Early the next morning Maurice led Victoria to a small private room in the depths of the castle. *Today you will condense your first Initial Rune.* He explained in a heavy tone, gesturing for Victoria to sit on a small cushion in the middle of the room. Scented candles provided a calm, soothing atmosphere, almost lulling Victoria to sleep as she made herself comfortable.

*What's an Initial Rune?* Victoria asked.

Maurice let out a heavy sigh. *Right, you wouldn't know… First, let me explain cultivation. As an Awakened, you are one of the special people in this world who can condense Runes. Anyone can be Awakened, from the mightiest king, to the lowliest slave, and once you are, your future becomes limitless! I myself was just a lowly scribe before my Awakening and now I sit at the right hand of one of the mightiest lords in this great land!* Maurice paused as he realized he'd gotten off track, forcing a brief cough to cover his embarrassment. *But back to the subject at hand. As an Awakened, you will condense Runes in a four stage process. The first stage is Acquisition, in which you form the Skill Rune in your Runescape. As it forms, it will apply pressure upon you, struggling against your control, resisting its formation. If you lose control in this instance, the Rune will break down violently, causing injury, or even death. Once it's fully formed, the Rune will stabilize, but the pressure will remain until you have Assimilated it.*

*Once you have a fully formed Rune, you enter the next stage, Comprehension. In this stage, you must meditate on your Rune, learning from it as you develop an understanding of the Skill it represents. Once you have truly understood your Rune, you may move on to the next stage, Assimilation. In the Assimilation stage, you incorporate your Rune into your very being, moving it from your Runescape and imprinting it on your body. This fixes your understanding of the Rune, making its use much more instinctual, as well as opening the door of the fourth stage, Cultivation. Additionally, once you have Assimilated a Rune, the pressure will release, allowing you to condense more Runes.*

*Finally, Cultivation is the process of using your Assimilated Rune to gather the world's energy. The more you understand the Rune, the more powerful the Rune, the more efficient the process. There's a few more details you'll need to be aware of before you begin this process, but those can wait until later. The important part is that you should constantly strive to understand more and more advanced Runes, in order to better advance your cultivation.*

*Now, there are two types of Runes: Initial Runes and Advanced Runes. Initial Runes are the most basic Runes formed based on one's experience and knowledge. When acquiring an Initial Rune, you must remember one thing: we do not choose our Runes, our Runes choose us. Many young Awakened have run into trouble when they reject an Initial Rune they have begun to acquire, causing it to destabilize and break down. No matter what Rune you receive, you must accept it.*

*Advanced Runes, on the other hand, are acquired based on your Assimilated Runes. These Advanced Runes provide special abilities along with the skills they encompass. For example, while an Initial Rune of Stealth will provide you with all the skills needed to move silently through the night, an Advanced Rune of Stealth may also provide you with the ability to cloak yourself in shadow. You may choose to base the acquisition of an Advanced Rune on any number of Assimilated Runes, making the resulting Rune more powerful, but be warned that the more powerful the Rune, the more pressure it will exert and the harder it will be to understand.*

*The final aspect of being Awakened you must pay attention to is Capacity. Your Capacity is your ability to withstand the pressure of the Runes. The higher your Capacity, the more unassimilated Runes you can hold, either in quantity or quality. Capacity can be trained by advancing your cultivation and training your mind and body. If you ever exceed your Capacity, you will break down, and there is no returning from that.* Maurice stated finally, ending his explanation.

Victoria took in all this information, nodding slowly as she organized it into her own understanding, before frowning. *If Awakening is a natural phenomenon, then what is that Potion of Awakening I took?* She asked curiously.

