Lou sat down on the bed, staring into the mental display in front of him. Big, bright words: "Power of Cringe" floated before his eyes, mocking him with their boldness. He had just put his first stat point into Strength, and he could feel a little tingle spread across his body.

"Let's see if this actually did anything," Lou muttered to himself, skepticism dripping from his voice.

He fell to the floor, poised in position like one prepared to do a pushup. The carpet rubbed roughly against the skin of his palms, but he didn't mind. Gradually, he began to lower himself, his muscles tensing for the familiar resistance that always accompanied the action. He pushed up again. And again. His arms glided up, almost too effortlessly.

By the time he hit fifteen, Lou was starting to feel the burn, but he kept going. Sixteen. Seventeen. His usual limit passed, but his arms kept moving. Nineteen. Twenty. "Come on, Lou, you got this," he whispered to himself. Twenty-one. Twenty-two. His muscles protested, but he managed to hit twenty-five before he dropped to the floor, panting.

Lou turned over onto his back and looked at the ceiling, a grin spreading across his face. "Well look at that," he said out loud. "I guess I'm not such a Lou-ser after all."

He laid there for a moment, breathing heavily. His heart was pounding, but it was a good, strong feeling; an alive feeling. This thing he had seen as a curse was beginning to feel like something more than that. Could this actually help him get stronger?

Sitting up, Lou's eyes landed on the jump rope in the corner. "Alright, no time to waste. Let's test Dexterity," he thought. He focused on his mental display again, allocating one point to Dexterity. A slight tingling spread through his limbs, and he felt a bit lighter on his feet. His Dexterity was now at 4.

Lou grabbed the jump rope, positioning himself in the middle of his room. The rope felt foreign in his hands, a relic from his younger, clumsier days. "Okay, Lou, let's not trip over this like last time," he muttered, starting to jump. One, two, three. By fifty, he was already stumbling. By seventy, he tripped and nearly fell on his face.

"Smooth, Lou. Real smooth... but still not there yet" he sighed, picking himself up. "Maybe the extra point in Dexterity will make me less of a klutz." He allocated another point to his Dexterity.

He focused more intently on his movements this time. One, two, three. Ten, twenty, fifty. The rhythm was steady, smooth. By the time he reached eighty without a hitch, he was grinning ear to ear.

"Alright, definitely an improvement," he said, wiping sweat from his brow. "This could actually work. Who knew the Power of Cringe could be useful?"

Feeling a surge of confidence, Lou decided to allocate a point to Wisdom next. The tingling sensation returned, spreading through his mind. Almost immediately, he felt a strange clarity. He realized, "I should plan out my stat allocation for the future. If I test each stat beforehand and record the results, I can see exactly how each point affects my abilities."

With a thoughtful nod, Lou muttered, "Wisdom already shows its use. Maybe I should allocate more points to that. " He felt a bit sharper, more aware. His Wisdom was now at 3. This power, once a source of embarrassment, was beginning to feel like a real advantage.

He simply stood there while Lou breathed hard, feeling the changes in his body. This power could be much more than something to laugh about. It could really make him stronger, better. For the first time, he felt a spark of hope, a glimmer of what he could become.

"All right, Lou," he spoke to himself, facing his reflection in the mirror. "This is no time to drift off into fantasy. I've got to grasp every bit of this power."

Lou carried on with an open mind to look at the remainder of his stats. Next was the Constitution. Again focusing on the mental display, one point was given to the Constitution. As the now familiar tingling spread through his body, he was now bathed in a wave of endurance.

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"Alright, let's see what this does," Lou said, heading out to the small backyard. He started jogging around the perimeter, his pace steady. After a few minutes, he came to the realization that he wasn't as winded as usual. In fact, he felt like he could keep going for much longer.

"'Not that bad; not bad at all,' he thought, making himself get going. He ran faster, and his breath came more easily than it ever had during gym class. 'Maybe I'm not such a wimp after all,' he laughed, to himself, pushing himself a little farther. Finally, after several laps, he stopped, barely breaking a sweat."

