to which you are subconsciously [Pulling the Strings] of those who inhabit THIS world."

Everything kept coming back to 'fuck you, I've got mine', it seemed. Oliver sighed. "So, what? You think I should just suck it up and stop caring about all the side effects?"

Closing his eyes, Bradley fiddled with his bowtie, interlaced his fingers, and sat his hands down on the table with a renewed focus. "Let's LOOK at this from [Another Perspective]. Regarding YOUR powers, the [Name of the Game] is [Gamification]. Did you not want THIS world to be [Simpler and Less Complex]?"

"I did, but you should know by now I don't want to fuck with people's minds or subconsciously control their actions..."

"Oliver, buddy, PAL, my friend..." Bradley spoke softly, the artificial voice coming from his throat quieting. "This is only as much of a [Monkey's Paw] scenario as you ALLOW it to BE. Your powers MAY have simplified the twin's [Legitimate Grievances] towards your character INTO a [Boss Battle], yes, but what EXACTLY is stopping you from sincerely [Earning Their Respect] after THINGS have [Simmered Down]?"

Oliver stared at Bradley for an uncomfortably long time. Then, his gaze shifted toward the floor and hunched over as he lost himself in thought for who knows how long. When he finally raised his head again, it was with an embarrassed smile. "I really don't know how I got so far in life without someone like you or Mia around to knock me upside the head when I'm being stupid and overthinking things. You're right, as usual. First, I'll knock down the twins, and then I'll make things up to them down the line the right way."

A little bit of color rose in Bradley's cheeks, looking odd on his plasticky skin tone. He let out an honest laugh. "Just LIKE that? Doesn't sound like you're ALL that [Hung Up] on this!"

"The murky ethics don't bother me as much as the lock keeping my relationship from progressing," Oliver shrugged after phrasing it like that. "I might have principles, but I also have priorities," thoughts of Mia rushed through him, making his heart race and bringing a smile to his face. "And I'm not gonna let things I can't control stand in the way of them."

Bradley was moved by Oliver's convictions, rising up and giving his friend a standing ovation. "Well SAID, [Best of Friends], well SAID! Luckily, I believe you HAVE more than enough [LP] to [Engineer] a way PAST this [Brotherly Blockade]! However, before you make ANY big purchases, wouldn't it be WISE to inform [Your New Girlfriend] of THE situation? [Communication is Key]!"

"Yeah, I mean, I definitely need to tell Mia about this, but..." Oliver felt heat beginning to rise in his face. "When I left, she had some pretty important things to do and is probably still busy."

"Nonsense!" Bradley sat back down only to slam his hands on the coffee table with unnecessary panache. "You don't want to worry [Girlfriend #1, Mia Rosas] when she finds OUT about this all on her OWN, do you?"

As always, Bradley knew exactly what Oliver needed to hear. The thought of her stressing out about him was enough to get him to stand up and take his cell phone to the bathroom, where he'd have more privacy. He closed the door and called Mia, childishly excited to hear her voice despite it not having been an hour since he'd left.

A slow and sweet voice awaited him on the other end of the line.

"Mi amor," Mia answered in a husky, drawn-out tone, her words punctuated by heavy sighs and a monotonous whirring buzzing noise coming from only a few feet away from her phone. "I knew you'd call. I knew you would, mn... I was waiting for you like a good girl, Ollie. It's okay. I didn't get enough earlier, either. I... I'm more than comfortable with having some fun over the phone together if you want... oh, fuck, we can do it all night long, even..."

Oliver closed his eyes. He knew this would be bad but didn't think he'd be this hard this fast. His eyes shot towards the door. Bradley would certainly leave if he asked him to, and then he'd be free to... no, no.

Gotta stay focused. Phone sex is nothing compared to the stuff we'll get up to after her lock is undone. Oliver repeatedly reminded himself. It didn't do much good. Though he wanted the stuff on the horizon, it wasn't like he didn't want the phone sex, too. He wanted everything she had to give and more.

Still, he tried his best to resist.

"I need you to focus, Mia. Something important came up, and we need to talk about it."

