I wanted to step forward, I did. But as soon as I started to move, the full force of the captain's aura smashed into my mind, leaving me unable to budge even an inch. My body wanted to move forward, but my mind was screaming for me to leave as fast as possible, resulting in my body completely locking up. The sword trembled in my hand as I tried to get myself under control.

He is doing this on purpose to keep me from being able to pass his assessment!

I could see the smug look in the captain's eyes as I stared at him, my sword swaying in front of me. As that realization ran through my mind, fury was birthed in its wake. There was no way that I was going to sit back and accept that result. Even if I failed, I was going to fail trying to succeed. Gritting my teeth, I forced down the fear in my mind and focused all of my attention on clearing my mind, letting my body's instincts take control.

Captain Seben was about to turn away when I took a step forward. I saw the furrow between his eyed deepen and the pressure on me nearly doubled, almost knocking me over. Gritting my teeth, I closed my eyes and dumped my thoughts, completely shutting down any processing, and allowing my body to burst forward.

I could feel my arm lift and the tip of my sword drop, stabbing toward the captain's body. Somehow I knew that his hand was reaching for the end of my sword so I shifted to the side, dropping the point of the blade further and then twisting my hand up in a slash. My sword trailed behind my hand, the point of the wooden sword dragging through the as it slipped past his closing palm and flicked toward his carotid artery.

Before it could connect I felt an overwhelming sense of danger and abandoned the attack completely, letting go of my sword and throwing myself down toward the ground. I could feel his palm passing within inches my chest, the wind it generated forcing me down even faster. The shock of the attack made my eyes open and brought my thought process flooding back, completely freezing up my body.

The palm that was passing above my body changed directions abruptly, slapping down on my body and crushing it into the dirt. Intense pain lanced through my back and the base of my skull as I slammed into the ground. In that moment agony, the only thing that I could think about was how nice the darkness was.

When I opened my eyes I was once again surrounded by the void. A dull pain pulsed in the back of my head, causing me to squint when the small point of light entered my vision. Having done it once before, I instinctively moved toward the light, entering into the Palace of the Past once again.

The familiar surroundings brought calm to me and I might have spent a few minutes just laying on the thick carpet. From the image on the wall, I could see that my body was being moved back into the carriage by Marks and Dempsy while the princess was gesturing wildly at Captain Seben who was rubbing his head sheepishly. Despite not being able to hear what they were saying, the general mood of the scene was pretty self-evident.

Just before the door to the carriage closed, I saw Crown Prince Patel running over, his robe flapping.

With a click, the scene outside was cut off and I saw Marks and Dempsy place my body on the bed. The ache in my head was beginning to fade so I sat up and watched as the two soldiers left the carriage. I could tell that some emergency treatment had been done on my body, repairing whatever damage Captain Seben's palm strike had done to me because the pain in my body had been reduced to dull headache.

Still, I had nearly been killed just now and the lingering fear from my brush with death told me that I could not continue as I was. Ever since I had arrived in this world my mind and my body had been operating almost completely independently, and it had nearly ended my journey more than once. I knew I had to do something about the disconnect between my mind and my new body, but the problem was that I had no idea what I should do.

Suddenly terrible loneliness swept over me, a longing for familiar faces. It had only been a day or two since I had seen my family, but I missed them so much my chest began to ache. Hoping to see their figures in one of my memories I stumbled over to a bookshelf and pulled a random book from its place. As it opened, I saw something that changed my life forever.

A small, rough room, a young boy of about ten doing pushups under the thin light of the winter moon that filtered through a barred window set high in the stone wall. The crushing pain and hopelessness of an enslaved life. The burn of sweat dripping into the open whip wounds on my arms. The gnawing hunger of days of missed meals.

And the unquestionable knowledge that if I was not the best, the very best, I would be nothing more than a cold corpse when morning came.

The unbelievable horror of the life that the previous owner of my body experienced washed over me, completely drowning any feelings of self-pity that I had worked up. This was the terrible, crippling memory of the previous owner of my body. Even after the memory had ended I continued to stand in silence, trying to process the incredibly intense emotion and turmoil I had just experienced.

