Victoria returned to her room, thinking about what Maurice had said. Did they really just have to accept that the world was unfair? Was it just the way of the world that people with potential had to be either controlled or eradicated? Even back on Earth, the President had tried to control him as much as he could. Maybe if things had gone far enough, he'd even have tried to kill him. Those beings had killed him! Why? Why did people want to hold onto power to the point of killing to prevent threats that hadn't even materialized yet? Would she become that way as she became more powerful? Would she turn into some calculative executioner, getting rid of anyone, anything that could threaten her?

Victoria sighed, shaking her head. She just didn't know. She hoped she'd find a better way, a fair way, but… she just didn't know. The way this world turned out, it almost made her wonder how Earth would have changed as the system continued to spread. Talented individuals were bound to rise, and she'd already crippled governments. Would her safeguards provide an adequate defense against the rise of individuals who wanted to abuse their newfound power? Was it really a mistake to just give the system to everyone, like the President said? What if she spread the system here? Would it help? Would it make things worse? She still just didn't know.

The other problem with spreading the system was the fact that those powerful beings who destroyed Earth were still out there. Even if spreading the system would help this society, wouldn't she be bringing a different kind of destruction down upon them? She just wasn't in a position where she could start spreading it like she had before. There were too many unknowns, and she didn't want to cause the fall of another world. Maybe if she could find a way to hide- eh? Wait… could she hide it? It'd be impossible on earth, but… this world had Cultivation! If she could somehow merge her system with the Cultivation system…

Victoria considered the issue with a frown. If this was going to work, the points would need to be spent automatically, the moment they were obtained, immediately going into stats, skills, or physical changes… but, if everyone who had the system suddenly began to develop in insane ways, that would still make those beings suspicious. If she could find a way to convert points into Spirit… huh… why couldn't she? The points could turn into anything else, why not Spirit or even Qi and Essence? Victoria pulled up the stat page, looking it over, before adding a new entry.

[Spirit: 349/1223]

"Interesting…" She muttered to herself. The system had not only quantified the amount of Spirit she had in points, but also her capacity. "Does that mean I could increase it?" She wondered. Of course, now she had to try it. She made another new stat called Spirit Capacity, which had the same value of one thousand, two hundred and twenty-three. Then, she put a point into it.

[Spirit Capacity: 1224]

Victoria couldn't help but let out a low, somewhat evil sounding chuckle. "More!" She exclaimed in glee, adding more points to the capacity until it reached one thousand five hundred, feeling slightly proud of herself, until she realized she was beginning to have a bit of a headache. *What the- Shit! My mental stats! The pressure!* Victoria groaned. It wasn't to the point of being dangerous, but she could definitely feel the increase in pressure from the four Runes floating in her Runescape. *I have to be more careful when I spend points…* Victoria sighed to herself. She threw another point in her Spirit, increasing it to three hundred and fifty to make sure it worked, before closing the system.

Thankfully, since this world had Cultivators, she'd been able to keep her exercises at a fairly high level, giving her a steady rate of points. Back on Earth, Thomas had run into a wall when his points had gotten too high, since the exercise equipment simply wasn't built for that level of power. In this world, that wasn't a problem, so she'd kept a constant rate of around twenty-five to thirty points a day from her daily exercises, which was good, because she hadn't been able to trigger many missions lately, at least none she could complete easily. Her current missions involved comprehending her Runes, and becoming a Hunter. She hadn't even triggered a mission related to capturing a Rune Beast yet, since there wasn't any specific information on what she needed.

*So, that essentially solves the issue of where to put the points… well, as long as they're a cultivator… which not everyone is… dammit! Maybe I can use points to Awaken people as well? Probably. When have they not been able to do something? Of course, it'd still need to wait for people to acquire a Rune, comprehend it, assimilate it, and then condense their core… not exactly a short period of time for the points to just keep hanging out like that. Hmmm… we can have the points be automatically spent on skills, but… there's only so many points that can be spent that way. Could use the remaining to increase their stats, but then how would you explain where that extra power came from? What if they no longer focused on cultivation, but on the system instead, which would pretty much defeat the purpose of this whole thing?* Victoria frowned, before her eyebrows raised as an idea occurred to her. *What if any point left over after being spent on skills went to me? Leaving them with them would only put them and everyone else in danger, plus… well, without me, they wouldn't even have the system, right?* She thought to herself, a slightly wicked grin growing larger and larger.