"What's more important than exploring our passions together...? You're not bored with me already, are you? Even though I'm so very, very wet for you- ah- MN!" She cried out, Oliver's imagination torturing him as he envisioned what caused such a delightful and erotic yelp.

"I'm serious, Mia," Oliver raised his voice and counted prime numbers.

"So am I, Ollie, so am I... did you hear that just now? I'm so horny for you that the sound of your voice just made me-"

Oliver's nostrils filled with a sharp intake of air. He didn't want to use a domineering tone out of fear it might make things worse, but at this point, it was his only way of getting through to her. To hell with it.

"Shut up," Oliver demanded, creating silence on the other end of the line. "Turn off whatever is making that buzzing sound and take it out if necessary. After that, keep your free hand to yourself. Understood?"

The buzzing stopped not even a second after he was done with his commands. "Yes, sir. Anything you say, sir. Anything. It's, um, it's only a wand, by the way. I've used my fingers a lot down there, but I'm still still nice and ti-"

"Mia-" he almost shouted. She was going to kill him at this rate. That, or give him gigantic blue balls.

"Sorry, sorry," Mia slurred her words in a hurry. Oliver thought he heard her whisper, 'God, you're hot when you talk to me like that' under her breath, but she continued on without acknowledging it. "Okay. I'm... I'm good. I mean, not good, but I'm mentally here right now, so that's a step up. Everything okay?"

"Wouldn't go so far as 'okay', no, but things could be worse. This will probably kill your buzz, so I apologize in advance." He cursed his choice of words right after saying it, damnable visions cursing him with glimpses of what he was missing out on.

"Not so sure about that," Mia softly chuckled. "Left me wanting more, mi amor. Take an awful lot to kill a buzz this fierce."

"Remember when you said you wanted to keep your brothers away from me for as long as you could help-"

Oliver hadn't even made it through the entire sentence before he heard the sound of the phone getting whisked through the air in a fit of rage. It slammed against a wall, the sudden noise hurting his ear and making him recoil. He then heard her stomping around her room, shouting incoherently in Spanish for upwards of half a minute.

It was about what he expected.

Mia got right back into it when she finally picked up the phone again, asking in a feral growl, "What the fuck did they do to you, Ollie? Speak carefully. Depending on your answer, my buzz might not be the only thing that dies tonight."

"...Juan and Julio ambushed me when I left your apartment, and they also snuck around my apartment building to ask my neighbors abou-"

"PUTA MADRE-" Mia shouted, threw the phone again, and started stomping around once more. Oliver almost wished he could've seen it, knowing how cute she looked when she got stubborn and feisty. This was a whole new level of anger, though. Scary.

Mia recovered a lot faster this time but was huffing and puffing when she got back on the line.

"Maybe you should put me on speaker," Oliver laughed dryly.

"I'm fine this time," she seethed. "Go on."

Mia listened to everything Oliver had to say. He told her about the ambush, the car ride, their talk in his parking lot, and their motivations. Aside from occasional Spanish curse words and general sounds of grumpiness, she was silent throughout until asking, "And you're okay, mi amor? They didn't hurt you?"

"No, they pretty much only hurt themselves... why, do they usually go around hurting other people?"

"Nah, they only LARP as gangbangers to pick up 'chicas'..." Mia cringed at the thought. "Doesn't mean they're not still dangerous. It's just mostly by proximity."

"And yet you're telling me they're carpenters?"

"Delivery men slash sales reps, more often than not. Dad doesn't have them doing the actual woodworking part unless it's a rush job and he suddenly needs all hands on deck..."

"That, uh... sounds..."

"Like the worst environment for a pair of clumsy idiotas?" She sighed heavily. "It is. Got plenty of horror stories to attest to that."

"Does one of these stories have anything to do with how Juan got that eyepatch?"

The other end of the line went silent for a long time. "Don't talk to me about the eyepatch," Mia shuddered, repeating in a quieter voice, "Never talk to me about the eyepatch..."

Now Oliver wasn't sure he even wanted to know.

