From Real to Realm

The Goddess had mentioned something akin to a system governing growth in this world. So maybe with the privacy afforded by her bath, it was time to figure out how to access it.

“System.”

When nothing happened she thought for a moment.

“Status?”

Nothing was happening.

However, a few seconds later a translucent gray screen flickered to life in front of her. It reminded her of something booting up in her old life, but couldn’t quite remember what.

With a content huff she read over her information for the first time.

[Name:]

Valnarei Rose Strouss

[Age:] 18

[Race:] Half-Elf

[Combat Type:] None

[Archetype:] Locked

[Level:] Zero

[Strength:] E

[Endurance:] E

[Agility:] E

[Dexterity:] E

[Resolve:] E

[Resilience:] E

[Arcana:] ?

[Mana:] ?

[Learned Techniques:]

None

[Passive Traits:]

None

Having such information in front of her was helpful. It gave her a foundation to plan from, or at least know what to ask.

Combat type?

Wait, are my stats that low because of my current health?

That… sucks, but makes sense.

“How are you feeling sweetheart?”

Valnarei couldn’t help but smile softly. “I’m alright, just tired.”

With a deliberate slowness, she spent the next half hour washing her body. This afforded her time to get better acquainted with her new form.

From what she could tell, this body was already taller than her old one. It was disorienting being taller so suddenly, but shouldn’t be a struggle to adapt to.

Valnarei felt confident that, once healthy again, she’d come to feel at home in her new body.

It’s going to be a long road to recovery, but at least I won’t be alone.

After finishing cleaning herself off it was time to get out. She couldn’t ask her mother for help, or else she’d see what’s hanging between Valnarei’s legs. So she spent longer than she’d care to admit climbing out of the tub.

Once on shaky legs she quickly dried off the best she could, making sure to wrap herself in a towel before opening the door.

Her mother rose from her chair. “I hope you enjoyed your bath. How are you feeling?”

Valnarei forced a smile. “I’m doing alright. Still a bit foggy and weak, but I think I’ll manage.”

Her mother spent the next few minutes picking out a change of clothes. Luckily, she settled on something plain instead of frilly or gaudy.

Thank god this world has something akin to bras and panties.

Imagining this thing flopping around freely would not be good for secrecy.

After shooing her mother out of the room she began putting on the new clothing.

The basic t-shirt and pants were soft to the touch. It didn’t feel like silk to Valnarei, more like cotton? Or something similar. Once dressed, she made her way to the door, opening it.

“Alright, I’m fully dressed now.”

Her mother offered an arm for support. “Let’s make our way to the dining room. Everyone’s waiting on us to join them for dinner.”

As stubborn as Valnarei wanted to be, she couldn’t walk much without help. So with a smile, she took her mother’s arm and walked with her.

During their brief walk to the dining room Valnarei was able to take in her family’s house. It was large, with an entire foyer just for the front entrance. Twin curved staircases flanked the foyer, sweeping down to the ground floor. All along the walls were various pieces of art, with portraits as well. Beautifully crafted chandeliers hung in open spaces, lighting the area around them.

It must be magic…

My old world used something else—something Qhemeria must’ve blocked to maintain the balance.

The ground floor was designed very similarly to the upper floor. When they finally entered the dining room she noticed her entire family waiting for them.

Each of their faces lit up at her entrance to the room.

Without a word her little sister got up, scooting the chair next to her out from the table. It was adorable how eager she was to have Valnarei close by. Once she was seated, her mother quickly rushed off through another door nearby.

The kitchen must be in there. Maybe the maid’s helping with dinner?

When she first woke, everything happened in such a blur. Now, in a more relaxed setting she was able to get a better look over her new family.

Not my first family, but my new one…

God, how long until that really sinks in?

Valnarei did her best to keep her expression neutral to avoid causing worry, even as her heart ached over the loss of her first parents.

In an attempt to shift her thoughts somewhere less painful she noticed something. Her mother was undoubtedly where she got her elven heritage from, her father though, was obviously human. Based on elves in media from her old life, they usually had poor long term fertility.

I wonder if it’s the same here, or if maybe they just got lucky?

Maybe ol’ Dad’s a stallion?

It took everything in her not to chuckle at her own terrible joke.

“So, your mother mentioned you’re suffering from memory loss.”