Leaning against a tree, Lou took a deep breath. "Okay, Constitution really helps," he said to himself with pride. "So, if I'm getting this right, Constitution has to be increasing my stamina and hardiness."

Lou now sat back at his desk in his room. Time to test Intelligence. He spent a point from INT and felt the stab of static electricity in his head. His thoughts seemed clearer, more focused. "Okay, brain, let's see what you've got," he said, grabbing a random book from his shelf. It was one he'd struggled with before, full of complicated theories and concepts.

He started to read and, lo and behold, the concepts just fit well within the first few lines. "Whoa," he murmured as he raced through those pages faster than he had ever done before. "This is great, I can really get this stuff." He devoured the book, finishing it in record time.

"So intelligence does sharpen my mind," Lou thought, feeling exhilarated. "Probably it will help me to solve problems and learn new things faster."

Setting the book aside, Lou leaned back in his chair and felt a surge of exhilaration. "This power is maybe the best thing that ever happened to me," he thought. "Next test is Charisma."

He turned back to the mental display and pointed to Charisma. Warmth suffused him, and he felt a flare of confidence. "All right, let's see how this works," he said, rising and facing his reflection in the mirror. "Hey, good looking," he chuckled through his intention to charm himself. He laughed at his own attempt but noticed he looked a bit more self-assured. "Maybe this will help with my social life," he thought, imagining how different school could be if he wasn't always the butt of everyone's jokes.

He took a moment to really look at himself. Lou had always been a bit on the scrawny side, with unruly dark hair that seemed to have a mind of its own. His eyes, a deep brown, often reflected the insecurities he felt inside. But now, there was a spark of something different—confidence, maybe even a hint of determination. He straightened his posture, trying to project the new feeling bubbling inside him.

Feeling a surge of determination, Lou knew he had to test this out on someone other than his reflection. He went downstairs, where his dad was talking with Mr. Whiskers. His mother was bustling around the house, cleaning the mess of the night before's.

"Hey, Dad. Mom," Lou called out, walking into the kitchen.

George turned to him, eyebrows raised. "What’s up, Lou?" His tone was curious, the usual annoyance replaced by genuine interest.

Julia glanced over her shoulder, a surprised look crossing her face. "Lou, you look... taller or something. Did you grow overnight?" she teased, but her eyes held a spark of admiration.

Lou smiled, trying to project confidence. "I just wanted to thank you, Mom, for the party. I know I said I wanted it small, but it was actually pretty great."

Julia walked over, her expression softening. "Oh, Lou, I'm so sorry about that. I got carried away. I just wanted it to be special for you."

Lou chuckled, shaking his head. "It's alright, Mom. It was special. And I appreciate all the effort you put into it. Even though I fell on the cake, I bet it tasted good too."

George smirked, giving Lou a playful nudge. "Look Julia, he started to act like an adult as soon as he turned 18."

"Yeah, he might even start doing his own laundry," Julia quipped, winking at Lou.

Lou laughed, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. "One step at a time, Mom. Let's not get too crazy."

Julia smiled, ruffling his hair. "Alright, alright. But I'm holding you to that laundry promise."

George shook his head, chuckling. "Our boy's growing up. Who knew it would take a birthday party to do it?"

Lou grinned and turned back into his room. As he trotted back upstairs, he felt his blood start to quicken a bit. "Charisma might really be working at it," he thought. He glanced at himself in the mirror in the hallway and couldn't deny he felt a bit taller than usual.

He made his way back to his room and fell head first onto his bed, his mind buzzing. "This power. It's no bullshit," he thought. "This is real. This is really happening." He thought about his parents, the way they had just looked at him, and felt his heart swell with a surge of gratitude. "Alright, Lou. What's next?" he muttered up at the ceiling.

But then the doorbell rang, and his mother called from the bottom of the house, "Lou, Nate's here! He's calling for you."

Lou leapt out of bed and immediately started to dress himself. "Maybe there's a couple more things I can try regarding this power?" he thought, grinning.