Tess stretched out her hands towards the menu, but stopped in mid-air. Part of her was tempted to just mash the +Beauty button again and again to hopefully turn herself into some kind of supermodel, but she had to consider the other choices. Who knew how hard it would be to earn more XP, or if she'd ever get another chance to do this at all?
"Mega-hotness will have to wait," she mused, looking at the other options. "I mean, looking sexy is great and all, but I might have a chance to make myself a genius here. Of course, there's probably nothing wrong with being healthier, whatever that means. Never getting a cold again would be pretty sweet. On the other hand, I've always wanted to be taller. I wouldn't even have to stop at average size. I could make people look up to ME for a change."
She paused, as the momentary image of herself towering over her friends sent pleasant shivers through her. "Okay," she breathed, blushing, "I'll file that thought away for later. Though, now that I think about it, being more charming might help me build up the courage to actually ask a girl out for once." Only Tess's closest friends knew that she was a lesbian; it's not that she tried to hide it, exactly, just that she never felt confident enough to act on her feelings.
"Aw, hell, being strong sounds pretty awesome too," she said, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "It's all great! The problem is, I don't really know what anything's worth. Is pressing Height going to make me an inch taller? Three inches? An entire foot? How many times would I have to buy up Strength before I could start bending steel girders bare handed?"
Tess looked at the flashing 90xp total near her name, and came to a decision. "If I buy each option once, I'll get to see what each one does. Then I'll still have 40xp left over to play with." She stared at the screen for a moment, then nodded.
"Might as well start from the top. Here goes nothing!"
She reached out and touched the Intelligence button first. Once again, she felt the pleasant warmth surge through her. This time, though, the changes taking place were invisible. She could feel her mind expand, thoughts popping up with greater speed and clarity. Somehow she knew that her focus and concentration were improving, as well as her memory. She could intuitively grasp that the increase in intelligence didn't come with any new knowledge, but thinking back on the last week of class, she suddenly understood almost everything that had once puzzled her."
"Wohoah," Tess exlaimed, giggling with joy and shaking her head. "What a rush! Being smart feels great! Next up, Strength!"
Pressing the next button, she felt a rush of energy building under her skin. She tried to flex her left arm, and saw a tiny bicep muscle pop up, then continue to swell. Strength roared through her limbs, and taut muscle formed across her stomach and filled in her rear with extra curves. When the warmth faded, Tess thought she looked like a gym regular. Not a fitness model, exactly, but someone who ran, got regular exercise, and ate well.
"Jokes on you, body," she smirked, "I haven't eaten anything but instant ramen for the last week. Speaking of which, it's time that I boosted my overall health."
The sensation of change was starting to become familiar to her, but that didn't make it any less pleasant. The visible changes from increasing health turned out to be minimal; a healthier blush to her pale, freckled skin, small changes in her posture, and other subtle effects that she couldn't quite put a finger on. The internal effects were anything but subtle, though. Tess felt more alive than ever before, bursting with energy and vitality. She probably couldn't ACTUALLY run a marathon yet, no matter how energized she felt, but she knew she wouldn't get winded walking up the school's stairwells ever again.
"I'm going to late for class at this rate," she said, glancing between her clock and the floating menu proclaiming that she still had 60xp left to spend. "Not that I really want to go anywhere until I have some idea of how to explain this." She stared at herself in the mirror once again, lingering on her new face, her new fitness, and the sparkle of joy in her eyes that had been absent for so long. "That can be future me's problem. For now, I'm finally going to find out what it's like to be tall."
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