Chapter 188 Take the first step
After taking the antibiod*ck, Ben sat on his bed and tried to see if he could feel any changes. Yet, even after a few minutes, there was nothing. Like when he took the Dick Dan Pill to grow his little brother, there wasn’t anything in the system about it either. ’How do I know it worked? If it didn’t and I go around raw-dogging every girl, I could get a bunch of STIs and die in my sleep one day...’
He shook his head. "F*ck it." He decided to just assume it worked...
Why? He already said it. "Cause f*ck it. That’s why."
...
Was he going to not rawdog now in the name of safety? Come on buddy.
...
It was too late for that! He’d already sacrificed riches, fame, and possibly millions of lives so he could be the naked meat man!
...
After deciding to assume this cockulated risk...Ben had finished going through all his rewards from sleeping with Olivia. He also had a plan in place to use the masculinity multiplier once the current active social status one finished. So with everything prepared, he moved on with his normal schedule. Not having work at Hearth until tomorrow, Ben planned to spend the rest of the day attending classes, going to the gym, and checking fappening updates.
***
The next morning, in one of the highest floors of Hearth Tower, there was a spacious rectangular office with floor to ceiling windows on two sides. On the other two sides hung an array of massive screens showing news reports and data. One of those monitors displayed a webpage with an article pulled up. Staring at it was an elegant girl sitting with her legs crossed in a black chair made of top quality leather. She read the enlarged text from the article out loud.
"You can be anything you want to be. You can change the world. You are the future.
Like me, I’m sure you’ve heard similar words growing up; maybe it was from a parent, or a teacher, or the TV.
Yet, if you’re truly anything like me, you weren’t that old when you realized those were all lies...
...
Like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, those words were fantasies costuming a mediocre reality; grandiose goals meant to broaden our horizons, motivational posters to make us chase the stars. Somehow, no one mentioned how hard the ground was below, and how strong the pull of gravity was that went against us. Many of us found out face first.
When I started my first semester of university this year, I learned all those things with the cruelest clarity. I saw how big the world was, and at the same time, how small I was in it. That contrast...it was crushing...
And I almost gave up.
On the world, on my dreams, and on myself...and then...someone helped me. They gave me a push.
Not to change the world, or do something impossible, but just...to take a step forward.
And so I did...
Well, that first step, it was frightening...but I still made it, and then, I took a second, and a third, and before long, I was sprinting with the wind at my back, towards my goals, towards my dreams, and towards a new me I never thought was possible.
Now, I no longer need fairy tales or motivational posters, because I have something much stronger—a habit to move forward, one that I built myself, and it all started from that first step.
Yet, I’m aware it would’ve never happened if not for that someone who pushed me, so I hope, I can be that person for you.
This article was supposed to be about weightlifting, but I believe weightlifting is only a way for us to push ourselves, to challenge our bodies and minds, to reach limits we couldn’t imagine, and ultimately realize that the one we have to challenge is not the world, but ourselves...
While I don’t know if any of us can change the world, I do know one thing—you can change yourself—and I know it first hand, so let me show you how.
It only takes the will to start, to take that first step, using that to build momentum so that before you know it, you’ll be running faster than you ever dreamed of.
I know very well that it isn’t always easy, so I’m not asking you to change the world, or take the future on your shoulders. I’m only asking you to take that first step, to let me give you a push, to trust me that the gap is much smaller than it seems, and to make the choice to advance...
For me, the first step was weightlifting. Maybe it’ll be that for you too, or perhaps something else, but always remember—it’s only you who can make the commitment to step onwards.
While it may be harder for you than others, we all have one thing in common; Regardless of the circumstances, regardless of how far you can go, everyone has the option to move forward. In the end, whether or not you are the future, your personal future will always only be in your hands. So remember the following things, and you can mold it how you see fit:
You don’t find time. You make it.
You don’t find willpower. You build it.
You don’t find your ideal self. You create it.
...
