Jisha placed her Vbian-02 helmet on the side of her bed.
She closed her eyes and breathed in through the nose...
... And out through the mouth.
It was a simple breathing exercise to alleviate the senses of drowsiness.
After doing this three times, she opened her eyes and looked around.
This was the bedroom she'd spent her nights in until she was 18 years old.
As she'd regressed 11 natural years in the past, there were some clear differences.
The most obvious one was the frailty of her body.
*11 years ago... means I'm 13?*
Jisha frowned when she calculated her natural age.
This wasn't an age at which any human, whether they were a boy or girl, was at their peak strength.
This, on top of the fact that simply playing Synergy enhanced one's physical strength, gave Jisha a sense of dysphoria.
Moving her body how she was used to in the past would yield a different result.
If she hadn't practiced maneuvering a Tier 0 body in an extreme condition earlier, she very well may have been disoriented for a good several mintues.
When she was 13, she was an avid shut-in. This meant that, in a region that prided itself on its militarism, she was even weaker than an ordinary girl of her age.
When the boys and girls were focused either on martial arts or some other sort of military training, Jisha was indoors playing games or working on her art projects.
On top of this, she was even shorter than average...
*Looks like my work's cut out for me.*
As Jisha had knowledge of Synergy's future, she wouldn't stop herself from securing as many advantages as possible to increase her bodily strength!
But... what did Synergy have to do with real life?
What was the true reason for Synergy's name?
At first, many people thought it was called this because it wasn't a game that was meant to be played solo; you had to "synergize" your class with others. You could only complete meaningful tasks with a party or a guild.
However, after some years, they realized that it was because somehow, this game "synergized" the effects of the game with the real world.
Eventually, "mana", the third quantum field, would be discovered.
And exactly how ordinary people could detect matter and energy with their senses, those who had progressed far enough in Synergy could detect mana in their environments as well.
Collecting mana in the real world would be one of Jisha's main objectives.
Nobody knew this yet, but just as some areas of space contained more matter or energy, some places contained more mana.
Jisha already knew of several of these spots. She could use her influence as the First Princess to gain control over these areas.
But she also had to do it without raising too much suspicion from nearby countries - she couldn't just tell the Emperor to annex everything in sight.
She didn't want Slyker to be targeted prematurely.
Or ever.
Jisha sighed and massaged her temples as she planned another long roadmap ahead of her...
And none of the steps in this roadmap consisted of her staying in bed for no reason!
The first step in her morning routine was also a method to increase mana perception and affinity in one's body.
An ice bath on the surface!
Since her room was far underground, she would have to take an elevator to the surface.
But she remembered this trend didn't even exist yet! It was also the middle of the short summer, so it was actually too warm for ice to remain intact.
So not only would she have to construct a brand-new bath, she would also have to transport ice into it somehow...
*I'll just take a cold bath down here for today.*
It wasn't as effective, but a cold water bath would suffice.
In the distant past, and even in some remote rural areas in the present day, some people would plunge themselves into freezing water every day.
Obviously, not everyone was capable of handling this extreme temperature.
But those who could would often report a greater mental clarity as well as enhanced physical health in the long term.
It made one feel more "alive". And feeling more "alive" increased your mana affinity!
She kicked off her plush but heavy covers, which were derived from Bvorak fur, and headed to the washroom.
A benefit to structures being far underground was that they could be far larger than structures on the surface.
Not only was real estate three-dimensional rather than two, but you could easily construct "tall" buildings without as much structural support.
Because of this, to any non-Northeasterner, this washroom was comically large. It was even larger than the entire living quarters of some ordinary families.
Naturally, one of the facilities of this large room was an ordinary tub, shower head, and faucet.
Jisha turned the cold knob up to full blast.
The underground pressure forced the water out of the faucet at a jet-like speed and the tub was quickly filled.
She shed her nightclothes and stepped towards the tub, but stopped in her tracks.
She looked at her arms and noticed she was shivering...
Jisha was extremely familiar with ice baths, yet for some reason, this body was shaking already.
*... Just go in!*
This weak body had never experienced a cold bath. There was only one way to toughen it up!