Maurice's expression twisted slightly. *That- a few decades ago, a powerful Awakened lord with a highly advanced Alchemy Rune was left with no descendants except one, who was well into his middle age with no signs of Awakening. Frustrated, he set out to design a potion which would increase his descendants chances of Awakening and succeeded magnificently, creating a potion that would guarantee an individual's Awakening. It only had one minor flaw. The imbiber of the potion must have an outstanding constitution and willpower, or the forces of the potion would run rampant through their body, similar to a breakdown. Of course, this was only a minor flaw to many nobles, as both constitution and willpower can be trained, but Awakening can only be chanced upon. Every noble family has a few of these potions stashed away, encouraging their children to train their bodies and minds, just in case their children fail to Awaken, a rather low chance since the children of Awakened tend to Awaken and many noble lines have been Awakened for generations, but every now and then a child becomes anxious or wants to get a head start and imbibes the potion early, which almost always leads to tragedy. All things considered your circumstances are a rather minor incident. In most scenarios, you would be dead, or at least crippled for life.*

Victoria nodded absently, remembering how many points it had taken to heal this body when she had crossed over and sighed heavily. *Thank you for explaining all this.* She thanked Maurice sincerely. *Now, how do I begin the Acquisition process?*

Maurice smiled, admiring Victoria's resolute attitude, before beginning to explain the process to acquire an Initial Rune. It wasn't particularly difficult. All one had to do was calmly focus their mind on their Runescape and call for a Rune to form. Victoria took up a meditative position and followed his instructions, but ran into a slight problem. She didn't know where this Runescape thing was… *Did the points get rid of it when they healed this body?* Victoria thought to herself nervously, as she searched and searched. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and focus on searching calmly. As soon as she calmed herself down, entering into a state of focused unconsciousness, the Runescape opened itself to her. *Oh…* She'd misunderstood what the Runescape was. It wasn't an area in her body, but more like a special state of consciousness, where one feels as if they are both falling asleep and remaining awake at the same time. Her vision was suffused with a soft, blue glow as tiny motes of light flitted around in the background.

*Okay, found the Runescape. Now… Come!* She commanded and suddenly a crushing pressure descended on her mind. She gritted her teeth in determination as the motes of light began to condense in front of her, etching themselves into the fabric of the Runescape, harsh lines forming as they outlined a dominating form! The shape wasn't in the form of any language she knew, but its meaning was immediately clear. *Design?* Victoria's concentration lapsed for a moment as she took in this strange Rune, causing it to destabilize slightly before she quickly refocused on supporting its development. Confusion continued to threaten to tear her concentration away from the forming Rune, making the process much more stressful than it should have been, but Victoria couldn't help it, unable to keep herself from wondering why her first Rune would be Design.

While obviously everyone else around her didn't think much of her chances to form a good Rune, Victoria knew she wasn't actually a blank slate. She had all her memories from her previous life as Thomas, full of advanced knowledge and creative ideas from everything he'd consumed over the years! What kind of Rune would form from her knowledge of physics, chemistry, and biology? From the technology she knew about? Even from the various magic systems and combat theories she'd read about in manga or seen on TV? There were so many possibilities, but… what had she ever designed? Maybe the system? But even that was more about defining things, not really designing. She was a programmer, not an artist!

Eventually, even with all the distracting thoughts running through her mind, the Initial Rune of Design finally finished forming, settling into her Runescape like a rock, continually emitting its heavy pressure. Victoria shot it one last look, before exiting the strange state with a sigh.

*Well? Did you form a Rune?* Maurice asked expectantly, holding out a bit of hope for something good, though her downcast expression was rapidly eroding it.

*I did.* Victoria sighed morosely. *I don't know how good it is though.*

*It's to be expected. It's hard to form an outstanding Rune with such a severe lack of experience.* Maurice sighed, shaking his head. *If only they'd have allowed me to train you for a few months… no, even just one month, I could have-* He let out another sigh. *But what's done is done. What is the Rune? Running? Jumping? Lifting? It couldn't be Eating, right?*

*Those were options?!?* Victoria asked incredulously. *No, it's Design.*

Maurice frowned. *Design? that- may not be terrible, actually. How many lines does it have? Are there any curves?*

Victoria frowned thinking back to the Rune. *Seven? It's an ‘S’ with three separate lines in the top loop and a triangle in the bottom loop.*

*Seven… Not the most complicated, but with that S, it might be equivalent to a twelve line Rune, or even higher! You may just have a chance to turn all this around!* Maurice started getting excited only to pause, frowning thoughtfully. *But where did it come from?*

Victoria shrugged helplessly. *I honestly don't know.*

Maurice sighed and shook his head. *Of course you don't. Well… let's look on the bright side. You've acquired a Rune! A mental Rune at that, meaning you'll be following my path as a Spirit Cultivator!*

*Spirit Cultivator?* Victoria cocked her head.

