Finally Level 2

[Congratulations, you are now Level 2]

[You have been rewarded with +1 to all stats]

[Jake Cayden]

[Level:2]

[Health:120/120]

[Species:Human*]

[Strength:14]

[Speed:12]

[Endurance:18]

[Mental Moxie:10]

[Mana:16]

[Magic:11]

[Element:None]

[Exp:45/200]

'Nice, I got a plus in all my stats, but now I have to get 200 exp to level up again. Damn, the stronger I get, the harder its gonna be to level up. Shit, I'm late. Dad's not gonna be happy.'

Hurrying home and leaving the three people who attacked him on the floor, Jake's mind wandered back to Catherine and the evening they spent together.

___

"Jake's still not back yet, I explicitly told him to be back by dinner, we've already had dinner and he still isn't back", complained Andrea as he paced back and forth in the living room.

"Relax dad," Sky said, trying to pacify his father, "he probably got lost somewhere in her eyes and lost track of time. I'm sure he's okay. Now, why don't you... "

Rushing in through the door and cutting Sky's sentence short, Jake was slightly out of breath from having power walked most of the way here. "Dad I can explain," "Where were you young man?" Andrea shouted, "I told you to be home before dinner. Dinner's already over and you're just getting here." "I know dad but if you let me explain, you'll see..." "You know with the news that a war can break out at any time, you guys have to be careful," Andrea interrupted "I can't bear..."

"DAD!" Jake bellowed so his father would stop talking and listen to him. Calming down and looking at his father, Jake explained that on his way coming back he was jumped by three thugs who tried to rob him and beat him up. "Oh my God Jake, are you okay?" Andrea asked stepping forward, worry starting to overcome the little bit of anger he had before. "Yeah dad I'm fine. They didn't really do anything to me, but you should have seen them when I was done with them. They were all over the floor groaning in pain."

"Wait hold up," Sky said getting to his feet after watching them talk back and forth, "you're saying you took out three guys all by yourself?" "Yeah, that's what I'm saying." "You," Andrea said, eyeing Jake up and down, "that doesn't even have a single muscle in your body". "Ouch dad, that hurt" said Jake who was imitating a heartbreak sign in front of his chest. "Come to think of it," said Sky while moving closer to Jake. "What?" Jake asked looking confused. "Did you put on one and a half pound of muscle in less than six hours or something, why are you looking a bit muscular?" Sky looked at him suspiciously.

"Nah, you're probably imagining it. How's that possible?" Jake asked sounding doubtful. "Well it's possible," Sky said, "if you're on drugs. Are you on drugs?" Sky asked with pretend surprise and widened his eyes. "Come on you two, knock it off" Andrea interfered, "don't stay up too late." Andrea said as he climbed the stairs heading to his room.

Jake followed after him, "Good night", he said to Sky who had sat down and grabbed the TV remote. "G'night" Sky replied.

Entering his room, Jake shut the door behind him and settled down on the chair next to the reading table. Looking at his reflection in the full length mirror hung behind his door, Jake took off his shirt and moved towards the mirror.

Staring at his half naked reflection, Jake could see the abs in his stomach and the muscles in his arms. Although they weren't very noticeable, he could see the changes. 'Wow, is this from a single level up? I wonder how I'm gonna be when I reach level 10. At level 7 I'm gonna have abs just as hard as Sky's. This is awesome' Jake was grinning with joy and the thought of his body improving with every level up made him want to level up faster. 'I never really cared about having a toned physique but now, screw it, why not' thought Jake, who was already heading to the bathroom for a quick shower.

***

On getting inside the house, she saw Cassandra in the living room with her phone in her hand. "Cassie?" Cat called out, "What are you doing here?" asked Cat. "What do you think? Waiting for you of course. So how'd it go?" Cassie asked smiling mischievously. "How did what go?" Cat asked looking confused. "Come on, your date. How'd it go?" Cassie asked again. "It was okay" Cat answered smiling sheepishly. "Really, just okay?" Cassie asked eyeing Cat suspiciously. "Yeah it was okay". "Don't be like that, give me the details." "There are no details, we just had dinner, talked and walked together. That's all." "Really? No first kiss or anything?" "No, it's too early for that. Now enough with the questions, I'm going to my room. Is Aunt Maggie asleep?" "Yeah, she got tired of waiting for you."