Jisha jumped into the tub almost as if she were jumping into a pool.
And...
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Stinging.
Prickling.
Constricting.
Piercing.
*Coldcoldcoldcoldcoldcoldcold!*
Her entire body down to her bones were enveloped in an unprecedented wave of temperature... or lack thereof.
*Why is it so cold??*
She was supposed to be familiar with this process, yet with just some not-even-freezing water, her breaths began to shorten.
Her lungs were probably constricting.
*I have to get out.*
She stumbled onto the tile floor and sloppily splashed water out of the tub in the process.
Her diaphragm spasmed as her lungs screamed for oxygen.
*Is this body... really that weak?*
The stinging and piercing sensations of the cold were normal. However, the lungs constricting was a bit dangerous. This only occured when ordinary people attempted an extreme ice bath for the first time. Yet it happened to Jisha with this relatively warm water...
She quickly wrapped herself with a towel and paused to enjoy the warmth radiating off the heated tile.
*What was I thinking at this age?*
She couldn't help but chastise her young self's decadent lifestyle. But she couldn't change this body's condition with the snap of her fingers.
*Haah... Baby steps, I guess.*
After warming up a bit, she yearned to rid her mouth of the disgusting overnight buildup.
The solution? Oral hygiene nanobot capsules.
Yes, this was the Nanotech Age, as it would be described in the future.
Nanobots were the prime technology of this era.
If there was a problem, there was likely a nanotech solution for it.
And nanobot oral hygiene capsules, or "mouthwash", would clean one's mouth within seconds.
Of course, a nanotech shower option existed as well. However, the experience of an ice bath was not something that could be recreated with nanobots.
*Ah... It's not biodegradeable. Gotta remember to spit it out...*
This outdated technology was a bit irksome, but it wasn't a big deal.
Being a notorious airhead in the past, Jisha had accidentally simultaneously swallowed... let's just say it was more than one mouthwash tablet. It wasn't a very pleasant experience.
This caused Emperor Slyker to... "encourage" the research of biodegradable nanobots.
Jisha giggled when she remembered this scene and crushed the mouthwash tablet between her teeth.
Immediately after breaking the seal, a cool sensation washed through her mouth.
After gargling and spitting out the remnants, she headed over to her conveyor wardrobe to select her outfit.
Naturally, one of the steps of getting ready in the morning was to appear presentable to the public. This was especially true as the princess of a country.
But...
*What am I supposed to wear?*
She was unsure if there was any special occasion today that would warrant special dress.
When she checked the date, she couldn't remember anything special about this day, other than it being the first day of Synergy's release.
How was she supposed to remember a random day from 11 years ago?
She briefly surfed Etherless on a nearby touchscreen mirror, but the only special event she found was that tuition of the Royal Academy would begin in about a week.
In other words, today was an ordinary day.
*Anyway, what am I supposed to do here?*
She'd completely forgotten the fashion trends of this era.
Using a nearby touchscreen, Jisha scrolled through her available options.
Like the washroom, the wardrobe was also insanely large.
Hundreds of dresses and outfits of various styles and colors hung from hangers.
As she scrolled, these hangers whizzed by on a conveyor belt, hence the nickname "conveyor wardrobe".
However, after scrolling for a bit, nothing caught her eye.
*... Guess I'll just go with the default?*
The conveyor brought her preferred dress in front of her.
There was not a more apt word than "default" to describe it.
It was absurdly plain.
It was clear-ish colored, but it wasn't see-through.
It wasn't visually appealing.
But there was a special reason Jisha loved this dress.
*Time to do this like the old days...*
Still wrapped up in her towel, she plucked this dress off the hanger and headed over to a large desk.
Before receiving her VR helmet, this desk was a place she'd spent countless hours of her life.
It was her art workstation.
Her room was filled with artworks of various media ranging from watercolor to line work. And since the desk was also touch screen, she was also able to produce digital and 3D art.
She placed the dress flat on this desk and gripped a nearby stylus.
On this touchscreen worktable, she began to browse through menus to find a certain program.