Maurice chuckled. *Right, you wouldn't know. Well, let's start from the basics. There are three types of cultivators: Spirit, Qi, and Essence. The major difference between them is the location where they form their core. For Spirit Cultivators, the core is formed in the head, while Qi Cultivators form the core in their chest and Essence Cultivators form one in their abdomen. Spirit Cultivators specialize in mental strength and skills, Essence Cultivators specialize in physical strength and combat, and Qi Cultivators balance both mental and physical strength, specializing in dextrous skills which require both finesse and power. Classically, Spirit Cultivators would be the cunning strategist, Qi Cultivators the tricky assassin, and Essence Cultivators the valiant warrior.* Maurice paused, before letting out a sigh. *I fear I've gone off topic again… regardless, as a Spirit Cultivator, you will develop mental abilities, the specifics based on the Runes you have Assimilated. For example, our communication is facilitated by my Communication Rune, which grants me the ability to connect to another's mind, though, in order for you to gain such an ability, you'll need to Acquire an Advanced Rune. Initial Runes simply provide a foundation.*

Victoria frowned. *Okay… so what does it do for me now?*

Maurice paused. *Er… nothing. Until you assimilate it and actually begin to form your core, a Skill Rune simply allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the skill it represents. Your goal right now is to learn from it as best you can. The better your understanding of the Rune, the better your foundation for the future.*

Victoria let out a sigh. *Okay then. How do I do that then?*

*Simply enter your Runescape and focus on the Rune. It will teach you its secrets, though the amount you understand depends on you.* Maurice explained simply.

Victoria nodded in understanding, standing to her feet. *Thank you for taking the time to explain all this.* She thanked him again. She'd understood that besides Melissa and Maurice, no one in the castle cared to see her advance. Without them, she probably would have gotten the basics, but not much else, leaving her to fumble about on her own. The extra information didn't help her too much at the moment, but it gave her a clear view of her future, and she was grateful. Her first goal would need to be comprehending the Design Rune as well as possible, before using it as a springboard to acquire better and more advanced runes.

[Develop a deep understanding of the Design Rune: 0%]

Victoria chuckled as the new mission popped up. All this may have been difficult for someone else, but with the system, Victoria was confident she could handle any difficulty she was faced with. Even if this Rune cultivation didn't work out, she always had another path to power. With that in mind, she headed towards her exercise courtyard. She needed more points.

*

Victoria relaxed in her bathing pool after a strenuous workout, letting out a relieved sigh, sinking into thought as she pulled up her status, looking it over.

Strength: 23 (16)*

Stamina: 20 (13)

Agility: 25 (18)

Memory: 18 (11)

Problem Solving: 19 (12)

Comprehension: 22 (15)

Awareness: 36 (21)

Points: 74.44

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*Parentheses are the stats without the boost from the points.

Her base physical stats were obviously improved from before, while her mental stats remained the same, except for her awareness. Though she supposed that stat was half physical. It seemed she truly was Thomas's mind in Victoria's body. She glanced over at the other side of the screen, focusing absently on the gender entry, before pushing it out of her mind with a sigh. She would like to return to being a man at some point, but… now wasn't the right time. As Victoria she had a support network she could use to get stronger, while as Thomas she wouldn't even have clothes. A part of her felt vaguely uneasy at the idea of slotting into someone else's life like this, but it wasn't her fault the girl died! She wasn't even really pretending to be the girl, she just wasn't telling anyone she used to be someone else… Which was still pretty shitty, but what other choice did she have? Plus, this way they'd at least feel like the girl was still around, right? And if everyone was happy, why not just go with it? Victoria grimaced for a moment, before shaking her head. If she was going to go down that path, then she was going to have to actually be Victoria. She couldn't just play the role for a bit then leave the moment it was convenient. She'd have to consider these people her responsibility. Her friends. Her… family. Because otherwise she should just leave right now and save everyone the heartache.

