POV Aisha
Far away, in a place unknown—
Someone was speaking to a young woman named Serena.
"You know," the voice said, low and calm, "in the human world… there is so much pleasure. God will not be angry just because you place a soul elsewhere, instead of the womb destined to bear it, and instead place your own spirit there instead."
Serena immediately recoiled.
"No. Do you want me to kick you or what?!" she shouted. "What are you saying? Stay away from me, you evil spirit! I don't understand why God allows you to exist here!"
Aisha woke with a start, gasping, her hand reaching for water. She drank greedily, trying to calm herself.
"Heh… heh…" she panted, trembling. "That voice… why does it keep haunting my dreams?"
Unbeknownst to her, Ruqayyah—back in the ninth century—was having the exact same dream. She wiped the sweat from her brow and took a sip of water before falling asleep again.
Suddenly, a voice spoke directly to Aisha from the system.
[Host. You want to return to your own world immediately, don't you?]
"Yes, of course," she muttered, frowning. "You keep asking the same thing over and over."
The system let out a quiet, mechanical chuckle. [Apologies, Host. Those were my words before updating. I will refresh them in three hours.]
Aisha's disappointment showed. She narrowed her eyes. "Seems like you're not very advanced, are you?"
[Host. I wish to provide you with information. To unlock one of the gates, you must win first place in the district-level mathematics competition, which will be held in five months.]
Aisha swallowed hard.
Mathematics?
Her hands clenched the blanket beneath her.
"This must be a joke…" she muttered, frowning. "One gate? Why not just open them all at once?"
[Destiny cannot be folded so easily, Aisha bint Al-Fadl. The gate must be opened by your own hands.]
Aisha exhaled slowly. "And if I fail?"
[Then you will remain longer in a world that is not your own.]
She fell silent, staring at the ceiling, then buried her face in her hands.
"Five months…" she whispered bitterly. She let out a humorless laugh. "So even to go home, I have to fight for it. And why must there be a task like this?"
[Ding! Host. I just remembered. Affinity Raiz.][Profile: Name: Raiz. Age: 16. Appearance: Ordinary. Affinity: Ordinary 50.]
She fell silent for a moment. A quiet realization slipped in—not painful, just enough to leave a hollow feeling in her heart.
Heh… ordinary. Just fifty.I thought Raiz liked me. Apparently not.It was nothing more than my own interpretation.
Aisha let out a shallow breath.
[Don't be so quick to invest your feelings in men. The warmer they appear, the colder the boundaries they tend to keep. And those who seem cold… are not always devoid of warmth.]
Aisha snorted. "Heh, you think I'm a naive girl? I'm nothing like innocent Ruqayyah."
[Because you successfully increased +20 affinity with Raiz—from 80 ordinary to 60 ordinary—you receive a reward.][Reward: IDR 1,000,000 in savings. Note: Already deposited in your system account. You may withdraw it at any time.]
Aisha's eyes widened in disbelief. She practically bounced on the bed with excitement.
"O-oh, really?!" she gasped. "But… since when is this considered an achievement?!"
As the sun rose, all the students made their way to their respective classes. Aisha had just entered her classroom when she felt a wave of confusion. Everyone seemed intensely focused, heads buried in books.
"Why are they all so diligent today? Is there homework or something?" she wondered aloud.
Just then, Bela strode in and fixed her with a sharp look.
"Ruqayyah, why are you so relaxed? Have you studied?"
Aisha blinked. Studied… for what?
"Heh… today is the mathematics exam," Bela said casually.
Aisha's eyes went wide.
"What? Why now? Shouldn't I get smart first?"
Her mind spun. Mathematics had always been a subject she struggled to understand.
It wasn't entirely surprising—after all, in the ninth century, mathematics wasn't as developed as modern school curricula. She was only familiar with basic arithmetic, simple trade calculations, and some Euclidean geometry she'd heard from her father. But the exam in front of her? Long formulas, unfamiliar symbols, numbers that seemed to stretch to infinity.
And it showed.
During the exam, her pencil trembled in her hand. She stared at the paper, trying to make sense of words that felt like a foreign language. Quadratic equations… determinants… trigonometric functions? Each term sounded like an incantation she had never learned.
What am I supposed to do? I'm terrified. How am I supposed to answer this?
Her thoughts raced as she nervously bit the end of her pencil.
A few classmates glanced her way. They were used to seeing Ruqayyah calm and composed during exams. But today, her face was pale, her eyes distant, staring at the paper without really seeing it.
Nisa, sitting nearby, looked up briefly.
"Ten minutes left!" the proctor's voice cut through the tense silence.
Aisha felt her blood run cold. She began to scribble hastily, but most of what appeared on the paper were tentative scratches rather than actual answers.
If only Al-Khwarizmi were here, she thought despairingly. Then maybe I could survive. He's supposed to be a master of al-jabr.
Suddenly, Aisha remembered the system.
"Ohhh, system?! Help me!" she whispered desperately.
The system was silent for a long moment.
Heh… is it sulking? But I didn't do anything wrong to it…
"Systemmm!" she called again.
Finally, the response came: [Host. The system is currently not updated like modern AI used to solve problems. You must complete many missions first before the system can be fully upgraded.]
Aisha snorted in disbelief, muttering under her breath. "Ugh… what a prehistoric system."
The teacher and a few students watched as she struggled, waiting for her to hand in the paper. Her hands shook, cold sweat dripped down her temples. She felt on the verge of giving up—
Aisha was completely at a loss, feeling trapped and cornered.
"What am I supposed to do?" she whispered, hands trembling, panic rising in her chest.
[Ding! Host. Good news—you can request help from Ruqayyah. I am currently attempting to contact the Nadhir system.]
"The Nadhir system? You mean Ruqayyah's system?" Aisha asked, blinking in disbelief.
[Yes. Wait a moment. It's just ringing now. That idiot Nadhir always takes forever. So annoying.]
Aisha stared, mouth slightly open. Even AI systems can curse each other?
"Heh…" she muttered, half amused, half exasperated.
Then, a sudden thought struck her. "Wait a minute… didn't you just say you weren't very advanced? That you couldn't even help me solve math problems? And now… you can make a cross-century video call?"
The system let out a soft, amused chuckle—but offered no reply, leaving Aisha blinking in disbelief.