My name is Minamoto Rin.

Or at least… it was.

I was born into a life of luxury, where I could have everything I wanted. Status, Money, and Fame. These were all easily attainable for me, for such was the life of the heir of a company’s CEO, and a fairly large one at that.

Of course, this didn’t mean that I was spoiled rotten. In fact, I am very proud of the fact that I turned out to be who I am today because unlike all those superficial people at school, I had my own thoughts, my own feelings. My life isn’t dictated by others.

Of course, that all ended when I passed away at the age of sixteen.

There was nothing I could have done. My Fencing, my Aikido, my debate skills, were all rendered useless when faced with the oncoming impact of a truck, even though I was considered to be at the national level for all three.

Who knew that all my effort could be so meaningless? That’s it. I give up. If the world wanted to treat me this unfairly, then I’d rather die.

This was why when Gaia summoned me to another world, I had some very harsh things to say.

I was briefed on the mission I was supposed to take in this new world named Eden, which was to find what happened to a boy named Matou Dragonsteel, or Matsumoto Kunio which was his true name.

Apparently, this Matou guy had encountered some trouble, causing Gaia to lose all contact with him. As such, it was now up to me to either help the boy or in the event that he was dead, take over the mission.

I was a bit peeved that I had to clean up somebody’s messes, but since Gaia had promised me that I could be revived and sent back to Earth once this mission was complete, I obliged.

Of course, even with all my skills and techniques, it would be impossible for a person from Earth to survive in a magic-filled environment like Eden. Thus, I was given the System.

“[Hello mortal, I’ll be lending a hand henceforth so that you may complete the mission without trouble. Be grateful.]” A condescending voice spoke into my ear.

“Right… Thanks.”

At the very least, the System was helpful, and aided her greatly as she got used to her new surroundings. What wasn’t helpful, however, was the new body my consciousness had transferred into…

***

“So… Do you know where the Solus Academy is?” Laura asked the little nymph, hoping to receive an answer. Unfortunately, the nymph only shook her head in reply.

“Um… you’re Laura Scarlette, aren’t you? The bright and cheerful one of that nearby village?”

“Hmm…? Laura… Scarlette? Is that my new name?”

“Huh?” The nymph tilted her head in confusion.

“…Nevermind. In that case, can you please lead me back to that village? I’m afraid that I might be lost.” Laura made up a lie on the spot. For now, she supposed that it wouldn’t be good for others to notice that she was now a completely different person. To make sure of that, she needed to act as naturally as possible.

She already knew the details of her circumstance, like how there wasn’t enough time to for her to reincarnate as a baby, and as such, she had to take over someone’s dead body. Depending on how you look at it, this could be a good thing or a bad thing. She didn’t have to spend so much time relearning baby steps, which was a plus, but now she was forced to adapt to her current situation as best she could.

As the little nymph led her back to the village, Laura decided to gather some information.

“Nymph-chan, you mentioned that I was bright and cheerful, right? Do you know who I am?”

The nymph looked confused for a moment.

“Chan…? Oh! You can call me Nora! And of course, I know you! You’re the one that always cleans up the monsters in the forest! For that, us nymphs are very grateful.”

The nymph then proceeded to pluck off one of her hairs, presenting it to her as a gift.

“Here! As thanks for saving me!”

Laura took the piece of hair gingerly and held it up. She couldn’t help but feel awkward as the lone hair swayed slightly with the soft breeze.

‘Who the hell rewards someone with their hair?’

“[…]”

Name:	Nymph’s hair
Item Type:	Material
Description:	A potent ingredient used in potion making, artifact crafting, and certain magic rituals.

 

“Uh… thanks.”

“No problem!” the nymph replied cheerfully.

Laura supposed that a new world meant new norms and traditions, and in a world filled with magic, nobody said that hair couldn’t be an important ingredient. She was going to have to learn a lot about Eden…

‘…Hmm. I should really take notes.'

As Nora continued to lead her back to the village, Laura wasn’t letting up with her questions. She was asking things about the previous host of the body, stuff like their family, their favorite food, and their daily routine. Unfortunately, many of her questions were met with an ‘I don’t know.’, as well as suspicious glances after she asked too much.

Eventually, she chose to give up before the nymph started questioning her true identity.

The answers she received may not have been the most informative, but at least it was something. She learned that she had a mother and that a part of her routine was greeting every single person in the entire village.

'What the hell… This is going to be troublesome…'

As she was lost in her own thoughts, the nymph stopped in her tracks right at the edge of the forest. In the distance, Laura could clearly make out a village that looked like it came from medieval times. It probably was from medieval times, and she really wasn’t looking forward to living in her new home. She bet that there wasn’t even a working toilet.

“There’s your village!” the nymph said with enthusiasm. “If you have any trouble in the future, feel free to contact the nymph society! Goodbye, Miss!”

Waving goodbye, the nymph agilely leaped onto a nearby tree and disappeared into the foliage, leaving Laura alone with her own thoughts.

‘All right, bright and cheery, bright and cheery… First, I need to smile…'

As she walked towards the village, Laura tried her best to smile and even tried mimicking those ‘Genki’ girls that she had met before in her previous life. Although she tried her best, she couldn’t seem to put her heart into it.

Her sluggish pace still eventually led her to the entrance of the village, where an old guard sat on a wooden stool, chewing a single straw in his mouth. The man wore dirty and pitiful metal armor, which astounded the unfamiliar Laura. She really was in another world.

