Chapter 2: Arc I: She’s the Protagonist [1]

[Core of Citadel]

[July, 31st, 22:09]

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"Urggh..."

Meredith woke up with a wave of nausea clouding her cognition. When she came to, she found herself sitting on a reclining chair, with a book on her lap and the direct view of a magnificent city before her eyes.

She stood up, as expressionless as could be, and walked forward, briefly glancing through the floor-to-ceiling window of 'her' apartment that she assumed to be on the tenth floor of a building.

The city skyscrapers fitted with flashy billboards and neon lights, the moon and stars in the background enhancing the beauty of the somewhat cyberpunk scenery, but  she had no time to admire it, because of the screen hovering in front of her.

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[Transmigration Successful]

Book Name: Hero's Path to the Peak

Plot Point Entry: Eve of Resumption

Transmigration Vessel: Meredith Blaire

Mission Target: Meredith Blaire

Role: Mob Character

Mission: Do NOT die before the end of the storyline [Main]. Resolve the Problem caused by Plot Hole Fixture [Side].

[Assimilate Memories?]

[Yes/No]

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'Meredith Blaire?'

And here she thought nothing else could surprise her, was this a parallel world? She looked at the window this time-not through it-and saw the reflection of the person she transmigrated into.

Unsurprisingly, it was exactly her, well except for the lean and muscular physique, she had the same unusual piercing purple eyes, long black hair, and fair skin. Were those glasses? Why in the world did her short-sightedness have to accompany her here?

She turned around and observed the room, she estimated it to be 240 square feet. The white and black color scheme, and practical layout reflected a reserved and straightforward personality, eerily same as hers. Was this another version of her? Was this the reason for choosing her?

Sitting back down and placing the book on the reading table beside the chair, she tapped the Yes option on the screen, and like a dam, her brain overflowed with information, followed by a migraine assault that caused her to slump and lose consciousness.

She woke up after the influx of memories, and got to sorting and extracting relevant information. When she was done, she made a brief summary and analysis.

This was a planet called BlueSphere that only had one continent, about the size of Europe named Kardan. It had the same developmental stages as Earth, until the year 2030, when the Ozone layer completely depleted, and all organisms came into contact with Cosmic rays from outer space causing them to mutate.

About 90% of the five hundred million human population died because of failed mutations, and of those who survived, some only experienced improved human physiology, while others gained supernatural abilities.

Then the animals that mutated-now called Monsters-started attacking civilization. The humans were able to fight back with their abilities, but it was still a highly unbalanced war, one caused by the larger population of monsters.

After about ten years, humans were able to rally together at the centre of the continent, and pushed back the Monsters, building a large, circular wall coined Citadel: humanity's last stand. It was approximately covered a million square feet, divided in an onion structure into three parts: the Outer Circle, the Inner Circle, and the Core.

It's 2095 now, and humanity is flourishing, Meredith herself was a Hunter: people whose profession are to go Outside and hunt monsters. But she had to retire at the young age of 23, because of a request to be an Instructor at the Academy, the oldest and most prestigious Mutant educational institute.

The memories seemed to have made her accepting of her new identity, now referring herself as 'Meredith'. Not the agent, not the Earthling.

After sorting the whole information, Meredith was able to recognize the meaning of the Plot Point Entry on the screen, it was literally the eve of resumption. 

Now, going to the crux of the matter, how did she die? She knew herself, she was reserved, straightforward and hardworking. She had made no enemies and minded her business. To make matters worse, she didn't know the time of her death, only that she was going to die as the plot progressed...wait! Plot!

"Hey, System, aren't you supposed to transmit the Plot to me?"

The cheeky voice she was expecting didn't reply, only two side-by-side tabs opening on the floating screen.

[Access to System Prohibited during Internship Missions]

[Authority Level of Class-1 is required for Agent to review Book's Storyline]

'Ah, reality is really different from webnovels' 

In a few words, she was on her own. So this was why the System wished her good luck, she was l fairly sure this level of Internship mission was unique to Agents. But she wasn't scared, it felt rather strangely exciting, with some anticipation for the future mixed in.

Wouldn't it  be boring if it was easy?

Now the only available clue was that her death was directly related to the Plot of the story, which was why dying created a plot hole.

But if her death could create a plot hole, wasn't she at least a side character. Why did a mob character's death have a big effect on the Plot progression, the puzzle was missing a lot of pieces. Things were getting interesting, and she didn't even know when a faint smile emerged her face for the first time.

"Finally, something challenging. It seems the mission isn't as simple as it appears."

She stood up and changed into simple grey pajamas.  She abhorred nightgowns and all complicated outfits, that was why her wardrobe only contained practical and comfortable outfits, with two or three evening dresses.

After changing, she laid on the bed with her arms resting on her stomach, and that was when she discovered something on her wrist that she only just realized she had been fiddling with absent-mindedly since her acceptance of her identity as Meredith.

The moment she peeked down at said object that turned out to be a handmade bracelet, there was a faint emotion that she felt, one that would be normally hard to notice.

Meredith wasn't an emotional person, but even she knew what she was feeling was nostalgia, and if she dug deeper, it had undertones of guilt and longing.

She recognized the bracelet as one of the many she made throughout her childhood and teenage years. She had dropped the hobby for five years now, but under no condition had she ever taken this bracelet off.

