Once a mage, allways a mage

It was hardly a question. Lex always played as a mage, it was the best way to bend the difficulty of a game over his knees and give it the ol razzle dazzle. The guide to the Abyss cemented that notion, almost all of the most fucked up things people did in the abyss was in an effort to achieve greater magical power. The only issue was staying alive long enough to get to that point.

Step one was finding a way to make Xel distinct, at present there was no easily noticeable difference between the two character profiles besides the eyes. He'd need an outfit change too, and maybe to poke around the new addition to his menu. A flashing box in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he pulled up the notification with a quick thought.

New Quest: The Master of Disguise
It just might work.
[ ] Make Xel distinct from Lex
[ ] Bonus: Interact with somebody as Xel that knows you without arousing suspicion
Rewards: 200XP,
Bonus Rewards: [Feature: Body Alteration]

Lex blinked at the new quest. That was... awfully convenient. No that he felt inclined to complain. He didn't need any more pieces of god-gifted clothing. It seemed clear that this system, and the god behind it, was a lot more reactive than any game he'd played. Which made sense, seeing how this was real-life. He'd need to keep that in mind for the future.

For now, he needed to puzzle over how he was going to manage this quest. It would've been a lot easier - if a hell of a lot more confronting - if picking a girl made more of a change. Which still seemed a bit odd to him, maybe it was a system limitation of some sort? Though that made even less sense, seeing as the system was apparently being managed by a god. Whatever, he probably shouldn't worry seeing as the alternative would've meant changing all the way and he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to handle that.

For all intents and purposes Xel just looks like Lex's twin, with the swapped eyes being the only feature anyone could discern without needing to take a really close look. The eyes were going to be a major issue, now that he thought about it. Because no matter what he did they would be a dead giveaway that the two of them are connected somehow. If it were any other circumstance he'd just pass Xel off as a long-lost sister or cousin to people, but that would totally defeat the point of the entire exercise to do that. Xel and Lex must be total, complete strangers. The sort of person that's willing to abduct someone and lock them in a basement to siphon their magic, or worse (and he was trying to desperately not think about the 'or worse') was the exact sort of person that would use a close family member as bait.

So... what then? Contacts? He wasn't keen on the idea, but hopefully it wouldn't be needed after getting the bonus rewards - and despite his mild terror at the thought of needing to pass off as a stranger to someone he knew he was going to get that reward. Fingers crossed changing one's eye colours is covered under that. It'd have to be contacts. Maybe just one blue one for Xel? to cover up the light hazel eye. No, he still wanted to keep the heterochromia, maybe it was a risk but his unique eyes had always been the one feature on him that he'd always liked. He didn't mind changing the colours, but the feature needed to stay. Besides, there were probably plenty of people with funky eyes in the Abyss, so as long as the colours were different he was probably in the clear.

Right then, he'd need contacts, new clothes for Xel. Oh, and he could grab something nice for his mom, while he's grabbing those. Since he'd need to be at the shops anyways. Which just left figuring out what to buy. Which provided a few issues.

One, he had no fashion sense, absolutely none at all. Without fail Lex wore whatever shorts or pants was on top of the pile, combined with whatever shirt was on top of the pile. Xel, obviously, couldn't do that. The more distinct he could make the two of them, the better, and seeing as there wasn't much physical differences he'd need to lean harder into clothing. Which he knew nothing about. Doubly so for women's clothing.

Which led, quite neatly, into the second issue with the plan. He needed to buy women's clothing. And he was going to need to ask for help, because again, he had no clue what he was doing.

Another flashing box appeared in the corner of his vision, and twin relief and anxiety shot through him. Lex brought it up.

New Quest: Retail Therapy****
Boy, you need some serious help.
[ ] Have somebody help you find clothes as Xel
[ ] Bonus: Grab some makeup too
Rewards: Having clothes that look nice (seriously you need all the help you can get)
Bonus Rewards: 50XP to [makeup] skill

He let out a breath. The makeup bonus was a great touch, he hadn't even considered that angle. It was a nice confirmation that this Gaia wanted him to succeed after all. Somehow, it all felt just that little bit less daunting now that it was part of some quest. He assumed that was the terminal gamer brain coming through.

Right then. Nothing else for it. Lex unequipped the top and switched over to Xel, dropping it in her inventory. It'd be dangerous to wear, since it was a pretty obvious broadcast of his status as someone that knows about the abyss, but it made way more sense in Xel's inventory. He'd need to stick to his usual fashion as Lex. Instead of wearing it he dug around his cupboard for something to wear that was at least a little bit different to what he usually did. He came away with a slightly fitted long sleeve shirt that he was reasonably sure belonged to his cousin. Which meant it must've been sitting in there since at least the last time she was over, a guess that was verified by the mothy smell of the garment. He figured she probably wasn't missing it. He eventually settled on a pair of shorts that were about a size shorter than what he would normally wear, mostly just picked because he remembered girls normally wear shorter shorts.

He looked in the mirror when he was done and stared for a moment. He looked... girly ish? Maybe? The shirt was doing most of the work, it was tight enough that it was actually possible to tell that he _maybe _had boobs. If you squinted. Also he was reasonably sure Xel had about a hair more in the way of a waist. Though he reasoned he was skinny enough that it probably wouldn't have mattered if the change had been full, in that department. He'd need to eat more, like his mom always said. It had been easy to brush it off when we was just skipping meals because he was distracted by work or his games, but now it might literally be life and ****. Best not to think about it.

Lex thought he still looked exactly like himself, just wearing something he normally wouldn't. Hopefully he didn't look too odd.

Only one way to find out.