Right now, skimming through my upgrade options, I find myself most drawn to "Improved Adrenal Network" and "Adrenaline Rush."
Body Enhancement: Improved Adrenal Network - Enhances the adrenal glands, heart, and nervous system, allowing the body to safely produce and circulate greater amounts of adrenaline during moments of stress. Increases short-term strength, speed, and pain tolerance while slightly reducing post-adrenaline fatigue. [200 Evolution Points]
Active Skill: Adrenaline Rush - Forces an extreme adrenaline surge throughout the body, massively increasing physical stats for a short duration. Logical reasoning ability is impaired while the skill is in use. Prolonged use may result in severe fatigue, muscle tearing, and temporary stat penalties. [500 Evolution Points]
I mean, it just feels like these two were made for each other, right? Improved Adrenal Network would let me handle more adrenaline naturally, and Adrenaline Rush would let me consciously force my body to generate an overwhelming amount of it.
When I consider my current upgrades, these options become even more appealing. I already have multiple body enhancements that speed up recovery from fatigue, and Will of Iron might even negate the logical reasoning debuff from Adrenaline Rush. It's perfect synergy.
Well, except for the price.
These upgrades are expensive as hell.
And another thing... Adrenaline Rush feels like a double-edged sword. I don't know what kind of damage it could inflict on my body if I'm not careful. "Muscle tearing" and "severe fatigue" aren't exactly selling points. So while it sounds cool in theory, like something a protagonist would unlock right before fighting the final boss, I'm not sure if it would see consistent use in my day-to-day life of, you know, going to school and working at a café.
I'll go for more conservative upgrades instead. Something practical that won't leave me a twitching mess on the floor.
Body Enhancement: Improved Eyesight - Heightens retinal sensitivity, offers minor protection against sudden changes in lighting conditions, and improves ability to track fast-moving objects. [25 Evolution Points]
I don't see how I can go wrong with improving my senses. Good eyesight is useful for practically every physical activity there is. And getting better at tracking fast-moving objects sounds incredibly helpful in a fight, I could see a punch coming and actually react to it, for example. Plus, it's cheap enough that I won't feel guilty about the purchase.
I mentally click on the upgrade.
Purchase Upgrade?
Body Enhancement: Improved Eyesight
Do you wish to enhance your body now? The upgrade may take up to ten minutes to complete.
(Note: The user may feel a slight itch, and some pain during the upgrade)
[Yes] [No]
Oh. This is going to be my first time purchasing an upgrade while in class. Well, the pain and itch are never really that bad anyway. What's the worst that could happen?
...Okay, I really really need to stop tempting fate.
I mentally click yes.
Then I flick through my math textbook, reading ahead and taking notes while waiting for the upgrade to start.
Eventually, I start to feel a slight tingle in my eyes.
This time though, I decide to try something new.
Will of Iron [Enabled]
As always, a sudden calm falls over me. And, as I expected, that slight tingling sensation coming from my eyeballs disappears completely.
Man, this ability is really overpowered. The only thing that worries me is the fact that it drains energy and Willpower while in use, and I haven't tested how long I can sustain it for. What if I burn through all my energy in like five minutes and pass out face-first onto my desk? That would be embarrassing.
Reluctantly, I turn the skill off.
Will of Iron [Disabled]
The sensations come back, just in time for me to feel my eyeballs itch, my eyes feel like someone sprinkled sand in them. This is going to suck.
It does suck.
But about ten minutes later, it's finally over. And everything suddenly looks clearer. It feels like everything just improved in resolution. Like I was previously looking at life on a 1080p monitor, and now I've upgraded to 4K.
Details I never noticed before jump out at me. I can count the individual strands of hair on the person sitting three rows ahead of me. When I focus, I can see dust particles floating through the air. I can read the tiny text on the whiteboard without squinting, and it's sharp.
Huh. That's pretty cool.
Now that I have better eyes, I better be able to keep up with them.
Body Enhancement: Improved Reflexes - Optimizes the nervous system's response pathways, slightly reducing latency between perception and action. [50 Evolution Points]
Purchase Upgrade?
Body Enhancement: Improved Reflexes
Do you wish to enhance your body now? The upgrade may take up to twenty minutes to complete.
(Note: The user may feel an itch, and pain during the upgrade)
[Yes] [No]
Again, I don't see how having better reflexes would ever be a bad thing. And fifty Evolution Points, at this point, doesn't feel like a steep price anymore.