Victoria pushed those thoughts out of her mind, turning to the next pressing issue she had to deal with: what was she supposed to do with the system? Based on what happened on Earth, spreading it to anyone and everyone again would be a bad idea. She pulled up the page listing everyone with the system and shuddered at the solitary number one staring back at her. Yeah, she was not letting that happen again. Until she was in a position where she could actually protect the people she gave the system to, spreading it was not an option. She just hoped no one would come after her for using it herself, because if there was one thing she was certain of, it was the fact that she was going to need the system's power, and more, to face the Voice.

Victoria shook herself from her thoughts and quickly finished up her bath before getting dressed and heading out, gesturing for Beatrice to lead her back to her room. She added ten points to Problem Solving and Comprehension as they walked, listening to the people around her talk as she walked, doing her best to parse out the language from context clues. She couldn't use Maurice as her translator forever, after all.

Once she got closer to her room she found her brother, AJ, leaning against the wall, seemingly waiting for her. [Well, well, well, if it isn't the memoryless maiden. I hear you acquired a Rune this morning. I don't know what you acquired, but if you think this will help you avoid your duty, you are woefully mistaken.] AJ commented, his tone darkening towards the end. [Duke Duhallis has already made his intentions quite clear. No matter what, after your fifteenth birthday, you will be engaged, and after your sixteenth birthday, you'll be wed. No matter how hard you struggle, this matter has already been decided. Just accept your fate and focus on preparing yourself to be a good wife.]

Victoria stared at him with a frown, while Beatrice fidgeted nervously beside her, looking between the two nobles as she tried her best to blend into the background. "Are you stupid?" Victoria asked incredulously.

[Eh?] AJ frowned.

"I don't understand the language!" Victoria exclaimed. "If you're looking to monologue at me, at least go and grab Maurice so he can translate! Of course, you can't understand me, so me telling you this is largely pointless as well, but… well, you sound like you were being a dick, so fuck it."

AJ glared at her. [Are you mocking me?!?]

Victoria sighed, rubbing her temple. "How are you not getting this!?! You do get that I'm speaking a different language, yes? Why would you assume I can understand you if you can't understand me!?!"

[I am your elder brother and you will respect me! I will not be mocked in my own castle!] AJ growled, stepping forward to grab the front of her dress.

A fierce glint flashed in Victoria's eyes as suddenly points flooded into her arm and her palm struck out, landing heavily on his chest. AJ's eyes widened, a pained wheeze escaping his lips as he flew backwards, slamming into the wall! "Don't! Touch me!" Victoria growled as she stood over him, before stomping off towards her room, followed by a stunned Beatrice. Victoria slammed the door behind her, shutting Beatrice out of the room, before clutching her head and groaning in frustration. *What did I just do!?!* Victoria panicked, breathing heavily. It would have been fine if she just hit AJ. He was being a dick, and he deserved a little punishment, but why did her points do that?!? She wasn't supposed to be that strong yet! If- If AJ went and told everyone else… what would they think? Would they think she was an impostor? Not that they'd be wrong…

Victoria stared at her arm in consternation, frustrated and angry at AJ, herself, and her points all at once. *Just… Why did the points move on their own?!?* Victoria groaned, burying her face in her hands. They'd never done that before! The points hadn't even been spent either! The boost just seemed to have… focused on her arm! How was that even possible? She- she'd just wanted to hit AJ, and the points had moved to help her do that. She frowned, considering that for a moment. She'd never actually tried to interact with the points before… not without the system at least. And if she could focus her points to strengthen her arm, what else could she focus her points on?

