Second round

“Are you enjoying yourself, Pete?” Frank asked with a smile.

“I... ehm… well, you could call it that,” the contestant managed to compose himself, but the colours did not leave his face.

“Will you be able to focus on the questions?”

“That’s the kind of distraction I should be able to deal with.”

“Pick the category for round two.”

“Maybe Cats.”

What is the largest species of cat? Tiger. Correct. Clouded Leopard inhabits which region of Earth? Southeast Asia. Correct. Cats' ears are controlled by how many muscles? Hmm... 23? WRONG. The term big cats is used for members of Panthera genus who are able to roar. Which cat is rather large but belongs to subfamily Felinae and is only able to purr? Cougar. Correct. On average, how many whiskers in total do cats have on their little muzzles? I don’t know. 12 maybe? WRONG.

“Two mistakes this time,” Frank announced, “draw two transformation cards.”

“Age Regression and Fetish: Chastity. Oh no! I’m not keeping that.”

“You want to discard it?”

“I... what’s that age thing though?”

“The physical aspects of the aging of your body recede. Your body returns to the time when you were approximately eighteen. You might not look exactly the same though, this isn’t a time machine.”

“Sounds cool! What about my mind? Will I lose my memories or be stupid again? I was pretty dumb at that age.”

“Your mind and memories remain unaltered. We have different transformations for that.”

“Nice! So let’s get rid of that chastity crap.”

“Draw two new cards then.”

“Double Height Reduction, Name Change: Ciera.”

“Do you like the trade?”

“I guess so. How much is that reduction?”

“Double is ten centimetres.”

“I’m not happy, but I’m 189 right now, so I guess I won’t become a dwarf. The name sounds silly, but I can live with that.”

“Into The Chamber you go then.”

This time the process of transformation was longer and far more perceptible to the contestant. Pete not only sensed that he was getting shorter, it also felt as if a weight was taken off his shoulders. He realised that he was standing more straight, his breathing was lighter, even the blood in his veins seemed to be flowing smoother. This age regression thing was incredible! Finally the door to The Chamber opened, the contestant stepped out and looked at his image on the large screen.

The visual changes were significant, but not nearly as much as the man’s own perception of himself. He looked younger - his skin was smooth, his posture was straight, his ears were no longer hairy, his eyes seemed brighter. But it was the internal perception that mattered the most - he truly felt young! The elated sensation even caused him to forget about the ten centimetres he had lost, after all 179 was not THAT bad. His muscles were still there and unfortunately so was the beer-belly. Apparently it was not a symptom of mere age, but an incorrect diet as well. But the man felt that he could become slim quickly and easily.