Thomas woke up with a splitting headache, groaning as 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. He leapt to his feet, looking around, hoping to find Jessica somewhere, anywhere, but all he found was a large, medieval looking bedroom. “What- Where-” Thomas stammered, freezing as he heard his own voice, scrambling to look in the mirror and finding a rather attractive young woman staring back at him. “How-”
Suddenly a surge of memories flooded into him as he remembered what happened after he and Jessica had- Thomas flinched, shuddering slightly as he tried to push down the gnawing pain trying to claw through his chest, refocusing on remembering what had happened. Something had changed within him after he died, thousands- millions of points surging into him connecting to him in a way they never had before. As his body was destroyed, the points became his body, sustaining him as he slipped into a vast emptiness, drifting through it for an eternal instant where both all and no time had passed. At some point he'd run into- something and he'd dug into it, consuming points at a rapid rate as he tore his way inside and found himself in a sea of red, surging towards the brightest spot and… then he woke up.
"She's really dead." Thomas choked, burying his face in his hands as he collapsed onto the bed, the pain he'd been trying to ignore burst through him as a sob clawed its way out his throat. Why?!? Why did that voice have to destroy everything?!? Why did he have to spread the system!?! Why- why couldn't he have just been satisfied with the way things were? Been a normal fucking dude? If he'd just left things as they were, none of this would have happened!
As Thomas was wallowing in misery and self deprecation, someone knocked on the door. [Victoria? Are you alright?] A woman's voice called out, cautiously pushing the door open. [You missed-] The woman froze as she caught sight of a small vial lying empty on one of the dressers. [Oh, no. Nonono, Victoria!] She panicked, rushing into the room, finding Thomas lying on the bed, trying his best to ignore the woman screaming in gibberish. [What have you done!?!] The woman exclaimed, placing her hands on his forehead and stomach, closing her eyes. [You're too weak to ha- huh? You're fine? But… it worked?]
“Leave me alone!” Thomas groaned, trying to push the woman away. He was not in the mood to deal with this shit right now!
The woman froze. [What- what did you say?]
“Fuck off!” Thomas snapped.
[Victoria? Can- Can you understand me?] The woman pressed.
“No hablo español!” Thomas growled. “Just go!”
[Oh… oh no.] The woman muttered, looking horrified as she slowly backed away, then turned and rushed out of the room.
“Finally.” Thomas grumbled. He'd deal with whatever was going on later. Right now he just wanted to be miserable. Something which lasted all of five minutes, as in the bubbling mess that was his mental state, several tasks began to form.
[Find the Voice: 0%]
[Make them pay: 0%]
[Make sure this never happens again: 0%]
A few related tasks began to pop up as well, such as learning the local language and finding a way to get strong enough to actually do something about the Voice, and as they did, a determination began to grow inside him. You didn't get impossible tasks. And if he could make the Voice pay, he would make the voice pay. No matter what it took! “Right.” He grumbled, climbing to his feet. “Let's get started.” He walked towards the door, yelping as he tripped on the hem of his dress. “Shit, right, I'm a girl now… can I- where did all my points go?!?” He groaned as he opened his status to find a measly four points waiting for him. “Guess I'm stuck like this for a bit… probably for the best, anyway. Should probably get a better idea of what's going on before I turn back.” He sighed, ignoring it for now as he started to search through the dressers, looking for some pants or something. If he didn't have any points, he was going to need to do some exercises, and that was not happening in a dress. "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 complained after tossing every single article of clothing onto the bed. "This better not be one of those cultures where girls are only allowed to wear dresses." 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, it's you… not that you'll understand this, but sorry for being a pain earlier. I was going through some stuff.”
[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, 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 blinked. *Yeah, I hear you… I assume I'm Victoria then?*
The man frowned. *Miss Victoria, can you tell me what today's date is?*
*I have no idea.* Thomas shrugged.
*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 slightly. 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 replied.
