Thomas woke up with a splitting headache. He was currently sitting in a wooden chair, the upper half of his body spread across a small table. With a groan, he slowly lifted his head, rubbing his temples as his mind struggled to catch up with reality. His breath caught in his throat as he remembered what he'd just experienced, his chest tightening as he shuddered. Immediately he leapt to his feet, looking around, hoping to find Jessica somewhere, anywhere, but all he found was a large, medieval looking bedroom. The walls, floor, and ceiling all seemed to be hewn from rock, and the bed had a large canopy on it. Large wooden dressers stood along one wall, while the other contained another small table with a mirror and a couple small boxes on top.
Thomas frowned as he looked around, reaching up to scratch his head. His eyes widened in surprise as he found a lot more hair than he was used to. He rushed to the mirror, looking into it in shock as he found a much different, and much more feminine form than he was used to. "Well, I'm a very pretty girl… what the fuck just happened?!?"
Suddenly information flowed into his mind, detailing the events between now and the screen. As the screen had destroyed them, all the extra points accumulated by the users flowed into him, condensing within him. As they did, his consciousness connected with them in a way he never had before, and as his body was destroyed, the points became his body, slipping into a vast darkness. As he drifted, the points swirled, creating some sort of portal that consumed almost all of them, sending him through, into the body of a recently deceased girl. More points were used to fix the severe damage she had suffered, leaving him almost completely out of points, but alive.
"Then… she's really dead." Thomas muttered to himself in a low, sad voice, collapsing onto the bed. Thomas had felt the points from Jessica enter him. There was no way she could have survived the way he had. The urge to destroy something fought with the futility of living within him as he laid there, fists clenched, occasionally beating the bed in his frustration. "Fuck!"
A knock came from the door. "Victoria? Are you alright?" A woman's voice came from behind the door before she opened it anyways. The woman looked around the room, searching for Victoria/Thomas, who was slightly hidden by the beds canopy, when her eyes landed on a small vial on the table Thomas had initially been sitting at. "Oh, nonono, Victoria!" She screeched in a panic, rushing into the room, finding her lying on the bed, looking up at her with a vaguely confused expression. "What have you done!?!" The woman exclaimed, placing her hands on her forehead and stomach, closing her eyes. "You're too weak to ha- huh? You're fine? But… it worked?" Opening her eyes in surprise.
Thomas raised an eyebrow at the woman, having understood absolutely none of what she had said. "What?"
"What?" The woman said back in a completely different language.
Thomas sighed, letting his head fall and staring at the ceiling. "Just perfect. A fucking language barrier."
[Learn the local language. (0%) - 20 pts.]
*As if I have a choice.* Thomas rolled his eyes at the task prompt.
"Victoria? A- Can you understand me?" The woman pressed.
"No hablo español." Thomas replied defeatedly, not even worried about trying to blend in at this point.
"Oh… oh no." The woman muttered in horror, backing away slowly before rushing out of the room.
Thomas sighed to himself. "I should probably earn some points so I can improve my comprehension. That should help with the language barrier." He climbed to his feet and went to the dressers, looking for some pants or something, because running in a dress sounded awful. "Let's see… dress, dress, dress… they do know that dresser isn't a literal term, right? You can put more than dresses in here." He grumbled as he tossed piles of clothing onto the bed. "Seriously? Not one pair of pants?" He sighed after tossing every single article of clothing onto the bed. "Well, at least they aren't those big poofy dresses… that would have been hell." As Thomas was staring at the monotonous selection of clothing piled on his bed, the woman from before rushed back in, followed by an older man. "Oh great, you're back." Thomas muttered sarcastically.
"You see, she seems to be speaking in syntax, but the words she uses are complete nonsense!" The woman explained to the man. "Do you think your mental connection skill can get around it?"