With that thought in mind, Victoria took a seat on the bed and turned to her next task: comprehending the Initial Rune of Design. As she slipped back into the focused unconscious state, entering her Runescape, she attempted to move her points, trying to focus them in her head to increase her comprehension abilities. However, the moment she tried to move her points, she lost her hold on her Runescape, and the moment she refocused on the Runescape, she lost her hold on the points, unable to keep her focus on both things at once. “Damn it.” Victoria grumbled, sighing and putting the idea on the backburner as she focused on her Design Rune. As she focused on the Rune, she felt something begin to interact with her mind, frowning as she realized it wasn't exactly what she'd expected. She'd expected the Rune to feed her knowledge, specific skills and methods for designing things, but what she got was a bit more… vague. She didn't receive any new knowledge, but instead ideas began to form, the Design Rune helping her put together what she already knew. It showed her the various fabrics she'd seen around the castle that could be used to make a comfortable pair of pants, areas where plumbing could be installed so she could actually have a damn toilet, acceptable substitutes for toilet paper, a way to make deodorant… Some of these may not have come from the Design Rune, but once she got on the topic, she couldn't let go of the idea of bringing this culture's hygiene standards into the twenty-first century. The more she concentrated on the Rune, the more ideas bloomed in her mind, until she couldn't resist the urge to actually do something with them all.

Victoria jumped to her feet and rushed out of her room, finding Beatrice waiting in the small sitting room attached to it, repeating Maurice's name a few times until Beatrice got the hint and helped her search for Maurice, leading her around the castle until she finally found someone who knew where the old man was. Maurice looked up with a frown as they walked into his small office, quickly performing his skill and establishing a link with Victoria. *Is something the matter?* Maurice asked, a hint of concern in his tone as he wondered if something had gone wrong with her cultivation.

Victoria shook her head. *No, I just need some things to get all the ideas out of my head. Some writing tools, fabric and sewing supplies, a blueprint of the castle if you have one, but I can take care of that myself if you don't. Oh, and some soft wood, like pine… actually, scratch that. I need to design a few other things before we get there.*

Maurice’s eyes widened. *You can write?*

Victoria froze. *Is- that strange?*

*This… Come, write a few lines for me.* Maurice waved her over, pulling out a small piece of scrap parchment and handing her a quill.

Victoria shrugged, taking the quill and quickly writing 'My name is Victoria and AJ is a dickhead.' before handing the quill back.

*Amazing…* Maurice muttered as he took in the little script. *The fact that you speak a different language is strange enough, but a completely different writing system as well? Complete with new letters?!? Just what happened during your Awakening? This- this goes beyond simple amnesia. I wonder… did you perhaps receive a baptism of some foreign cultures knowledge which wiped out your own? A complete replacement of one set of knowledge with another!?! A culture rich in design, which would explain your Rune… Yes, the more I think of this, the more it makes sense! Tell me, are there any other concepts you know of that seem to be missing in this world?*

Victoria was stunned for a second before she let out a sharp laugh. While she wasn't exactly trying to hide her weirdness from anyone, she was worried about what they would think if they found out she wasn't the original Victoria, not just an amnesiac but a completely new personality. But this old man had gone and invented an excuse for her! It was perfect! *Sorry.* Victoria coughed awkwardly as she apologized for her outburst. *It's just… I have been feeling like my understanding of how things should be was slightly off from everyone else's, but I didn't know how to explain where these ideas were coming from. To hear you come up with such an answer… It was relieving.*

Maurice nodded in understanding. *Of course. I can't imagine how frustrating this all must have been for you. Waking up with no knowledge of your surroundings, full of these strange ideas… you must have been so confused! Don't worry, I'll do my best to make sure you can get back up to speed as quickly as possible.*

*That would be great. Thank you.* Victoria agreed with a sigh of relief.