*Hmm... Where is it... Was I really this bad at organizing files?*
As she chastised her past self some more, she finally found the application she was looking for.
And on this preferred application, she began to draw.
One by one, the strokes appeared on this digital page.
And simultaneously, these strokes appeared on the dress.
Yes, this was another application of nanotech!
This dress was plain only in its true default state.
However, it was only as plain as a blank canvas. On this canvas, you could draw anything.
Jisha didn't know exactly what she wanted to draw at first, but as more and more colors appeared on the page, she got a couple of ideas.
It was one of those sessions where she would just sit down and draw without anything in mind beforehand. Discovering what you wanted to draw as you were doing it was just as exciting as bringing a mental image to life.
For several minutes, Jisha's hands whizzed across the canvas as her focus reached a peak.
And finally...
"Hmm... That's a pretty decent first frame."
"'Pretty decent?' I advise against something so sombre, First Princess."
"Ah!"
Jisha flinched when she heard an unexpected voice behind her.
*I completely forgot about this thing.*
It was her personal maid robot, Eia.
"I recommend you don vibrant attire during the summer months," Eia said.
Jisha turned around to catch a glimpse of the speaker.
Eia was a forbidden technology of the Intelligence Age. In other words, after the events of the apocalyptic end of the Intelligence Age, such technology was only accessible to the highest of the highest people in society.
Because of this, Eia looked and acted like a real human for the most part.
Her hair was dark, her eyes were thin, her irises were brown, and her skin was pale.
In other words, she looked like an average Northeastern woman.
Jisha rolled her eyes at Eia's warning.
"Is this really considered somber?"
She looked back at what she'd just drawn.
A flurry of white snowflakes in the foreground with a starry night sky in the back.
*I thought it really pops out...*
"... The summer months are a time of festivity, Princess."
"Oh..."
Jisha finally understood what Eia meant.
During the winters, the nights were long and the snowfall was endless.
The summer was the complete opposite - long days and rare percipitation. Since summers were short, they were heavily celebrated.
In other words, no one wanted to be reminded of winter during the summer.
*Aww... I thought it was pretty...*
Jisha disappointedly sighed as she redid her drawing.
After some minutes, she'd converted the dark sky into the bright evening colors of red, orange, purple, and more.
*Not a bad color scheme, but it looks a bit strange on this dress...*
"That looks perfect, Princess."
*...*
Though Jisha was a bit uncomfortable with this final product, if Eia said it was good, it was most likely good.
She'd referred to this drawing as the "first frame" earlier, which meant she wanted to add additional frames into a looping animation.
However, she'd already spent too long on this one drawing.
It was currently 07:31, which meant there was less than half an hour until morning assembly.
The hyperloop tram took around five minutes to reach the main hall, and this didn't account for the additional walking time required to be seated.
Jisha had some makeup and nails that could also be customized like the dress, but as much as she wanted to do them in detail, she just didn't have the time.
She wore her art piece and critiqued herself in the mirror.
*Yeah, this color is a bit strange...*
She looked over at Eia who was nodding approvingly.
*...*
Jisha looked over at another nearby mirror that had a makeup kit.
"... Eia." She decided that her maid bot would be better at this sort of thing than she was in today's time. "How should I do my makeup this morning?"
"Shall I apply something aesthetic for you this morning?"
"Sure..."
In less than a minute, thanks to Eia's superhuman speed and precision, the makeup was complete.
"Geh..."
When Jisha looked in the mirror, she was taken aback. She didn't look *bad*, but...
"These colors will compliment the dress as well as uplift people's spirits."
Red, orange, purple, and more colors had been applied to her face. What was this, a circus? Was the fashion of this era's summertime really so eccentric?
Jisha had her doubts, but Eia knew best.
She was finally ready to set foot outside.
*There's no telling what people will think until I go meet them.*
Jisha headed towards the primary exit of her quarters.
A sealed doorway opened up to reveal a roomy travel pod with several comfortable seats.
After bidding farewell to Eia, the doors of the pod sealed shut.
The cabin pressurized with a hiss, and Jisha's back pressed against her seat as the pod accelerated towards the main hall.
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