Mia collected herself before he officially dropped the matter, saying, "Do me a favor and hold tight for a few, mi amor. Gonna give them a call."

"There's not much point in doing that. I'm pretty sure their minds are made up, and we're doing this boxing thing."

"Oh, I know they won't listen," she agreed. "It's more for the sake of my mental health. Need to yell at them for a few minutes."

Oliver spared her a laugh. "Understandable. I'll be here."

Mia hung up after thanking him, and after taking a couple of minutes to freshen up, Oliver stepped back into his one-bedroom apartment. Bradley was busy folding and organizing some laundry. How odd. He hadn't set anything to wash today because the building always got mad if you left your clothes sitting around too long.

"Welcome BACK from your [Bathroom Conversation]! While you WERE on your [Hot Date], I took THE liberty of-"

"God, can you stop making my life so much easier?" Oliver had to try not to laugh. "I already owe you more than I can ever repay. I don't need you sneaking into my place to do household chores like an elf out of an old fairytale in addition to all the other shit you do for me."

"NO promises!" Bradley winked. "Moving [Onwards and Upwards], what did [Starter Girlfriend Mia Rosas]-"

"Nope, absolutely not letting you use that one. Go back to 'Tutorial Girl' if you have to."

"What did [Tutorial Girl Mia Rosas] have to SAY about the [Current Sitch]?"

"Well, she's not fucking happy, I-" Oliver's phone started ringing. "That's her, hold on." He didn't need privacy now that Mia's buzz had been killed, so he answered the call in front of Bradley. "Any luck?"

"Fuckers are acting a hundred times more thickheaded than usual," Mia spat the second after she heard his voice. "Barely listened to a word I was saying. Fuck. Don't know what's gotten into them."

Oliver thought he had a pretty good idea of what was making the twins so bullheaded on this issue, but he chose to keep silent. In response to his silence, Mia kept on talking.

"Can't fucking believe they think you're going to turn into some philandering playboy and cheat on me. Christ. If they only knew how stupid they were for being worried about that of all fucking things..." Mia laughed in a strange way that Oliver wasn't sure how to take, but then she went straight back to being grumpy before he could process it, correcting herself with an angry growl, "Rather, if only they listened to what I was trying to tell them..."

"And what were you trying to tell them?"

"Not important," Mia mumbled, sweeping it under the rug to keep things infuriatingly vague as always. "Got any idea why they think that about you, though? Didn't get much details out of 'em."

Oliver replayed the highlights of his conversation with Julio in his mind, frowning as he did so. He looked to the other end of the coffee table at Bradley for moral support, finding a contradictory smile both warm and fake at once. A thumbs-up followed shortly thereafter.

"He said he saw in my eyes that I'd been hurt before," Oliver confessed.

"Yeah, he did say that much. Told him I was working on it and that if he'd mind his own damn business and give a girl some time, I'd fuck out the last vestiges of sad white boy you've got left in you, but noooo..." Mia sighed for the umpteenth time, Oliver assuming this happened frequently whenever her brothers were concerned. "I swear, it's almost like he thinks a fairy godmother's gonna show up, wiggle her wand in your face, and Cinderella you into Fuckboy Prime, Master of Negging and Destroyer of Cunts..."

The way Mia trailed off at the end sounded a little funny to him. Like there was longing in her words or perhaps disappointment. It was hard to tell, especially when you were as perpetually clueless and out of your depth as Oliver tended to be.

It didn't help that his mind was elsewhere, preoccupied with everything Julio had said.

"I feel like I need to be honest with you," Oliver softly raised his voice. "Some of the shit Julio was saying hit a little too close to home."

"...Mi amor?"

"I'm not saying he's right about me, but I'm not saying he was entirely off the mark about all of his observations, either. I just, I..." Oliver was getting flustered. He only meant to be honest with Mia and was now on the verge of saying all sorts of wild stuff.

Mia helped center him, urging, "Go on, now. Want to get to the bottom of this, so say what you need to say."