"The skill directly transmits meaning between people, so as long as her thoughts are ordered, it shouldn't be an issue." The man consoled the woman before approaching Thomas and waving his hand. *Miss Victoria? Can you hear me?*
Thomas raised her eyebrows in surprise. *Huh, neat. Yeah, I hear you… assuming that I am Victoria at least.*
The man frowned. *Miss Victoria, can you tell me what today's date is?*
*I have no idea.* Thomas answered shortly.
*Who is the current reigning king?*
*We have kings?*
*What is the first stage of cultivation?*
*Stage of what?!?*
*What is two plus two?*
*Four.*
*What is the square root of one hundred and forty-four multiplied by seven, plus nine.*
Thomas paused as he did the calculations in his head, taking longer than he used to due to his sudden lack of points. *Ninety-three? I think.* He answered, frowning to himself. He really needed to start earning points again.
*Do you know who this woman is?* The man finished.
*Not particularly, but judging by the similarities between our looks and the excessive level of concern she seems to have for me, I'm guessing my mother? Possibly an aunt?* Thomas answered with a shrug. *Also, I've noticed I do not own a single piece of clothing that is not a dress… Could I get some pants and a shirt or at least something I can run in? I need to exercise.*
The man turned to the woman, shaking his head. "I'm sorry Melissa, she seems to have lost all her memories. She doesn't even remember you are her mother. Thankfully, her reason seems to have remained intact, including basic skills. We just need to teach her how to speak again, and the basics of cultivation, and she should be able to return to a normal life. Honestly, this is probably the best we could have hoped for with her drinking a potion of awakening in her condition. It's a miracle that she only lost her memory. She really should have died taking the potion this early."
Tears pooled in Melissa's eyes as she pulled Victoria into a tight embrace. "Oh, you foolish, foolish girl! Why did you have to rush? You only needed to wait a few short years at most and you could have taken the potion safely! Now look at you, an Awoken but with no knowledge of how to build on it! What kind of path can you choose now?!?" She simultaneously scolded and comforted him, though since Thomas still couldn't understand the language, he didn't get any of it.
Thomas patted Melissa's back awkwardly. "There, there?" He consoled her before turning to the man again. *So… about those pants.*
*Miss Victoria, your training clothes are in your training yard.* The man explained patiently. *I'm glad this incident has at least left you with a more enthusiastic outlook on training if nothing else.* He sighed, shaking his head.
*Oh? Where would that be?* Thomas asked, before frowning. *Actually, I'm probably going to need to be shown where everything is…*
*Hm, yes. Beatrice will need to lead you around for a while.* The man responded.
Thomas looked at the woman holding him. *Beatrice?* He asked.
The man laughed, shaking his head. *No, no, this is Melissa, your mother, as you so brilliantly deduced. Beatrice is your maid. My name is Maurice.*
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*Ah, nice to meet you.* Thomas responded. Though, on the topic of names, He supposed he should start thinking of himself as Victoria now, since that seemed to be his name. At least, until he had a better understanding of this world he'd found himself in. He should probably also start thinking of himself as a she. Maybe, once she was settled, she could return to being Thomas. Though… maybe not. As Thomas, he was alone, everyone, every thing, he had known was gone. The one person he'd truly cared about died in his arms while he stood there helplessly, not even knowing what was going on. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just embrace this new life.
*Miss Victoria?* Maurice interrupted her spiraling thoughts, looking at her with concern. *Are you alright?*
*Huh? Yeah… c-could I go to the training yard now?* Victoria asked, shaking her head.
*Sure.* Maurice agreed, smiling sadly, looking at her with a trace of pity in his gaze.
Victoria extricated herself from Melissa's embrace and followed Maurice out of the room and down the halls. They descended down two flights of stairs, before exiting onto a training field full of soldiers doing drills. In the distance were tall walls, surrounding the grounds. Maurice led her away from the soldiers and into a small, enclosed courtyard. *You will find your training clothes in that chamber there. These are your private training grounds, so you won't need to worry about being disturbed.* Maurice explained.
*Thank you.* Victoria replied, before heading towards the chamber he'd pointed out.
