Still coming down from my orgasm, I read through the display while I used the piece of cloth to clean up and then zipped up the suit.

<<<>>>

Biosystems scans are complete.

Anomalous energy detected: Unknown source. Magic???

Primate species re-confirmed. Relatively advanced biologically but limited in intelligence. Preoccupation with sexual activity. Admires females and their mammary glands. Additional fat cells on the chest of the females unnecessary but HOST would disagree. HOST enjoys the scent of the females due to their pheromones. More analysis needed.

HOST’s cellular structure confirmed.

Mitochondria confirmed.

Adenosine triphosphate confirmed.

Optimizing.

<<<>>>

My body lit up like a Christmas tree, and with it, came pain. It was like my blood was boiling in my veins. It was like I could feel myself cooking.

I rose up, staggered down the main aisle of the bus. I had to get the fuck out of there. I hit the ground, hardly feeling anything but the awful pain.

Above us, a ton of stars spread across our little strip of Earth sky, but the sky above Red Dune World there was only a reddish darkness, which was probably from the red sun. I didn’t know the how the astronomy worked. All I knew was that the eastern horizon looked like dried blood.

“What’s going on?” Professor Kroft staggered back as the fire popped and cracked.

I couldn’t talk, but I heard Billie, who was still in the bus. “I don’t know, Professor, but he’s glowing. Why is he glowing? Oh my god! I wanna go home! I wanna go home!”

Was I glowing?

I just didn’t want to be in fucking pain. What was the ring doing to me? What did optimizing mean? I wound up on my knees, in the sand, gritting my teeth.

The professor approached me. Yes, I was glowing, very brightly, like I was cosplaying a lighthouse. I hoped it didn’t attract the attention of that monster in the forest.

“Please, tell us what’s happening,” the professor begged.

Billie was sobbing in the bus. I wish she’d get her shit together, but I guess, we were all handling the situation in our own special way.

Mine was trying not to scream.

“Fuck!” I managed. “Optimizing. Adenosine triphosphate. My cells. The ring.”

She nodded. “Yes, I see. ATP are the molecules that store chemical energy. If you are being optimized, you might have more energy, you’ll be faster, stronger, more agile.”

“If. I. Fucking. Survive,” I growled.

The professor gently touched my back. “Don’t say that. I don’t want to lose you. Or Billie. We’re in this together.”

They were nice words, but Billie was still sobbing, and I had zero control over what happened to me.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I still didn’t even know what the ring’s primary mission was.

It felt like forever, but slowly, yes, ever so slowly, the pain was leaving me, and the glow was fading.

I looked down at my arm, and I was glowing so brightly I could see through the sleeve of the jumpsuit. All my veins and arteries were visible. It was like my skin was transparent and my blood had turned fluorescent. Then, when my blood stopped glowing, it was like I could see every one of my cells, glowing like a star. It looked like I was made of stars until those pinpricks of light faded.

Then, all we had left was the light of the fire and bloody eastern sky.

A second later, the ring gave me more bizarre news.

<<<>>>

Optimizing complete!

51% successful.

Anomalous energy detected: Unknown source. Magic???

Anomalous energy used for optimization. Log file unavailable.

Error: This unit’s power source is low. Please find an AQUIA Charging Station or find anomalous energy source.

Evaluating current circumstances.

Results of evaluation pending….

<<<>>>

So the ring optimized my cells using magic? Was this good? I didn’t know what to think, but I was glad the thing had stopped at 51%. I had a feeling that a 100% optimization might’ve hurt even worse. Fuck, it even might have killed me.

All the numbers didn’t mean much to me right then. I was just glad not to be in pain. But other questions remained. There was that whole thing about primary mission, and could it continue to evaluate current circumstances even though it was running out of battery?

I wished I had a handbook on the alien ring, but there hadn’t been a manual in the starship. There wasn’t an End User License Agreement either. That might’ve been for the best because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have signed the EULA anyway.

I wasn’t sure I was going to find a charging station, but if I could find another power crystal, it might help the ring work better.

Billie came out of the bus sniffling and wiping away her tears on the sleeve of her jumpsuit. “Is he bigger?”

I stood up, and yes, for a second, the jumpsuit pulled up into my crotch. The shoulders and arms were tight, and I flexed, the jumpsuit almost burst.

I wasn’t fifty percent bigger, but I was definitely bigger.

The jumpsuit then expanded out to accommodate my new size.

“Wait,” the professor said. “Sid, unzip your jumpsuit. I think you have changed, but it’s hard to tell. Come closer to the fire.”

I was curious myself. I unzipped my outfit and let the top fall to my waist.

Looking down at myself, it was like I had a stranger’s body.

The fire painted my abs with shadows, and yes, I had abs, a full six-pack for a second. And then, I watched in wonder as it became a four-pack as I fattened up a bit. “Hey! Come on!”

“No, it’s good,” the professor said. “You need fat for energy. You still look…amazing.”

I flexed my arms, and watched my muscles bulge—biceps, triceps, even my forearms. My chest was swollen and powerful. I felt amazing, like I had limitless energy.

Going to school, working at job sites on the weekend, doing side jobs with my Uncle Marty, I had run myself ragged. Now, it felt like I’d slept for a week. I was a little hungry, a little thirsty, but other than that, my body felt perfect.

“Oh my god,” Billie gasped. “You’re even more cut than Mike Westra. No way.”

Both women were looking at me with lust and admiration in their eyes.

The professor absently unzipped a bit, letting her hand linger on her breast.

That simple motion got me hard.

“Wait. Hold up.” I turned away and walked away. Then I pushed the jumpsuit all the way down and yes, there was my cock, probably two inches longer and way girthier. I had a new johnson, bigger, and rigid.

Talk about optimized.

The professor and Billie were talking in whispers behind me. I don’t know what they were talking about until I heard Professor Kroft whisper, “It’s okay. What you’re feeling is natural. This is stressful. Just be gentle with yourself.”

Billie was getting some needed counseling. Good. We couldn’t have her falling apart. We all needed to be tough.

I turned, taking in the bus, the fire, and the tall trees beyond. The skies were so different—the scarlet sky above me in Red Dune World, the normal stars of the strip of world taken from Earth, and then all the moons above Rainforest World. Such a strange place.

I heard the whisper of sand moving behind me. The chitter of insects followed, but not normal sized insects. The noise was soon deafening. These were monstrous insects.

Whirling, I saw the red sand was swarming with the things, creating a rippling carpet of horror under the crimson dark.

The first bug leapt out of the sand, and more and more followed, hundreds, thousands, all about the size of the biggest dog breed you could think of.

Huge bugs were coming for us, more than we could fight.

It looked like I was about to test my new optimized body.

The timing couldn’t have been better.