"I've been lonely for a really long time. It's probably why I latched onto you as hard and fast as I did. Like, I can confidently tell you right now you're the most important thing in my life, and that's solely down to me just not having anything else going on for me..." Oliver interrupted his emotional speech to give Bradley a sideways glance, ensuring he didn't take it wrong. Bradley made an okay sign with his hand, signifying that he understood Oliver wasn't implying he didn't appreciate his best bro.

"That said, this last week has been really weird for me regarding girls, and I'm not just talking about you. Hanging out with Stacy did weird things to me, and there was even a moment or two where I felt these little pings of satisfaction with Tessa, too. Again, not saying Julio has me down pat, but I feel like you deserve to know how wack my shit's been."

"...Really? Let alone the chick who bullied you out of high school, you got a little side crush on the boss lady?" Mia actually chuckled in disbelief.

Regardless of how chill Mia was, this definitely wasn't the reaction Oliver expected. He assumed she would've been more upset that his thoughts had strayed here and there, especially with how fast their courting went. Instead, he only sensed a sort of mild amusement from her.

"N-No, that's ridiculous," Oliver blushed while letting out an awkward laugh and wiping sweat from his brow. "They're absolutely not crushes. Like you said, this is Stacy and Tessa we're talking about, for Christ's sake."

"Of course, of course," Mia hummed, probably with that catlike smile of hers, if he had to guess. "Not crushes. Only 'satisfaction pings', sí, mi amor?"

Oliver sighed and shoved his face into his palm. "I get the feeling you're taking this seriously."

"Oh, I am," Mia's reply came with the swiftness of a leaping viper. Suddenly, she sounded confident and self-assured, much more than he was used to hearing out of her. "Taking it far more seriously than you'd think. Go so far as to say I'm taking it direly, in fact, but that's neither here nor there. Imagine we might circle back to this once all the drama is wrapped up nice and tight. For now, though, only got two things to say about it. First is that you're adorable. Second is that you're mine, estúpido. Any questions?"

He was blushing again, though this time it was far past what he could control, and Oliver turned away so Bradley couldn't see him. "None that I can currently articulate."

"Guess that means we'll leave it at that," Oliver could hear her giggling, still placidly amused on the other end of the line. This girl and her puzzles. "Oh, those stupid, stupid idiotas..."

After another sigh, this one sounding a little dreamy, Mia abruptly changed the subject. "Anyway, this ridiculous boxing match you've gotten yourself dragged into. You got a plan to not die on me, or should I look into slipping mi hermanos some laxatives? Got keys to their place. Say the word, and I'll arrange a one-way trip to dehydration station."

Mia was shockingly enthusiastic about poisoning her brothers. Good to know, but it probably wouldn't unlock her second heart event. "Sounds like a solid plan B. Counterpoint: I've watched a couple of gritty boxing anime in my time, and I'm pretty sure I'll know what I'm doing once I'm in the ring."

"Mi amor, you're what, a lightweight at most? One hit from a heavyweight like Juan is liable to kill a scrawny white boy like you. Hell, you even taken a punch before?"

"...Can't say that I have," and Oliver would've preferred to keep it that way, given the choice.

"Color me surprised," Mia's tone implied she should be colored anything but surprised. "Better be about to tell me you have more tricks up your sleeve, Ollie. Don't know how we'll get past this if you don't. Could always try talking to my parents, but I don't think-"

"Actually, that's exactly where I was going with this. I wanted to know if you're comfortable with me pulling more 'tricks' like I did at the arcade. I get that you've got a complicated relationship with them, but they're still your family, and they obviously care about you a lot. I felt like I'd get a guilty conscience if I didn't at least check in with you before-"

"Fuck your guilty conscience," Mia laughed abruptly. "Give it to me straight, ese. Tricks or no tricks, you really think you can handle this?"

"Yes," Oliver said with as much confidence as he could, looking back at Bradley with a burning resolve. The second this call was over, they'd start strategizing how best to spend 300LP to make this problem disappear. "I'm pretty sure I can."