Valnarei met her father’s questioning gaze.

“That you can’t remember anything before you became bedridden. Has anything come back now that you’ve had some time to get your bearings?”

Amnesia. It was the best, and likely only, option Valnarei had for pulling this off. Memory loss meant that she had a reason to know nothing about not just her family, but this world.

It’s going to be such a pain staying consistent with this lie.

I feel kind of bad lying so blatantly to them…

“Unfortunately, no. Nothing has come back to me, I wouldn’t have known my name had mother not said it. I don’t know any of yours either…”

The sudden tensing of his jaw gave Valnarei the chills.

Her father wasn’t intimidating, but beneath his calm exterior, she could see the fury building. She didn’t think it was directed at anyone in particular, likely his inability to do anything.

“Not even us?” Came a shaky soft voice to her left.

As she turned she could see the teary eyed look of her little sister.

Her brother on the other hand had the same tense expression their father had.

This was a horrible idea… I don’t know if I can handle doing this.

These people don’t deserve this heartache.

Valnarei’s heart was beginning to race, she was beginning to get lightheaded.

It’s still like their daughter died…

The only difference is I’m walking around in her body!

“Everyone needs to calm down,” Valnarei heard her mother say as she walked through the kitchen doors. “A lot is happening right now. She’s alive, even if she might not remember everyone, she’s still here.”

Valnarei snapped out of her rising panic at the gentle squeeze of her mother’s hands on her shoulders.

I—I need to calm down…

Deep breaths. Deep breaths…

Get your shit together!

With the best confident expression she could muster, Valnarei spoke once again.

“I will do my best to make things feel like they never changed.”

What likely the rest of the family saw as her vowing to be the same daughter before, had a dual meaning.

It was a promise to herself to not fuck this up.

To be the best new daughter she could be for them.

Family dinner could’ve started so much better than it did, but her mother really calmed everyone down. The anger was still evident in her father and brother’s eyes, but it was muted. Her sister was still teary eyed, but showed resolve by wiping those tears away and smiling.

If I’m going to learn about my family, now’s as good as ever, right?

“Why don’t we introduce ourselves?” Her mother suggested. “It might feel a bit odd doing so, but maybe it’ll jog something loose for her?”

How is she able to constantly look on the bright side of things?

The original Valnarei was lucky to have a mom like her.

Valnarei nodded, it was the best way to meet her family. Even if it was framed as an attempt to jog her memory, it was still the best way to get to know them.

The soft maternal look in her mother’s green eyes was calming, inviting, loving.

“I’ll start first. My name is Vesperia, as you can probably guess, I am your mother. You can probably tell by my ears I am a little different from everyone else here,” she said with a giggle, brushing her long white hair behind her ears. “I’m known as an elf. Your ears are also pointed, although less prominently so, that’s because I married that amazing man over there.”

It seemed to be a perfect attempt at shifting the introductions to her father.

The look in her mother’s eyes when they landed on the man was pure devotion. Valnarei could not only see, but feel her admiration.

It seemed that all that was needed to break the man’s rough exterior was his wife. He straightened up quickly, a blush creeping across his chiseled features as Vesperia looked at him.

“Oh, uh. Yes. I am your father, Volde. Like your mother mentioned, your ears aren’t as pointed because of me. I’m only human, so you only inherited part of her genes.” He ran his hand through his deep brown hair before scratching at the stubble on his chin. “She’s been everything to me since the day we met. Thanks to her I was able to not only have a loving wife, but a beautiful family. Three kids is more than I could have ever asked for.”

It was adorable how flustered the man got when his wife gave him such attention.

However, his eyes mirrored hers, admiration, love, desire, it was all there in his look. It reminded Valnarei of her parents. Even though she couldn’t remember all the details, she knew they were madly in love with each other before she died.

These two are cute…

I’m glad they are head over heels for each other.

“My turn!” The softer voice shouted from next to her, eliciting a smirk from her parents.

“I’m your little sister, Celestia. I’ve been stuck to your hip most of my life,” she said sticking her tongue out playfully, her white ponytail bouncing around behind her.

“So now that you’re missing your memories, it sounds like I’ve got to be stuck even tighter to you,” she said with a glimmer of mischievousness in those same emerald eyes Valnarei had.

