Lance sits for what feels like ages, transfixed on the number that floats silently next to the little indicator that displays his height.
'It really says 7'2". At sixteen years old. What kind of bull...'
As his awe and frustration mount in tandem, Lance swings his feet over the edge of the bed and stands up. What follows can only be described as disorienting for someone who spent their life nearly two feet shorter than where he currently stands. The rise upwards seems never ending as a small bout of vertigo washes over him. Almost immediately, certain differences and peculiarities at being so tall become noticeable.
First, his center of gravity seems to be much higher making him feel unwieldy and practiaclly unbalanced at all points in time. Secondly, his arms and legs seem to lag behind with regards to how long it takes for them to move versus what he expects, like watching a trebuchet go through its motion for the first time.
'Damn, I am huge! My head is nearly touching the ceiling!'
The frustrations at the challenges melt away rather quick as the shock and awe factor of his new height takes center stage. Lance can't help but gawk at the sheer magnitude of his own body as a bubble of laughter erupts subconsciously from his lips.
"Ha...haha...I am huge. I am tall. I AM FINALLY TALL!"
As his bass filled voice booms in the space a loud thud smashes into the wall that borders his bed, hard enough that he fears the wall might collapse as a loud female voice thunders from the other side.
"SHUT UP YOU GIANT OAF, I AM TRYING TO SLEEP. YOU KEEP YELLING AND I'LL MAKE THE FEELING OF BEING HIT BY A CAR SEEM MILD!"
Lance feels himself involuntarily flinch at the fiery voice before the second line of that sentence hits him like a tidal wave as he whips his head towards the nightstand where he saw the medicine bottles.
'Hit by a car? Seriously?'
Reaching down to the small nightstand, Lance nearly topples over as he struggle with his heightened center of gravity. Bracing himself and muttering some curses under his breath, he grabs the medicine and a packet of papers that look like a discharge summary from a hospital.
A quick skim confirms their identity as discharge papers and the information in it, along with a quick look at the medication, an opioid and subsequent laxative, confirms what the woman had said.
Merely five days ago, Lance Moss was hit by a car. More accurately, Lance Moss hockey checked a car resulting in the car needing some serious front end repair work and Lance being placed in the hospital with a concussion and a few bone bruises on his right arm and shoulder.
'What a freaking tank! What a minute.'
Being reminded of something by the hospital papers, Lance turns back to the skills section of the overview screen.
'So it looks like these are passive abilities that I can gain. Is it due to Iron Man why this body wasn't hurt even after being hit by a car?'
With this thought in mind and no tutorial or guide to work off of, Lance simply presses on the skill as a sub-screen pops up detailing the parameters of the skill.
>Iron Man - Expert - Heavily improves a players ability to shrug off contact, reduced injury severity, reduced injury time and improves muscle and stamina recovery.<
'That'll do it. So I really am a tank. Wow.'
Feeling curios, Lance beings to click on all the available sections of the system screen to get an idea on his current abilities and skills.
'Let's start with the other two skills first since I've already seen what Iron Man can do.'
>Bull - Novice - Improves a players strength, allowing them to fight through contact, contest shots and hold position.<
'Seems like a gimme with this body. Next.'
>Skywalker - Novice - Improves a players vertical leap from standing and running positions along with overall hang time.<
'Wow, this guy feels like a physical monster. Quite a difference compared to my old self. Aside from the speed aspect which feels like I'm moving in slow motion. Alright, let's see the breakdown on the stats themselves.'
Clicking on the *Click for breakdown* button brings up a drop down menu with the detailed stats that make up each general stat.
Shooting: F-
- Mid Range: F-
- Three Pointer: F-
- Free Throw: F-
'Hmm, that is really, really bad. I gotta fix that quickly. At least the free throw aspect, especially if I am gonna be a big man. Don't want to be the next victim of the Hack-a-Shaq.'
Finishing: F+
- Close Shot: F+
- Layup: F
- Standing Dunk: E-
- Driving Dunk: E-
- Post Control: F
'Better, I guess. The dunking attributes are sweet considering I used to barely touch net. A lot of work to be done here considering this will probably be my primary method of scoring. It seems though like the original Lance never played ball.'
Playmaking: F-
- Passing: F-
- Dribbling: F-
- Court Vision: F-
'Yup. That confirms it, he never played basketball. This is absolutely terrible, I couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with a pass...'
Defense: E
- Interior Defense: E+
- Perimeter Defense: F
- Steal: F+
- Block: D-
'At 7'2" it would only be right for my block and interior D to be okay considering all I have to do is put my hands up. That will take more getting used to that anything else.'
Rebounding: D-
Offensive Rebounding: D-
Defensive Rebounding: D-
'Checks out, again, an absolute giant. Learning positioning should help to increase this by a lot and quickly.'
Physical: C
Speed: E-
Acceleration: E-
Strength: B+
Endurance: B+
Vertical: C
'Okay, so either I was born more of a freak than I already am, or the original used to be a meathead. Either way, I'm not complaining. Strength and endurance while being this height is really helpful.'
Despite the good news from the physical section, looking at all these Fs and Es of the other areas ignites a wave of depression over Lance. However, after mulling over the stats a couple more times, there seem to be a lot of them that can be improved to a functional level quite quickly, simply by getting more experience as a big man.
'Okay, it's okay. With this body, my experience and some practice, I can salvage some of these stats rather quickly. Hooo, alright then. Let's check this Starter Package.'
Upon clicking on the claim button of the starter package, a small little cascade of fireworks blossoms from the corners of the screen. The screen itself dims, drawing focus to a small, shaking present in the center of the screen.
'Dramatic.'
Clicking the present warrants a little cutscene where the bow unwraps and the lid flies off as four items pop out. They are currently greyed out, presenting a silhouette of their appearance as they wait to be revealed.
Lance starts with the one on the right first, an ornate, gold and black ticket appears as the grey fogs clears with an accompanying descriptor.
>Level One General Upgrade Ticket x1: Allows for a one level enhancement of a general stat section.<
'I'm not sure what that entirely means yet, but if it's what I am thinking then this will be super helpful. Alright next.'
The next one seems to be another ticket, this one much less ornate, being made out of white paper with blue lettering.
>Level One Specialized Upgrade Ticket x1: Allows for a one level enhancement of a detailed stat.<
'Okay, that should confirm it then. If the one before upgrades a whole major section then this only upgrades one of the detailed stats. Still very handy.'
Moving on, the next two items contain different silhouettes than the first two. Clicking on the third in the order reveals a silver coin with detailed engravings that bear a striking resemblance to his old body.
>Level Two Skill Selection Coin x1 (Bound): Allows Host to choose one skill from three random skills possess by the individual bound on the token.<
'Wait...this mean I can pick one of the skills that I had in my last life!? I had skills? Hehe, that makes me feel kind of good actually. I wonder what they'll give me...'
Finally, the last present shows itself as a piece of old movie film that slowly undulates. This one offers no description as once it is unveiled it seems to activate on it's own as a prompt from the system follows.
>New skill added—Critical Vision- Novice<
'Critical Vision? What does that even mean?'
Curios as to the odd new skill, Lance immediately moves over to the Skills section of the overview and clicks on it.
>Critical Vision- Novice - Improves a players ability to pick out details, strategies and player strengths and weaknesses. Improves concentration while watching film.<
'...'