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're her mother. Thankfully, her reasoning seems to have remained intact. We'll need to re-educate her, but once we do, she should be able to live a normal life. Honestly, this is probably one of the best results we could have hoped for.]
Tears pooled in Melissa's eyes as she pulled Thomas 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 awkwardly, glancing at the man hesitantly. *So… Can I get some pants or something? I- kinda need to exercise and I don't think these dresses are really appropriate for that.*
The man looked at her strangely. *If I may ask, why do you feel the need to exercise?*
Thomas paused. *To… maintain my figure?* He offered hesitantly.
The man raised an eyebrow at him. *Miss Victoria, dishonesty is a poor habit to develop, and a futile one to attempt through a mental bridge. Now please, tell me why you really need to exercise.*
Thomas sighed. *To get stronger.*
The man blinked. *And why would you need to get stronger?*
Thomas frowned. *Because there are dangerous people out there, and if I'm not strong enough, they'll hurt me and everyone I care about?*
*I see…* The man muttered. *That is an… interesting shift in mindset, but one I can't exactly disagree with. Though simple exercise will offer little benefit, it does provide a valuable foundation for future development. Very well, you'll find that your exercise clothes are stored in your private training yard.* The man sighed. *If only you were this dedicated to improvement before you took the Potion of Awakening.*
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
*I have a private training yard? Where?* Thomas asked, frowning as he realized he didn't know where anything was. *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 agreed.
Thomas glanced at the woman holding him. *Beatrice?*
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.*
*Ah, nice to meet you.* Thomas replied. Though, on the topic of names, he supposed he should probably start thinking of himself as Victoria, shouldn't he? 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. Not that she particularly cared what name or pronouns she used… Thomas or Victoria, he/she was the same person inside, right? The only thing it really changed was how sex worked, and that- wouldn't be an issue. Not for a while, at least.
*Miss Victoria?* Maurice interrupted her spiraling thoughts, looking at her with concern. *Are you alright?*
*Huh? Yeah… Could- 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, Victoria catching sight of tall walls in the distance as 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, giving him a slight nod as she headed 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 and emotional trauma, she couldn't quite ignore the fact that she was now in the body of a rather cute young woman, emphasis on young. Victoria had to guess she was somewhere between thirteen and fifteen, which just added an extra layer of awkwardness to the act of dressing a female body that still didn't quite feel like it was his.
Victoria sighed in relief as she finished changing, quickly focusing on the system to get the sights she couldn't avoid seeing out of her head. Which worked really well, since the sight of the UI he and Jessica had designed together sent a jolt of pain through her heart that erased any other thought from her mind. She took a deep breath to recompose herself before checking her tasks, finding a series of exercises she could do, all adjusted to make use of what she had available in the training yard, somewhat surprising her. It seemed a bit more… intuitive than she was used to. Usually she had to adjust tasks herself to fit the equipment she had available.
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, and not by a little bit. This little girl was fifty percent stronger than he'd been! She glanced at her decidedly not muscular arms, wondering just how these people were built that someone that looked like her would be that strong.
After she'd rested for a bit, she walked over to a small pool that was obviously intended for bathing after her exercise, testing the water with a toe and 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 she'd expected that. What she hadn't expected was how awkward it was to wash the rest of her body. It wasn't even the fact that it was a girl's body, there was just something off about washing an entirely different body than she was used to and she kept feeling like she was somehow missing something. Of course, the girl's body didn't help but she was so exhausted at the moment that those thoughts were easy to dismiss.
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, and 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 until she finally 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, giving her a concerned look.
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, 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 as 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 shrugged.
Maurice smiled in understanding, quickly 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 introduced the three men.
[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 looking 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 glanced sharply at the Marquis, a flash of worry and panic crossing his face, before a thought occurred to him and a slow grin spread across his face. Melissa grimaced slightly, lowering her head and reaching over to squeeze Victoria's hand reassuringly. 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.