Ever woken up as a child when, just a few minutes ago, you were twenty years old?
No? Are you sure?
...Yeah. Thought so. Just me, then.
Another question have you ever had a screen appear right in front of you, floating in the air, telling you: "Congratulations on not being dead. The person who killed you feels really guilty and has decided to give you a system."
A system that gives you quests, and if you complete them, you earn tickets. Tickets you can use in a lottery to maybe get something good. Like a cool ability or a useful item.
Or… something completely useless. A trash ability. A worthless item.
No? Just me again?
Yeah, I'm not surprised.
This sounds like the kind of thing that should never happen.
And yet… here I am. A toddler,r maybe one or two years old, is living on Asgard.
Yeah. That Asgard.
Golden halls stretching into the sky, towers that look like they were carved out of sunlight, and warriors walking around like it's normal to carry weapons bigger than me. Everything feels… too large, too bright, too unreal, like I'm stuck in a myth that decided to become real.
I was born to a man who serves as a soldier in the Asgardian army, and a woman who works as a teacher, teaching mathematics, or at least the Asgardian equivalent of it.
The first few years of my life weren't really that eventful. Because of that, I hadn't gained any quests. The first one I ever got came when I was seven,n and it was triggered by my mother.
"Now, Edel, I need you to do this test so I can see where you're having trouble in math," my mother said, her face calm and unreadable as she placed the paper in front of me.
Since I had always hated math in both of my lives, this was already bad. But she wasn't teaching normal math; this was basically rocket science to a human, but it was being taught… to a seven-year-old.
So yeah, I threw a tantrum.
"Math is hard! I don't like it!"
I crossed my arms, glaring at the paper as it had personally offended me.
"Just try it, dear," she said gently. "I need you to do this. It doesn't matter if you do badly, I just want you to do your best."
And then
A screen appeared in front of me.
QUEST CREATED: Do your math, fuck face
Get a 51% or higher, and you gain 2 tickets.
"Honey, don't get distracted. Look at me."
I forced my eyes off the floating screen and back to my mother, who was watching me carefully.
"I know this is hard," she said, her tone patient but firm. "But you're going to school next year, and I need to make sure you're prepared for your class. You did very well in history, so I need you to do your very best on this."
Seeing the quest… I basically had no choice.
So, with a very heavy heart and a steady mind, I started the test.
It took me no joke five hours to finish it. Five hours. And it only had three questions.
And I'm telling you, as a former Earthling… this wasn't something meant to be taught to kids.
Still, I managed a 74. I got some of the math right, just messed up the first one near the end.
QUEST COMPLETED: REWARD GAINED
SKILL GAINED: EarthBending
ITEM GAINED: Immovable Rod
I felt it immediately.
It was like something inside me shifted, like my nerves lit up for a second before settling. There was this strange sensation, deep in my body… or maybe my soul. I couldn't really tell the difference.
And then the item
I felt it appear in my hands. Solid. Cold. Real.
My mother, who had been explaining where I went wrong on the test, suddenly stopped when she saw the rod.
"Where did you get that?" she asked, confused. "And put it away. Pay attention when I'm talking to you, young lady."
"Yes, Mama. Sorry, Mama."
…Right.
I was a girl in this universe.
That still didn't feel right at all. It was something I hadn't fully wrapped my head around yet.
But one thing wasn't changing,g I still liked girls. That much was clear. Just because things were… different now didn't mean that part of me suddenly disappeared.
Yeah. I'd figure the rest out later.
On another note, I had just gotten myself a very cool ability that I'd be spending the next few years learning how to use.
Earthbending… yeah, that was going to take time.
But then again, Asgardians had time.
They age normally, more or less like humans, until they reach around fifteen. After that, their aging slows down visibly. Not stopping, just… stretching out. Years are turning longer, slower.
I understood that part.
What I didn't understand was how a species could even evolve into something like this.
It didn't make sense.
Then again… I was in Asgard, had died once, come back as a kid, and had a system giving me quests.
At this point, "not making sense" was starting to feel pretty normal.