Maurice and Victoria continued to talk for a while, laying out a lesson plan for her to begin reintegrating with their society, beginning with language lessons, as well as culture and etiquette. Victoria didn't see much point in the etiquette lessons, but Maurice insisted that as a young lady of the land, it was of the utmost importance that she learn how to conduct herself properly in front of the other nobles, even if she couldn't speak their language. Victoria didn't quite buy his explanation, but he was the expert here.

By the time they finished, it was time for dinner, so they headed to the dining room together, giving Beatrice a break. Everyone sat in the same places as before, almost as if they had assigned seating, AJ shooting a quick glare Victoria's way before ignoring her completely. Everyone ate in silence for a few minutes, then the Marquis spoke up. [So, AJ. I hear you made a visit to the doctor this afternoon. Apparently it was quite a nasty injury.] He commented, glancing towards AJ. [What happened?]

[Nothing!] AJ immediately retorted, his face going red. [It was just a training accident, no big deal.] He huffed, blatantly avoiding looking towards Victoria.

The Marquis frowned. [What kind of training would you be doing to break several of your ribs like that?] Victoria winced slightly after Maurice translated that part for her. She hadn't realized she'd done that much damage.

[I- was practicing with my horse. During a maneuver, I made a mistake, falling off the back and spooking him in the process, causing him to kick. I'd rather not speak any more on the matter, as it's rather embarrassing.] AJ explained.

Victoria frowned. *Why is he covering for me?*

The Marquis nodded, accepting the explanation as he turned to Victoria, a strange glint in his eye. [I hear there's some news regarding you as well, Victoria. You actually managed to acquire a rather decent Rune on your first try, a Spirit Rune at that!]

[What!?!] AJ looked up in shock, glancing at Victoria before looking back at the Marquis. [How is that possible?!? She's completely lost her memory!]

[I actually don't believe it's that simple.] Maurice interjected. [Earlier today, I learned that not only does Victoria have a different language, she's also acquired a different writing system as well! This goes beyond a simple brain injury. My belief is that her memories weren't erased, but replaced! The knowledge of an entirely different culture forced into her mind during the process of Awakening, replacing her lifetime of memories with pure knowledge! It would explain why she retains her rationality and certain areas of knowledge, while being completely ignorant of others! As long as something exists in this foreign culture, she retains her understanding of it, but if it wasn't there, she has no knowledge of it. If I'm right, this situation may turn out to be more of a blessing than a curse!] Maurice finished excitedly, almost giddy at the idea.

*This guy is too smart for his own good.* Victoria thought to herself, resisting the urge to laugh again.

[Interesting…] The Marquis muttered, considering Maurice's explanation thoughtfully. [How can we be sure of this, though?]

Maurice paused, trying to think of a way, when Victoria raised her hand. "I'm not sure if this exactly proves anything, but there's this… device I seem to know about that doesn't seem to exist around here at all. It's called a toilet. Using pipes, you connect the toilet to the area in which you dispose of your waste, then, using a different set of pipes, you connect the toilet to a source of water. The water pipes fill a reservoir on the back of the toilet and after you… do your business, the water releases, taking the waste away immediately, not letting it sit around like a chamber pot." She explained, Maurice translating for her.

The Marquis frowned, staring at Victoria for a moment. [You know how to make this?] He asked seriously.

"Kind of? I know the general idea at least. It should only take a bit of tinkering to make it work." Victoria replied tentatively.

[Are there any other such inventions you can recall?] The Marquis pressed, sounding somewhat intense.

"A few? Mostly simple stuff though. For more complex inventions, I only have a vague idea of how they work, without the specifics necessary to actually build them." Victoria admitted.

[Interesting…] The Marquis muttered thoughtfully, staring at her intently, before turning to Maurice. [Teach her the language, as quickly as possible.]

[Of course, my Lord.] Maurice bowed slightly, a small grin playing across his face. Melissa was practically bouncing in happiness as she heard the Marquis words, while AJ's expression darkened. He gritted his teeth as he felt his plans slipping through his grasp. He could not let anything go wrong with the match between Duke Duhallis and Victoria! He was going to have to talk with the Duke. Plans needed to be made.