Carefully placing the book back in its place, I walked over to the other side of the hall and selected a book, instantly being transported back to my sixth birthday party, which I had spent alone in a locked-down embassy while my mother negotiated for the release of six hostages with a violent extremist group. Not my happiest.

As I walked back and forth, I soon realized that the two sides of the hallway held different sorts of books. All of my memories from earth were held on the right side, while the shelves on the left contained the memories of the assassin who previously lived in my body. The first shelf on the right side was a record of everything I had ever read or watched while I was on earth, while the corresponding shelf on the assassin's side contained every book or learning situation he had been in. The middle and last shelves were a record of my body and my mind's lives, though none of the scenes I saw from earth contained any other people, much to my disappointment.

Once I had figured out what each shelf contained, an interest in understanding the assassin whose body I had taken bloomed in my heart and I began to pour over his life, starting from the earliest memory I could find. Time slowly ticked by, but as I felt neither hunger or fatigue I continued to pour over the memories of the assassin. The more I experienced, the closer I felt to this unknown figure, and the more comfortable I began to feel in my new body.

Slowly the gap between my mind and body closed and I had fewer and fewer involuntary movements. During this time I occasionally saw people enter the carriage to check up on me, but I soon stopped paying attention and immerse myself completely in the assassin's life. It was a brutal journey, one of pain and loneliness and fear, but when I finally emerged, I felt like I had been reborn. And hungry. I was starving after being lost in memories for so long.

My scarily accurate internal clock told me that nearly 30 days had passed while I was absorbing the assassin's memories, but from what I could tell from the day-night cycle in the carriage, only three days had passed in the real world.

Okay, that is cool. Awesome mental space with spy camera and time dilation too? If only I didn't have to nearly die to get into it, this would be totally overpowered.

I had read enough web novels to be familiar with the idea of a mental space where time moves differently from the real world so the idea that I had a magical space in my head did not phase me nearly as much as it should have. Or maybe I was just refusing to think about it so that my brain did not explode.

The hunger in my stomach was growing unbearable, so, with one last longing look at the first shelf that held all of the books that the assassin had read, I touched my figure on the screen and woke my body up.

A delicious smell drifted into my nose, sending fresh stabs of hunger through my stomach. Sitting up, I saw a wide spread of food arranged on a table that had been set up near the bed. Princess Tia was sitting in a nearby chair, reading a book while her maid, Vivian worked on some stitching next to her.

"Oh, your highness!" Vivian was the first to notice me as I sat up.

"Ah, Gen, how are you feeling?" Princess Tia put down her book and stood up from her chair.

"I'm feeling fine. What happened?" Over Princess Tia's shoulder, I could see Vivian's disapproving look. "Um, your highness."

"You may call me Tia." The princess covered her mouth and giggled at my awkwardness. "I'm glad you're okay. We were not sure when you were going to wake up after the captain lost control of himself. We've actually arrived at the academy already and my brother is settling our registration. I hope you don't mind but I had him enter you as my study aid."

"Your highness..."

"Tia!" The princess' brows grew stormy and she practically shouted her name at me, nearly giving me a heart attack.

"S...sorry. Tia."

"Much better." Just like the parting of a storm cloud, her face cleared and she was back to her normal sunny self.

"Uh, your...Tia, I don't know that it is appropriate for you to have someone unknown by your side."

I tried to speak as gently as possible as it was obvious that the princess was used to getting her way and I really did not want to set her off, especially since she was obviously trying to take care of me. The stormy look started to return to the princess' eyes and she had just opened her mouth to speak when Prince Patel's voice sounded from the open door.

"Which is exactly what I tried to tell you." The prince entered the room, picking up a piece of fruit from the table as he walked by. "You are the only princess of the Kingdom of Leria, no matter how forward-thinking you are, it is entirely inappropriate for your study aid to be male."

Oh boy, here it comes.

Princess Tia's face fell as she listened to her brother's words. Her bottom lip began to tremble and her eyes prepped for waterworks. Just as she looked like she was about to erupt into tears, Prince Patel took a bite of his fruit, speaking as he chewed.

"Which is why I registered Gen as an official student."