Sometime down the line, after you find your stride, you may not discover the world changed, but you’ll discover yourself changed, and believe me—that’ll be enough to change YOUR world.
My name is Benjamin Romero, and this is my workout program, and I hope—your first step."
...
*Exhale*
The woman stared at the wall monitor for a long time before speaking... "Who is this writer?"
A female assistant in a suit behind her provided a prompt response. "Miss, he’s a new intern in the PR department, 18 years old, freshman undergrad at NYU. He stood in for the Male’s Health feature when the model canceled last minute."
"...Oh, he wrote this at 18? Interesting... Such honesty. Don’t you feel it’s quite refreshing?" She smiled.
"Indeed, miss."
The woman chuckled. "This gives me an idea..."
The assistant spread a helpless smile. ’Let’s hope it isn’t like her last idea, when she pushed the later debunked article that Trump’s grandfather was a pimp...and his father in the KKK...’
***
The next day at Hearth Tower...
[Tower entrance guardians detected]
Ben was passing through security on his way to work, as he gave a warm greeting to the hulking guards at the entrance. ’Always make friends with the NPCs...’
He was treating people in the tower as AIs now...
To be fair, it was hard not to when the system gave almost everyone around him the extra role...
At least the guards were a tier up from the corporate slaves...
An elevator ride later, Ben walked into the Public Relations offices and found everyone already busy at work. Heading towards Laura’s desk to view her ass-ignments for him, he soon saw her at the end of the office space.
[Mini-boss of Floor 9(Public Relations): Laura Baldwin]
[Target’s current attraction level: disinclined]
She was standing near a wall, involved in a conversation. As he approached her, Ben also saw who she was speaking with, and hesitated.
[Boss of Floor 9(Public Relations): Paul Baldwin]
[Target’s current relations level: hostile]
Ben frowned. ’Were our relations so bad?’ Now, he was even more certain that Paul was the orchestrator of the plot from last time.
Yet, when Ben saw the third person near them, he discovered the genuine problem, and froze. ’How can it be her?!?’
There, standing near Paul, was his loving wife--Titjob Tina!
Ben hadn’t seen her since that time in the fetish club. Although he didn’t know why she was here, her closeness to his boss Paul signified it couldn’t be any good thing! ’Will this corporate office morph into a fetish club?’
...
’No! That’s not it!’ Ben focused on the wrong issue...
’Then, will she recognize me?’ Realizing the genuine dilemma, his heart sped up...
Yet, he soon calmed down. ’No...I was wearing a Batman mask. She’d only seen the bottom half of my face.’ However, it was difficult to reassure himself of that when she was staring straight at him! Not only that, she was glaring!
Ben stopped breathing. ’What do I do? Should I apologize to her tits?’
...
At that moment, Ben overheard as Paul turned to her and called her by her name—"Tina."
...
’Hol up...’ Ben blinked a dozen times...replaying that in his head to make sure he heard it right. ’Did he call her Tina?’
That’s when Paul said it again...and Ben’s jaw dropped. ’Holy sh*t! Titjob Tina’s name is actually Tina!’
...
He was silent for a long while before recovering, as his eyes flashed with a novel awareness... ’I get it. It’s like when MCs reincarnate into new bodies, how it’s often into people with the same name, even if it’s now a different planet, culture, and even language; a setting where finding a person with such a name would be impossible...but it still happens...for reasons...’
Then, Ben slapped himself on the head. ’I understand! Like with those MCs, when I named her Titjob Tina, the world made her name Tina so I wouldn’t get confused! To make things easier for me! Thanks world! Thanks titties!’
...
Ben had a lot to be thankful for...
Yet, he became less sure of that when Tina locked eyes with him, and approached him with an ominous gait...
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*Author’s Note: New artwork of Tina in the comments! More on discord - https://discord.gg/VSKzgzV8J9 (case-sensitive) - If you’re on a PC, you can copy the link from the About page.
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