"Mn..." Mia paused briefly to take in some air before spilling her heart out in a cold and distant display of approval. "Watching you get your ass kicked ain't my idea of a good time, but you beating the shit out of my annoying brothers? Fuck, I'd pay to see that. My whole life those bastardos have been nothing but one headache after another, and now they think they can just show up, threaten my boyfriend, and tell me they know what's best for me? Ollie, I don't just want you to do what it takes to win. I want you to do what it takes to make it hurt, por favor."

The sudden seriousness hit Oliver so hard he was forced to laugh. As an only child, he couldn't relate to how frustrating it must've been to grow up around such overbearing older siblings. Mia's thirst for violence had him thinking he might've dodged a bullet.

He was slightly hung up on how quick she was to trust him, however. It felt good, giving him a crooked smile, but he had to ask purely because he wasn't used to the sensation. "That's a tall order. You really think I can handle it?"

"Course I do," she said without hesitation. "Whether you know it or not, you're the kinda guy who gets things done. When you say you'll make something happen, got no reason I shouldn't believe you."

Oliver's smile widened again. Trust was such an empowering thing. He felt as if he didn't even need to spend his LP to take down the twins at that moment, silly as it was. Now that he knew how much Mia believed in him, he was more fired up than ever before.

"Thanks. Just a heads up, I'm not gonna be at work tomorrow. Got some preparations to make and some training to do. I'm hoping to take care of the boxing match on Wednesday, depending on how things goes. I'll let you know in the evening so you can tell your brothers."

"That really enough time?" Mia asked, curious rather than doubtful.

"I think so, yeah. Just going to need a day or so for my body to adjust to its new best friend: highly illegal steroids."

She was caught off guard and laughed mildly at that. "Don't get too friendly, now. Definitely prefer having a boyfriend who can make his own testosterone and plenty of it, mi amor. Especially after tonight."

"Ah, yeah, I..." Oliver blushed and became tongue-tied. Thankfully, Mia decided to cut things off for now and leave it at that.

"Gonna go and take a cold shower now that getting off's no longer in the card, then head to bed. Keep me updated, sí?"

"Will do, but... one more thing before you go. Mia?"

"...Yes?"

"I really am going to win. Just wanted to make sure you know that."

"...Confidence, mn? You love to see it. Talk to you tomorrow, Ollie, and good luck."

Pushing the thought of Mia's cold shower out of his mind, Oliver turned his attention back to Bradley, who'd been waiting patiently by folding laundry this entire time.

"[War Council]?" He asked excitedly.

"War council," Oliver confirmed, and then the boys got to work.

---

Staying the Course for Now

I feel better now and I’m just going to go ahead with Kindle release but the backup plan is if it underperforms like Coye and WWYK then I will transition it off of Kindle and onto webnovel sites rather than abandoning it, because I still believe in the story. Just needed to get all that off of my chest, I guess.

Some Stuff on My Mind

I was talking with a Patron in the comments of the outline for the last bit of vol 1 and by the time that was done I thought I had worked out some doubts I had but they’ve been festering since then and now I need to express them. Volume 1 is 44 chapters in and 140k words already and the last bit is probably going to get it pretty close to 200k. I had thought about maybe cutting the material into a second book and expanding it to release them on the same day because I didn’t want a cliffhanger on my new series’ first book (44 introduces the first major roadblock) but now I’m flip-flopping all over the place and for some reason now the idea of making it a webnovel is back in my head again.

Most of this is just doubt from past experiences but I really, really like working on Love Addict’s RPG and am afraid of it ending up like Coye and WWYK. That and I think the pacing just might suit a webnovel better. Haremlit releases tend to be like 80-100k long and LARPG is a very slow burn with lots of character moments and buildup. Oliver will have only completed two of Mia’s five heart events by the end of vol 1 and he won’t even be having actual sex with her for a while still, either, and she’s only the first of 5 (planned) heroines. As of ch. 44, there’s only been a single sex act and it was dry humping that happened in 42. That’s how slow burn we’re talking, here.

On the topic of speed, Haremlit relies on it. I don’t know how fast vol 2 would come out at this rate but I’m not optimistic about it. Despite having good word per day counts, it’s more that it would take a while to reach another good cut off point whereas if it were a webnovel I would see a lot quicker turn around.

