Chapter 12

Settling In and Future Plans

"Click," Samantha stepped into her boarding room. After hitting the gym and getting her new membership card, she was back at her place. She kicked off her shoes, tossed her keys onto her desk, then "hup," she flopped onto her bed. Lying there, she opened her dimensional storage.

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Dimensional Storage

Elixir x 1 (cooldown: 29 days)

Personal data map x 1

Set of luxury house keys, five bedrooms and four bathrooms, in the suburbs x 1

Folder containing house ownership documents x 1

Suitcase full of Samuel's clothes

Backpack containing laptop, apartment files, and gaming console

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She tapped on "backpack containing laptop, apartment files, and gaming console," then sat cross-legged on her bed, pulling her laptop out of the bag. She turned it on and opened a website to sell homes online. She created a listing for her apartment, inputting all the data from the files she'd just pulled from her backpack. After uploading several photos she'd taken of the apartment, she closed her laptop.

"Ding," a message popped up on her smartphone. She grabbed it and looked at the screen. It was Sophia, saying she'd talked to Emma and was willing to move in with Samantha. The only condition was that Sophia wanted to contribute to the monthly expenses and pay rent, asking to be treated as a roommate and not a freeloader.

Samantha smiled broadly as she read it. She immediately replied with "ok" and a thumbs-up emoji.

After tidying up her belongings, she lay on her bed, looking at her smartphone and checking the address of her new house on the map. She then looked around the neighborhood, studying the streets. She noticed the house's location was close to an open university building that offered online courses.

"Hmm... come to think of it, I never actually went to college, whether in person or online, because I was so focused on my weird illness," Samantha mused to herself. "I guess I should probably get a degree in something. I mean, I can't just rely on MMA for a living, right? Even though one fight can bring in big money, I'm a woman now, and I can't keep fighting MMA forever."

[You're already rich, sir.]

"True, I have money now, but I'm only 23. I can't just sit around at home fanning myself with cash, can I?" Samantha replied in her head.

[Whatever you wish, sir.]

"Cool. At least until I get better, I need to have other activities. Now I really need to think about what I want to do with my life, something that makes me happy, of course," Samantha said in her head.

[How about that cooking class you mentioned earlier, sir?]

"That too, to get rid of the PTSD symptoms I experienced today," Samantha replied.

[Would you like me to help you find one, sir?]

"No need, I can find one myself," Samantha replied.

Samantha opened the university's website to check out its programs. She saw many faculties available at the university, from IT, finance, business, law, mechanical engineering (which required in-person attendance), medicine, and many more.

"Hmm, confusing. What do I actually want for myself?" Samantha mumbled.

Then she remembered her life as Samuel since being diagnosed with her allergy to women: how she was ostracized by her family, except for her mother and grandmother; how she envied her younger siblings living normally and going to school like everyone else, unlike her who was homeschooled by male tutors. Once she graduated and turned 18, she moved out of her grandmother's house at her own request and into an apartment, the down payment paid by her grandmother.

She continued living there and became an MMA athlete. After winning two matches, she was able to pay off her apartment. At that time, she was 20 years old, and that's when she experienced loss for the first time, as her grandmother died due to illness. A year later, her mother, who always came to visit her, also passed away from the stress of losing her own mother and from Samuel's illness. That's what her father told her when she came to her mother's funeral, making her feel guilty and hate herself.

After that, she completely shut herself off and just "lived" day to day. She also worked in construction as a foreman and construction worker to support herself and save money to repay her father for medical expenses. Because of this, she didn't think about her own future at all, and now she's completely confused about what she wants to do with her life.

"Looks like I need some time to figure out what I really want," she mumbled to herself.

[That's right, sir. Don't rush. You still have a long way to go.]

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks," Samantha replied.

[But don't forget, right now you are Samantha, not Samuel anymore. What you just remembered was Samuel's life, and Samantha's life is just begun.]

Samantha fell silent. What the system said was true; she was Samantha now, not Samuel. She looked back at the university programs and her eyes landed on the online nursing program under the faculty of medicine.

"Hmm, this is interesting, seems like a good fit for me. Alright, I'll just sign up for this," Samantha thought to herself.

She clicked on the registration form on the website and filled in her personal details. She pulled her personal files from her dimensional storage to check her ID number and other data as Samantha. After struggling to complete the form, she clicked the "submit" button at the bottom. She would be notified after her form was reviewed via the phone and email she provided.

After that, Samantha put her files back in dimensional storage then placed her smartphone on the table. She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Right, now I'm Samantha. I'm not allergic to women anymore... even if my mental state is a bit messed up from being killed three times in two days... phew... but on the bright side, now I'm rich, I have a new identity, I'm free from my family, and I can fully recover someday... for now, it's okay," she mumbled to herself, a faint smile on her face.

"Ding," a message popped up on her smartphone. Samantha's hand reached for it, and she looked at the screen. Her expression changed when she saw the sender's name.

"Melissa... she contacted me that fast? What does she want?" she mumbled.

She opened the message to read it, then slowly sat up on her bed.

"Big Sis Samantha, there's something I want to talk to you about in private. It's about Samuel. Can we meet somewhere?"

Samantha frowned as she read it. "About Samuel?" she wondered to herself. She read the message repeatedly but didn't reply.