“Hey now, she’s my sister too. You’re going to have to share her with me,” came a slightly bemused voice at the other end of the table.

Her brother was leaning forward, his broad chest more evident with his posture.

“I’m your older brother, Maxwell. We’ve butted heads a decent bit,” he said while tapping his brown haired head with a smirk. “But we’re blood. I’m here any time you need me sis. You just say the word.”

With introductions finished it was time to dig in.

Vesperia was very insistent that Valnarei not eat too much. Going from barely any sustenance to eating a large meal could cause stomach issues. Even though the food looked heavenly, Valnarei had to resist the urge to pile her plate high.

Throughout the remainder of dinner the conversations were much lighter compared to how it started.

I miss my family, but… the people here, they’re a good second family.

I don’t think I would be able to do this without them.

Valnarei still didn’t like the overall situation she was in, but knew there was no backing out now.

Having such a loving family to welcome her to this world was the best she could hope for. Having a strong support structure was going to be pivotal during her recovery.

Halfway through dinner Maxwell had mentioned hearing something recently about a high profile adventurer. This caught Valnarei’s attention, but she didn’t speak on it, instead letting them continue the conversation.

“He’s finally retiring,” Maxwell said with a shrug. “Apparently during a deep delve with Crimson Hollow, he lost a close friend in the party. That’s the going rumor at least, so now he’s done. Think I heard someone mention he might take up smithing, or something quieter.”

Volde scratched his chin while thinking. “It’ll definitely be seen as a step down in career choice. Maybe he wants to create gear to keep others safe, since he couldn’t do the same for his friend?”

“That’s a sweet way to remember his friend then,” Vesperia said. “It’s not uncommon for people to be killed down there.”

She paused.

“Some never recover from seeing it happen in front of them.”

This was all welcome information for Valnarei.

I just planned on living a new life, but maybe I should look into being an adventurer?

Sounds kind of dangerous though.

No matter how badly she may want to look into it more, she needed to get healthy first. Maybe she could find someone else willing to explain it to her.

Something tells me they wouldn’t react too fondly if I voiced curiosity about becoming an adventurer.

Valnarei decided to shelve that idea—something she’d definitely come back to

Small talk continued to flow naturally throughout the rest of dinner. Valnarei never focused on one particular aspect of the small talk though.

In this moment, she was akin to a sponge, just trying to absorb as much information as she could.

Slowly, brick by brick, her foundation in this new world was being built. Over time she’d raise the walls, solidifying her place here, doing what she could to fit in. Then hopefully one day capping it with a strong roof, able to weather the ebb and flow of her daily life.

When dinner was finally over, Vesperia helped Valnarei back to her room on the second floor.

The sun had set a while ago, so it was time for everyone to get some much needed shut eye. Valnarei definitely could feel the day weighing on her, not physically, but emotionally.

After taking a moment to strip down to just her shirt and some boy shorts, she climbed into the plush bed. The entire bed set was cool, crisp, like a blank page mimicking the start of her second life.

As sleep slowly claimed her, she kept thinking over the day’s events. Struggling through the amnesia lie, getting to know her new family, eating dinner, and then finally going to bed.

The bright spot in everything was how loving her family is, something she’d need to hold onto.

For the first time in a little over a week, she didn’t have that recurring nightmare.

Instead, surrounded with plush sheets cool to the touch, she slept soundly. No excessive sweating, no sitting up in bed panicking, just enjoying a full nights rest. The kind of rest her new body needed.

However, sleeping in wasn’t an option for her. With a whispered tone of affection her mother was trying to gently wake her in the morning.

“Valnarei? Sweetheart, you should wake up.”

Brightness.

That was the thought at the forefront of her mind right now. Her mother had opened the blinds in the room allowing the morning sun to beam inside. What had been a cool, comfortable atmosphere quickly turned bright and meddlesome.

With a nonverbal refusal she rolled away from her mother, burying herself in the embrace of her blankets. This was met with a mild huff before she felt the cool morning air on her skin.

Thank Qhemeria she chose to wear boy shorts over her panties, or else her mother would have seen it.

With a start she shot up in bed before glaring at her mother. What her mother saw instead, was Valnarei squinting, unable to handle the sudden brightness.

“It’s bright…” Valnarei said with a huff.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!