*Hmmm… I should probably get a test subject first… someone I can control… or… maybe something? What if I get an animal out of the wilderness? I can give it the system and check things out, then, if it doesn't work out, I can just kill it, no problem!* Victoria pondered thoughtfully, solidifying her plan. *Right, then, all I need to do is get to the wilderness… hmmm, Flynn shouldn't be able to stop me much longer. Even without the Concealment Rune, I'm getting pretty good.* She then turned her attention to her Runescape, focusing on her Design Rune.

"Albert, I'm sorry. I can't keep her out of the wilderness anymore." Flynn sighed heavily, glancing guiltily towards the Marquis.

"What!?! You said you could keep her training for half a year! It's only been half a month!" The Marquis exclaimed, glaring at Flynn.

Flynn threw up his hands in exasperation. "I tried, but you didn't tell me your daughter was the mother goddess of bullshit! I've barely extended it this long by only teaching her one skill a day! She memorized my entire bestiary in a little over a week! She's a monster! Her learning ability is off the charts! I have students who are less skilled than her who I trust to go out into the wilderness alone! How am I supposed to say she can't follow me out there?"

"I'm not letting my fourteen year old daughter risk her life in some godsforsaken wilderness!" The Marquis growled through clenched teeth.

Flynn shook his head. "Al… it isn't a matter of let at this point. She has the skills. She knows she has the skills. She's going to go, with or without our approval, I can already tell."

"Urgh!" The Marquis grunted, clenching his fists as if he was going to hit something, before releasing them with a defeated sigh. "I just don't get it! When did she become so… so… defiant! She hasn't always liked the decisions I've had to make, but at least she knew the proper way to go about protesting! I can handle pouty looks and rebellious behavior, but what am I supposed to do with this flat faced 'I'm going to do it, and it's up to you how' attitude? It's either help her or lock her in a tower!"

Flynn shook his head. "Look, I don't know everything that happened, but one thing is clear: you can't think of your daughter as just some little girl anymore. What you're dealing with is a young Cultivator, one with a lot of potential at that. She isn't someone you can protect and coddle. That would only ruin her potential. She needs training, resources, and most importantly, experience. You may not like it, but at this point, the wilderness is probably the best place for her, and unfortunately for you, she knows it."

"I just don't get it!" Victoria exclaimed as she exited her Runescape in frustration. She'd been comprehending her Design Rune, learning more and more about how to utilize her Spirit to analyze materials, learning how to let flow inside to create almost perfect copies of them. She also learned how to use what she had begun to call the design space, putting the analyzed materials together into useful objects, testing the effectiveness of using different materials or shapes, seeing how everything worked together. She also learned she could use her mist to project anything in her design space as an illusion, including herself, though she still had trouble making these illusions move. They lacked life, so she had to move them manually, which always looked stiff and awkward.

The problem was, she didn't know what to do next. Her design skill had stopped accepting points, no matter how much she meditated, and it seemed like her Design Rune was just repeating the same things over and over. No matter what she did, she couldn't think of any new ideas or skills. There didn't seem to be anything left to learn from the Rune, but it wasn't leveling up again! No matter how she thought about it, she'd grasped the lesson the Rune was trying to teach her! What more did she need to do?

"Maybe it was just a fluke?" She wondered, frowning thoughtfully. She then glanced at her taskbar.

[Comprehend the Advanced Design Rune: 99.99% - 40 pts.]

"No, it can't be a fluke!" She stated firmly. If it was, her task would have been completed by now! There was something she was missing. She frowned, thinking over what happened last time. "I was comprehending the Rune… I'd just put a bunch of points into it, and then… I had an epiphany?" She muttered hesitantly. "Is that what I'm missing? Some new insight into Design that would take me to the next level?" She paused, considering this idea. "This stage of the Rune has focused on the insight I had… almost like it was born from that idea… maybe… maybe I need to figure out another use for design, not just breaking things down into their components and seeing how they fit together, but…"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, interrupting her train of thought. Victoria frowned as she walked to the door and opened it. "Calvin?" She asked as she saw who it was, wondering why her little brother had sought her out.

