The rec center was a ten minute drive from The Cooper Garment Lofts. Jordan merged onto the main road and followed the GPS directions toward campus. Traffic was light this early. Most students were still asleep or getting ready for classes that didn’t start until nine or ten.

The Pacific Crest campus appeared on his right. Sprawling buildings. Manicured lawns. Students walking between classes even though it was barely eight in the morning. Jordan turned into the parking structure and found a spot on the third level.

The rec center sat at the edge of campus. A massive modern building with floor to ceiling windows and the school logo stamped above the entrance. Jordan walked up to the front doors and scanned his student ID at the reader.

The light turned green. The door clicked open.

Inside was chaos. Not bad chaos. Active chaos. The kind that came from two hundred college kids trying to get their workout in before classes started.

Treadmills lined one wall. Weight racks filled the center of the space. Machines occupied the far side. A second floor overlooked the main gym area with what looked like a basketball court visible through glass doors.

Music pumped through speakers. Not too loud. Just enough to give the space energy.

Jordan stood there taking it all in and feeling completely out of place.

A hand clapped him on the shoulder.

"Bro. You actually showed up."

Jordan turned. Kyle stood next to him wearing a black cutoff shirt and gym shorts. His arms looked bigger than Jordan remembered. His shoulders filled out the shirt like he’d been lifting seriously for months.

"You look different," Kyle said.

Jordan blinked. "Different how?"

Kyle circled him once. His eyes narrowed. "Did you get taller?"

"No."

"You look taller. And your face looks..." Kyle waved his hand vaguely. "I don’t know. Less depressed?"

"I got my hair fixed."

"It’s not just the hair." Kyle stepped back and crossed his arms. "Did you start working out without me?"

Yes. The System gave me magical abs and fixed my entire body in one night.

"I cleaned my apartment," Jordan said instead. "Took like five hours. Maybe that counts."

Kyle laughed. "Cleaning counts as cardio if you do it right. But that doesn’t explain why you look like you’ve been hitting the gym for a month."

Jordan shrugged. "Good lighting?"

"Sure. Good lighting." Kyle didn’t look convinced but he let it drop. "You eat breakfast?"

"No."

"Me neither. We’ll grab something after. First I’m gonna teach you how to not die on your first day."

Kyle led Jordan through the gym. They passed the cardio section where girls in matching athletic sets ran on treadmills while watching Netflix on their phones. One of them looked up as Jordan walked by. Her eyes tracked him for a second longer than necessary before returning to her screen.

Jordan’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

He ignored it.

Kyle stopped at the weight area. Free weights lined one wall organized by size. Benches sat in rows with bars racked above them. The space smelled like rubber and sweat and that distinct metallic scent that came from heavily used equipment.

"We’re starting simple," Kyle said. "Push. Pull. Legs. You know what those mean?"

"No."

"Push is chest, shoulders, triceps. Anything where you push weight away from your body. Pull is back and biceps. Anything where you pull weight toward you. Legs is self-explanatory."

Jordan nodded like this made perfect sense.

Kyle grabbed two dumbbells off the rack. Twenty pounds each. He handed them to Jordan.

"Bicep curls. Ten reps. Show me your form."

Jordan held the dumbbells at his sides. He bent his elbows and lifted the weights toward his shoulders. His biceps flexed under his skin. The movement felt natural. Easy.

"Slower," Kyle said. "Control the weight on the way down. Don’t just drop it."

Jordan repeated the movement. Slower this time. His muscles engaged properly. The burn started around rep seven.

"Good. Again."

Jordan did another set. Then another. Kyle corrected his form twice. Told him to keep his elbows tucked. Don’t swing the weights.

By the fourth set Jordan’s arms were screaming.

"That’s normal," Kyle said when Jordan mentioned it. "You’re using muscles that have been asleep for months. They’re gonna hurt. That’s how you know it’s working."

They moved through the workout. Chest press. Shoulder raises. Tricep extensions. Kyle called out reps and sets while Jordan followed instructions. The movements became routine after a while. Lift. Lower. Breathe. Repeat.

Jordan’s phone buzzed again. Then again.

"You gonna check that?" Kyle asked between sets.

"It’s fine."

"Could be important."

Jordan pulled out his phone. Three notifications from the System.

Beauty Detected: Proximity Alert

Beauty Detected: Proximity Alert

Beauty Detected: Proximity Alert

The notifications blinked at him with little heart icons.

Jordan scanned the gym. Girls everywhere. Running on treadmills. Using machines. Stretching on mats in the corner. Any one of them could have triggered the alert.

His eyes caught on a girl near the squat racks. Black leggings. Sports bra. Blonde ponytail. She was loading plates onto a bar with the kind of confidence that said she knew exactly what she was doing.

She glanced up. Made eye contact with Jordan for half a second. Looked away.

Jordan’s phone buzzed.

Beauty Detected: Register to Slot 2?

Current Chemistry: Unknown

Scan requires proximity within 10 feet.

Jordan locked his phone and shoved it back in his pocket.

"Everything good?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah. Just my mom."

"Your mom texts you this early"

"She worries."

Kyle laughed and handed Jordan a water bottle. "Moms, man. Mine still asks if I’m eating enough vegetables."

They finished the workout an hour later. Jordan’s entire body felt like it had been wrung out and left to dry. His arms shook when he lifted his water bottle. His chest burned. His legs wobbled on the walk back to the locker room.

But the System notification appeared right on schedule.

✨ DAILY QUEST PROGRESS ✨

Physical Activity: 68/90 minutes completed

Keep going. You’re almost there.

Sixty-eight minutes. He needed twenty-two more to hit the requirement.

"You good to do some cardio?" Jordan asked.

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "You want to do MORE?"

"I’m trying to hit ninety minutes."

"Why ninety?"

Because a magical phone app told me to.

"I read somewhere that’s the sweet spot for beginners," Jordan said.

"Alright. Treadmill or bike?"

"Treadmill."

They headed back to the cardio section. The girl in the matching athletic set was still there. So was the blonde from the squat rack. And three others Jordan hadn’t noticed before.

His phone stayed silent in his pocket.

Jordan climbed onto a treadmill and started walking. Kyle took the one next to him and immediately cranked his speed up to a jog.

"Start slow," Kyle called over. "Build up to running. Don’t blow out your knees on day one."

Jordan increased his speed gradually. Walk. Power walk. Slow jog. His body responded better than expected. His legs moved smooth. His lungs didn’t burn. The Tune Up trait was carrying him through this.

Twenty minutes later the System pinged.

✨ OBJECTIVE COMPLETE ✨

Physical Activity: 90/90 minutes

Well done. Your body thanks you.

Jordan slowed the treadmill and stepped off. His shirt was soaked through with sweat. His face was flushed. But he felt good. Actually good.

Kyle finished his run and joined him. "Not bad for your first time. You kept up better than I thought you would."

"I’m full of surprises."

"Clearly." Kyle grabbed his towel and wiped his face. "You wanna grab food? There’s a place off campus that does protein bowls."

Jordan’s stomach growled. He’d burned through whatever energy his body had stored and now it was demanding payment.

"Yeah. Let’s go."

===

[A/N:]

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