"All players will gain the sum of their age..." Jack read out from the black circle. "What the heck does that mean...".
As soon as he asked that question, it was immediately answered. He felt a tightness as he hit a massive growth spurt, stretching up towards the ceiling until he was the tallest in the room. His slim body also pumped up with muscle until he looked like a idealistic TV teen. His blonde hair lengthened until he had a head of shaggy, shoulder-length hair. A few pimples dotted his chin, but did little to detract from his handsome, chiselled features. The sleeves of his shirt vanished, the fabric shifting until he had a tank top that clung to his overdeveloped torso. His jeans also shortened and changed from denim to nylon, until a bright blue pair of gym shorts were clinging to his ass and thighs.
Jack whooped with delight, revelling in the feeling of being a musclebound jock. Finally! He got to be older! However, nobody was paying attention to him. It turned out he wasn't the only one affected by the mystery square.
John had grown past his teens and into his twenties. While he lost all of his acne, it seemed he had gained a freshman 15 in exchange, a small gut pushing out against his shirt and a rounding out his jawline . A few hairs poked out from his open collar, while a scruffy goatee tried to hide his second chin. He didn't hide his disappointment at how his college self was so overweight. Especially seeing how his brother had model looks in comparison. This was a wake-up call to stop playing so many video games and be more active or this would be his future. Or it would be if John weren't wallowing in self-pity. "This stinks..." he grumbled to himself.
Paul had also grown older, passing his previous age of 21. His bulky muscles had come back, and even grew bigger to herculean proportions. He too had a goatee, but it was thicker than his brother's and accompanied by a dark five-o-clock shadow. His graphic T-shirt had morphed into a slim-fitting casual shirt with matching tie, his shorts lengthened into a pair of chinos, and his glasses changed to a slim, squared frame. He'd almost look Clark Kent-esque if it weren't for his facial hair. Curious by the change of clothes, Paul loosened his tie and undid the buttons on his shirt. He grinned as he discovered he'd grown even more body hair than the last time, thick brown follicles covered his pecs and dusted his hard abs with a trimmed layer of fuzz. Upon noticing John staring at him, he said "What? I haven't taken it off...". He felt a little proud at discovering a loophole to his bro's demand, deciding to leave it unbuttoned.
Ellis experienced his third growth of the day, ageing up into his early thirties. Somehow, he got even hairier as his back gained as much hair as his front. He also finally hit the wall in his physique as his flat stomach bulged out into a soft belly that spilled over his waistband. "Ay, estoy volviendo gordito.." he mumbled under his breath as he felt his new gut. Meanwhile, his beard grew an inch longer, sprinkled with a few grey hairs, and his hairline receded by the same amount to give him a noticeably larger forehead. He was a little surprised to have grown older and chubbier, but seemed more inquisitive than upset at the results.
On the other hand, Bob wasn't happy that he was made to grow up again. He sped through puberty, and ended up the shortest of the lot. He had a clean shaven face, and no signs of any body hair, mostly because he kept his clothes firmly on his body. He wasn't comfortable showing off like a few of the others. He'd managed to stay stocky throughout his growth, he'd never had much luck losing weight in the past and it showed. When he groaned, there appeared to be braces stuck to his teeth. He was an average looking teen surrounded by hyper-masculine men, and it made him feel less remarkable than usual.
Everyone was surprised by the sudden ageing. Nobody seemed to understand how it worked, until Jack snapped his fingers and said. "I got it! The sum of our age meant separating our age into single numbers and adding them together". Nobody understood what he meant, so he dumbed it down. "So John, you were 15, right? So we take the one and the five, and add them together. so you got six years older, and now you're 21 years old. Then for Bob and I, we were under 10, so we've doubled in age. Everyone understand now?"
There was a chorus of "oh, right" and "that makes sense" and nodding as if understanding. Or at least pretending to understand. At the end of round two, John was finally of drinking age at 21 years old, Paul went back to college then aged up to a more mature 27 years old, Ellis officially entered his thirties at a comfortable 32 years old, Bob almost made it back to being a kid before being forced to grow up to 18 years old, and Jack managed to reach driving age at 16 years old.