I mentally click yes.
The tingles come first, and they feel intense. Way more powerful than normal. I feel like I'm getting stabbed across my entire body with tiny needles. It's not excruciating, but it's definitely unpleasant.
And after that comes the itch. It feels like I'm itching everywhere but underneath the skin, like my nervous system itself is being tickled by invisible feathers, and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. Ew.
The pain is less bad compared to the itch, but still very distracting. It sort of feels like I've been set on fire. But like, a mild fire. It hurts, but I'm able to keep my reactions in check.
I grit my teeth and focus on my textbook, trying to distract myself from the sensation of my entire nervous system being remodeled in real-time.
Fifteen minutes later, and I'm fine again. The pain and itching fade away, leaving behind a strange sense of... alertness? It's hard to describe. It's like my body is more responsive now, like there's less delay between thinking about moving and actually moving. I tap my fingers on the desk experimentally, and they feel quicker, more precise.
Nice.
Well, I think I've spent all the points I'm willing to spend at this point. I still have 237 Evolution Points left, which is a comfortable cushion in case I need to buy something in a hurry. Like if Troy decides to escalate things and I need to purchase combat skills on the fly.
I hope I'm ready for anything that might happen.
I go through the rest of my day on autopilot. My sisters still escort me to my classes, behaving normally despite our... activities from earlier in the day.
And I guess the TikTok videos from this morning haven't lost their novelty yet, because people are still glancing over at me periodically, but I ignore them.
During class, I try my best to focus on the lessons, only to fail miserably.
Somewhat surprisingly, I get through the rest of the day without seeing Troy again. The universe must be pitying me for once. Or maybe he's off licking his wounds somewhere after getting shoved around by two gorgeous girls. Either way, I'm not complaining.
Then I walk Luna home.
"You look... happier now..." she says softly, her violet eyes meeting mine for a brief moment before darting away. Her voice is quiet, barely above a whisper. "Did Bianca... forgive you?"
"Yeah!" I reach over to pat her head. "And you were right, Luna. Bianca and I talked through our issues. It all turned out alright at the end."
Luna's cheeks turn pink, and she smiles up at me, her expression warm despite her shyness. "That's good, Adam... I'm happy for you..."
When we reach her building, I wave goodbye and head to work.
My shift at the Midnight Café passes without incident. Then, I head to Luna's apartment for my training session with Eva.
Eva, as always, is terrifying and efficient. She puts me through my paces with a brutality that would make a drill sergeant weep, but I can feel myself getting better.
"You're improving," she says in that cold, professional tone of hers. "Keep this up."
And finally, I start rushing home, excited to spend some time with Selene and Bianca.
While walking, my phone buzzes with a message from Selene.
Selene:missing our boyfriend!!! 💕
There's a photo attached.
I click on the image.
And then I nearly drop my phone.
Holy shit.
It's a photo of Bianca and Selene on my bed, and they're clearly trying to kill me.
Bianca is on the left, and her pose is absolutely sinful. She's leaning forward slightly, propped up on one arm, her body angled toward the camera in a way that's deliberately provocative. She's wearing an oversized black band tee. It's sliding off one pale shoulder, exposing the elegant curve of her collarbone. Her other hand is tugging at the neckline, pulling it down, revealing the deep valley of her cleavage. She's leaning forward slightly, and gravity is doing things to that already impressive display.
Her expression is what really kills me though. Her striking teal eyes are half-lidded, looking directly at the camera with an expression that can only be described as smoldering. Her plump lips are curved into a teasing smile, like she knows exactly what this photo will do to me and she's enjoying every second of it.
And then there's Selene.
She's on the right, sitting up with her legs folded beneath her, and she's somehow being both adorable and incredibly sexy at the same time. She's wearing a pink tank top that clings to every curve, the thin fabric leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. Her generous breasts are practically spilling out of the top.
Her pink eyes are wide and bright, sparkling with mischief and excitement. She's biting her lower lip and her cheeks are flushed, giving her this innocent but undeniably seductive look. She's holding up a peace sign near her face in a gesture that's so quintessentially Selene that it makes me smile despite the fact that I'm painfully aroused.
The composition of the photo is almost artistic in a way. With Bianca's dark, sultry aesthetic contrasting Selene's bright, playful energy. They're both on my bed, surrounded by my pillows, with my worn blanket visible beneath them. It's intimate and domestic and wildly inappropriate all at once.
For completely unrelated reasons, I speed up, starting to run home.