Turning Point

I've read countless novels where a reader reincarnates into the body of some throwaway character. Usually, they try to keep a low profile, not disrupting the storyline to keep their informational edge. It's all very "stay out of the way and survive."

Then there are the bold ones who don't give a damn about the plot and use their insider knowledge to snatch every opportunity, becoming the most OP character ever.

Both approaches have their merits, and both sound cool—if you're into fiction.

But this? This is reality. Or at least, it feels like it.

And, honestly, I still can't wrap my head around the idea of reincarnating into a novel's storyline. So, I thought I'd take the middle road: go with the flow, complete the system's tasks, and return to my original world. Simple, right?

Still, what's wrong with this world?

Given the characters, events, and plot details, this is definitely the novel I read. But things are happening way out of order. Kevin isn't even here yet to save Christiana, and Emmeline Neville is behind the terrorist attack? Are you kidding me?

"What is happening? How is she involved in the attack conspiracy?" I asked the system, hoping for some clue to deduce the situation. But…

Yeah. Still no response. I periodically ask questions, try to initiate small talk—anything to get a reaction. But the system remains as silent as a grave.

Sigh. "At least tell me what happens if I fail to complete the tasks?"

The silence is almost comforting in its predictability. I mean, here I am, thrown into a world where the rules have changed, where the plot is spiraling out of control, and the supposed guiding system is about as communicative as a brick wall.

Great. Just great.

"Seriously, system, throw me a bone here. What happens if I fail these tasks?"

Not a peep. Typical.

[Failure in completing tasks would result in failure to clear the conditions required for returning to original worldline.]

.

.

.

Oh! It answered! Looks like the system's got a bit of a testing streak. It seems willing to respond to questions about task conditions and consequences. Good to know.

"Alright, how many tasks do I need to complete to get back to my world?"

[The number of tasks is not fixed. You will be notified along with the progress of the storyline.]

"So, when will I be able to return?"

[Ideally, at the end of this fictional story.]

Ah, there it is—the system knows this world is fictional. Lovely.

"If you're asking me to interfere in the story, what about the disruptions that'll happen as a result?"

[... Mild changes are tolerable. Significant changes aren't allowed.]

Great. So I have to keep the main events of the story intact. No pressure, right? The final question now is whether I should believe this system or not.

Honestly, I don't have much of a choice here. From what I've observed, this system has the power to intervene in this world physically. It could probably squash me like a bug if I don't comply with its little task-completing game.

In the meantime, I'll keep an eye out for another way back—maybe a summoning magic circle or something equally fantastical.

For now, at least, my objective is set. Let's assess the situation. The upcoming event is a major starting point for the protagonist and his merry band of future heroes.

There's a mythic-level artifact tucked away in a vault in the basement of the academy. This little gem was supposedly wielded by a legendary human mage from the hero's party that took down the demon king Phobos. It's the only penta-elemental magic item in existence and has a laundry list of functions: storing and obstructing mana particles, auto-generating offensive and defensive spells, and concealing the user's mana emission, among others. Basically, it's a Swiss Army knife of magical doom.

Why is such an important and dangerous artifact sitting in an academy, you ask? Because plot convenience, that's why. Well, not entirely. The principal of the academy is a descendant of that legendary mage, and it's mentioned that the artifact is kept for educational purposes. There are also rumors it might be a fake, but who's counting?

As the event unfolds, terrorists attack the academy to steal the artifact. They raise a magic-obstructing barrier and hold the students captive, exploiting some algorithm that makes them the only ones able to use magic.

However, our plucky protagonist and his friends escape and start plotting against the terrorists. Even without magic, they use their weapon skills and wits to pick off the terrorists one by one.

During the fierce battle, all the squad members get injured and are unable to fight anymore—except for the protagonist, of course. In the final showdown with the terrorist leader, the protagonist awakens a hidden ability to manipulate the enemy's mana pool and defeats the big bad of the second event.

Now, let's introduce the squad members. These characters are the key players in the unfolding drama, and they each bring something unique to the table.

Starting with the MC, Kevin Williams, then his friend Sherry Wickham (Count Wickham's daughter), Alexia Adriana (Princess of Eldoria Empire), Christiana Peterson & Harald Peterson (Count Peterson's son and daughter), Emmeline Neville (from the family of Duke Neville, half brother of the Principal of the academy, Isabella Howard), and finally Scott Benjamin, the main villain of a later scenario. Yes, he was one of Kevin's comrades, initially. 

However, there are some irregularities here and there. Apart from the scenario starting too early, Emmeline was supposed to be on Kevin's side.

Why is she the perpetrator? There might be some hypothesis like influence from her father, Duke Neville. Actually, it was later found out that he was the mastermind of this attack.

His aim was to gain his family's artefact which was given to his half sister, Isabella, principal of this academy. That would have helped him in being promoted to a central noble (Nobles working in the capital).