Haremlit also likes small, self-contained stories, especially trilogies, whereas I am seemingly incapable of thinking about anything that isn’t a sprawling epic of sorts like an old fashioned pulp serial or a long- running manga. If I did it this way I’d eventually get to release a lot of volumes back to back one day if I wanted while also ensuring a lot of my preexisting fanbase would get it on kindle when available making sure I have a good chance of ranking high on release.

While there are successful long-running harem series, they’re almost all written by the big name book farm guys who publish a book a week. Their follow up to Dungeon Isekai Fuck Man 42 would only come out in a month whereas I might need 3 to get me to vol 2 since I’m already not the type of author who compromises their vision, and adding to that is the litRPG format is not very flexible for me to write in even though I like it a lot.

All the art I get of my series would be put to better use if the entry point was free, too, which did really well for me back in the RotGM days seeing as how my friends always help me get a lot of art on top of everything else they already do to support me.

I don’t know. I just want to write a big, long story and take the path that suits that better. I haven’t officially made up my mind or anything, I’m writing this because I needed to get it out of my system. If I absolutely wanted to, I have the material to make the series live with say the first twenty chapters and already have a large chunk of advance chapters in reserve for Patreon within a week or so barring another few graphics I need made.

I wouldn’t be so concerned with any of this if I didn’t think LARPG might be my best work yet with the potential to really, really catch on. I’m scared of how I’d feel If after all the work I’ve done so far for it and after all the work Urban has done on the litRPG graphics and templates he’s made for me the series was dead on arrival. My mind is just in a weird place because my previous failures still hurt and yet I feel like I have this diamond on my hands so I want to avoid any potential way to fuck it up even if it means taking the slow route. Hope that doesn’t sound egotistical, I just feel really proud of this so far.

I wish there was a definitive answer here but there’s too many factors at play. I’m gonna just post this and go take a break for a few hours and see if anyone has said anything by then. I know this might’ve sounded like I’m already leaning in the webnovel direction, but that’s not the case and I really just needed to write all of this out so it would get out of my head. I set the first volume’s release to the end of March in case I needed extra time or there was an emergency, so I have plenty of time to figure this out.

Also as a last note please don’t feel like you caused this huge crisis of faith Maelstrom lmao I was already thinking about this shit before I talked with you.

Vol 1 Final Outline

Please let me know what you think, lots of stuf

Update

Hey guys just wanted you to know that the outline is going to take longer than I thought because at the same time I'm almost going back and adding graphics to all of the chapters. Most of that is done now but because of two small accounting errors in Oliver's LP I've been spending the last hour or so looking for mistakes I made only to realize the mistakes didn't exist and I just did some basic math wrong and now I have to redo like every one of the graphics I did for him. All the other graphics are fine but that will take me a bit to fix and it's left me in a real bad mood as you might guess so I'll do it tomorrow.

This shouldn't be a problem going forward as Urban will be implementing a running total in the spreadsheet I use to keep track of all this so, because currently it only displays what Oliver's LP should look like at the current chapter.

Basically I accidentally had Tessa giving him 110 instead of 115 and then at ch. 41 my basic math was off by ten, and I spent an hour trying to locate these two mistakes... not in the best of moods because I had this whole thing set up so that things like this never happened but given that they technically didn't and both errors were on my side, I'm not too worried. Just annoyed that I have to redo like 20 graphics.

Meds are Sorted Out

Getting back to work today, finally. Feel much better. Thank you for being patient with me. Not sure how long the outline to the last bit of vol 1 will take me but we'll see. Probably 2-3 days if I had to do an early estimate, there's not *that* much story left in vol 1, knock on wood.

Mia and Oliver Carry Sex by Lewdpot

This weekend was hell, hopefully when I wake up my pills will be ready and I can get back to work but until then here's a really good piece of art Urban picked up! This artist actually did several other potential poses and there's at least one other one I want out of them, this pose.

If anyone wants to help with that it's only $35, this artist is quite cheap

Art - https://twitter.com/lewdpot