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And that's where things started getting weird, because even if she recognized her style of bracelet making, she had no recollection of making it. It could only mean one thing, someone had tampered with her memories. Who? She didn't know, so she would be calling him/her {A} for now.

She touched it again, her  face turning sad for a moment before reverting to her usual stoic expression. But no matter how she tried, she couldn't remember the person who made her have such emotions. She mentally noted her as {B}, her intuition told her it was a girl, and she was rarely, if ever wrong.

So now, {A} probably tampered with her memories to make her forget {B}, if so, why? How was this all tied to her death? And when did mobs start getting such mysterious backstories?

"Hey screen, are you sure I'm a Mob character? No mistakes?"

No Answer.

That System, it just threw her into the first mission, no explanations nothing.

'That's too many questions for today, I'm tired'

And so she turned, dug into the grey blanket, and took the one-way ticket to slumberland.

----

Beep! Beep!

She was already awake and going through her morning routine, her biological clock rousing her even before the alarm.

Yoga? Bath? Breakfast? Check, check, and check! She was nearly done with her preparations.

Now onto the next. She searched and finally made her choice out of the sea of greys, whites and blacks, and took out black cargo pants, a grey sweatshirt, and a comfy, black coat.

It was the 1st, of August, 2095. The start of a new Session in the Academy, she couldn't be late nor too early for the ceremony. 

After taking her weapon, a five-inch rod that could transform into a metal staff, and shoving it into her coat pocket, she left the apartment, took the elevator down and came out of the skyscraper that read 'Tagha's Monolith', a place only the elite, even among Mutants, could afford.

She nudged her glasses, walked to the park and stopped at the bus stop meant for people living residential area of the Core's West Sector.

It didn't take long and by 8:33, she had arrived at Millennia, the 'core' of Core, where important buildings including Hunter's Association HQ, the Council, and The Academy itself laid their foundations.

She walked for some time arrived at exactly 8:40 at the iron gates of the Academy, it was large black and intimidating, at least to others, not her. Entering the open gates into the walkway, she inhaled the smell of freshly mown grass, with sunlight fleeting through the leaves of the trees lining the walkway.

She reached the Academy's main building, and turned left to the Stadium, where the booming voice of the principal giving the Opening Speech was heard. 

With measured steps, she strutted through the gates and recognize the hulking figure of Markus Kyne as he emphasized for the third time in his speech that Academy was no place for weaklings. The platform meant for Mutant tournaments was now used as the podium.

It seemed this year was a bit more crowded.

The pressure he emanated was felt even from where the students sat stiffly in the bleachers of the stadium, though there were some at the front who apparently gave no reaction to the pressure, it was evident in their uniforms that they were a special class.

She withdrew her gaze and walked down the steps to the section meant for Academy staff. She took her seat, legs square and back straight, a white-haired student was walking up to the podium now, who she assumed to be the Student Council President. She named him {Z} at the absence of his name, she didn't feel like asking anyone.

Her arrival was met with raised eyebrows and probing eyes from some, while others were indifferent. The few who mustered courage to question her presence cowered and retreated when they recognized her piercing purple eyes and expressionless gaze. Typical Marcus, he didn't inform anyone, she could already hear is cackling at the flies that bothered her.

{Z} had finished his speech and started calling the names of the top five students of each class, she leisurely sat as he called, but her gaze sharpened and turned calculating when it got to the Year two Alpha Class. After all, she was their new homeroom teacher.

"And for the Year Two students. Rank 1, Aiden Wyatt."

At his name, the blonde boy-in the midst of where she had identified to be for special students-erupted in a joyful cheer. And stood up, his sculpted figure not in the least hidden beneath his blazer and trousers uniform.

As he walked up the podium steps, the elation in his blue eyes didn't diminish even when he got a sneer from another blue haired boy, someone she recognized as the heir to the Karma Guild. She noticed his clenched fists under and gritted teeth under the sneer.

Aiden reached went up and waved his hands to the restless Year One students cheering for him, it seemed he was popular.

He stood at the same height with {Z} as they shook ands and he received a token with the emblem of the Academy-A rising sun over a fort-was engraved on it. Whoever had a token could retrieve an item from the Academy's Vault.

He stepped down the same time his 'rival' was called out.

"Rank 2, Lucas Foil."

With eyes looking under his nose, he swaggered in long strides to the podium, invisible peacock feathers shook in the air as he revelled in the attention.

It was the same for him too though. A token and back to your seats, the third rank was called, and young girl with Auburn hair and green eyes went up, her dainty and graceful figure moving as though in a cocktail party.

She was Avery Karter, the heir of Karter Corp- the leading tech company in Citadel. She refused the handshake, and received her token, returning where she came from.

The fourth rank was someone who could be mistaken for a bear, and he walked like one. His lumbering movements not changing as he went to the podium and back.

If this was a story, she wouldn't be surprised if they were the main cast. Wait? Who was she kidding? Wasn't this a story in the first place?

A name jolted her out of her thoughts, one that sounded close, yet far away.

"And for Rank 5, Neesha Karr."

And she saw her as the metal wheelchair rolled to it's destination as if a force was controlling it, even the whole stadium was silent.

Long silver hair held in a ponytail and milky-brown skin reflecting in the sunlight. 

Even {Z} had a nervous look on his face as the wheelchair rolled up the stairs, when she reached the top, the token was grabbed by an invisible hand and came to rest on her lap.

She was returning to her seat when her cold gaze met Meredith, and widened in disbelief.

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