Moving boxes was a terrible chore for Trevor. They were heavy, and being a dumb kid, Trevor tried to lift with his back and had a miserable time of it. His mom and dad weren't exactly abusive, most of the time, but they sure worked him to the bone. Always this chore or that. At least there was enough lemonade to hydrate him. While he and Mom worked, his dad mostly just sat around and egged him on from the couch. After the boxes, Trevor was set to work sweeping every inch of furniture dust off every carpet in the house. Not even a Swiffer to help him. This went on for what felt like an interminably long time.
After all the chores were finished, (he immediately forgot how many tasks he had to undertake, but it was too many), Trevor ran back upstairs to continue playing with his program. His dad heckled him yet again from the couch. "Don't that boy go outside?! I swear, kids be on their gadgets 'til they're 30 and living in their..." Trevor closed the door to his room, shutting the rant out. Thank goodness.
The soft glow of the screensaver greeted him warmly. Trevor jiggled the mouse and the Chronivac interface reappeared. After another exploration of the Reality Bubble options, he spotted a tab under Experimental Options labeled Proximity Change. A tooltip explained it in one simple sentence. "User radiates a field of transformation, affecting everything within a set radius." So, he determined, everywhere you go, you change the world around you. The question is, what does he do with something like that? He decided to keep it basic. Fantasy setting. Lots of monster races. No pesky laws or decency standards, just adventure and danger. And fun.
Eventually, he tweaked every setting to his liking and looked over the list again.
Subgenres: Soft Fantasy, Post-Civilization
Population: All monster races (Very diverse), No humans
Level of realism: Very Low
Level of civilization: Primitive
Tone: Thrilling
Aesthetic: Reclaimed medieval ruins
Adult content: Common
Transformation speed: Slow
Radiation radius: Expanding linearly (slow)
Duration: Indefinite
With these settings, everything around him would turn into a wilderness populated with dangerous dungeons and castles filled with who knows what kind of creature. Exciting stuff! He did not hesitate in mashing "CHANGE".
He looked over himself and... he didn't feel different at all. Not even a twinge in the stomach. Either "Slow" was too slow for his taste or... the thing didn't work. Just his luck. Well then. Time for him to help make dinner. As he exited his room and headed downstairs, he felt that twinge in his stomach he was wondering about...