“Oh… Miss Laura! Welcome back! You better head back quick, your mother might start to worry.” The old guard said with a warm smile.

This was her first obstacle. Now she was going to have to show the full results of her training!

“Y-yay! I can’t wait… to see my mother…!”

The guard gave a blank look, and Laura immediately turned red in the face. Pretending like nothing was wrong, she swiftly walked away towards the direction of her house.

“A-ah! Miss Laura, you’re going the wrong way! It’s that way!”

The old guard pointed in the complete opposite direction of where Laura walked and hanging her head in shame, she turned around and headed in the correct direction this time.

“[Splendid, mortal! Your performance is sure to fool the people around you.]”

Laura clicked her tongue in annoyance at the sarcastic remark. Why did her guide have such a horrid personality? She had thought that the System was akin to that of a GPS, or a Siri, but apparently, she was wrong.

“[Don’t compare me to such a thing, mortal. I do not exist to be used, for I’m the one who offered help.]”

And the System could read minds too…

“[Indeed.]”

Laura let go of any negative criticisms she had about the System as it could prove to be detrimental to their relationship. Instead, she asked a question that had been on her mind.

“Hey, System? Why do I feel so… different? Acting should have been easy for me, yet that was the most embarrassing thing that happened to me since elementary school!” she couldn’t help but blush as she thought back to that moment. It was sure to haunt her for the rest of her life.

“Also, why am I blushing? I’m not a person that is easily embarrassed. Back in my old life, I had to grow a thick skin in order to overcome any obstacles… now it seems that it was all for nothing.”

The System didn’t scoff or laugh at her like she was expecting but instead told her the truth

“[Unlike reincarnation, your consciousness has entered a body that used to be somebody else’s. That is what we call ‘Transmigration’. Unfortunately, your body and consciousness are in conflict with one another, so your skills will not be up to par.]”

Noticing the shocked look on Laura’s face, the System added,

“[Rest assured, this isn’t permanent. Once you get fully used to your new body, you’ll feel like yourself again. Ah, that reminds me.]”

 

[Stat points remaining: 30]

“[I’ll keep it brief. Each level nets you a stat point, which can be used to upgrade your stats or abilities. You’re supposed to only have ten, but to make up for the minuscule amount of time you have to prepare, Gaia decided to give you an extra twenty points. Use it as you see fit.]”

The System then continued to explain to her the intricacies of the stat system, and how effective it can be at boosting her power. It was exactly like an RPG game, except that she hasn’t really played any…

“Uh…” Laura was overwhelmed by her options. Should she upgrade her stats? Her abilities? Since stat points were a limited resource, she didn’t want a single one of them to go to waste. In the end, she decided to ask for recommendations.

“[Mana. All the way. Everything you can do is dictated by your mana. Your spells and abilities require mana, and your other stats can be easily brought up to par with the right spells.]”

And that was that. Laura didn’t want to lose sleep over this, and it’s unlikely that the System’s guidance was wrong, and so she proceeded to pump all her points into mana.

[29 stat points consumed. Increased Mana from C >>> B]

Laura watched silently as her mana total jumped from 151 to 218, and that wasn’t all. She felt a strange, rejuvenating sensation in her body that felt as if her blood was circulating much faster.

Mana, she thought, how peculiar.

Soon, she had arrived at her own house, or at least, her body’s house. She didn’t know what her ‘mother’ was like, and what the previous host of her body’s relationship with her mother was like either.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked politely on the door and opened it cautiously.

“I’m back!”

She was instantly met with the sight of her mother, an aged woman that was no younger than forty, sitting on the breakfast table with her arms akimbo.

“You’re late! And you messed up your shirt again! Go clean up first before you start eating.”

Laura looked down at her shirt and was shocked to discover that it was completely soaked with blood. On her back, two open gaps cut through her shirt, though the wound that used to be there was already healed. She couldn’t help but palm her face.

“Wha— H-how? How did I not notice that? And why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“[It seems that your intelligence has been affected by your body as well. You got extremely lucky, however. It seems that the original host is prone to getting blood all over her clothes.]”

‘So that’s why the guard barely even freaked out… What on earth is wrong with this place?’

Sighing deeply, Laura tried entering her room to change, but entered the wrong room and needed to be told where her actual room was. Things were only getting more and more embarrassing from here.

She tried finding some spare clothes to change into, but couldn’t find the clothes. It took quite a while until she found it hanging outside her window…

She tried finding the bathroom, or at least a place with running water, but it turns out they had buckets of water lying around in storage… That was their bathroom.

After a series of mishaps, she finally settled down to eat but had no idea what the food was in front of her. There were some black cylinders, a multi-colored fruit, and some mystery meat with bones protruding out. Though it smelled quite delicious, Laura was a bit hesitant to put unknown things into her mouth.

“Um… Mother? What is this…?” she asked as she picked up one of the black cylinders.

“Mother?! Is that how you greet me after breaking your promise?” Her mother’s brows furrowed.

“Uh… Mum?”

“Mum?!” she sounded incredibly offended.

“…Mama…?”

She received a concerned look, and her mother spoke in a concerned tone.

“Is something wrong, dear? Did you hit your head or something?”

“[Yikes… It looks like it’s going to take a while to learn, huh?]”