"Victoria, Mom said to explain that new toilet thingy you put by my room to me." Calvin stated in a classic, prepubescent child's tone.

"Ah, that. Well, what do you want to know?" Victoria responded, going to cross her arms and lean against the door, before quickly changing her mind. Boobs were annoying.

"Isn't it a waste of water?" Calvin asked, cocking his head.

"Well, kind of, but the water used for the toilet comes from the river, which we really shouldn't be using for drinking anyways. Plus, there's a lot of it, so a little bit of waste won't hurt it too much anyways." Victoria explained.

"Why shouldn't we drink river water?" Calvin replied with a frown.

"Well, there's a bunch of things living in the river water, like fish, frogs, and birds, all of which, much like us, need to piss and shit every now and then, which they often do in the river." Victoria responded. "Plus there's bacteria and all that little nasty crap that can make you sick. Well water is much better."

Calvin had a disgusted expression on his face by this point. "That's gross!"

"Yup, which is why we don't mind using it for the toilets." Victoria grinned.

Calvin nodded along, before asking another question. "Why don't you wear dresses anymore?"

"I don't want to." Victoria responded with a shrug.

"Why not?" Calvin asked.

"Because I don't. No real reason for it." Victoria reiterated.

"Is it because you lost your memory?" Calvin continued.

Victoria paused. "Well… maybe a little bit."

"Is that why you don't hang out with me anymore, too?" Calvin asked, looking a little depressed.

Victoria frowned. "What do you mean? We see each other every night at dinner, don't we?"

"That doesn't count! That's the whole family and everyone has to show up. Even AJ goes!" Calvin retorted with a disgusted face. "You used to play with me all the time, just the two of us, but now… now you're just like AJ, always off doing your own thing, always ignoring me unless you're forced to pay attention to me!"

Victoria froze, eyes going wide as the boy ranted, not entirely sure how to react to the torrent of emotion. "I'm… sorry? It's just, well… I don't actually remember how we were before, you know? Since I lost my memory, I've just kind of been letting people come to me. I didn't want to push people to interact with me just because something tragic happened. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to do, but… well, I don't know. I just… well, I didn't know…"

Calvin frowned. "I know you lost your memory, but we're still brother and sister, right? Shouldn't that mean something?"

Victoria paused. "I suppose it should, shouldn't it… Okay then, I'll be better about making time to hang out with you, outside the normal family gatherings. Just… Well, be aware that I've… changed a bit since I lost my memory. I can hang out with you, but I can't promise it will be the same as before."

"Duh." Calvin responded, rolling his eyes. "That doesn't mean you stopped being my sister though."

"Well… fair enough." Victoria replied, grinning slightly.

Calvin nodded, turning to go before pausing. "Oh, right, the other thing. Wilson wants to see you."

Victoria frowned. "Who's Wilson?"

Calvin shrugged. "One of the trainees for the guard. You two used to hang out a lot, before. He said he'll be at the usual place every night this week, just after sunset, whenever you can get away."

"Where's the usual place?" Victoria asked, her frown deepening. Was this the old Victoria's boyfriend or something?

"I'm not sure, but there's an old storage shed in the western part of the castle no one uses, by the smithy, that you told me to tell him to meet you at once." Calvin replied.

"Right… uh, thanks for letting me know." Victoria thanked him with a sigh, wondering whether she should go and meet this guy or not.

"Well, I wouldn't thank me too much… he told me a few days ago, and I kept forgetting." Calvin coughed in embarrassment before rushing off. Victoria watched him go, chuckling lightly and shaking her head.

Later that night, Victoria snuck off towards the western part of the castle, looking for the storage shack. She'd decided to meet with this guy, if only to let him know that there wasn't anything between them anymore. It just seemed kind of shitty to leave the guy hanging, not knowing why she wasn't talking to him anymore. Plus, she figured he might have an idea how the original Victoria got her hands on a Potion of Awakening. It somewhat bothered her that none of the people around her seemed to know where it came from.