*I'll have Beatrice wait for you outside, to guide you to the dining hall once you've finished.* Maurice added, before leaving the courtyard.
Victoria quickly changed into the form fitting outfit she found in the chamber. "This feels so very, very wrong." Victoria flushed nervously, trying to avoid looking down as she changed. Despite recent physical changes, she was still quite attracted to women. It also didn't help that she was obviously quite young, piling an additional level of shame on top. Victoria had to guess she was somewhere between thirteen and fifteen. The eighteen year old boy she had been not that long ago was having issues.
Victoria breathed a sigh of relief as she finished changing, before focusing on the system. Everything was still just the way he and Jessica had designed it, which sent a jolt of pain through her heart as she saw it. Shaking her head, she quickly checked the updated details of the daily tasks, all the exercises having been adjusted to no longer require equipment as it wasn't known what equipment this world had. Victoria had noticed the system seemed more… intuitive now, as if it was anticipating her needs, instead of just responding to her commands. It was as if it had become an extension of herself, instead of this strange outside force she needed to talk and explain things to. Even without checking, she knew exactly how many points a task would reward, even the details of the tasks she had. She only checked the system to confirm what her intuition had already told her. She now felt truly connected with the system.
Shaking herself from her thoughts, she began performing her tasks, losing herself in the mechanical exercises, preventing her from thinking too deeply about anything. She spent hours putting herself through various exercises until she'd gained a little over forty points, breathing heavily as she collapsed onto a cushion waiting in a side room. One odd thing she'd noticed was that despite being a still developing teenage girl, her new stats were actually better than her old body's, at least physically. She was about fifty percent stronger in all aspects. It was strange.
After she'd rested for a bit, she walked over to a small pool, obviously intended for bathing after her exercise. She tested the water, finding it surprisingly warm, before stripping and easing herself into the water. At first, it was fine. Washing her hair was a bit annoying, but that was to be expected. However, once she moved on to begin washing her body, her face began to heat up. When one has been conditioned for years to think of breasts as sexual objects, it becomes awkward to simply focus on getting clean when you wash them. It was even worse once she got to her vagina. *Ugh, this is so awkward!* She groaned internally, but it wasn't like she could just not clean herself. She tried not to focus on what she was doing, quickly finishing up and jumping out of the bath.
After drying herself off, Victoria looked between her dress and the exercise clothes in consternation as she tried to decide which one she'd rather wear. On the one hand, the dress was cleaner, less sweaty, more appropriate for walking around in, but… it was a dress. Victoria still had some instinctual resistance to wearing dresses from her previous life. However, while the exercise clothes were much closer to her former tastes… they were skin tight, and rather sweaty and gross after she just exercised in them. Thinking of all those soldiers on the other side of the wall, Victoria let out an involuntary shudder, knowing exactly what would go through their minds if she walked out in that outfit.
With a sigh, she finally began to pull on the dress, grumbling slightly as she messed with the ties along the side. Eventually she got everything situated and stepped out of the courtyard. Immediately she was greeted by another young woman, who seemed to have been waiting there patiently for some time, probably that Beatrice Maurice had mentioned.
"Are you ready to head to dinner, Lady Victoria?" Beatrice asked, looking at her with concern.
Victoria frowned at her. "Sorry, I don't speak ye old gibberish."
"M-my Lady?" Beatrice stammered in confusion, not having understood Victoria's sarcastic comment.
Victoria let out a heavy sigh. "Just take me to the dining hall, okay? That's what you're supposed to do, right?"
"I-I don't-" Beatrice began to panic.
"Just go!" Victoria exclaimed in frustration, throwing up her hands. She walked ahead a bit, before motioning exaggeratedly for Beatrice to take the lead.
"O-oh! Yes! Er- follow me!" Beatrice finally got the hint, rushing forward.
Victoria followed her through another series of halls and stairways, wondering why this place had to be designed so damned complicatedly, before arriving in a small, elegant dining room with a table that could fit close to ten people around it, though currently only half that number were sitting there. As she walked in, her mother immediately jumped to her feet, rushing towards her.