It turned out that an angry Princess Tia was just as beautiful as the calm and sedate Princess Tia. After Prince Patel skillfully warded off his sister's small fists he approached the bed where I was sitting, tossing me a piece of fruit.

"I hope you don't mind, Gen, but I went ahead and registered you as a sponsored student. The Silver Tower Academy is the premier academy in Leria. There is no better place to learn about being a Warrior. To be perfectly honest, it was my original intent to leave you in one of the towns we passed, but I was impressed with your combat ability. As the Crown Prince of Leria, I am next in line for the throne and I am always looking for strong Warriors to fight under my banner.

"As a sponsored student, I would be responsible for your school fees, and your room and board while you are at the academy. In return for my investment, you would work for me once you graduate. There is no formal agreement, just think of this as a gamble on my part. Oh, I may also ask you for some help while you are at the academy."

He's doing it again.

I had to admire the prince for the masterful way he moved the people around him. From turning teasing his sister into giving her a special favor, to granting me a rare opportunity while letting me know that it came with a cost, everything he did put him at the center of control, forcing others to move to his rhythm.

I turned over the piece of fruit in my hands, rubbing its skin with my thumb as I considered his words. The advantages of taking the Crown Prince up on his offer were obvious, the downsides less so. I had no idea about the situation surrounding the prince or the politics of the Kingdom so it seemed foolhardy to pledge myself to his banner. Still, if I did not take the deal I'd be set adrift in a new world with no support.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Prince Patel's question made me look up.

Princess Tia was currently shooting daggers with her eyes at her older brother, all while piling food up onto a plate.

"Hmph." Turning her head away, she ignored the prince and finished stacking some slices of meat on top of the already overflowing plate. Holding it carefully, she walked slowly to the side of the bed, handing me the plate and sitting down next to me.

"You know, Gen, my brother is not the only one from the royal family here. I'm the only princess in the Kingdom of Leria, while there are three different princes. Instead of working for my smelly brother, you should let me sponsor you at the academy. Not only can I pay for your school costs, but I can give you an allowance as well.

"Here, try these flame-grilled steak tips. They are quite soft. Plus, my brother will graduate at the end of this year, abandoning you to the hands of your fellow students for three years, while I'll be staying here for the four years as you and can protect you. And then, when we graduate, you can work for me and you won't have to be involved in the fight for the throne."

Watching his sister try to steal a potential Warrior from him, Prince Patel was torn between laughing and crying. Not only was she trying to give Gen better terms, but she had also even bribed him with a huge plate of food. Rubbing his forehead in annoyance, he nearly lost it when she looked at him triumphantly.

Watching the prince and princess fight over recruiting me, I was even more torn. As much as I loved the idea of not being involved in the Prince's political struggles, I knew that there was no way that Prince Patel was going to allow me to hang around his sister. I watched my older brother chase off enough of my sister's potential suitors to know the look. The prince must have seen the struggle I was feeling on my face because he suddenly burst out laughing.

"It'll be hard to get a better offer than that, Gen. Four years of academy and a whole plate of food? If I wasn't about to graduate I'd sign up in a heartbeat." Chuckling, he rubbed his sister's head as she sprang up to hug him. "Tell you what. We will put the sponsorship under my sister's name, though I hope that you'll still be willing to help me out if there is a pressing need."

Guess I can't refuse now, can I?

"You have my word, your highness." Standing, I bowed with my fist over my heart.

"You have my thanks." Prince Patel smiled easily and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to his sister. "Tia, this is the paperwork for Gen. Just sign it and turn it in at the registration office with the payment."

"Um, brother?" Princess Tia tugged on Prince Patel's sleeve after scanning the papers he gave her.

"Yes?"

Turning her head away and coughing into her hand, Princess Tia spoke in a voice almost too quiet to be heard.

"Can I borrow some money?"

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**Author's Note**

Hi friends! I'm going to be trying to update this as I can, but given the other projects I'm working on (including bringing Nova Terra back faster) it might be a bit sporadic. While you're waiting for updates, you should come join the Nova Terra facebook group (facebook.com/groups/NovaTerraFanClub) or check out my new YouTube Channel (youtube.com/watch?v=stmV_d0HaVs&t).

Hope you're all having a super fantastic week!