She easily avoided the guard patrols as she made her way there, which wasn't all that surprising considering the old Victoria was supposedly capable of doing so as well. *Maybe I should talk to the Marquis about tightening up the security around here.* She pondered thoughtfully as she slipped by another patrol that barely seemed to be paying attention as they marched along. *I mean, come on… that's just lazy.* She sighed as she saw a guard leaning against a wall, obviously asleep.

Finally, she made her way to the old storage shack, slipping through the door to see a teenage boy, probably around sixteen years old, sitting on an old chest, tapping his foot nervously. "Victoria!" He exclaimed, jumping to his feet the moment he saw her, rushing forward with his arms open, ready to pull her into an embrace.

"Stop!" Victoria responded, sending a palm out to stop him. Unfortunately, she used a bit too much strength and the palm landed rather heavily on his chest, sending him stumbling back, tripping over an old broom and landing on his butt. "Oop, sorry! Uh… you're Wilson, right?"

"I- of course! Why would you need to ask?" Wilson replied incredulously, climbing to his feet and rubbing his butt.

"Well, you see, I kind of… well, I recently lost all my memories, due to a freak accident with a Potion of Awakening, and well… I didn't even remember my own mother, let alone some dude." Victoria explained with a shrug. "Hell, I didn't even know you existed until Calvin told me earlier today."

Wilson's eyes went wide. "A-are you serious? You don't remember me? Wait, you took a Potion of Awakening?!? Do you know how dangerous that is!?! You could have died!"

Victoria frowned. "Ah, dammit… I was kinda hoping you'd have a clue as to how I actually got my hands on that thing… but yes, I did, and yes, I know, it was dumb. But, we can't change the past, and this is the situation we're in now. All we can do is make better decisions moving forward."

"How did you even get one? Only nobles have access to them and I know your father wouldn't give one to you!" Wilson continued, looking very confused.

Victoria raised an eyebrow at him. "Again, I lost my memories, so I have no idea… kinda figured I made that obvious when I said I'd hoped you would know. Not really enthused by my past self's taste in men." *Though, then again, I'm not really enthused about having a taste in men period…* Victoria added internally.

Wilson paused, giving her a strange look. "Taste in-? Uh, Victoria, you don't have a taste in men…"

Victoria froze. "Wut."

"You, uh, well, you see, the entire reason we became friends is because, well, we're both, uh… gay. You like- er, liked girls… and I like men." Wilson explained slowly, as if he was trying not to scare her.

A weird look slowly spread across Victoria's face, a mix of suppressed amusement and incredulity. "I'm gay? Seriously? That's… Ha! Outstanding! Fucking perfect!" Victoria burst out, cackling slightly while Wilson backed away, looking startled. Suddenly, Victoria paused, frowning. "Wait, hold on… did I have a girlfriend or something then?"

"N-not that I'm aware of…" Wilson replied, watching her nervously, like she was some kind of rabid dog.

Victoria let out a slight sigh, relieved. Dealing with a lover from her past did not sound fun. "So, then what's our relationship? Why did you want to meet me?"

"W-well… you see, since we're gay, we need to be careful about who we… express interest in, you know? So… when there's a guy I'm interested in, or a girl you're interested in, we… Well, we flirt with each other's crush, as, you know, a test. If you flirt with a guy and he's interested, I know he's not going to be interested in me." Wilson explained, flushing in embarrassment. "T-the reason I wanted to meet with you is… well, there's this new assistant chef in the kitchen and… well, you know."

Victoria's expression twisted awkwardly. "Uh, look, I'm sorry, really, but… I'm not entirely sure I'm capable of flirting… not since I lost my memories. I've been told I've become a lot more… cold, since the accident. I can still give it a try if you like, but… I'm not sure how effective a test it'd be."

Wilson looked distressed, before he sighed and shook his head. "It-It's fine… he probably wouldn't be gay anyways. No one has been, so far." He mumbled, looking depressed.

"Or maybe they're just good at hiding it." Victoria commented with a shrug. "Plus, what if they're attracted to both men and women? The test would sort of fall apart at that point. Though… I suppose in this culture, even if you had an inclination towards men, as long as you could like women as well, you'd probably focus on women… just safer."

Wilson looked at her with a frown. "That… is not helpful."