"Victoria!" Melissa exclaimed, catching her by the shoulders as she examined her. "How are you feeling? Is your memory still gone? Did anything else go wrong?"
Victoria clicked her tongue in frustration. "Seriously, how hard is it to understand that I don't speak your language? Stop asking me things in gibberish!"
Melissa's expression fell in disappointment, before she turned to Maurice, who'd also climbed to his feet upon Victoria's entrance, her eyes pleading with him for his help. With a slightly twisted grin, he performed his skill again, connecting with Victoria's mind. *Ahem, your mother is wondering if you experienced any discomfort during your exercise.* He explained.
*Ah, no. Well, you know, it was exercise, so obviously there was some discomfort, but nothing that you wouldn't expect.* Victoria responded with a shrug.
Maurice smiled in understanding, before conveying her answer to Melissa, who sighed in relief. Melissa then pulled Victoria along, sitting her in the seat beside her, while Maurice sat on Victoria's other side. Across the table from them were two boys, one in his late teens and the other looking to be around ten or eleven. At the head of the table sat an older man, around the same age as her mother. All three looked at her with different expressions. The older man frowned with a mix of disappointment and pity, while the younger boy just looked curious. However, the older boy's look was the strangest, traces of contempt flickering in his eyes, with a hint of mockery.
*Let me introduce you. The man sitting at the head of the table is your father, the honorable Marquis Albert Tyverus. To his left is your older brother, Albert Junior, or AJ for short, and the last is your younger brother Calvin.* Maurice named the three men as Victoria nodded slightly in understanding.
"Did you really lose your memory?" Calvin asked after a moment of awkward silence.
Victoria nodded, after Maurice translated for her. "I don't remember anything from before I woke up this afternoon."
"Where did you even get a Potion of Awakening!" The Marquis growled, pounding the table in frustration. "If I ever catch the person responsible for this, I will skin them alive!"
"It was probably one of her little boy toys." AJ drawled. "You know how she likes to tease the young recruits. A little bit of flirting, maybe a squeeze here and there, and they'd do anything for her."
"AJ!" Melissa immediately interjected, giving him a harsh stare. "You know your sister does nothing of the sort!"
AJ snorted and rolled his eyes, but didn't press the issue any further. Victoria looked between the two, confused because Maurice hadn't translated the exchange for her.
Melissa let out an angry huff before continuing. "How she became this way is irrelevant at the moment. What matters is how we proceed. No matter what, the fact is that Victoria has awakened, and she is ready for Acquisition. The question becomes whether we should let her take the chance now, possibly acquiring a sub-par Skill Rune due to her lost memory, or have her wait to develop more and steer her towards a more powerful Initial Rune."
"What does it matter if she acquires a good rune or not?" AJ scoffed. "Does having a powerful rune make her a better wife?"
"AJ, shut up." The Marquis sighed wearily, rubbing his temple, obviously exasperated with this irreverent son of his. "However, there is something to be said for your words. This first rune doesn't matter. As long as she's talented, she can Comprehend and Assimilate an Initial Rune in the time it would take to retrain her. She wouldn't lose much by acquiring one now, even if it is sub-par. If she isn't talented, then no matter what rune she acquires, it's irrelevant. She won't have any future in cultivation anyways, and few people care if their wives are powerful or not." A cold, shrewd look flashed across the Marquis's face. "Think of this first rune as a test. If she can overcome this hurdle, then… maybe we can rethink her future."
AJ turned glance sharply at the Marquis as he said those words, a flash of worry and panic in his gaze, before a thought seemed to pass through his mind and a slow grin spread across his face. Melissa nodded in understanding, lowering her head slightly in disappointment, reaching over to squeeze Victoria's hand slightly. Maurice just sighed and shook his head, while Calvin went back to his food, having long lost track of the conversation. Victoria just looked between everyone in confusion, completely unable to understand the heated exchange, or the impact it would have on her new life.