No, I should gather information first hand to deduce what's wrong here. If she indeed is the perpetrator, I have to know her objective of doing this.

In the novel, she was a genius, user of both healing and wind elementals. She was also proficient in using bow. She was like a marksman and support mage of her squad. In terms of overall ranking she might be considered in the top five of first year students along with Scott, Alexia, Harald and Christiana. 

Emmeline is a vibrant and energetic girl with a contagious enthusiasm that lights up any room she enters. With long, flowing hair the color of golden sunlight and eyes that sparkle like emeralds, she exudes warmth and positivity wherever she goes. Despite her petite stature, there's an undeniable strength in her graceful movements and confident demeanor.

Born into a family of renowned mages and warriors, she inherited her magical talents from a long line of powerful sorcerers. From a young age, she trained tirelessly to hone her skills, mastering both the magic and fine shooting arts with equal fervor, probably, with level 3 healing and wind magic and of rank B (Master) in wielding a bow.

Despite being an outgoing and friendly girl, she always felt lonely. That was due to her family's lineage of being descendants of legendary mages, that she was buried in expectations. Eventually, she broke at a point, and our omnipotent MC helped her recovering from trauma and providing a place to belong to in his squad. In that natural flow of events, she became a part of MC's harem too.

Whole-over, I can't think of any reason why she is helping terrorists. If the story deviates too much from the original, there will be grave consequences, which I have to avoid. And why is that?

Even if I know the story line, gaining power is not quite easy as depicted in novels. So, the only method of survival for me is making sure the original story continues without much deviation, so that I can use the information to escape any hazardous situation. 

As I was in deep thought about my eventual course of action to complete this task and restore the pacing of the story, I heard panting sound from Christiana.

"Ha..... Ha ..... Ha...."

She was in deep pain, perhaps. So I checked her forehead, and found that it indeed was due to fever. Excess loss of blood might lead to side effects like inflammatory response, one of the symptoms would be mild fever. Things might escalate if she does not receive proper treatment.

Now this is a dire situation for me. There was no explanation of how the injured ones are treated here except for using healing magic. From what I saw before, healing magic is only capable of repairing damaged cells and restoring lost cells. It can't do anything against diseases caused by pathogens, or which are genetic, or allergic & inflammatory response of immune system. 

Think about it. How was she treated in the novel? If I remember correctly, she was immediately taken to the academy's medical facility by Kevin and treated there. But there shouldn't be anyone at that facility at this nighttime. 

If the doctor who treated her was a regular employee at the school, they must be living in the capital for commuting easily. And the fact that healing magic can't cure everything implies that they must be an expert in medicinal plants.

Consequently, for growing herbs and finding natural medicinal plants, they must be living quite close to the forest. If I can just find her place, then I can entrust Christiana to her. 

With that being the case, I helped her wear her top garment, as the injury was healed and there was no risk of infection. Then carrying her on my back and using a fireball as torchlight, I started advancing in the direction of the capital. Still, moving around the forest in the middle of night along with carrying someone is..... very much tiring. 

In the daytime, when I was wondering around the city, I had spotted a group of houses near the forest growing vegetables or something. So I went there first in the hope of finding the doctor. 

***

Fortunately, the apothecary lived here. By asking around some residents, they immediately took me to the apothecary, seeing the panting girl on my back. At first they were wary of me, but it doesn't seem like they recognized my face in this darkness. I explained the situation to the apothecary, like I was camping near the forest when I heard loud sound and investigating what caused such sound, I found the girl with injury.

The apothecary was a middle aged woman. I can't be sure as it was too dark to see faces and I was too tired to think straight. So, I blurted out the truth. She paused for a moment and started preparing some herbal paste in the mortar and pestle. After completing the paste and adding a little amount of water, she fed it to Christiana and checked her pulse.

"She was pretty badly hurt around the shoulder. I have provided some primary treatment through healing magic, but seems like she has fever now."

Then waiting for some moments, she spoke, "Her blood circulation is returning to normal gradually. She will be fine after a few hours of rest."

"That's good to hear. Anyway, as you can see it's the uniform of Royal Academy. Please take her there after she has fully recovered."

After staring at me for a while, she opened her mouth, "Thank you for saving my student."

"... It's okay. I am leaving now."

***

After entrusting her to the apothecary, I retuned to my camping site.

There was a lot of a developments today itself, and I am too worn out to even lift a finger.

Deciding to devise a plan tomorrow, I fell asleep pretty quickly after lying on my makeshift bed.

There is a lot to expect from here onwards after all.

***

Inside the apothecary's worn out house, there was a figure of a girl lying on bed and an woman patting her head gently.

"This is quite an unexpected behavior from you, Chris Harrison. Well, it might be for the best."

Her mysterious figure smiling was illuminated through faint moonlight coming from windows, as she continued making some herbal paste.

"Let's see how far you can go."