"I'm not a very helpful person." Victoria retorted with a shrug.

Wilson gave her a weird look. "But- you-" Wilson paused, before shaking his head. "Right, you're not… you aren't you anymore…"

"Yeah, essentially." Victoria agreed with a sigh. "Sorry."

"No, it's not-" Wilson froze, frowning and shaking his head again. "Just- why did you have to take that potion?!?"

"I don't know." Victoria replied, sighing again.

Victoria chatted a bit more with Wilson, learning more about her past self, before heading back to her room. Apparently, the old Victoria had led quite the double life. Outwardly, she was a flirt, always chasing after boys around the castle, getting them interested, before giving them the cold shoulder. Many of the young men were quite frustrated with her, and a common barracks topic was how much of a tease she was.

And the entire time, she'd been a lesbian, just testing these guys for her friend… honestly, Victoria was impressed with her previous self's dedication. Also, a little concerned about the amount of guys Wilson had had an interest in in just two years for her to get such a reputation… dude needed to chill. Comparatively, Wilson had only needed to flirt with a few maids. Neither of them had any results yet, or rather, they'd always gotten results, which was a bad sign for the other, but at least it'd let them move on, knowing their crush was impossible.

Victoria shook her head as she walked, pondering the difficulty of being a homosexual in such a culture, always needing to sneak around and play tricks to find a companion. She hadn't really thought about it before, because, well, she hadn't really considered herself a lesbian before now. She still thought of herself as a guy, for one, but mostly… well, ever since… Victoria's heart twinged as her thoughts strayed towards a sensitive topic. The idea of romance just didn't appeal to her after what happened.

She sighed sadly as she slipped into her room, before freezing, eyes going sharp as she looked around. "Who's there!?!" She exclaimed, taking a defensive stance.

"My, my, your senses have improved." A low, sultry voice commented. From the shadows, a devilishly attractive woman stepped out, staring at Victoria with a playful grin. "Just a month since your Awakening, and already you've condensed your core. How impressive!"

Victoria frowned, taking a step back as she watched the woman carefully. "Who are you? How did you get in my room?"

The woman cocked an eyebrow, still grinning. "Is it any particular challenge? If a clumsy girl like you can slip through this castle undetected, why can't I?" She chuckled lightly. "As for who I am… Well, I'm a little insulted. I go through all this trouble, getting you a Potion of Awakening, setting up a guaranteed entrance into the Hidden Blades for you, and you go and just forget about me! You really know how to wound a girl's pride." The woman commented, faking a pout.

Victoria's eyes widened. "You got me the Potion of Awakening!?! Are you insane?!? I- I almost died!"

The woman tilted her head, wearing an innocent, confused look. "Isn't that what you wanted? You were about to be forced to engage the young Duke. I simply offered you a chance. Take the potion, and as long as you successfully awaken, you'll be guaranteed an entrance into the Hidden Blades. What did you have to lose? You either succeed, and escape your fate, or you fail, and escape your fate in a different way. The perfect solution!"

Victoria glared at the woman in disgust. "You're crazy! I don't know why I trusted you before, but I don't care what you offered the old me. I don't need you anymore. I'll enter a sect on my own, without your help. Now please leave."

The woman chuckled, approaching Victoria with a seductive sway. "I believe you've misunderstood. You have a guaranteed entry, as in, you are guaranteed to enter the Hidden Blades, whether you want to or not. You don't have a choice. That's the price of the potion we gave you." She explained, leaning in to whisper softly in Victoria's ear. "If you don't, we will hunt you down, and cut the core out of your head, as well as any other core you happen to develop." She threatened, lightly tapping Victoria's forehead with the tip of a sharp fingernail. "No one can stop us. So cultivate well, and I'll see you at the sect entrance exams." She finished, sauntering away and disappearing into a shadow.

Victoria remained frozen for a moment, letting out a nervous breath as soon as she was sure she was gone. A cold sweat ran its way down her back, and she shivered in fear. As that woman approached her, she became certain of exactly one thing: She could kill her whenever she wanted, and it wouldn't even be difficult. "What the fuck did Victoria get herself involved in?!?" She muttered to herself helplessly, not even sure how to handle this.